Konoha's White Fang was undoubtedly a very reliable leader. Most importantly, he valued his comrades—a piece of good news for Kaede Tsukasa.
If it were Orochimaru or some other guy, they might have exploited the opportunity to put comrades in danger and attacked the enemy directly.
Kaede Tsukasa retreated rather awkwardly to the camp. Despite his seemingly impressive performance, the entire process lasted only a few dozen seconds. Don't expect two zombies with less than half their original strength to truly turn the tide of battle. Being able to withstand even one of Chiyo's Chikamatsu Ten Puppets was already beyond normal performance.
But others didn't see it that way. Just looking at the pile of Konoha ninjas lying around Kaede Tsukasa, it was clear that only he, in such a critical moment, had used a surprising jutsu to prevent more comrades from dying.
Medical ninjas always earned respect and attention. If this medical ninja had a unique jutsu and had established battlefield achievements, he would be even more admired.
By the bonfire in the southeast corner of the Konoha camp, Kaede Tsukasa looked exhausted. He reached for a few pieces of charcoal to make the fire burn brighter, but quickly realized it wasn't necessary—other ninjas had already done what he intended.
Small details reveal status.
"Thank you. So, Lord Sakumo defeated the enemy leader in one battle and even cut off her arm?"
"That's right! Lord Sakumo's moves seemed ordinary, but every strike shattered all obstacles in front of him—puppet or person alike! The enemy leader fleeing with her severed arm looked utterly miserable. Too bad you didn't see it."
The others chattered, surrounding Kaede Tsukasa, their faces showing admiration. Occasionally, their glances at him carried a hint of fear.
Not fear of Kaede Tsukasa's strength—he hadn't reached the level of using absolute power to toy with everyone's minds.
It was simply the natural panic that arose when facing a medical ninja who manipulated corpses.
Kaede Tsukasa's abilities displayed during the day were too extraordinary, exceeding everyone's comprehension.
"Using the dead as puppets, and even employing the jutsu they had learned in life… no matter how you look at it, this is a forbidden jutsu."
Inuzuka Tsume scratched his cheek and muttered, "Right, Kuromaru? You surely haven't forgotten that smell, huh? This guy even claimed it's a medical jutsu—it makes it even scarier. I need to rethink what I know about white-clad medical ninjas."
Kuromaru barked loudly beside him.
"Scary, but effective."
Bandaged Morino Isuke walked over. "Because of this jutsu, we killed several extra enemies and saved some comrades during the enemy leader's raid. All things considered, the impact is huge."
He intended to give Kaede Tsukasa a full-body check but was refused.
"Lord Morino, you may have forgotten—I'm a medical ninja too," Kaede Tsukasa said.
A flicker of regret crossed Morino Isuke's eyes. He had wanted to check the scroll at Kaede Tsukasa's waist. All corpses used for Dead Soul Technique, whether exhausted or not, were ultimately retrieved into Kaede Tsukasa's scroll.
Very cautious, Morino Isuke thought. He should have focused on studying this unusual Dead Soul Technique earlier. Perhaps Aburame Ryōma would be interested.
No, it wasn't just Aburame Ryōma—legendary Lord Danzo Shimura might also be interested. They said Lord Danzo embodied all darkness; if he could be presented with this entirely new Dead Soul Technique, he might even grant an audience.
Morino Isuke felt even more regret, but the opportunity was gone. A cautious person like Kaede Tsukasa wasn't likely to give him a chance to probe deeply.
Kaede Tsukasa sat among the crowd, talking like a normal person, without displaying the "keep out" coldness that many Konoha ninjas speculated he might have.
Such mingling was extremely rare for him. In the past, if he did this, he would have caught a multitude of pathogens from so many people, leading to physical collapse and death.
"From now on, I'll have a bit of fame. I'm still far from the level of a 'genius' people sing about, but at least I've showcased a specific talent, which will help with future actions… To achieve this on a battlefield against Sunagakure is truly excellent."
For Kaede Tsukasa, no opponent was more suitable than Sunagakure.
