Chapter 046: Hinata: Sorry, I Came at the Wrong Time! (Please Support with Data)
Kakashi was once a famous genius in Konoha — graduating from the Ninja Academy at age 5, becoming a Chūnin at 7, and a Jōnin by 8.
He was practically a genius among geniuses.
However...
Even when he was a genius back then, he didn't have any cheats.
Ordinary ninjas need to spend a lot of time training and sweating through hard work.
Take Chidori for example — even someone as talented as Sasuke needed three months to learn it.
But that's for people who aren't cheating.
"Chidori—!"
Chidori was the predecessor of Raikiri, channeling lightning chakra from inside the body and concentrating it in the palm, making a chirping sound like a thousand birds — hence the name.
"Raikiri—!"
"Earth-Style Wall!"
"Carving a dog's head on the wall—!"
As a standard elite Jōnin, Kakashi gave his all when it came to his students' cheat-like talents.
But what he could teach were still the more common and generally usable jutsu.
For example, Sasuke possessed fire and lightning nature chakra.
So he could learn Chidori and Raikiri.
But Naruto didn't have lightning chakra, so he couldn't.
However, Naruto did have Rasengan, a jutsu invented by Minato — and since Kakashi was Minato's student...
"Rasengan…"
"This is a jutsu my teacher personally developed."
"Rasengan!"
"Based on the Tailed Beast Bombs used by the tailed beasts…"
As Kakashi spoke, he attempted to demonstrate.
He raised his left hand and began to gather chakra in his palm.
And then…
He failed.
The chakra exploded in his hand.
"Kakashi-sensei is really useless," commented Kitahara Kaede.
"..." Kakashi.
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]
[Minato Namikaze]: …Kakashi, I thought you had already mastered the Rasengan.
[Kakashi]: Sorry, Lord Minato.
[Kakashi]: I haven't practiced in years. I've fallen out of touch.
[Minato Namikaze]: At the next group meeting, come train Rasengan with me.
At first, Minato didn't realize it, but he quickly caught on… Kitahara Kaede was giving them all a chance.
If they trained outside in the real world, they wouldn't make it in time for the Chūnin Exams.
But in Kitahara Kaede's genjutsu space, they could master the full experience and theory of a jutsu.
And once they returned to the real world, there was a 99% chance they could still use it.
So…
This meant that through Kakashi, Minato could pass on his jutsu to his son, Naruto.
He wanted to do something for him.
Not just feel sad and powerless.
Meanwhile, while Sasuke and the others were still memorizing their textbooks, everyone realized — Kitahara Kaede wasn't idle either.
He had ended the illusion space.
After making sure everyone was well-fed, he returned next door and brought his ninja rabbit with him.
Then he reopened the illusion space.
As expected…
This time, his ninja rabbit entered as well.
But...
He brought the rabbit in just to use the opportunity to… teach it how to read?!
Kitahara Kaede reproduced an entire library setup inside the illusion space.
He took out paper and a pen, teaching the ninja rabbit how to read.
"Books are the ladder to human progress."
"And the path forward for a ninja."
"Because what gets written down is always experience."
"The more you read, the more the world lights up."
"Many problems you encounter will be solved."
"For example, the chaos in the ninja world — it has always been there, past and present."
"And today's peace is only an illusion."
"But… the ninja world has never been fully united. So we can still hope."
"Maybe complete unification would mean no more war."
Said Kitahara Kaede.
The ninja rabbit listened to him seriously. It seemed to understand that it needed to learn the written word to understand the world of ninja — and so, it began to follow his teachings.
Over time, it had already become capable of reading books on its own.
Kitahara Kaede opened a book for it. The rabbit, though still sitting on the table, paused with its red paw when he turned the page — so he handed it the book to read by itself.
The atmosphere was actually kind of wholesome.
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: So basically, Kitahara Kaede supports the idea of a unified ninja world?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: …That's basically Madara's ideology. I want to object, but reality has already defeated my ideals.
Yes.
Hashirama had once dreamed of peace — the five great villages sitting down together and talking things out.
The moment he died, the world was plunged into war.
[Third Tsuchikage - Ōnoki]: …
Ōnoki suddenly recalled the past — when he and his master went to Konoha and were beaten down by Uchiha Madara.
They were told that there was no such thing as shaking hands — only submission.
Madara's peace was: Fire Release to destroy all, and the whole world becoming Konoha.
Susanoo overlaid with Hashirama's Wood Golem — the two of them destroyed four nations.
Who would've thought that after all these years, this topic would come up again?
