The reanimated squad attacks Kusagakure

Uchiha Sora ignored Pakura's jab and continued, "Let's cut the pointless talk for now. Everything about you belongs to me now-your ninjutsu, your kekkei genkai, your body, even your soul."

Pakura bit her lip.

Uchiha Sora continued, "You have only two options. First, serve me to the best of your ability, and I'll let you retain your own consciousness. Second, defy my will, and I'll erase yours."

Faced with those two choices, Pakura nodded without hesitation. "I choose the first! I'll do my best to serve you!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Uchiha Sora's face. "Smart woman!"

"Heh. Everything I believed in has crumbled. I have no other choice now. Since you brought me back, I'll follow your orders!" Pakura smiled helplessly.

Uchiha Sora nodded.

With just a few words, Pakura had submitted.

Next, Uchiha Sora continued using Impure World Reincarnation, bringing back the others one by one.

They were Hunt, an Explosion Release ninja from Iwagakure; Toroi, a Magnet Release ninja from Kumogakure; and three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

After those five were summoned, they too chose to serve him under the terms Uchiha Sora offered.

However, Uchiha Sora knew that although they had agreed on the surface, they might not truly obey him in their hearts.

"All right. You all have reanimated bodies now, but as long as you give me your best, perhaps one day I'll truly bring you back to life," Uchiha Sora said at last.

At the mention of true resurrection, all six of their eyes lit up.

"Now, follow me and attack Kusagakure!" Uchiha Sora smiled faintly and waved toward the village ahead, giving his orders. "Our objective is to capture Kusagakure's leader. Avoid harming innocent people as much as possible."

All six stiffened slightly, nodded in acknowledgment, and darted forward.

Zabuza remained beside Uchiha Sora and said, "Leader, the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist don't have their ninja blades. I'm afraid their combat strength is lower than Pakura's and the others'. Can those six really take Kusagakure?"

Uchiha Sora shook his head. "Bodies created through Impure World Reincarnation have unlimited chakra. Even if their bodies are destroyed, they'll regenerate. Essentially, they have immortal bodies and limitless energy. Although none of the six has reached the strength they had in life, they can still handle a little village like Kusagakure."

A reanimated squad made up of six elite jonin with renowned titles could hold its own even against a Kage-level opponent, and might even wear one down to death.

Kusagakure's only way out was to seal them with sealing jutsu.

"Zabuza, you go too. Follow them, but don't act for now. If Kusagakure sends out a sealing jutsu squad, just stop them," Uchiha Sora told him.

"Yes, Leader!" Zabuza answered, then vanished in a flash.

Night had already fallen, and a full moon hung high in the sky.

Dressed in white with a longsword at his waist, Uchiha Sora walked slowly into Kusagakure beneath the moonlight.

Inside Kusagakure, the six reanimated elites' attack had alerted every ninja.

The village leader crawled out of bed in the middle of the night, cursing as he put on his combat gear and went out to face the enemy.

The Six Impure World Reincarnations came from different villages, each wielding an endless variety of ninjutsu. After a barrage of attacks, the Grass Ninja were left reeling.

"Th-that's Pakura, the Scorch Release ninja from Sunagakure!" After one round of fighting, some of the Grass Ninja finally recognized the Six Impure World Reincarnations. One pointed at Pakura and shouted, "I used to be a fan of hers! But didn't she die in some political deal her village made? How is she here?"

"And that one-that's Toroi, the Magnet Release ninja from Kumogakure! He's a terrifying guy too!"

"Ah, those three! Aren't they members of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"

The Six Impure World Reincarnations had once been famous throughout the Shinobi World. Almost all of them had been active during the Third Shinobi World War, and Kusagakure's ninja recognized them immediately.

"All of these people are dead. How are they here, looking perfectly fine?" Kusagakure's leader finally arrived and asked with a dark expression.

"I don't know. Something's wrong with them. Their bodies don't look like those of living people. I'm afraid some terrifying figure is controlling them from behind the scenes!" an experienced jonin speculated.

Kusagakure's leader furrowed his brows and ordered, "Whoever's behind this, we have to deal with these six first!"

"Yes!" everyone hurriedly answered.

Although the Land of Grass was only a small country and Kusagakure only a small shinobi village, the village's ninja force was far from insignificant.

It had at least a thousand ninja.

That could not compare to major powers like the Five Great Shinobi Villages, each with over ten thousand ninja at its disposal, but most people would still consider it a formidable force.

Aside from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, no other organization or force dared attack Kusagakure lightly.

However, because the attack had come so suddenly, only three or four hundred ninja in the village were currently able to fight. Most of the others were ordinary genin or were away on missions.

As the two sides clashed, the Six Impure World Reincarnations inflicted heavy casualties.

Still, the Six Impure World Reincarnations did not possess the strength they had in life. Before long, one was struck by the Grass Ninja's ninjutsu, and half his body disappeared.

But moments later, before the Grass Ninja's disbelieving eyes, the missing half of his body began steadily regenerating...

In the blink of an eye, he was whole again!

"Damn it! These guys can't be killed!" The Grass Ninja who discovered this crucial fact immediately shouted to alert their leader.

Kusagakure's leader paled at the news. A forbidden jutsu known in Konoha suddenly came to mind.

"Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu! It's the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu!" Kusagakure's leader exclaimed. "Everyone, be careful! Don't confront them head-on! Use sealing jutsu! Find a way to seal them!"

As expected of a village leader, he was indeed capable. Once he realized it was Impure World Reincarnation, he immediately devised a strategy.

But Kusagakure's resources could not compare to those of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. The village had far too few people skilled in sealing jutsu-only a handful in total.

When one ninja who knew sealing jutsu spotted an opening and tried to seal a reanimated elite, Zabuza suddenly sprang out from the side and silently drove his blade into the ninja's heart.

The sealing attempt failed!

The Grass Ninja were instantly alarmed.

"Damn it! They have backup!" The death of a precious sealing specialist dealt the Grass Ninja a devastating blow, and Zabuza's appearance weighed even more heavily on them.

Just who were these attackers? Were other powerful enemies still lurking in the shadows?

None of them knew. It was precisely that uncertainty and mystery that stirred a trace of panic in the hearts of every Grass Ninja present...