Naruto: Zombie Release

"The enemy's advancing. I might not be able to keep my full attention on you from here on out, stay alert."

Dan looked up, his expression grave.

Battles had likely broken out across every front by now, and each of them was critical. Not a single one could be abandoned.

"With Lord Dan protecting us, the survival rate for us medical ninja has skyrocketed."

Takano had come over during the unit formation to speak quietly beside Arata. There was a note of reverence in his voice.

To an outsider, it might've seemed like that reverence was directed toward Dan, but in truth, it was toward Arata.

Arata had said he would eliminate Araki, and in the end, he had done just that. 

Although Takuno hadn't fully understood the finer details, reasoning backward from the outcome, recalling Arata's actions, and factoring in those hushed exchanges between Dan and Arata, the picture had become clearer.

Unknowingly, the once frail genin had grown rapidly. 

He had risen to a level where even the most influential figures in the village were paying attention to him, drawing up specialized strategies and assigning elite guards just to keep him safe.

Arata nodded. "I understand. I've depleted all my chakra. At this point, the best I can do is not burden the others. I'll keep that in mind."

In other words: play it safe.

Everyone worried that Arata might have gotten cocky after taking part in the takedown of Araki.

But Arata knew better than anyone the reality of his situation. He'd downed a soldier pill and was pushing his body to the brink, always ready to flee at a moment's notice.

At the same time, he walked over to Araki's corpse and sealed it into one of his scrolls.

Everyone around him fell silent, watching. Some even looked impressed, clearly wanting to ask if he could reanimate the corpse into a usable asset right then and there.

But seeing Arata's pale, bloodless face, no one voiced the question.

And no one objected to letting Arata handle the body either. Among the thirteen hundred shinobi present, he alone possessed the ability to make use of corpses.

Without Arata acting as bait, they might not have been able to wipe out the entire elite enemy squad.

'I'll leave the other corpses for now. We can recover them after the war, they're of no use at the moment,' Arata thought quietly.

Araki's body was saturated with Arata's viruses, and that was while he was still alive. Which meant Araki would retain the majority of his power in death. 

For Arata, that was a massive asset.

'Once battle resumes, if things go south and even the Hollow Technique can't get me out, I can unleash Araki.'

'But unless it's absolutely necessary, I'd better not… Using a freshly killed enemy to fight on my behalf, that would leave far too big an impression.'

From the front lines came the cries of battle.

"Hahaha! Those fools from Sunagakure are finally here! I've been itching for this!"

"We were just warming up earlier when we took down that guy you sent, what was his name? Araki?"

"What?! Lord Araki was an elite Jonin! No way he's dead! He had your best squad with him!"

"Who knows? He just charged us out of nowhere, and one of our guys killed him on the spot."

Right from the outset, the morale of the Sunagakure troops plummeted. Many of their faces showed disbelief.

Some of the better-informed among them knew the original plan. 

Once Araki abducted a key individual, the rest would be free to attack with abandon, launching ninjutsu barrages and throwing the Konoha ranks into chaos.

But if they simply rushed into a brawl and Araki followed up too late, the target might be killed in the confusion, making the whole operation meaningless.

After all, what were they going to do, snatch a corpse? Not even Konoha's Yamanaka clan could guarantee full intel extraction from a dead body, let alone the shinobi of Sunagakure.

Now the plan had unraveled. Araki didn't just fail, he didn't even escape. 

How was that possible? They had seen the Konoha unit engaged in battle from afar, and then… it was just over?

Shff!

A pale white spirit flickered across the battlefield. Wherever it passed, Konoha shinobi in danger were saved, and Sand ninja froze mid-action and collapsed.

Some of the Sand shinobi were even possessed by Dan, suddenly turning and slaughtering their own allies in a frenzy.

A few tried attacking Dan, but striking at a spirit rarely amounted to anything.

Sunagakure had the advantage in numbers. They should've crushed this Konoha unit and moved swiftly to reinforce the other fronts. Instead, it had become a nightmare.

Their advance faltered. In fact, they were beginning to fall back, signs of a full retreat were emerging.

"Looks like it worked."

Arata lingered near the rear of the main unit, playing it safe, at most tossing out a shuriken or two to look busy.

No one blamed him. In fact, some Konoha shinobi even stepped in front of him, blocking enemy sight lines and shielding him from view.

With rising fame, solid achievements, and an astonishing signature technique under his belt, came perks. 

Allies would go out of their way to lend a hand when they could.

The only uncertainty was how these people really viewed him. Probably not too badly, he figured. 

Sure, he worked with corpses, but it was war. In the face of life and death, necromancy was a trivial issue.

Helping take down enemies and racking up victories, that's what truly earned respect.

'After the war, though… that'll be a different story. Even a hero like Sakumo Hatake was driven to suicide. 

Peace-time villagers… they'll keep their distance. Some might even spread slanderous rumors.'

Arata had already steeled himself for that possibility.

As the tides of battle shifted further in Konoha's favor and the front line steadily advanced, Sunagakure's forces began to crumble. 

Total defeat was just a matter of time. Konoha's shinobi could all see the light of victory approaching.

Arata moved forward slowly with the main force, occasionally glancing toward Dan's position.

At last, the Sand ranks collapsed. The remaining shinobi turned tail and ran. Konoha launched a full pursuit, their formations fracturing into scattered squads.

Arata didn't give chase. Instead, he stayed behind to help clean the battlefield, lingering for more than a day.

Even then, he exercised extreme caution, sending his undead to deliver finishing blows.

Not just to the living, but to the dead as well. Just in case someone was really good at playing dead.

"You're a cautious one. Even after mastering corpse control, you're still this careful.

Sure, it might keep you alive longer, but so long as you rely on your frail mortal flesh, it's meaningless. You'll rot just like the rest."

At the edge of the battlefield, a corpse that had been lying motionless, no one knew how long it had been there or when it had gotten there, suddenly twitched. 

Its joints creaked unnaturally. Clearly, it had been modified into a puppet. A synthetic voice crackled from its mouth.

"You're Sasori of the Red Sand, aren't you? I've heard about you from Yakushi Nono," Arata said calmly. "But I didn't think you'd be so bold, this eager to make contact."