A Thousand-Li Dash to the Land of Rain

"Lord Danzo said that Lord Kaedeji's secret technique can control a large number of corpses. In a country with such a complicated situation as the Land of Rain, it is well suited for search missions," the assistant said.

Kaedeji put away the mission document. "Lord Danzo said more than just that, didn't he? What else?"

"Lord Danzo also said that he wished to take this opportunity to see the results of your training over the past half year."

The assistant respectfully said, "Over five months, you consumed a total of 1,216 shinobi corpses. Even with Root's resources, supplying them has become somewhat difficult. We cannot use the corpses of shinobi from our own village, so they must be transported from elsewhere."

"Mm, I could tell. It started at forty or fifty a day, then gradually dropped to a dozen or twenty-odd. Some of the corpses had even been rotting for a long time and were covered in dirt, clearly just dug out of the ground. I noticed all of that. Since Lord Danzo has given the order, I will certainly carry it out."

In truth, there would be no consequences if he refused. With his current strength, if he truly wanted to leave, Danzo could not stop him. There was simply no need for it.

Danzo was a very troublesome man. To a great extent, he represented the village. Whoever moved against Danzo was effectively betraying the village, but if Danzo moved against someone, at most he would concede some benefits and get scolded by the Third Hokage.

Kaedeji had no intention of betraying the village. As long as Danzo did not go too far, he would not turn hostile. They merely needed to take what each required.

"So he wants to use this mission to test my mettle... The Land of Rain truly is a good place. Hanzō of the Salamander of Amegakure is one of the pinnacles of the shinobi world today. One careless mistake, and I might not come back."

"You jest, Lord Kaedeji."

There was no amusement in the assistant's expression. "Although you have spent these five months in rigorous training, rumors of the Void Realm Technique have persisted throughout the village. Everyone is waiting for the day you act again, hoping to witness the full might of this Space-Time Ninjutsu."

Kaedeji did not respond further and turned to prepare his equipment—though there was not much to prepare. He changed into clothes suited for combat and sealed his conical hat, spare clothing, and other belongings into a special scroll to carry with him.

Most importantly, he placed a Summoning Scroll at his waist.

The assistant's gaze followed the movement of the Summoning Scroll. He knew very well that what was sealed inside determined how much combat power Kaedeji could unleash.

"Are you curious?"

"No. I scarcely possess emotions such as curiosity. Right now, I am merely obeying Lord Danzo's orders and gathering as much intelligence as possible. Intelligence often exists in every kind of detail," the assistant replied.

Kaedeji gave a mocking laugh but did not mind. He rather liked the man's frankness. It was likely the social approach this Root shinobi had chosen.

After making simple preparations, he pushed open the doors of the Corpse Disposal Unit once more. Without Any delay or hesitation, he was fully equipped and ready to depart.

A gentle breeze blew, and the weather was fairly pleasant. The sweltering summer would soon arrive.

"This is the perfect season for travel. I want to experience the Land of Rain's endless downpour up close."

Kaedeji turned back and looked at the three assistants. At some point, the three had put down their work, donned their equipment, and silently followed behind Kaedeji.

"...Your name is Komatsu Fuji, right? I hope I remembered correctly. I thought only you were from Root, but all three of you are? Lord Danzo truly values me. He was unwilling to give me even one genuine assistant." Kaedeji shook his head.

Komatsu Fuji replied, "You should have anticipated this long ago. It should not matter to you, either. You have never trusted us. Otherwise, you would not be calling my name for the first time only now."

Kaedeji smiled. "That's true. It seems we get along quite well. I hear Root shinobi are known for strictly carrying out their superiors' orders, without the slightest hesitation even when sent to their deaths. I hope you can demonstrate that admirable quality... Let me tell you some good news in advance. Even if you die, your corpses will continue fighting alongside me. Aren't you touched?"

The three Root shinobi did not respond, simply waiting for Kaedeji's next order.

To be fair, if Kaedeji truly ordered them to kill themselves on the spot, they definitely would not obey, because observing and analyzing Kaedeji's strength and secret technique was also part of their mission.

In some ways, this mission was even more important than finding Jiraiya.

The group of four immediately set out, passing through Konoha's gate and speeding northwest with decisive efficiency.

"Hey, hey, hey, whose squad is that? They did not even stop to say hello before leaving. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were spies from another village fleeing after being discovered."

More than a dozen shinobi stationed at the gate stood atop the walls, watching the four rapidly receding black figures. While on guard duty, they chatted among themselves.

Only during wartime would more than a dozen shinobi be stationed at the gate. There were never this many in ordinary times.

One of them stroked his chin, suspicion appearing on his face. "I feel like I've seen the one in front somewhere before..."

"Was it during last year's decisive battle against Sunagakure? That young man who used the Dead Soul Technique caused quite a stir."

"That's right, it was him. I remember Lord Dan Katō publicly calling him the village's genius! I kept waiting for him to earn greater achievements and become someone like Minato Namikaze, but I didn't expect not to hear any news of him for so long."

"Those who took part in the battle against Sunagakure have gradually begun heading to the battlefield against Iwa. Maybe Kaedeji has been waiting for an opportunity like this as well."

"Could Kaedeji be heading straight for the front lines this time? Well, he excels at using corpses to perform techniques. Only the front lines would suit him enough to fully display his strength."

"Hard to say. He's heading in the wrong direction."

Many shinobi soon stopped discussing Kaedeji and instead began talking about Iwagakure. That village's military strength had far exceeded their expectations. Not only was there no sign that the war would end, but the fighting was growing increasingly brutal.

The entire shinobi world was watching Konoha and Iwagakure fight one another. Various shinobi villages occasionally sent squads to invade and harass them, making both Konoha and Iwa endlessly frustrated.

Kaedeji led his team onward day and night without stopping. In just fifty-seven hours, they arrived at the border of the Land of Rain.

"We arrived just in time for the weather to change. Those dark clouds look as though they could press down at any moment."

Kaedeji extended a hand and calmly felt the heavy moisture in the wind.

Behind him, the three Root shinobi were breathing heavily, clearly struggling greatly. In this kind of extremely intense long-distance dash, their stamina could no longer keep up.

"His stamina is not normal."

Komatsu Fuji had noticed this long ago.