Corpse Transfer: Void Realm Technique

Not only had the Third Hokage not expected it, Danzo had not expected it either.

"Among the war orphans adopted from towns across the Land of Fire, there was actually such a uniquely gifted talent?" The Third Hokage held a pipe between his teeth as he studied the information card in his hand with great interest.

It listed assessments of Kaedeji's various abilities, ranging from D-rank to B-rank. The written introduction detailed Kaedeji's background and experiences.

Born a war orphan, with a clean, verifiable background and high loyalty.

"Unexpected, completely unexpected. This is truly a pleasant surprise."

"His body is simply too weak. Both his Taijutsu and Chakra reserves are at the lowest D-rank." Danzo glanced at it and spoke.

"Do not be overly harsh on a young man. He is only sixteen. From another perspective, the fact that someone with such a body could develop a technique through the Dead Soul Technique that appears to be Space-Time Ninjutsu—does that not demonstrate his potential even more? Who could have imagined that he would only reveal his talent at this age? No one had discovered his potential before."

The Third Hokage was very pleased. This was another talent outside the plan, and one who had inflicted additional losses upon Sunagakure, effectively widening Konoha's advantage.

This sort of mutual attrition through exchanges suited the Third Hokage's rhythm perfectly.

Danzo slowly closed his eyes and committed Kaedeji's name to memory.

"Ryoma made a mistake... He actually failed to single him out from that batch of war orphans back then."

When he had reviewed Root's intelligence some time ago, he had seen information on Kaedeji in Aburame Ryoma's report. But Kaedeji had merely been a pawn used to coerce Yakushi Nonō, and the contents concerning him had only been mentioned in passing.

A war orphan who toyed with corpses should not, by all rights, have been worth much attention.

Yet how long had it been? Who could have imagined that Kaedeji would display such astonishing ability? For a newly promoted Chunin, being able to participate in an A-rank mission, achieve such outstanding results, and ensure the team completed its mission was exceedingly rare.

"The Dead Soul Technique... according to Terai's report, Yakushi Nonō does not appear to have mastered this special Dead Soul Technique. In other words, this Kaedeji possesses research talent regarding corpses that far surpasses others..."

Especially that technique in which he formed hand seals together with a corpse and then exchanged positions with it—it was simply an operation that shattered common sense. Danzo had encountered many Ninjutsu, but he had never imagined it could be used this way.

Mutual summoning? Perhaps that was somewhat close, but other than Kaedeji, who could use mutual summoning with their own summoned creature to swap positions at the exact same time?

No one. Absolutely no one. Since records of the ninja world began, only Kaedeji had accomplished it.

Chakra resonance? A spiritual connection? Some special device installed inside the corpse?

Danzo considered several possibilities, seeking ways to extract benefits from Kaedeji. He believed that someone like Kaedeji, who excelled at studying corpses, would be of tremendous help to his various forbidden researches.

If Aburame Ryoma had not made that mistake and had brought Kaedeji into Root early on... at least Kaedeji's strength would definitely not have remained at its current level. With better cultivation, his increasingly refined Dead Soul Technique system would only have become even more powerful.

The Third Hokage remarked, "What a pity. Such a talent has lost two fingers, which will affect his development of Ninjutsu."

"That does not matter. He can make corpses exert a portion of the power they had in life. As long as corpses with no research value are handed to him for reuse, that will be enough. The only question is where the limit of his technique lies. If Root can obtain this technique, we can conduct further development."

"Danzo, you may not use coercive methods against the village's comrades. Coveting the Ninjutsu of your subordinates should not happen in Konoha." The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo and warned him.

"He is Aburame Ryoma's subordinate. I will promote him to head of the Corpse Disposal Unit. With his status as a Chunin, he has dealt with corpses ever since he began serving Konoha. Such a person is highly suitable."

"Let us discuss it after the war against Sunagakure ends."

"Hiruzen! He is not very strong. The enemy will surely take notice of him."

"Danzo, I am the Hokage. I know how to make use of his talents."

After exchanging a few words, the two settled on arrangements for Kaedeji.

Danzo began considering another matter.

If Kaedeji's Dead Soul Technique truly had room for further development, allowing more corpses to wield the strength they possessed in life, then the value of this technique would be immense. In a sense, it somewhat resembled that forbidden technique.

