"Eh~? Kaede Tsukasa-sama can go up against a Jinchūriki, and he's only a special jōnin? Elite jōnin sounds more accurate!"
"During the day, didn't Tsunade-sama say it was just to restrain him, not a direct confrontation? But an elite jōnin… anyway, after this, he'll probably be promoted to jōnin."
During wartime, there were plenty of talents who progressed rapidly, but reaching Kaede Tsukasa's level in promotions was still rare.
Only Minato Namikaze could compare.
Moreover, Kaede Tsukasa earned great merit by using enemy corpses to rescue his comrades, naturally gaining more popularity and a group of supporters.
Immediately, people began discussing and speculating even more fervently, casting eager glances toward Kaede Tsukasa, hoping he would stand up and say something—but they were disappointed. Kaede Tsukasa remained quietly seated.
Everyone was curious: what jutsu was Kaede Tsukasa using to restrain a Jinchūriki? It had to involve more corpses and space-time ninjutsu, with nonstop bombardments of various techniques while Kaede Tsukasa moved around… people guessed that only such tactics could restrain the enemy.
"Iroha, you look uneasy. What's wrong? Ever since the retreat from the northern coastline of the Land of Hot Water, your condition seems off."
Ibiki approached, asking casually, then pointed at Aburame Ryōma in the distance. "He must have noticed as well. Though he seems silent, he's actually very cautious and alert."
"Kaede Tsukasa-sama said you have sharp intelligence analysis skills. Seems he was right," Iroha didn't answer directly.
He was brainstorming, using silence to suppress the terror building in his mind. Considering the situation, that he could manage at all was already impressive.
Ibiki's doubt deepened, suspecting that Iroha had discovered something—if it was just fear from the failure, that would be absurd. Iroha was a well-known young member of the Hyūga main branch.
Though not a genius like Kaede Tsukasa or Minato Namikaze—completely in a different league—it was impossible for him to behave this way for no reason.
Finding no useful information, Ibiki stopped asking, only speculating internally that Iroha Hyūga had discovered something others hadn't.
Byakugan…
"These eyes have telescopic vision. Iroha probably saw something," Kaede Tsukasa noticed Iroha's repeated glances and knew he was deliberately trying to get his attention, understanding perfectly.
Late at night, Kaede Tsukasa squinted for a moment, opened his eyes, and slowly stood.
"I'll take a patrol around the area."
"You should rest. I can handle this," Dan said worriedly, watching Kaede Tsukasa. "I can finish the patrol quickly with spirit transformation techniques. Your condition…"
"Don't worry. I've just returned to my previous state. Normally, using the Reincarnation Jutsu on oneself would be fatal—it's life for life—but I'm different. My situation is special; you've probably guessed that."
Kaede Tsukasa waved his hand. "My Zombie Release techniques are also perfect for patrol and reconnaissance. I can summon a bunch of corpses to strike everywhere… besides, I need to talk to a junior."
From a distance, Dan and Tsunade saw Kaede Tsukasa taking Iroha on a patrol, even stopping some who tried to follow.
They immediately understood: the patrol was a pretense; Kaede Tsukasa really wanted to talk to the Hyūga kid.
…
Iroha followed the seemingly weak Kaede Tsukasa, his face tense, silent.
He knew that the man before him, though frail in appearance, harbored an astonishing amount of power.
"Seems you've noticed. Quite a pair of eyes you have—truly enviable," Kaede Tsukasa said slowly.
Iroha whispered, "Yes, I… I did see something. Although it was a bit far, at the edge of my vision, and I couldn't see everything clearly… even so, what I saw completely overturned my understanding…"
Someone whose upper body had been almost destroyed, and yet could come back to life?
Kaede Tsukasa's price was merely a return to a thinner form? Just that?
An unknown forbidden jutsu capable of resurrecting an elite jōnin, only at the cost of one's own flesh? Iroha knew it couldn't be that simple, though much of the secret remained beyond his sight.
Even just witnessing it left an imprint on his mind, like a curse, destined never to fade.
"To overturn understanding… that's what most people say when they witness my Reincarnation Jutsu," Kaede Tsukasa said casually. "Iroha, as a member of the Hyūga branch family, you seem to have sharper senses than ordinary people. I suppose you've associated that with something… interesting."
Iroha Hyūga's heart skipped, then exhaled in relief. He wanted to speak but felt it was too unrealistic, even fanciful.
"Kaede Tsukasa-sama… as you said, I… I did have some thoughts…" Iroha stammered, hesitating.
"That's normal. Seeing me resurrect Dan, taking organs and the spine from an exploded Bloodline Corpse for on-site transplantation, anyone would have thoughts. Though my surgical work was crude—if not for Tsunade-sama assisting me, who knows how Master Dan's body would have turned out."
