After purchasing ninja tools and obtaining the training method, everything was ready. Kaede took a nap first. In his accelerated time state, he woke up after about two and a half hours in the real world. After having a meal, he headed to his usual training spot.
Kaede's usual training ground was located behind the mountains of Konoha. It was also a place where many people came to train, but now it was nighttime and completely deserted.
Under the moonlight,
Kaede began his intense training.
The Eight Gates technique was something that could only be mastered through sheer hard work. There was no shortcut, no wild ideas like permanently opening the gates or training in reverse, those were pure nonsense and practically impossible.
…
Four hours passed.
At some point, Kaede had taken off his weights and was resting against a rock. His clothes were completely soaked in sweat, as if he had just been pulled from a river.
Training the Eight Gates was far more grueling than regular ninjutsu or taijutsu exercises. Even with his time acceleration ability, it only sped up his time relative to the outside world—the effort and strain of training itself could not be bypassed.
"Huff..."
This was already his seventh rest break. Although his body had recovered somewhat, Kaede still leaned there, reluctant to move.
Four hours at three times acceleration equals twelve hours of continuous training.
"That's enough for now. I'll go home and rest, then continue."
Feeling mentally fatigued, Kaede decided to stop. He stood up, picked up his discarded weights, and was about to head back.
But then, he suddenly paused.
He stopped what he was doing and set the weights down again, listening intently.
Rustle, rustle...
Faint sounds echoed from within the woods.
Someone seemed to be moving through the trees.
At this hour of the night, anyone wandering the forest was unlikely to be there for good reasons. Kaede frowned slightly, his expression growing more cautious.
Though he didn't know who it was, he had no desire to run into them. Judging from the sound of the movement, they seemed to be heading in his direction and would likely pass by nearby.
Huff...
Judging the intruder's position, Kaede moved around the back of the rock to avoid detection.
The footsteps swept past on one side and gradually faded into the distance, seemingly unaware of his presence.
However—
Almost the very next instant after the footsteps vanished, a sudden flash of silver burst through the night air. Accompanied by the whoosh of slicing wind, seven or eight shuriken rained down toward Kaede's hiding spot, cutting off all possible escape routes.
"Shit!"
Kaede cursed. The chakra blade already gripped in his right hand flicked out in swift, precise motions, knocking the shuriken away. At the same time, he leapt atop the rock and looked in the direction the attack had come from.
Under the moonlight, a figure could clearly be seen. Though the symbol on his forehead protector wasn't Konoha's, Kaede recognized it instantly.
Kirigakure!
A ninja from the Hidden Mist Village!
"So it's just a brat..."
Rin Kinyuuya narrowed his eyes coldly and charged at Kaede, drawing a short sword and slashing at him.
He was a scout from the Hidden Mist, a sensory-type elite Chūnin. After some effort, he had slipped into the Land of Fire, planning to try and infiltrate Konoha. But then he sensed Kaede's chakra.
His first reaction was shock, he thought he had walked into an ambush. But after carefully analyzing the chakra, he realized it belonged to just one person, and the chakra level wasn't high. Without hesitation, he sent a clone to continue making noise and launched a sneak attack.
Kaede blocking the strike surprised him slightly. But seeing that Kaede looked like a ten-year-old kid, he relaxed a bit and decided to finish things quickly.
He had to be fast.
They were close to Konoha. The longer the fight dragged on, the more dangerous it would be. He had to eliminate Kaede swiftly and then try to infiltrate.
"This area near the village isn't safe anymore."
"Guess I can't train here at night anymore."
Seeing Rin Kinyuuya radiate killing intent without even attempting conversation, Kaede's thoughts raced. He met the attack head-on with his blade—White Fang.
Clang, clang, clash!
Kaede's chakra blade White Fang clashed fiercely with Rin Kinyuuya's short sword under the moonlight, sparks flying and metal ringing out.
In just a few seconds, they exchanged over a dozen blows. From initial bloodlust to growing surprise, Rin Kinyuuya realized that this kid wasn't as easy to handle as expected.
Silver hair... Chakra blade...
Could this be... the son of White Fang mentioned in the intel?!
Rin Kinyuuya's eyes flashed with recognition.
It had to be!
Hatake Kakashi's reputation as a genius had spread through Konoha, and naturally, he was on the Hidden Mist's assassination list. No one wanted Konoha to produce another White Fang!
Killing this kid would be a huge accomplishment. Even if he failed to gather intelligence, returning with this success would suffice.
Compared to risking everything to infiltrate Konoha, taking out a kid was a much better option. Besides, now that Kaede had spotted him, he couldn't just leave him alive.
Whoosh!!
With that thought, Rin Kinyuuya's killing intent surged. After another exchange of blows, he leapt back, biting down on his short sword and forming hand seals rapidly.
"Ninjutsu! Hidden Mist Technique!"
"Wind Style! Gale Force Jutsu!"
But before the mist could spread, Kaede seemed to predict it in advance. At nearly the same moment, he released his own Wind Style jutsu. A violent gust blew through, scattering the forming mist before it could thicken, only slightly obscuring vision.
Rin Kinyuuya frowned, but still charged forward through the mist.
This was Kaede's first true battle, his first real life-or-death fight. Most people might panic, unable to bring out their full strength under such pressure, but Kaede remained eerily calm.
For one simple reason: He had already judged the opponent's strength.
And more importantly, in three-times acceleration, everything before his eyes was effectively moving in slow motion, including Rin Kinyuuya's movements.
A faint gleam shimmered on the edge of Kaede's chakra blade.
"White Fang Slash."
Staring at Rin Kinyuuya charging through the haze, Kaede's eyes gleamed coldly. He unleashed the full extent of the speed he hadn't used before, instantly reaching his limit.
To Rin Kinyuuya, Kaede seemed to blur and vanish, moving at a speed that was nearly supernatural. His chakra blade left afterimages in the air as it slashed forward.
Rin Kinyuuya's expression shifted dramatically.
How is he this fast?!
The thought barely crossed his mind. There was no time to think. Facing Kaede's terrifying burst of speed, he could only use all his strength to raise his short sword in defense.
CLANG!
Just barely, just barely, Rin Kinyuuya's short sword intercepted the White Fang blade, sparks flying.
"I blocked it..."
That thought flashed through his mind—
But in the very next instant, he froze completely. His eyes widened in disbelief.
A thin line of blood appeared on his forehead, trailing down from the center of his forehead protector and running all the way to the back of his head.
He had blocked the physical blade—but failed to anticipate that the strike extended beyond the blade, reaching nearly a foot further with a slicing shockwave.
This was...
The legendary Hatake Kenjutsu!
Countless ninja had fallen to this move during the Second Great Ninja War. Even knowing it was coming, it was nearly impossible to block!
In his last moment of consciousness, Rin Kinyuuya remembered the dread so many once felt before the chakra blade White Fang.
He had never imagined that such a young kid could already wield the very technique that once shook the ninja world.
Silently—
Rin Kinyuuya's body shuddered and collapsed to the ground.