Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 76 Corpse Tide
Kaede Tsukasa first looked around at the situation, glanced at the numerous skeletons and the overturned test tubes, and understood.

"This guy was very skilled in using Lightning Release when he was alive, so I arranged for him to demonstrate his Lightning Release technique one last time to greet you. I hope you like it... However, I didn't expect that Lord Ryoma would be here as well."

Kaede Tsukasa nodded to Orochimaru first, then looked at Aburame Ryoma.

Orochimaru and Ryoma Aburame both looked grim and were ready for battle.

hum!
A large number of insects flew out, but Orochimaru was even faster!

"Latent Shadow Snake Hand!"

A venomous snake suddenly slithered up his arm and bound Kaedeji's body tightly.

"Hehehe, Kaede-kun, this isn't a place you can just come and go as you please. If you barge in without prior notice, you'll really die..."

Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly, his eyes burning with desire. This was the first time he had seen Kaede Tsukasa, and if possible, he hoped it would be the last.

But he knew that was impossible.

As expected, Kaede Tsukasa stood still, and the zombie that had used Lightning Release earlier immediately slapped the ground, summoning jutsu appeared on the ground, and several coffins immediately emerged from the ground.

Kaedeji casually swapped places with a zombie, thus breaking free from the Shadow Serpent's grasp.

Immediately afterwards, he kicked the coffin lid away and walked out of the coffin.

"Fortunately, I had carefully prepared these coffins..."

"Oh? Kaede-kun had already made prior preparations to use the Void Realm Technique to teleport, huh? You're certainly thorough in your work."

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that it's fortunate I put incense in these coffins beforehand, otherwise the corpses would have smelled terrible after being sealed for so long," Kaedeji said.

Orochimaru was silent for a moment, then chuckled evilly, "You're quite the picky person. In all the information I have, there's never been any record of you having obsessive-compulsive disorder."

"It's not obsessive-compulsive disorder, it's just a little hobby. Zombies kept in coffins for future use should be different from those sealed in spirit scrolls, like this guy."

Kaedeji pointed, and from the other coffin, yellow sand poured out from the cracks, and Sandstorm Araki emerged from the sand-filled coffin.

Upon seeing this elite Jonin, Orochimaru's eyes showed a hint of caution, and even more astonishment, as he continuously scrutinized Sandstorm Araki.

"You've preserved him surprisingly well. It seems to confirm my research that zombies can recover by eating, which is probably their instinctive way of replenishing their life force. But Sandstorm Araki is indeed dead, and his condition is better than I expected. So, what did you feed him? Did you use the Reincarnation Technique on him?"

Orochimaru liked it more and more as he looked at it, wishing he could swallow Kaedeji whole and devour him clean.

"Oh dear, it's extremely rude of you to inquire about someone's secret techniques on our first meeting. Speaking of which, each of you Sannin has been rude in different ways because of your own personalities, but you, Lord Orochimaru, have undoubtedly been the most rude."

Kaede Tsukasa smiled and spoke, appearing extremely relaxed. He even walked around the room with great interest, constantly checking various devices and occasionally opening scrolls to look at the data recorded on them.

“Lord Ryoma, if I were you, I would give up the idea of ​​using the insect secret technique. You can’t stop me, and your actions cannot escape my perception.”

Kaede Tsukasa casually pointed, and the numerous insects that had previously devoured the zombies immediately began to die in large numbers: "Insects are too simple-minded, and their body structure is the same. Using Corpse Escape to control these things will only make them fight for control with you, and you might not even win. It's better to just get rid of them directly. If this is your way of deliberately leaving them behind to test me, you've succeeded."

The two types of chakra and the zombie virus were competing for power within the insects, which was far beyond what these parasitic insects could withstand. The parasitic insects were known for their rapid reproduction and chakra consumption, but they were by no means invincible.

As long as Ryoma Aburame doesn't relinquish control over the insects, before Tsukasa Kaede can successfully infect them with a virus, Ryoma will kill them.

