The master monk paused, then spoke softly. "It's simple. As the benefactor said earlier, form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Every phenomenon bears fruit only when there is cause; without cause, there is no fruit. Love between man and woman arises from this as well. But I use shielding to disrupt cause and effect. If my disciple and the Buddha share fate, they will return naturally to the Fire Temple. If there is no such fate, no amount of interference can halt cause and effect."
The Second Princess heard her master put it that way and instantly looked displeased. She scoffed inwardly at Buddhism—while Kaede noticed that many of the listeners around the yard looked more excited by the lesson than she herself did.
Kaede's lips twitched. "A whip for that?"
"All phenomena arise from their originating conditions," the monk continued. "You idealists keep speaking of causality before my dialectics."
Kaede bristled the moment the old monk finished. He grabbed his "special weapon" and swung—verbally. Marxist materialism, dialectics, epistemology, historical materialism—he threw color at the monk in broad strokes.
He rattled off everything he'd memorized—philosophy, materialism, dialectic—laying them out for the old monk to hear, one by one.
Truth be told, when Kaede first memorized this stuff, he dreamed of visiting Shaolin on Mount Song to try it out—but he'd been afraid of getting thrashed. Today, the chance dropped right into his lap.
He quoted textbook examples by the dozen, attacking the monk's "destiny" as the origin of all things from every angle.
The master bristled, beard puffing, eyes wide. "Profaning the divine—forked tongue!" He tossed out several questions he thought would stump anyone.
Kaede knocked them down. Not perfectly—but enough. Half marks at worst. With dialectics plus formulas and examples, the "difficult" questions untangled neatly.
Onlookers watched the old and the young, faces red, necks stiff, arguing with more heat than any lovers' quarrel—far more entertaining, too.
In truth, materialism cannot truly convince idealism; each believes itself right. How do you persuade the other? And yet, the examples each side offered carried weight.
Kaede felt the monk was too stubborn; he wouldn't yield. The monk's usual unmoving-mountain calm was gone now; irritation crept in.
They argued for a full two hours, until Hiruzen and Biwako called everyone to dinner—and finally noticed the elder and the brat were locked in a duel of tongues.
"All right, all right—enough. Eat first. Kaede, don't be rude to your elder," Biwako urged. The master seized on the opening, thumping the table as if he'd found his exit. "Men and concubines cannot share a table. Please leave at once!"
Under Biwako's firm persuasion, the master excused himself from the little courtyard.
"You're a troublesome brat," Biwako sighed to Kaede. "Try not to cause a disaster every day. I'll apologize to the master later."
Everyone, of course, hoped the Second Princess and Rudi would mend things. Seeing Kaede draw the master away, they could barely hide their relief. Rudi bowed his head, saying nothing.
"Hey, baldy," Kaede called toward the gate without turning back. "People are as many as the world holds; meeting one you truly like is rare. Without a chain to tie you, time scatters everything. Grab the chance."
The Second Princess blushed, grateful to Kaede, and tried to say something—only to fumble her words like a spilled makeup kit.
"Big bro," Ennosuke chirped, showing off the sphere in his palm, "Your spiral blade isn't perfect yet. I don't think you can fully release it without learning more theory—don't rush to try it!"
"That's enough," came the proud reply; Ennosuke still waved the little sphere toward the Fourth Princess to brag. "Right—could you copy it for kaa-san? Take it back to the village so more people can learn."
At the table, the three princesses flattered Biwako's cooking with polish so smooth it left no trace, while Aoi quietly stir-fried a plate of vegetables for Rudi.
"Ne, onee-san, I didn't know there was a second pot. Yesterday's was so good!" the small group chirped, chattering.
Kaede drifted into thought, and Biwako, reading her son's mood at a glance, slid more meat into Kaede's bowl.
"Thinking about self-training?"
"You're still young," Biwako said gently. "Don't rush. Many techniques need time to accumulate. Success or failure often comes down to details." She shared a few of her views on composite techniques.
It was a big spark for Kaede.
Asuma nodded. "Exactly. I haven't forced bloodline limits—and I still want more freedom with chakra in close quarters. Think about it: even Jiraiya's composite techniques—say, simple toad rounds—stacking two correlated arts can yield more than the sum."
"And that fight in the original story," he mused, "looked like Kisame stepped out of the water prison, but he was still within it. Even if he did leave, he could have stayed put and used a clone, Naruto-style, to assist a split technique. You can't be in two places at once—but the key right now is discharge rate. Get your brother to help test it first. Damn dead end."
Kaede suddenly tapped the table. "I've got it. Help me this afternoon! Eat first; I'm going to buy some things."
They saw Kaede sprint out and exchanged glances.
Curiosity bubbled in the group. If endurance grows, power grows too—right? Maybe?
Aoi blinked, dazed. "Which horn was that about?"
(End of Chapter)
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