Chapter 188: Orochimaru: Madara Probably Didn’t Use Living Corpse Reincarnation Either!

"The stone tablet? What stone tablet?" Tsunade immediately asked. In her heart, she thought, as expected—the Uchiha clan did indeed have secrets they didn’t know about. However, this was normal. Every great clan with a hundred-year heritage had secrets that outsiders could not know, especially the prominent ones. The Uchiha were like this, and so were the Hyuga. It’s just... the matter of the stone tablet was clearly very important, otherwise Uchiha Fugaku wouldn’t have brought it up at this moment. Given Fugaku’s temperament, he must understand how grave the current situation was. How could Uchiha Fugaku dare to hide anything? He understood Tsunade, but not Kyohiko. Many people now thought Kyohiko was more like Senju Hashirama, but initially, everyone’s evaluation was that he was more like Senju Tobirama. That Second Hokage with superior methods! Kyohiko was definitely not someone to be trifled with. He weighed his words carefully. "The specific origin of that stone tablet is difficult to trace. We only know it has existed for a very long time, and only the Sharingan can decipher some of the text, so it should have been passed down by our ancestors..." Fugaku slowly explained the contents of it. Tsunade frowned slightly. Only the Sharingan can decipher it? If this was true, then only the Uchiha clan could corroborate what Fugaku said. Outsiders like them had no way of distinguishing fact from fiction. So, regardless of whether it was true or false, she could only take it at face value for now. After Fugaku finished speaking, she was thoughtful. "Mangekyo Sharingan?" "Yes. It is said that Uchiha Madara and his younger brother awakened these eyes, but currently, no one in our Uchiha clan possesses this power." Fugaku sighed. Tsunade said, "Doesn’t it say on it how to awaken these eyes?" "No. Otherwise, our clan wouldn’t be without a single one. But obviously, the person behind the scenes has mastered the method, and I now have some conjectures myself," Fugaku said. Tsunade smiled slightly. "Extreme emotional stimulation?" "Yes. Kyohiko-kun’s ability to see the big picture from small details has truly reminded me." Fugaku looked ashamed. However, he still added, "Extrapolating from the results, many events in the clan’s history can be verified. In the past, there have been incidents of family members killing each other in our clan." "For a pair of eyes... how tragic," Tsunade sighed softly. Not just the Uchiha clansmen of the past, but also the current Uchiha Obito and that old woman. She was silent for a few seconds. "Fugaku, you should have thought of the method before, right?" "This... nothing can be hidden from you. Yes, I did have my suspicions before, but I really can’t accept the act of killing a family member, so the records on the stone tablet have always been sealed," Fugaku said with a bitter smile. Past clan heads and elders had done the same. Fratricide could not make a clan prosper. Tsunade nodded. Fugaku’s actions, at least, showed that he valued his clan. If you have something you value, you have a weakness. You won’t easily do something that would lead to the clan’s extinction. At least—to make Obito awaken his eyes by taking such a dangerous measure... Fugaku was clearly not a fool. Her line of thinking had changed. "Fugaku, if I were to ask you to guess, who do you think is the most likely mastermind?" "This..." Fugaku hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth. "My view may be somewhat absurd, but I think there are actually very few candidates." "Madara? But he’s dead. Both my grandfather and grand-uncle confirmed this," Tsunade said. She also suspected Uchiha Madara, but how could a dead person once again manipulate the course of events in the shinobi world? This was clearly unreasonable. Fugaku shook his head. "Not necessarily." "Oh?" Tsunade suddenly turned her head. She realized that what Fugaku was about to say might concern the secrets of the Uchiha clan. Fugaku took a deep breath. "In our Uchiha clan, there is a forbidden jutsu called ’Izanagi.’ It is the ultimate genjutsu, which can, at the cost of blindness in one eye, restore oneself to a state from a period of time before." "What?" Tsunade was incredulous, unable to recover for a good while. After a long time, she finally said, "Impossible! How can such a technique exist in the world? And, my grand-uncle stayed by Madara’s side for a long time back then..." "I am not clear about that. After all, I don’t have the Mangekyo Sharingan, so I don’t know Madara’s condition," Fugaku shook his head. Tsunade was silent for a long time. "Fugaku, can I trust you?" "The future of the Uchiha clan rests on my shoulders. I dare not deceive you. Otherwise, I could have chosen not to tell you about the existence of ’Izanagi’ at all," Fugaku said sincerely. Tsunade said, "Madara..." She found it hard to believe that Uchiha Madara from back