After being discharged from the hospital, life returned to calm.
Kitahara Kaede did not remain idle.
His max-level talent brought more than just learning speed; it also confirmed a fact he had verified the first time he extracted Chakra.
His Chakra possessed all seven nature transformations.
Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin, and Yang.
All seven, complete.
In the Ninja World, an average Ninja who could master two or three nature transformations in their lifetime was considered exceptionally talented.
But all seven attributes—in his memories, fewer than ten people in Konoha possessed such talent.
Therefore, Kitahara Kaede pestered his “father” to teach him Ninjutsu again.
Clan Head Hagoromo, having no choice, relented and brought out a C-rank Water Release—Water Severing Wave, as well as a B-rank Ninjutsu—the Shadow Clone Technique.
Kitahara Kaede watched the demonstration of both techniques once.
Then he performed them once himself.
He learned Water Severing Wave on the first try; the Shadow Clone was clumsy at first, but he successfully cast it.
The Shadow Clones created by the Shadow Clone Technique had physical substance; they could be touched, fight, act as decoys to block blades, and even think independently.
They were not the E-rank clones from the Ninja Academy that would dissipate upon the slightest touch.
Clan Head Hagoromo fell silent for a moment.
After the previous incident with the Great Fireball Technique, he was already mentally prepared for his son’s talent.
But learning a B-rank Ninjutsu after seeing it once was the level of comprehension only a Jonin possessed.
Kitahara Kaede felt smug inside.
He wasn’t happy about the talent; he was happy about the tangible gains.
In reality, he didn’t even have a channel to learn Ninjutsu.
C-rank Ninjutsu were unreachable high-end goods for him, and B-rank Ninjutsu were beyond his wildest dreams.
Learning them for free in the simulator—it would be a waste not to take advantage of it.
But these were all on the surface.
Kitahara Kaede hadn’t told anyone what he was really pondering.
He was developing a technique.
To be precise, he was trying to replicate an A-rank Ninjutsu he knew about but had never seen with his own eyes—Lightning Release: Chidori.
He understood the principle.
High-concentration Lightning-style Chakra concentrated in the palm, generating a cutting effect through high-speed vibration.
Essentially, it was a short blade formed of Chakra, with extremely strong piercing power, directly destroying internal organs and meridians.
There were two core difficulties:
First, the precision of the Lightning-style Chakra nature transformation.
Lightning Release wasn’t like Fire Release, which was done once “released”; it required maintaining high-frequency vibration in the palm, and if the Chakra went out of control, it would backfire on the caster;
Second, compressing the transformed Chakra into the palm without it dissipating.
Theoretically, since he had mastered all seven attributes, there was no barrier for him regarding Lightning Release nature transformation.
But “no barrier” and “being able to do it” were two different things.
Every day after finishing his regular training in the back mountain, Kitahara Kaede would find a deserted corner and practice this alone.
He would extend his right hand, curl his fingers slightly, and let Chakra flow along his meridians toward his palm, performing the Lightning-style nature transformation at the palm—
The first few times, the Chakra would explode as soon as it transformed.
It wasn’t a real explosion; it was the Chakra dissipating due to unstable nature transformation.
His palm would go numb, his fingertips would twitch, as if he had been shocked.
On the tenth attempt, a brief arc of electricity appeared in his palm.
A blue-white light, lasting less than half a second before shattering.
But that half-second of light made Kitahara Kaede confirm one thing—the direction was correct.
All he needed was time.
He hadn’t told anyone about this.
Including Tsunade.
The only side effect was that his right palm often had red marks from being shocked, and it would occasionally twitch involuntarily.
He attributed this to “the old injury not having fully healed yet”.
Tsunade had asked once.
“Why is your hand shaking again?”
“Old injury.”
Tsunade stared at his palm for two seconds.
Those red marks and the scar from the Kunai puncture wound were not in the same location.
She didn’t press further.
Days at the Ninja Academy continued as usual.
Kitahara Kaede would leave a Shadow Clone in class while his real self went to the back mountain.
Tsunade would read introductory medical manuals during class, occasionally helping him cover his tracks.
Jiraiya would sleep in class.
The only thing that changed was where the three of them went after school.
Tsunade went to the medical classroom.
Every day after school, without fail, she practiced inside alone.
