Naruto: Zombie Release

There was no doubt, Konoha's White Fang was a reliable leader, and more importantly, he genuinely cared for his comrades. That alone was a blessing for Arata.

Had it been Orochimaru or some other questionable character in charge, they might very well have exploited the moment a teammate fell into danger just to bypass them and launch a strike at the enemy.

Arata stumbled back into the camp in a sorry state. Despite what might have looked like an impressive display earlier, the entire ordeal had lasted no more than a few dozen seconds. 

No one should expect two reanimated corpses, each operating at less than half of their original power, to decisively turn the tide of battle. 

The fact that one had managed to hold off a member of Chiyo's elite Chikamatsu Ten Puppets was already a staggering achievement.

But the others didn't see it that way. 

Looking at the bodies of Konoha shinobi scattered around the area where Arata had fought, it was clear that he alone, in the midst of crisis, had unleashed an astonishing jutsu that prevented even more comrades from dying.

Medical-nin were always held in high regard. If one of them also possessed a unique jutsu and had proven themselves in battle, admiration followed naturally.

By the fire at the southeastern edge of Konoha's camp, Arata sat with fatigue written all over his face. 

He reached for a few pieces of charcoal, intending to stoke the flames, only to realize someone else had already done it for him.

Small details revealed much about one's status.

"Thanks. So, Lord Sakumo defeated the enemy leader and even cut off her arm?"

"Exactly! Lord Sakumo's moves looked ordinary, but every strike shattered whatever stood in his way, whether puppet or person! 

You should've seen the enemy leader flee, clutching her severed arm, absolutely pathetic. It's a shame you missed it."

Others chimed in, voices overlapping as they surrounded Arata in a show of camaraderie. 

Their expressions radiated admiration, though now and then, a flicker of unease crept into their eyes when they looked at him.

Not because they feared Arata's strength, he wasn't strong enough to force the entire crowd to dance to his tune by sheer power alone.

It was the unease that came naturally from dealing with a medical-nin who toyed with the dead.

His abilities displayed earlier that day had simply been too outrageous, utterly beyond anyone's comprehension.

"It's like he turned corpses into puppets and even made them use the ninjutsu they knew in life… No matter how you look at it, this has to be a forbidden jutsu."

Inuzuka Tsume scratched his cheek and muttered, "Right, Kuromaru? You can't forget that stench either, can you? 

And the guy keeps insisting it's a kind of medical ninjutsu. That just makes it even more terrifying. I need to re-evaluate what I think of white-clad medical-nin."

Kuromaru barked twice in agreement.

"Terrifying… but effective."

Isuke, bandaged head to toe, walked over. 

"Because of that jutsu, we managed to kill a few more enemies and saved several comrades from the enemy leader's ambush. All in all, the gains outweighed the losses, its impact was immense."

He offered to give Arata a full-body checkup, but was swiftly refused.

"Lord Isuke, I think you're forgetting, I'm a medical-nin too," Arata replied coolly.

A flash of disappointment passed through Isuke's eyes. Truthfully, he had hoped to get his hands on the scroll Arata carried at his waist. 

All the reanimated corpses, usable or not, had been sealed back into it by Arata.

So cautious, Isuke thought. He should have focused on the anomaly of this "Dead Soul Technique" much earlier. Perhaps Tatsuma would find it intriguing.

No, more than just Tatsuma. Even Danzo might be interested. 

Rumor had it that Danzo was a man who gathered every dark secret under the sun. If Isuke could present him with this new soul-based jutsu, perhaps he could earn an audience.

The regret grew heavier in his heart. But the opportunity had slipped away. Someone as guarded as Arata was unlikely to give him another chance to pry deeper.

Arata sat among the crowd, chatting like a normal person, without the cold, aloof aura many Konoha shinobi had imagined he'd possess.

Such behavior, mingling like this, was already extremely rare for him. In the past, simply being near this many people would have exposed him to too many pathogens.

His body would've collapsed from disease in days.

'From now on, I guess I'm somewhat famous,' Arata mused. 

'I'm still leagues away from being called a "genius," but at least I've managed to demonstrate a particular talent, which'll make future actions smoother. 