then was still alive in the world today. Even her grandfather was already dead! She frowned. "Fugaku, thank you for the information. Izanagi is your clan’s secret technique, and we have no right to interfere. But I hope you can think about it, if Madara really was still alive back then, what method did he use to evade death for so long." The time Senju Tobirama had stayed was by no means short... Fugaku nodded gravely. "I will tell you the truth. Madara and the Uchiha clan may not have any feelings left for each other. He might even hate us Uchiha to the core. After all, the previous generation didn’t follow him, which in his eyes is surely a betrayal." "I understand," Tsunade said with a slight smile. --- "Fugaku-senpai is showing his loyalty!" Kyohiko smiled. Tsunade nodded. "Yes, the Uchiha are in a difficult position right now. It’s a good thing Danzo is dead. If Danzo and the old man were in power, the Uchiha might have been brought under the control of the Anbu by now." "How do you know I haven’t done that?" "You already have an inside man, do you still need to bring them under control?" Tsunade rolled her eyes. That kid Shisui, apart from not calling him teacher and not receiving any ninjutsu inheritance, was practically no different from a disciple. The two of them had an incredibly good relationship. If anything happened in the Uchiha clan, Shisui would let Kyohiko know first, not Fugaku, the clan head. "To be honest, I think Fugaku is quite pathetic. A clan head actually lost in the competition against you." "What’s so strange about that?" Kyohiko smiled slightly. "Fugaku-senpai is not bad, but Shisui’s vision is higher, that’s all." "Hahaha, you." Tsunade couldn’t help but laugh. Wasn’t that just a roundabout way of saying he was stronger than Fugaku? Kyohiko said, "I’ve always been relatively honest, I rarely lie." "Alright, my honest little brother, tell me, what’s the deal with that Amber Jutsu of yours?" Tsunade was a little curious. Things were too hurried before, so she hadn’t had a chance to ask about the "amber." This thing seemed to be related to Wood Style, but she had no impression of it. Without a doubt, it was another ninjutsu newly created by Kyohiko. "The principle isn’t difficult, it’s just that the implementation process is more complex." Kyohiko flicked his finger. Then, in Tsunade’s potted plant, a seedling grew, and then the tree split open, and drops of sap flowed out. Then—a small piece of amber appeared. "For you." Kyohiko handed it over. Tsunade took it and looked. A small insect was trapped inside the amber, looking beautiful in its own way. She rubbed it in her hand. It was very hard. "Not as sturdy as some Earth Style ninjutsu, but the material is special, and it has sealing and locking abilities. It has great potential!" Tsunade commented. Kyohiko smiled modestly. "It’s average. I’m still figuring it out now. The specific effects will only be known later. When I’m proficient, I’ll try the Sage Art version. Maybe it will have more practical value." Tsunade rolled her eyes. If anyone else had mastered Wood Style and developed such a ninjutsu that even the First Hokage never had, they would surely be jumping for joy. As it turned out, this kid was clearly being modest, yet it made people want to hit him, and they couldn’t even win! She was speechless for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, Tsunade came back to her senses. "By the way, can Yamato learn this jutsu?" The Amber Jutsu had great potential and a wide range of applications. If Yamato could also master it, it would be for the best. Kyohiko thought for a moment. The Amber Jutsu, he had already mastered it quite well, and his level had naturally reached "Proficient." The reason was that his foundation was deep enough. At this stage, his understanding of the Amber Jutsu was also deeper—this jutsu had many variations. What he had mastered now was actually the resin state of amber. According to his current speculation, if he integrated different nature transformations in the future, there might be different derivatives. But the fundamental function was basically just these few. As for resin... it wasn’t actually that difficult. It just required targeted adjustments when creating the tree, adding a little bit of Yang Release nature transformation to make it produce more resin. Thinking of this, Kyohiko explained the principle. After hearing it, Tsunade was slightly relieved. This kind of addition didn’t belong to complete nature fusion, but was just a simple chakra combination, so the difficulty generally wouldn’t be too great. With Yamato’s aptitude... learning it would be a bit difficult, but he might not be unable to learn it after he grew up. If he could master this jutsu, and combine it with the other inherited ninjutsu of Wood Style, his methods against Tailed Beasts, Jinchuriki, or ordinary enemies would be richer and more varied. "You should teach Yamato a bit when you have time. Let him