It tied directly into his plan to change bodies. He had conceived many theoretically possible methods, but the surest path to a perfect body undoubtedly involved starting with Sunagakure—this was the important second step.
The first step, of course, was to reveal his Zombie Release ability at the right occasion to gain fame, at least without being branded as practicing twisted or forbidden techniques, avoiding scrutiny or forced recruitment by malicious parties.
Kaede Tsukasa didn't want to plant a "curse of misfortune" on his own tongue.
"At this time, Sunagakure should have begun research on the forbidden Human Puppet jutsu. Though it would have to be halted in a few years, it still provided crucial assistance to Sasori, the master of Human Puppets."
The spark of the Second Great Ninja War was Hanzo of the Rain Village declaring war on the three great nations.
The spark of the Third Great Ninja War was naturally Sasori's assassination of the Third Kazekage. Having lost his parents from a young age, Sasori felt the fragility and brevity of the human body, and regardless of the consequences, pursued the path of Human Puppets, even betraying his village.
"My Zombie Release should now have attracted the attention of Sunagakure's leadership. It's dangerous, but also an opportunity…" Kaede Tsukasa's eyes reflected the flickering flames.
An ANBU ninja appeared before him: "Genin Kaede Tsukasa, by order of Lord Sakumo, due to your outstanding battlefield performance, you have been exceptionally promoted to Chūnin. Proceed immediately to the central camp."
…
Chiyo lowered her head, staring at her severed arm, saying nothing.
"Sister, it's just one arm. With our village's technology, we can fully replace it with a prosthetic even better than your original arm," Ebizō comforted her.
Chiyo frowned and violently slammed her handkerchief into the potion before her. The bloodstains slowly spread in the porcelain basin.
"I'm not worried about my arm. I led the development of Human Puppets, so of course I know I can make a puppet arm for myself. I even designed what mechanisms to install and which type of jutsu to integrate."
Suddenly, Chiyo swept her sleeve, overturning the potion. "I'm regretting not using the opportunity of losing that arm to poison Sakumo! If I had injected deadly poison into my blood beforehand, just a few drops falling on that guy would have changed everything—I could have had a chance for revenge."
She was frustrated, hating herself for not being ruthless enough. She had the opportunity; failure could have even been another kind of victory—but she hadn't seized it.
Ebizō remained silent. He no longer knew how to deal with his increasingly bitter sister, and instead presented a report.
"Here's something you might be interested in. Kaede Tsukasa: sixteen years old, war orphan, genin, medical ninja."
On the paper Ebizō spread out were numerous question marks: "No kekkei genkai, no renowned master, yet he can fully utilize corpses—there's even a case where he used a corpse as a self-destruct device… It's said this jutsu is called Dead Soul Technique."
"Dead Soul Technique? What kind of Dead Soul Technique is that? He's still a genin. Maybe he spent many years perfecting it?"
Chiyo suddenly fell silent, frowning as she thought deeply. She knew what the true Dead Soul Technique looked like—but how could this be possible? How did Kaede Tsukasa accomplish it? She didn't see him using chakra threads to remotely control those corpses.
Genjutsu? That didn't fit either. How could one use genjutsu on the dead to make corpses move? No genjutsu could be so outrageous.
Ebizō said, "The puppeteer he summoned was also identified. Based on limited physical features, it should be someone from our village who was killed a month ago in a battle. Our people failed to destroy the corpse in time during the retreat, and Konoha took it as a war trophy."
Sunagakure's puppeteers were an advanced profession. Without exceptional talent, one couldn't even qualify to enter; they could only serve as ordinary ninjas.
This also meant that the total number of puppeteers in the entire ninja world was very limited, and those who had reached jonin-level were even rarer. A careful investigation could reveal the truth.
"Send the order: list Kaede Tsukasa as an S-rank mission target. Alive is preferable, but obtaining his Dead Soul Technique is acceptable too!"
Chiyo's voice was stern and severe: "I must obtain his jutsu. It's crucial for the village!"