"Compared to insects, I definitely prefer dealing with people. It's a pity we're meeting in this way. You're secretly studying my secret techniques behind my back, which is a bit overstepping your bounds."

Looking at the mess, Kaede Tsukasa found an open space and sat down. Immediately, a zombie rushed up and sat down under Kaede Tsukasa as a chair.

This precise and powerful control, achieved without any hand seals or words, made Orochimaru's brow twitch: "It's only a matter of time. With your talent, you'll become famous throughout the ninja world sooner or later, and more people will study your secret techniques, trying to find a way to break them."

"Heh, it shouldn't be the villagers who do this. Even Tsunade-senpai didn't do it. But considering it's you, it seems only natural that you would do this."

Kaedeji slowly said, "I arrived at the front lines using space-time ninjutsu without the Hokage's reassignment. Strictly speaking, that's a violation of regulations. Lord Orochimaru will surely handle this matter properly."

“Of course, I really want to have a good talk with you… Ryoma, that’s all for you now. Leave and tell Danzo what he wants. I will start preparing for it immediately after the war ends,” Orochimaru said.

Ryoma didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he looked at Kaede Tsukasa and said, "You came here without permission and didn't report it to Lord Danzo. What's wrong with your body? The intelligence showed that after you helped Kato Dan defeat the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, you lost a lot of weight, but now you've recovered a lot."

"It seems Lord Danzo didn't tell you about me. You don't need to gather intelligence for Danzo because of my physical changes anymore; he knows everything." Kaedeji said calmly. "Get out of here, or do you want to fight me here?"

Orochimaru chuckled darkly and said sarcastically, "Ryuma, it seems Danzo didn't fully trust you either. You don't even know about the Reincarnation Technique."

Aburame Ryoma remained silent and walked out of the camp.

The Root ninjas outside immediately rushed forward. As soon as Ryuma gave the order, they would rush in and clean up whatever happened inside the camp.

"Lord Ryuma, it seems there's been a battle inside. Should we do something?" the leading Root ninja asked.

"No need, it's Kaedeji who's here, and they've made quite a commotion."

"Kaedejima... used space-time ninjutsu to travel from the village to the front-line camp? His chakra has become so abundant, this is very unusual. Did Lord Danzo order him to come?"

This time, Ryoma did not answer. As Danzo's chief assistant, he would not bring up things that he shouldn't ask.

Longma is able to suppress his personal emotional fluctuations to the greatest extent possible. Even if he feels a little bit humiliated or offended, it will not affect his rationality at all.

Under the watchful eyes of many ninjas, Ryoma Aburame quickly left with the Root ninjas, which only made people more puzzled.

Even a fool would know that they had made a move. If the initial commotion could be attributed to some kind of experiment, the burst of lightning chakra that followed was undeniable.

However, if it wasn't an enemy invasion, then it must be that Ryoma Aburame and Orochimaru fought? That's just too absurd.

"Hiashi, did you see it clearly?" Fugaku asked, ignoring the other ninjas from both clans present.

Hiashi Hyuga didn't even blink: "I didn't even look. This matter has nothing to do with my clan or the war. I will wait for Lord Orochimaru's orders."

This unwavering composure and indifference to the high-level disputes left Fugaku speechless, unsure of what to say.

He simply couldn't get along with the future head of the Hyuga clan and preferred to interact more with the members of the Senju clan.

Fugaku walked to a distance and closed his eyes.

Sharingan, open!

While the three-tomoe Sharingan cannot match the most basic Byakugan in terms of farsightedness and X-ray vision, it has no problem in detecting chakra from a distance.

Then Fugaku saw a lot of chakra. The one standing there was probably Orochimaru. There was someone sitting opposite him, and another person sitting below him.

"I see. Although this is a very strange thing, if I'm not mistaken, it's probably Kaede Tsukasa. He's one of only two people in the village who possess space-time ninjutsu. Only space-time ninjutsu could allow someone to instantly cross layers of defenses and appear in the central camp from a distance."

