Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 77: World War II Ends, Fame Spreads Far and Wide

Put yourself in his shoes, and you'll know that Kaede Tsukasa would do anything to get rid of you.

The more chaotic the times, the greater the scope for the use of the Corpse Escape Technique—to an unimaginable degree—making it naturally suited for use on the battlefield.

Using the corpses of the enemy to fight the enemy, creating more corpses and accumulating more power—who can stand that?
One second your comrade is fighting alongside you to the death, the next second they become your enemy. The key is that their only weakness is their head. They are not afraid of being injured and can even push their body's functions to the limit...

Onoki gritted his teeth as he watched the energetic Kaedeji, but he didn't have the ability to kill him. He could only watch helplessly as Kaedeji flew around, dodging various attacks.

Yes, even now, Kaedeji Tsukasa has not personally fought any enemies. He is like a leisurely bystander, observing and casting spells from a position slightly behind the Konoha defense line.

Onoki frequently sought opportunities to attack Kaedeji, so that wherever Kaedeji was, he would always be the target of the attacks.

Many Explosion Release ninjas occasionally launch surprise attacks, using Explosion Release to blast their way through and clear the path, but they can never touch Kaedeji. Kaedeji always manages to escape cleverly and then reappear in sight.

After several attacks, the Iwagakure side realized that Kaedeji was doing this on purpose, using his own strength to hold back as many of Iwagakure's elite forces as possible.

Every second of delay reduces the pressure on other Konoha ninjas, minimizes their damage, and indirectly increases their strength to deal with other enemies. This seemingly insignificant advantage accumulates over time and eventually becomes a crucial factor in achieving a complete victory.

This caused Onoki's blood pressure to spike. His Dust Release, which could dominate everything, was simply useless against such a cowardly space-time ninja.

"What's going on with his chakra? Logically speaking, space-time ninjutsu consumes more energy than ordinary ninjutsu and cannot afford the slightest deviation. Yet he has controlled so many corpses and escaped multiple times using techniques, and there's still no sign of him weakening!"

Onoki didn't even bother using Dust Release anymore. Instead, he used the Weighted Rock Technique to throw a boulder at Kaedeji, watching helplessly as Kaedeji ran away once again. The boulder smashed a zombie Iwagakure ninja into a bloody pulp on the spot.

This is ridiculous! Onoki was a little numb. He suppressed his resentment and anger and turned to attack the other Konoha ninjas.

After that, although Kaedeji would still use the Sky Realm Technique to rescue his comrades, he never used it as intensely as before, which meant that Kaedeji didn't have much chakra left.

Even so, Onoki was not confident in killing Kaede Tsukasa. He was also in considerable trouble, with Orochimaru and Fugaku Uchiha taking turns interfering with him. These people were also formidable opponents.

"If it weren't for the worry about problems on the Han side..."

Onoki didn't dare to go all out, worried that the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Han, would be taken down by the Uchiha guys using their three-tomoe Sharingan.

It's not so much about control; without kaleidoscope-level eye power, it's difficult to turn a tailed beast into a loyal dog.

But there will definitely be an impact.

Like Rōshi, Han is ultimately not a perfect Jinchūriki. When using the power of the Tailed Beasts, he also has to try his best to suppress the will of the Tailed Beasts. If he were to fall victim to the Sharingan genjutsu of the Uchiha clan, the situation would be truly unpredictable.

It might go berserk and, once it enters full tailed beast form, become a ticking time bomb that can't distinguish friend from foe.

In addition, the leaders of Senju Momoka, Hyuga Hiashi, and other secret technique clans are all elite Jonin, making it difficult for Iwagakure to establish a clear advantage.

There's no way around it, Konoha Village is just too well-equipped. The First Hokage and Madara Uchiha left behind an incredibly rich legacy for this village!

"Arrogant people don't last long. You'd better pray you never make a mistake, otherwise you'll suffer a terrible death if you show even the slightest flaw!"

