The Summoning Jutsu was a fascinating technique, ranging from C-rank to S-rank in complexity.
At the top stood S-rank summoning techniques like the infamous Reanimation Jutsu.
At the bottom were C-rank techniques, which could include things like summoning ninja tools from scrolls, or embedding summoning seals into bracers or belts to call forth various weapons at crucial moments.
Sasuke, for instance, once summoned a barrage of shuriken from his wrist when fighting Danzo.
The summoning technique Arata currently used was undoubtedly C-rank. It could only summon basic ninja tools, his meager chakra reserves were insufficient for higher-tier summoning.
Even if he wanted to learn advanced techniques like animal summoning, he hadn't signed the required contracts.
However, the ninja tools he summoned were… unusual.
Thud, thud, thud!
A coffin abruptly rose from the ground and stood tall like a shield, blocking a storm of senbon needles and firmly protecting Arata.
"A… coffin?" Kenzo furrowed his brow in confusion. He'd never heard of a summoning like this.
Still, it didn't change the outcome, this Konoha Genin was dead meat in front of a Chunin like him.
Creak…
The coffin, which had remained ominously still, suddenly reacted after being struck three times. As though something inside had been awakened.
The decayed pinewood lid slowly tilted open, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud, revealing the body sealed within.
It was a corpse, no, a grotesque work of art. The head was twisted unnaturally on its neck, and two ghostly pale eyeballs stared out from sunken, rotting sockets.
The blood on its body had long congealed into a dark, dried crust.
But the most horrifying part was its chest, part of the flesh had completely vanished, exposing a mass of decayed, shriveled internal organs, mangled and incomplete.
This was the corpse of someone who had clearly died a brutal, agonizing death.
"Judging from the outfit… looks like he was from Iwagakure," Kenzo muttered, deeply disturbed as he tried to understand the abomination in front of him. A corpse from Iwa, sealed in a Konoha shinobi's coffin?
No… not a corpse. He watched, eyes wide, as the rotting figure moved.
A fucking zombie, clearly dead for a long time, was now staring at him with its white eyes, and worse, it was moving!
One foot after another, it was stepping out of the coffin… heading straight for him!
"What the hell is this? That thing should be dead! Why the hell is it moving?! What kind of jutsu is this?!"
Kenzo's mind reeled, his first instinct screaming that he was caught in a genjutsu.
"This is the jutsu that's going to kill you," Arata replied calmly. "To be honest, this is my first time using it on a live enemy… well, a healthy one, anyway."
Forming a one-handed seal, Arata directed the zombie toward his enemy with the faint pull of chakra.
It was his first time using the Zombie Secret Art in live combat. He had, of course, experimented in secret before.
After all, he was in charge of transporting ninja corpses, there was no shortage of materials.
And since a zombie's body didn't differ from a dead body, he could simply dispose of it afterward without raising suspicion.
The talented research-nin never bothered wasting time on corpses of low-value Genin.
With Arata's cautious and discrete methods, always avoiding the Hyuga and only practicing deep in the forest, he remained undetected.
Arata wasn't even particularly satisfied with this zombie.
It had been an unremarkable Genin, mediocre in life, barely noticed in death.
The perfect target. Arata had acted when the corpse transport squad was about to collect him, calmly planting the zombie virus inside him with a simple chakra transfer.
He'd done this many times, creating a few usable zombies, just barely usable, though.
Kenzo eyed the walking corpse warily, his heart pounding. Not wanting to take any chances, he prepared to end it with a ranged attack.
"Water Style: Surging Water Wave!"
A violent torrent surged forward, blasting away chunks of decayed flesh and knocking the zombie to the ground.
"This is your big life-saving jutsu?" Kenzo scoffed, smirking. He quickly formed seals and lunged toward Arata.
Whatever weird tricks his opponent had, none of it mattered if he died before using them.
Arata stepped back several paces. If he didn't have a backup plan, he'd be dead in three seconds, easily outsped and outclassed.
"Zombie Release: Rotburst, go!"
The fallen zombie suddenly began to emit a sickening sizzling noise, then detonated with a deafening boom.
The explosion swallowed the Kirigakure shinobi in smoke and debris.
Arata lowered his arms from his face, still tense. He continued retreating until he was beside his two unconscious companions.
He had long since developed a cautious nature. His frail body couldn't afford recklessness. One misstep could easily mean death.
When the dust finally cleared, the enemy ninja still clung to life. The puddles on the ground showed he had used a Water Style jutsu to deflect part of the blast.
Still, the damage was severe, his body was mangled, his face almost unrecognizable.
Bits of flesh from the zombie clung grotesquely to Kenzo's own wounds.
"You truly are a battle hardened shinobi from the Second Great Ninja War… worthy of me remembering your name, while you still retain a shred of consciousness."
Arata positioned himself in front of his two companions and spoke solemnly.
"Ughh… You bastard…" Kenzo mumbled, staring at the rotting flesh fused to his wounds. His rage and disbelief boiled over.
He'd been taken down… by this kind of opponent. And in such a humiliating way.
"What, you still want to fight? Then I'll have no choice but to summon another tool," Arata said, eyes narrowing.
He only had three explosive zombies left. They were hidden in different parts of the forest, reserved for emergencies.
There was no helping it, his mission rate was low, and his medical-nin salary meager.
Even during wartime, though the village issued some explosive tags and offered discounts, it was still a massive burden for Arata.
Plastering fifteen explosive tags on each zombie had nearly bankrupted him.
Arata still dreamed of upgrading Rotburst, one day developing it into a technique that could self-detonate endlessly, like the Infinite Explosive Tags.
He could imagine it, multiple zombies, scattered across the battlefield, darting at high speed, suddenly chaining explosion after explosion, turning everything in their path into scorched white ash.
What should he call such a technique? Infinite Rotburst? No… maybe Infinite Salvation?
Sadly, for now, it was just a dream. There was still a long road ahead before he could make it real.
"…He ran. Good. I never did get his name."
Arata finally released the seal in his left hand and let out a quiet breath, watching the enemy's retreating silhouette.
On the surface, it seemed like a narrow win, barely forcing the enemy to flee. But in truth, he'd already secured victory.
"A Chunin… even gravely injured, if I want to include him in my Zombie Release, I'll need time. My chakra is still too limited. I can't afford to go all out, and it's seriously slowing my research."
He looked down at his two unconscious teammates.
"And since I didn't have to use either of them, there's no need to turn them into zombies… for now. Release."