Kitahara Kaede would sometimes pause when passing by.
He didn’t go in; he stood outside the door and took a look through the half-open window.
Her hand hovered over the simulated wound, fingers slightly curled, and green Chakra emanated from her palm, covering it in a thin layer.
At first, it wasn’t very stable.
The Chakra output would fluctuate, like a candle flame in the wind, flickering bright and dim.
When healing the incision, uneven healing marks would occasionally appear on the edges of the new tissue—it didn’t affect functionality, but it wasn’t perfect.
Tsunade did not accept imperfection.
She would restore the simulated wound and start over.
Until that layer of green light was as steady as if it were plastered onto the skin, without a single tremor.
Kitahara Kaede watched for a while and then left.
One day after class.
Tsunade walked to Kitahara Kaede’s desk with a report card and slapped it down.
Medical Ninjutsu basic theory, full marks.
“You said it,” she said, tilting her chin up slightly, “I learn everything fast.”
Kitahara Kaede glanced at the score, then at her expression.
He remembered the little girl in the hospital room clutching her skirt, saying, “Next time you’re injured, I can handle it myself.”
Less than a year.
“You are fast,” Kitahara Kaede pushed the report card back, “but last time you practiced incision repair, your Chakra output fluctuated three times.”
Tsunade’s eyebrows shot up.
“How do you know?”
“I was standing behind you watching.”
“…You must be bored.”
“I was passing by.”
Tsunade snatched the report card back, folded it twice, stuffed it into her pocket, and turned to leave.
She muttered something that Kitahara Kaede didn’t quite catch; it was probably something like “meddlesome”.
The next day, he passed by the medical classroom.
Tsunade was inside alone.
Chakra covered the simulated incision, the green light as steady as a pool of still water.
There wasn’t a single fluctuation.
Jiraiya also seemed to be getting serious; ever since the day of the training in the back mountain, this guy had stuck to him like glue.
Every day after school, he followed Kitahara Kaede to run laps on the track and practice Taijutsu.
At first, he would collapse on the ground panting after running fifteen laps, later he could run twenty, and eventually thirty.
When he couldn’t run anymore, he would lie on the grass, his face pressed against the ground, muttering, “I just haven’t finished warming up yet.”
Kitahara Kaede never waited for him; he practiced whatever he needed to practice.
If Jiraiya got up and caught up, so be it; if he couldn’t, he would try again next time.
Orochimaru still didn’t speak in class or after class.
He always sat in the corner by the window, reading books unrelated to the class.
Occasionally, when his gaze met Kitahara Kaede’s in the hallway, he would give a slight nod.
Nothing more.
It was the end of another semester.
The grades were posted: Kitahara Kaede was first, Tsunade was second.
There was no suspense.
Tsunade stood in front of the bulletin board, staring at the grades for three seconds.
Then she reached out and punched Kitahara Kaede on the shoulder.
Her strength was unlike a normal person’s; it hurt even through his clothes.
“I’ll beat you next time.”
“Okay.”
“You say okay every time; there’s no sincerity at all.”
“Then what do you want me to say?”
Tsunade huffed and turned to leave.
She walked two steps and then turned back.
“In the final Ninjutsu practical exam, I was only two points behind you.”
“Mm.”
“Just two points.”
“I heard you.”
Tsunade glared at him and this time really left.
Jiraiya crouched under the bulletin board, scratching his white hair, muttering, “I just didn’t perform well.”
No one responded to him.
[Timeline accelerating—]
[During the last two years at the Ninja Academy, your training focus shifted to actual combat and fine Chakra control.
Weighted cross-country running and free-climbing became daily routines.
Shadow Clone combat practice made up for the lack of high-level sparring partners.]
[Your Chakra volume and Ninjutsu attainments reached the level of a Chunin.]
[The Lightning Release technique you were secretly developing made breakthrough progress.
The arc of electricity in your palm extended from three seconds to ten seconds, and its form gradually condensed from dissipating sparks into an unstable ball of light.
It was still some distance from completion, but the prototype had already appeared.]
[However, the bubble of peace was fragile after all.
With the passing of the “God of Shinobi” Senju Hashirama, the agreements between the Five Great Nations gradually disintegrated.]
[The Hidden Cloud Village struck first.
Fighting erupted successively between Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Mist.
