Chapter 34: Infinite Chakra!
Impure World Reincarnation is very powerful, but as things stand, even if Tsukasa Kaede obtained and learned this jutsu, he wouldn't be able to use it at all.
He doesn't have enough chakra.
Even if he forcefully summoned Impure World Reincarnation ninjas, how would he control them? Orochimaru further improved the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu, developing a method to enhance control using talismans. How would Tsukasa Kaede control the Impure World Reincarnation ninjas? Most importantly, the difficulty of learning this jutsu is astonishing; only Orochimaru and Kabuto have learned it.
But the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu is different. This was a forbidden jutsu painstakingly developed by Chiyo that can grant life to puppets!
In the original timeline, Chiyo used this jutsu to transfer her life force into Gaara's body, exchanging her own life for Gaara's.
Chiyo's original intention behind developing this jutsu was to sacrifice herself to resurrect the "Father" and "Mother" puppets, so that Sasori could have his parents again.
Therefore, Tsukasa Kaede's statement that the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu was a complementary ninjutsu for human puppets was not entirely false.
The reason Tsukasa Kaede desired this jutsu was not to grant life to puppets. As for granting life to zombies? Well, that might be a creative use, but it was definitely not his true purpose.
He wanted zombies to use the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu on himself!
Zombies can use chakra and the ninjutsu they possessed in life, so transferring the remaining life force from their flesh and blood bodies to Tsukasa Kaede was also feasible.
With a continuous supply of life force for replenishment, Tsukasa Kaede could quickly compensate for his biggest shortcomings—his terrible physical constitution and scarce chakra! By carrying a large number of zombies as consumables, once his chakra was depleted, he could immediately summon zombies to replenish his life force and use the temporarily acquired life force to create more chakra! As long as the number of zombies wasn't exhausted, Tsukasa Kaede's chakra would be endless!
As for how many zombies there could be... wouldn't there be as many as he wanted? How many wars are there every year? How many people die in each war? How many ordinary ninjas without kekkei genkai have their corpses hastily cremated or directly buried? He couldn't possibly use them all; there'd be an inexhaustible supply.
If Tsukasa Kaede could have a massive amount of life force as his replenishment, in the vast Shinobi World, where couldn't he go? Wouldn't he have an even greater chance to obtain more, higher-quality zombies? This would form a perfect virtuous cycle. Tsukasa Kaede would also instantly break free from his current predicament. To directly enter the Kage-level ranks would be an exaggeration, but at the very least, to be promoted to Jonin and escape unharmed from an elite Jonin is entirely possible.
With this unique Corpse Release system, he would instantly become an extremely troublesome and bizarrely powerful ninja.
"The prerequisite for all of this is obtaining the Living Corpse Reincarnation jutsu. This is the key to breaking through my current situation."
Tsukasa Kaede glanced at the dense forest in the distance. Perhaps Sasori of the Red Sand was hiding behind one of the large trees there? No, that's unlikely. Sasori of the Red Sand would probably put on a puppet cloak and send a sand clone over. His main body wouldn't get close.
"After learning about the effects of this jutsu, Sasori of the Red Sand will probably figure out what I want to do..."
Speaking of which, corpses becoming zombies, then zombies becoming living humans again and returning to their peak strength, and then Sasori of the Red Sand taking them and converting them into human puppets...
Hmm, that truly is a good industrial chain. Ninjas who have been dead for a while could also be utilized. Sasori of the Red Sand wouldn't have to solely target living humans to kill. He would surely be delighted to see this.
Talking ideals with an artist is more effective than only talking about benefits.
...
The war was progressing according to Konoha's expected rhythm.
Unit after unit crushed their opponents, then aided other units. Konoha's advantage, with each major battle, was steadily expanding.
The advantage accumulated from years of conflict and countless small victories finally bore fruit at this moment—a result nourished by the numerous corpses of ninjas from both nations.
The Hidden Sand Village's main army finally crumbled. Chiyo's toxins were countered by Tsunade. Bunzaemon, the First Puppet Master, was killed in a surprise attack by Sakumo Hatake.
Hidden Sand Village ninjas were fleeing everywhere. Konoha ninjas, in the posture of victors, declared another major victory.
"What a pity, the Third Hokage won't allow us to invade the Land of Wind. This kind of victory for us is essentially just expelling the invaders. Our absolute losses aren't actually any less than Hidden Sand Village's."
Tsunade stood on high ground, overlooking the scene of Konoha ninjas chasing down Hidden Sand Village ninjas. Watching the widespread scene, like herding sheep, she was somewhat irritable.
Kato Dan stood beside her and said gently, "If we push into the Land of Wind, it would mean escalating the war between the two nations. It would make the enemy gather more forces and resist desperately, causing us greater losses... However, even with equal losses, Hidden Sand Village would be the one suffering more."
"If we really want them to suffer, we should inflict a painful blow. They come when they want and leave when they want?" Tsunade shook her head. The thought of it made her feel frustrated.
At the beginning of the war, Konoha, Hidden Stone Village, and Hidden Sand Village primarily fought in the Land of Rain. Only later did they divert some forces to directly invade each other's territories.
After Hanzo announced his withdrawal from the war and the Hidden Rain Village no longer participated in the Second Great Ninja War, these three nations began to concentrate all their forces to wage wars of aggression and anti-aggression, intensifying the brutality of the war.
Hidden Sand Village was the most aggressive in attacking the Hidden Leaf Village. Now that they were routed, Konoha, however, had no intention of counter-invading them. The assertive Tsunade was extremely displeased.
Or rather, she was already tired of this war; her beloved brother had died.
Fortunately, her lover was still with her.
Tsunade looked at her lover and finally felt some comfort, asking, "What about that kid named Tsukasa Kaede?"
"He's quite good. Both his secret technique system and his character are quite reliable. From what I've observed, the space-time jutsu he developed is also very interesting and has strong practical value." Kato Dan did not hold back his praise. He was always very tolerant and partial towards his comrades.
After a moment of thought, Kato Dan added, "It's just that his body is too weak, and he lost two fingers during the mission to retrieve Nonō Yakushi, which has diminished his potential."
"His physical condition is easy to address. As long as he doesn't have a bloodline disease, the village has several jutsu that can help him increase his physical strength. But his fingers..."
Tsunade frowned. There was nothing to be done about that.
Install prosthetic fingers? Konoha doesn't have that kind of technology.
Missing two fingers means some hand signs cannot be performed smoothly. The only good news is that he can use corpse manipulation technique to cast jutsu instead.
"Hidden Sand Village no longer poses a threat to us. Have him return to the village to recuperate for a while. I'm also very interested in his situation," Tsunade said.
(end of chapter)