Chapter 33: The Jigsaw Puzzle of One's Own Life Reincarnation
That Sasori of the Red Sand would try to contact him was something Tsukasa Kaede had long anticipated.
Even Chiyo coveted his secret jutsu, going so far as to arrange for Araki of the Sand to abduct him. It went without saying that Sasori of the Red Sand, an ardent advocate for Human Puppets, would be even more interested.
"I'll only contact you if you survive. If you were captured by Araki of the Sand and taken back to the village, there would be no need for me to contact you, because what you currently possess would eventually fall into my hands anyway."
The puppet's mouth opened and closed, making intermittent sounds.
Tsukasa Kaede glanced around. Only a few scattered Konoha ninja were cleaning up the battlefield nearby. He immediately said, "What exactly do you want to say? I don't have time to waste on you."
"Let's make a trade. You hand over your jutsu to me, and in return, I will give you the Hidden Sand Village's Human Puppet Secret Technique," Sasori of the Red Sand said. "Flesh and blood bodies are destined to decay. You will awaken to this truth sooner or later and will surely walk the same path as me. We are not enemies."
"So confident?"
"I won't be mistaken. Essentially, you and I are no different. We've both embarked on the path of mastering corpses; the only difference is our methods of modifying them."
Sasori of the Red Sand said, "You can make corpses use their ninjutsu from when they were alive, and my Human Puppet Secret Technique can also modify corpses, allowing them to use ninjutsu they knew in life."
Any puppeteer who knew about Human Puppets couldn't ignore Tsukasa Kaede's existence. Obtaining Tsukasa Kaede's jutsu would be equivalent to completely perfecting the most crucial part of Human Puppets.
Sasori of the Red Sand said, "I've looked into your intelligence. You haven't been using the Soul Death Jutsu for long, so you haven't realized its biggest drawback yet—corpses themselves continuously decay. But my Human Puppets are different; by constantly replacing parts, Human Puppets can exist indefinitely."
"What if I were to demand the complete Human Puppet Secret Technique from you?"
"Alright, then you hand over all the jutsu in your possession. I'm very interested in the Space-Time Ninjutsu you activate through corpses. If it were used on my puppets, the puppeteer's weakness would be entirely overcome."
What does a puppeteer fear most? It's nothing more than being ambushed by enemies adept at instant kills, like Konoha's White Fang.
Even a puppeteer controlling Human Puppets, their own flesh-and-blood body remains a weakness. Unless they convert their entire body into a puppet, there ultimately requires a flesh-and-blood core to produce chakra.
But if one could master Space-Time Ninjutsu, even if it only allowed for teleportation a dozen meters, for a puppeteer, it would be a crucial ninjutsu capable of altering their destiny.
Battles change in an instant; for masters, a mere moment of reprieve is often enough to completely turn the tide of a battle.
"What a troublesome child. Nonō Yakushi never told me you'd be this difficult. Are you really only six years old?"
"I'm seven now. In the Warring States Period, someone my age would have already gone to battle and killed many people," Sasori of the Red Sand said coldly.
Tsukasa Kaede nodded inwardly. That was true; even in the Era of the Hidden Villages, Kakashi Hatake, Itachi, and others had already been to battle and seen bloodshed at that age.
There was no helping it; this was, after all, a world with supernatural powers. As long as young children could generate and use chakra, killing ordinary people was as simple as slicing melons and dicing vegetables. Their combat prowess was far beyond what ordinary people could compare to.
"So, have we reached a consensus? This is good. You and I are true fellow travelers on this path, and we hold no grudges. On the road to eternity, I am finally no longer alone." Sasori of the Red Sand's voice, for once, showed a rare flicker of emotion.
Even his grandmother, he feared, wouldn't be able to understand his thoughts. Instead, he had to join forces with someone from a rival village to walk this path.
As for betraying the Human Puppet Creation Technique amounting to Village Defection, Sasori of the Red Sand didn't care at all. The people of Hidden Sand Village were, after all, merely things destined to fade away.
Tsukasa Kaede still didn't approach the puppet. Instead, he walked a few meters to the side, squatted down, and as if retrieving war spoils left behind by the enemy, said, "We can set the Human Puppets aside for now. I'm very interested in another jutsu. If you can procure it for me, we can make the trade immediately."
"Hmph, how cunning. So you were already prepared to contact me all along."
"There's one thing you said that I agree with wholeheartedly: traveling together into the unknown is always better than blundering around alone like a headless fly," Tsukasa Kaede said slowly.
"…Speak, what do you want?"
"Chiyo's Forbidden Jutsu, One's Own Life Reincarnation."
"Never heard of it. How do you know about information even I'm unaware of?"
Sasori of the Red Sand was rather surprised.
One's Own Life Reincarnation? What in the world is that? Does that old hag Chiyo know that jutsu?
"Currently, Chiyo probably hasn't truly fully developed it, but even if only partially developed, it doesn't matter. There's no point in hiding it from you; with your intelligence, you'll surely understand my true intention, so I won't mask this objective by making multiple trades."
Tsukasa Kaede coveted this jutsu.
As long as he could get the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu, even if it was currently imperfect and full of flaws, it didn't matter, as long as he could successfully perform it!
At this current stage, even if the Hidden Leaf Village were to toss the Scroll of Seals at him, allowing him to freely choose any ninjutsu from it, it wouldn't compare to the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu in Chiyo's hands! For Tsukasa Kaede right now, the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu's importance surpassed even the Impure World Reincarnation!
"The One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu… what is that jutsu used for? From its name, it seems to be a Resurrection Jutsu. Is it a ninjutsu designed to complement Human Puppets?" Sasori of the Red Sand naturally thought of this.
Chiyo's most formidable jutsu were undoubtedly her Human Puppet Creation Technique and the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu.
Human Puppets were temporarily incomplete and not suitable for overt use on the battlefield at this time. As soon as this jutsu was unveiled, just like Tsukasa Kaede's Soul Death Jutsu, it would become infamous among enemies.
No one could tolerate an enemy mastering such a jutsu. Ethical and public opinion risks were only one aspect; there was a greater concern that their own deceased comrades would become combat prowess for the enemy.
The Hidden Sand Village's impending defeat was becoming increasingly clear. Unveiling Human Puppets at this time would be a brainless act. After the Hidden Leaf Village won the War, how could it tolerate the Hidden Sand Village continuing to possess such a jutsu? Therefore, the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu, a previously unheard-of jutsu, must also be complementary to Human Puppets.
Tsukasa Kaede nodded, "You could say that. This jutsu was developed for Human Puppets."
"That Nonō Yakushi seems truly formidable, managing to obtain a secret of this caliber from Konoha. In the future, I'll find an opportunity to kill her. I hope you won't stand in my way; I certainly don't want to eliminate you."
"That's a matter for the future." Tsukasa Kaede remained noncommittal.
"I'll give you an answer soon. This is the Cipher Book between you and me. I'll find you as soon as possible."
The chakra stored in the puppet was about to deplete. A switch on its chest opened, and a scroll rolled out.
The puppet itself vanished in a puff of white smoke with a 'poof', disappearing from its spot.
Tsukasa Kaede mused, "The Summoning Jutsu, huh? That Sasori of the Red Sand…"
(end of chapter)