Fugaku immediately deduced that it was Kaedama Tsukasa who had arrived for unknown reasons.

The reason we don't speculate that it's Minato Namikaze is because Minato Namikaze never does anything that goes against the rules, especially appearing in the core area of ​​the Konoha forces without warning, let alone taking action.

Fugaku immediately shut down his Sharingan. Remotely investigating the central camp was a serious violation of the rules for Konoha ninjas.

……

At the same time, the Iwagakure unit.

Ohnoki finally received good news: Rōshi had woken up.

The bad news is that the situation of the Battle of Hot Springs reported by Old Purple is completely different from what Ōnoki had expected.

"Did they really activate the underground volcano with Lava Release, severely damaging the Konoha forces? Did Kato Dan stay behind to cover the retreat, buying time for the others to escape?"

Seeing this, Onoki nodded secretly; everything was very much like a river carp.

But if you look further down, their expressions are like they've eaten shit.

"What do you mean by 'successfully killing Kato Dan'? Kato Dan is still alive and well, a hero of Konoha, yet Old Purple claims to have killed him?"

After much deliberation, Onoki finally focused his attention on Tsunade and Kaede.

Kaede Tsukasa took over from the deceased Kato Dan and stayed behind to intercept Roshi, even launching a suicide attack using the corpses of several Explosion Release Kekkei?!

"...Those bastards from Konoha took all the corpses left behind by the demolition squad back and turned them into war puppets by Kaede Tsukasa!! They really are born evil Corpse Release brats!"

At this point, Onoki was furious, but as he read on, he became completely baffled. Rōshi claimed that he had used the Scorching River Rock Technique to blast away half of Kato Dan's body, but as far as Onoki knew, Kato Dan was perfectly fine and returned to Konoha Village without incident.

Could Tsunade really do that? Where did she get all that missing body tissue? And once she got it, how did she sew it back onto Dan Kato's body and bring him back to life, making him no different from an ordinary person?
"Tsunade doesn't have this kind of medical skill, and it's not within the scope of medical ninjutsu, so it really is that Kaede Tsukasa."

A fierce glint appeared in Onoki's eyes.

Using the desecration of Iwagakure ninja corpses to attack Iwagakure ninjas, and even seemingly being able to use Corpse Release to restore Kato Dan... Regardless of whether Kaedeji is controlling the post-mortem Kato Dan to stabilize morale, or whether Kaedeji truly possesses a miraculous resurrection technique, it means that the threat posed by Kaedeji is constantly escalating.

Kaede Tsukasa's secret technique is too bizarre, too threatening, and too damaging to morale! Look at how long Kaede Tsukasa has risen to power, and he can already control hundreds of corpses to besiege Rōshi. What will he be like in a few years?
When the next Ninja World War arrives, will Kaede Tsukasa be able to lead hundreds or thousands of zombies onto the battlefield and become an army all by himself?

Onoki couldn't stand it, and if possible, he would rather find an opportunity to kill Kaedeji.

"There will be opportunities in the future. The great war will end, but the small wars will continue forever! Pass on my order: while the enemy has just finished the Battle of the Land of Hot Springs and Tsunade and the others have not yet arrived at the front line, launch a final all-out attack immediately. Regardless of whether we achieve any results, the village must retreat. There is no point in continuing this war."

Onoki gave the order.

At this moment, the captain of the demolition squad, Kari, arrived to report that a Konoha squad had launched another surprise attack on them, and the first squad of the demolition squad was on alert and had already taken action.

"Senju Momoka? Then kill her. Consider it a fitting embellishment to this final battle," Onoki commanded.

All the Iwagakure troops began their operation, layered upon each other, seemingly a full-scale mobilization, but in reality, their positions had been pre-arranged, and the tasks of each unit had been assigned: who would launch the attack, who would provide support, and who would defend. As long as they made some progress, they could turn around and retreat in an orderly manner at any time.

Konoha responded immediately, mobilizing all its forces. The alert troops took the lead, and various defense units became vigilant to prevent Iwagakure from launching a flanking attack.

