Chapter 38: Promoted
After another ten days of stationing, the Konoha forces began to withdraw one after another.
As part of the first batch of withdrawing personnel, Tsukasa Kaede would be returning to the Village first for rest and reorganization, a reassignment that left him very satisfied.
What he needed most right now was time. Cultivating in the Village was always better than being constrained in the Main Camp.
The reason not everyone was immediately withdrawn to the Village was to guard against the enemy making another unpredictable raid.
After all, their opponent was the Hidden Sand Village. Compared to other Ninja Villages, the Hidden Sand Village was clearly in a fractured state with its country, leading it to constantly seek opportunities to launch a war and prove its worth to the Land of Wind.
Yet, throughout the entire Second Great Ninja War, the Hidden Sand Village gained absolutely nothing.
They invaded the Land of Fire, confronting Sakumo Hatake and Tsunade, but failed to occupy fertile territory, acquire valuable Ninjutsu, or effectively eliminate the geniuses of the Hidden Leaf Village. It was a disastrous loss.
On another front, they were invaded by the Hidden Stone Village. Both sides fought a great battle and ended up evenly matched. The Third Kazekage, proclaimed the strongest Kazekage in history, along with the One-Tails Jinchuriki Bunpuku, was fully capable of fending off the Third Tsuchikage's offensive.
After all, the Hidden Stone Village's main forces were concentrated on dealing with the Hidden Leaf Village, having to face the troops led by Orochimaru directly.
The Senju Clan, Uchiha Clan, and Hyuga Clan, three great Bloodline Limit Clans, along with numerous large and small Secret Technique Clans, were all assembled under Orochimaru's command.
This clearly showed a significant difference in the Hidden Leaf Village's response forces to the offensives from the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Stone Village.
This didn't even account for the Uzumaki Clan, as five years prior, at the beginning of the Second Great Ninja War, the Land of Whirlpools had been tragically besieged and destroyed by the Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud Village, and a group of Rogue Ninja.
The Hidden Mist Village used the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave to flood the Land of Whirlpools, the Hidden Cloud Village destroyed the Land of Whirlpools' Large Barrier with the Lightning Dream Thunderous Technique, and the Rogue Ninja group kidnapped Uzumaki Clan Members to sell on the Black Market.
"After returning to the Village this time, I need to quickly learn the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu to increase my strength. If I have a choice, I'll try my best not to participate in the war against the Hidden Stone Village," Tsukasa Kaede mused.
The pressure the Hidden Stone Village exerted on the Hidden Leaf Village was far beyond what the Hidden Sand Village could compare to.
Assuming the Hidden Cloud Village in the northeast and the Hidden Mist Village in the southeast made no major moves, the Hidden Stone Village was actually the Hidden Leaf Village's strongest opponent.
The Hidden Sand Village was already impoverished. Their meticulously cultivated Puppet Brigade and Toxins were completely countered by Sakumo Hatake and Tsunade, meaning the Hidden Leaf Village wouldn't need to expend too many resources to deal with the Hidden Sand Village's attacks.
However, the Hidden Stone Village was troublesome; they alone had two Jinchuriki, the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails, both of whom participated in the war against the Hidden Leaf Village.
On Konoha's side, 75-year-old Mito Uzumaki did not participate in the fighting. Otherwise, if this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who scolded the Nine-Tails as if it were her son, were to appear on the battlefield, it might well accelerate the war's end.
It's worth noting that Mito Uzumaki, like Uzumaki Naruto, possessed the ability to perceive the good and evil in people's hearts. This terrifying, all-encompassing sensory ability was insurmountable, rendering all surprise attacks, ambushes, and flanking maneuvers utterly pointless.
This was also because Mito Uzumaki was old and didn't have much time left. Perhaps the near-extermination of the Uzumaki Clan had also dealt a blow to her Essence, Qi, and Spirit. She was now fully dedicated to training Kushina Uzumaki and imparting various Sealing Secret Techniques.
And if you added the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō, who were overseeing the Hidden Leaf Village...
"The Hidden Leaf Village at this time is truly brimming with talent... I remember the Third Hokage's son and daughter-in-law, Konohamaru's parents, were still alive and serving in the Anbu then." Tsukasa Kaede couldn't help but sigh in admiration just thinking about the Hidden Leaf Village's capabilities.
It was simply too luxurious; Kekkei Genkai, Secret Techniques, total military strength, number of Kage Level ninja... they held an advantage in all aspects!
In a way, it was quite remarkable that the Third Hokage would eventually manage to nearly squander this entire lavish setup.
"I must be cautious in any battles involving the Hidden Stone Village; the mortality rate will be very high."
By next year, the end of the 40th year, the war situation would enter its most brutal phase.
"Even after the Second Great Ninja War officially ends, conflicts between the Villages will actually continue until the Third Great Ninja War breaks out..."
Tsukasa Kaede recalled the contents of Minato's Story, lost in thought.
Frankly, Tsukasa Kaede had no desire to participate in these dangerous battles before mastering the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu.
"Ultimately, I still need to master the incomplete Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu as quickly as possible. A normal person might take several years to learn an S-rank Forbidden Jutsu, but I must find every way to compress that time."
Preferably no longer than a year! By the end of next year, a decisive battle between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Stone Village was bound to erupt, and Tsukasa Kaede, as a newly promoted Secret Technique Ninja, would undoubtedly be sent to the battlefield.
"At that time, I wonder if I can use the Spatial Rift Jutsu to escape the bombing range of a Tailed Beast Bomb..."
...
Tsukasa Kaede returned to the Village with his unit and was welcomed by a large number of villagers.
Cheers and flowers were everywhere, as if the war had completely ended. However, the expulsion of the Hidden Sand Village had already given the villagers hope for victory, and everyone believed the war would soon be over.
"We've lost so many comrades, yet those of us who are alive are enjoying applause. This kind of thing..."
Kazematsuri Takuya let out a low sigh. He looked at the faces, and for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to be happy.
He remembered that he should have died in the Land of Rain. It was thanks to Tsukasa Kaede pulling him out at a crucial moment that he avoided the Poison Mist Trap.
How much of these people's cheers were for him?
"Don't think so much about it. Can't you see Lady Tsunade waving to everyone?"
"But I feel Lady Tsunade's smile is a bit forced..."
Of course, it was forced.
Nawaki Senju had died on the battlefield, and what's more, he died so carelessly and indifferently. Even though the war against the Hidden Sand Village was over, Tsunade still couldn't be happy.
Luckily, Kato Dan was fine, though normally he would have died in two years if not for Tsukasa Kaede's influence. That's when Tsunade would have truly broken down and suffered from a mental illness.
"Who can say what the future holds? All we can do is seize the present, follow the guidance of the Will of Fire, and do everything we can to protect this Village."
Tsukasa Kaede also emulated the other ninja, waving to the people around him.
This kind of welcome ceremony was mainly to boost morale. Tsukasa Kaede just wanted to end it all quickly and enter cultivation mode.
But soon, he received a new appointment.
"What? Lady Tsunade, the Village actually appointed me as the head of the Corpse Disposal Unit?"
Tsukasa Kaede put on a surprised expression, "How can this be? I'm just Kaeder Morino Idate's assistant."
(end of chapter)