Onoki made a tough statement, no longer wasting chakra on Kaedeji. Each time he activated Dust Release, it was a considerable burden, but he always failed when facing Kaedeji.

This also made him realize that he had no chance of exhausting Kaede Tsukasa's chakra.

Orochimaru commanded the three giant snakes he had just summoned to fiercely crash into the Iwagakure team, eventually biting the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, while he himself launched another attack on Onoki.

He can't fly, nor does he possess a ninjutsu like Dust Release that can instantly kill, but he has a strong ability to survive. His body moves like a snake, and he can use all kinds of ninjutsu at will. Whether it's the Substitution Jutsu or other techniques, it ultimately results in a large number of venomous snakes crawling all over the ground.

This convinced Kaedeji that Orochimaru had already officially begun forbidden experiments in private, and at the very least, his physical modifications had yielded some results; the art of immortality might have already begun.

He was increasingly looking forward to cooperating with Orochimaru, striving to complete the goal of changing bodies before the Third Shinobi World War. At that time, he could go anywhere in the vast ninja world.

Kaede Tsukasa once again focused his attention on the battlefield, looking for an opportunity to escape using the Void Realm Technique. He then used the Summoning Technique to summon a group of zombies to replenish his life force before returning.

No one noticed this, because Kaedeji was flying around randomly, so it was perfectly normal for him to be out of sight.

However, Kaede no longer used the Corpse Escape Technique to expand his advantage, and began to focus on collecting various precious corpses.

As a result, some zombies suddenly unleashed area-of-effect ninjutsu, attacking both enemies and other zombies at the same time.

To onlookers, it seemed as if Kaedeji had done this on purpose. The enemy cursed in terror, while the Konoha ninja cheered, praising the tactic as perfect.

In reality, at the moment the ninjutsu was unleashed, some zombies had already been summoned away by Kaedeji Tsukasa, carrying away the precious bloodline bodies of Konoha.

"It's too difficult. With so many people watching, obtaining the Uchiha clan's bloodline limit is extremely difficult."

Only now has Kaede Tsukasa managed to secretly remove the corpse of an Uchiha clan member, which is already quite an achievement. Bloodline ninjas are extremely protective of the corpses of their own clan members, and if they discover that they cannot guarantee the protection of the corpse, they would rather destroy it on the spot.

Not to mention, some Uchiha clan members, when they realized they were doomed, did not hesitate to destroy their own eyes with their last bit of strength before they could breathe their last in peace.

For so many years, the Sharingan has never been obtained or used by people from other villages. Besides the relentless pursuit by the Uchiha clan, the clan's own style is also a major reason.

"Truly worthy of the Uchiha clan, ruthless enough. No wonder they don't have a cursed seal like the Caged Bird Seal, and despite not having a Kage-level expert in charge for decades, they've managed to ensure that not a single Sharingan has fallen into enemy hands." Kaede Tsukasa thought to himself, half helpless and half admiring.

As for the Sharingan in the hands of Madara Uchiha and Danzo... these two are not ninjas from other villages, so they don't count.

Just as Kaedeji was looking worried and frowning as he examined the battlefield, giving the impression that he had exhausted all his strength in using the Corpse Escape Technique.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Your skills are truly eye-opening. No wonder everyone speaks highly of you."

Fugaku fought off a wave of Iwagakure ninja and, with the help of a zombie using the Explosion Release technique, managed to escape. He retreated for a short rest, treated his injuries, ate some food, and took the opportunity to speak to Kaedeji.

"You must be Lord Fugaku. Thanks to your protection and that of my companions, I was able to perform my magic safely. Otherwise, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

Kaede wiped the dense sweat from his forehead and gave a strained smile, looking extremely exhausted.

This gesture immediately put the hearts of the Konoha ninjas who were closely watching Kaedeji's words and actions at ease.

According to conventional thinking, a ninja who manipulates corpses should be sinister and terrifying, and have an unusually awkward personality, but they didn't see any of these things in Kaedeji, and thought that Kaedeji was unexpectedly normal.

