The Zombie Sage in Naruto

"The situation was urgent, and I couldn't find a better replacement organ, so I used the organs of an Iwagakure Explosion Release ninja. If everything goes well, Lord Dan Katō might awaken the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai. That way, he'll have a much stronger body."

Fengjiansi smiled, seeming completely untroubled, even taking the time to speculate in front of Tsunade.

"These organs are already starting to rot. This—"

"No worries. I can restore them. Leave it to me."

Fengjiansi smiled again. "Even though I don't have any special talents and only use secret techniques that deal with corpses—which may not be the most popular skill set—being able to help a ninja like Lord Dan Katō makes all my past efforts worthwhile."

At Fengjiansi's signal, Tsunade swallowed her tears and quickly laid out the pile of internal organs, watching Fengjiansi begin his technique.

"Hmm… Lord Dan Katō's spine is also damaged. I'll have to remove a section from this corpse and attach it."

As a surge of life force flowed in, Dan's long-lifeless body regained vitality. The cold faded, and warmth returned.

Flesh and blood began to regenerate, and missing bones slowly reformed.

Finally, when Fengjiansi looked completely spent—slumping to the ground and gasping for breath—his once-healthy body now emaciated again…

Dan's eyelids twitched. Slowly, he opened his eyes, filled with confusion.

"Am I… in the Pure Land already? But why is it raining so heavily here too…"

"Dan!"

Tsunade threw her arms around him. That single movement drained all her strength. Her mind went blank, as if reality had vanished.

It was real? The pain wasn't an illusion… it was real.

Fengjiansi had truly mastered a resurrection technique—and right before her eyes, he brought Dan Katō back to life!

This was nothing short of a forbidden art!

"I'm… alive?" Dan slowly regained his senses. Feeling Tsunade's warmth, he couldn't believe it. Maybe it was his imagination, but his physical condition felt even better than before his fight with Roshi!

An overwhelming surge of energy and stamina. With a thought, chakra flowed endlessly he'd surpassed his peak!

However…

Crack!

"Ouch! Tsunade, you just broke several of my ribs!" Dan yelled, full of life, showing no signs of his previous fatal injuries.

"No need to worry," Fengjiansi said weakly, "I transferred my life force into your body. It should be enough to heal that. Although… some bones may be misaligned. In a rush, the procedure was a bit rough. It's best to re-break and reset them properly later."

Dan and Tsunade were at a loss for words. Their minds reeled with the reality of the miracle they had just witnessed.

"Sijun—can I call you that? You brought me back to life. It must've come at a great cost! If something happened to you because of me—"

Dan stammered, struggling to express himself.

Fengjiansi quickly interrupted, "Don't forget—it was Lady Tsunade who ordered you to protect me on the battlefield. That's how we defeated Sabaku Araki. Now that elite jōnin has become one of our most reliable forces."

He didn't let Dan dwell on guilt or gratitude. The more he suppressed such feelings, the deeper their effect.

"Maybe I should've died on the battlefield," Fengjiansi said with a strained smile. "But you trusted me, believed in my forbidden arts and abilities. I couldn't let you down. Now was my time to risk everything."

The two were deeply moved. Tsunade, wiping her tears, nearly melted despite her usual resolve.

She reached for Fengjiansi.

He jumped back two steps. "Lady Tsunade, if you're trying to hug me tight enough to snap my ribs, please don't. I'll really die."

"Shut up. I'm checking your condition. Your body was already weak, and now you've burned through so much life force. Forbidden arts like this are bound to leave severe aftereffects. I'll help lessen the consequences."

Tsunade's mind raced with gratitude and worry.

Resurrection jutsu. She didn't need to think too hard to conclude: such a world-defying jutsu would surely come with a horrific cost.

Draining one's life force was likely the most visible—yet least significant—of those costs.

Whoosh!

Tsunade's hands connected with Fengjiansi's, ready to begin healing—but found no injuries.

