"Th… this is way too high-end…"
Akai Akimoto stared at the scene in a daze.
Wind Release, Great Breakthrough was clearly a low-level ninjutsu. Yet in Kaede Kitahara's hands, its power was easily A-rank or higher.
At this moment, Akimoto finally understood why Amakusa Ryuji had told Kaede not to step in earlier. If Kaede actually joined the fight, what was even left to spar?
Wind Release, Great Breakthrough was a standard C-rank technique. It was something ordinary Chunin could use, and even some talented Genin had mastered it.
But when Kaede used it, the output rivaled A-rank ninjutsu, or maybe even more.
Ryuji and Hyuga Keiko were just as stunned.
They both knew Kaede was strong, far stronger than either of them. During their usual sparring, he clearly had not gone all out.
Still, neither of them had imagined something this outrageous.
It had not even been that long.
It felt even more terrifying than Kaede's performance back in the Land of Waves.
Kaede only smiled and said nothing.
In truth, it was nothing more than brute force.
With his massive chakra reserves, he simply poured in far more chakra than normal. Naturally, Wind Release, Great Breakthrough reached A-rank-level power. From another angle, it was actually a waste of chakra.
It was like the same Great Fire Annihilation in the hands of an ordinary ninja versus in the hands of Uchiha Madara. Could the power possibly be the same?
When Madara used Great Fire Annihilation, its might clearly surpassed S-rank. Pure power crushing everything in its path.
Most people increased ninjutsu strength through hand seals, proficiency, and technique.
Kaede took the most direct and brutal route. He just added more chakra.
Using a low-level jutsu to achieve high-level power actually consumed more chakra than a properly designed high-level jutsu. Advanced techniques were not just about higher chakra costs. They involved refined formulas, superior concepts, and far greater learning difficulty.
By Kaede's own estimation, he was still far from truly bottomless chakra. But saying he had ridiculous reserves was not an exaggeration.
This level of chakra had already firmly stepped into Kage Level, and it was still growing rapidly.
"Sensei Akimoto, you get it now, right?" Ryuji said, shrugging helplessly. "That's why I told him not to fight. Once he does, there's no room left for us."
Keiko nodded.
The two of them had watched Kaede grow step by step. Every time he acted, it shocked them. Was he even human?
Calling this late-blooming genius felt almost insulting. It was far too extreme.
Only Keiko held a slightly different suspicion.
She knew more than Ryuji did. Much more.
Because she had the Byakugan.
There were things she could see that Ryuji could not.
Sometimes, with her Byakugan active, she caught fleeting glimpses of something strange.
Kaede's eyes were abnormal.
Even with her Byakugan, she could not clearly see them. But from the unusual chakra fluctuations alone, she could tell that Kaede likely possessed a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai.
That kind of mutation strongly resembled a dōjutsu awakening.
And Kaede's explosive growth had started right around the time that mutation appeared.
They had been teammates for three years. It was not like they barely knew each other.
She had activated her Byakugan countless times before. She had long known that her two teammates were ordinary people.
But after that mission, everything changed.
Kaede suddenly became stronger.
Not just in chakra quantity, which in a short time rivaled branch-family Jonin of the Hyuga Clan, but in every possible aspect.
Speed. Strength. Physical resilience.
After that single fleeting glimpse, everything about him had undergone a fundamental transformation.
From then on, his power entered a ridiculous growth phase.
Ryuji could not figure it out no matter how hard he tried.
Keiko, however, understood.
Kaede had definitely awakened a Kekkei Genkai.
And it was a dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai.
She just did not know which one.
She was certain it was not the Byakugan. First, there were no bulging veins around his eyes when he fought. Second, she did not feel the unique chakra affinity that accompanied Byakugan activation.
So it clearly was not the Byakugan.
Then what other dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai were there?
For a brief moment, she had even suspected the Sharingan. That strange chakra felt similar to Hatake Kakashi's Sharingan.
But she dismissed it almost immediately.
