Chapter 30: I Won't Let a Genius Die Here
Tsukasa Kaede's heart felt a surge of excitement, a feeling he hadn't experienced in many years. From this body ravaged by illness, he felt a long-lost passion.
He surveyed the battlefield. The Hidden Sand Village team that had made a forceful incursion was already heavily encircled, surrounded by galvanized Konoha Ninja. This brief delay had allowed even more Konoha Ninja to converge.
Araki of the Sand's condition was also visibly deteriorating.
Everyone could be certain of one thing: this elite squad from Hidden Sand Village would definitely be annihilated here! This would be a very rare Military Merit, something that could be boasted about for years to come.
At the same time, it would also be a heavy blow to the morale of Hidden Sand Village. One only needed to think to know what the status of an Elite Jonin implied; participating in the encirclement and killing of a squad led by an Elite Jonin was an immense honor.
Araki of the Sand wanted to say something, but found his throat in intense pain. This feeling was somewhat familiar to him—oh, it was the swollen, sore throat he'd felt as a child, during a fever, before his body had fully developed.
But why was he feeling this way? What method had that Tsukasa Kaede used, and when had he cast his Jutsu on him? Why did getting hit by the Jutsu feel like this? Perhaps...
Araki of the Sand erupted with his last remaining strength, his face contorted, exhausting all his power to launch a final attack on Tsukasa Kaede. If he couldn't complete the Mission to capture Tsukasa Kaede, then at least he could kill him!
At this moment, only Araki of the Sand in the entire Shinobi World realized what a terrifying fellow Tsukasa Kaede was, and only when he was on the verge of despair did he truly understand what that guy Tsukasa Kaede's Jutsu was all about!! Soul Death Technique? Bullshit! Everyone had been deceived. Just because he could manipulate Corpses, they wishfully believed this was the Soul Death Technique within the Medical Ninjutsu system, which was far too naive.
Tsukasa Kaede's casting medium, especially the method of casting Jutsu on him, a living human, was highly likely to be the flesh and blood of corpses, or even cells! Yes, Araki of the Sand only suspected it reached the cellular level so far. Although he knew of the existence of pathogens, he truly dared not think in terms of them.
In the current Shinobi World, cutting-edge Biotechnology had only advanced to the cellular level. Deeper levels of DNA would still require Orochimaru to research in a few years, the finished product being Yamato, who possessed Wood Release abilities.
Araki of the Sand's dying struggles also spurred on the other Hidden Sand Ninja. These individuals launched attacks recklessly, attempting to kill a few more Konoha Ninja before their demise.
Further out, the main forces of Hidden Sand Village had already arrived and were about to engage this Konoha unit, but there was certainly no chance left to rescue Araki of the Sand.
"It seems he's figured it out. The efficiency of casting Jutsu on a living human is still too low, making it easy to expose troublesome information. However, it's also because my body is too weak, and my Chakra production efficiency is very low."
Tsukasa Kaede's mind raced, his eyes reflecting Araki of the Sand's blood-soaked figure, still charging forward recklessly.
That hysterical attack, like a dying beast, completely disregarded all pain and injuries, solely to kill Tsukasa Kaede, a mere Chunin.
Tsukasa Kaede's face grew paler, with little Chakra left in his body. He watched as the numerous ninja blocking his path were swept away by the erupting sandstorm, and saw Araki of the Sand's contorted face, close at hand, mixed with a triumphant glee.
It seemed things were truly troublesome. To accelerate the transformation of Araki of the Sand, Tsukasa Kaede had risked consuming too much Chakra. Now, he had to risk depleting his Chakra to the point of death to cast Spatial Rift Jutsu one more time...
It was also his first time being pushed to such a degree, and the terror of an Elite Jonin was now fully visible to him.
Kazematsuri Takuya wanted to intervene, but everyone knew that he, a conventional medical ninja, could do nothing.
"Then I'll have to gamble my life. Even though I've gambled many times in the past, and each time I've struggled back from the brink of death, this time..."
Cases of ninja dying from Chakra exhaustion are not uncommon.
A typical example is when the Kaedex Paths of Pain attacked the Hidden Leaf Village, Kakashi used his last bit of Chakra to unleash Kamui, successfully diverting the Asura Path's homing missile, helping Choji escape successfully.
But after casting the Jutsu, Kakashi died, and at the boundary between life and death, he met Sakumo Hatake and talked for a long time.
False Chakra exhaustion is an adjective, referring to the body being at its limit, with no strength left.
True Chakra exhaustion is when one exhausts everything, squeezing every cell in the body, making both spirit and body perform beyond their limits to forcibly generate new Chakra. And after this Chakra is used up, the body's functions are completely ruined, leading to death.
Just as Tsukasa Kaede finished forming the "Rat" Hand Kaedegn and was about to forcibly generate Chakra to unleash Spatial Rift Jutsu.
A figure he hadn't expected suddenly appeared in front of him, his right hand raised to the side: "It hasn't come to that yet. I won't let a comrade that Tsunade and Sakumo care about die in front of me."
Tsukasa Kaede's eyelid twitched, utterly astonished: "You are—"
Spirit Transformation Technique!
A white light erupted from Kato Dan's body, and a translucent spirit body shot straight towards Araki of the Sand. A solid and a phantom collided head-on; in their entanglement, the translucent spirit body entered Araki of the Sand's body. Immediately after, Araki of the Sand's extremely weakened state left him completely powerless to resist an invading soul, and he died on the spot from mental collapse.
Spirit Transformation Technique is an S-rank Secret Technique even more advanced than Mind Transfer Jutsu. It moves at high speed in soul form, capable of possessing the target, controlling their actions, engaging in mental dialogue with them, or even directly causing them to die from mental collapse.
Of course, it also possesses the ability to sense other souls from an extremely long distance.
This Jutsu was truly overpowered; even during the Fourth Great Ninja War it would be terrifyingly strong, let alone appearing at the end of the Second Great Ninja War.
Araki of the Sand thus became a departed soul killed by this Jutsu, and his status as an Elite Jonin further solidified Kato Dan's formidable reputation.
Kazematsuri Takuya also showed deep surprise on his face: "Lord Kato Dan! Don't tell me, Lady Tsunade arranged for you to participate in our squad's operation?"
"That's right. Your unit is mainly responsible for supporting the front lines. To expand their military achievements before retreating, the enemy might instead take some special actions. Furthermore, this squad also has a genius like Tsukasa Kaede, who makes Hidden Sand Village uneasy."
With his spirit body returned, Kato Dan's smile was very amicable.
His long hair fluttered in the wind, his tall figure appeared slender, and his tone was understated, full of concern for his comrades. As for killing an enemy of Araki of the Sand's caliber, it seemed not worth his excessive attention.
(end of chapter)