"What... is that?"
The unusual screeching of Chidori immediately drew the attention of the surrounding ninjas. Both Iwa and Konoha shinobi turned their eyes toward Kaede, bathed in silver light, and the ninja blade White Fang in his hand, crackling with arcs of lightning.
Almost everyone present was an elite shinobi. At a glance, they could tell the technique Kaede was channeling into his blade combined both chakra nature transformation and shape transformation.
An A-Rank jutsu.
It was a lightning-style technique of A-Rank level!
"His methods and experience might be lacking, but to master an A-Rank ninjutsu at his age... his talent is truly undeniable."
Morino Ibiki had this fleeting thought, though it didn't ease the weight in his heart.
Kaede's strength was likely already approaching that of a Jonin. Might Duy as well. He had underestimated both of them. But even if they were added to the Konoha side, Iwa still had more than ten extra Jonin in their ranks!
So many Jonin, only someone like the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, might be able to single-handedly turn the tide. The gap in power still couldn't be closed.
"You said you'd handle this?"
A nearby Iwagakure jonin stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at Kaede. Holding a short sword across his chest, he sneered, "You, brat?"
So what if it's an A-Rank jutsu?
As a Jonin himself, he also possessed techniques at that level.
The way Kaede spoke, as if he could single-handedly control the entire situation, was downright arrogant. A mere brat, far too full of himself.
"Kaede?"
Might Duy was also stunned.
Part of his surprise was Kaede telling him not to open the Eight Gates. The other part was the silver light enveloping Kaede's body. It felt like the Eight Gates Formation, but its form was completely different, as though it was some evolved version of taijutsu built upon it.
Kaede was a genius, no doubt about it. He'd even managed to develop such a technique. But could even that really turn the tide here? The enemy still had over ten Jonin on their side.
However...
That thought lasted only a moment before it was shattered by shock.
Bathed in silver light and gripping the White Fang, Kaede suddenly vanished, his body disappearing in a blink, moving faster than the naked eye could follow as he cut across the battlefield.
Whoosh!!
All the nearby ninjas could see was a streak of silver light tracing an arc through the air, appearing behind an unsuspecting Iwagakure jonin.
The Jonin's expression shifted from surprise to terror, eyes wide with disbelief. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a mouthful of blood came out.
He staggered forward two steps and collapsed to the ground.
A deep gash ran across his back, severing his ribs and spine, ripping through his heart and lungs from behind.
Shock swept through the field!
The Jonin who had just mocked Kaede was frozen, his face stiff, pupils shrinking as he stared at Kaede in disbelief and growing dread.
What was that speed?!
As he stood stunned, Kaede turned to look at him.
That single glance made his hair stand on end. It was like being locked onto by something terrifying, like death itself had cast its gaze upon him. Even as a veteran of countless life-or-death battles, he could feel the chill of death creeping in.
Danger!
That brat is extremely dangerous!
Where would the next attack come from? The left? The right? From behind?
He raised his guard to the absolute maximum, every muscle tense, not daring to relax for even an instant, not even to breathe.
And then...
"...Lightning Flash."
Kaede murmured the words.
In an instant, he vanished again. The silver light shimmered and slashed across the battlefield, reappearing right in front of that Jonin, not from the side or behind, but from the front.
The front?!
The Jonin, already on high alert, hadn't expected a frontal assault. He swung his short sword with all his strength, aiming to block the incoming White Fang.
Clang!
Though his blade was also infused with chakra, the moment it met Kaede's sword, it was cleaved in two, like rotted wood.
The silver arc of lightning sliced cleanly through him, cutting the Jonin in half. The ground behind him split open in a ten-meter-long trench.
A single blow. Instant kill.
The Jonin hadn't even had time to perform a substitution jutsu!
Nearby ninja, both from Konoha and Iwa, were visibly shaken, eyes wide in disbelief.
Only two individuals, the Uchiha Jonin with a three-tomoe Sharingan and the Hyuga ninja Hyuga Setsuna with his Byakugan, could barely follow Kaede's movements.
"Is that a secret Lightning Style jutsu from the Hidden Cloud?!"
"He's too fast..."
Both the Uchiha and the Hyuga shinobi gasped, visibly rattled. Even with their dojutsu, they could barely track Kaede's speed.
Whoosh!
Kaede vanished once more.
only a flash of silver could be seen darting through the battlefield. Wherever he passed, elite Iwa Chunin fell, unable to defend themselves, struck down in a single blow.
In just moments, three Iwagakure jonin and over a dozen Chunin lay dead.
The battlefield descended into chaos.
"Quick! Someone stop that brat from moving!"
"Damn it! our ninjutsu can't keep up!"
The Iwa shinobi, who had been overpowering Konoha with sheer numbers, now found themselves in complete disarray. Even those who hadn't yet been targeted by Kaede were too frightened not to watch him constantly.
But it was all in vain.
Even with full attention, Chunin simply couldn't withstand Kaede's blitz attacks. The speed and reflex gap was insurmountable.
Jonin might survive by using Shadow Clones, Substitution Jutsu, or Body Flicker. But unless a Chunin had preemptively fled, they didn't stand a chance of reacting at all.
Whoosh!
Kaede's blade struck again, another Chunin down.
"Earth Style! Binding Earth Jutsu!"
Just then, a voice full of rage echoed from the side.
As Kaede was cutting down another Chunin, the ground beneath him suddenly surged upward. His ankles were caught and entangled by earth, halting his momentum.
"Secret Earth Jutsu: Ground Burial Barrier!"
After immobilizing Kaede with Earth Style, Donton, an elite Iwagakure jonin, formed a rapid hand seal and shouted as his chakra surged. The ground rumbled violently.
He had fought Cloud ninjas before and had experience countering speed-based opponents!
Rumble!
The earth cracked and rose, forming layers of rock that closed in around Kaede, trapping him at the center of a barrier.
The barrier's power suppressed Kaede's chakra instantly. The silver light around him faded, and the arcs of lightning on the White Fang dulled and vanished.
"This barrier seals off chakra flow. Inside it, you can't use chakra properly..."
"Your speed alone isn't enough to win this battle."
"This is the end, brat!"
Donton slowly lowered his hands from the sealing pose and coldly addressed Kaede inside the barrier.
Around them, the Iwa ninja let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness Lord Donton is here..."
"Didn't expect Konoha to have someone that fast, almost like a Cloud ninja. If he'd been left unchecked, things would've gotten out of control."