Onoki charged ahead, flying high into the sky, where he had a clear view of the movements of Konoha's various units. This alone gave him a huge advantage on the battlefield.

"Bagua Kongzhang!"

A dozen or so Hyuga clan ninjas raised their hands and slashed at Onoki.

However, Onoki nimbly flew further away and easily dodged the attack.

"The Hyuga clan is such a troublesome bloodline clan. Killing them won't get you any Byakugan, but keeping them around is like dealing with flies."

Onoki sneered, opened his arms, and was about to use Dust Release to sweep across Konoha's territory. In just a moment, he could clear a large vacuum zone.

"Dust Release: Primal World... Huh?"

Just as Onoki conjured a ball of light in his hand, he saw dozens of strange figures appear in the distance, each wearing a toy mask, and their exposed skin was full of decay.

These guys were poised and ready to rush to the Konoha ninjas ahead, just waiting for Onoki to use his technique.

"...So that's how it is. I didn't expect Konoha to be willing to send someone like you to the front lines again. You Corpse-Cultivation brat! Now that you're here, you might as well stay here forever."

Onoki's eyes lit up, and he immediately ordered the demolition team to ignore the other enemy forces and rush towards his location first!

"I don't believe you can control an endless number of corpses. Once I've cleared them all out and exhausted your chakra, let's see what tricks you have up your sleeve. You won't even be able to escape! Dust Release: Particle Style!"

A massive beam of light suddenly shot out. Although nearly fifty years old, Onoki was past his prime, but his rich combat experience and strong judgment allowed him to unleash the terrifying Dust Release technique with even greater threat.
Wherever the beam of light touched, all matter instantly began to disintegrate. Everything happened silently, and to onlookers, all they could see was the objective objects constantly dissolving.

Moreover, the beam of dust release moves at an extremely fast speed, so fast that a normal ninja has no time to react.

But Kaedeji can.

In an instant, wherever the Dust Release beam shone, that was where the Void Realm Technique arrived. Kaede Tsukasa's figure flashed rapidly across the field, as if, in a moment, many phantoms of Kaede Tsukasa appeared on the battlefield.

Each flash meant that Tsukasa Kaede had moved a companion who was almost certainly going to die to a safe location.

However, the cost is that one zombie will suffer the attack of Dust Escape and be dismembered.

All of this happened in just a few seconds. Before many Konoha ninjas could react, the scene before them suddenly changed. They were touched by the corpses that rushed in front of them and then found themselves in another place.

"Hey, this is..."

"I was just rescued? This must be the legendary Void Realm Technique, Kaede Tsukasa's space-time ninjutsu."

"So Lord Kaedeji has already arrived at the front lines? I had no idea about this before, that's great!"

"Um, thank you, but you're probably dead, so you probably won't understand what I'm saying..."

Some Konoha ninjas, who had been waiting to die, suddenly survived, their bodies limp, panting heavily, and expressing their gratitude to the corpses beside them.

Kaedeji accepted all the gratitude without question.

"Yes, all 38 people in the first batch were rescued, but we lost 29 zombies..."

Kaede calculated the quantity.

The reason why there were fewer zombie losses was simply because some zombies had their lower bodies erased by Dust Release, but their heads, shoulders, and hands could still be connected as one body, and could continue to be used as consumables by Kaede Tsukasa to perform Sky World Technique.

Many people witnessed the Void Realm Technique for the first time, even Kage-level powerhouses like Onoki and Orochimaru, and instinctively began intelligence analysis.

"Hehehe, Kaede-kun, you just said you were sneaking into the front lines and needed me to keep it a secret. How come you ran out on your own after the war started? Once space-time ninjutsu is used, it can't be hidden no matter what. Aren't you afraid of being held accountable by the village?"

Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly as he looked at Kaede Tsukasa, who had reappeared beside him.

Kaede Tsukasa shrugged: "Then what can we do? I can't bear to see so many of my comrades die under the attack of Dust Release. As the highest commander here, you have no intention of taking action at all."