Furthermore, he used the secret technique of corpse escape in battle, and was once the focus of the enemy leader's attention. Despite the huge consumption of energy, he persevered through gritted teeth, which is truly admirable.

"After this battle, your fame will truly spread throughout the ninja world, making you even more famous than Minato Namikaze, and you'll become the representative figure of Konoha's new generation," Fugaku remarked.

He didn't achieve such remarkable results when he was Kaede Tsukasa's age. Even with the Sharingan, he couldn't reach Kaede Tsukasa's level unless he could obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan.

But since Madara Uchiha, no one has been able to obtain such eyes, and Fugaku himself simply didn't consider this point.

The ordinary Sharingan can enable members of the Uchiha clan to reach the level of Chunin at the lowest level and elite Jonin at the highest level. As for becoming a powerful ninja like the Hokage, that's basically out of the question; without the Mangekyou Sharingan, it's virtually impossible to achieve that.

This also demonstrates how powerful the Hokage lineage is, possessing several Kage-level ninjas who can easily suppress various ninja clans and exert strong control over the villages.

Kaede Tsukasa humbly replied, "Everything I have is given to me by the village. Unlike most of you, I am a war orphan. If the village hadn't taken me in and cared for me, I would probably have died in the wilderness. Now that I have been fortunate enough to develop a secret technique that suits me, it is only right and duty-bound for me to serve the village."

"I clearly saw that intense will of fire." Fugaku thought to himself that it was a pity. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have recruited Kaedeji, who was in trouble, immediately. Maybe he could have gained a powerful ally then.

No, in fact, if Kaede Tsukasa were to marry an Uchiha woman, he would become a member of the Uchiha clan—the Uchiha are not like the Hyuga. As long as Kaede Tsukasa demonstrates enough talent and brings unimaginable benefits to the clan, even the most radical Uchiha would agree.

The Corpse Escape Technique has such value that even a top-tier clan like the Uchiha was willing to concede.

Unfortunately, what's missed is missed. The current Kaede Tsukasa is no longer someone that the Uchiha clan can control, and the Hokage faction will take action.

What Fugaku was most worried about was that Kaede Tsukasa's secret technique would be taken away by people like Danzo. Danzo would definitely find an opportunity to dig up the ancestral graves of the Uchiha clan and call out all the ancestors buried underground.

That would be hell, but he couldn't say it outright, nor could he persuade Kaedeji not to give the secret technique to the village and to use it himself.

Kaede Tsukasa maintained his polite formalities, fully aware of Fugaku's subtle intentions.

Ordinary Konoha ninjas without bloodline limits or secret techniques are the least worried about Tsukasa Kaede using techniques on them, while people like Fugaku are precisely the ones most worried.

"If you intend to recruit disciples, I would be happy to recommend a few outstanding Uchiha descendants to you." Fugaku subtly expressed his thoughts and then prepared to lead his men to the front lines to fight the enemy.

Uchiha Setsuna bluntly said, "I heard about you from the Eighth Hokage. He spoke highly of you, but excessive talent will inevitably arouse the suspicion of those in power. You should be careful about this."

Fugaku frowned, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more.

"The war isn't over yet, and even radicals like Setsuna can't help but jump out... But this is just the beginning. Before long, the conflict between you and the village will continue to escalate."

In his spare time, Kaede Tsukasa had considered how to deal with the Uchiha problem.

The collapse of the Senju clan is inevitable unless Kaedeji gives up on changing bodies and tries to influence the Senju clan's actions, but he has no such obligation.

The Hyuga clan is not a consideration for now. Kaede Tsukasa is not interested in the Byakugan, but he is very interested in the Tenseigan, but the time is not right yet.

The Uchiha clan is the only exception. This clan has many underhanded tricks, and its future fate is uncertain. However, Kaede Tsukasa needs to think carefully about what role he should play in it.

As for the matter of recruiting disciples...

Kaede Tsukasa will do it; if he doesn't do it now, he definitely will in the future.

