Mori no Isuke felt a deeper sense of regret. The opportunity was gone, and someone as cautious as Kaede Kanshi was unlikely to ever give him a chance to probe deeply again.
Kaede Kanshi sat among the crowd, chatting like an ordinary person. He didn't give off the cold and aloof aura that many Konoha ninjas expected from him.
This act of blending into the crowd was rare for Kaede Kanshi. In the past, if he had tried this, he would have already died from being infected by the germs of so many people.
"From now on, I'm somewhat famous. Though still far from the level of a 'genius' that people would sing praises about, I've at least shown my specific talents. This'll help with future operations… To have achieved this much on the battlefield against Sunagakure—it's fantastic."
To Kaede Kanshi, no opponent was more suitable than Sunagakure.
This related to his plan of replacing his body. He had envisioned many theoretically feasible options, but the best path to a perfect body clearly involved Sunagakure. That was the second step.
The first step, of course, was to showcase his Corpse Release technique in a suitable setting, gain fame for it, and avoid being labeled a heretic and either purged or forcibly recruited.
Kaede Kanshi had no intention of ending up with a cursed seal on his tongue like other Root members.
"Around this period, Sunagakure should have begun forbidden research into human puppets. Though it would be discontinued a few years later, it laid crucial groundwork for Sasori of the Red Sand."
The Second Great Ninja War was triggered when Hanzo of Amegakure declared war on the three great nations.
The Third War's trigger was Sasori assassinating the Third Kazekage. Having lost his parents at a young age, Sasori was obsessed with the frailty and short lives of flesh-and-blood humans. He threw everything away to walk the path of human puppets—even defecting.
"My Corpse Release has likely been noticed by Sunagakure's higher-ups. That's dangerous… but also a great opportunity." Flames flickered in Kaede Kanshi's eyes.
Suddenly, an ANBU appeared before him:
"Genin Kaede Kanshi. By order of Lord Sakumo, due to your outstanding performance on the battlefield, you are being exceptionally promoted to Chūnin. Please report immediately to the central base."
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure…
Chiyo stared at her severed arm in silence.
"Sister, it's just one arm. With our village's tech, we can give you a prosthetic that's even better," Ebizō comforted.
Chiyo frowned and angrily threw her bloody handkerchief into a basin of medicine, the stained water spreading slowly.
"I'm not worried about my arm. I led the human puppet project—I know how to make a replacement. I even designed the traps and ninja techniques to install in it."
Then, she suddenly flipped the medicine tray.
"I regret not using the opportunity—when my arm was severed—to poison Hatake Sakumo! If I had infused my blood with a deadly toxin, just a few drops on him could've changed everything! I could've had my revenge!"
She blamed herself for not being ruthless enough.
Ebizō remained silent, unsure how to respond to his increasingly cold and twisted sister. Instead, he handed her a report.
"Here. Something you might find interesting: Kaede Kanshi. Sixteen. War orphan. Genin. Medical ninja."
The document was full of question marks.
"No kekkei genkai. No famous teacher. But he utilizes corpses to an extreme degree—even turning them into suicide bombers… The jutsu is said to be called 'Death Soul Technique'."
"Death Soul Technique? There's no such jutsu… Maybe he spent years refining it?"
Chiyo fell silent, frowning deeply. She knew exactly what the real Death Soul Technique looked like. But how had Kaede Kanshi pulled it off without chakra threads?
Genjutsu? No—that wouldn't work on corpses. It was too ridiculous.
Ebizō added:
"We investigated the puppet master he summoned—it was one of our own, killed a month ago. We failed to destroy the body in time, and Konoha took it as spoils of war."
Puppet masters were elite in Sunagakure. Without extraordinary talent, you weren't even qualified.
Which meant: the number of puppet masters across the ninja world was small, and high-level ones even fewer. It wasn't hard to trace.
