White Eyes...?

Genin battles were, generally speaking, very simple and brutal. Chakra was limited, after all, and they only knew one or two techniques, which they used over and over in a fight.

As things stood, Kaedeji had very few methods he could openly use. Exploding Zombies were his primary offensive weapon.

"Good thing I ran into a Chunin with less-than-stellar combat skills... Kirigakure is a Great Ninja Village. Under the Third Mizukage's brutal rule, it had produced quite a few outstanding ninja. Luckily, I didn't run into one of those tryhards."

Kaedeji calculated the timing. In roughly two more years, the Third Mizukage would officially implement the "Village of the Bloody Mist" policy, where every graduate had to kill a companion they had spent every day with in order to graduate.

Was that because there were too many people? Or because the average ninja's standards were too low? If Konoha played the same game, wouldn't every hot-blooded youngster in the Uchiha Clan end up with a pair of Sharingan?

The current point in time was actually quite interesting. The Kaguya Clan of Kirigakure was still alive and well. This deranged clan, suspected of also inheriting the Lineage of the Six Paths, remained a core force within Kirigakure.

On Konoha's side, the Senju Clan had not yet disbanded—yes, at least during the Second Great Ninja War, many Senju Clan members were still active on the battlefield.

Take Senju Nawaki, for example. When the Second Great Ninja War had just broken out, perhaps he had been too fired up. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would charge in screaming. In the end, Orochimaru had not even had time to save him before he fell into an Explosive Tag trap and was blown to pieces.

He had the physique of a Senju Clan member and traveled with a survival expert like Orochimaru, yet he had still been killed by Explosive Tags. Hot-blooded youths like that easily overestimated themselves and underestimated their enemies. On a battlefield fraught with danger, they were indeed destined to die young.

But by the time of the Third Great Ninja War, the Senju Clan had vanished in the strangest manner.

Such a powerful clan had a large population. To say that after the Second Great Ninja War, every single notable member chose to fade from the village's mainstream view was rather far-fetched.

It was not as if all those Senju Clan Jonin and Chunin had collectively fallen under Kotoamatsukami.

Yet the Senju Clan had indeed quietly "disappeared" before the Third Great Ninja War. For that to happen, there could only be...

"There must have been an event of critical importance that caused the Senju Clan to disappear in name."

Kaedeji had been quietly observing all along. Over the past few years, he had also heard the names of Senju Nawaki, Senju Touka, and other Senju Clan members, gradually confirming the possible reason behind the clan's disappearance.

In any case, it absolutely could not have been something as utterly absurd as the Senju Clan disbanding itself.

"If it really was that incident, then it overlaps with the Body Replacement plan I intend to carry out. Perhaps I can make use of it."

Kaedeji did not really care whether or not the Senju Clan perished. This clan obsessed with love, no matter how bad things got, would not become some emo clan like the Uchiha Clan. It had no practical impact on Kaedeji.

But if it could provide an opportunity for his Body Replacement plan, then he had no choice but to pay some attention to the Senju Clan.

"Mm, I need to return to Konoha safely first... This operation exposed my Corpse Manipulation, but that was bound to happen sooner or later. If I want to replace my body, I first need to display my talents to facilitate the next steps of my plan. But a technique like Corpse Manipulation, which controls corpses, is far too unusual. It could easily cause a huge uproar..."

Kaedeji had fallen into a deadlock. His current body had basically reached its limit. Fewer than forty trillion cells were not enough to let him advance any further down the path of a ninja, much less fully develop the powers of Corpse Manipulation.

That forced him to make a change through concrete action and accomplish his goal of replacing his body.

But taking action would expose Corpse Manipulation, which would bring trouble. Therefore, he had to find a convincing reason to cover it up, at least enough to get him safely through the initial stage after his exposure.

"I need to think this through carefully. This time might be an opportunity that isn't really an opportunity..." Kaedeji raised his head and looked in the direction the Mist Ninja had fled.

Ao was pursuing Kazematsuri Takuya.

Only ten minutes had passed since Ao sent out Norio.

"You're probably a Chunin. Killing a Medical Ninja like you is no less significant than killing a Jonin."

Ao cornered the blood-soaked Kazematsuri Takuya. He did not forget to keep throwing kunai and other ninja tools, continuously making Kazematsuri Takuya bleed. "By now, your companions are probably all dead. This infiltration operation has been a great success."

Kirigakure and Kumogakure had essentially not truly participated in the large-scale army clashes of the Second Great Ninja War. Instead, they sent out squad after squad to launch invasions, trying to bleed Konoha dry bit by bit.

By now, the situation was obvious. Konoha had withstood every opponent's assault and had not allowed the Land of Fire to lose any territory. Considering Konoha's scale and foundations, as well as Sarutobi Hiruzen's personality, not losing meant winning.

But the other villages naturally did not acknowledge that. If Konoha had not lost, did that mean they had? Since they had not lost, they could naturally claim victory in their internal propaganda as well. Moreover, they had dealt a heavy blow to Konoha's living forces and gained an advantage for the next Great Ninja War.

Kazematsuri Takuya leaned against a rock, minimizing the area exposed to attack. There was barely any Chakra left in his body. Treating his injuries was already extremely difficult, much less defeating a Jonin like Ao.

"Don't be so full of yourself. Our deaths bought our other comrades a chance to surround you. You'll die here too," Kazematsuri Takuya said between gasps.

Ao slowly shook his head. "Our ideals differ greatly from yours. To us, our comrades' lives are unimportant, and even our own lives may not be all that important. Completing the mission is what matters most. You did well enough, but you could have done better."

The people of Kirigakure could not understand Konoha Ninja's self-contradictory ways. They clearly valued missions too, yet insisted on mixing in too much weight for "comrades," turning simple matters into complicated ones.

Kazematsuri Takuya let out a deep sigh, despair appearing on his face. He knew that everything was over. What a pity—he had thought he might live to see the day peace arrived...

Rustle.

"Once I kill you, I'll leave the Land of Fire immediately. When I return next time, I hope I'll run into someone from the Hyūga Clan... Hm?"

Ao's brow furrowed. "Norio? That was faster than I expected. No, who are you?"

A bloody, mangled figure staggered over. Large areas of its body were charred black, and only a pair of eyes remained of its facial features. Its entire face had been ruined, making its appearance impossible to discern.

What truly shook Ao was precisely that pair of eyes.

What kind of eyes were those? The pupils and whites had almost blended together, leaving only an extreme, ghastly white that made them utterly distinct.

Ao thought he was seeing things and stared fixedly at those strange eyes.

"...White eyes?"