Chapter 39: Let me see the limits of this jutsu!
"The Village has new arrangements for Morino Idate, and he has accumulated a good amount of military merits, enough to adjust his position."
Tsunade signed her name on the transfer order. Kaedence she was present, Ryoma certainly wouldn't be allowed to interfere.
"With the Hokage's and my signatures, everyone must accept it."
"I understand. I will do my best and utilize my talents as much as possible."
Tsukasa Kaede felt that the Hidden Leaf Village was truly a good place.
With the endorsement of the highest leader and his direct superior, he could act with confidence. The entire Hidden Leaf Village had no place more suitable for him than the Corpse Disposal Unit. Moreover, before heading to the battlefield, he had already worked in this department for a period, obtaining several decent zombies, which proved greatly helpful to him.
Tsunade tossed a scroll to Tsukasa Kaede, which contained a jutsu for Chakra stimulation of the body—something she had previously promised him.
"Are you very familiar with Ryoma?" Tsunade asked offhandedly, still handling files on her desk.
"I have indeed been summoned by Lord Ryoma."
"Hmm, stay away from that guy. As far as I know, Nonō Yakushi has been active around Ryoma, seemingly trying to transfer you to another department, which I vetoed."
Tsunade said without raising her head, "Those people are all connected to Root. I don't know how much you understand about Root, but it's best to keep your distance. They are definitely interested in your secret technique."
Tsukasa Kaede's face showed a sudden realization.
So, without him knowing, Root and Tsunade had already engaged in a round of contention? Tsukasa Kaede immediately recalled Nonō Yakushi mentioning that she would try to find a way through Root, from the village's human experimentation projects, to restore his two missing fingers. At the time, Tsukasa Kaede hadn't taken it seriously, but now it seemed Nonō Yakushi was serious.
"Understood, Lady Tsunade. However, I am just a regular Chunin, and often I can't decide my own assignments. I will obey the village's arrangements."
"Alright, just be mindful yourself; I can't always keep an eye on you. Also, use your secret technique sparingly in the village, and absolutely do not use jutsu on your comrades, or even I won't be able to protect you."
"Of course, my jutsu is for protecting the village and my comrades," Tsukasa Kaede readily agreed.
He wasn't crazy enough to trigger a zombie crisis within the Hidden Leaf Village. For now, the Hidden Leaf Village was indeed the most suitable haven for him.
Tsukasa Kaede actually still hoped to participate in the village's forbidden experiments. Only then could he truly access core secrets, such as Hashirama Cells. Using the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu to compensate for his shortcomings was the first half of Tsukasa Kaede's body replacement plan. The latter half was more complex, with the best option being to acquire Hashirama Cells. To obtain Hashirama Cells, it would be best to join the village's human experimentation projects and assist Orochimaru and Danzo, which would allow him to acquire them legitimately.
Of course, if he couldn't get Hashirama Cells, it didn't matter; Tsukasa Kaede had alternative plans, though they wouldn't be as perfect.
However, it seemed there was no opportunity for now. Tsunade was very worried about specialists like him getting involved with Root members.
"Next, I'll have to lay low for a while..."
Tsukasa Kaede no longer returned to his old residence. That dilapidated house on the village's outskirts was no longer useful to him. With his current military merit, he could certainly acquire a better house—though he didn't care about his living quarters and went directly to the Corpse Disposal Unit.
Of all the people who went to the battlefield, only he remained, besides Morino Idate.
"It was already a very small department, and now only I am left. But that's normal; with the war against Iwagakure still ongoing, the number of corpses transported here will temporarily hit rock bottom."
Moreover, the village might not even send many valueless corpses to the Corpse Disposal Unit as it did in the past. Tsukasa Kaede was, after all, a person who tampered with corpses. If it weren't for the wartime use of the Soul Death Jutsu to mask this secret technique, at any other time, he would have long been classified as someone researching forbidden jutsu, surely subjected to strict surveillance, or even directly absorbed into Root.
"So, I cannot pin my safety on the whims of the village higher-ups. I must prepare means to fight for my life in advance," Tsukasa Kaede pondered.
The Hidden Leaf Village's moral standards during this period were far lower than during the era of Naruto and Sasuke. The higher-ups probably wouldn't directly kill a talent like Tsukasa Kaede, who specialized in corpse research. There would definitely be a place for Tsukasa Kaede in various forbidden human experimentation projects. It just depended on when Tsukasa Kaede could gain the village's true trust and have the opportunity to join.
As a new batch of corpses arrived, Tsukasa Kaede immediately got to work.
He worked diligently, just as before, seriously handling each corpse. Completely valueless corpses were burned directly, while valuable ones he kept for himself.
All his actions were observed by the ninja monitoring him and reported to the higher-ups.
The Third Hokage was watching, and Danzo was, of course, also watching.
"Is that so? He didn't make any extra moves?"
Secretly withholding some corpses was not an issue in Danzo's eyes. The Corpse Disposal Unit was just a sub-department, and the corpses it handled weren't of great value. Even if Tsukasa Kaede kept them all, it wouldn't matter. Danzo was primarily using this method to analyze Tsukasa Kaede's secret technique.
"In three days, he devoured all seventeen corpses transported there... So blatant. It seems his jutsu is even better than I expected."
Danzo nodded secretly. He was vaguely assessing Tsukasa Kaede's corpse modification speed. In just three days, he was confident in processing so many corpses? Including a jonin corpse? This might not even be Tsukasa Kaede's limit. Of course, it could also be a disguise. It was normal for a young person to want to exaggerate their talents to show the village.
"Lord Danzo, what should we do next? Should we demand the Corpse Release Secret Technique from him? Lord Hokage is probably also paying attention," Ryoma asked.
"No need. Until I issue a new order, continue monitoring. If you encounter Anbu members, do not clash with them. Hiruzen's son and daughter-in-law won't give an old man like me face."
Danzo snorted, then said, "Tsukasa Kaede is a ninja of the village; his jutsu is naturally Konoha's jutsu, and Konoha's jutsu is naturally this old man's jutsu! What truly interests me is whether the corpses he modifies can retain their Bloodline Limits from when they were alive?"
Araki of the Sand was also a Magnet Release ninja, but Tsukasa Kaede had not brought that corpse out again until now.
Ryoma immediately understood Danzo's meaning—could the corpses of the Uchiha Clan be modified into loyal walking dead? And of course, they would need to be able to continue using the Sharingan. If even that could be achieved, it would be enough to make Danzo's heart stir.
Danzo's dislike for the Uchiha Clan and his preference for the Sharingan were no secret to Ryoma.
"Orochimaru sent someone back with the corpse of an Explosion Release ninja," Ryoma said.
"Orochimaru... that omnipresent fellow, extending his reach so far while dealing with Iwagakure."
Danzo snorted, then fell silent for a moment. "Then give that corpse to Tsukasa Kaede! Let me see what the limits of this secret technique are!"
(end of chapter)