Kaede Tsukasa stopped and turned to look at the averted gaze of Iroha Hyūga.
Being born into the Hyūga branch family already determined many things.
Other ninja could wear their Konoha forehead protectors wherever they liked—shoulder, waist, thigh, neck.
But branch family members of the Hyūga always tied theirs on the forehead during missions, to conceal the Caged Bird seal.
This concealment—whether shameful or numbing—became a normalized, unavoidable practice for branch family members.
There was only one way to escape the Caged Bird mark: death.
And now, Iroha had witnessed firsthand a method to escape it!
"Die and be resurrected, and you naturally break free of the cage. That's what you're thinking, isn't it? There's no shame in that. Having seen my jutsu, such a desire is inevitable."
Kaede Tsukasa raised a hand toward the sky, as if trying to grasp the moon:
"I have no intention of judging whether the main and branch family system of the Hyūga is right or wrong. But since you've conceived the idea of breaking free and taken action, be prepared to pay the price."
"Kaede Tsukasa-sama… are you willing? But the cost of performing such a resurrection jutsu…"
"That's not for you to worry about. When you return to the Hyūga, reflect carefully on my words and then make your decision."
Kaede Tsukasa looked up, gazing deeply at the faint, shimmering moon.
Ōtsutsuki, Hyūga, Tenseigan…
In truth, the origin of the Caged Bird seal had long been untraceable. But one thing proved its necessity: the Hyūga clan still endured.
Yes. It was really that simple.
As descendants of Homura Ōtsutsuki, a group went to the moon, fought a civil war, wiped out the main family, and extracted the Byakugan from all Ōtsutsuki descendants, assembling them into a massive Reincarnation Eye.
Those who stayed in the shinobi world became the Hyūga clan, using the Caged Bird to bind the majority of their members, ensuring the Byakugan would never leak and could not be removed for use.
If the Hyūga had been like their lunar relatives, with no way for the main family to control the branch families, who knows what might have happened? Over a thousand years, some genius Hyūga might have discovered that Byakugan could be assembled and fused, potentially leading to the massacre of the entire clan.
Even the Uchiha discovered that three tomoe could evolve into the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Madara realized that transplanting his brother's eyes could create the Eternal Mangekyō. It would be natural for the Hyūga to make discoveries over a thousand years.
Kaede Tsukasa immediately saw through Iroha's thoughts.
"Let me tell you something else. My Reincarnation Jutsu can activate all dead cells in a corpse. You know what that means, right? Although I don't know much about the Caged Bird seal," Kaede Tsukasa said calmly.
Iroha understood instantly.
It meant that a deceased Hyūga branch member, whose eyes had lost function due to the Caged Bird, could have their Byakugan restored if resurrected by Kaede Tsukasa.
Unbelievable.
With injuries like Dan's, even assembling all sorts of rotting organs could result in a complete resurrection. Theoretically, a branch member's eyes could also awaken upon revival.
"However, don't hold absolute hope. Whether it will succeed is uncertain. At the very least, I need to study the Caged Bird," Kaede Tsukasa said.
Iroha Hyūga took a deep breath. "Understood, Kaede Tsukasa-sama. This concerns matters of great importance, even affecting the fate of our clan. I need to think carefully."
"You will agree. Even if you don't, there will inevitably be branch members unwilling to accept fate, who will take risks and eventually join me—it's only a matter of time."
Kaede Tsukasa smiled and patted Iroha on the shoulder. Today's events were a huge shock to this junior; he could afford to give him ample time to think.
Besides, the decision was never really Iroha's to make.
"Kaede Tsukasa-sama, someone is approaching us," Iroha said in a low voice.
Kaede Tsukasa nodded. "I know. Appearing only now shows they are cautious enough."
A squad of Root ninja appeared before Kaede Tsukasa, kneeling on one knee, showing no flaws. Iroha naturally assumed these "Anbu" were Kaede Tsukasa's subordinates—perhaps he had even joined the Anbu? That would be normal; Anbu operate under hidden identities.
"Kaede Tsukasa-sama, should we deal with this member of the Hyūga clan?"
The Root leader's first words left Iroha stunned.
The Anbu were this extreme? Immediately seeking to eliminate unrelated personnel, even fellow village ninja?
"…Not necessary. There's no need for such low-level testing. Stand down."
The two returned to the main force without causing any disturbance. Even if someone saw them, they paid little attention—Kaede Tsukasa patrolling with trusted subordinates, having discussions and giving instructions, was normal enough.
Tsunade and Dan did not ask what Kaede Tsukasa had said to Iroha.
At dawn, the group moved again, finally reaching a border outpost.
"This failure in the war is entirely my responsibility. I am willing to accept all punishments from the village," Dan wrote down the events of the battle, of course omitting the part where Kaede Tsukasa resurrected him.