Kaede was not from the Uchiha Clan. No one in his family was either. After three years as teammates, she knew that much for sure.
Besides, the Uchiha Clan had already been wiped out. Only a single survivor remained.
Red Eyes? The so-called bane of the Byakugan?
Or the Blood Dragon Eye?
Or… the legendary Rinnegan, one of the three great dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai?
She had only learned about these things through clan education. She had never seen them herself.
After all, Konoha now only had the Byakugan. When the Uchiha Clan was destroyed, she had not even awakened her own Byakugan yet. She had never truly seen how an Uchiha fought after awakening the Sharingan.
Because of that lack of experience, she could not immediately identify Kaede's dōjutsu from chakra alone.
If it had been Ao of Kirigakure, he would have sensed the Sharingan chakra the moment Shimura Danzo used it, instantly exposing Danzo's use of Kotoamatsukami to control Mifune of the Land of Iron.
At least now, she understood why Kaede always wore colored contacts.
It was probably to hide the abnormal color and shape of his eyes after the awakening.
And if enemies were unprepared, it would give him the perfect chance for a surprise attack.
She never spoke of these thoughts to anyone.
Every ninja carried secrets they could never share.
She did not know what kind of dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai Kaede possessed, one that amplified his strength to such an extent. But she understood one thing very clearly.
The more you said, the more you risked.
Akimoto looked at Kaede in shock. He felt like he needed to reevaluate the subordinate he had led for three years.
"About today," Akimoto said after some thought, "we'll go report directly to the Hokage. No matter what, Root acting on its own to arrest someone is against procedure."
This matter could be big or small, especially with a powerful advisor involved behind the scenes.
Kaede agreed.
Danzo had clearly bypassed official channels. That alone was their greatest advantage.
Danzo had already been stripped of his advisor position. Everyone knew he still held enormous influence, but that power came from the shadows, rooted in his relationship with the Third Hokage. It could not stand in the open.
Some things carried little weight in secret.
Once exposed, even a thousand pounds would not be enough to suppress them.
Danzo's situation was exactly that.
With the decision made, the four of them each grabbed a fallen Root operative and headed straight for the Hokage Tower.
After hearing their report, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened with fury.
Danzo again.
He had warned him again and again to stay out of it.
What was he trying to do?
And now he was stirring trouble again.
Endlessly.
But when Hiruzen looked at Kaede and the others, his expression softened into a kindly smile.
"I understand the situation," he said. "You handled it well. If anything like this happens again, come to me. I'll deal with it."
Unlike Danzo's reckless methods, Hiruzen was satisfied with how they had acted. They did not submit, but they also did not escalate things beyond control. The Root operatives were injured and unconscious, but none were seriously harmed.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kaede said quickly.
Ryuji stood beside him, practically glowing with pride.
"Alright, you may return," the Third Hokage said. "I'll give you an explanation for this matter."
Once they left, Hiruzen's expression immediately turned grim.
Danzo had touched his bottom line.
Hiruzen had ordered Danzo confined to his residence and stripped of command over Root, yet Danzo was still able to issue orders.
What did that mean?
It meant that within Root, his authority as Hokage was inferior to Danzo's.
Other matters could wait.
This could not.
Anbu was the Hokage's direct force. To enter Anbu, strength alone was not enough. Absolute loyalty to the Hokage was required.
Root was part of Anbu. It was meant to be a training institution for Anbu operatives. Even if Danzo led it, ultimate authority should have rested with the Hokage.
And yet, even after being ordered to relinquish control, Root still obeyed Danzo.
Again and again, Danzo challenged his authority.
"Someone," Hiruzen said coldly. "Pass down my order. From today onward, no Root ninja may leave the training base without my approval. All other operations are suspended. Funding for Root will be reduced to the minimum."
"Keep them under close watch. If anyone defies orders or causes unrest, kill them on the spot."
He narrowed his eyes and took a slow puff of his pipe.
"It's time I paid my old friend a visit."