To her surprise, his condition was exactly the same as when she'd last examined him in the medical tents during the battle against Sunagakure.

"No anomalies… Could it be that your body's chronic weakness has always been due to this forbidden jutsu?" she asked, stunned.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm a medical ninja. Knowing a few secret healing techniques isn't strange, right?" Fengjiansi chuckled, gripping her hands as he stood up.

Medical ninjutsu? Tsunade fell silent. That wasn't something ordinary medical jutsu could explain.

Internally, Fengjiansi felt satisfied—the experiment had worked. He'd used nearly all his stored life force to revive Dan.

In truth, he didn't need to spend so much. But this was his first time transplanting organs from a zombie body, replacing someone's internal systems, and transferring life force to bring them back.

According to his calculations, any rejection reactions wouldn't be a big deal. People in the ninja world were almost superhuman—especially ninjas. They could easily handle side effects.

After all, eyes could be "plug-and-play," so internal organs shouldn't be different.

Besides, Fengjiansi had grafted organs and a spine from a ninja with the Explosion Release into Dan's body. Dan's power and potential would rise dramatically. Awakening Explosion Release was just a matter of time.

More importantly, from this point on, Dan would never be free of Fengjiansi's influence. Part of his body now belonged to Fengjiansi—he would unknowingly become part of Fengjiansi's system.

"Lord Dan—"

"Don't call me that. My life now belongs to you. Just call me Dan," Dan replied gratefully.

"Alright then, Dan-senpai. You've always been strong in spiritual techniques, but your body was a weakness—too fragile to support your spirit form. But now, with Explosion Release, that shortcoming might disappear."

Fengjiansi had high hopes. A strengthened Dan Katō? With both Yin and Yang attributes? That was scary powerful.

And most importantly—it was a power under his control.

"Maybe so. Thanks to you. But are you sure you're alright? This forbidden jutsu… If there's anything I can do, just let me know," Dan said seriously.

"Me too," Tsunade added.

"No problem—for now. I do need to rest. Using this jutsu once wiped out all the life energy I've saved over the years… Please, keep this a secret. Otherwise, who knows how many people will come asking me to revive their dead."

The two exchanged glances and nodded.

A resurrection jutsu like this—seemingly reusable—was far beyond comprehension. Even they, with their knowledge of high-level ninjutsu, were awestruck.

Fengjiansi could control corpses and now bring back the dead. He had truly defied life and death.

His talents were beyond understanding.

Both of them knew—they had to protect Fengjiansi's secrets at all costs.

Supporting him from either side, they began the journey back toward Konoha. Soon, they would regroup with retreating Konoha shinobi from the northern coast of the Land of Hot Water.

Casually, Fengjiansi asked, "By the way, when are you two getting married? I've been waiting. We've all been waiting."

"Marriage… I've already decided. Once the war ends, we'll get married," Dan said gently.

"What a poor proposal… but I'll reluctantly accept," Tsunade huffed, turning away.

Dan looked past Fengjiansi, his gaze tenderly fixed on Tsunade. "Someday, we'll have a child. He'll become an exceptional ninja, carrying the Will of Fire."

"Well, you'd better start thinking of names. How about 'Naruto'? Katō Naruto… or even Senju Naruto!"

Fengjiansi revealed his hand—laying the groundwork for the next Asura reincarnation.

Everyone knew: Indra's and Asura's chakras had been tangled in conflict for over a thousand years. If one reincarnated, so would the other.

Fengjiansi was curious—could he intentionally guide Asura's next incarnation?

Tsunade had the purest Senju blood, even more so than the Uzumaki clan.

As long as the Senju clan was still having children, the reincarnation of Asura wouldn't fall to Uzumaki Kushina.

According to his prediction, the Second Ninja War was ending, and the Senju clan's decline had begun.

Saving Dan meant preserving Tsunade's future marriage—and her descendants. Could their child become Asura's new vessel?

Theirs would be the purest Senju bloodline of the next generation.

