Tsunade's Astonishment

Only a very small number of people truly shone in war.

Kaedeji did not think he belonged among that small number, but others did not see it that way.

After defeating Sunagakure, the many Konoha Ninja cheered and returned to the main camp one after another, escorting their spoils of war and captured prisoners to designated locations.

These would all become bargaining chips for Konoha in the postwar negotiations.

Many were covered in wounds and dust, yet their spirits were incredibly high as they loudly recounted their performances on the battlefield.

The area around the Medical Corps was especially lively. Many ninja sought treatment the moment they returned, turning the place into a densely crowded hub.

"Hey, hey, did you hear? Sandstorm Araki died too. He was an Elite Jonin of Sunagakure!"

"I heard Dan Katō-sama is incredibly strong. He might have reached the level of a Hokage!"

"More than that, I heard Dan Katō-sama mention that Kaedeji interfered with Sandstorm Araki and created an opening for him!"

"That guy who uses the Dead Soul Technique?"

Kaedeji's performance had brought unprecedented attention to the Dead Soul Technique. A technique that controlled corpses and let them move freely was simply too unusual, and on a battlefield littered with bodies, people could tell at once just how terrifying it was.

Especially after Kaedeji used the Dead Soul Technique to develop a new Space-Time Ninjutsu, it caused an even greater sensation.

There was no way to keep it hidden. The battle to surround and kill Sandstorm Araki had already drawn plenty of attention, and many people present had witnessed Kaedeji's Void Realm Technique, spreading word of it even further.

Space-Time Ninjutsu!

Who wouldn't like it? Who wouldn't want to learn it?

Just hearing Minato Namikaze's name—even if they had never seen him fight—was enough for them to imagine the dizzying spectacle of instant movement.

The Flying Thunder God Technique had only just begun to spread, and now a young ninja capable of Space-Time Ninjutsu had appeared on their side as well?

"This is a supplementary ninjutsu developed from the Dead Soul Technique? The Dead Soul Technique has that kind of potential?!"

Almost everyone who learned about Kaedeji's various accomplishments out of curiosity wore an astonished expression.

The Medical Ninja in particular felt as though their brains were no longer enough.

If it had merely been using corpses in battle, it might have provoked disgust from some comrades. But if it could further activate Space-Time Ninjutsu? Then people's opinions of Kaedeji's version of the Dead Soul Technique changed completely.

That was the allure of Space-Time Ninjutsu.

The Medical Ninja were nearly going mad, using every possible channel to learn the Dead Soul Technique. Some even exchanged their war merits with the village for it. Yet after obtaining it, no matter how they studied it, they could only confirm that it was just a technique for briefly controlling a corpse's movements.

"No matter how much you train, you can only make a corpse move for a few dozen seconds at most. It can't handle intense combat either. How did Kaedeji overcome this technique's flaws? How can he make corpses move freely for so long and even use the ninjutsu they had in life?"

Not to mention that Kaedeji could command multiple corpses at once, wielding considerable combat power—and he could even use Space-Time Ninjutsu through those corpses!

Amid such intense curiosity and astonishment, Kaedeji's name spread at an astonishing speed.

Honestly, he had not yet earned merits great enough to change the course of the war, nor had he become a hero of Konoha. Yet the stir he caused briefly overshadowed everyone else.

Dan Katō's casual remark that Kaedeji was a genius, whether or not it had been meant to open a conversation with Kaedeji, also began spreading rapidly.

More and more people reevaluated Kaedeji, increasingly convinced that he was a genius as well.

If someone like Minato Namikaze could emerge on the battlefield against Iwa, then it was perfectly normal for someone like Kaedeji to emerge on their side too, wasn't it?

"...My talent is far from comparable to Minato Namikaze's. The rumors from my comrades are too exaggerated."

Kaedeji stood before Tsunade and reported on his work, speaking helplessly.

A genius?

Perhaps he would be one before long, but not now.

"Don't belittle yourself. Everyone has seen your abilities, and there are ways to make up for your main weakness."

Tsunade was exceptionally efficient in her work. She had specifically summoned Kaedeji despite her busy schedule, but she had not truly called him in to listen to some work report. Dan Katō had already told her the specifics.

She mainly wanted to observe Kaedeji up close. After all, he was a ninja in the Medical Corps directly under her command.

But upon seeing him at close range, Kaedeji's physical condition still astonished Tsunade.

She placed a finger on Kaedeji's shoulder, and her Chakra swiftly made a circuit through his body. "With your physical condition, how did you survive until now? No wonder Root overlooked you when selecting personnel back then."

It was simply horrifying to behold. Tsunade felt that the scrawny young man before her was like a paper doll!

Such an abnormally low cell count could not be concealed from a top-tier Medical Ninja like Tsunade.

"It couldn't be helped. I was born this way, which is why I said that surviving until now was thanks to the village's care," Kaedeji said.

Tsunade had never seen a body like this before. He appeared no different from an ordinary person, but upon closer examination, he was like a paper-thin figure, with an alarmingly depleted body.

By all common sense, a body like this could possibly die from an ordinary flu, yet Kaedeji had somehow lived to sixteen and become an outstanding Chunin.

"No wonder. Your file says you're withdrawn, but some of your teammates never mentioned that. I roughly understand now... With a body like this, you really should be more withdrawn. If you casually got close to people, you might not have survived until now."

Out of instinct as a researcher, she dearly wanted to study this never-before-seen body in detail, but it was only a thought.

"I'll teach you a technique that uses Chakra to stimulate the body. With your learning ability, mastering it won't be difficult. It can somewhat improve your problem of having too little Chakra. But there's nothing I can do about your fingers. Still, it seems you do not care about that," Tsunade said.

Kaedeji immediately summoned a zombie. "Tsunade-sama, the techniques I wish to perform can be completed through zombies. This can effectively compensate for my shortcomings."

"Zombies... As expected, your technique has already departed from the original Dead Soul Technique and taken another path."

"Yes, I gave this secret technique of mine a name: Corpse Manipulation."

Corpse Manipulation...

Just hearing the name made it sound like a forbidden art.

Still, it was probably fine. She judged Kaedeji to be a cautious, intelligent person, not someone who would take the taboo path of recklessly using his companions' corpses.

As for using enemy corpses... this was wartime, so that was more acceptable.