Anyone who knew Kaede Tsukasa understood one thing: his body was weak.
Especially after the war against the Village Hidden in the Sand, when their elite squad tried to capture him, the news of Lord Kato publicly praising Kaede Tsukasa as a genius had already quietly spread among the ninja.
Those who hadn't fought alongside him were curious, seeking to understand the nature of this prodigy who had risen during the Second Great Ninja War.
Once they learned that he excelled at controlling the corpses of enemies in battle, this explosive secret technique left an unforgettable impression.
Had Kaede Tsukasa not gone into seclusion for five months of intense training, his fame would have far exceeded its current level.
But now, with Komatsu Fuji accompanying him on this mission, what did they discover?
Kaede Tsukasa's physical strength was astonishing—truly off the charts!
How could this be possible? How did he suddenly reach this level?
Komatsu Fuji observed Kaede Tsukasa closely from the rear flank. This was no disguise; he genuinely moved with ease, without a hint of fatigue.
Meanwhile, the three Root ninjas, accustomed to harsh training for years, were already exhausted. Without a brief rest, it would be difficult for them to perform at full capacity.
"Lord Kaede Tsukasa, it seems you've changed," Komatsu Fuji said proactively.
"Physically improved?"
"I mean… it seems you no longer deliberately hide your talents."
"Heh, that's true," Kaede Tsukasa replied ambiguously, then led the way, officially entering the Land of Rain.
From now on, they needed to be cautious. If spotted by Rain Village ninjas, things could become troublesome—they would have to kill any witnesses, or risk reinforcements being called in.
"Lord Kaede Tsukasa, the Land of Rain is small, but still vast for the four of us. Which direction do you plan to start searching from?" Komatsu Fuji asked.
"Which direction? Searching like that is too inefficient. I intend to finish this mission as quickly as possible, then return to training."
Kaede Tsukasa's arm slid, and the summoning scroll at his waist spun rapidly. He grabbed it mid-spin and flung it through the air. The scroll unrolled automatically, revealing densely inscribed kanji for "corpse."
"Of course, all directions must be covered… Summoning Technique!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The kanji "corpse" embossed on the scroll popped out one by one, releasing white smoke as twenty figures emerged silently, standing before Kaede Tsukasa.
Each wore a plastic mask.
"Hm, looks effective. I bought a bunch of decorative masks in the village these past few days; putting them on these servants gives them some style. At least I don't have to face their real faces," Kaede Tsukasa said with a smile.
"Twenty…"
Komatsu Fuji memorized the number. He realized Kaede Tsukasa's power had clearly increased—he had never previously controlled twenty corpses at once.
But the next second, he was even more shocked: Kaede Tsukasa summoned another twenty corpses.
Forty?
It had only been five short months. For most ninjas, that span wouldn't even be enough to master a single new high-level jutsu, and their chakra output wouldn't improve much.
Yet Kaede Tsukasa had reached an entirely higher level. His secret techniques were beginning to emerge, with the fangs of his Zombie Release making their first appearance in the Land of Rain.
"Disperse!"
The moment Kaede Tsukasa spoke, forty corpses moved simultaneously, rushing in all directions at high speed. Each knew exactly which area it should search.
Kaede Tsukasa hadn't given a single detailed command. This left the three Root ninjas deeply shaken. They racked their brains trying to figure out how he was achieving this, but it was beyond their understanding.
The value of the Zombie Release techniques was incalculable. Perhaps even Lord Danzo hadn't anticipated this, Komatsu Fuji thought.
He also noticed that Kaede Tsukasa could now dispatch corpses to execute commands over extremely long distances. This implied unimaginable changes in Kaede Tsukasa himself and demonstrated that his secret technique system had become more refined and unpredictable.
…
At the same time, about nine kilometers from Kaede Tsukasa, a house stood alone in a rain-soaked wilderness.
Jiraiya had just finished a day of teaching.
Compared to Konan and Yahiko, he focused far more on Nagato, always finding opportunities to give him extra guidance. Nagato's talent never failed to astonish him.
Born with mastery over all five chakra natures, able to quickly grasp jutsu of any type—just this alone would take ordinary ninjas a lifetime to achieve, and some might never reach that level.
The passive buff of a Rinnegan user was a ceiling ordinary ninjas could never touch in a lifetime. The disparity in talent was so cruelly apparent that it convinced Jiraiya even further: Nagato was indeed the prophesied child spoken of by the Great Toad Sage!
"Sensei, when Yahiko went out to buy supplies, people said the war is still ongoing. Konoha and Iwagakure are at a stalemate," Nagato said, walking with his head down. His raincoat barely kept the downpour from soaking his clothes.
The sheer volume of water vapor and the splashing raindrops was enough to drench him through.
But no one cared; no matter the weather, training could not be interrupted—it was their survival.
Nagato felt that Jiraiya wouldn't stay much longer. One of the Legendary Three Ninja couldn't remain hidden in the Land of Rain forever, teaching them in secret.
"War… Konoha has many problems, but its foundation is strong. As long as we don't make major mistakes, we can wait patiently for others to slip up," Jiraiya said, his expression complex. "Although this means more people will die as pawns in the battlefield… in this cruel world, it's unavoidable."
Jiraiya knew well that abandoning the war halfway, silent and unnoticed, was a cowardly act—but compared to teaching the prophesied child, the war seemed trivial.
He was confident he had done the right thing. This wasn't evasion; fighting in the war didn't prove responsibility. Choosing to guide Nagato required far greater courage.
It meant that without him, more allies would die in battle now, but this present suffering would prevent greater suffering in the future.
"You can do it, Nagato. If it's you, in the future…" Jiraiya looked at Nagato with immense hope in his heart.
"Sensei."
Nagato suddenly spoke, pointing in a direction. "Something's off. I sense several unusual chakras moving toward us."
"They shouldn't be Rain Village ninjas. Hanzo of the Salamander has closed the village to outsiders and avoids any form of war. Probably wandering ninjas again," Jiraiya said with some exasperation, preparing to intervene.
Nagato let out a surprised shout. "Strange… several more have appeared out of nowhere. They have very unusual chakra and are confronting those other people!"
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