War is a systematic endeavor—extremely tedious, leaving no room for luck. This means every detail must be understood thoroughly.
For Kaede Tsukasa, whose physical constitution was not exceptional, long periods on the battlefield drained his stamina and energy, making it an immense burden.
"I can't delay any longer. The life-preserving technique I've simulated countless times in my mind must be mastered soon. Much of my intelligence has already been exposed; many Hidden Sand ninja have probably heard of my abilities. Next time I engage, it will be difficult to maintain the upper hand in information."
Kaede Tsukasa sat among numerous corpses, some still oozing blood that had not yet fully congealed, marking the floor with the warmth of residual life.
Several corpse transporters looked at him with awe.
"Kaede Tsukasa—sir, are you selecting suitable bodies?"
"Of course. After such a perilous battle, the bodies he has stored are probably depleted; he urgently needs replenishment."
"I remember Kaede Tsukasa participating in the war against the Hidden Rain Village. He was doing exactly what we're doing now… Is this like returning to his original work? Heh, using the dead as weapons against the enemy—it's perfect."
"Fool, stop overanalyzing. Aren't we basically dissecting and decoding the intelligence on Kaede Tsukasa? That's extremely rude!"
The corpse transporters belonged to the frontline unit's logistics department and were rotated periodically.
A very few had encountered Kaede Tsukasa before and found it utterly surreal—he had effectively become a professional who dealt exclusively with corpses.
Hearing the faint murmurs, Kaede Tsukasa turned to glance at his adorable colleagues, a thin smile appearing on his lean face—a smile that others found terrifying.
It immediately triggered screams of horror; some even felt they were about to become corpses under Kaede Tsukasa's control.
"Before long, I'll probably become the protagonist of a widely told horror story… but that's harmless."
Kaede Tsukasa knew he could never be a bright, cheerful figure like Minato Namikaze.
No—more accurately, he was naturally immune to the sunny warmth of the Asura lineage, like Naruto, but might share qualities with the Indra lineage instead.
"Now, while there are no missions, I need to test a new jutsu: a corpse substitution combining summoning and substitution techniques."
Substitution is one of the lowest-tier D-rank jutsus—so simple that even students below genin rank can learn it. The ultimate substitution technique, of course, is Madara's Rinne Shadow Replacement. That unreasonable technique replaces the body with shadows to absorb damage, which can also be considered a type of space-time technique.
Kaede Tsukasa could perform standard substitution techniques, but replacing the wooden stakes used with his controlled zombies, combined with summoning principles, would require some time to develop.
Ideally, using his connection with the zombies, he could instantly swap places with them, both retaining combat capability, and after substitution, launch a sudden attack on enemies.
"To me, zombies are simply a type of ninja tool—a movable dead object that can be sealed into scrolls. Treating my zombies as wooden stakes for substitution summoning should theoretically work…"
The only difficulty is that wooden stakes remain stationary, while zombies are mobile. This means chakra flows continuously through the zombies, constantly changing, greatly increasing the difficulty of the swap.
"If someone else tried this, it would definitely fail. But for me—having mastered Zombie Release and spent years rationing my chakra as if splitting it in two—precisely sensing a zombie's chakra state is like controlling my own limbs. The only difference is how much effort it consumes."
Kaede Tsukasa valued this jutsu immensely. Once perfected, it would mean he had mastered another space-time technique besides summoning—a sort of castrated version of the Heavenly Hand Technique.
The Heavenly Hand Technique allows direct spatial exchange. Simply put, you see a place and can instantly teleport there, making close-range combat even more devastating than the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"If I can continually perfect the corpse substitution, and at the same time acquire a native body with enough usable chakra… perhaps I could also be considered a ninja skilled in space-time techniques. I could store numerous zombies in coffins, bury them throughout the ninja world, and use them as spatial coordinates, similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique…"
Kaede Tsukasa kept thinking, sparks of inspiration constantly igniting in his mind. His chakra was utilized with extreme efficiency; he wished he could split every ounce and apply it perfectly to developing jutsu.
He reaffirmed that the potential of Zombie Release was immense; it was simply constrained too much to be fully realized.
Five days passed in a blur. During this time, neither Konoha nor the Hidden Sand erupted into new battles. Aside from minor skirmishes between patrol squads, both sides seemed unusually quiet, as if waiting for something.
Konoha was waiting for Tsunade—but what about the Hidden Sand?
Kaede Tsukasa didn't assume they were merely lying in wait for him; perhaps they were plotting some dangerous offensive.
On the sixth day, Kaede Tsukasa received a mission requiring him to leave the camp.
"Hm… this secret mission was issued by Aburame Ryōma, and it's reached an A-rank… he's on this battlefield too?"
Kaede Tsukasa stepped out of the main camp, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Since being promoted to chunin, the only change had been the ability to carry out small-team missions, meaning he now faced greater risks in this perilous battlefield.
As a genin, he would have mostly stayed with the main force, tending to wounded retreating from the front lines.
"My medical jutsu is mediocre at best; Ryōma must know that. But since I was specifically assigned, either he wants to observe me, or there's some element of this mission related to me."
Could it be Nono Yakushi?
Kaede Tsukasa was far too familiar with Root's manipulative style and immediately scrutinized his teammates.
The squad had five members, with the captain being an elite jonin named Terai.
At the mention of this name, Kaede Tsukasa knew exactly who he was—the Root ninja who had once attempted to assassinate the Third Hokage in the original story.
Apart from him and Morino Isuke, the last two team members exuded a "stay away" attitude; it was obvious they were also from Root.
"This mission will be troublesome. If it weren't, Root wouldn't be involved," Kaede Tsukasa muttered, shaking his head without hiding his thoughts.
"The mission is to support our own ninja, yet no target specifications were given? Does the captain intend to explain during the mission?"
Terai's face was cold, emotionless. "Your mind is sharp. No wonder Lord Ryōma specifically chose you. Our job is to ensure the safe return of a comrade carrying precious intelligence."
Kaede Tsukasa could be certain of one thing: if the battle turned against them and the squad fell into danger, Terai would not hesitate to sacrifice all members—and if necessary, himself—to ensure the intelligence was delivered.
That was Root's style.