If the fight dragged on, Kaede Tsukasa felt his situation would become very dangerous. He began sensing the nearby zombies, preparing to use the Void Technique for long-distance teleportation, then defect if necessary.
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. It might not come to that, but when the moment came, he couldn't afford to be unprepared.
There was no helping it—the Root ninja formation was simply too complete. Just the few who had made their moves already left him strained, and there was still one Root ninja who hadn't acted from beginning to end, yet had already finished weaving signs, ready to strike at any moment.
Kaede Tsukasa recognized it—that was the Mind Transfer Technique. The man was waiting to seize his consciousness but hadn't used it yet.
That alone was enough for Kaede Tsukasa to glean some useful information.
"Lord Danzō, this test is truly too dangerous. I almost resorted to the Void Technique and rushed straight to the Hokage Building to report this." Kaede Tsukasa sighed helplessly, raising his hand to call back Araki of the Sandstorm.
"Going to the Hokage Building would do you no good. The village is full of those willing to serve me. If I will it, you'd have no chance."
Danzō never imagined Kaede Tsukasa would even consider defection, much less know that his loyalty to Konoha was extremely fragile.
"No, you misunderstand me. What I mean is, I'd run far away first, then detonate everything here, wiping it all clean… The art of self-destruction may last only an instant, but when used properly, it truly has a unique charm."
Kaede Tsukasa pressed one hand to the ground. From the surrounding graveyard came faint, scattered noises, unnerving and sinister beneath the night sky—far more chilling than the battle on the surface.
A flicker of unease crossed Terai's eyes. "You… you've been controlling so many corpses without us even noticing? When did you do this? Don't tell me you predicted tonight's events and prepared long in advance?"
He didn't accuse Kaede Tsukasa of being reckless. Controlling so many buried bodies at once was blatant desecration against the will of the village. But the fact that they had all ganged up on Kaede Tsukasa violated the Will of Fire even more severely.
"Captain Terai, I've never mastered the art of prophecy. This was merely a desperate means of self-preservation. Who would've thought you would side with Lord Danzō and strike against me?"
Kaede Tsukasa stood, and all the disturbances beneath the gravestones instantly vanished. "To be honest, I was surprised when I sensed your presence earlier too."
By saying this, he indirectly admitted he had sensory abilities—though in truth, what he sensed was the faint trace of virus in Terai's body.
Terai turned to Danzō. "Lord Danzō, we can continue. He doesn't have the wealth to buy enough explosive tags, and it's unlikely he's implanted the limited ones he has into so many corpses. Performing such extensive surgery couldn't have gone unnoticed."
"No need," Danzō said.
Kaede Tsukasa let out a show of relief. "So it seems you've decided to give me a chance after all."
"Hmph. Your secret techniques indeed have great potential. To bring out the power of that Sand ninja to this degree… you've surpassed even my expectations."
Since he hadn't been able to capture Kaede Tsukasa in time, Danzō no longer wished to waste energy. Tsukasa had already demonstrated sufficient strength and potential—especially in evasion and maneuvering. So Danzō shifted from attempting to capture him to drawing him in.
Yes—if Kaede Tsukasa could have been controlled by force, Danzō wouldn't have bothered with persuasion.
He wasn't looking for disciples. He was gathering tools to strengthen his faction's overall power—and he had no interest in wasting time on troublesome matters.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll get the corpses you want. Whether in quantity or quality, I'll see to it you're satisfied. No matter who asks about tonight, you'll say you were conducting a standard ninjutsu experiment. Root will cover for you as well. You're a war orphan—if you didn't have a brain, you wouldn't have survived this long. I'm sure you know what to do."
"That's no problem, of course. But, Lord Danzō, my instincts tell me—if I don't quickly find some way to repay your kindness, I'll pay a far more painful price in the future."
"You're teaching me how to act?"
Danzō snorted coldly, then said, "When the time comes, and you're needed, I'll order you to carry out missions. In this village, only under my command can your talents truly be put to use. If you plod along like the other shinobi, you'll never get the chance to study the remains of a great ninja."
With that, Danzō left with his men, leaving behind a scene of devastation.
Kaede Tsukasa remained where he was, waiting for villagers to arrive and investigate.
"Truly dangerous… That man Danzō, from the very start, he definitely meant to control me, not recruit me. If I hadn't prepared in advance, I would've been completely cornered."
In fact, Kaede Tsukasa had considered what might happen if Danzō captured him, branded his tongue with the Cursed Seal of Absolute Control, and forced him into service.
It would give him higher clearance, allowing him access to all kinds of forbidden experiments, and an easier path to acquiring a powerful body perfectly compatible with his own. As long as he could replace his current body with a new one, he could naturally rid himself of the sealing technique.
But accomplishing this under Danzō's watchful eye would be very difficult. He couldn't count on Orochimaru to help him either—that was far too reckless. Orochimaru was even more dangerous than Danzō.
After much thought, Kaede Tsukasa decided he must safeguard his own freedom. This time, he had been lucky enough to force Danzō back using suicidal corpse explosions and the Void Technique—but he couldn't rely on that every time.
"In the end, what I need is more corpses to speed up my training efficiency… This period is the hardest part. Once I get past it, the skies will truly open wide."
Even if Danzō wanted to move against him later, by then, it wouldn't be so certain who would strike at whom.
"At the very least, I won't become another Uchiha Shisui… No, rather, I'll make sure Uchiha Shisui doesn't become another me."
One day, Shisui would have to properly repay him for his immense favor.
Not long after, the first to arrive were the ANBU, followed by the Uchiha Police Force, then Konoha patrol squads, who rushed to seal off the area and detain the only suspicious figure—Kaede Tsukasa.
But before they could act, Root ninja appeared, forcefully blocking them. They declared this was under Lord Danzō's orders, that corpse handling fell under the jurisdiction of the Intelligence Division, and that Root and the Medical Department were conducting official tasks. Non-affiliated units were forbidden from interfering.
"You've got to be kidding! There was clearly a battle here—what kind of 'experiment' makes this kind of mess! We of the Uchiha Police Force won't just accept Root's word for it!"
"Then take it up with Lord Danzō. See what he has to say."
The Root ninja replied coldly, "Captain of the Eighth Uchiha Division, your hand is reaching too far."
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