"Orochimaru has earned quite a bit of merit by taking advantage of the war, and he has always been very interested in Impure World Reincarnation... If..."

Danzo's heart burned with excitement.

"Tsunade has arrived at the front lines. It will not be long before we can end the war against Sunagakure."

The Third Hokage spoke with immense satisfaction in his heart. He had led the village to victory in the First Great Ninja War, and now he would lead them step by step to victory in the Second Great Ninja War. Under his leadership, Konoha would continue winning.

Danzo said coldly, "Aren't you going to ask what exactly she went to do? Orochimaru has been active on the Iwagakure battlefield for a long time already, yet Tsunade and Jiraiya are each more undisciplined than the last. They have completely disregarded the village's orders!"

Tsunade's unconventional behavior was still understandable. After all, she had lost her beloved younger brother. During the period before the war had fully escalated, Tsunade had carried out some inexplicable actions without the village's authorization, but that could still be tolerated.

At least she had established the Medical Corps, indirectly saving the lives of a great number of ninja. Such merit could not be erased. Even if Tsunade rarely went to the front lines, it was entirely understandable.

But Jiraiya was truly too outrageous. Staying in the Land of Rain to teach children? It was far too absurd—simply insane.

Who knew whether Hanzō had beaten his brain damaged.

Many Konoha Ninja saw Tsunade enter the main camp—perhaps this had been intentional on Tsunade's part, a declaration of her return to everyone.

"Hey, could that be Lady Tsunade? The one beside her is Lord Dan Katō, right?"

"Gasp, have they returned from their mission?"

"Wonderful! With this, those Sunagakure bastards won't be able to act arrogantly anymore. We are certain to win!"

Every Konoha Ninja was immensely excited. Many rushed over to watch Tsunade, cheering loudly.

Who did not know that Lady Tsunade was Konoha's strongest Medical Ninja? With someone like her arriving to oversee things, Sunagakure's poison was no longer a problem!

"Tsunade has returned? She was at the peak of her abilities in every regard at this time."

Kaedeji also walked out and watched Tsunade from within the crowd. He saw a smile appear at the corners of Tsunade's lips as well—the confidence of someone certain that victory was close.

Barring any surprises, the final decisive battle with Sunagakure was about to begin, and Konoha would ultimately claim victory.

He just did not know why Tsunade had only rushed back at a time like this. Still, no one truly stepped forward to criticize her.

Kaedeji withdrew his gaze. Even standing amid the crowd, people occasionally recognized him and specifically came over to chat with him for a few words.

"Hey, why are you wearing a mask?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I carried out a mission some time ago, and the exhaustion was too much..."

"I heard about it! You brought back valuable intelligence on Sunagakure, and coupled with Lady Tsunade arriving at the Front Lines, we'll be able to return to the village soon, right? We need to hit those Sunagakure bastards hard!"

Kaedeji's reputation had gradually begun to spread. After all, this Dead Soul Technique of his had practically blazed a new trail. Before this, no one had ever imagined it could be used this way.

The Dead Soul Technique had already become Kaedeji's signature ninjutsu.

As Kaedeji spoke with familiar and unfamiliar people alike, he also pondered his next move.

With Corpse Replacement, his survival chances had increased enormously. So long as he did not encounter dangerous situations in rapid succession, he could instantly switch positions with a corpse in a place where there were more Konoha Ninja, relying on his comrades to protect him.

Without realizing it, this technique of his had begun to resemble Limbo, if only a little...

Uchiha Madara's Limbo was definitely not merely some "noob-stomping god technique." The multiple shadows he created were essentially several copies of himself, multiplying his strength several times over.

Moreover, his true body and shadows could perfectly switch places in an instant. It was an absolute top-tier Space-Time Ninjutsu Substitution Technique, practically flawless.

The reason Naruto had managed to hold him back with several Shadow Clones, aside from taking the protagonist's plot armor into account, was also because Naruto had received far too many cheats.

Sasuke was comparatively straightforward. He Just Need To—and could only—consider how to use the Rinnegan the Sage of Six Paths had given him.

"If I can break free from the limitation of having too little Chakra and use this technique multiple times, then I could barely be considered a ninja who has mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu. In that case, this new technique system should have a brand-new name. I'll call it... Corpse Release: Corpse Transfer: Void Realm Technique."