Every famous ninja in Konoha does this kind of thing, but who to recruit and what techniques to teach are things that need to be carefully considered.

"Speaking of which, it's not that I can't pass on my Corpse Escape Technique to my disciples, but the prerequisite is that my disciple must have the courage to practice it, and, moreover, not to kill himself during the practice... If he is not careful, he will become a part of me."

Kaede chuckled lightly, deciding to drop the matter and deal with it after the war.

Numerous wounded ninjas retreated to recuperate, while many medical ninjas provided emergency treatment.

People would occasionally glance at Kaedeji while eating to replenish their energy, their gazes filled with gratitude and awe.

Even though Kaedeji deliberately restrained himself and didn't actually create thousands of zombies to participate in the battle, it still caused a huge sensation and greatly boosted the confidence of the Konoha ninjas.

Many battles are fought by zombies with the intention of taking each other down, creating opportunities for the Konoha ninjas. Moreover, as long as the zombies' heads are not damaged, even if they are riddled with holes, they still have a certain combat capability. This terrifying characteristic makes the Iwagakure ninjas even more fearful.

The fighting lasted from dawn until dusk, and continued into the night, with shouts of battle echoing from all directions.

Everyone has become numb.

The initial frenzy and passion of the war were gradually worn away in the endless cycle of mechanical charges, injuries, retreats for rest and recuperation, and then charges again.

Finally, when the last Dust Release technique was unleashed, accompanied by the beast-like roar of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, the Iwagakure troops began to retreat in batches.

The troops left behind to cover the retreat were tragic, subjected to a frenzied attack by numerous Konoha ninja. The madness of years of war was unleashed on these guys in this final battle.

At some point, cheers replaced shouts of battle, countless people embraced each other wildly, and cries echoed far and wide in the deep darkness.

Everyone knows that the war is over.

Those who were in charge of logistics or recuperating in the camp couldn't care less about anything else at this moment. They rushed out and vented their excitement and sadness with all their might.

"It seems to be really over. In the next few years, the world will enjoy a superficial peace."

Kaede Tsukasa breathed a sigh of relief, a deep weariness flashing in his eyes.

Even if he can extract life force from zombies and continuously generate chakra, as long as he doesn't overexert himself with powerful techniques and instead pursues a steady, long-term approach, he can sustain himself for a very long time.

However, mental exhaustion cannot be concealed. Chakra is a product of the combination of mind and body. While life force can nourish the mind, it can never replace mental strength. The Yin Release power at the soul level cannot be compensated for by the Yang Release power at the physical level.

Moreover, Kaede Tsukasa also needs to pay attention to the situation in various parts of the battlefield and constantly adjust the zombies' combat process to prevent a zombie horde from forming. It would be troublesome to deal with the situation then, and some troublesome guys might notice something amiss.

Take Orochimaru, for example, who couldn't wait to turn back.

"Not chasing the enemy anymore? Lord Orochimaru is surprisingly merciful." Kaede Tsukasa sat on the ground, panting.

"Hehehe, the enemy has already lost. Killing a few more or a few less makes no difference. They're just a bunch of guys destined to disappear."

Orochimaru walked unsteadily, most of his body stained red with blood, which startled several medical ninjas who rushed over with their medicine kits to treat him.

Orochimaru sat down next to Kaedeji, letting the medical ninja heal his massive wounds. His vertical pupils were already fixed on Kaedeji: "Kakame-kun, in this war, how much of the power do you think you brought to the Corpse Release technique?"

"That's hard to assess. If I had to give a figure, I'd say around 10%," Kaedeji Tsukasa replied, tilting his head as he thought for a moment.

"Is that so? 10%..." Orochimaru chuckled in a low voice, it was hard to tell whether he thought the number was too high or too low, but his good mood was obvious to everyone.

A medical ninja said respectfully, "Lord Orochimaru, some injuries have damaged your bones and nerves. You need to return to the village for better treatment. It would be even better if Lady Tsunade could help."

