"..."
Hoshigaki Kisame's figure appeared over a dozen meters away from Kaede.
His right arm had been severed at the shoulder. He was clutching the wound with his left hand, his forehead beaded with cold sweat as he endured the pain, his previous composure completely gone.
Too young.
Kaede looked at Kisame and sighed inwardly.
At this point in time, although Kisame was already remarkable in terms of chakra, without the Samehada sword, his power wasn't that exaggerated. His combat experience also lagged far behind the matured version who would later kill Fuguki Suikazan and join the Akatsuki.
The jutsu Kisame had used earlier, including the water clone to bait him and the following Water Prison Technique, could easily have caught someone else off guard.
But Kaede had already anticipated these moves from the start.
Information disparity.
If both sides had an equal understanding of each other, then perhaps Kisame might have been able to put up a decent fight. But in this scenario, where Kaede had the upper hand in intel, it was simply a one-sided slaughter.
"Hmm?!"
Just as Kaede was about to finish Kisame off, his eyes suddenly flashed, and he turned to look in a certain direction.
Three figures were rapidly approaching from that direction.
"More people…"
Kaede gave Kisame a glance, then made a single-hand seal and disappeared with a whoosh.
The ones rushing over were three Genin from the Hidden Cloud Village.
They hadn't deliberately hunted other Genin teams like Kisame and his team had, but they had still defeated two squads.
other villages' Genin teams, upon acquiring enough scrolls and getting close to the finish line, would typically choose to pass the round quickly. But the Cloud Village ninjas were notoriously aggressive. Sensing the commotion, all three unanimously decided to investigate.
After all, they'd have to fight in the third round anyway. Might as well take this opportunity to eliminate some competitors, no harm in that.
"That was a Water Style jutsu… probably those Mist guys."
"Didn't expect to run into Mist ninja. Might as well take them out here."
Kamoi's dark-skinned arm crackled faintly with lightning as he spoke while flexing his knuckles, a grin creeping onto his face.
Among all the other villages, the Cloud ninjas feared the Mist the least. Lightning beat Water, and Cloud Village's battle style was aggressive and overwhelming, while the Mist specialized in assassinations, styles that directly clashed, and Cloud had the upper hand.
However—
Just as the three were nearing the battlefield, one of them suddenly sensed something and shouted:
"Watch out!"
Kamoi's expression shifted. In an instant, his body was enveloped in lightning as he darted sideways, narrowly dodging a horizontal slash that sliced up from beneath the earth.
Whoosh!!
Missing the initial strike, Kaede stepped back two paces and looked calmly at Kamoi.
"As expected of Cloud ninjas, your speed and reaction time are quite impressive…"
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
The other two Cloud Genin immediately flanked Kaede. Kamoi also narrowed his eyes and smirked.
"So it's not a Mist ninja, turns out you're from Konoha."
The moment the words left his mouth, Kamoi formed a hand seal and slammed his palm to the ground. A surge of lightning instantly traveled through the earth toward Kaede.
Whoosh!
Kaede leapt backward to dodge.
The other two Cloud Genin attacked from both sides. Kaede, caught in the middle, displayed uncanny speed and weaved between their attacks with sharp, precise movements.
"Didn't think a Konoha Genin would have such speed… but speed alone won't be enough to escape us."
Kamoi's gaze turned cold as he charged toward Kaede.
The other two followed, eyes sharp and predatory, attempting to pincer him once more.
…
Inside the Central Watchtower.
Watching the screen, Kurenai Yuhi furrowed her brows and couldn't help but speak:
"He's pushing it."
Taking down two Mist Genin and seriously injuring Hoshigaki Kisame should've been enough for Kaede. There was no need to go after the Cloud team.
From the screen, Kaede's speed was clearly slower than when he fought the Hidden Mist ninja, his condition had dropped; he wasn't at his peak.
one of the Hidden Cloud Genin matched his speed, and the other two were close behind.
under these conditions, it wasn't just a matter of not defeating the Hidden Cloud team, he might not even escape.
"..."
The other Konoha examiners also looked tense.
Although Kisame hadn't been killed, his scrolls were destroyed, he was effectively eliminated. If Kaede were to fall here, then the third round of the Chunin Exams would be irrelevant. The Hidden Cloud team could just advance uncontested.
"That was too reckless."
"If he had just advanced to the third round normally, in a one-on-one match, he wouldn't lose to any of the Hidden Cloud ninjas."
Kurenai watched the screen and spoke in a low voice.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned.
He had just praised Kaede's composure and judgment, noting that he didn't seem like an inexperienced nine-year-old. Yet now, after killing two Hidden Mist Genin and injuring Kisame, Kaede seemed overconfident and abandoned the safest path.
No matter how mature his thinking seems, he's still just nine. With some early success, he's already starting to get cocky… Hiruzen shook his head internally.
"…Judging from the distance, he might still have a chance to reach the finish line,"
Yamanaka Inoichi studied the screen and offered his assessment.
If Kaede could reach the goal, it'd be fine. The third round was one-on-one matches. In single combat, he'd have a high chance of winning against anyone.
Hiruzen gave a slight nod.
Even if this was a misstep, it was still recoverable. And Kaede's performance so far,taking out the Hidden Mist team and wounding Kisame, was already impressive. He had completed his task.
But just then, a dissenting voice cut in.
"No."
"It won't be as simple as just reaching the finish line, Sarutobi-sensei."
Orochimaru stood with arms crossed, his serpent-like eyes gleaming as he stared at the screen.
"I think you're underestimating that child."
Even though he was watching through a monitor and not observing in person, Orochimaru could tell, Kaede hadn't gone after the Hidden Cloud ninjas recklessly or without confidence.
Especially since, up until now, even while surrounded by three Hidden Cloud Genin, Kaede hadn't shown a trace of panic.
In Orochimaru's eyes—
It looked more like… he was analyzing his opponents.