Naruto: Zombie Release

The great war erupted once again, this time, the final battle.

Sixteen thousand shinobi took to the battlefield, divided into multiple units. Under the command of various captains, they performed designated missions using specialized jutsu.

Arata was fortunate not to be assigned to the assault squads. Officially, he remained a medical ninja with the medical corps. 

After Tsunade's return, command of the medical units shifted directly to her, leaving Tatsuma with no authority to interfere.

"Sunagakure's military maneuvers have been unusually conservative lately. I suspect they're hiding something," Tsunade said crisply, her presence commanding and sharp.

Dan gave her a gentle smile. "Leave it to me. I'll find out what they're planning. My abilities are perfect for this kind of reconnaissance."

Spirit Transformation Technique!

Dan's soul separated from his body and soared swiftly toward the Sunagakure forces.

The Sand forces had indeed made preparations, they had summoned a powerful, elderly shinobi.

"A light... flying this way?" Chiyo squinted at the sky, her expression darkening. "That must be Konoha's Spirit Transformation Technique. How brazen of them!"

"Spirit Transformation, huh... Konoha holds far too many rare and valuable jutsu. 

With their vast number of shinobi, they've never had to worry about prodigies not finding suitable techniques, only that there aren't enough prodigies. It's enviable."

An elderly man raised his head slowly. Even Chiyo and Ebizo instinctively stepped back half a pace, standing beside him with deference.

"Lord Monzaemon, Sunagakure is at its most perilous moment since its founding. We need your strength," Ebizo said in a low voice.

"Our most perilous moment?" Monzaemon spoke slowly. 

"From what I know, it was the Third Kazekage and your faction who insisted on invading the Land of Fire. 

Konoha's only been defending itself this entire time, how does that count as peril? You can talk to me about danger when Konoha shinobi are stomping across the Land of Wind."

"I may be old," he added, "but my mind still works."

Chiyo and Ebizo showed no shame. The invasion had become a war of attrition, and the fighting had never left the Land of Fire's soil.

Not long after, Dan returned with intelligence about the old man and relayed it to Tsunade.

"That old fossil's still alive... Monzaemon. The original master puppeteer of Sunagakure. He developed the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets too," Tsunade muttered with a frown.

Even with diminished abilities from age, simply standing there, he remained a formidable threat.

"I'll handle things on this front with Sakumo. 

The logistics division has already synthesized three thousand doses of antidote using the formula I gave them, it should be enough to cover the war. Dan, don't forget your mission," Tsunade instructed.

She was a genius. By analyzing battle reports and observing poisoned but still-living shinobi on the front lines, she had rapidly refined an effective antidote.

Chiyo couldn't possibly equip every Sunagakure ninja with her custom poisons. Most of the toxins were reserved for puppeteer squads and elite Jonin.

Dan chuckled. "I understand. I'll protect our comrades. Once I've handled my end, I'll come back to support you."

Tsunade smirked. "Then I'll take down Chiyo even faster. Maybe I'll be the one coming to back you up instead."

As the units advanced in formation, the front lines erupted into conflict. 

Naturally, it didn't start with close-range taijutsu or chaotic skirmishes, instead, the battle opened with long-range ninjutsu bombardments.

Each jutsu used was familiar and commonly practiced, allowing more ninja to perform them simultaneously and amplify their destructive power.

Waves of flame, gales of wind, crashing thunder, and erupting earth reshaped the battlefield's geography with every volley.

After several rounds of jutsu barrages, the subsequent waves of troops arrived. 

With attacks coming from multiple directions, the armies soon met at close range, what followed was merciless slaughter.

"This is brutal… In a battlefield like this, someone like me doesn't even matter," Arata muttered, witnessing the full scale of war for the first time. 

"But the upside is, no one should be watching me too closely."

A strange temptation surged in him, he wanted to send a few zombies into the fray, have them explode amidst the chaos, and convert whole swathes of enemy shinobi and corpses into the undead.

But he couldn't.

Doing so would be suicidal. His limited chakra wasn't nearly enough to sustain widespread conversion and control of zombies without consequence.

Arata had to restrain himself, until the day he had enough power to do it safely.

Finally, when Tsunade's orders reached the medical corps, Arata sprang into action.

"Wherever Lady Tsunade appears, Lord Tatsuma seems to vanish entirely," said Takano, appearing at Arata's side. 

For this final battle against Sunagakure, Tsunade had summoned medical ninja from all corners, determined to end the war swiftly.

He recalled the moment Tsunade had summoned him, there had been a subtle undertone in her words, as if she had more in mind...

Arata smiled. "Isn't that normal? Their leadership styles are completely different. It makes sense they'd avoid stepping on each other's toes."

"I'm curious, though," Takuno continued. "You've been performing so well. Hasn't Lord Sakumo or Lady Tsunade summoned you personally? Your secret technique is incredibly powerful."

"For people at our level, sure," Arata replied. "But they're too busy to bother with small fry like me."

Takuno didn't believe him.

Before long, the medical teams began moving, splitting into smaller squads and attaching themselves to different divisions.

Arata had assumed he'd be beneath anyone's notice. 

In a chaotic war involving over ten thousand shinobi spread across the battlefield, who would dispatch an elite unit just to target a single mid-ranking ninja like him?

He quickly realized how wrong he was.

Hawks circled overhead, surveying the field and relaying intelligence.

And then Sunagakure really did send a specialist assassin for him.

A sudden swirl of dust rose across the wasteland. The Sandstorm, Araki, had arrived.

His subordinates tore through Konoha's defensive lines, clearing a path. 

Araki himself headed straight for the medical unit where Arata was stationed, as if the entire war didn't matter, only Arata did.

"So you've placed my life above the outcome of the war?" Arata murmured, eyes narrowing. 

"Sandstorm Araki… I'm flattered. If that's the case, then I've no reason to hold back. Someone like you is worth spending the chakra to convert into one of my servants..."

From Araki, Arata could already sense traces of his chakra virus. 

Maybe it happened during their last encounter, perhaps a wound came in contact with zombie flesh. A hidden seed, planted.

"Without my conscious control, just relying on the zombie virus to act independently... 

Turning an elite Jonin into one of the undead would take months, maybe even years, and only if they don't take any countermeasures."

Arata formed a seal with one hand. If he played it right, he might soon possess a Jonin-class zombie.

But he'd have to do it carefully, no need to terrify the world just yet.