Not only had the Third Hokage not expected this—Danzō hadn't either.
"Among the war orphans taken in from towns across the Land of Fire, someone like this could emerge? A talent completely unlike any other?" The Third Hokage held his pipe, studying the data card in his hands with great interest.
The card listed Kaede Tsukasa's various abilities, rated from D to B, and included a written summary of his growth and experiences.
Born a war orphan, with a clean record and high loyalty.
"Unbelievable… I never expected this. Truly an unexpected delight."
"His body is too weak. His taijutsu and chakra reserves are the lowest, D-rank," Danzō glanced at the card and said.
"Don't be too harsh on a young person. He's only sixteen. From a certain perspective, the fact that someone with such a frail body can use the Dead Soul Technique to develop what appears to be a space-time jutsu speaks volumes about his potential. Who could have guessed he'd show such talent at this age? No one ever noticed his potential before."
The Third Hokage was pleased. Another unplanned talent, and one who had caused extra losses to Sand Village, effectively increasing Konoha's advantage.
This kind of mutual attrition suited the Third Hokage's strategic mindset perfectly.
Danzō slowly closed his eyes, committing Kaede Tsukasa's name to memory.
"Ryōma made a mistake… he didn't filter him out from that batch of war orphans back then."
Some time ago, while reviewing Root intelligence, Danzō had seen mention of Kaede Tsukasa in Ryōma Aburame's reports. But he was only a pawn used to coerce Nono; the notes on him were cursory at best.
A war orphan who played with corpses—ordinarily, not worth much attention.
Yet, in such a short time, who would have expected Kaede Tsukasa to display such astonishing performance? For a newly promoted Chūnin to participate in an A-rank mission, achieve outstanding results, and ensure the team's success—that was extremely rare.
"The Dead Soul Technique… according to Terai's report, Medic Nono apparently hadn't mastered this unique Dead Soul Technique. In other words, Kaede Tsukasa has superior talent for developing techniques with corpses…"
Especially the jutsu of forming seals alongside a corpse and swapping positions—a breakthrough that defied conventional understanding. Danzō had seen many jutsu, but never imagined one could operate like this.
Mutual summoning? Perhaps, but besides Kaede Tsukasa, who else could simultaneously swap positions with their summoned entities using mutual summoning?
No one. Completely no one. In recorded history across the ninja world, only Kaede Tsukasa had done it.
Chakra resonance? Mental link? Corpses fitted with special devices?
Danzō considered several possibilities, searching for ways to extract benefit from Kaede Tsukasa. He realized that someone so skilled in studying corpses could be invaluable for his various forbidden research projects.
If Ryōma Aburame hadn't erred, and Kaede Tsukasa had been brought into Root early… at the very least, his strength wouldn't be limited to what it is now. With proper cultivation, his increasingly perfected Dead Soul Technique system would only grow more powerful.
The Third Hokage sighed: "It's a pity. Such talent, yet losing two fingers—his ninjutsu development will be affected."
"That doesn't matter. He can make corpses exert part of their living strength. As long as corpses without research value are given to him for waste utilization, it's fine. What's unknown is the upper limit of his technique. If Root could acquire it, further development could be pursued."
"Danzō, you must not use coercion against the village's comrades. Coveting subordinate ninjutsu should have no place in Konoha," the Third Hokage warned him with a glance.
"He is Ryōma Aburame's subordinate. I will promote him to head of the Corpse Handling Division. As a Chūnin, he has dealt with corpses since serving Konoha—someone like him is perfectly suited for this role," Danzō replied.
"Let's wait until the war with Sand is over," the Third Hokage said.
"His strength is not high; the enemy will surely notice him," Danzō added.
"Danzō, I am the Hokage. I know how to utilize his talents," the Third Hokage asserted.
After a brief discussion, they finalized Kaede Tsukasa's assignment.
Danzō then pondered another matter.
