Corpse Manipulation

In Konoha's 39th year, the Second Great Ninja War was drawing to a close. Although localized conflicts still remained, the dawn of peace was already in sight.

Whether they were ninjas rushing about everywhere or civilians within the village, they no longer looked as worried as before. Their faces now carried the confidence and composure of victors.

The good news was that only now could it be confirmed that the Great Ninja War was showing signs of ending. Life for Konoha's villagers was becoming more and more promising.

Seventy-five-year-old Uzumaki Mito intimidated every nation; forty-eight-year-old Sarutobi Hiruzen had consolidated his rule; twenty-six-year-old Hatake Sakumo was in high spirits and had a son of his own; twelve-year-old Minato Namikaze was growing up strong.

The bad news was that it was the Second Great Ninja War that was about to end.

Compared to the First Great Ninja War, the defining feature of the Second Great Ninja War was the massive death toll among genin and chunin, signaling that the intensity of warfare had risen by an entire level.

And the true nature of the Second Great Ninja War was merely the prelude to the next Great Ninja War, because throughout the entire conflict, Kumogakure and Kirigakure in the east had made few major moves. The main fighting had been a chaotic melee between Amegakure, Sunagakure, Iwa, and Konoha in the west.

In another seven years, the even more brutal Third Great Ninja War would arrive. That would be the main event.

"Kehehehehe... Sixteen-year-old me survived another day. What a magnificent achievement. Thanks to every Otsutsuki."

At the edge of the village stood a dilapidated house. A gaunt figure let out a low laugh and slowly emerged from the shadows.

Kaedeji loved sunlight.

After arriving in This World, he had initially thought that he would simply live one day at a time until he could no longer hold on and croaked—not because he did not try, but because there were many times when trying simply was not an option.

The reason was simple. He had not transmigrated as a soul; he had transmigrated bodily.

When he had fallen into danger in his original world and was about to die miserably, he had crossed over as an Earthling. During the process, his body had reverted to childhood, and he had arrived in the Naruto World. It had nearly shattered his mental state.

A normal Earthling had roughly forty trillion cells in their body, but ordinary people in the Naruto World were far more impressive—they had one hundred and thirty trillion cells!

This was not something that could be described as a mere threefold gap in Physical Quality. Ordinary Earthlings and ordinary people of the Naruto World were practically two different species.

This meant that nearly all the bacteria and viruses Kaedeji had brought with him were nothing more than a gentle breeze to the Natives of the Naruto World. A few sneezes would wipe them out completely, at most causing a small-scale cold lasting several hours.

But any random germ from the Naruto World that caused no adverse symptoms whatsoever was an extreme battle with the Reaper for Kaedeji, who was stuck in the body of an Earthling child.

From the very first day he arrived in This World, Kaedeji had been locked in an incomparably brutal struggle against all kinds of diseases. For a time, he had believed it would never end, that he would live forever in pain and illness, and that the best outcome would be for every organ in his body to fail from relentlessly operating at full capacity.

As for why he had not begun extracting Chakra from the start—a universal power capable of converting matter and energy—to suppress the diseases...

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. The Natives of the Naruto World extracted Chakra using bodily energy gathered from one hundred and thirty trillion cells, combined with their own spiritual energy.

Kaedeji extracting Chakra?

How was he supposed to do that? Use forty trillion cells while enduring countless inexplicable germs and force it out?

If he extracted too little, his limited Chakra would not be able to cover his entire body, much less be used to eliminate the germs within him. Precise Chakra control also required consuming large amounts of Chakra through practice, and that was with someone teaching him!

If he extracted even slightly more Chakra, or increased the frequency even a little... Kaedeji would croak on the spot.

By now, Kaedeji was sixteen. His body was severely depleted, and all usable fat, carbohydrates, and protein throughout his body had been heavily consumed in this endless tug-of-war. He had been reduced to skin and bones just to achieve the great goal of "staying alive."

Only now could he say that he had temporarily adapted to This World's environment and gained the qualification to "live normally."

Given his current physical condition, Even If he never contracted another germ in the future, his maximum lifespan had already been drastically shortened.

However, he was no longer Too Much worried about his lifespan. In a sense, he had not spent all these years lying around waiting for death. He had also worked hard to find a way out for himself, and he had indeed found one.

"Over all these years, extracting that pitifully small amount of Chakra bit by bit and constantly exploring a path suited to me, I've finally achieved some results..."

Kaedeji looked at himself in the mirror. He looked remarkably like Nagato Plus. Then he lowered his head to look at his Hands and slowly clenched them. The power he had mastered, described in more local terms, was...

Zombies!

Kaedeji could control the Zombie Virus and "resurrect" the dead!

But to this day, he had never told anyone about this Means. The reason was simple: revealing this type of technique without sufficient strength would inevitably lead to a miserable end.

No matter how one looked at it, tampering with the dead was inherently linked to forbidden techniques—and the most dangerous kind, the kind that ought to be sealed away forever. People would immediately suspect that Kaedeji had been secretly searching for corpses all along, or even capturing living people to develop forbidden ninja techniques.

Otherwise, could such a bizarre Means that brought corpses back to life have appeared out of thin air?

Besides, a Means that reversed life and death to some extent was simply Too Much overpowered at this point in time between the Second Great Ninja War and the Third Great Ninja War.

"The Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu developed by the Second Hokage... Orochimaru probably hasn't learned it yet."

Kaedeji raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight and took a deep breath. Hearing no wheezing from his lungs like a broken bellows, he actually felt a little moved.

The hardest days had temporarily passed, but he still had a great many things to do.

The most basic was finding a way to escape this battered Earthling body. He did not have enough energy to wallow in sentiment and sorrow. Staying alive had to come first.

"The gap between forty trillion and one hundred and thirty trillion is simply too vast. And given my current condition, my actual cell count is far below forty trillion. If I insist on extracting Chakra with this body, even a lifetime of effort would only make me a genin."

Kaedeji narrowed his eyes. Orochimaru had probably only just begun developing the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique, so it was impossible to start from that angle. But it did not matter. He would achieve his goal in his own way.

That meant seizing every opportunity he could use. Even if he had to work like a beast of burden for Konoha, he would fight for every opportunity, no matter how slim.

Beasts of burden had their uses. The village had always been good at making the most of everything. Just like now—someone had come to call for him.

"Lord Ryoma has ordered a Medical Ninja squad to gather at the northern border." A figure hurried over, a trace of worry on his face.

"Looks like enemies have infiltrated again. Although the Great Ninja War has ended, the conflicts between nations have not disappeared. Small-team infiltration operations really never end, To the point that even someone Without Any talent like me has to deploy under the identity of a Medical Ninja... Still, it is my honor to serve the village." Kaedeji looked at the Medical Ninja before him as he spoke.

This Guy was called Kazematsuri Takuya. During the Second Great Ninja War, he had belonged to a medical squad commanded by Jiraiya. Under normal circumstances, he would have died after being infected by poisonous mist while treating the wounded on the Amegakure battlefield.

But because Kaedeji had pulled him along at the right moment, This Guy had escaped his fatal ordeal.