chapter 115 part 3
"What is it?" Tsukasa Kaede opened the door.
"Transmitting Lord Hokage's orders. The Village wishes for you to lead troops to confront the threat from the Hidden Sand Village. Intel indicates that the Hidden Sand Village has indeed launched an operation, deploying a force of four thousand troops to the border region between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire," the Anbu Ninja said.
Tsukasa Kaede opened the Mission scroll and read it carefully. It was an S-rank Mission. After noting its contents, he immediately closed it.
"It's just a bluff. I'll take care of it."
"Lord Hokage has been waiting for you. If you had returned even a day later, he would likely have chosen someone else to lead the troops into battle."
"Is that so... And leading troops, too. Well, I won't be doing that. The trouble I caused, I'll resolve myself."
Tsukasa Kaede's expression remained calm.
The Anbu Ninja was stunned. He suddenly looked up, staring at Tsukasa Kaede in disbelief. "Tsukasa Kaede, do you intend to go alone...? The enemy has four thousand troops!"
"I'm a Corpse Release Ninja, have you forgotten?"
"Even if you control many Corpses to fight, and can continuously hunt enemies to replenish new Corpses, you are still ultimately just one person. No matter how many Corpses there are, they will still consume your Chakra," the Anbu Ninja said.
Tsukasa Kaede's expression remained calm. He had no intention of explaining further. The Third Hokage would understand his meaning—he simply didn't lack Chakra.
The Third Hokage and the others must still think that he successfully transplanted some Hashirama Cells. They wouldn't even imagine that he literally devoured a Hashirama Senju whole. His current Chakra reserves alone had already reached an incredibly exaggerated level.
Moreover, he could also use the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu to extract Life Force from Zombies, further generating more Chakra to use.
If truly necessary, he could also use the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu to treat severely damaged Zombies, repairing their bodies and sending them back into battle. However, this usage would be acceptable only if applied to a limited number of Zombies like Araki of the Sand. If used widely, it would be too inefficient.
Wasting Chakra like that, Tsukasa Kaede might as well just use Wood Release himself.
"Considering the existence of the Uchiha Clan, my possession of the Sharingan still needs to be concealed. However, Wood Release doesn't need to be hidden deliberately. The Hidden Sand Village has already been spreading the word that I've mastered Wood Release, and other Ninja Villages have probably already received this news."
Tsukasa Kaede vanished before the Anbu Ninja, heading directly for the Front Line.
Only the Anbu Ninja remained, standing bewildered. One person, to face a force of four thousand? How could that be? It was understandable that Tsukasa Kaede was young and impulsive, but the Village couldn't truly let him go alone.
Previously, Tsukasa Kaede single-handedly ambushed and eliminated three hundred of Hidden Cloud Village's Elite Force, astonishing the world. But now he was going to solo challenge four thousand? That was absolutely impossible.
"You should leave. I don't like strangers here," Konan said, looking coldly at the Anbu Ninja.
"..."
The Anbu Ninja said nothing, quickly returning to the Hokage Tower.
The Third Hokage mused, "Is that so? That's what he said. So confident, able to withdraw unscathed in front of thousands of enemies? Then let him do it. He probably has a sense of atonement, after all, this war wouldn't have erupted originally; it was triggered because he attacked the One-Tail."
According to the Third Hokage's speculation, Tsukasa Kaede would simply take a horde of Zombies, continuously raid the Sand Village troops with Space-Time Ninjutsu, and then retreat after achieving some results.
That would be enough. Tsukasa Kaede had made a mistake, and by proactively stepping forward, he had greatly alleviated the dissatisfaction in the Third Hokage's heart.
"Have Sakumo Hatake organize the troops. Once Tsukasa Kaede has killed a number of Sand Village Ninja, created chaos, and then retreats because he can no longer hold out, Sakumo can go in to support him and repel the Hidden Sand Village's attack. Even if Tsukasa Kaede obtained the First Hokage's Cells, strengthened his physique, and increased his Chakra, he still can't face that many enemies alone."
The Third Hokage, on the contrary, wasn't worried about the Hidden Sand Village, but rather was satisfied with Tsukasa Kaede's initiative.
Kaedence Tsukasa Kaede took the initiative, the Third Hokage immediately employed his traditional skill—neither speaking, supporting, nor opposing, letting Tsukasa Kaede handle it himself, and only deciding the next step once a definite outcome emerged.
As for what would happen if Tsukasa Kaede died... then he died. Although it would be a pity, it was Tsukasa Kaede's own decision. He, as the Hokage, had not forced him.
Compared to all this, he was more concerned about the movements of other Villages. As long as other Villages didn't make large-scale troop movements, the Third Great Ninja War wouldn't break out.
It was still too early. If these events had happened a few years later, it would have likely immediately ignited the Third Great Ninja War.
...
All Factions were closely monitoring the Hidden Sand Village's movements. Upon realizing that the Hidden Sand Village had still mobilized troops, they immediately heightened their vigilance and paid close attention.
For a time, the Land of Wind was infiltrated like a sieve; Spies from unknown origins were everywhere within its borders, and various pieces of Intel were rapidly transmitted throughout the Shinobi World through intricate channels.
Everyone wanted to see if the Hidden Sand Village, which had most likely truly lost its One-Tail, was really going to fight by putting on such a display.
When they had the One-Tail, they could still contend with the Hidden Leaf Village. The Third Kazekage, along with the One-Tails Jinchuriki, and powerful Ninja like Chiyo and Ebizō, constituted a formidable Combat Power.
But now? It was difficult.
"The Intel has returned. No troops from the Hidden Leaf Village were found heading to the border. It seems they also don't want to fight. Our deterrence plan was successful. Now we just need to hold out for a while and see if we can locate the One-Tail."
Chiyo let out a sigh of relief upon seeing this Intel.
Given a choice, they truly didn't want to fight, especially an opponent of Konoha's caliber. But not fighting wasn't an option either. Having lost the One-Tail, they had to buy time and display a strong, no-holds-barred stance to the outside world.
Ebizō sighed. "The Village's situation is grim. I've also received inquiries from the Nobles of the Land of Wind, demanding that we find the One-Tail no matter what. If we can't find it, they want us to seize a Tailed Beast from another Village... Kazekage-sama, would you like to take a look?"
"No need to look, burn it all. Those people are even more anxious than us," the Third Kazekage said coldly. "The Land of Wind is a Great Nation, and controlling the One-Tail was one of the important prerequisites. Now that the One-Tail is lost, those people are finally getting anxious."
At that moment, a Sensor Ninja rushed in.
"Kazekage-sama, an enemy force has been detected, approaching rapidly!"
"Oh? Did the Hidden Leaf Village manage to evade our reconnaissance and secretly complete their troop deployment? How many enemies are there?"
"I don't know how to say this, but... there might only be one!"
(end of chapter)