I Need More Materials

"You're really impatient, aren't you? Do you want to see where my limits lie that badly?"

Kaedeji looked at the corpse secretly delivered by the two Root shinobi, then accepted the document from them and carefully read through the information recorded on this Kekkei Genkai shinobi.

"Tsuguto Masato, Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai... Is this Lord Danzo's intention, or Lord Ryoma's?" Kaedeji closed the document in his hand and beckoned to an utterly ordinary corpse nearby.

The corpse immediately climbed to its feet and shuffled toward Kaedeji with a howl.

Right in front of the two Root shinobi, Kaedeji stuffed the document into the zombie's mouth.

"...What a strange hobby. I will report this truthfully."

"Whether it is Lord Danzo, Lord Ryoma, or some other lord, they are all figures beyond your reach. Do not inquire about things you should not ask about."

The two Root shinobi spoke in stiff, formal tones.

Kaedeji smiled. "You two don't need to hide it anymore. Lady Tsunade told me more about Root, and one look at the shape of your masks and their distinctive patterns was enough to tell me that you come from Root rather than the Anbu."

The two Root shinobi did not respond again, merely watching Kaedeji in silence.

Kaedeji did not mind. He began carefully examining the Kekkei Genkai corpse before him.

This was the second Kekkei Genkai corpse he had encountered. To him, it was a decent weapon.

Smack!

Kaedeji placed a hand on the corpse, injected it with the virus, and expended some of his own Chakra to accelerate its spread.

But he soon stopped, allowing the virus to multiply on its own. His Chakra was precious, and he would not casually waste it on a Kekkei Genkai shinobi.

"Has it begun?" one of the Root shinobi asked.

"It has already ended."

Kaedeji replied, "Modifying a corpse is not such a simple matter, much less a Kekkei Genkai shinobi. His body is more complex, and I must ensure as much as possible that he can use the Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu he possessed in life. That makes it even more difficult."

"So you can do it? How long will it take?"

"About twenty-four hours. Come back tomorrow night." Kaedeji gave an ambiguous answer.

The two Root shinobi pressed him about how the disposal of Sandstorm Araki's corpse was progressing, but Kaedeji did not answer any of them directly.

Not answering directly was an answer in itself.

After the Root shinobi left, Kaedeji closed the gate to the Corpse Disposal Unit and truly began his work.

"Explosion Release is an acquired Kekkei Genkai obtained by fusing Earth-natured Chakra with Lightning-natured Chakra. It excels at creating all kinds of explosions."

Explosion Release shinobi generally fell into two combat types. One was like Deidara, creating explosives and throwing them out. The other was like Gari, concentrating Chakra in their hands and making whatever they touched explode.

The vast majority of Explosion Release shinobi were the Gari type.

"Iwa's Explosion Unit is also a renowned elite unit, as famous throughout the shinobi world as Sunagakure's Puppet Unit... If I faced opponents like that, the best response would be to use cheap zombies to drain their Chakra."

Kaedeji did not actually think much of this Explosion Release shinobi. After all, he had been dead for several days. The zombie created from him could not display the strength he had possessed in life, so his value was nowhere near Sandstorm Araki's.

"I still need to focus on practicing the One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique."

It had to be said that the One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique was astonishingly difficult to learn. At its core, it used Chakra to tear at one's own life energy. That step alone was exceedingly difficult, not to mention transferring that vitality to the target.

The slightest mistake meant damaging his own life force and wasting it for nothing. Even if he could transfer life force as efficiently as possible, the transmission efficiency was frighteningly low, while the losses were equally staggering.

This technique was ultimately still incomplete.

But that was fine. Kaedeji lacked time, not materials.

Using large amounts of corpses for trial and error would be enough.

At the same time, he ordered more than a dozen zombies to begin tearing at the small amount of life force within their own bodies. From time to time, a zombie would kill itself in the process, but Kaedeji did not even blink.

He did not care. He truly did not care at all.

Every zombie naturally had different physical characteristics and differences in their Chakra pathways, but Kaedeji would compile and analyze the results of every experiment.

Over the previous three-plus days, aside from necessary time for rest and meals, Kaedeji had devoted everything to training. The analysis he had written had already exceeded three hundred thousand words, with 413 points requiring attention marked out.

And this was only the beginning.

"At this rate, who knows how long it will take to learn this incomplete One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique... The simplest method is to command a greater number of zombies. Numbers are power."

Kaedeji did not yet know the Shadow Clone Technique, much less the forbidden Multi Shadow Clone Technique.

Even if he learned it, it would be useless. He had no way to use it properly.

The defining trait of shadow clones was that they divided Chakra equally. The more Chakra one had, the more shadow clones one could create, the longer each clone could last, and the greater the return if they were sent out to train and accumulate experience.

Kaedeji felt that even if he exchanged for and learned the Shadow Clone Technique, forcing himself to create three or four shadow clones would already be his absolute limit. That was assuming he drastically shortened their duration.

"Without realizing it, I've made something of a name for myself with the Corpse Transformation Technique and the Summoning Technique, but it still isn't enough."

Kaedeji sighed. He knew he had to do something. Staying alive was what mattered most.

Otherwise, relying on himself alone, it would be difficult to gather enough corpses to speed up his training.

Like Naruto training the Rasenshuriken, starting with a thousand shadow clones? And every one of those shadow clones having enough Chakra left over to study Chakra nature transformation?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. The Child of Prophecy was an absurdly overpowered stat monster, not someone Kaedeji could compare to.

Creak--

Kaedeji opened the gate again and looked out at the silent cemetery. Behind him, the Explosion Release Zombie followed faithfully. Put a conical hat and a trench coat on it, and it would look exactly like an ordinary ninja.

"The conversion is complete. From now on, Iwa's Explosion Release ninja will become Konoha's most loyal weapon. I think My Jutsu has some practical value to you."

The moment Kaedeji finished speaking, a Root ninja appeared before him.

The Root ninja carefully examined the Explosion Release ninja, then drew a blade and thrust it forward. The Explosion Release ninja dodged with precision.

Smack!

The Explosion Release ninja raised its hand, revealing a brown palm—its blood's hemoglobin had long since decomposed, and the livor mortis came and went in patches before ultimately rotting into its current state.

The zombie's hand landed on the blade. Chakra surged, followed by a thunderous blast. At such close range, the full force of the explosion rushed toward the Root ninja.

The Root ninja nimbly retreated several meters without saying a word.

"Its reaction speed is inferior to when it was alive. Considering its Explosion Release bloodline limit, it should roughly count as a Special Jonin. At least, it's somewhat stronger than an ordinary Chunin."

Kaedeji said, "I've proven my abilities now, haven't I?"