"Is that so? The human body is really fragile. This level of combat intensity is actually not as high as the battle where Jiraiya, Tsunade, and I besieged Hanzo. It's just that it was commanding a large army, which increased the complexity and took up a lot of my energy."

Orochimaru moved closer to Kaedeji, who subtly shifted his position. "Kakame-kun, after we get back, would you like to visit my lab? I don't know how much Danzo told you, but you won't be disappointed... If you and I join forces, we're sure to make a breakthrough in human experimentation."

“I’m really looking forward to that moment, but human experimentation projects require the Hokage’s approval. Even you and Danzo are not qualified to conduct them without authorization,” Kaedeji said.

"The old man will agree. If Konoha doesn't do this kind of thing, other villages will." Orochimaru's smile was unusually sinister.

Kaede Tsukasa sat wearily on a zombie, talking to Orochimaru.

This scene alone was witnessed by countless people—that someone like Orochimaru would speak with him the moment he returned after leading his troops to victory in the war was already proof of his status and position.

It was through this battle that almost all the Konoha ninjas reaffirmed Kaedeji's level, and from then on, no one would underestimate Kaedeji.

People looked at the figure with a casual expression on his face, surrounded by a large number of returning zombies, and their faces showed deep amazement and awe.

"Perhaps he will become the next Hokage-level powerhouse."

Despite the excruciating pain, Akimichi Choza, whose arm was broken, still managed to glance at Kaede Tsukasa.

"It's unlikely. The Uchiha, Hyuga, Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, Kurama, Aburame, Inuzuka... none of these major clans can produce a Hokage-level shinobi. Only the Sarutobi clan has managed to do so because of the Hokage."

Beside him, Inuzuka Tsuru lay on Kuromaru, too exhausted to even lift a finger, wishing he could fall asleep on the spot, but managed to mumble something.

Even within the Senju clan, since the First and Second Hokage, only Tsunade has emerged as a Kage-level shikigami.

If so many well-established and influential families can't achieve this, then Kaede Tsukasa's path to becoming a Hokage-level powerhouse is extremely difficult.

Even the most arrogant person would acknowledge Kaedeji's talent, believing that his secret techniques were extremely terrifying and unpredictable, making it impossible to defend against them, and that it was only a matter of time before he became an elite Jonin.

However, having talent and potential is fundamentally different from becoming a top-tier ninja at the Hokage level.

Buzz!
A swarm of black insects flew around and slowly burrowed into Aburame Shiguro's body. This genius of the Aburame clan, who was known as one of the same clans as Aburame Shiki, was seriously injured, but at least he returned alive.

In the future, he will also have a descendant with the same name as him who will master nano-poisonous insects.

"Shiguro? It's rare to see you pushed to this point." Choza turned to look at the battered and bruised Aburame Shiguro, his expression showing surprise.

Aburame Shiko said in a low voice, "We have encountered an enemy of the Kamisui clan. As fellow insect-controlling families, it will take a lot of effort to defeat them."

He then said, "I overheard some of your conversation. Actually, it doesn't matter whether Lord Kaede becomes a Hokage-level powerhouse or not. He just needs to be strong enough to control Hokage-level powerhouses."

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and they instinctively felt a chill run down their spines, as all sorts of bizarre and terrifying images spontaneously surfaced in their minds.

Indeed, Shiguro is right. If Kaede Tsukasa can control the corpses of Hokage-level powerhouses, what does it matter whether he himself is a Kage-level powerhouse or not?
Of course, if he could truly control a Kage-level corpse, even if Kaedeji himself lacked in combat experience and chakra reserves, the world would probably regard him as a Kage-level powerhouse.

To reiterate, there has never been a ninja like Kaede Tsukasa in the entire ninja world, never. Ordinary standards may not be entirely applicable.

"Shiguro, do you know something? I remember that Aburame Shii followed Lord Kaedeji to participate in the Battle of Hot Springs. Have the two of you already discussed this?"

"The correspondence was very brief to avoid leaking information, but that did not prevent me from making connections."

