chapter 77 part 5
Long-range sensory perception, solo infiltration, and when it's time to act, unrolling a Summoning Scroll to instantly pull out an entire army for a surprise attack, scattering the enemy in chaos...
With such a Perfect Ninja, what did it matter if he himself could only ever be an Elite Jonin? As long as the corpses he commanded and the army he led contained powerful individuals, that was enough. Even if Tsukasa Kaede couldn't perfectly unleash the full former strength of these corpses and could only use a fraction of it, it would still be enough to strike terror into the hearts of any enemy!
Now, it all depended on whether the Village was willing to hand over the hard-won corpses of powerful individuals to Tsukasa Kaede. And, if a truly desperate moment arrived, they could always dig up the ancestral graves of the great ninja clans...
These ancestral graves, which originally served no purpose other than providing sentimental value, had now become a significant strategic reserve that could not be ignored, all because of one person, Tsukasa Kaede. It was absurd.
Shikuro Aburame didn't think the Village would do such a thing. The power directly controlled by the Third Hokage was too great, enough to suppress all dissent. With successive victories in foreign wars, there was no need to do something that went against the Will of Fire.
But with Danzo, it was a different story.
"Suddenly arriving at the front line to join the battle, having a close conversation with Lord Orochimaru..." Shikuro Aburame stopped thinking about it. That was a realm he could not step into.
Another hour passed, and Minato Namikaze returned to the camp. There wasn't much joy on his face, only a growing maturity and composure. After witnessing an even more brilliant young genius, he had a new goal to strive for.
"Oh? Lord Orochimaru is talking with Senior Tsukasa Kaede. It looks like they've been talking for a while."
Minato Namikaze glanced around and immediately understood. He had actually wanted to find a chance to chat with Tsukasa Kaede, and ideally, to have a friendly competition with their Space-Time Ninjutsu. It seemed there was no chance for that now.
"I already have some ideas for the Flying Raijin Level 2, but developing it further from there is quite difficult... I wonder if Senior Tsukasa Kaede could give me some inspiration."
Minato Namikaze began brainstorming. His super-high intelligence and intense thought process allowed him to generate countless ideas every second.
In addition to ideas for further developing the Flying Raijin Jutsu, he also had some concepts for a powerful offensive technique to complement it.
"Tailed Beast Bomb... such powerful strength. I've heard that a truly complete Tailed Beast Bomb is a sphere of Chakra, not a beam of Chakra fired in a Partial Tailed Beast Transformation like the Five-Tails Jinchuriki's."
Minato Namikaze fell into deep thought. He just wondered when Jiraiya would return. He needed to discuss this thoroughly with his teacher, whom he hadn't seen in over two years.
More and more Konoha ninja returned to the camp. Many showed off their spoils, angrily beating and cursing the captives, venting the pain of losing their comrades and exercising their rights as victors.
The Medical Ninja became even busier, rushing about to heal the wounded, adding another shade to the tapestry of this years-long war.
Next, the logistics department began the various post-war tasks: tabulating military merits, inventorying the spoils of war, compiling them into records, and sending them to the Hidden Leaf Village for Lord Hokage to pass judgment.
The news that the Second Great Ninja War had ended spread like wildfire throughout the Ninja World.
The citizens of the many small countries were thankful to have survived. The small nations either became vassals of the great powers, with their ninja fighting alongside the Great Ninja Villages as cannon fodder, or their entire country became a battlefield for the great powers.
For the citizens of small countries, simply surviving was the greatest victory. Yet even this simple and pure dream was not always achievable.
The other Great Ninja Villages had little reaction.
The Great Ninja War was over? Kumogakure and Kirigakure had never truly committed their main forces to the Second Great Ninja War. Instead, they conducted a detailed assessment of the strength of Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure.
The names of dangerous individuals were marked. If an opportunity arose, they were to be killed at all costs. If not, they were not to be engaged unless absolutely necessary.
"Tsukasa Kaede? That guy really has become a force to be reckoned with. A pity. Back then, I didn't pay him any mind. That was when he was at his weakest."
Ao of the Hidden Mist Village was filled with regret. He had been deceived by a Zombie and had let Tsukasa Kaede, the real target he should have hunted, get away.
But the one who was truly most vexed and helpless was Chiyo of the Hidden Sand Village.
Ever since she learned that Tsukasa Kaede had solved his physical defect and his Chakra reserves had surged, she knew he had masterfully grasped the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu. Factoring in the existence of the Spatial Rift Jutsu, it was now nearly impossible to restrain him.
"Who would have thought that the life-swapping Forbidden Jutsu I developed for my own selfish reasons would turn this guy into a ninja that every village is wary and terrified of," Chiyo fumed, utterly resentful yet powerless.
Tsukasa Kaede had entered the sights of more higher-ups, becoming a high-priority target who had to be killed. His threat level was ranked much higher than Minato Namikaze's, even higher than most veteran elite ninja, second only to the Kage-level powerhouses! Anyone who wasn't an idiot could see just how terrifying Tsukasa Kaede's potential was just by analyzing Konoha's victory over Iwagakure. The world still had no idea what the upper limits of Corpse Release were, and they couldn't determine the maximum number of corpses Tsukasa Kaede could control.
The speculation that he could be a one-man army was like a fishbone stuck in the throat of every ninja village besides Konoha. Moreover, the corpses under Tsukasa Kaede's command could be composed of all different types of ninja. Add to that their fearlessness in the face of death, their ability to push their bodies beyond their limits, and their determination to fight to the very last second as long as their heads weren't destroyed...
Such an Undead Army was enough to make one shudder just by thinking about it.
"Tsukasa Kaede must die! He cannot be allowed to live until the next Great Ninja War!"
"All men must die, and when they die, they leave a corpse. Unless, from now on, all the dead are cremated..."