[Third Tsuchikage - Ōnoki]: …I've already sent the alliance document from Iwagakure. It should arrive in Konoha tomorrow.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]: Haha… Ōnoki, you're really timid.
[Third Tsuchikage - Ōnoki]: …Lord Hashirama, I'm too old to handle being scared like that anymore.
Even though he said that… no one knew the situation better than him.
Because…
It really was that scary.
He had faced Madara's threat in the past — the guy would summon Susanoo at the slightest disagreement.
And now?
Even though Konoha had no more Uchiha, no more powerful ninja, and less than 3,009 usable shinobi…
They had the Nine Tails under full control.
Even if it might eventually break free, one thing was clear:
The Nine Tails had joined the group chat and occasionally chimed in.
This meant one thing — tailed beasts could be communicated with.
Which meant… they could be controlled.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure had lost both its Jinchūriki — Five Tails and Four Tails had both fled.
He used to believe that if they couldn't control Jinchūriki, they might as well abandon them. But now…
Compared to other villages, Iwagakure had basically thrown away its most valuable tools.
So… what else could Iwagakure do?
[Ping!]
[Congratulations, Ōnoki has earned a new title: Cowardly Ōnoki.]
"..."
[Third Tsuchikage - Ōnoki]: …
[Cowardly - Ōnoki]: Uh…
Well, he really was cowardly.
But…
It was terrifying.
He had once faced Madara.
Now…
Konoha had Naruto, the son of the Fourth Hokage, with the Nine Tails.
They had Sasuke, the last Uchiha.
And they had Kitahara Kaede.
Rinnegan, Wood Release… and Rinnegan originated from Mangekyō Sharingan, meaning…
Kitahara Kaede could also use Susanoo.
Fight? How?
He was traumatized by men who could use Susanoo.
············
Some time later.
Inside Kitahara Kaede's apartment.
His golden pupils had returned.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi had all exited the illusion.
"Thirty years of reading…" Sasuke murmured, counting the time he spent inside.
In the illusion, decades had passed. But in reality, only a few days.
Yes.
Just a few days.
Kitahara Kaede had deliberately controlled the time flow.
People want to show off their growth the moment they level up — delay that too long, and it starts to feel stifling.
So he adjusted the time accordingly.
Now, the Chūnin Exams were tomorrow.
"Ah…"
"I worked so hard…" Naruto said.
Even with Shadow Clone spam, he had read for 55 years.
"But now… I'm definitely not scared of the written test anymore," Naruto said.
"..." Kakashi.
"Hmm? Kakashi-sensei?" Kitahara Kaede noticed that Naruto and Sasuke were glowing with confidence, but Kakashi…
"I don't want to ever carve dog heads on Earth Walls again… ugh… cough…" Kakashi seemed to have regressed instead.
"No, wait…"
"I mean…"
Kakashi quickly stood up, rubbing his head. "I'm just saying I'm really glad to see your growth."
"You worked hard, Kakashi-sensei." x2
— Naruto and Sasuke.
"Whew…" Kakashi sighed in relief.
"Well then…" Kitahara Kaede figured the mission was done, so they could all head home now.
But—
"Wait a sec…" Naruto grabbed Kitahara Kaede's arm.
"Sasuke and I secretly developed a combo technique."
"We think it might actually work on you," Naruto said.
"Ah…" Sasuke dragged out his voice. "You're really gonna use that?"
"Yeah, I know Kaede is super strong, but I don't want him to get ambushed one day."
"So we wanted to train his resistance."
"..." Sasuke.
"..." Sasuke looked dead inside.
"Please?" Naruto asked.
"It's thanks to him that we've improved so much…" Sasuke added.
Kakashi, who had already decided to leave, ended up staying out of curiosity.
"Alright then, let's begin." Naruto grabbed Sasuke, and they started forming hand signs.
"..."
Kitahara Kaede stood silently, watching them.
He didn't believe their combo technique could harm him — but seeing how excited they were, he decided to humor them.
So he stayed put.
The ninja rabbit on his shoulder leapt to the window.
It didn't like joining Kaede's social interactions.
But it was a little curious.
Knock knock—+
At that moment, someone knocked on Kaede's door.
Kakashi figured it had nothing to do with him, so he opened the door. It was Hinata Hyūga.
Kakashi let out a breath of relief.
Meanwhile, inside the apartment…
Naruto and Sasuke had completed their technique — a jutsu Naruto developed, with Sasuke's assistance.
"Ultimate Harem Technique—"
Puff puff puff!
A bunch of bikini-clad girls appeared.
The most enticing were Naruko and Sasuko.
"..."
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Chapter 055+ in patreon.com/dzeref887