Aburame Shiguro opened his hand, and a swarm of parasitic insects buzzed out, gathering together without dispersing: "The corpses controlled by Lord Kaedeji are like the insects I control, except that the corpses naturally have very obvious differences in strength. He himself may not have the ability to kill or seize the corpses, but if someone is willing to do such a thing for him..."

Kaede's growth rate will accelerate further. The only uncertainty is how much of the power Kaede will be able to unleash compared to his more powerful corpse.

It is precisely because Kaede Tsukasa and Corpse Escape are full of mystery and unknowns that these young people can imagine so much.

"When there is another war in the future, Lord Kaedeji might be an entire army all by himself..." Aburame Shiguro recalled Aburame Shiki's words of high praise for Kaedejiji in her letter.

He knew that Shiki, as the Aburame Clan's top genius and the next clan leader, had always highly advocated "personal invasive combat" and was committed to making himself the most perfect elite Jonin without any weaknesses.

Offense, defense, perception, speed, intelligence, decisiveness... She doesn't need teammates; she can handle everything on her own without any weaknesses—in fact, during the Third Shinobi World War a few years later, Aburame Shimi did indeed become such a perfect ninja.

Aside from never reaching the Kage level in terms of strength, Zhiwei excelled in every aspect. Even during the Third World War, he mostly fought alone and always completed his missions perfectly.

In Zhiwei's narration, Kaedeji was the most perfect ninja he aspired to be, and no one was more gifted than Kaedeji in terms of individual invasive combat.

Remote sensing, infiltrating alone, and when the time comes to act, opening the psychic scroll instantly summons an entire force to launch a surprise attack, scattering the enemy in disarray...

So what if such a perfect ninja can only ever be an elite Jonin? Isn't it enough that the corpses he commands and the troops he leads are strong? Even if Kaedeji can't fully utilize the strength of these corpses in life, and can only unleash a portion of it, it's enough to make any enemy tremble with fear!

Now it all depends on whether the village is willing to hand over the body of the powerful figure they finally managed to steal. And, if things really get to the point of extreme crisis, they could also dig up the ancestral graves of the various ninja clans...

These ancestral graves, which originally served no purpose other than providing emotional value, have somehow become an important reserve force that cannot be ignored, all because of Kaede Tsukasa. It's outrageous.

Shiguro Aburame felt that the village wouldn't do such a thing. The power directly controlled by the Third Hokage was too great to suppress any dissent, and the village had won consecutive victories in foreign wars. There was no need for them to do something that went against the Will of Fire.

But Danzo is another story.

"Suddenly arriving at the front lines to participate in the war, and having close conversations with Lord Orochimaru..." Shiro Aburame stopped thinking about it; that was no longer a field he could delve into.

Another hour later, Minato Namikaze returned to the camp. His face didn't show much joy, but rather a growing maturity and composure. Having witnessed even more outstanding young geniuses, he had a new goal to strive for.

"Oh? Lord Orochimaru is talking with Senior Kaede, and it looks like they've been talking for a while."

Minato Namikaze looked around and immediately understood. He really wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Tsukasa Kaede, and ideally, to have a chance to compete in space-time ninjutsu. But it seemed that there was no such opportunity for the time being.

"I have some ideas for the Flying Thunder God Technique II, but it's quite difficult to develop it further... I wonder if Senior Kaedeji could give me some inspiration."

Minato Namikaze was brainstorming; his exceptionally high intelligence and intense thinking allowed him to generate countless ideas every second.

In addition to further developing the Flying Thunder God Technique, he also had some ideas for complementary offensive techniques to complement it.

"Tailed Beast Ball... What a powerful force. I've heard that a truly complete Tailed Beast Ball shoots out a ball of chakra, instead of shooting out a beam of chakra in a half-tailed beast form like the Five-Tails Jinchuriki."

Minato Namikaze fell into deep thought, wondering when Jiraiya would be able to return. He needed to discuss this carefully with his teacher, whom he hadn't seen for over two years.