If Kaede Tsukasa's Dead Soul Technique could be further developed—allowing corpses to more fully exert their pre-death strength—the technique's value would be immense. In some ways, it resembled that forbidden jutsu.
"Orochimaru has earned considerable merits during the war. He's always been interested in the Reanimation Technique… if…"
Danzō's thoughts burned with intensity.
"Tsunade has already arrived at the frontlines. Soon, we will end the war with Sand Village," the Third Hokage said, deeply satisfied. He had led the village to victory in the first war, and step by step, he would win the second. Under his leadership, Konoha would continue to triumph.
Danzō sneered coldly. "Aren't you going to ask what exactly she is doing? Orochimaru has been active on the battlefield in Iwagakure for a long time, yet Tsunade and Jiraiya are both completely lax, ignoring the village's orders entirely!"
Tsunade's deviation could be somewhat understood. Having lost her beloved brother, and with the war not yet fully expanded, it was tolerable for her to undertake some actions without village permission.
At the very least, she had established medical units, indirectly saving many ninja lives. These achievements could not be erased. Even if Tsunade rarely went to the frontlines, it was understandable.
But Jiraiya's behavior was outrageous—teaching children in the Land of Rain? Absurd and irrational.
Perhaps half of his brain had been damaged by Hanzō.
…
Many Konoha ninjas saw Tsunade entering the main camp—perhaps a deliberate display to announce her return.
"Hey, could that really be Lady Tsunade? And is that Kato Dan beside her?"
"Whistle… they're back from their mission?"
"This is great! Now the Sand Village fools won't be so arrogant. Victory is ours!"
Every Konoha ninja was ecstatic. Many rushed to watch Tsunade, cheering loudly.
Who didn't know Lady Tsunade was Konoha's strongest medical ninja? With her here, Sand Village's poison would no longer be a problem!
"Tsunade's back? And she's at the peak of her abilities right now."
Kaede Tsukasa also stepped out, blending into the crowd as he observed Tsunade. He saw the corners of her mouth curve into a smile—a confident sign that victory was near.
No surprises were expected. The decisive battle with Sand Village was imminent, and Konoha would ultimately claim victory.
No one really knew why Tsunade had returned at this moment, but no one stood up to question it.
Kaede Tsukasa withdrew his gaze. Even standing quietly in the crowd, a few people occasionally recognized him and approached to exchange a few words.
"Eh, why are you wearing a mask?"
"Ah, it's nothing. A recent mission took a lot out of me…"
"I heard! You brought back valuable intelligence on Sand Village. And with Lady Tsunade here at the frontlines, we'll be returning to the village soon, right? We need to really teach the Sand Village fools a lesson!"
Kaede Tsukasa's reputation was gradually spreading. After all, his Dead Soul Technique had pioneered a completely new approach—no one had ever thought it possible before.
The Dead Soul Technique had already become Kaede Tsukasa's signature jutsu.
As he conversed with both familiar and unfamiliar faces, he contemplated his next actions.
With the Corpse Substitute technique, his personal safety had increased dramatically. As long as he didn't run into consecutive dangers, he could instantly swap positions to areas with more Konoha ninjas, relying on allies to protect him.
Unconsciously, his technique began to carry a hint of "Limbo"
Madara's Limbo wasn't simply an overpowered trick. The multiple shadows he created essentially acted as several duplicates of himself, exponentially increasing his strength.
Moreover, the shadows could perfectly swap with his main body in an instant, making it a top-tier space-time substitution jutsu—virtually flawless.
Naruto could hold him off with multiple Shadow Clones, not just because of the protagonist's aura, but because he had too many external enhancements.
Sasuke was simpler; he only had to consider how to use the Rinnegan given to him by the Sage of Six Paths.
"If I can break free from the restrictions of low chakra and use this jutsu multiple times, I could barely count as a ninja mastering space-time techniques. Then, this new systematic jutsu deserves a brand-new name: Corpse Release: Void."