chapter 72 part 2
If the Senju Clan were still normally proliferating and having newborns, it would never have been Kushina Uzumaki's turn to bear the new generation's Asura.
According to Tsukasa Kaede's calculations, the Second Great Ninja War was nearing its end, and the Senju Clan's fortunes were entering their final countdown; the clan was about to collapse.
Saving Kato Dan meant preserving Tsunade's marriage and offspring. Would the child born from Kato Dan and Tsunade's marriage become the Reincarnation of Asura?
Their child would undoubtedly be the purest Senju descendant among the next generation.
"Either the experiment fails, Kato Dan and Tsunade have a child normally, but because the crucial time hasn't arrived, this generation's Asura still ends up being Kushina Uzumaki's child—unless Tsunade has a second child."
"Or, after Kato Dan and Tsunade marry, for various reasons, they struggle to have a child until that critical time node."
Namely, the Konoha year 48.
Perhaps the residual Chakra of these brothers needed to accumulate power, accumulating to a certain degree before they could be Reincarnated. After the Reincarnation died, the power would continue to accumulate, in a cycle.
Tsukasa Kaede was truly curious. Saving Kato Dan could satisfy his curiosity and allow him to further test this world, which made it completely worthwhile.
Anyway, if it failed, there would be no impact.
"Naruto... You're thinking too far ahead, you're already eyeing our child! And that name is clearly a boy's name, aren't you too certain about the gender?"
Tsunade spat, but given her personality, there was no blushing or embarrassment. At her age, marriage and having children were not embarrassing matters.
Kato Dan said, "But this name is unexpectedly good, isn't it?"
"A boy can be called Naruto. If it's a girl, then just pick another name. How about Naruko?" Tsukasa Kaede chuckled.
"Tsk, you're so boring."
Tsunade looked at Tsukasa Kaede. If it were anyone else, she would have punched them by now. But Tsukasa Kaede's kindness to her was simply too great; he used Resurrection Jutsu to save Kato Dan and even made it possible for Kato Dan to master the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai, solving his physical shortcomings...
Such miraculous means, even Tsunade, who considered herself knowledgeable, felt a hint of awe for his talent.
She was even more fortunate that she had valued Tsukasa Kaede's talent and recognized his potential early on, giving him some support, and now she was receiving an unbelievable reward.
"Naruto, huh..." Tsunade committed the name to memory. If she had a boy in the future, she would call him Naruto, even if it was still years away.
"After we return this time, I will personally take responsibility for the Village. Many Comrades were killed or injured because of me."
Kato Dan faintly saw the troops ahead, and his mood became somber again.
"Don't blame yourself, Senpai. Who could have foreseen the enemy would deploy a Jinchuriki, and use Lava Release to destroy the Ley Lines of the Land of Hot Water? In fact, most people managed to escape successfully; the casualties aren't that great."
Tsukasa Kaede comforted him. To be honest, against a Jinchuriki, a mere few hundred casualties were truly nothing.
Anyway, when the Four-Tails went berserk and indiscriminately fired Tailed Beast Bombs, the Hidden Stone Village troops probably weren't in much better shape.
At the very least, this battle wasn't a loss.
The surviving troops were constantly gathering their Comrades. Soon, someone spotted Tsukasa Kaede and the others, cheering loudly.
A group of people immediately gathered, their faces filled with joy. It seemed that while Lord Kato Dan was disheveled, with large portions of his clothes missing, he didn't appear to be seriously injured. "He's incredible! Lord Kato Dan confronted the Jinchuriki alone and managed to return completely unscathed!"
"Jinchuriki are practically inhumanly strong, with terrifying Chakra reserves, astonishing regenerative power, and unique Ninjutsu. But Lord Kato Dan isn't inferior to a Jinchuriki at all!"
Many people had only caught a fleeting glimpse, seeing Roshi enter his Tailed Beast Cloak, or even Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, from afar. They knew what kind of monster that was. Even from a distance, even without being a Sensor Ninja, sensing that Chakra would make them feel an instinctive unease.
But Lord Kato Dan had bravely stayed behind alone, challenging the Jinchuriki, buying precious time for the main forces to retreat. How powerful was that? "Ah, actually, thanks to Kaede and Tsunade's help, I was able to return smoothly..." Kato Dan waved his hand. True to his character, he would never claim credit, but at this moment, he could only force himself to speak.
He certainly couldn't say that he had actually been killed by the Four-Tails and had just been resurrected by Tsukasa Kaede, could he? "It was mainly Tsukasa Kaede. He has become an extremely powerful Ninja. Without his strong containment of the enemy, none of us would have made it back." Tsunade stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention.
"I see, that explains it! Lord Tsukasa Kaede saved my life too!"
"Me too. It's a pity the Corpse that saved me—ugh, that sounds a bit rude—someone said it was a Living Corpse, a Zombie, or something. I don't know where those terms came from, but anyway, he's completely dead now. He fell into the Lava to save me."
"Idiot! That was a dead person, and a dead person from an enemy Village! If it weren't for Lord Tsukasa Kaede's Jutsu, how could a Corpse save you? Don't attach strange emotions to an even stranger Vessel!"
The Ninja, having survived the ordeal, felt sadness for lost Comrades and fear from defeat, but now they were mostly excited, shouting loudly around the trio.
Under Kato Dan's command, the thousand-strong unit began an orderly retreat. Kaedence the war couldn't be fought further, it was better to retreat to the outposts on the Land of Fire border to rest and await the Village's next orders.
Aside from necessary sentries, the remaining Ninja conversed in groups of two or three.
"Speaking of which, Lord Kato Dan wouldn't happen to have Hokage-level strength now, would he? No matter how humble he is, he faced a powerful Jinchuriki alone..."
"I'm also wondering about that. But I heard Lord Kato Dan's most famous combat method is the Spirit Transformation Secret Technique, but his Main Body needs to be protected by Comrades. Logically, this Secret Technique would be very passive against a Jinchuriki, and his Main Body could easily be hit by the Jinchuriki's long-range attacks, yet..."
"So, Lord Kato Dan must have become even stronger, isn't that obvious?"
"Then Lord Tsukasa Kaede, who powerfully contained the enemy, must also be very strong! As the Captain of the support unit, he should be..."
"Special Jonin. Lord Tsukasa Kaede is a Special Jonin now."
Hyuga Iroha had been silent for a long time, her thoughts uncertain. No one knew what this somewhat famous Hyuga Branch House Clan Member was deeply pondering, but then she suddenly looked up and added.
(end of chapter)