Sometimes, in battle, it's better to avoid grand narratives and simply pile on details, gradually steering the situation in your favor.
That was the case now. Two Root ninjas had sacrificed themselves. Even if each only bought tens of seconds to a few minutes, even if they merely slowed down the pursuers slightly, it was immensely useful.
When Araki of the Sandstorm killed Tora and watched him ignite the explosive tags on his body, detonating himself, the sudden act sent his blood pressure soaring.
"The two dead guys must have been Konoha's Anbu. I don't remember Konoha Anbu ever having this kind of tactic—why now are they just blowing themselves up with explosive tags?"
Araki was furious. That explosion had cost them precious seconds! Two ordinary Anbu Jonin—what use would their intact bodies have been? At most, they might serve as research material for Sand Village to study puppets. Nothing of real value would come of it!
Yet they self-destructed while still alive… Araki suspected it wasn't just to prevent Sand Village from retrieving their bodies, but also to keep Kaede Tsukasa from getting them.
When Araki caught up with the Konoha shinobi again and easily completed the encirclement, he realized something was off.
"Be careful. They might have explosive tags inside their bodies."
A puppeteer threw out chakra threads, remotely controlling the corpses. Seeing the stitched wounds at the necks, they realized they had been deceived.
"Transforming corpses to resemble specific people in life and then controlling them… this is the original effect of Konoha's Dead Soul Technique."
"So… we've been played again?"
"I think so. We don't know how many batches of these corpses Kaede Tsukasa has modified. If there's a second or third batch, we're out of chances. This place is less than three kilometers from the Land of Fire—there's no time left."
Araki frowned. Whether reclaiming intelligence or capturing Kaede Tsukasa, neither objective had been achieved.
At that moment, several corpses began to sizzle. In the eyes of the Sand ninjas, a "just as expected" expression appeared before the corpses exploded.
Blood and flesh rained down like a fine drizzle, falling with a dense, staccato patter onto the Sand ninjas.
Some of the ninjas grimaced, brushing off the fragments with disgust.
Araki, more cautious, noticed pieces landing on his wounds. He frowned, flicked them away with his fingers, and commanded: "Do not touch any of these remains. The enemy may have poisoned them in advance. Everyone, continue the pursuit—never give up until the very end. This is what Sand Village ninjas are supposed to do!"
The group resumed the chase but was distracted again by another batch of altered zombies. They could no longer intercept the Konoha team, and in the end, they had to watch helplessly as Terai led them into the Konoha forest.
Continuing the pursuit would only increase the chance of an ambush by Konoha ninjas, costing even more personnel.
Kaede Tsukasa seemed to hear the whistling of the sandstorm but didn't bother to look back. He patiently waited as medic Nono healed the injuries on his hands.
"Losing two fingers will affect your hand seals," Nono said, wiping sweat from her forehead. Her own chakra, already low, was completely exhausted, her expression complicated.
For a young ninja who had just begun to rise in fame, being unable to perform hand seals was a heavy blow—it meant his potential was capped, and many ninjutsu were now out of reach.
As for using feet or eyeballs to form seals… that was a technique only Kage-level elites could develop. It was too obscure, and no one believed Kaede Tsukasa could manage it, so it wasn't even considered.
Terai and Morino Isuke both observed Kaede Tsukasa's expression.
Kaede Tsukasa's face remained calm: "Exchanging two fingers to save your life, Director, and to recover the valuable intelligence you obtained… it was more than worth it. If I had a choice, I'd rather lose all my fingers to provide even greater help to the village."
The words were flawless—especially coming from someone who had actually lost fingers and seen their potential plummet. There was no despair, no emotional breakdown; instead, he spoke with a calmness that moved people.
At the very least, medic Nono believed him. Though she came from Root, she had abundant emotion—a rare trait.
Terai's voice softened slightly. "When we submit the mission report, I'll truthfully convey your performance to the village. Without you, we couldn't have completed this mission so smoothly. The credit is yours."
"No, this is all thanks to you, Terai-sama, and everyone else—"
"Whether you're humble or arrogant makes no difference to me. I'm simply doing what I need to do, not negotiating with you," Terai interrupted.
Kaede Tsukasa nodded, then reached out and cut open the belly of a nearby zombie, retrieving the intelligence. This particular corpse had already been severely damaged during the long pursuit; aside from using it as a bomb to eliminate enemies, it was otherwise useless.
That's the advantage of zombies: they can work beyond normal limits, temporarily performing at or above their living capabilities, until they are no longer functional.
Terai took the intelligence, immediately formed hand seals, and used Body Flicker to depart.
Morino Isuke looked at Kaede Tsukasa. "If we all survive this war, you might have a chance to become head of the Corpse Handling Division."
"No, I'm just a Chūnin…"
"There's often no real difference between a Chūnin and a Special Jonin," Morino Isuke shook his head. "You know that. Besides, I've gained considerable merit too, and will continue to do so. Once we return to the village, I can't go back to my old post."
The Corpse Handling Division was a third-rate department, handling only worthless corpses—rarely even a bloodline body.
But if Kaede Tsukasa led it, with his unique Dead Soul Technique, he could maximize the department's potential.
Everyone knew that Kaede Tsukasa had earned immense credit for the successful completion of this A-rank mission. He was bound to receive recognition from the village.
The team was disbanded.
Medic Nono did not leave immediately. She kept scrutinizing the thin, fragile-looking youth before her, someone who seemed as if a gust of wind could topple him.
Honestly, she hadn't paid much attention to Kaede Tsukasa before. After she had taken over work related to war orphans for six months, Kaede Tsukasa had already left the orphanage on village missions. In that half-year, they had exchanged fewer than ten words.
Kaede Tsukasa always avoided others, giving off an impression of extreme solitude and detachment. His sickly appearance further reinforced the sense that outsiders should keep their distance.
"But I should remind you: your techniques manipulate corpses. You will never become a war hero cheered by everyone."
Nono couldn't help but feel some pity; it sounded cruel. "It seems you've even developed a displacement… space-time technique through the Dead Soul Technique? That's remarkable. You're walking your own path, continually constructing your own ninjutsu system…"
Her words faltered as she looked at Kaede Tsukasa's hands, missing two fingers, leaving her speechless. Perhaps, with intact fingers, he might have advanced further, expanding the Dead Soul Technique with new ninjutsu—but now it would be extremely difficult.
With limited ability to form hand seals, some seals might never be possible—how could he develop new complementary techniques?