The First Shinobi World War broke out in full scale.]
[Your father, Clan Head Hagoromo, followed the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama to the front lines.]
[The war was intense.
The Hidden Cloud Village split into a pro-war faction and a peace faction.
The Second Raikage decided to stop fighting and form an alliance with Konoha.]
[At the alliance ceremony—the brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku suddenly launched an attack, assassinated the Second Raikage, and immediately led an elite force to hunt down the Konoha delegation.]
[The Second Hokage Senju Tobirama stayed behind alone to cover the retreat of his subordinates.]
[Your father chose to stand side-by-side with the Second Hokage until the very last moment.]
[The Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, killed in action.]
[Clan Head Hagoromo, killed in action.]
[You became an orphan.]
[That same year, you went to pay respects at your father’s grave.
You met Orochimaru, also dressed in black.
His parents had also died in the war.]
[He said to you: “Kaede, the fragility of life is disgusting.
I am going to seek the eternal truth.”]
[You patted his shoulder without saying a word.]
[The major nations all suffered huge losses in combat power, and the First Shinobi World War subsided.
Hiruzen Sarutobi succeeded as the Third Hokage.]
[At the inauguration ceremony, he said to all the villagers of Konoha the famous quote that would span the entire history of the Ninja World—]
[“Wherever the leaves dance, the fire will burn.
The shadow of the fire will shine on the Village, allowing new leaves to sprout.”]
[To fill the talent gap brought about by the war, the Third Hokage boldly implemented a new policy—the “three-man squad” system.]
[One Jonin instructor leading three Genin.
The classic configuration of two boys and one girl, aiming to maximize survival rates through complementarity (and love triangles).]
[This year, you are eleven years old.]
[The third chapter officially begins.]
Kitahara Kaede opened his eyes.
“You are late.”
A familiar tone.
Kitahara Kaede snapped back to reality and turned his head to look.
Tsunade was leaning against the wooden railing by the roadside.
Two years had passed, and she had grown quite a bit taller.
Her golden hair was tied into a ponytail resting on her shoulder, and her features were beginning to grow from rounded, youthful softness toward more defined, angular lines.
But her way of speaking hadn’t changed at all—arms crossed over her chest, looking at people askance, the corners of her mouth slightly downturned.
“Yeah, I’m late.”
The corners of Tsunade’s mouth twitched—it was that subtle expression of “you admitted it, so I can’t even lash out”.
She straightened up from the railing and looked him up and down.
When her gaze passed over his right hand, it paused for a moment.
That scar.
The puncture wound from palm to the back of the hand, the mark left by a Kunai passing through and then being pulled out.
Four years had passed; new skin had covered the old wound, but the color of the scar tissue was slightly different from normal skin, discernible upon close inspection.
Every time Tsunade saw it, she would take an extra look.
“Let’s go,” Tsunade turned, “Sensei is waiting for us at the third training ground.”
She had already started walking.
Kitahara Kaede followed.
After walking two steps, he reached into the side pocket of his Ninja tool pouch and pulled something out.
“Have you eaten breakfast?”
Tsunade’s footsteps faltered.
“Why are you asking that?”
“I guessed you hadn’t.”
He handed her a rice ball.
Wrapped in bamboo leaves, it was still a bit warm.
Tsunade didn’t take it.
“I’ve eaten.”
“Every time you say you’ve eaten, you haven’t.”
Tsunade’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you annoying or what?”
She snatched the rice ball, unwrapped the bamboo leaves, and took a bite.
She chewed twice, offered no comment, walked a few steps, and took another bite.
Kitahara Kaede saw from the corner of his eye that her cheeks were bulging, like a hamster guarding its food.
“Is it good?”
Tsunade ignored him.
“Corner of your mouth.”
Tsunade paused: “What?”
“On the right, there’s a grain of rice left.”
Tsunade quickly wiped it with the back of her hand, then glared at him.
“Can’t your eyes look somewhere else?”
“I’m looking at the road.”
“You’re clearly looking at me.”
“In passing.”
Tsunade’s earlobes were slightly red, not obviously, hidden by her golden messy hair.
She quickened her pace, walking half a step ahead of him.
“Walk faster, we’re going to be late.”
“The one who is late is you.”
“I was waiting for you!”