To have done this much on the battlefield against Suna, it's more than I hoped for.'

For Arata, there was no more suitable enemy than Sunagakure.

It tied directly into his plan for acquiring a new body. 

He'd envisioned several theoretically plausible methods, but the most optimal one, the one that would yield a perfect vessel, undoubtedly required approaching things through the Suna route. 

This was the critical second step.

The first step had been to showcase his corpse-based jutsu in the right situation and make a name for himself. 

At the very least, he had to avoid being labeled a dangerous heretic and getting purged or forcibly conscripted by those with ulterior motives.

He had no intention of ending up with something like a cursed tongue seal etched into him.

'At this point in time, Suna should have already started their forbidden research into human puppets. 

That work may be discontinued in a few years, but it will be the foundation for Sasori of the Red Sand becoming a master of human puppetry.'

The spark that ignited the Second Great Ninja War had been Hanzo of Amegakure declaring war on the three great nations.

The Third? That had been triggered by Sasori's assassination of the Third Kazekage. 

Orphaned at a young age, Sasori was obsessed with the fragility of human flesh and threw himself into the path of human puppetry, eventually abandoning his village.

'My Zombie Release should've caught the attention of Suna's higher-ups by now. 

That's dangerous, but it's also exactly the opportunity I need…' Arata stared into the dancing flames, their glow reflected in his eyes.

A masked Anbu appeared in front of him.

"Genin Yoshida Arata, by order of Lord Sakumo, you are hereby promoted to Chunin due to your exceptional performance on the battlefield. Report to the central command camp immediately."

…

Chiyo looked silently at her severed arm.

"It's just one arm, sister. With the village's medical expertise, we can easily craft you a prosthetic that's better than the original," Ebizo offered gently.

Chiyo frowned deeply and hurled the bloodstained cloth into a basin of medical fluid. The diluted blood slowly bloomed within the porcelain bowl.

"I'm not concerned about the arm. I spearheaded the development of human puppetry, I know I can build a better replacement. I've already designed the mechanisms and matching jutsu for the new arm."

She suddenly swept her sleeve, knocking the bowl over. "What I regret is not using the opportunity when that arm was severed to poison Sakumo! 

If I'd infused my blood with a lethal toxin in advance, just a few drops falling on him might have changed everything, I might've had my revenge!"

Her voice trembled with rage. She was furious at herself, for not being ruthless enough. The chance had been there. 

Even failure might have led to another kind of victory. But she'd let it slip through her fingers.

Ebizo didn't know how to respond. His sister was growing more and more venomous by the day, and he was at a loss. Instead, he pulled out a report.

"Maybe this will interest you. Yoshida Arata. Sixteen years old. War orphan. Genin. Medical-nin."

The paper he unfolded was full of question marks. 

"No known Kekkei Genkai. No famous mentors. But he makes remarkable use of corpses, even turning them into suicide bombs at times. His jutsu… is reportedly called the Dead Soul Technique."

" Dead Soul? What kind of Technique is that? He's just a genin. Maybe he's spent years perfecting it?"

Chiyo fell silent, frowning deeply. She knew what true Dead Soul Techniques were supposed to look like. But this…? How could it be possible? 

Arata hadn't even used chakra threads to manipulate the corpses from afar.

Genjutsu? That didn't make sense either. You couldn't use illusions on the dead and make them move. That defied all logic.

Ebizo added, "The puppet master he summoned, our intel has identified her. Based on limited physical traits, she was one of ours. Killed in battle about a month ago. 

We failed to destroy the body before retreating, and Konoha must have taken it as a war prize."

Puppet masters in Sunagakure were elite. Without extraordinary talent, you weren't even qualified to begin learning. At best, you'd be stuck as a traditional shinobi.

Which meant the number of puppet masters in the entire ninja world was extremely small, especially those at Jonin level. Tracing them wasn't hard.

"Send word, Yoshida Arata is now an A-rank target," Chiyo ordered, her voice sharp and commanding. 

"Dead or alive, I want his Dead Soul Technique. It's critical to the village's future!"