“Youth is wonderful; you can do things without any scruples. If we can use these lives to deplete Onoki’s chakra, then it’s absolutely worth it. This is war, a cruel game of trade.”

There's one more thing Orochimaru didn't say: the Third Hokage loved this kind of exchange-based combat style.

Kaede Tsukasa immediately laughed: "Is that so? Then it seems I'm very well-suited for war, both my personality and my ninjutsu are very suitable... So in the situation just now, I used my own chakra to deplete the enemy leader's chakra, right? Doesn't this exchange result give our side a tiny, insignificant advantage?"

It was only during World War II that Konoha dared to play this game. When the Third Shinobi World War came a few years later, the entire ninja world went into a frenzy of fighting, and Konoha had to use all sorts of risky tactics to try to gain some advantage.

“That’s true, which is why I have high hopes for Kaede-kun. I just don’t know if your chakra can hold up, and when you plan to use that technique to replenish it? There are quite a few corpses in this area, from both sides.”

Orochimaru was extremely excited. The war was not important to him at all; the technique mastered by the person in front of him was more important.

"I would never use my comrades' corpses in battle, but the corpses of the enemy are a different story."

Kaede looked up at the sky. The current energy expenditure was actually not too bad, whether it was rushing from the village to the front line or rescuing these people in one go.

However, this is only temporary. Now that the decisive battle has begun, there is no reason for him to return without a word. He needs to convert the life force he has accumulated into chakra.

A large number of corpses will appear in this decisive battle, and each one is a treasure for Kaede Tsukasa.

Many more bloodline ninjas died in battle!
Kaede Tsukasa clapped his hands together: "Then, I'm going to start creating chakra. This will take a little time."

In the sky, Onoki was also watching the location of Kaedeji from afar.

"This is the Void Realm Technique, which uses a corpse to assist in the casting of the spell. It is indeed very special, but it seems that there is still room for further development. It is different from the Flying Thunder God Technique."

With just one glance, Onoki roughly grasped the limitations of the Void Realm Technique.

That means it's impossible to transfer objects in batches at the same time; they need to be transferred one by one.

This is why there are so many flickering afterimages of Kaede Tsukasa on the field—visual afterimages left behind by his frequent appearances and instantaneous disappearances.

Onoki's goal was not to kill these Konoha ninjas at all. What use would it be to kill a bunch of guys with no potential?

It would be more valuable to take the opportunity to deplete Kaedeji's chakra and store up corpses; otherwise, what if Kaedeji escaped beforehand?
That's the problem with space-time ninjas; they're too difficult to kill. Minato Namikaze was like that, and Tsukasa Kaede is even more so.

On the other side of the battlefield, the young Minato Namikaze watched the battle unfold from afar.

"That's another kind of space-time ninjutsu. It's the first time I've seen it. It's truly unique."

Minato Namikaze saw more clearly than ordinary people and analyzed more information, so he naturally saw the limitations of the Sky Realm Technique.

However, this did not diminish his respect and regard for Kaede Tsukasa.

It's very simple. The Flying Thunder God Technique he practices was essentially developed by the Second Hokage. He learned it and is now trying to further improve it and develop other complementary techniques.

But Kaede Tsukasa's Void Realm Techniques had no predecessors to pass down to him; he had to develop everything from scratch!
Moreover, the Void Realm Technique is ultimately a complementary ninjutsu to the Corpse Escape Technique; one must first learn the Corpse Escape Technique before learning the Void Realm Technique.

"Corpse Escape Technique... I have a feeling that this new technique system is unusually strange, and there must be more potential for development."

Minato Namikaze withdrew his gaze. He had now mastered the contents left behind by the Second Hokage and would now develop the Flying Thunder God Technique II and III based on his own circumstances.

The main force of Iwagakure has already charged over.

In an instant, countless roars and booming sounds filled the entire battlefield, and countless figures rushed forward one after another, each unleashing all their strength and frantically attacking their opponents.

