Chapter 71

Chapter 71

It was too tempting not to try it. Kaen couldn't throw away the research Orochimaru and Danzo made, no matter how much he disagreed with their methods. Hashirama's cells would make his body more powerful than he hoped to achieve by other methods. And that is not speaking of the ability to use Wood release and having enormous regenerative abilities.

Then there were Orochimaru's subjects. If he could find a way to use Natural energy besides special abilities, nothing could stop him anymore. Combining Natural energy and Hashirama's cells would make Kaen Uchiha invincible. It would put Kaen on a different level than anyone before him. It was too tempting to refuse it, but he had to make sure to get rid of any side effects it might bring if he decided to do this.

His pride couldn't let him use something with flaws, no matter how powerful it was. It was already hard for him to accept that he needed power from outside. But he was reaching his limit. Even if he managed to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan, it would still be limited power he couldn't use as he wished. So, he was left with limited options to gain more power.

"Meow," Kaen awoke from daydreaming as his cat jumped on his lap.

"Yeah, you're right," Kaen smiled as he petted Ash. "There is no point in worrying about it now. Before thinking about it, I needed to see if it was possible; otherwise, I would only be wasting my time. Time I could use to better myself."

Kaen's goal was to get strong enough to fight Madara Uchiha. Kaen didn't think Orochimaru would reincarnate Madara, but it was better to be careful than not. As long as Orochimaru lived, he was likely to reincarnate Madara. Then there is also the ability that came from Rinnengan. Nagato won't do it, but Kaen knew that Obito might be able to do it if he wished. So, he needed to be prepared.

On the other hand, there is still jutsu that he could use to counter them. If they wanted to reincarnate Shinobi from the past, who would stop him from doing the same? He has been studying the forbidden jutsu since he got access to it. And with two examples, Kaen wouldn't take long to master Edo Tensei and other jutsu.

What bothered Kaen the most was that he was stuck doing the duties of the Hokage. He started to hate Jiraiya for convincing him to accept the position, as he would rather join Kakashi and go on the hunt for Orochimaru. The sooner he killed the snake, the sooner he could start concentrating on Akatsuki. Even though they wouldn't do anything with three tails gone for now, they were still dangerous to the village.

"Kaen," Hiruzen entered his office while contemplating what to do next. "I have the list of the possible graduates for this year. There doesn't seem to be anyone worth your notice, but maybe you still want to see them."

It took a moment for Kaen to realize it was already the end of December. Time flew by quite fast after the chunin exams. Taking the list of the academy's final year class, Kaen looked over them. Apart from a few clan members, he didn't see anyone excelling. Well, it wasn't surprising as it would be impossible for every class to get a few geniuses in them.

"I see how they are doing in the final exams," Kaen replied, putting the list aside. "Is there anything else?"

"I know you are quite busy, but it would be quite motivational for the students to meet the Hokage," Hiruzen continued. "A few words could come a long way for them."

"How about I give a lesson for the final year before the exams and then a lesson for the new class next year?" Kaen asked as he wasn't very good at giving motivational speeches, but he could teach one or two things to the new shinobi. "But I first will need to find time."

"Then I will prepare for it," Hiruzen was happy with Kaen's response.

A report arrived as Hiruzen left, and Kaen was about to take a break. Kaen thought it would be from Kakashi, but instead, it came from Jiraiya. He informed Kaen that Naruto's training was progressing steadily, and he was investigating the people who had hired Akatsuki before. Realizing that Jiraiya would be wasting his time, Kaen started writing down everything he could remember of them.

He would tell Jiraiya that he had done his investigation on them. He only left Nagato and Obito out of it, as he knew that if Jiraiya did something with that, those two would retaliate against Konoha. And Kaen didn't want to concentrate on them while Orochimaru was still alive and scheming something. So, Kaen would give enough information for Jiraiya to track their movements.

…

An explosion rang through the Forest of the Death, and fire rose into the sky before suddenly disappearing. In the middle of the scorched ground and uprooted trees stood Kaen. His hands were burned, and blisters had emerged from the heat. Yet, rather than expressing pain, Kaen was more annoyed than anything.

"So, it isn't enough," Kaen told himself as he used chakra to heal his wounds.

Kaen was frustrated at his lack of progress in creating the new jutsu. He wanted to recreate Rasengan using fire nature rather than wind nature. Of the five chakra natures Kaen could use, Wind was only better than his Water nature. So, he thought it would make sense to recreate Rasengan using fire rather than wind.

It gave devastating power to Rasengan, but the problem was that it was impossible to control. Condensing fire in a small ball created a bomb, and that is what Kaen wanted, but he had trouble containing it. If it didn't set off the moment he created it, it would explode when he moved his hand. If not for his medical knowledge, he would probably have lost his arm already.

His shadow clones didn't have any better luck. It was the first time Kaen had trouble creating or learning a new jutsu. Any other time, he would quickly catch on to what he was doing wrong and learn from his mistake, but this time, he didn't know what he was doing wrong. If it were someone else, they would be quite happy with his progress in the last few months, but Kaen was disappointed in himself.

