On the opposite bank of the river.
Might Duy saw that what Kaede had just sliced apart was merely an Earth-Style clone. The instant the Iwagakure jonin, Hikaru, emerged from the ground behind Kaede, his heart sank.
"Damn it!"
"I won't make it in time…"
He immediately tried to rush across the river to support Kaede, but at that moment, he had only opened the Fifth Gate. It wouldn't be fast enough. opening the Sixth and Seventh Gates wasn't something he could do instantly either. That brief delay meant he had no chance of getting there in time to save Kaede from the sudden threat.
He also heard Hikaru's words loud and clear, the enemy was a jonin. A jonin of Iwagakure, one of the true core forces of the village!
At the same time.
The remaining three Iwagakure ninja stood alert on the opposite riverbank, facing off against Might Duy with extreme caution, prepared to stop him at any cost.
Hikaru was their jonin, an exceptionally strong one, nearly at the level of an elite jonin. Taking down a kid from Konoha should be no problem for him. As long as they held off Might Duy, the mission wouldn't deteriorate into failure.
"Got him!"
Hikaru was fully aware of the situation behind him. He knew that at this range, no matter how fast Might Duy was, it would be too late for him to provide any backup. His twin sleeve blades were just about to cut off Kaede's head.
But in that exact instant—
Kaede's body suddenly moved with an almost eerie speed, turning into a blur that was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. In a flash, he shifted from having his back turned to Hikaru to facing him head-on, and his short sword, White Fang, struck the crossing point of the two sleeve blades!
"!!"
Hikaru's pupils shrank violently.
A flash of disbelief appeared in his eyes, followed by a deep chill of dread in his heart. The speed Kaede had just displayed wasn't something a normal human could achieve!
"What was that speed…"
Before he could even finish the thought, Kaede's blade traced several arcs through the air and slashed toward his body.
In shock, Hikaru had no choice but to swing both his sleeve blades with all his might.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of sharp metallic clashes rang out through the air. Hikaru's body was knocked back, sliding more than ten meters away.
"Captain Hikaru!!"
The Hidden Stone ninja nearby stared in disbelief.
They saw clearly, Hikaru's body was riddled with wounds and blood. He had failed to completely block Kaede's close-range assault!
How is that possible?!
Hikaru was powerful in both taijutsu and ninjutsu. How could he be wounded in just one brief exchange of blows against a kid like Kaede?!
"As expected of a jonin… even stronger than I imagined."
Kaede gazed at the shaken Hikaru, who had been forced back over ten meters, and calmly said, "Even so, you still managed to block my attack. In that case…"
As his words fell—
Kaede formed a one-handed seal with his left hand at an almost ghostly speed. Chakra began to flow and gather at the blade of White Fang, forming arcs of lightning that crackled and intertwined, accompanied by the sharp chirping of birds.
Lightning Style: Chidori!
After consulting with Orochimaru about the key to changing chakra nature to lightning, it had taken Kaede less than ten days to develop this powerful technique!
"..."
Hikaru's expression twisted in shock.
From both the chakra fluctuations and the visible form of the technique, there was no doubt, this was a highly dangerous jutsu!
With Kaede's nearly unnatural speed paired with a deadly Lightning Release technique, he had become extremely dangerous. Hikaru couldn't afford to let him get close!
"Earth Style: Mountain Earth Technique!"
Without hesitation, Hikaru formed seals with both hands and let out a loud shout.
This was one of the highest-level jutsu in his arsenal, an A-rank Earth Release jutsu that combined offensive power and entrapment.
Rumble!!
In the next instant—
The ground erupted with a deafening roar. Kaede's feet were suddenly rooted to the spot as the earth clamped down. on either side of him, the ground rose like a massive clamshell, two colossal hemispheres forming with Kaede at the center, attempting to crush and trap him.
"Kaede!!"
"Hold on!!"
Might Duy's expression changed again as he saw this. With a roar, he burst through the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates, his body surging with power as he shot across the river like a cannonball.
The three Hidden Stone ninja were already braced. Seeing Duy charge in, they immediately unleashed a volley of shuriken and kunai laced with explosive tags to stop him.
But Might Duy, with the Sixth Gate opened, simply threw a punch, and the sheer force of the wind from his fist scattered all the projectiles in an instant.
The Hidden Stone ninja were stunned.
This level of taijutsu… was terrifying!
However—
upon reaching the opposite riverbank, Might Duy abruptly stopped. He didn't charge into the earthen dome where Kaede had been trapped.
Because what he saw was Kaede standing there, completely calm, without a trace of panic. His gaze was steady. He simply raised White Fang with his right hand and swung it.
Swoosh!!
A visible arc of white light flashed through the air, like a crescent moon.
The massive dome of rock, built from some of the sturdiest earth-style chakra, suddenly froze in place. A clean crack ran through its center and spread to both sides.
Then—
It collapsed.
Split cleanly in two by a single slash!
"W-What…"
Hikaru, still holding his sealing pose, looked on in utter shock.
That technique… reminded him of something he'd once seen in the records. It reminded him of a name that had shaken the shinobi world during the last great war:
"Konoha's White Fang!"
Whoosh!
Kaede burst from the crumbling earthen dome, instantly closing the distance between them. White Fang's blade once again traced a crescent moon.
After mastering Chidori, Kaede's physical speed had further increased. At three times his normal speed, he no longer needed to open the Third Gate of the Eight Gates to use Moon Flash!
Their silhouettes crossed.
Slick!
Kaede appeared at Hikaru's right side, motionless. His blade, White Fang, was frozen mid-swing.
Hikaru remained rooted in place. Both his arms were still raised, trying to block, but a clean line of blood had already appeared, stretching from his brow down to his abdomen.
"…K-Konoha's White Fang?!"
He spoke in disbelief.
Kaede calmly sheathed White Fang and looked over at him. "That was my father."
So that's it…
Hearing Kaede's words, Hikaru muttered silently to himself. Regret, frustration, and disbelief flickered across his face, then darkness swallowed him as he fell to the ground, blood pouring from his wounds.