Among them were seasoned ninjas who had fought for years, and also young people who had only recently joined the war. No one could guarantee their survival; everyone's mind was solely focused on killing the enemy before them!

"It's begun, the final battle."

Minato Namikaze immediately pulled out a large number of kunai and threw them wildly. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a ninja who specialized in throwing ninja tools.

When many Iwagakure ninjas clutched their necks and collapsed in pain and confusion, many people finally realized what had happened.

"Damn it, it's a space-time ninja from Konoha! Men, kill him!"

"What's going on? Weren't they supposed to have an elite force specifically tasked with hunting down geniuses like Minato Namikaze? Why is nobody doing anything about it?!"

"Because the village's elites went off to kill even more talented people."

"This works? What about the one in front of us then?!"

"Wait him out! He's young, and his space-time ninjutsu isn't as unpredictable or troublesome as that other guy's. If we work together, we can definitely succeed!"

With Minato Namikaze surrounded, the other Konoha ninjas couldn't just stand by and watch. They couldn't let their own genius die before their eyes, so they immediately pounced on him even more frantically, roaring with all their might.

“I was underestimated… but you’re right, that person’s techniques aren’t just space-time ninjutsu.”

Minato Namikaze has his own pride, but now he has to admit that his fighting methods are too simplistic and lack strong offensive techniques, resulting in very limited damage output.

Unbeknownst to many, the once-dominant young genius was being subtly surpassed by another rapidly rising individual who used unique secret techniques…

Minato Namikaze himself felt that, in terms of the threat on the battlefield, Tsukasa Kaede was the greater one. Each corpse he controlled could use the techniques it used in life, which was far more damaging to the enemy's combat power and morale than Minato Namikaze.

"But I won't give up so easily. I'm four years younger than him. I can't keep up now, but who knows what will happen in a few years."

The Flying Thunder God Technique alone is not enough!

No matter how fast he is, he can't break through the defenses of a powerful enemy by using only kunai. The results he achieves are ultimately limited. He needs to develop a powerful offensive ninjutsu.

Swish!
Once again, Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly appear beside the enemy, slit the enemy's throat, and then a terrifying explosion could be heard in the distance.

Even without deliberately turning your head, you can feel that terrifying sense of oppression, as if the air itself is being distorted by this sudden force.

"Could it be... a Tailed Beast Ball? But it doesn't seem quite right."

Minato Namikaze saw an astonishing beam of chakra.

Immediately afterwards, Rashomon appeared as if it had been summoned, blocking the terrible impact. The ghostly face on the door was deeply dented, showing how terrifying the force it had withstood was.

"That's Lord Orochimaru's A-rank summoning technique, Rashomon." Minato Namikaze withdrew his gaze and continued to focus on hunting down the enemy before him. With his current strength, he was not qualified to participate in this kind of battle at all.

Orochimaru did indeed make a move, directly blocking the Five-Tails Jinchuriki who had entered a half-tailed beast state.

At this moment, he stood atop Rashomon, facing the fierce wind, looking down at the humanoid monster below.

"I see. Entering a half-tailed beast state, it creates a chakra ball and then swallows it, then uses it as a chakra cannon to shoot it out... This incomplete version of the tailed beast ball is surprisingly useful, but its power is also much weaker."

If left unchecked, this jet attack would have killed countless Konoha ninja along its path.

However, Orochimaru blocked this attack with just one Rashomon. If it were to actually fight against the Tailed Beast Ball, only the S-rank Summoning Technique, Triple Rashomon, could stop it.

"It's Lord Orochimaru who has made his move!"

"As expected of Lord Orochimaru, he can still act with ease even when facing a Jinchuriki!"

Many of the rescued Konoha ninja cheered, but Orochimaru didn't care. He wasn't rescuing these small fry; he was simply trying to stop the enemy from attacking Kaede Tsukasa behind Rashomon.

He eagerly anticipated what surprises Kaedeji would bring him.