"Trouble in paradise?" Anko asked as she walked up to him.

"Why are you here?" Kaen asked, as he hadn't received any memories from the shadow clone in his office. "Do make fun of me?"

"Well, you are destroying the forest, and you aren't the only one doing some training," Anko replied as she looked around the wrecked area. "If you continue like this, nothing will be left of the forest."

"Sorry, didn't notice you out here," Kaen replied for interrupting Anko's training.

"Well, if you let me join Kakashi's team, I wouldn't get into your hair," Seeing Kaen's annoyed expression at the suggestion, Anko quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, what are you working on? A new jutsu?"

"For now, I call it Sun Sphere," Kaen replied as he was happy to talk about his new jutsu. "Too bad it is hard to control fire to create a sphere. It keeps exploding in my face."

"I can tell," Anko smirked as she noticed Kaen's hair covered in char. "Since you are stuck in your training and already here, would you mind helping me in my training?"

"No, I wouldn't mind," Even though Kaen wanted to concentrate on his new jutsu, he still agreed to help out Anko.

He was going nowhere, anyway. And some distractions might clear his mind. Also, he knew Anko was quite frustrated at Kaen for not letting her join Kakashi's team. But as strong as Anko was getting, she still had difficulty controlling her emotions with everything related to Orochimaru. Kaen couldn't trust Anko not to lose her cool in front of Orochimaru and would not leave her alone to face Orochimaru. So, at least, he could help Anko out in other ways. As much as Kaen didn't want to admit it, Anko was his friend and teammate.

…

Deep underground in an undisclosed place, Orochimaru breathed heavily as his body rejected him. It had already been three years since he took over this body, and its lifespan was running out. It didn't help that Kaen Uchiha's poison heavily damaged his body. He wished that he could get the body of one of the Uchiha, but it wasn't feasible for now. So, he had to take another body.

"It's alright after all. Soon you will be reborn, Orochimaru," A black and white head popped out from the wall. "You will soon become even stronger."

Orochimaru knew it might backfire on him if he worked with them, but he had no other choice now. All his hard work in the Land of Rice was being undone. He didn't have shinobi cultivated to defend against Konoha forces. He could only throw his failed experiments to slow them down. If he wanted to defeat Konoha and achieve his goal, he needed an army.

"That is if you kept your part of the deal," The black side of the creature spoke.

"Everything is prepared," Orochimaru said as he opened a sealed casket.

Looking at what was inside made him hesitate, but he couldn't get out of the deal anymore. He needed the white creature's bodies for his undead army. So, he has created one of his finest works. Using the body of a white Zetsu and the DNA he was provided, he recreated the body of Madara Uchiha. It was ever better work than Hashirama and Tobirama.

But it comes with a price. To make him as strong as he was in his prime. Orochimaru had to sacrifice his control over him. If he used Edo Tensei on Madara, he didn't think he could control him, and at that point, it would be meaningless work. But it bought him hundreds of bodies he could use to reincarnate other shinobi and use them as he wished.

"Good," The black side of Zetsu said as he took the body of Madara. "It is a shame that you have a conflict with Itachi. Otherwise, you would be welcomed back to Akatsuki."

"Why is Itachi so important to you?" Orochimaru asked, as he couldn't comprehend what else they would want when they now had Madara Uchiha.

"It is better to have Itachi as a friend rather than an enemy," The Black Zetsu replied before the White one added. "Itachi is too scary. We have to keep our eyes on him."

Orochimaru could sympathize with them. Kaen Uchiha was strong and genius. He could create a different fighting style and compliment it with creating a new jutsu. Kaen was more similar to Tobirama Senju than to anyone else. But Itachi was on a different level. Itachi was a monster with powerful abilities that could destroy any genius. Itachi was more like Madara in that aspect.

"Aren't you going to leave?" Orochimaru asked the White and Black creature.

"Don't you want to make another deal?" White Zetsu asked before Black one added. "We could help you to deal with Konoha. Their every movement could be under your thumb."

"I don't need your help," Orochimaru replied, knowing that Zetsu wanted to use him for something, not the other way around. "Everything is still under my control. Your interference would be a deterrent for me."

"As you wish," The Black Zetsu said before disappearing into the wall.

Orochimaru couldn't let himself be controlled by something like Zetsu. He didn't know what games that creature was playing, but it would not benefit him. He only needed to see Hashirama's face on Madara's chest to realize that Akatsuki and Madara were somehow related. It didn't concern him much, but he refused to be used by them.

His plan was still underway. While Konoha is distracted by his experiment subjects, he will get used to his new body. And once everything is prepared, he will strike them down. They won't be able to counter his undead army. They will only bring him what he wanted all along. Sasuke Uchiha will make a perfect body for him, even if Itachi or Kaen would be better.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.