An Unexpected Encounter

I was Uchiha Kaede, the second-fastest man in the Shinobi World. Aside from that guy who used the Flying Thunder God, no one could outrun me.

I was just that confident.

With Lightning Release: Lightning Garment, Kaede was indeed very fast, but it only brought him up to Jonin-level speed. Matching the speed of a Space-Time Ninjutsu like Flying Thunder God was impossible.

As an unfinished technique, Lightning Release: Lightning Garment had yet to reach its full potential. There was still plenty of room for improvement.

For example, he could completely turn himself into lightning while moving, which would surely boost his speed. Kaede had thought of it, but he couldn't do it. He could only control lightning; he couldn't become it.

"Don't get too full of yourself, kid."

"I knew it was you!"

The Anbu removed the fox mask covering his face, revealing Mingye.

Seeing the scarlet tomoe in his son's eyes and the technique that made him look as if he were bathing in lightning, he knew his son had extraordinary talent. He had believed that ever since Kaede first began molding Chakra.

"You're like lightning's darling, wielding its power. Kaede, I'm proud of you."

Mingye stroked Kaede's thick hair, took a Ninjutsu scroll from his clothes, and handed it to him.

"I was only going to test your strength and then give you another Ninjutsu, but I didn't expect to draw out your hidden abilities.

"Hahaha, you sure know how to surprise me!"

Kaede rolled his eyes and sent a bolt of lightning straight through the father standing before him, too lazy to listen to him ramble.

He formed Hand Seals in front of his chest. "Release!"

In an instant, he disrupted the flow of Chakra within his body.

"Oh, not bad! You've improved. You can actually see through my Genjutsu now."

Mingye stood at the edge of the roof with his arms folded. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly faded as he clapped and praised Kaede.

"What an astonishing technique, Kaede!"

The highest praise he could think of was that Kaede had unparalleled talent!

Kaede stood where he had first leaped onto the rooftop, his Sharingan activated and Lightning Armor draped over him.

He had fallen under Mingye's Genjutsu the moment he arrived, trapped in an illusion. Controlled by Mingye's Genjutsu, Kaede would have already been a corpse if this had been an enemy.

Even the greatest talent, without the time to grow, would end up as a few engraved lines on the Memorial Stone.

"Today's training seems different. Are you going on a mission, Father?"

During tonight's training, Mingye had used his true strength, letting Kaede experience the terror of a Uchiha Jonin. The Sharingan's Genjutsu had seized control in an instant, without warning and almost impossible to defend against.

If Kaede hadn't activated his Sharingan, he wouldn't have detected the Genjutsu trap his father had set.

This must have been a review and test to mark the end of a stage of his training.

"Yeah. I've been assigned a mission, and I'll be gone for a few months. While I'm away, be careful and take care of your mother. If anything happens, you can go see Tangdong. He'll give you some advice."

Seeing how strong Kaede had become, Mingye felt he could finally ease the tension he had been carrying all this time.

"Then be careful, Father! If you die, I won't cry for you."

Mingye's face stiffened.

He appeared beside Kaede in an instant and punched him.

"Thud—"

A huge hole opened in the roof as Mingye hammered Kaede down through it. A red lump quickly swelled on Kaede's head.

"Ow... ow..."

Now he knew his father was definitely stronger than a Jonin. He had reached the level of an Elite Jonin.

He hadn't been able to see his father Mingye move at all.

With a father this strong, he'd be fine on a mission, as long as he didn't do anything reckless. Kaede could get back to developing Ninjutsu with peace of mind.

Their little farewell scuffle was over.

Ninja Academy

"Hey, aren't you worried about Uncle Mingye going on a mission?"

Looking at Uchiha Hitomi curiously, Kaede thought she seemed especially pleasant to look at today. He even felt like striking up a conversation with her.

"What's there to worry about? I believe my father will come back safe and sound."

As long as he wasn't going to war and was only going on a mission, the danger wasn't too great—unless it was some suicidal mission, like spying on another village.

"But... when my father goes on a mission, I always worry about him..."

Hitomi lowered her head, looking dejected. She was like a helpless little kitten, starved of affection and all alone. Kaede was touched despite himself. People all reacted the same way to the helpless gaze of a cute creature.

He gently brushed Hitomi's long hair, about to offer her some comfort.

"You in the back... Yes, you, Uchiha Kaede! You little brat, what are you doing? Not paying attention and bullying a girl?"

Kimura Oishi's furious shout rang out from the lectern, and an eraser came hurtling toward Kaede with a rush of wind. Kaede's hand shot out like lightning, and he hurriedly caught the eraser before it could hit his handsome face.

The force of the impact shook the chalk dust off the eraser and sent it flying onto his face.

White dust covered half his face. Kaede blinked his bright, dark eyes at his furious teacher.

And at the girl beside him, who was grinning like a cat that had stolen a fish.

His sorry state made everyone in class burst out laughing. Even their teacher, Kimura Oishi, twitched at the corners of his mouth, but forced himself to keep a straight face to maintain his authority.

"You. Look at this problem and tell me how to solve it."

Kimura Oishi tapped the blackboard, making Kaede turn to look.

Question:

Ninja A is hiding in a lush tree, waiting to ambush Ninja B. The tree is three meters tall, and Ninja A is standing two-thirds of the way up. Ninja B is ten meters away from the tree. Ninja A throws a Kunai at Ninja B with an initial speed of three meters per second.

Ignoring the effects of wind,

how should Ninja B dodge the incoming Kunai?

"??????"

Kaede blinked at the baffling, almost mystical question and looked at Kimura Oishi.

"Get out! Stand in the doorway and face the wall. I just explained this problem!"

With his face covered in chalk dust, Kaede was sent out of the classroom to stand by the door of Class B, his thoughts drifting farther and farther away.

Until—

"Thud!"

Across the hall, the door to Class C was flung open. Two boys were tossed out: one wore a sun visor on his forehead and a blue tracksuit, with a pouch of ninja tools strapped to his leg; the other had a bowl cut and wore a bizarre outfit.

He could still hear the Class C teacher cursing and grumbling.

The teachers at the Ninja Academy now weren't like Iruka and the others from Naruto's time. These teachers were retired shinobi who had come back from the battlefield.

They had unbelievably short tempers. To them, force was far more effective than being gentle.

Six eyes met.

Kaede guessed who the two boys across from him were.

"Hot-blooded youth won't give up just because we've been kicked out of class! Let's work hard together and chase our dreams!"

He gave a thumbs-up, flashing his pearly white teeth.

Kaede had just been about to go over and introduce himself when the thought was instantly hurled out of his mind.

"MMP!"

Goosebumps covered him. Gai like this was way too much to handle.

"My eyes have been assaulted. What am I supposed to do?"

No, he couldn't take it anymore. He had to wash his eyes.

Seeing that Kimura Oishi wasn't paying attention to him, he slipped off to the washroom. He didn't even bother cleaning the chalk dust off his face. First, he needed to wash his eyes.