chapter 102 part 2
Tsukasa Kaede's Spirit Body moved at high speed. During this, he casually activated Spatial Rift Jutsu, which, as expected, failed.
"Heh, Tobi or Black Zetsu must be behind it. Only those two are most interested in my body." Tsukasa Kaede wasn't surprised, and he had already noticed that his body had become a Zombie—the Corpse Transformation was incredibly fast.
Using this opportunity of being killed, Tsukasa Kaede confirmed the various situations after his death. Although many changes were within his expectations, speculation and practical confirmation were ultimately entirely different.
"So, everything is going smoothly. My corpse will also become one of the forces and coordinates I can utilize, and it will definitely play its part… The key is what happens next." Tsukasa Kaede felt his Spirit Body continuously weakening as time passed, and an invisible force constantly tried to pull him somewhere.
Instinctively, Tsukasa Kaede knew this was a summons from the Pure Land. All Spirits of the Dead must go to the Pure Land; this was the rule governing this world. The Pure Land was also a place Tsukasa Kaede was quite wary of.
"I absolutely cannot enter the Pure Land. After all, I am an outside Soul; who knows what would happen if I entered the Pure Land. Even if the Sage of Kaedex Paths is indifferent to me, I cannot allow such an uncontrollable situation to occur."
According to Tsukasa Kaede's estimation, even if the Sage of Kaedex Paths examined his Soul and memories and clearly knew Tsukasa Kaede was an outsider, he would most likely not do anything extra but would continue to observe. The reason was simple: even the Sage of Kaedex Paths couldn't confirm how the Ninja World would develop, what form its changes would take, or what its ultimate fate would be. He couldn't ascertain if Tsukasa Kaede was part of the Ninja World's evolution, so he wouldn't act rashly and expose his own existence.
Tsukasa Kaede had prepared for the worst. If the upcoming events didn't unfold as he expected, he would have no choice but to use the Reaper Death Seal and hide inside the Reaper's Belly. The Reaper's Belly was the safest yet most painful prison, allowing him to avoid entering the Pure Land for a period, but its drawback was that it made many plans uncontrollable, forcing him into passive waiting.
Firstly, Izanagi. Tsukasa Kaede had previously obtained additional Three-Tomoe Sharingan from Orochimaru. After tentatively returning to the Mountain Graveyard a few times, he then used a Three-Tomoe Sharingan and began attempting to use Transfer Seal to delay Izanagi's activation time.
Madara's Resurrection after being sealed by Mito Uzumaki previously had Tsukasa Kaede completely confirm that Izanagi could alter the established reality of being sealed by the Reaper. If Madara hadn't acted against him, Tsukasa Kaede would have kept his last Three-Tomoe Sharingan and sought other ways to court death.
"What a hassle. This Madara guy being alive makes many things uncontrollable. If I don't deal with him beforehand, he'll tie my hands in many actions, and I always feel like Madara might stab me in the back… But him making the first move also saves me trouble."
Actually, there was another possibility: Tsukasa Kaede might not be able to activate Izanagi, or his Eye Power might be insufficient, preventing him from escaping the Reaper's Belly even after using Izanagi. But that didn't matter. Because Tsukasa Kaede had a backup plan.
"Once I enter the Reaper's body and confirm I can't escape, then I'll have to rely on Kushina's actions. That woman's personality is quite reliable; if she doesn't receive my information for a long time and confirms my death, she will immediately take action."
Kushina could easily obtain the Reaper Mask from the Uzumaki Shrine and was fully capable of releasing Tsukasa Kaede from the Reaper's Belly. As for the wounds left by the evisceration, he wasn't worried. As long as Tsukasa Kaede escaped, even if Kushina died, he could revive her using the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu.
Tsukasa Kaede meticulously reconsidered his plans. In reality, at this point, with only his Spirit Body remaining, there wasn't much he could actually do.
Whoosh! Tsukasa Kaede slipped into a corpse, then immediately used Spatial Rift Jutsu to return to the Hidden Leaf Village, appearing directly in Orochimaru's laboratory.
"Tsukasa Kaede? No, it seems to be just a corpse… But as far as I know, Spatial Rift Jutsu cannot be used directly between corpses. So, Tsukasa Kaede, what happened?" Orochimaru dropped his scalpel, his expression peculiar as he looked at the Zombie before him.
"An accident occurred; my body had problems, so I'm actually dead. Thanks to the characteristics of the Spirit Transformation Secret Technique, I can still act for a period after death." A strange and somewhat obscure voice emanated from the corpse's mouth.
The extraordinary aspect of the Spirit Transformation Secret Technique lay here: it could briefly resist the pull of the Pure Land. Just like Kato Dan in the original Timeline, after his Impure World Reincarnation was released, his Soul could first go to save Tsunade, help her recover her Chakra, and only then return to the Pure Land. This Jutsu was too suitable for special operations.
Orochimaru observed the Zombie before him, having already confirmed Tsukasa Kaede's identity.
"Dead…? Unbelievable. What exactly happened to push you to this extent, forced to transfer your Soul using the Spirit Transformation Secret Technique?" Orochimaru pondered, his thoughts immediately turning to extreme excitement. Could it be that the opportunity he had painstakingly waited for had finally arrived?
Actually, how Tsukasa Kaede died was no longer important to Orochimaru! Whether he was killed by someone or his body simply had a hidden ailment that was now fully erupting, none of it mattered. What mattered was that Tsukasa Kaede had returned in another form, pushed to the brink, and without acquiring a new body quickly, there was only a dead end.
Orochimaru trembled, exclaiming excitedly, "I see! You anticipated this moment, didn't you? You knew you would become like this, which is why you eagerly asked me to cultivate a brand new body for you…"
"Think whatever you want. Anyway, my old body is unusable; I must transfer my Soul," Tsukasa Kaede snorted coldly, controlling the Zombie as he staggered to another secret room.
This simple action, however, was incredibly difficult. While controlling an unfamiliar body to perform various actions was one of the Spirit Transformation Secret Technique's signature abilities, originally intended to forcibly control an enemy's body to kill themselves or their comrades.
Orochimaru followed closely behind Tsukasa Kaede, entering the secret room with him and standing before a barely formed experiment subject.
"As you can see, Tsukasa Kaede, this is the body I finally cultivated, exhausting all my talents. Although it's not perfect, I've done my best… Originally, in a few more months, there might have been a chance to complete its cultivation, but looking at your current state, you can't wait a few months… Heheheheh," Orochimaru chuckled, his laughter suppressed.
The reason it was called imperfect was that many parts of the body's periphery were in a semi-molten state, mixed with various bodily fluids.
"Don't worry about such details. I don't care about imperfections; as long as it possesses a complete organizational structure, that's enough," Tsukasa Kaede replied indifferently, a hint of urgency in his tone, as he immediately broke free from the Zombie.
Orochimaru watched closely, only confirming his suspicion now. "Indeed, Tsukasa Kaede, you slipped up… You originally intended to wait until I finished cultivating it, then transfer your Soul with the Spirit Transformation Secret Technique. Though I don't know how you would adapt to this new and unfamiliar body after the Soul transfer."
Orochimaru finally couldn't hold back. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Five Shadow Clones spread out, immediately forming Hand Kaedegns, then placing their hands on the ground, rapidly inscribing a Jutsu Formula.