More and more Konoha ninjas returned to the camp, many of them displaying their spoils, violently beating and cursing the prisoners, venting their pain at losing their comrades, and exercising their rights as victors.

The medical ninjas were even busier, running around healing the wounded, adding another layer of color to this war that had lasted for several years.

Next, the logistics department carried out various follow-up tasks, including tallying merits, counting spoils of war, compiling them into a book, and sending it to Konoha Village for the Hokage to decide.

The news of the end of the Second Shinobi World War spread throughout the shinobi world as quickly as a gust of wind.

The citizens of many small countries were grateful to have survived. Small countries either became vassals of large countries, with their ninjas fighting alongside the great ninja villages as cannon fodder, or their entire countries simply became battlefields for the large countries.

The greatest victory for the people of a small country is simply to survive; this simple and pure dream is not always achievable.

The other major ninja villages didn't react much either.

Has the Fourth Shinobi World War ended? Neither the Hidden Cloud Village nor the Hidden Mist Village actually fielded any fresh troops for the war; instead, they conducted a detailed assessment of the strength of the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Sand Village, and the Hidden Stone Village.

The names of dangerous individuals are marked. If there is an opportunity, you must do your best to kill them. If there is no opportunity, it is best not to fight them unless absolutely necessary.

"Kaede Tsukasa? This guy has really made something of himself. It's a pity that I didn't take him seriously at all back then; that was when he was at his weakest."

Ao was filled with remorse. He had been blinded by a zombie and let go of Kaedeji, the real target who needed to be hunted down.

But the one who was most frustrated and helpless was Chiyo from Sunagakure.

Ever since she learned that Kaedeji had resolved his physical defects and his chakra had surged, she knew that Kaedeji had mastered the Reanimation Jutsu. Considering the existence of the Void Realm Jutsu, it would be difficult to restrain Kaedeji any longer.

"Who would have thought that the forbidden life-swapping technique I developed out of selfish motives would actually make this guy a ninja that every village is wary of and finds troublesome?" Chiyo was extremely angry, but there was nothing she could do.

Kaede Tsukasa has come into the view of more high-ranking officials and has become one of the targets that must be killed. His rank is much higher than that of Minato Namikaze, and even higher than that of most veteran elite ninjas, second only to Kage-level powerhouses!
Anyone who isn't a fool can see how terrifying the potential Kaedejima has shown by analyzing the battle where Konoha defeated Iwagakure. The world still hasn't figured out the upper limit of Corpse Release, and can't determine how many corpses Kaedejima can control at most.

The speculation that one person could form an army left the other ninja villages, except for Konoha, feeling uneasy. Moreover, the corpses under Kaede Tsukasa's command could be composed of all sorts of ninjas, coupled with their fearlessness, their ability to push their physical limits, and their determination to fight to the last second as long as their heads were not destroyed...

The thought of such an undead army is enough to send chills down one's spine.

"Kaede Tsukasa must die! He can't be allowed to live until the next Shinobi World War!"

"Everyone has to die eventually, and when they die, they leave behind a body, unless from now on all the bodies of the dead are cremated..."

"The Battle of the Land of Hot Water was a turning point in the war between Konoha and Iwagakure, but what kind of technique did Kato Dan use to knock the Four-Tails Jinchuriki into a deep coma without taking any damage, forcing him to withdraw from the war? There are too many doubts."

"But there is no doubt about the role played by Kaedeji in the Battle of Hot Springs. In fact, it may not be just what the intelligence shows. There are many other secrets about this guy."

"A war orphan? Hmph, so he didn't receive a proper education from Konoha. Let's spread some rumors and see if we can get Konoha's higher-ups to kill this dangerous genius."

"Yes, we can use a similar method on the others in Konoha. We can take down as many as we can! Aren't those guys in Konoha all talk about the Will of Fire? They're all talk about morality but their hands are full of blood. Let's start with that."

World War II officially ended, but what ended was large-scale warfare. The small-team combat model would have always existed even without the Shinobi World War.

