Chapter 7: The Soul Death Technique, That's What I Used
This was indeed the case. Minato Namikaze thoughtfully comforted Kazematsuri Takuya and Feizhu Qingting, speaking heartwarming words in front of the receiving ninjas. He even displayed his trustworthy smile, as if a large warm lamp hung above his head, its powerful yellow glow was irresistibly captivating.
After completing the handover, Minato Namikaze swiftly set off again. From start to finish, he didn't even glance at Tsukasa Kaede in the crowd, nor did he give Tsukasa Kaede a chance to approach and speak.
This was the treatment a super genius, admired by the entire village, deserved. The most basic point was that an insignificant fellow like Tsukasa Kaede wouldn't even get a chance to curry favor.
Tsukasa Kaede's heart was calm, without a ripple. In fact, if one carefully examined Minato and Naruto, they would find that Minato was far more 'cool-headed' than Naruto—he never got carried away by passion, always calm, always rational, and would always choose the most likely correct option under limited objective conditions.
Dealing with a 'sun' like Minato Namikaze, who was universally admired yet exceedingly calm, wasn't easy for Tsukasa Kaede in his current position.
Everyone was looking up to Minato Namikaze, excitedly discussing the young man's charisma and visible immense talent.
But Kazematsuri Takuya was not like that.
"Kaede, that thing, was it what you mentioned—?" Kazematsuri Takuya lay on the stretcher, twisting his head, watching Tsukasa Kaede with one eye open, an inquiring look on his face.
Tsukasa Kaede nodded calmly. "That's right, the jutsu I've been diligently practicing is the Soul Death Technique. You're an experienced medical ninja, you must have heard of it… Although I don't have much talent, I've always been working hard to practice the jutsu that suits me."
"…But, the Soul Death Technique…"
Kazematsuri Takuya sighed, for a moment unsure what to say, a worried expression on his face.
The Soul Death Technique was originally Yakushi Kabuto's specialty. It could disguise a corpse as another person and manipulate it for a short time. Although the corpse's combat ability was extremely poor, its movements and speech were no different from an ordinary person's, serving to ambush enemies or cover one's escape.
In the original timeline, Yakushi Kabuto transformed an Anbu corpse into his own likeness, manipulated it to approach the unconscious Sasuke, then clashed with Kakashi, who was protecting Sasuke. He himself disguised as the fallen Anbu ninja, ultimately making an unexpected escape through a window.
Kazematsuri Takuya was also a medical ninja and knew the village's training model for war orphans. But he truly hadn't expected that Tsukasa Kaede had learned a jutsu capable of provoking such great controversy.
In times of war, it was fine, but once peace arrived, if Tsukasa Kaede's fame grew, the Soul Death Technique, which involved manipulating corpses, would become Tsukasa Kaede's weakness, exposing him to public criticism.
Kazematsuri Takuya whispered, "Nonō Yakushi herself doesn't even use this jutsu, so you'd best use it less often. If the village asks me, I'll try my best to explain. Regardless, you saved our lives, and that's undeniable military merit. Without your Soul Death Technique, none of us would have survived."
In fact, he still had many unanswered questions. Such as: why was the Kirigakure ninja manipulated by the Soul Death Technique in such a strange state? Why, even after being attacked so many times by Ao, and even losing limbs, could it still maintain its aggression? Most importantly, the duration of the Soul Death Technique Tsukasa Kaede performed was somewhat too long, and it could even withstand high-intensity taijutsu combat.
There were too many questions. A normal Soul Death Technique was certainly not like this, manipulating a corpse to launch endless attacks.
But Kazematsuri Takuya didn't voice them. Kaedemply hearing Tsukasa Kaede's reply of "Soul Death Technique" was already helping Tsukasa Kaede cover up the truth.
A person who would risk their life to save a comrade was trustworthy no matter what, and suddenly using some special ninjutsu was completely understandable. Kazematsuri Takuya felt it was necessary to mitigate some risks for Tsukasa Kaede.
Anyway, everyone who knew the situation at the scene, except for Ao and him, was dead.
Tsukasa Kaede watched Kazematsuri Takuya being carried away. An unspoken understanding passed between them.
As for Feizhu Qingting? He had already passed out. If Minato Namikaze hadn't arrived in time, this fellow would have been killed long ago. Normally, he would have been one of the proctors during the written portion of the Chunin Exam that Naruto and Sasuke participated in.
Of course, because Tsukasa Kaede had come to this world, the future concept of "death" might change; perhaps death would become another form of "life."
Two hours later.
Tsukasa Kaede recovered some stamina, rushed to the Mission Station to report on the mission's progress, and was unsurprisingly rated "mission failed."
The reason was that although the enemy was killed, Ryoma's order to proceed to the Northern Border was ultimately not strictly followed.
Not completing a mission was a big failure. As for what happened during the mission's process… unless it was a huge military merit, it couldn't hide the result of failure.
"As expected, another failed record. My genin resume must be terrible to behold. By the time of Naruto and Sasuke, those kids will probably fiercely mock me with my info card."
Tsukasa Kaede was completely unfazed.
In this era, the idea of "mission first" was most prevalent. Deviant ideas like "prioritizing the protection of comrades" would only become mainstream by the era of Naruto and Sasuke. This would require many people to make efforts in many wars to gradually change people's thinking.
He was about to leave when a man wearing a mask blocked his path.
"Genin Tsukasa Kaede, Lord Ryoma wishes to see you."
"Lord Ryoma… I understand."
Tsukasa Kaede nodded solemnly.
Other hurried ninjas now cast curious glances his way, watching this scene with surprise.
"That's a mask wearer… Anbu, aren't they? But the shape and markings of the mask seem a bit different."
"Why would someone from Anbu give orders to a genin?"
Soon, people lost interest, hastily busying themselves with their own missions, and after completing their preparations, quickly rushed to the Front Line.
…
Root was nominally a part of Anbu, but in reality, it had its own independent system.
Ryoma summoned Tsukasa Kaede, not in his capacity as Root's Vice-Director, but as the Vice-Captain of the Medical Unit.
"I've received Kazematsuri Takuya's verbal report," Ryoma said. "He said you unexpectedly killed the enemy using the Soul Death Technique."
Ryoma was entirely shrouded in a wide robe. His cold gaze, peering through dark glasses, fell upon Tsukasa Kaede. "That 'The Wandering Priestess' actually taught you even this kind of jutsu… You were merely a mediocre individual I'd screened out back then. Why would she be willing to teach you such ninjutsu?"
(end of chapter)