Kaede Tsukasa comforted him: "Don't be too hard on yourself. Perhaps we even gained a kind of victory. If the Four-Tails had gone berserk, it would have targeted Iwagakure's ninja first."
Dan's face was bitter. Clearly, it had been a defeat—six hundred comrades lost—but if the outcome counted as a kind of "victory"… it was almost too ironic. The village probably wouldn't recognize such a victory.
Two more days passed before the village sent Anbu ninja with orders from the Hokage.
Just as Kaede Tsukasa had expected, it was indeed a victory—an extremely significant and remarkable one.
"What? The enemy suffered heavier losses than us? A thousand-strong force completely destroyed, the vast majority killed?" Dan's expression was complex.
The Anbu replied calmly: "Yes. Enemy losses were greater. According to intelligence from our spies, after the Four-Tails Jinchūriki went berserk, several Tailed Beast Bombs destroyed the Iwagakure troops. He ultimately fell into a deep coma, and it is unknown when he will awaken. This matches your battle report."
Not just a win—it was a massive one. Iwagakure's casualties exceeded Konoha's by two to three hundred. That alone was a victory. With Konoha's numbers and resources, even a 1:1 attrition counted as a win; the enemy's heavier losses made it even more so.
Most importantly, Dan, completely unharmed, had put the Four-Tails Jinchūriki into a deep coma—the berserk Four-Tails also contributed to the coma, though that wasn't critical. This victory was crucial.
"If we consider it this way, removing the Four-Tails Jinchūriki from the battlefield could directly influence the main front," Tsunade said with relief, her expression easing.
A single Jinchūriki often had more impact on the battlefield than a Kage-level shinobi, simply because of the terrifying destructive power when unleashed! A few Tailed Beast Bombs caused indiscriminate devastation; massive forces suffered catastrophic losses—who could withstand that?
Even among the current Sannin, all of whom could be considered Hokage-level, it wasn't easy to identify someone who could definitively defeat a Tailed Beast.
"Too bad the village's Jinchūriki couldn't be deployed; otherwise, it wouldn't have been this difficult," Kaede Tsukasa commented casually.
"Grandma's old now; it's time for her to live out her years in peace. If she had to go to the battlefield, it would be a disgrace for us juniors," Tsunade said, shaking her head. She would never let her grandmother fight, and she knew most of Mito Uzumaki's focus was on raising Kushina Uzumaki. Barring accidents, Kushina would become the next Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Some in the village were already scheming for the Nine-Tails, hoping that after Mito Uzumaki's death, it could be transferred to someone else. Why must the next Jinchūriki always be a Uzumaki descendant?
Why not a Senju descendant?
Tsunade and others were still alive. As for claims that the Senju sealing techniques were inferior to the Uzumaki's… couldn't they just learn them? After all, sealing techniques aren't Kekkei Genkai.
And it didn't have to be limited to Senju or Uzumaki.
Yet such objections were only muttered in private. For example, Danzo argued with the Third Hokage, but no one dared bring it up to Mito Uzumaki.
Half a month later, once it was confirmed that no Iwagakure forces would invade the Land of Hot Water, the unit began to return.
Officially, they had won, but the expressions of the returning ninja were complex, devoid of the joy of victory.
Iroha, among the first to return to the village, immediately began his duties.
The villagers, immersed in another "victory," hoped that Orochimaru's main forces could swiftly defeat Iwagakure.
They had no access to the details of the war, nor would the village publicize them in such detail. All they knew was that they had won, Dan had incapacitated the enemy Jinchūriki, and Iwagakure's remaining strength had been further weakened by Konoha.
"Dan-sama… seems to be an elite jōnin? He already possesses the ability to deal with Tailed Beasts?"
"Hmph, it seems Dan-sama's secret technique isn't so secret after all. I heard it's called the Spirit Transformation Technique, but I don't know exactly what it does. Can this jutsu really counter a Jinchūriki?"
"Amazing! The village has gained another powerful ninja! Konoha truly is the strongest in the shinobi world!"
"The Hokage-sama hasn't even personally fought, yet he's led us to win the shinobi war!"
Similar comments were everywhere, praising Dan and, by extension, the wise Third Hokage.
"Disgusting."
Danzo stood in the laboratory, expressionless, staring at the numerous corpses preserved in formalin. He detested the Third Hokage's antics.
Listening to the naive villagers' praises growing more and more absurd, Danzo wondered: if this continues for a few more years, would they elevate the Third Hokage to the strongest of all Hokage in history?
Like that so-called strongest Third Kazekage of all time?
However, the speed at which this local war ended was beyond Danzo's expectations, and the process itself surprised him.
