Chapter 5: Byakugan?
Genin's battles are generally quite simple and crude; after all, their Chakra is limited, and they only know one or two Jutsu, which they use repeatedly in a fight.
As things stand, Tsukasa Kaede has very few overt methods at his disposal; Self-Destructing Zombie Jutsu is his primary offensive technique.
"Fortunately, I encountered a Chunin who wasn't particularly skilled in combat... The Hidden Mist Village is a Great Ninja Village, and under the cruel governance of the Third Mizukage, it has also produced many excellent Ninja. Thankfully, I didn't run into one of those 'overachievers'."
Tsukasa Kaede calculated the time; in about two more years, the Third Mizukage would officially implement the "Bloody Mist" policy, where every graduate would have to kill a comrade they had lived with day in and day out to graduate.
Was this because there were too many people? Or did they think the average Ninja standard was too low? If Konoha also adopted this practice, then the spirited young men of the Uchiha Clan would probably each awaken a Sharingan.
This current point in time was actually very interesting. The Kaguya Clan of the Hidden Mist Village was still alive and well; this crazy clan, suspected of also inheriting the Kaedex Paths Bloodline, was still a pillar of strength for the Hidden Mist Village.
On Konoha's side, the Senju Clan had not yet disintegrated—yes, at least during the Second Great Ninja War, many Senju Clan Members were still active on the battlefield.
For instance, Nawaki Senju, when the Second Great Ninja War had just broken out, perhaps overly emotional, would charge forward with a yell at the slightest rustle. As a result, Orochimaru didn't even have time to intervene and rescue him before he fell into an Explosive Tag trap and was blown to pieces.
Despite having the physique of a Senju Clan Member and operating with a survival expert like Orochimaru, he was still killed by Explosive Tags. Such a hot-headed youth easily overestimates himself and underestimates his enemies, and is indeed fated to an early death on a perilous battlefield.
But by the time of the Third Great Ninja War, the Senju Clan had mysteriously vanished.
For such a powerful clan with a large population, to say they disbanded after the Second Great Ninja War, and every named Clan Member chose to fade from the Village's mainstream view, would be quite an exaggeration.
Those Senju Jonin and Chunin couldn't have collectively fallen under Kotoamatsukami.
Yet the Senju Clan truly did "vanish" silently before the Third Great Ninja War. For such a situation to occur, it could only mean...
"It could only be that a crucial event happened, leading to the nominal disappearance of the Senju Clan."
Tsukasa Kaede had been quietly observing, and in previous years, he had been listening for mentions of Senju Clan Members like Nawaki Senju and Toka Senju, gradually confirming the possible reasons for the Senju Clan's dispersion.
In any case, it was absolutely impossible for it to be something as utterly absurd as the Senju Clan disbanding themselves.
"If it really was that event, it would have points of intersection with my planned body-replacement scheme, perhaps I can make use of it."
Tsukasa Kaede didn't actually care if the Senju Clan had perished or not. This 'Clan of Love,' at its worst, wouldn't become a 'Clan of Buried Love' like the Uchiha, and had no real impact on Tsukasa Kaede.
But if it could provide an opportunity for his body-replacement plan, then he would have to pay a little attention to the Senju Clan.
"Hmm, I need to return to the Hidden Leaf Village smoothly first... This operation exposed my Corpse Release, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. If I want to replace my body, I must first display my talent to facilitate subsequent actions. However, Corpse Release, a Jutsu that manipulates corpses, is too special and could easily cause a huge stir..."
Tsukasa Kaede was caught in a dilemma. His current body had essentially reached its limit. Its fewer than 40 trillion Cells were insufficient for him to advance further on the Ninja path, let alone perfectly develop the abilities of Corpse Release.
This forced him to take concrete action to make a change and achieve his goal of replacing his body.
But taking action would expose Corpse Release, which would be very troublesome. Therefore, he had to find a plausible reason to cover it up, at least allowing him to smoothly navigate the initial phase after exposure.
"I need to think carefully. This might be an opportunity in disguise..." Tsukasa Kaede looked up in the direction the Hidden Mist Ninja had fled.
...
Ao was pursuing Kazematsuri Takuya.
From when Ao dispatched Kio until now, only ten minutes had passed.
"You are likely a Chunin. The significance of killing a Medical Ninja like you is no less than killing a Jonin."
Ao cornered the blood-soaked Kazematsuri Takuya, not forgetting to throw Kunai and other Ninja Tools to continue bleeding Kazematsuri Takuya. "By now, your comrades are likely all dead. This infiltration mission was very successful."
The Hidden Mist Village and Hidden Cloud Village essentially did not genuinely participate in large-scale troop operations during the Second Great Ninja War, instead dispatching various squads to launch invasions, attempting to slowly bleed Konoha dry.
By this point in the war, the situation was already clear. The Hidden Leaf Village had withstood all opponents' attacks and had not allowed the Land of Fire to lose any territory. Considering Konoha's size and reserves, as well as Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality, as long as they didn't lose, it was a victory.
But of course, other Villages wouldn't admit this. If the Hidden Leaf Village hadn't lost, did that mean *they* had lost? For internal propaganda, not losing was naturally a win, and they had severely damaged the Hidden Leaf Village's fighting strength, laying the groundwork for an advantage in the next Ninja World War.
Kazematsuri Takuya leaned against a rock, minimizing his exposed area as much as possible. His Chakra was already critically low, and healing his injuries was already a great struggle, let alone defeating a Jonin like Ao.
"Don't be so arrogant. If we die, we will have bought time for our other comrades to corner you. You'll die here too," Kazematsuri Takuya gasped.
Ao slowly shook his head. "Our ideals are very different from yours. To us, the lives of comrades are not important. Our own lives may not even be that important. Completing the Mission is what matters most. You've done well, but you could have done better."
The Hidden Mist Ninja couldn't understand the self-contradictory approach of Konoha Shinobi. They clearly valued Missions as well, yet insisted on overly injecting the importance of "comrades" into it, making simple matters complicated.
Kazematsuri Takuya let out a deep sigh, a look of despair on his face. He knew it was all over. It was a pity; he had once thought he would live to see the day of Peace...
Rustle.
"Once I kill you, I will immediately leave the Land of Fire. When I return next time, I hope to encounter a member of the Hyuga Clan... Hmm?"
Ao's brow furrowed. "Kio? Faster than I expected. No, who are you?"
A bloody, mangled figure staggered over. Large patches of scorched flesh covered its body. Its facial features were gone, leaving only a pair of eyes. Its entire face was ruined, making its appearance unrecognizable.
What truly shocked Ao was precisely that pair of eyes.
What kind of eyes were those? The pupils and whites of the eyes were almost merged into one, leaving only an extreme pale white, making them utterly unique.
Ao thought he was mistaken and stared intently at these strange eyes.
"...Byakugan?"
(end of chapter)