It's now obvious to everyone that the Iwagakure forces' focus is gradually shifting towards the location of Kaedeji Tsukasa.

The demolition team has been brought over and is conducting an assault, even foregoing the opportunity to surround and kill Senju Momoka.

Onoki flew around, constantly annihilating the zombies on the battlefield.

"Hmph, as expected, you have to attack the head to kill completely. You've already killed more than fifty corpses in such a short time. I'd like to see how many corpses you prepared beforehand!"

Although it sounds strange to say "killing corpses", that's the truth. Onoki didn't believe it. Could Kaedeji possibly have hundreds or thousands of corpses stored up?
Transforming a corpse into a living corpse would take a very long time. It's not simply about making the corpse move; it also involves enabling the corpse to use its ninjutsu from its previous life and to cooperate with the caster, Kaedeji Tsukasa! That's what makes the Corpse Escape Technique so terrifying.

But modifying a corpse should require a considerable investment of resources; you can't just clap your hands and ask for as much as you want, can you? There's no way such a technique exists!

Only by eliminating all the corpses and exhausting their chakra can Kaede Tsukasa be killed, leaving him without even the ability to escape using space-time ninjutsu.

"Although this guy's growth is a bit strange, when fighting against Sunagakure, he seemed to have little chakra and needed many people to protect him, but later he was able to command more corpses to attack Rōshi, this Jinchūriki..."

However, it's enough to kill them; we can't leave too many hidden dangers for the future Third World War.

Just as Onoki was shaking off the ranged attacks from the Ino-Shika-Cho ninjas using secret techniques, he saw Kaedeji make a move.

"What are you going to do next? Summon more zombies? Or send out that guy who plays in the sand?" Onoki sneered, but then his gaze sharpened.

Kaedeji released his hands and clapped them again.

"Are you finally done? I've blocked quite a few attacks for you."

"Thank you very much, Lord Orochimaru. It took me quite a while to create the chakra, but it's almost done."

Corpse Escape: Corpse Transformation Technique!

A violent surge of chakra erupted from Kaede Tsukasa's body, condensing into a visible blue aura, and veins bulged from his forehead.

"As you wish, then I'll reveal a little bit of the true power of my Corpse Escape Technique... You already had a guess, right? Otherwise, all those experiments would have been for nothing."

As Kaede Tsukasa began to expend a large amount of chakra, wherever the air currents surged, people from both sides engaged in the frenzied battle fell one after another, covered in blood, never to rise again.

This should be normal, and it's the norm in war, but now things have changed.

Swish!
A blast-style ninja, his heart pierced, pressed his hands onto a Senju clansman before collapsing, instantly blasting the Senju's body to pieces.

Shortly after he collapsed, his eyes suddenly started moving again, and his whole body convulsed violently, making cracking sounds, as if all the bones in his body had been dislocated by these strange, clapping movements.

"Tomoki? Great, you're still alive! I knew you wouldn't die so easily. I'll cover you, get up!"

His companion was thrilled. He first used Earth Release to block the enemy's vision, and then reached out to try to pull the Iwagakure ninja on the ground up.

But as soon as he pulled, his expression changed immediately. He saw that blood was still flowing out of the hole in the other person's chest.

His heart was ruptured, and he should have died, but why is it that not only is he fine, but his convulsions are getting more and more violent!

"Tomoki, you—"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!!!!"

The Iwagakure ninja, now in a zombie form, had his eyeballs spinning rapidly until they turned grayish-white. He suddenly exerted tremendous force with both hands, causing his skin to crack and a large number of muscle fibers to break, all in order to grab his companion in front of him and then open his mouth to bite down hard!

"Ouch! Why did you bite me? Are you crazy?!"

Similar events occurred repeatedly in a short period of time. The closer one got to Kaedeji's location, the more frequently they happened. More of the dead Iwagakure ninja would rise again and, driven by instinct, launch attacks on those around them.

In an instant, the once orderly battlefield descended into chaos as each squad was thrown into disarray by this change.

