Aburame Ryōma traced the edge of the poison analysis report with a gloved finger. Beneath his robes, a few kikaichū beetles crawled along his skin, the rustle faint as sand shifting in a gourd.
But his focus wasn't truly on the report.
Reports like this came from more than just the Corpse Disposal Division—Konoha Hospital submitted their own, as did field medics from every front line. What Ryōma cared about was ensuring his own department remained embedded in the antidote development process—he couldn't afford to be left blind to critical advancements.
After all, when it came to toxins, he was leagues beneath Tsunade.
A few nameless chūnin dying meant nothing to him. What piqued his interest were the notes Morino Isuke filed: scribbled characters detailing Tsukasa Kaede's suspected modifications to the Dead Soul Jutsu.
Preliminary progress, too.
"Longer corpse control time than standard versions. Operates more like a puppeteer—without chakra threads. If Tsukasa's really developing new jutsu, that would explain the anomalies in Kazematsuri Takano's oral report..."
The thought flickered through Ryōma's mind—and vanished just as fast. He had personally rejected Kaede from the candidate pool of war orphans years ago. Unremarkable then, unremarkable now.
Dead Soul Jutsu wasn't a high-difficulty technique. Even improving it wouldn't elevate Kaede into anything close to a real asset. War orphans like him should be grateful they even lived as Konoha shinobi—every one of them was expected to burn their lives for the village.
"Besides, who's to say he invented the modified version himself? He's probably just parroting someone else's work... Right, Miko—no, I should call you by your new name... Yakushi Nono."
A mass of kikaichū crawled from Ryōma's cheek as he spoke.
"If Tsunade knew you were passing down this kind of technique, she'd be furious. The Will of Fire doesn't align with Root's ideology."
From the shadows, Yakushi Nono, once known as the "Wandering Shrine Maiden," stepped into view. She adjusted her glasses, the lenses flashing.
"Coming back here… there's nothing nostalgic about it."
Buzzing. Ryōma's insect swarm shot toward her throat—only to freeze mid-flight.
Nono's fingers held a slender vial. A single droplet of its pale pink contents hit the floor.
"A custom-made neurotoxin," she said. "It binds specifically to kikaichū ganglia."
Ryōma's eyes narrowed. "Poison, as expected. I thought you might've countered me with an exploding corpse—perhaps your modified Dead Soul Jutsu."
His voice turned colder. "Teaching forbidden ninjutsu to war orphans... That's not like you. The more talented these kids are, the quicker they're sent to die."
Nono was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. She vaguely remembered Tsukasa: sickly, thin, hollow-eyed, and always distant from the others. He'd left the orphanage just months after she took over.
Still, she didn't correct the misunderstanding. Ryōma clearly thought she'd taught Kaede the jutsu—and logically, there weren't many others who could have.
"My job is to protect the children who survived the war. But regular genin barely survive long out there... This war is more brutal than the First Shinobi World War. No one can promise survival. But that's not an excuse to threaten me with orphanage funds."
Ryōma leaned back. "So you came to negotiate?"
"No. I came to warn you."
"To stay away from your precious children?" Ryōma's voice turned mocking. "So the infamous Shrine Maiden of Konoha really does get sentimental. Too bad. More kids are headed to the front."
"Our war with Sunagakure is going badly. We need more shinobi, especially med-nin who can resist poison."
The wars against Amegakure and Sunagakure drained Konoha's medical corps the fastest. Even half-trained orphan med-nin were now being sent to the frontlines.
"This is the will of the village. Victory comes first."
Ryōma's voice dropped low. "But... I can guarantee two or three of the youngest ones survive. And ensure the orphanage keeps receiving its funding—on time."
"You want me to infiltrate Sunagakure? Steal toxin samples? That won't be easy. Chiyo lost her son and daughter-in-law to Hatake Sakumo. She's obsessed with revenge. She won't let anyone near her trump cards."
Ryōma's eyes glinted behind his glasses. "She has a weak point. Chiyo has a grandson."
He tossed a sealed mission scroll toward her.
"Blackmail, disguise, abduction—I don't care how. Get whatever intel you can. If possible, prioritize obtaining Sunagakure's troop placements, finances, and internal security maps."
When it came to espionage, Ryōma didn't bother offering instructions. He only needed to define the goal. Nono would handle the means.
"Sasori of the Red Sand..." Nono read the name on the scroll and etched it into her memory.
Soon after, a mission scroll was handed to Tsukasa Kaede.
He wasn't surprised—he always knew he'd end up on the frontlines again—but the speed still caught him off guard.
"Sunagakure, huh..." Kaede mused. "Guess our research bore fruit. We med-nin can survive the poisons a little longer than most."
Isuke's face was unreadable as always. "We'll temporarily shut down the Corpse Disposal Division. This is likely a continuation of our prior B-rank mission."
"Once the war ends, maybe a few of us will come back and resume this work," Isuke added. "Departure in three hours. Get ready."
No one spoke. The team quietly prepared their gear.
Shinobi like Tsukasa—no clan, no family—poured everything they had into outfitting themselves, buying tools, weapons, antidotes. If they died, there would be no one to inherit what was left.
Among them, only Isuke was a tokubetsu jōnin. The rest were chūnin, genin—nobodies. None of them expected to return.
"If it's come to this, then I may as well make extra preparations."
Tsukasa walked alone to the Remembrance Stones—the nameless graves where he had buried so many unknown corpses.
Now it was time to dig them up.
From the southeast corner, the earth shifted. A reanimated corpse from Amegakure clawed its way from the grave and staggered toward Tsukasa.
Other graves began to stir.
"Too bad... Only managed to secure two jōnin-level corpses in the past two months. But for an expendable genin like me, that's probably enough."
Plenty of high-ranking corpses passed through the lab, but Tsukasa had only managed to claim two without drawing suspicion.
Sunagakure was at its most desperate. If Konoha could just endure this final frenzy, its deeper reserves would outlast the Sand's starvation.
But until that happened, it fell to people like Tsukasa Kaede to stall the enemy's advance—to buy time.
Shff!
Tsukasa unrolled a storage scroll, sealing away each reanimated corpse one by one. Every time he sealed one, another "屍" symbol—"corpse"—appeared on the scroll.
He didn't bother etching custom fūinjutsu—these were standard ninja tools, made for sealing physical objects.
By dawn, a five-man team stood assembled.
Without a word, they turned west—
toward the Land of Wind.
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300 Stones in this story = 1 Bonus chapter in every fanfic currently translated