"If the intelligence from Nono Yakushi is accurate, there are too many doubts about Dan's report. Hmph, even Hiruzen must have some suspicions, but he won't deliberately press the matter."
Danzo snorted coldly.
What kind of person was Dan? Of course he knew. Could the Third Hokage not know? The Spirit Transformation Technique was powerful, but once activated, the user's body must remain completely still—an almost stationary target.
"If the drawback of immobility is compensated by Kaede Tsukasa's time-space ninjutsu… moving the body with time-space ninjutsu is an even more violent motion, rapidly altering the distance and orientation between the body and the spirit, creating a significant effect."
And yet, just with spirit-based attacks, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki was forced into complete Tailed Beast Mode, ultimately falling into a coma? This could arguably be explained by Roshi preemptively altering the Land of Hot Water's ley lines and overusing chakra.
But always having to look for additional possibilities to supplement the battle report already indicated a problem. Battles between ninja inherently involve intelligence warfare—can the battle process really be explained only by coincidences?
"Kaede Tsukasa wouldn't have used the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu on Dan, right? With Tsunade's assistance, the three of them together could seriously injure the Four-Tails."
Danzo's expression darkened. He did not want more people to know about Kaede Tsukasa's forbidden jutsu, which made him feel even more uneasy—he always hated uncontrolled matters.
It solidified his decision: this tedious war must end quickly, and Orochimaru must return!
The human experimentation projects needed urgent progress. Kaede Tsukasa had to be firmly controlled without delay! If the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu's existence reached the Third Hokage's ears, Danzo would vomit blood.
"If I were Hokage, there'd be no meaningless defensive wars. We'd invade enemy nations directly, kill more shinobi, control more civilians, and cultivate more ninja from them!"
Make no mistake—he wasn't kidnapping civilians to supplement Konoha's population; Konoha didn't lack people. He purely wanted to use enemy civilians as expendable resources, producing more ninja, all turned into corpses for Kaede Tsukasa's jutsu.
The more frequent the wars and the greater the casualties, the more corpses there would be. The more life force Kaede Tsukasa could extract and transfer, the stronger Konoha's ninja would become, and their lifespans would be extraordinarily long!
All of this could be achieved simply by waging war—only through invasions!
"Even if Hiruzen obtained the One's Own Life Reincarnation Jutsu and the Zombie Release Technique, he would never do such things," Danzo snorted coldly. He removed the bandages from his head, revealing his three-tomoe Sharingan, and continued diligently researching the Izanagi forbidden technique.
At the same time, the Third Tsuchikage nearly blew a fuse upon receiving the news.
"An excellent operational plan… how did it end up like this? It's one thing that there weren't massive casualties among Konoha's shinobi, but why were our losses so huge in the end?!"
Over a thousand ninja went in, and barely a hundred survived—the rest were obliterated by the Four-Tails' Tailed Beast Bombs, and Roshi himself was unconscious. The Third Tsuchikage was completely exasperated.
"Dan? That guy? How could he possibly force Roshi into such a state? I don't even need to think to know how Konoha's people will spin this!"
The Third Tsuchikage fumed, flying back and forth in the air.
Dan? What kind of person was that? Using an enhanced Heart-Transfer Technique to take down a Jinchūriki? Pfft, Dan? Give me a break.
And if you add Tsunade into the mix… no one said she had any overwhelmingly powerful methods. Even with a summon slug, there's no reason Roshi should have been forced into that state.
Something extraordinary had clearly happened, but the Third Tsuchikage couldn't be certain. All he could do was wait patiently until Roshi woke up, then find out the truth.
"I originally planned to use Roshi's power to break the stalemate in the Land of Hot Water and weaken Konoha's forces… and yet it ended up the other way around. This war probably…"
The Third Tsuchikage couldn't bring himself to admit failure. He had repelled Sunagakure to focus on Konoha, but this was the result.
Konoha's commander, Orochimaru, was a flawless operator. Even his occasional odd raids were targeted hunts for explosive-type ninja. Over the past few years, he had killed a dozen or so Explosion Kekkei Genkai users and stolen several corpses.
The Third Tsuchikage knew Orochimaru was using the opportunity to study Explosion Kekkei Genkai. That wasn't hard to accept; he would have done the same if he had the chance—he also wanted to capture a few Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga.
But it was impossible.
"Hold on a little longer… if not, we'll retreat. Kumogakure is getting restless… a bunch of damn fools!" the Third Tsuchikage cursed.
Kumogakure had focused its efforts on Iwagakure, constantly sending elite squads for raids and sabotage, causing endless trouble.
The Third Tsuchikage resolved that after this withdrawal, he would squeeze the Land of Earth's national resources to enhance military strength. After a few years of preparation, he would strike Kumogakure with full force!
He would make those bastards pay a painfully heavy price.