A larger undercurrent is brewing, and the clandestine actions of the various villages will only escalate. Once their power has accumulated to a certain level, once their conflicts have reached a certain point, and especially once a few ninja villages have revealed their fatal weaknesses...

That is when a new round of the Ninja World War breaks out.

World War II was essentially a prelude to World War III. The defeated ninja villages were only slightly weakened, not truly crippled.

……

When news of the final victory reached Konoha Village, the vast and prosperous village erupted in endless cheers.

Even the merchants who came to Konoha Village to do business showed joy on their faces. The arrival of peace meant that trade would flourish further, and more business opportunities would arise as a result.

The ninja village was originally a large military region built up by ninjas and their families. With Konoha Village achieving its ultimate victory in the open, employers from all over the world were willing to come here to hire their desired personnel, and merchants from all over the world were willing to come here to do business with ninjas.

In addition, with the mission quotas and compensation funds that Konoha Village has seized from other villages, the village is bound to experience explosive growth in the coming years, with its economy destined for extreme prosperity and a surge in both the quantity and quality of ninjas.

Everyone firmly believes this is a virtuous cycle. Unless an incomprehensible major event occurs that causes the village's numerous power units to collapse one by one, Konoha, which has already built a huge advantage in overall strength, will continue to prosper forever.

The Third Hokage had already foreseen this moment and was eagerly anticipating it.

"The summary documents from the front lines have finally arrived; I need to take a close look."

What surprised the Third Hokage the most was undoubtedly the sudden all-out attack launched by the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. It was too abrupt.

Originally, the Third Hokage planned to arrange for the troops that had retreated from the Land of Hot Water to rest briefly before adding more troops, led by Tsunade, to rush to the front lines and end the war in one fell swoop.

However, Onoki did not give the Third Hokage this chance. After learning of Rōshi's defeat and that Iwagakure was destined to be unable to defeat Konoha, he decisively launched a final all-out attack to see if he could achieve some results.

Fortunately, Orochimaru held on and successfully defeated the enemy.

"Hmm, Kaede Tsukasa actually showed up at the front lines, and it seems he even had a conflict with Aburame Ryoma? Interesting."

The Third Hokage was not angry. Kaede Tsukasa's unauthorized actions were a serious violation of the rules. However, the war was won, and Kaede Tsukasa played an important role, demonstrating the powerful strength and potential of Corpse Release and accelerating the process of victory.

Such achievements are enough to cover up violations; at most, a perfunctory warning or criticism will be given, and that will be it.

The Third Hokage was more pleased to see Kaede Tsukasa clash with Danzo's subordinates.

Yes, he didn't know about the Reincarnation Technique. Although he knew that Kaede Tsukasa had improved his physical defects and that his chakra seemed to have increased dramatically for unknown reasons, he would never have imagined that it was because of such a heaven-defying forbidden technique as the Reincarnation Technique.

"It seems that my decision to storm into Root and confront Danzo was absolutely correct. Kaede Tsukasa cannot become a weapon in Danzo's hands."

The Third Hokage was in high spirits, puffing on his pipe and watching the smoke rise.

"Under my leadership, Konoha has become too powerful, surpassing even the era of the Second Hokage"—this was the thought deep in the Third Hokage's mind.

From any perspective, this certainly seems to be the case.

"However, Orochimaru's secret letter also made a lot of sense... In the next Shinobi World War, Konoha Village is very likely to be besieged even more fiercely, which is not a good thing."

Therefore, according to Danzo and Orochimaru's plan, they would push forward with forbidden experiments on a large scale, and after the research made some progress, they would directly send living people to participate in human experiments to accelerate the research process.

The Third Hokage was certain that if he could achieve research results, he would quickly build a powerful ninja force, which would further consolidate his rule.

If we fail... whatever failure, it's all Danzo and Orochimaru's own doing, and they must bear full responsibility!

"The most suitable test subjects for the First Generation's cell experiments... were precisely the Senju clan members..."

(End of this chapter)