Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 36 The village needs someone like Kaedeji Tsukasa.

Tsunade didn't really study zombies in detail; she knew them well and didn't try to pry into Kaedeji's secret techniques.

This made Tsukasa Kaede have a very good impression of Tsunade. Of course, it might also be related to his frankness in summoning the zombies.

"You have the corpse of Sandstorm Araki in your hands, right? How long will it take you to turn him into a combatant? How much of his strength will he have left?"

"It's hard to say. This is also my first time encountering a body of this level. Just the modification time alone would take several days. As for strength, I would conservatively estimate that more than 50% can be preserved."

In reality, it should be over 80%, since Sandstorm Araki wasn't killed long before Kaede Tsukasa got his hands on him; he was infected with the virus while he was alive and was partially transformed before he died.

This type of zombie retains its strength to the maximum extent possible, making it Kaede Tsukasa's favorite type of zombie.

The reason why he couldn't fully utilize his strength in life was because Kaede Tsukasa needed to spend some time completely transforming him into a zombie. During this period, his physical activity would inevitably decrease.

There was nothing that could be done; Kaede Tsukasa didn't have enough chakra to accelerate the conversion, so he could only push it forward little by little.

"I understand. Your secret technique is even better than I expected. You can even make use of the corpse of an elite Jonin."

Tsunade was deeply moved. Now that they could utilize elite Jonin and further develop their abilities, wouldn't they be able to directly use a Kage-level body?

Add to that the space-time ninjutsu... indeed, this brand-new secret technique system is extremely terrifying and has enormous potential.

Fortunately, Kaede Tsukasa is a Konoha ninja!
The only pity is that Kaede Tsukasa's body is severely depleted, with too few cells. Even if he mastered the Chakra Stimulation Technique, which can stimulate cell activity and produce more chakra, the upper limit is still extremely limited.

At this moment, Kaede suddenly said, "Lady Tsunade, I also hope to learn the technique to accelerate cell division. You must have it, right? I hope to exchange it for battle merits."

“Of course there is. It’s one of the B-rank medical ninjutsu, but the village rarely teaches this technique to you. Do you know why?” Tsunade asked with a serious expression.

"I can roughly guess... Accelerating cell division can certainly heal injuries quickly and produce more chakra, but it will also shorten one's lifespan."

Kaede Tsukasa smiled and said, "But as you can see, I have some good secret techniques, but not enough chakra to unleash my full potential. I might die on the battlefield one day and have no future."

Tsunade paused for a moment, then summoned a bunch of scrolls. After picking and choosing, she finally took one out, removed the sealing technique on it on the spot, and handed it to Kaede Tsukasa.

"Since you've already made your decision, I won't say much more. I hope this technique will help you go further."

Tsunade knew that Kaede Tsukasa was right. Reducing lifespan? That wasn't really a drawback. In this crazy world, who could guarantee they would live to a ripe old age?

Kaede Tsukasa walked out of Tsunade's tent with a satisfied expression and took a deep breath.

Another great supplementary method has been acquired, which is very valuable whether used on zombies or on oneself.

However, this is ultimately just a supplement. Even if Kaede Tsukasa learns this technique, his physical strength will only be so-so, and he will never be as strong as Kabuto Yakushi.

Kabuto Yakushi could withstand Naruto's Rasengan with his bare body, and even without hand seals or techniques, his abdominal injury healed at a visible speed—for Kabuto, he could accelerate cell division at any time.

The active medical ninjutsu that Kaede Tsukasa trained was merely a passive buff to Kabuto Yakushi. And this was only Kabuto Yakushi; if it were the Uzumaki or Senju clans, it would be even more obvious, as their abundant life force made their self-healing abilities astonishing even without doing anything.

"I still have to rely on the Reincarnation Technique. I hope Sasori of the Red Sand won't disappoint me." Kaede Tsukasa had high hopes for Sasori. If even Sasori couldn't do it, then his plan would be much more complicated, and he would have to find another way to achieve his goal.

They even abandoned the path of reincarnation and temporarily used techniques such as accelerated cell division and chakra stimulation to temporarily transition between life and death.

Another half month passed, and the situation completely stabilized, and people became more and more relaxed.

Some ninjas will also be dispatched in small teams, either to capture scattered Sand Village ninjas who had previously gone into hiding, or to transport supplies.

There is also a special case: discovering and protecting the Sunagakure team heading to Konoha for negotiations.

Kaede no longer carried out missions. To outsiders, he was extremely diligent in his training, either selecting corpses or studying the ninjutsu he had obtained from Tsunade.

Occasionally, Kaede would leave the camp to practice in less crowded places—this was quite normal, as Sunagakure had already lost and was in the process of negotiating with Konoha. No one would strictly control the individual actions of each ninja as they had in the past.

Kaede Tsukasa continuously sends out zombies to roam the vast Konoha Forest, carving seemingly normal marks on tree trunks and rocks.

Each mark was meticulously drawn based on the contents of the cipher book left by Sasori of the Red Sand, conveying different information.

Six days passed, and when Kaede Tsukasa discovered new, unusual marks on the back of a rock, he immediately knew that Sasori of the Red Sand had arrived.

"How cautious. Another puppet?" Kaede Tsukasa examined the puppet before him, manipulating the scattered zombies around him in an attempt to find Sasori's true form.

“You’re not bad either. It seems your strength has improved again recently. Every corpse is your spy,” Sasori said. “Don’t waste your energy. My main body is not nearby at all. The one using this puppet is just an avatar.”

"Be careful not to be discovered by the patrol team. Konoha Village has many excellent sensory ninjas."

"It doesn't matter if they find out. The war is over, peace negotiations are still ongoing, and both sides should, in principle, stop the killings. This is also a way to protect the scattered personnel."

Sasori of the Red Sand said coldly, "Even if I am discovered, at most I will be expelled. No one but you will know my true identity. Compared to me, you are much bolder. What, are you already prepared to betray the village?"

Making a private deal with Sand Village ninjas, especially one involving extremely sensitive ninjutsu, would be an unforgivable act even in Konoha.

Sasori of the Red Sand didn't take Sunagakure seriously. He figured that as a fellow traveler on the Eternal Path, Kaede Tsukasa must be the same, not taking Konoha seriously either.

"I know space-time ninjutsu, so I can retreat at any time. You don't need to worry about that. Don't waste any more time; have you obtained the Reincarnation Technique?"

Kaedeji placed the scroll on the ground: "Let's trade part of it first. I'll use my space-time ninjutsu, the Void Realm Technique, as the bargaining chip."

"You are very sincere."

Sasori's puppet also took out a scroll, although his intuition told him that things shouldn't be going so smoothly, but he didn't know where the problem lay.

(End of this chapter)