"Either the experiment fails, and Asura still reincarnates as Kushina's child—unless Tsunade has a second child…

Or Dan and Tsunade delay having children until the perfect moment—Konoha Year 48."

Maybe Asura and Indra's leftover chakras needed to build up over time before reincarnation. Die, reincarnate, accumulate more, and repeat.

Fengjiansi was genuinely curious. Rescuing Dan was worth it to satisfy that curiosity and explore this world's mysteries.

And if it failed, no big deal.

"Narruto… You're already thinking that far ahead? And that name is obviously for a boy. So sure about the gender?"

Tsunade scoffed. She wasn't the blushing type—at her age, marriage and kids weren't embarrassing topics.

"Still… it's actually a nice name," Dan said.

"If it's a boy, Naruto. If it's a girl, name her Naruko. How's that?" Fengjiansi joked.

"Tch, you're so annoying."

Tsunade shot Fengjiansi a sidelong glance. If it had been anyone else, she'd have punched them. But after all he'd done—reviving Dan, helping him possibly awaken a Kekkei Genkai…

His divine technique made even Tsunade, with all her knowledge, feel a twinge of awe.

She was grateful she'd trusted his talent back then, supported him, and now reaped this miraculous reward.

"Naruto, huh…?" Tsunade etched the name into her heart. If she ever had a son, he'd be called Naruto.

"When we get back, I'll take responsibility for what happened. So many comrades died because of me."

Dan spotted allied forces in the distance, and his mood darkened.

"Don't blame yourself, senpai. No one expected a jinchūriki to show up, and the destruction of the Hot Springs' ley lines wasn't your fault. Most escaped. The losses weren't too severe."

Fengjiansi consoled him. Against a jinchūriki, losing a few hundred was honestly… light.

Besides, the Four-Tails went berserk and started firing Tailed Beast Bombs at random. Iwagakure(hidden stone village) probably got hit hard too.

In the end, it wasn't a total defeat.

The remaining troops regrouped, and soon someone spotted Fengjiansi and the others, cheering.

A crowd rushed over, excited—Lord Dan Katō, though disheveled and missing much of his clothing, appeared uninjured!

"Amazing! Lord Dan fought a jinchūriki alone and returned in one piece—almost unharmed!"

"Jinchūriki are monsters! Massive chakra, incredible regeneration, terrifying jutsu… But Lord Dan matched them!"

Many had glimpsed Roshi's semi-transformed state. Even without sensory abilities, the oppressive chakra was unforgettable.

Yet Dan had faced him alone, bought precious time for retreat. What strength!

"Actually, I only returned safely thanks to Tsunade and Fengjiansi…" Dan said, refusing to take all the credit.

He couldn't exactly say "I died and got brought back."

"It was mostly Fengjiansi. Without his support, none of us would've made it back," Tsunade added.

"That makes sense. He saved my life too!"

"Same here! Although the corpse that saved me… someone said it was a zombie? I don't know where that term came from. But it died saving me, falling into lava."

"Idiot, it was just a corpse—an enemy corpse. Without Lord Fengjiansi's jutsu, how would it have saved you? Don't project weird feelings onto something we don't understand!"

Despite the sadness of lost comrades, most were thrilled to be alive.

Under Dan's command, the 1,000-strong force began a strategic retreat toward the Fire Country border, awaiting new orders.

Off-duty ninja formed discussion groups:

"Do you think Lord Dan has Kage-level power now? He soloed a jinchūriki…"

"Maybe. But his main technique is Spirit Transformation, and it requires protection. That usually makes him vulnerable to long-range jinchūriki attacks. But…"

"He's clearly much stronger now!"

"And Lord Fengjiansi held off the enemy too; he must be powerful! What's his rank again?"

"Special Jōnin. Lord Fengjiansi is a Special Jōnin now."

Hyuga Iroha had been silent for a long time. No one knew what this minor Hyuga branch member was thinking. But now, he suddenly looked up and answered.

(To Be Continued)