Tsunade didn't actually study the zombies in detail. She understood enough not to pry into the secrets of Kaede Tsukasa's jutsu.
This left a very favorable impression of her on Kaede Tsukasa. Of course, it probably also helped that he had been open enough to summon a zombie voluntarily.
"Araki of the Sandstorm's body is in your hands, right? How long do you think it will take to make him combat-ready? How much of his original strength can be retained?"
"That's hard to say. This is my first time handling a body of this level. Just the conversion alone would take a few days. As for strength… conservatively, over fifty percent could be preserved."
In reality, it could probably be over eighty percent. After all, Araki of the Sandstorm wasn't obtained long after death—he was infected while alive and partially transformed before dying.
This allowed Kaede Tsukasa to retain the maximum pre-death abilities, making him the kind of zombie Kaede Tsukasa preferred.
The reason the full pre-death strength couldn't be perfectly utilized was that Kaede Tsukasa needed time to fully convert the body into a zombie. During this process, vitality inevitably dropped.
It was unavoidable. Without enough chakra to accelerate the conversion, he could only advance it little by little.
"I see. Your secret jutsu is even more impressive than I imagined—you can utilize even elite jōnin corpses."
Tsunade was deeply moved. If he could already make use of elite jōnin, perhaps with further development, he could handle bodies at the Kage level?
Combined with the space-time complementary ninjutsu… indeed, this entirely new secret jutsu system was extremely frightening, with enormous potential.
Fortunately, Kaede Tsukasa was a Konoha ninja!
The only drawback was his body's severe deficiencies—too few cells. Even mastering chakra stimulation techniques to boost cell activity and generate more chakra would have a very limited upper bound.
At that moment, Kaede Tsukasa suddenly said, "Lord Tsunade, I would also like to learn the technique to accelerate cell division. You must have it, right? I'd like to exchange battle merits for it."
"Of course we do. It's one of the B-rank medical ninjutsu, but the village rarely teaches it to you. Do you know why?" Tsunade's expression grew serious.
"I can guess… Accelerating cell division can rapidly heal injuries and produce more chakra, but it shortens one's lifespan."
Kaede Tsukasa smiled. "But you've seen my condition. I have excellent secret jutsu but not enough chakra to fully utilize them. Who knows? I might die on the battlefield one day, without even a future."
Tsunade was silent for a moment. She summoned a stack of scrolls, carefully selecting one, then removed the sealing jutsu on it and handed it to Kaede Tsukasa.
"Since you've already decided, I won't say much. I hope this jutsu helps you go further."
Tsunade knew he was right. Shortened lifespan? That was hardly a flaw. In this chaotic world, who could guarantee they'd live to die naturally?
Kaede Tsukasa walked out of Tsunade's tent satisfied, taking a deep breath.
Another valuable supplemental technique was now in his possession, useful whether applied to zombies or himself.
Still, it was just a supplement. Even if he mastered the jutsu, his physical strength remained limited—he could never match someone like Kabuto Yakushi.
Kabuto could endure Naruto's Rasengan with his body alone, and even without forming hand seals or performing jutsu, his abdominal injuries could visibly heal—the ability to accelerate cell division was constant for him.
For Kaede Tsukasa, the active medical ninjutsu he had developed would be only a passive buff if placed in Kabuto's position.
Even Kabuto Yakushi aside, let alone the Uzumaki or Senju clans, their abundant vitality allowed them to heal at an incredible rate even without doing anything.
"I still have to rely on the Zombie Release… I hope Akasuna no Sasori doesn't disappoint me." Kaede Tsukasa pinned high hopes on Sasori. If even Sasori couldn't manage it, his plan would become far more complicated, requiring alternative methods to achieve his goals.
He might even have to abandon the Zombie Release path temporarily, relying on accelerated cell division and chakra stimulation techniques to get by for the time being.
Another half month passed, and the situation fully stabilized. People began to relax more and more.
Some ninja would move out in small teams, either to capture scattered Sand Village survivors or to transport supplies.
There was also a special case: locating and protecting Sand Village squads en route to Konoha for negotiations.
Kaede Tsukasa, however, no longer undertook missions. To outsiders, he appeared extremely diligent in his training—either selecting corpses or studying the ninjutsu he had received from Tsunade.
Occasionally, he would leave the tent to practice in more secluded areas. This was normal; the Sand Village had been defeated, and Konoha was in the midst of negotiation procedures. No one now strictly restricted each ninja's personal actions like before.
Kaede Tsukasa continually dispatched zombies to roam the vast Konoha forests, leaving seemingly normal marks on tree trunks and rocks.
Each mark was carefully crafted according to the codes in the secret notebook left by Akasuna no Sasori, conveying different messages.
Six consecutive days passed. When Kaede Tsukasa discovered new, unusual marks on the back of a rock, he immediately knew Sasori had arrived.
"Cautious, as always… another puppet?" Kaede Tsukasa examined the puppet before him, deploying nearby scattered zombies to try to locate Sasori's true body.
"You're not bad yourself. Looks like your strength has improved over this time; every corpse acts as your informant," Sasori said. "Don't waste your effort. My true body isn't nearby. The puppet you're dealing with is just a decoy."
"Be careful not to be spotted by the patrols—Konoha has many excellent sensory ninja."
"Even if they spot me, it doesn't matter. The war is over, peace negotiations are ongoing, and in principle, both sides should cease hostilities. This is also a way to protect retreating personnel."
Sasori said coldly, "Even if I were truly discovered, the worst that could happen is expulsion. Apart from you, no one could know my real identity. Compared to me, you're bolder. So… have you already prepared to defect from the village?"
Trading secretly with Sand Village ninja, and for highly sensitive ninjutsu no less, was an unforgivable act of recklessness—even in Konoha.
Sasori didn't take the Sand Village seriously. He believed Kaede Tsukasa, as a fellow traveler on the path of eternity, felt the same way—not particularly loyal to Konoha either.
"I have space-time ninjutsu. I can retreat anytime. You don't need to worry about that. So, is the dead soul technique ready?"
Kaede Tsukasa placed the scroll on the ground. "Let's trade a portion first. I'll offer my space-time ninjutsu—Void—as the bargaining chip."
"You're sincere."
Sasori's puppet produced a scroll as well. Despite his intuition warning that things shouldn't go so smoothly, he didn't know where the problem lay.