Zombie Sage in Naruto

In Chapter 6, Minato Namikaze did not see Tsukasa Kaede's location.

"woo woo woo woo……"

Jifu paused for a moment. His increasingly muddled thoughts were no longer enough for his remaining self-awareness to control his body; only the instinct to eat remained.

The chakra virus has gradually spread throughout his body from the wounds, turning him into a zombie step by step.

The moment he saw Qing, he let out a howl and pounced on her.

Qing frowned, stepped aside, and examined the object closely, becoming increasingly puzzled.

"Is it Jifu? No, it doesn't seem so. He's covered in a lot of rotting flesh, and his body is decaying at a visible rate... It's like he's been possessed by a demon."

There are too many ninjutsu techniques in the world, and too many that I have never seen before.

"Moreover, this guy seems to be trying to attack me with taijutsu. His movements are somewhat distorted due to his injuries, but overall he possesses a taijutsu level that surpasses that of an ordinary genin."

In just a few seconds, Qing made a quick analysis, and pulled out a kunai, intending to kill Kazamatsuri Takuno first.

Swish!
The zombie suddenly changed direction and blocked Kazamatsuri Takuno's path, using its flesh and blood to block all the kunai.

"My initial assessment is that this is a ninjutsu used by a ninja from Konoha. However, why is the ninja tool being blocked by the body? Could it be that it has a self-healing ability to recover from injuries?" Ao had even more doubts in his heart.

Kazamatsuri Takuno was also confused, not understanding what was going on with the person in front of him, but it seemed to be one of his own.

"I'll heal you..." He reached out his palm to touch her, but she didn't appreciate it. Ignoring the kunai on her body, she howled and charged towards Qing.

Qing was taken aback, doubting that the guy in front of him had no sense of pain, so he retreated again and continued to launch attacks to test him.

After multiple long-range attacks, Qing was completely certain that the thing in front of him really had no sense of pain, just like a flesh and blood puppet without a self!
"I didn't see any chakra threads being remotely controlled, nor did I find any cursed seal marks on this guy's body. What on earth is this thing?"

Qing became completely interested and retreated further and further away. The more the zombies tried to get close to him for melee combat, the more he wanted to keep his distance and observe. Given his cautious nature, he wouldn't take any risks unless he was absolutely certain of victory.

Moreover, his intuition told him that if he figured out what was going on with this thing, the gains might not be less than those from killing Kazamatsuri Takuno.

Kazamatsuri Takuno realized something, gritted his teeth, and squeezed his body's chakra one last time to heal his injuries.

Ao continued his probing attacks, from severing his hands and feet to destroying his internal organs in his chest, and finally approaching him to cut off his head with a kunai and grab it in his hand.

"It's still not dead? It's turned into this state and it still wants to bite me? What is this terrifying fighting spirit?!" Qing was completely shocked. He pinched the head's forehead and stared at the head's opening and closing mouth, deeply stunned.

I've never heard of such a monster existing in this world. Even with only a head left, it still insists on completing its mission. It's just like a legendary demon.

"Guys from Konoha, is this a monster your village bred?" Ao asked casually, but received no response. He turned around and saw that Kazamatsuri Takuno had already run away.

Qing didn't care. He had found a more valuable target. He immediately tore off a piece of his clothes and wrapped the head in them, intending to take it back for research.

"These eyes really resemble the Byakugan. I wonder if there's any connection... Could it be a forbidden technique of the Hyuga clan? Or did a Hyuga clan ninja become like this after being affected by someone else's forbidden technique?"

Ao was still obsessed with the Byakugan. If he could get one, he would gain a huge strategic advantage, and he would be valued by the Third Mizukage, thus improving his status.

He then recalled the legends about different demons that circulated throughout the ninja world. He immediately took the head and fled quickly, not even bothering to pay attention to the Hidden Mist ninja who was chasing the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly. Since it hadn't returned for so long, it was either killed or encountered Konoha's support forces, so there was no point in saving it.

"I've never heard of Konoha ninjas mastering this forbidden ninjutsu, otherwise they would have used it in the war long ago. This just proves that this thing cannot be mass-produced. As long as I crack the secret..."

Qing felt a surge of excitement when she thought of this ability to be unafraid of pain and almost never die.

