chapter 117 part 1
Chapter 117: One Man Defeats Three Kage, The Overpowered Figure of the Current Era
From beginning to end, Tsukasa Kaede stood rooted to the spot, yet despite being in the midst of this chaotic battlefield, he seemed to be leisurely strolling, as composed as an outsider.
Yet, this casual demeanor exerted an inexplicable pressure on everyone who watched him.
Kaedengle-handedly challenging an entire massive army, Tsukasa Kaede had already reached a terrifying level that commanded awe.
"Only after breaking free from the shackles of chakra did I truly see the true extent of my strength."
Tsukasa Kaede enjoyed the various sights before him with great interest. Causing such chaos and damage to the Sunagakure forces in such a short time certainly brought him a measure of satisfaction.
Honestly, Tsukasa Kaede himself wasn't entirely sure how far he could go; after all, it required practical testing. He still had to thank Sunagakure for giving him this opportunity—an opportunity to use these several thousand regular troops as a sacrifice.
Pleasure.
Tsukasa Kaede truly felt pleasure as that sense of ease once again welled up in his heart.
The last time he experienced such a wonderful feeling was when he mastered the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, initially shaking off the problem of insufficient chakra, and formally gaining a foothold in this world.
At that time, every breath he took made him feel secure.
And now, chakra would no longer be his weakness. Relying on the Hashirama Clone and the replenishment from Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, in terms of chakra reserves alone, Tsukasa Kaede could stand without issue even at the Super Kage-level.
Even going head-to-head with Kaedex Paths-level enemies wouldn't be too bad.
Tsukasa Kaede glanced up and saw multiple attacks surging towards him.
It wasn't just the encirclement by the Third Kazekage, Ebizō, and Chiyo; the Sealing Team, who had been under strict protection the entire time, even after suffering personnel losses due to Corpse Transformation, still retained some fighting capability, now hurled massive sealing scrolls towards Tsukasa Kaede.
"Are you going to seal me in one go? That's a futile choice, but it's also the only method you can come up with."
In a flash, Tsukasa Kaede calmly watched the scene before him; he simply didn't care about attacks of this level.
Only space-time ninjutsu can counter space-time ninjutsu. In the future, Kaedex Paths-level powerhouses, those with Rinnegan or Byakugan, could casually open space-time portals as a basic ability.
Several attacks rapidly enlarged before his eyes, even though their timing was extremely tricky, seizing the moment when Tsukasa Kaede was casting Wood Release: Sprout with one hand and maintaining Dance of the Sacrifice with the other.
As everyone knew, casting different ninjutsu required different hand signs, mobilizing chakra to flow through complex chakra pathways in different routes. The Third Kazekage and others' assumption was perfectly correct: if you're already performing other ninjutsu, and two powerful ones at that, how could you possibly activate a third technique formula simultaneously?
But Tsukasa Kaede could! Boom! The giant needle was the fastest, striking Tsukasa Kaede's location first. Almost simultaneously, a lid-like ghastly puppet, activated by Ebizō and Chiyo's combined jutsu, slammed down.
More than a dozen sealing scrolls wrapped around it, further binding the ghastly puppet with layer after layer of sealing jutsu, ensuring Tsukasa Kaede was firmly sealed.
"If the One-Tails Jinchuriki were still with us, we could use the One-Tails' sealing jutsu too! But this should be enough for now."
Chiyo's face showed anticipation. Surely Tsukasa Kaede had been sealed in that instant? It must have worked, right? "Great, now we just need to ensure the seal's stability. As long as Tsukasa Kaede cannot escape, he'll eventually starve to death! If not in a week, then a month, or a year, ten years! He'll die eventually; even with a Wood Release bloodline limit transplanted, he can't get replenishment out of nowhere!"
Ebizō also showed a sense of relief, subconsciously looking around.
The several thousand-strong unit was still in utter chaos, with zombies and living humans fighting everywhere. Every moment, zombies were being eliminated, and similarly, injured living humans were turning into zombies.
But no matter how much they fought, there was nothing to celebrate. All those dying were from Sunagakure's own forces!
"This is truly terrifying. Even standing still, he can turn so many of our living humans into corpses. Is this the true power of Corpse Release...? Such an inhuman forbidden jutsu should never exist in this world; it should be researched and sealed by our Sunagakure!"
Ebizō felt a lingering fear. If Tsukasa Kaede hadn't been overconfident, insisting on fighting them all alone, continuously using high-level ninjutsu and thus revealing a weakness; if he hadn't been unable to use space-time ninjutsu to escape, giving them an opportunity...
How many of these four thousand elite troops would survive?
No, even without considering Tsukasa Kaede's exaggerated chakra reserves, the survivors would probably be half-crazed—killing their own comrades until exhausted, until only a few remained. Surviving wouldn't be a source of pride, nor would it be a source of pride; it would only turn them into potential lunatics.
It was entirely foreseeable that they would have a higher probability of committing bizarre actions like defection in the future.
"Lord Kazekage, we can start to wrap things up. The Iron Sand World Method can clear out a large number of... huh?"
Chiyo looked up at the Third Kazekage in the sky, only to find his expression very grim.
This made her heart skip a beat. Could it be...
"It shouldn't be! We definitely sealed Tsukasa Kaede just now, and it was a solid body, not some substitution jutsu or anything of the sort!" Chiyo shrieked in a sharp voice, staring incredulously at the ghastly puppet.
Ebizō, while fending off the numerous approaching zombies, said, "I can confirm that guy was a solid body. Did something go wrong?"
"It was indeed a solid body, but something is off. Why is some of my iron sand appearing in unexpected locations..." The Third Kazekage suddenly turned his head. "Watch out!"
Those zombies, appearing to be undergoing normal Corpse Transformation while rushing towards Ebizō, suddenly accelerated. Their violent running and leaping caused their skin and muscles to rupture from excessive exertion, splashing out large amounts of unclotted blood.
Most importantly, these zombies, while moving at full speed, formed hand signs, and all of them formed the same hand sign...
Summoning Jutsu!! In an instant, an incalculable number of papers appeared, scattering like a sudden burst of blood flowers, adding a rare, absolute stillness—one symbolizing death—to this battlefield filled with backstabbing and gore.
When the papers danced and fluttered in the air, revealing the side etched with a technique formula, everyone knew what these things were.
"Explosive Tags?!?"