**Chapter 31: Konoha Has a New Secret Technique System**
Genius!
This was the first time someone publicly used such a lavish term to describe Tsukasa Kaede.
The one who uttered these words was Kato Dan, an Elite Jonin who possessed a unique Ninjutsu.
"You flatter me too much," Tsukasa Kaede, after steadying his breathing, said slowly. "I am just an ordinary Konoha ninja, unworthy of the name 'genius'. I am simply trying my best to do what I should. Without the protection of my comrades, I would have long since died in some unknown corner."
"The fact that your further developed Soul Death Technique led the Hidden Sand Village to dispatch elite squads to capture you already speaks volumes."
Kato Dan first glanced at the distant Hidden Sand Village forces before saying, "Those from the Hidden Sand Village thought we didn't value you at all, failing to recognize your worth. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Lord Sakumo and Tsunade sent me to protect you, hoping to use you to bait the Hidden Sand Village into taking radical action."
Everyone could see that the result was highly successful. The death of Araki of the Sand was an astonishing military feat, regardless of the era.
Whether in terms of strength, status, achievements, or reputation, an Elite Jonin is a potential future high-ranking official, or even a Kage! Killing even one significantly reduces an enemy village's potential.
"I apologize, I ended up killing Araki of the Sand. Did I inadvertently steal your credit? I will explain the situation to Lord Sakumo. The Village is never stingy when it comes to rewarding deserving individuals," Kato Dan suddenly remembered, scratching the back of his head a little awkwardly.
No one would have expected this humble, kind, long-haired man to be a god of slaughter who mastered the Spirit Transformation Secret Technique.
"No, I couldn't possibly claim that. This was originally your credit, and everyone helped me block many enemies. Without such collective effort, I wouldn't be here now," Tsukasa Kaede insisted.
This made Kato Dan's impression of him even better.
"I saw you perform your Jutsu on the living Araki of the Sand, and I know you influenced him with unknown means. You don't need to worry about that."
Kato Dan patted Tsukasa Kaede's shoulder. He had observed the entire process, not merely to protect Tsukasa Kaede and hunt Araki of the Sand, but also to assess Tsukasa Kaede's character.
Regardless, Tsukasa Kaede was a War Orphan and had not received formal education from the Hidden Leaf Village Ninja Academy. Furthermore, his Ninjutsu dealt with corpses.
Kato Dan wasn't necessarily doubting Tsukasa Kaede's loyalty or suspecting he would defect. It was purely a close-range, systematic assessment.
If his character wasn't good, then how to deal with Tsukasa Kaede would require careful thought.
The assessment results left Kato Dan very satisfied. All several objectives had been perfectly achieved, adding an extra flourish to this particular battlefield segment.
"Humble, cautious, or perhaps a little lacking in self-confidence? That's normal, given his poor Physical Constitution and past suffering from illness. Had he fully recovered now? There's too little intelligence on this; something to learn more about later."
"Even with the Soul Death Technique as his core ninjutsu, he hadn't degenerated into a dark demon. He continued to develop other ninjutsu based on the Soul Death Technique, even developing Space-Time Ninjutsu... His sensitivity to jutsu and talent for development were beyond imagination, truly remarkable."
Tsukasa Kaede had already surpassed most Konoha ninja. The more Kato Dan observed, the more surprised he became.
Especially regarding this Soul Death Technique. As Tsunade's lover, after receiving the mission to protect Tsukasa Kaede and bait powerful individuals from the Hidden Sand Village into their deaths, it was only natural for him to seek intelligence on Tsukasa Kaede and inquire with Tsunade about the Soul Death Technique's condition.
Kato Dan still remembered Tsunade's verdict: "That shouldn't be the Soul Death Technique. At the very least, it's been significantly developed and could very well be the core Secret Technique of a brand-new system."
Yes, a Secret Technique within a brand-new system, with the emphasis truly on the *new system*.
Kaedemilar to the Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Technique and the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique, these were all systemic. Any ninja learning such a system only needed to steadily improve themselves and learn the Secret Techniques within that system at different stages.
Regardless of their strength, such Secret Technique ninja were at least a special type of ninja, indispensable in any level of team.
And Tsukasa Kaede, a ninja who seemingly developed a brand-new system? Even if it truly extended from the Soul Death Technique, he was absolutely worthy of high regard. Sakumo Hatake and Tsunade, no matter how 'brainless' they might seem, would certainly pay extra attention.
Not to mention, he also developed a new Space-Time Ninjutsu! That's why Kato Dan, and not someone else, came.
Even if a Kage-level ninja were to attack Tsukasa Kaede, with Kato Dan's abilities, he could definitely get Tsukasa Kaede out unscathed, and perhaps even unexpectedly kill the attacking Kage-level ninja.
Kato Dan patted Tsukasa Kaede's shoulder and whispered, "I can tell that your Jutsu has departed from the original Soul Death Technique. However, if you claim it's the Soul Death Technique, you must have your reasons. But you need to plan ahead. To be able to derive a Space-Time Ninjutsu, and to also influence a living Elite Jonin with unknown means..."
This brand-new system has immense potential and immense value. It was just unknown if Tsukasa Kaede had developed it to its peak. Currently, it seemed he hadn't — Kato Dan felt that, at the very least, that Space-Time Ninjutsu, which somewhat resembled the Flying Raijin Jutsu by instantly changing one's position, possessed enormous developmental potential.
Currently, the movement distance was too short, perhaps related to the scarcity of chakra produced by Tsukasa Kaede's poor Physical Constitution.
What if Tsukasa Kaede recovers his body in the future? What if he were to learn a Chakra-stimulating cell technique, or if Tsunade were to personally teach Tsukasa Kaede valuable Medical Ninjutsu to improve his Physical Constitution? Could the movement distance be extended and the number of movements increased? Controlling more corpses, disguising them as normal ninja to lurk around, then moving at high speed using Space-Time Ninjutsu... Don't forget, the Flying Thunder God Kunai couldn't move on its own, but Tsukasa Kaede's corpses could!
Not only could they move, but they could also use various Ninjutsu to kill enemies! At worst, they could drag enemies down with them in a mutual kill!
A "Flying Raijin Jutsu" that continuously moves its own space-time coordinates? Kato Dan merely thought about it and felt the image was too beautiful. Even if there would certainly be various limitations in reality, and it wouldn't be truly perfect, it was still enough. This at least proved that this jutsu had even greater and more astonishing development prospects.
"Be more confident. You are very important. Regardless of what you were before, you have changed your own destiny through your efforts and will also change the destinies of many others. Chunin Tsukasa Kaede, I can see that before long, you will become an influential person. The Village and your comrades need your strength."
Kato Dan's words were encouraging. Tsukasa Kaede smiled faintly, noncommittally.
He, of course, knew the immense potential of his Corpse Release. What he had developed so far was merely the tip of the iceberg.
(end of chapter)