"If only those eyes were white too," Qing thought, her figure quickly disappearing into the dense forest. ...

"They're getting farther and farther away, beyond the range I can roughly sense. It looks like they've escaped."

Kaede Tsukasa sat cross-legged on a branch, slowly opened his eyes, smacked his lips, and looked somewhat regretful.

Qing is still cautious. If he were to be even slightly reckless, even if it meant getting bitten or scratched by one of his zombies, the situation would be completely different.

Although it's unknown how long it would take to corrupt a Jonin without Kaedeji expending chakra at close range to accelerate the virus's effect, once Ao is infected, he will live in Kaedeji's shadow.

The greater the distance, the more chakra Kaede Tsukasa would need to consume to remotely and accurately perceive and accelerate the corruption. This was something he couldn't do now, and there was no need for him to do so.

Most importantly, Kaede Tsukasa doesn't have enough chakra to precisely control the virus within the zombies and allow them to use the various ninjutsu they knew in life.

Yes, theoretically, as long as Kaede Tsukasa is strong enough, has enough chakra, and has a deep enough understanding of Corpse Release, he can achieve this and unleash 200% of his former zombie strength. After all, once you become a zombie, you no longer experience pain or fear, and you can exert your full strength at an overload. Even without defense, trading injuries is a huge gain until your body is ruined or your head is destroyed.

With one in each hand, Kaedeji carried two unconscious wounded men, struggling to move towards the village.

This wasn't an act of feigned hardship; the battle had placed an immense strain on his body.

He was rescued by Konoha's garrison ninja.

"You're already in this state, yet you still brought back two companions? That's truly remarkable. We'll escort you back to the village so you can get some rest. You're so lucky to have companions like you."

The female ninja who came to meet them was surprised, her face filled with the innocent naiveté unique to graduates. She was incredibly enthusiastic towards Kaede Tsukasa, and the adult ninja dog she brought also came up to sniff and bark.

"Yes, I was lucky and managed to repel the enemy, but that's all I could do. It's a pity that one of my comrades was killed." Kaede Tsukasa sighed. "I think I saw your picture on the outer wall of the Ninja Academy before. Your name is Inuzuka Tsuru, right? You were an outstanding graduate a couple of years ago?"

Tsurugi Inuzuka, the mother of Hana Inuzuka and Kiba Inuzuka, will also become a squad leader of the Konoha patrol team in the future.

Unlike other members of the Inuzuka clan, Inuzuka Tsurugi chose an adult ancient ninja dog as his partner. The large dog, named "Kuromaru," was blind in one eye and possessed great strength.

At the very least, Kaede Tsukasa felt he couldn't beat this one-eyed dog.

Not long after, Kaede Tsukasa met the seriously injured Kazamatsuri Takuno and Tobitake Dragonfly at the village entrance.

"Really? You were rescued by Minato Namikaze, Choza Akimichi, and their patrol team? That's great! It shows that all our perseverance paid off, and we came back alive from a seemingly hopeless situation."

Kaedeji Tsukasa showed a relieved expression in front of the group of ninjas.

As for taking the opportunity to befriend the young Minato Namikaze... that's simply impossible, because Minato Namikaze doesn't even have eyes for Tsukasa Kaede.

Minato Namikaze was a rising super genius, highly regarded by the higher-ups. Although he was known as the Little Sun, it was impossible for him to remember the name of every mediocre genin in the village.

There are tens of thousands of resident ninjas in Konoha Village alone, and there are even more scattered throughout the towns and cities of the Land of Fire.

Furthermore, as the highest military institution in the Land of Fire, Konoha has the power to issue mandatory conscription orders to the nobles and lords within the country, meaning that the number of ninjas directly controlled by Konoha will continue to increase dramatically.

Not to mention fifty or sixty thousand, there are definitely thirty thousand ninjas—this is the number that Konoha Village has cultivated during the more than twenty years of peace since World War I.

Of course, after several years of fighting in World War II, the total number of troops has certainly been reduced significantly, and it is normal for more than 10,000 people to die.

With so many ninjas, how could Minato Namikaze possibly remember every single one of them, no matter how knowledgeable or sunny he was? Besides, at the age of 12, Minato was on patrol duty and had to deal with far too many ninjas; he simply couldn't remember them all.

(End of this chapter)