To put it bluntly, the weakest member of this squad was the newly promoted Chūnin, Kaede Kanshi. The others—like medical ninja Morino Isuke—were all at Tokubetsu Jōnin level.
"You've acquired the intel, which also makes you the primary target for all enemy attacks. You're aware of that, right?" Yakushi Nonoyu instinctively reached out to heal Kaede Kanshi, but immediately stopped—he barely had any injuries.
The weakest was somehow the least injured. In a way, that was a kind of strength.
Kaede Kanshi summoned three zombie Chūnin, stuffed the intel into one of their mouths, and had it swallow the scroll before saying quickly, "Even if I didn't do this, I'd still be the enemy's top priority."
There was one more thing he didn't say: having the intel also made him the top priority for protection from his own team, which increased his survival chances.
Never overestimate the moral standards of Root ninja—they simply don't have such luxuries.
"Retreat."
Terai gave the order, casting Kaede Kanshi a cold glance with no visible emotion. He moved like an ice-cold machine, shielding Kaede Kanshi as they escaped.
One Root ninja stayed behind, throwing down a large number of smoke bombs. In the midst of the sandstorm, this would only buy a few seconds, but it was enough for him to fight the Suna ninja to the death.
Everyone else shifted to a defensive formation centered around Kaede Kanshi to protect his retreat.
It wasn't easy. The Suna ninjas launched a barrage of jutsu. Despite limited visibility, their attacks were fierce and relentless.
Kaede Kanshi bore the brunt of the assault. Even after sending two zombies on a suicide bombing mission to buy some breathing room, a Suna ninja charged through the explosion, aiming a kunai straight at Kaede's throat.
"You're not afraid of your zombies dying—but what about yourself? What happens when you become one? Or are you going to teleport away with space-time jutsu again?"
The Suna ninja's face was twisted with cruelty. He no longer cared about the order to capture Kaede alive—he'd rather kill him and bring the corpse back for the intel team to analyze. They might still extract something valuable.
Anyone could see that Kaede's condition was off. His heavy breathing indicated he was rapidly running out of stamina and chakra. Using space-time jutsu again would be a serious burden.
"Watch out!"
Yakushi Nonoyu cried out in alarm.
Kaede calmly raised his hand. In this flash of danger, he had few options. He was bound to be hit. His teammates wouldn't make it in time to help.
So... let himself be hit.
Shhk!
Part of his left hand was sliced off, tumbling through the air, stained with sand and blood as it hit the ground.
But he dodged the lethal strike to his neck—and that was enough.
Terai killed the Suna ninja immediately, covering Kaede's back.
Kaede, with help from the zombie that swallowed the intel, resumed his retreat.
"Can you still use that movement technique from earlier? If not, your body may not be able to keep up with a long-term escape. You should give the intel to me," said another Root ninja named Tora, covered in blood but speaking bluntly.
Kaede looked at his mangled hand—only three fingers left on what remained of his left hand—and replied, "Don't worry about me. I've used zombies to aid in tactical retreats more than once. What did you think I was preparing for all this time?"
Tora fell silent. More enemies were catching up, and he turned back with sword in hand.
"Tora, hold them off," Terai ordered.
Terai was in the best condition. As long as he avoided a direct clash with Sandstorm Araki, he had the best odds of escape.
Tora didn't hesitate. He acted immediately, risking his life to buy more time.
More sandstorms rolled in, disrupting vision and disorienting them.
"They're like a plague! We have to find a way to deal with Sandstorm Araki. His area attacks are too dangerous for us," Morino Isuke said anxiously.
If someone else had to sacrifice themselves to buy time, he figured it would be his turn next.
Until the final moment, the strongest member—Terai—would not let the intel carrier, Kaede Kanshi, out of his sight.
Just as Terai was about to speak, Kaede interrupted, "I have a plan."
"You have a plan?"
"Yes. You don't need to sacrifice yourself, Captain. I won't let you die." Kaede, carried on a zombie ninja's back, spoke solemnly.
Terai paused. That wasn't what he had in mind—but this sly guy had cornered him with such a noble-sounding statement.
Kaede opened a scroll from his waist, slapped it with his hand, and released a burst of smoke.
The scroll's stored zombies were now exhausted, discarded. Several newly summoned zombies of varying appearance stood behind him.
"You may have forgotten—I'm a medical ninja. A medical ninja who has mastered the Soul of the Dead technique. Altering corpses to resemble living people and using them to distract enemies—that's the original purpose of the technique."
Kaede continued, "We lost two teammates. Their prepared corpses were unused. For the rest of you, I've already prepared altered corpses."
Morino Isuke looked stunned. Yakushi Nonoyu opened her mouth, then sighed.
Terai was silent. He thought of the two subordinates he had sent to their deaths, then looked at the doppelgänger zombie trailing behind Kaede—it looked just like him.
"Tora and Hitsuji's sacrifice was necessary. Without them, we couldn't break away from the enemy to use Soul of the Dead unnoticed," Terai admitted.
He realized he'd made a serious mistake: he had mentally separated Kaede's version of Soul of the Dead from the original, overlooking its use in escape tactics through corpse impersonation.
Sometimes, you don't need grand narratives in a battle—just a mountain of precise details, slowly turning the tide in your favor.