While it wouldn't have caused massive casualties, the suddenness of the attack had a devastating impact on morale and disrupted tactical execution.

Their already highly tense nerves exploded on the spot after such a shock, and many Iwagakure ninja were on the verge of going crazy.

"Get away from me!"

"Damn it, why are you only attacking me and not the people from Konoha? What's wrong with you?!"

"What's going on? I cut off his arms and legs, why is he still determined to crawl over and attack me?"

"Get out of the way! This guy's planning to use ninjutsu!"

More and more Iwagakure ninjas are falling into chaos and their mentality is collapsing.

Even though many people had realized that this was the enemy's ninjutsu, chaos had already broken out at various points. The pressure of being on guard against the enemy while also being on guard against their own comrades who had fallen after fighting alongside them was simply too great.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Konoha ninja launched a charge and, as expected, achieved even greater success, killing a number of enemies on the spot.

"We probably converted less than eighty corpses just now. It's great that we were able to create an opportunity for everyone. In those few dozen seconds, we probably killed about two hundred enemies in this area, right?"

Kaede Tsukasa maintained his hand seals with an air of seriousness, observing the situation on the battlefield. In his perception, more and more people were being infected with the virus and becoming his potential puppets.

However, Kaede Tsukasa ultimately did not deliberately carry out a large-scale transformation. One reason was that he did not have enough chakra, and another was that he had to ensure that he did not trigger a zombie horde. The size of the zombie horde had to be kept under his control.

Many Iwagakure ninjas who were already severely injured were actually in the process of turning into zombies after being scratched and bitten. Even with their strong physical abilities, and without Kaede Tsukasa deliberately accelerating the zombie-turning process, they would slowly turn into zombies after a few days.

However, Kaedeji forcibly stopped the process using the Corpse Escape Technique: Release.

“It’s not just two hundred people. We will soon kill even more enemies. Kaede-kun, you have done a great service.”

Orochimaru was extremely excited. He was already an expert in human research, and witnessing the dead "resurrect" and kill "enemies" gave him a huge sense of pleasure.

I feel so comfortable. Every cell in my body feels comfortable. The scene before me is simply the pinnacle of the art of life.

He knew that these corpses could not only be used to hunt enemies and contribute the various ninjutsu they had mastered before birth, but also as sacrifices to perform the Reincarnation Technique to revive or grant immortality!
"It's so beautiful, Kaede-kun. You must live well. If you're here, this monotonous and boring world will become more colorful... After the war ends, I'll invite you to join my research project. I'm sure you'll love it."

Orochimaru licked his lips once more and personally joined the battle, bringing an end to this war that he found so tiresome.

The deployment of all high-end combat forces signifies that this war has reached its most brutal stage.

A series of powerful techniques erupted in succession, each strike creating a large vacuum zone that caused the deaths of many weak ninjas.

Originally, the Iwagakure ninjas wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with this, but now it's different. Every now and then, their dead comrades would suddenly get up and attack them, which severely stimulated their sensitive nerves.

"Damn it, how can he cast spells so fast? What method did he use to control the corpse? Could it be that I've been guessing wrong all along, and it's not a physical technique, but rather something he did using mental magic?"

Using some kind of secret technique with a tendency towards yin and yang to control and deceive the brains of the dead, making them believe that they are not dead, and then making them come back to life.
Onoki had no time to investigate the truth. He charged towards where Kaede Tsukasa was, landed abruptly on the ground, and then used Dust Release to sweep horizontally.

In an instant, many Konoha ninjas and zombies were cut off, but Kaede Tsukasa had already used the Sky Realm Technique to hide in the distance.

"Give up, Lord Tsuchikage. The zombies you see are not all that I can control. How can you be sure that those lying motionless on the ground are not under my control?"

After shifting his position, Kaede Tsukasa emerged from behind several Konoha ninjas and looked at Onoki from afar: "You have already lost this war, and your plan to kill me has also failed. But I think this is not the end, and we will have the opportunity to fight again in the future."

(End of this chapter)