Contact from Sasori of the Red Sands

"The enemy is charging in. I may not be able to keep all my attention on you from here on, so be careful."

Dan Katō raised his head, his expression grave.

The battles across the other fronts had likely already begun. Every engagement was crucial; no matter what, they could not give up.

"With Lord Dan Katō protecting us, the survival rate of us Medical Ninja will rise significantly."

When the entire force assembled, Kazematsuri Takuya came to Kaedeji's side and spoke quietly, his voice carrying a touch more reverence.

Those unaware of the truth would have thought he revered Dan Katō. In reality, the one he revered was Kaedeji.

Kaedeji had said he would kill Sandstorm Araki, and in the end, he had truly done it—though Kazematsuri Takuya had not understood many of the details. Still, working backward from the result, recalling Kaedeji's actions, and considering the scene of Dan Katō and Kaedeji speaking in low voices, he could roughly piece some of it together.

Before anyone realized it, that frail Genin from back then had rapidly grown to the point where even the village's high-ranking figures had to take notice, specifically devise tactics, and arrange for strong people to protect him.

Kaedeji nodded. "I know. I've exhausted my Chakra. The greatest help I can offer is not becoming a burden to my comrades. I'll keep that in mind."

Put plainly, he was playing it safe.

Everyone worried that after taking part in the hunt for Sandstorm Araki, Kaedeji would become arrogant.

But in truth, Kaedeji knew exactly where he stood. He swallowed a Military Rations Pill, further pushing his body to its limits, ready to flee for his life at any moment.

At the same time, he walked over to Sandstorm Araki's body and sealed it into his scroll.

Everyone watched in silence. Some even looked approving, wanting to ask whether Kaedeji could turn the corpse into immediate fighting power right there.

But upon seeing Kaedeji's pale face, no one asked.

Nor did anyone see any problem with leaving the corpse for Kaedeji to handle. Among the thirteen hundred people present, only Kaedeji possessed the ability to make use of corpses.

Without Kaedeji serving as bait, they would not even have been able to smoothly eliminate such an entire elite squad.

The other corpses can wait. I'll recover them after the war ends; there's no use collecting them now, Kaedeji thought silently.

Sandstorm Araki's body was filled with his virus, and while still alive, he had already been deeply influenced by Kaedeji. This meant Sandstorm Araki could retain the greatest possible extent of his strength from life, making him enormously valuable to Kaedeji.

Once the battle began, if things went wrong and even the Void Realm Technique could not get Kaedeji out, he could release Sandstorm Araki.

But unless it's absolutely necessary, I shouldn't do that... The enemy has only just died, and I'd immediately make him fight for me. The impact would be far too great, Kaedeji thought silently.

Cries of battle had already risen from the front.

"Hahaha, those Sunagakure idiots are here! I've already been waiting impatiently!"

"We were just warming up earlier! We killed that guy on your side called Sandstorm Araki!"

"What? Lord Sandstorm Araki was an Elite Jonin! How could he be dead? He even led the most elite unit!"

"Who knows? He suddenly rushed over and was killed on the spot by one of our comrades."

At the very start of the clash, Sunagakure's morale took a massive blow. Disbelief appeared on many faces.

A small number of informed people knew the original plan. Once Sandstorm Araki abducted an important person, they could join the battle without restraint and use all kinds of ninjutsu to strike the Konoha forces thrown into chaos.

If they rushed directly into a melee and Sandstorm Araki entered afterward, that important person might die amid the chaos of war, rendering everything meaningless.

They could hardly steal a corpse, could they? Even Konoha's Yamanaka Clan did not dare claim absolute certainty in extracting complete ninjutsu intelligence from a corpse, much less Sunagakure.

But now, the entire plan was in shambles. Sandstorm Araki had not merely failed the mission—he had not even escaped? But how was that possible? Just moments ago, they had been able to observe Konoha's forces fighting from afar, yet it had ended just like that?

Whoosh!

A white spirit body roamed across the battlefield. Wherever it went, Konoha Ninja in danger were saved, while the terrified expressions of Sunagakure Ninja froze as they collapsed to the ground.

Some Sunagakure Ninja were even possessed by Dan Katō, suddenly beginning to slaughter the Sunagakure Ninja around them.

Some Sunagakure Ninja attempted to attack Dan Katō, but it was difficult for them to inflict any effective damage on a spirit body.

They clearly held the advantage in numbers. They should have defeated this Konoha force and quickly reinforced the other battlefields, yet the battle had turned into this miserable state.

Sunagakure's offensive was stalled, and signs of a steady retreat had even begun to appear.

"Looks like it worked."

Kaedeji hung around near the rear of the main force, at most throwing a shuriken or two for appearances' sake.

No one criticized him. Some Konoha Ninja even deliberately, or seemingly casually, stepped in front of Kaedeji, blocking the enemy's view and concealing his figure.

Rising in fame, earning merit, and possessing a stunning special skill all had their benefits. When those around him had the spare capacity, they would lend a hand.

The only drawback was that Kaedeji was not sure what these people truly thought of him—probably not too badly. Though he was someone who toyed with corpses, this was wartime. In the face of life and death, playing with corpses was a minor matter.

Being able to help everyone deal with enemies and earn merit was what truly made someone welcome.

"Once the war ends, though, it's Hard to Say. Even a hero like Hatake Sakumo was driven to death... Ordinary villagers accustomed to peace will surely keep their distance from me out of respect and fear. Even more outrageous public slander may appear."

Kaedeji had long been mentally prepared for that.

As the situation grew increasingly favorable, the battle line slowly advanced. Sunagakure retreated again and again, and total collapse was only a matter of time. Konoha's people could all see the dawn of victory.

Kaedeji advanced slowly with the main force, occasionally raising his head to check Dan Katō's position.

At last, the Sunagakure force collapsed. The remaining Ninja turned and fled, while the Konoha Ninja launched a large-scale pursuit. Their original formation completely shattered, forming one small squad after another.

Kaedeji did not join the pursuit. Instead, he stayed behind to clean up the battlefield, waiting for more than a day.

Even so, he remained extremely cautious. He sent zombies to finish off the wounded.

He did not just finish off living enemies; he also gave the dead ones a stab. What if someone was playing dead convincingly?

"What a cautious fellow. You've clearly developed a technique to control corpses, yet you're still so cautious. While that may let you live longer, as long as you continue using an ordinary body of flesh and blood, it has no meaning. Sooner or later, it will still rot away."

At the edge of the battlefield, an ordinary corpse that had been lying there for an unknown length of time—and no one knew when it had even ended up there—suddenly twitched. Its joints made clicking sounds. It was clearly a modified puppet, and an electronic voice came from its mouth.

"Sasori of the Red Sands, right? I heard about you from Yakushi Nonō. But I didn't expect you to be so bold, so impatient to make contact," Kaedeji said slowly.