That was the case now. Two Root ninja sacrificed themselves. Even if each only bought a few seconds or minutes, even a slight delay for the enemy made a huge difference.
When Sandstorm Araki killed Tora, only to see him ignite a stack of explosive tags and self-detonate, his blood pressure spiked.
"Those two were Konoha's ANBU, weren't they? I don't remember ANBU using self-destruction tactics before. What's with this new trend of blowing themselves up with tags?!"
Araki was furious. That explosion had cost them precious time!
What use were intact corpses of standard ANBU Jōnin anyway? At best, they'd be materials for Suna's human puppet research—not much else of value.
And yet they chose to explode while still breathing… Araki suspected they weren't just denying Suna their corpses—but denying Kaede Kanshi from using them too.
When Araki finally caught up to the Konoha team and closed in for the kill, something felt off.
"Be careful. They might have planted explosive tags inside these bodies."
A puppeteer sent out chakra threads, manipulating the corpses from a distance. Upon seeing stitches on their necks, they realized they'd been tricked.
"They altered corpses to look like their own and used them to mislead us… That's the original effect of Konoha's Soul of the Dead."
"So we've been fooled again?"
"Seems like it. We don't know how many batches of these altered corpses Kaede has prepared. If there's a second or third batch, it's over. We're less than three kilometers from the Fire Country. It's too late."
Sandstorm Araki frowned. Neither goal—recovering the intel or capturing Kaede—had been accomplished.
Just then, sizzling sounds came from the corpses. The Suna ninjas exchanged knowing glances—boom!—the bodies exploded.
Meat rained down like a bloody drizzle, splattering across the Suna shinobi.
Some of them looked disgusted, swiping at the gore.
Araki, more cautious, noticed a chunk fall into one of his wounds. He flicked it off immediately.
"Don't touch any remnants. They might be laced with poison. Everyone, continue the pursuit. We don't stop until the very end—that's what it means to be a Suna shinobi!"
They resumed tracking but were soon distracted by another batch of altered zombies. Eventually, they could only watch helplessly as Terai led the others into the Konoha forest.
Pursuing further risked ambushes from Konoha ninja and greater losses.
Kaede Kanshi listened to the wind howling behind him but didn't bother to look back. He patiently waited for Yakushi Nonoyu to finish healing his hand.
"Losing two fingers will hinder your ability to perform hand seals," she said, wiping sweat from her brow. Her chakra was completely depleted. Her expression was complex.
To a young ninja who had just started to rise in fame, losing the ability to form seals was a devastating blow. It meant his future potential had been capped—many jutsu would be forever out of reach.
As for sealing with feet or eyes… that was territory only Kage-level ninja could explore, and no one thought Kaede had such potential.
Terai and Morino Isuke watched Kaede closely.
Kaede remained calm. "Trading two fingers for your life, and the precious intel you obtained, was more than worth it. If I could choose again, I'd give up all my fingers to help the village even more."
It was a flawless statement. Especially coming from someone who had actually lost fingers—his potential had clearly taken a hit. And yet, no frustration, no breakdown—just calm, moving words.
At the very least, Yakushi Nonoyu believed him. Though from Root, she was an emotional outlier.
Even Terai's tone softened. "When we submit the mission report, I'll detail your performance truthfully. You contributed the most."
"No, it was thanks to you and the team…"
"Whether it's humility or arrogance makes no difference to me. I'm just doing what needs to be done, not asking your opinion," Terai interrupted.
Kaede nodded. He then split open the belly of a zombie beside him and retrieved the intel scroll—this particular zombie had been damaged during the retreat and had no further value beyond being bait.
That was the advantage of zombies: they could overwork their bodies, even surpassing their living strength, right up until they broke down.
Terai took the scroll, made a seal, and vanished with Shunshin no Jutsu.
Morino Isuke looked at Kaede. "If we all survive the war, you might end up heading the Corpse Disposal Division."
"No, I'm just a Chūnin…"
"There's little difference between a Chūnin and a Tokubetsu Jōnin in most cases—you know that," Isuke shook his head. "Besides, I've earned a lot of merit too, and will likely get reassigned. I won't be going back to my old role."
The Corpse Disposal Division was a minor, third-tier department, mostly handling low-value remains—not even corpses with Kekkei Genkai.
But if Kaede were in charge, his unique Soul of the Dead technique could finally give that division real strategic value.
Everyone knew Kaede had made significant contributions in this A-rank mission. The village would surely recognize it.
The squad disbanded.
Yakushi Nonoyu didn't leave immediately. She observed the pale, skinny young man in front of her—he looked like a strong breeze could knock him over.
To be honest, she hadn't paid him much attention before. After taking over war orphan duties, Kaede had left the orphanage within six months to take on village missions. They'd barely spoken more than ten times.
Kaede always kept to himself, reclusive and withdrawn, with a sickly appearance that pushed people away.
"But I must remind you—your jutsu plays with corpses. You'll never be the celebrated war hero everyone cheers for."
Yakushi Nonoyu looked pained. "It's harsh… I know. But you also seem to have developed some kind of… space-time substitution using Soul of the Dead? That's incredible. You're building your own jutsu system…"
She trailed off, staring at Kaede's hand—missing two fingers.
Before, maybe he had a shot at developing a full suite of jutsu around Soul of the Dead. But now… hand seals would forever limit him. New techniques might never materialize.