"Issue the order: Kaede Kanshi is now an A-Rank target. Alive is best—but even just his Death Soul Technique will do!"Chiyo's eyes flashed."That jutsu is vital to our village's future!"
Images of Kaede Kanshi's zombie flickered in Chiyo's mind, overlapping with the human puppet blueprints she once showed Sasori in secret.
That night, five-year-old Sasori had clutched the newly made Father and Mother puppets and asked:
"Grandma, is there any jutsu that can make Mom and Dad really move?"
"If we combine human puppets with a Death Soul Technique of that caliber… A new jutsu could emerge. One that doesn't need chakra threads. The puppeteer could remain safe while controlling the corpse."
With enhancements, poisons, and emotionless, death-proof puppets—it would be a true killing machine.
Puppet masters would be perfect warriors. No weaknesses.
Sunagakure could finally break free of its desert prison and claim a future in the fertile Land of Fire—maybe even escape the grip of the Wind Daimyō, who constantly slashed their military budget.
"If we can capture Kaede Kanshi and make him refine this jutsu further…"
And apply it to the Father and Mother puppets—maybe even the secret forbidden technique Chiyo had developed—then her son and daughter-in-law might return, and Sasori wouldn't be so cold and distant anymore.
Kaede Kanshi's name quickly spread across Sunagakure. Any ninja with some knowledge realized his immense value. Plans to hunt him began forming rapidly.
As more intel leaked, Kaede Kanshi lost the element of surprise.
His rank as a Genin was mostly ignored—no one who could create such jutsu would be evaluated that way. He'd likely already been promoted.
A Few Days Later
In a three-story building in Sunagakure's southwest, Sasori stood silently at a window before descending into a basement.
He was assembling a puppet skull.
Using a chakra scalpel to remove rotting flesh and expose nerve sockets, he embedded the final cheekbone.
Then the puppet in the fluid tank… twitched.
"This level of human puppet is still far from enough. I need better tech—and better materials."
His pupils contracted in the blue liquid. As he scribbled madly in a lab notebook, he replayed his parents' deaths in his mind: Sakumo's blade through his father's chest; his mother revealing a weakness trying to protect him…
"If they were puppets, that wouldn't have happened."
If he could acquire Kaede Kanshi's Death Soul Technique, the development of human puppets would advance tremendously. He would be one step closer to immortality.
Of all the reports from the frontlines, only Kaede Kanshi intrigued him.
Chiyo tried to keep him away from puppet research. Too bad—it was his greatest talent, and the village needed it.
"Worried about his mental state? Please. The ninja world is full of broken people. Better to extract all value from them while they're alive."
Just then, the secret room's door opened. A maid entered.
"Lord Sasori, I've brought your tea."
Sasori's chakra threads immediately bound her throat.
"Where's my usual servant?"
"So you noticed… Impressive."
The "maid" removed her disguise. It was Yakushi Nonō, disguised as a Sunagakure medical ninja. She carried a scroll with maps of Suna's defenses. The real maid lay at the entrance—dead, her wounds cleverly hidden to make her look asleep.
"Your infiltration technique is good, but your disguise is sloppy. Heartbeat, scent—all wrong. And my maid would never enter the basement."
"Is that so? I guess you're not just a kid. I didn't have time to perfect my disguise—I was on the clock."
She glanced around at the puppets, corpses, and half-finished experiments.
"Looks like I can't capture you quietly. But I will deliver this intel back to Konoha."
She sighed—her mission was a failure. But the discoveries were worth it. She had to survive—for the orphans depending on her.
"Wait. I haven't given you permission to leave."
Sasori snapped his chakra threads—but in the next second, Nonō used a chakra scalpel to slice them away.
"A medical ninja?"
"Exactly. Your tricks don't work well on someone like me. Let me go, or I'll be forced to take you hostage."
"Since you're a Konoha spy, I have a question first: do you know the one using the Death Soul Technique? I'm very interested in him. Let's trade intel."
(To Be Continued)