learn some more special Wood Style jutsu." "I’ll try my best." Kyohiko nodded. If he could learn it, he certainly wouldn’t be stingy. However. "Regarding the stone tablet, I plan to talk to Orochimaru-senpai." "As you wish." Tsunade was indifferent. Orochimaru had helped her a lot, and he was being honest and dutiful now. Besides doing research, he had no other hobbies, and the research he was doing was on the animals he kept himself. Even the old man (Hiruzen) couldn’t point fingers at Orochimaru now. He couldn’t even get a meeting—not that Kyohiko was stopping him, but that Orochimaru didn’t want to see him. She was about to go back to continue her work, but after thinking about it, she added, "If Madara is really still alive, it can’t be hidden. It’s good to inform him now, but you need to pay attention to Orochimaru’s attitude." Although she trusted Orochimaru, she also trusted Orochimaru’s obsession and craving for long life. If such an opportunity were placed before him, would Orochimaru pursue it? Tsunade wasn’t sure. --- At Orochimaru’s private research base. Kazuma skillfully fed each monkey and animal, while observing their adaptation to chakra and experiments, and recording them one by one. He had already gotten very used to the life here. Even—what terrified Kazuma was that he seemed to be starting to like these days of daily research. After finishing a round of recording, he stood at the entrance, looking up at the dense canopy, and couldn’t help but sigh softly. If I can’t get out again... I might never be able to leave this place. Just as he was feeling sad. Swish! A figure broke out of space and appeared directly in front of him. Kazuma was stunned for a moment. Then, he immediately greeted, "Orochimaru-sama is resting..." "I’m awake." Orochimaru walked out of the cave. A slight smile appeared on his face. "Kyohiko-kun, every time you come, you always bring me good news." Kazuma bowed slightly and tactfully returned to the cave. Orochimaru led Kyohiko a little further away. "I’ve been studying A’s constitution recently. Heh, their lineage’s body is indeed special and has considerable research value... Tsk, what Kekkei Genkai or special constitution is it this time?" Halfway through, he realized Kyohiko might not be interested in the research process, so he chose to get straight to the point. Kyohiko said, "This time it’s not a Kekkei Genkai or a constitution, but a piece of news that’s hard to distinguish as true or false. Even I can’t be sure for a moment." "Oh?" Orochimaru’s movements paused, and a look of seriousness appeared on his face. He was very clear about Kyohiko’s abilities. So he was even more curious. "Back then, Madara might have used a forbidden jutsu called Izanagi to escape death and has lived until now," Kyohiko said. Orochimaru frowned, saying with surprise, "Madara?" "Let me start from the beginning..." Kyohiko briefly described the situation. Orochimaru listened, and couldn’t help but nod lightly in agreement. If the information was accurate, the process indeed had no problems. Madara was the most suspicious target. Because... "To be honest, I once went to look for Uchiha Madara’s body." Orochimaru chuckled lightly. "In the end, I found nothing. At the time, I was still thinking that perhaps Nidaime-sama had hidden it. After all, the technique I was researching before was actually created by Nidaime-sama." "So, there really is no body?" "It’s just one possibility, but the probability is high. As Fugaku said, there are really not many people in the entire shinobi world who meet these conditions at the same time." A slight smile touched Orochimaru’s lips. "Madara is actually still alive. This is interesting!" The reappearance of a long-lost, dust-covered figure. The secrets on that person... were truly tantalizing! Orochimaru licked his lips. "Kyohiko-kun, I told you, you always bring me good news!" If Madara were really alive to this day, it at least confirmed that there was a way to greatly extend one’s lifespan. How could that not be good news? He smiled. "Tsunade actually agreed to let you come over." "Because she trusts you," Kyohiko said without batting an eye. Orochimaru sneered. However, he didn’t mock, but after laughing, he fell into deep thought. After a long while, Orochimaru said, "Even if Madara is still alive, he must be lingering on his last breath, or, as I imagined, surviving in a special form." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "If that’s the case, after Uchiha Obito is lured over, when his strength reaches a certain level, he might be eaten!" "Similar to the Living Corpse Reincarnation?" "Perhaps." Orochimaru nodded. Kyohiko pondered for a moment. This statement... was definitely wrong, but it was also the easiest for Tsunade and the others to accept, and it would also be helpful for the advancement of his subsequent plans. Especially—reminding everyone of the existence of "Black Zetsu." "I need to go and talk to Fugaku again."