This was Kaede Tsukasa's first time reporting to the highest leadership.
For an ordinary ninja, such an opportunity would mean standing out among tens of thousands—a cause for ancestral graves to smoke and a sensation throughout the clan.
But for Kaede Tsukasa, his ancestors' graves weren't in this world. As he continued to grow stronger, and since this mission involved the sensitive figure Jiraiya, personally reporting on the mission was inevitable.
He was actually quite willing to help the world's ninjas "dig up their ancestral graves" and check if their forebears were still at peace—just to ask aloud.
Danzo continued, "You were the squad leader, leading three subordinates to the Land of Rain. Why did only you return?"
"Lord Danzo, I thought you wouldn't ask such a sensitive question… I didn't restrain their actions. Perhaps they were discovered and executed by Rain Village ninjas," Kaede Tsukasa replied.
"Danzo, you sent Root on extra missions again. I clearly warned you," the Third Hokage said, exhaling smoke. "Since that's the case, you won't be responsible for research on the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai. Hand those explosive corpses over to Kaede Tsukasa—the village needs his strength."
The Third Hokage delivered a mild reprimand. In reality, everyone knew such words carried little authority. Even if Danzo disregarded them, the Hokage wouldn't truly intervene.
It was more a reminder and a warning. The Third Hokage often monitored Konoha through the crystal ball technique and, of course, was aware of the communications between Root and Kaede Tsukasa. Over the past five months, countless corpses had entered the disposal site without result, which spoke volumes.
Danzo said nothing. He had preemptively addressed the issue before the Hokage pressed further. He didn't care about the fate of the three ANBU—his displeasure was solely because Kaede Tsukasa acted independently.
This left Danzo still unable to obtain Kaede Tsukasa's secret technique information. At most, he could guess that Kaede Tsukasa had grown dramatically stronger, but to what extent remained unknown.
"The Land of Rain… Jiraiya refuses to return. My subordinates were killed by Kaede Tsukasa. These two also made contact and spoke, perhaps reaching some consensus. That country seems to be undergoing some strange changes. I'll need to secretly contact Salamander Hanzo," Danzo thought quickly.
He had long intended to do so. With the Third Hokage's influence increasing, his actions faced more restrictions. His ambition would not allow him to remain the Hokage's white glove forever.
"I need to prepare more measures and not be constrained by Hiruzen. Once the war ends, Orochimaru should acquire plenty of useful corpses… Sharingan…"
Danzo recalled that incredible forbidden ocular jutsu, feeling a surge of excitement.
With enough Sharingan, he could master it and gain multiple resurrection abilities at once!
At that time, Kaede Tsukasa's Zombie Release secret technique would be nothing—manipulating corpses? Mere child's play. Danzo could "resurrect" multiple times, effectively carrying resurrection ability on him!
Danzo could only guess that Kaede Tsukasa had grown stronger, but he could not foresee Kaede Tsukasa mastering the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu and skyrocketing in power. He could no longer truly judge Kaede Tsukasa's level.
Finally, the Third Hokage concluded the audience, gave Kaede Tsukasa a few words of encouragement, and awarded 1.2 million ryō.
'Perfect. When I fought Madara, I used the Hundred Crying Bones to destroy over a hundred zombies. I urgently need a new batch of ninja tools,' Kaede Tsukasa thought.
Walking out of the Hokage building, he knew that money had strong purchasing power at this time; 1.2 million ryō could buy plenty of tools.
The Uchiha war fan he obtained from Madara was also a divine artifact, though he couldn't use it casually. For now, it would just sit in his tool scroll.
Kaede Tsukasa didn't hurry to leave. Instead, he slowed his pace, waiting for Danzo to emerge.
"Lord Danzo, thank you for covering for me just now."
"You're insolent. Letting the subordinates I assigned to you die—this is your way of repaying me? I could easily arrest you for betraying the village," Danzo said coldly.
"I don't know how much you've grown in these five months, but understand this: what you possess now could be taken at any moment."
"Lord Danzo, it was those three who went too far, trying to spy on my secret technique. I left them behind and acted alone. My secret technique system doesn't require them anyway."
"Hmph. Hiruzen didn't punish you because you truly made contact with Jiraiya and did what needed to be done. He also knows you weakened Root."
Danzo sneered. He treated his subordinates as tools, but if someone took and ruined his tools, that was an entirely different matter.
The two walked slowly, one after the other, until they had put some distance between them.
Kaede Tsukasa said, "In fact, I've mastered a new forbidden technique that can transfer the life force from corpses to living people."
Danzo's eyes widened. Even he had been momentarily stunned the first time he heard of such a forbidden technique.
What kind of god-defying jutsu is this? It sounded even more absurd than Izanagi. Transfer life force from the dead to the living? That's basically giving a living person life force out of thin air!
Life force represents health, lifespan, chakra, strength, and potential!
"What's the success rate? How efficient is the transfer?" Danzo didn't ask the foolish question of whether it was true or not. He went straight to the critical point.
"The success rate is okay, but the transfer efficiency is extremely low. Corpses are already dead; the remaining life force isn't much," Kaede Tsukasa said.
"And the living? Can you directly perform the technique on a living person?"
"Not yet. I can't perfectly control a living body, let alone extract its life force. The process is extremely difficult, with many details—one small mistake and it fails," Kaede Tsukasa said, lying through his eyes wide open.
Danzo's excitement surged. "So this is the bargaining chip you used to trade those three lives with me? Did you use my three subordinates as subjects, and because it failed, you were so certain?"
It was easy to guess. During Kaede Tsukasa's five months of intense training, the only things he could experiment with were corpses—he hadn't killed a single living person.
Only by performing the technique on a living person would he know the outcome. Combine that with the reality of the three missing ANBU…
"Think what you will. No matter how I explain it, you wouldn't believe me. Instead, I might as well show you my abilities. For example, I can increase your life force, keep your body healthy, and stop aging," Kaede Tsukasa said.
This struck directly at Danzo's core weakness.
Danzo was already in his fifties! For a ninja to live past fifty meant something very clear: even proud Danzo could not tolerate the reality of weakening with age.
But if Kaede Tsukasa could perform this technique on him, that situation could change.
Kaede Tsukasa continued, "The reason I'm telling you about this secret technique is that sooner or later, I will publicly use it. Some people will inevitably witness it. Rather than being criticized later, I might as well tell you directly. Of course, Lord Danzo, if you develop inappropriate thoughts, I cannot predict what might happen in the future."
Of course, this was an excuse. If he really wanted to restore life force, he could simply use the Void Technique to fly somewhere secluded, replenish himself, and return.
His true goal was the next major objective—replacing his body.
The process was complicated, and having White Zetsu cells or a Hashirama clone wasn't nearly enough.