"...So, it didn't work after all?"
Seeing Kaede trapped within the Hidden Stone ninja's barrier technique, the Konoha ninja nearby, still reeling from the shock of earlier, felt their hearts sink.
They had hoped that Kaede's overwhelming power could completely turn the tide of the battle, but now it seemed that was too much to expect. After all, they were up against the elite of Iwagakure, ninja who were both powerful and experienced.
However—
Inside the barrier, the silver light surrounding Kaede had faded, yet he showed no sign of panic. Instead, he simply tilted his head slightly and murmured:
"So you waited until the moment I struck to use a binding jutsu... then followed it up with a barrier that restricts movement and chakra flow. Hmph. You've definitely fought speed-type opponents before... and came prepared."
Kaede could still feel the first three gates of the Eight Gates technique open, but the chakra inside his body was circulating at a fraction of its usual speed. With such sluggish flow, it was as if the first three gates weren't open at all, and the fourth gate remained sealed due to the suppression.
This was the elite of Iwagakure after all. It made sense they wouldn't fall that easily.
But—
This level... still isn't enough!
The very next instant, under the stunned and disbelieving gaze of Donton, silver light erupted once more from Kaede's body. Lightning surged again along the blade of the White Fang, crackling with the chirping cries of Chidori.
"Impossible!!"
Donton's face twisted in disbelief.
His barrier was specifically designed to suppress chakra flow to a high degree. Even a Cloud ninja using the Lightning Release Chakra Mode shouldn't be able to activate jutsu under its effects!
But Kaede's expression remained calm.
This was Time Reversal.
The barrier was still active, he couldn't make it vanish, but he had rewound his physical state to a point before being restrained. The sluggish chakra had returned to its violent surge, and Chidori flared once more in his hand.
Before the barrier could reassert its hold, the explosive chakra within Kaede's body surged downward, and the Fourth Gate of the Eight Gates burst open.
"Looks like I'll have to go all out."
"Gate of Pain – Thunder!"
Crack-crack!
Lightning chakra burst through the Fourth Gate. His hair whipped wildly as silver strands sparked with interwoven arcs of lightning.
In this state, Kaede shattered the rocks closing in around him, and in a blinding flash, swung the White Fang forward, its blade cloaked in lightning.
The slash was impossibly fast.
So fast that even the dojutsu of Hyuga Setsuna and Uchiha Tsukiyo could barely register it. The blade tore through the air, generating such intense friction it ignited flames.
Flame and lightning entwined, forming a slash like the sun itself, cleaving straight through the Earth Release barrier from the center!
Boom!!
The fiery, lightning-charged slash blasted across the battlefield, striking the earth dozens of meters away and tearing open a deep trench that stretched for tens of meters.
"For the blade to generate fire through air friction... this is no longer just a Lightning Flash, it surpasses the Moon Flash. I suppose this technique deserves a new name... Radiant Flash."
Kaede murmured to himself before vanishing.
Donton's expression shifted dramatically.
This is bad!
He still didn't understand how Kaede had broken through his chakra-suppressing barrier, but one thing was clear: Kaede was coming for him!
Without hesitation, at the very moment Kaede vanished, Donton formed a hand seal and silently disappeared.
Earth Instantaneous Movement Technique!
Zzt!
Kaede appeared exactly where Donton had stood, his blade crashing into the ground and carving a burning scar through the earth.
"...How many times do you think you can run?"
Missing his target didn't faze Kaede. He vanished again, transforming into a streak of silver light flashing across the battlefield.
Nearby Hidden Stone ninja attempted to intercept him with jutsu, but none of them could keep up with his speed. Their techniques missed entirely.
A short distance away—
Donton reappeared, only to be met head-on by Kaede's fiery blade.
Zzt!
He was sliced clean in half, but no blood flowed. His body crumbled into two pieces of stone.
Another Earth-style clone!
Donton's true body emerged several meters away, panic in his eyes. His hands flew into rapid seals, trying to evade again, but this time, it was too late.
A fiery arc flashed through his body.
Donton froze, hands still mid-seal. The motion stopped abruptly.
Bathed in silver light, Kaede appeared behind him, holding his blade in the follow-through of the slash.
To have dodged twice under the quadruple speed of the Fourth Gate... this Donton was easily the strongest jonin Kaede had encountered on this battlefield. Nearly Kage-level.
Not bad.
"Y–you…"
Donton turned his head with difficulty to look at Kaede.
He couldn't make out Kaede's words, only a mess of garbled, high-speed noise, like a recording on fast-forward. But that didn't matter. What mattered was, he couldn't comprehend how Kaede had escaped the barrier's restraint. A normal ninja's chakra simply couldn't do that.
unless...
Kaede was a Jinchuriki?
Unfortunately, he would never know the answer.
As the single word left his lips, a thin red line split his body from left shoulder to right hip.
Blood gushed forth, and his body collapsed in two as darkness swallowed his mind.
From the moment Kaede broke the barrier to the moment he slew the elite Iwagakure jonin Donton, it had taken only seconds. The surrounding Hidden Stone ninja and Konoha shinobi were still in shock, many hadn't even processed what had happened.
Only when they saw Donton's bisected body hit the ground in a spray of blood did they react, and the Hidden Stone ninja erupted in disbelief.
"L–Lord Donton!"
"Th-this can't be…"
Donton had held a position just below the Tsuchikage's advisors in Iwagakure. He was the commander of the 30-man ambush squad and was known for both his strength and strategic ability.
And yet, he was dead.
Killed by a single Konoha shinobi. Hunted down and struck down before he could even fight back.
The Konoha ninja were just as stunned.
Even Morino Ibiki and the others were left in a daze. No one had imagined Kaede's power had reached such terrifying levels. Not only had he slaughtered Chunin with ease, but even a renowned and respected jonin like Donton had fallen to him!
Previously, despite the loss of over a dozen Chunin and three jonin, the Hidden Stone ninja had held firm.
But with Donton's death, the battle's momentum clearly shifted, and chaos began to spread among the Iwa forces.
Even those attacking Orochimaru, including Akado and others, were visibly shaken. one of them exposed a gap, and Orochimaru seized the chance, slicing off an arm in one strike!
"Well, looks like you're losing your edge."
Orochimaru licked his lips with a strange smile. But even in his eerie calm, his heart was stirred.
Kaede's power... far exceeded his expectations.
That level of speed was difficult even for him to track. If he had to fight Kaede head-on, he'd have a hard time dealing with him.
"That state... it's not just the Eight Gates. It's strange, not just an increase in speed, but almost like his 'frequency' increased..."
A glint of intrigue flickered in Orochimaru's serpentine eyes.
From subtle details, he could tell Kaede wasn't relying solely on Lightning Release and the Eight Gates. There was some other strange power at work, something mysterious and dangerous.
But regardless of what it was—
Kaede's overwhelming power and battlefield impact had reversed the entire situation.
He had done it alone.
That flash of silver—
Just like the White Fang of Konoha in days past!
************
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