Dead Soul Technique, I Used the Dead Soul Technique

The truth was indeed as Minato Namikaze had said. He thoughtfully comforted Kazematsuri Takuya and Tobitake Tonbo, speaking heartwarming words in front of the ninja who had come to receive them. In the end, he even revealed that convincing smile of his, as though a giant warm lamp hung above his head, its powerful yellow glow impossible to resist.

After completing the handover, Minato Namikaze swiftly set out again. From beginning to end, he did not spare Kaedeji a second glance amidst the crowd, much less give him a chance to approach and speak.

This was the treatment a super genius admired by the entire village deserved. At the very least, it was not something a nobody like Kaedeji could have the opportunity to ingratiate himself with.

Kaedeji remained utterly calm, Without Any ripples in his heart. In truth, if one carefully examined Minato and Naruto, one would find that Minato was far more "cold-blooded" than Naruto—he never let passion cloud his judgment. He was always calm, always rational, always choosing the option most likely to be correct under limited objective conditions.

Dealing with a sun like Minato Namikaze, admired by countless people yet incomparably calm, was not so easy given Kaedeji's current status.

Everyone was gazing up at Minato Namikaze, excitedly discussing the young man's warmth and his immense, plainly visible talent.

But Kazematsuri Takuya was not like them.

"Kaedeji, that thing... could it be the one you mentioned before—" Lying on the stretcher, Kazematsuri Takuya twisted his head and looked at Kaedeji with one eye open, his expression full of inquiry.

Kaedeji nodded calmly. "That's right. The jutsu I've been diligently practicing is the Dead Soul Technique. You're an experienced Medical Ninja, so you must have heard of it... Though I'm not particularly talented, I've always worked hard to practice jutsu that suit me."

"...But the Dead Soul Technique..."

Kazematsuri Takuya sighed, unable to find the words for a moment. A worried look appeared on his face.

The Dead Soul Technique had Originally Was Yakushi Kabuto's specialty. It could disguise corpses as other people and control them for a short period of time. Although the corpses' combat power was extremely lacking, their movements and speech were no different from those of ordinary people. It could be used to ambush enemies or cover one's escape.

In the original history, Yakushi Kabuto had transformed an Anbu corpse into his own likeness and controlled it to approach the unconscious Sasuke, provoking a clash with Kakashi, who was protecting Sasuke. Kabuto himself disguised himself as the fallen Anbu ninja before unexpectedly smashing through a window and escaping.

Kazematsuri Takuya was also a Medical Ninja and knew how the village trained War Orphans, but he truly had not expected Kaedeji to learn such a highly controversial jutsu.

It was fine during wartime, but once the world entered an era of peace, if Kaedeji became famous, the corpse-manipulating Dead Soul Technique would become a vulnerability for public opinion to attack him over.

Kazematsuri Takuya said softly, "Even Yakushi Nonō doesn't use this jutsu herself. You should use it as little as possible as well. If the village comes to ask me about it, I'll do my best to explain. No matter what, you saved our lives. That is a genuine war merit. Without your Dead Soul Technique, none of us would have survived."

In truth, he still had many questions he had not asked. For example, why had the Mist Ninja controlled by the Dead Soul Technique been in such a strange state? Why had it remained aggressive even after enduring so many attacks from Ao, even after losing hands and feet?

Most importantly, the Dead Soul Technique Kaedeji had performed had lasted far too long, and it had even been able to withstand high-intensity Taijutsu combat.

There were too many questions. A normal Dead Soul Technique absolutely did not control a body into launching endless attacks like that.

But Kazematsuri Takuya did not ask. Simply hearing Kaedeji give "Dead Soul Technique" as his answer was already helping him cover it up.

Someone willing to risk his life to save his comrades was trustworthy no matter what. It was perfectly understandable for such a person to suddenly use some unusual ninjutsu. Kazematsuri Takuya felt that he needed to smooth over some of the risks for Kaedeji.

After all, aside from Ao and himself, everyone who knew what had happened at the scene was dead.

Kaedeji watched Kazematsuri Takuya being carried away. The two of them understood each other without words.

As for Tobitake Tonbo? He had already fallen unconscious. If Minato Namikaze had not arrived in time, this guy would have been killed long ago—normally, he would serve as one of the proctors during the written examination when Naruto and Sasuke took the Chunin Exams.

Of course, because Kaedeji had come to This World, the concept of so-called "death" might become different in the future. Perhaps death would become another form of "life."

Two hours later.

Kaedeji had recovered a bit of his strength and went to the mission office to report the course of the mission. As expected, it was judged a "mission failure."

The reason was that although he had killed the enemy, he ultimately had not strictly obeyed Aburame Ryoma's order to head for the northern border.

Failing to complete the mission was a major failure. As for what had happened during the mission... unless it was an enormous war merit, it could not conceal the result of failure.

"Just as expected, another failure on my record. My Genin résumé must be a complete disaster. When Naruto and Sasuke's era comes around, those little brats will probably hold up my file card and laugh their heads off."

Kaedeji did not care in the slightest.

In this era, the idea of missions above all else was at its peak. The crooked notion of "protect comrades first" would only become mainstream in Naruto and Sasuke's era. That required many people to make efforts across many wars, gradually changing people's way of thinking.

He was about to leave when a masked man stepped in front of him.

"Genin Kaedeji, Lord Ryoma wishes to see you."

"Lord Ryoma... I understand."

Kaedeji nodded solemnly and agreed.

The other hurried ninja around them all turned their attention over, watching the scene in surprise.

"That masked one... is he Anbu? But the shape and pattern of his mask seem a little different."

"Why would someone from Anbu deliver an order to a Genin?"

Soon, people stopped paying attention and hurriedly went about their own missions, quickly setting off for the front lines once they had finished preparing.

Root was nominally a part of Anbu, but in reality, it had its own independent system.

When Aburame Ryoma summoned Kaedeji, he did not do so as the deputy director of Root, but as the deputy commander of the Medical Corps.

"I received Kazematsuri Takuya's verbal report. He said you used the Dead Soul Technique to kill the enemy by surprise."

Aburame Ryoma was entirely shrouded in a broad robe. His icy gaze passed through his sunglasses and fell upon Kaedeji. "That Wandering Miko actually taught you even a jutsu like this... You are merely one of the mediocre people I eliminated during my selection. Why would she be willing to teach you such ninjutsu?"