"It's rare to take out all your opponents in the second round."
Kakashi sat at the dining table, eating, as he glanced at Kaede and tilted his head. "But now you can't really keep hiding your strength anymore, can you?"
"That's not necessarily true."
Kaede yawned, grabbed a few rice balls from the fridge to heat up, then sat down at the table and said, "I've more or less exposed my current strength, but I don't think there'll be any missions for me in the short term. I can just keep training."
Kakashi glanced at him and replied, "No missions in the short term? You're being too optimistic. once you become a Chunin, you'll be assigned missions regularly."
Leaning back in his chair, Kakashi crossed his arms behind his head and continued, "Speaking of which, I have a mission tomorrow. Want to come with me?"
Kaede looked at him with slight curiosity. "You're doing a solo team-up? Did you take on a commissioned mission?"
There were two types of missions in the village.
one was a commissioned mission accepted at the request desk, which was non-mandatory. You could freely choose teammates, and upon completion, you'd earn both the village's mission record and a reward.
The other was a mission assigned by superiors, mandatory and often with specific requirements. Personnel were selected by upper management or even the Hokage personally.
"Yeah."
Kakashi gave Kaede a look and said, "I've got my eye on a new ninja blade, but I don't have enough money saved up. So I'm doing some high-paying missions."
A ninja blade, huh...
Hmm.
If he hadn't transmigrated into this world, White Fang's blade would've gone to Kakashi. Looks like he unknowingly snatched something that was supposed to be his.
Still, the White Fang blade suited him quite well. He figured he'd make it up to Kakashi by getting him a Kusanagi sword or something in the future.
Thinking of that—
Kaede said to Kakashi, "If it's about buying a blade, there's still some money left at home. If you're just short by a bit, I can help out."
Kakashi seemed to have been waiting for this exact offer and replied, "After this mission, I'll still be short about two thousand."
"No problem," Kaede answered right away.
Kakashi nodded, then added, "After becoming a Chunin, your expenses will go up a lot. If you don't get assigned missions or take on any yourself, the money your father left will run out eventually."
Kaede did some mental math and said thoughtfully, "As long as I don't buy any gear or explosive tags, the money should last a few more months. But if I'm going to take on missions, I'll need to train for a while first and be well-prepared."
He considered whether he should teach Kakashi the Cell Activation Technique. While Orochimaru likely wouldn't mind, it was best to get his permission first, no need to invite unnecessary trouble.
"Prepared, huh…"
Kakashi twitched a bit at Kaede's words and muttered, "With your strength, you wouldn't be in danger even doing D- or C-rank missions."
"You just don't get it," Kaede sighed.
As a transmigrator, having a high 'trouble magnet' and 'unexpected incident' stat was guaranteed. Even a D-rank mission had a high chance of escalating into a B- or even A-rank disaster.
So what you had to prepare for wasn't just the mission itself, but the unexpected surprises.
His current strength still wasn't enough.
Kakashi: "…"
He almost blurted out, You've never even done a mission, how are you telling me, someone who's done dozens of C-ranks, that I don't get it?!
But fortunately, he remembered he couldn't beat Kaede. And Kaede was his older brother. So all his sarcastic retorts were swallowed down and turned into a sullen stare.
"I'm going to bed."
…
After dinner—
Kaede activated triple-speed mode and went to sleep. About two hours later, he woke up, ate some bread, and went straight back into training.
When Kakashi finished breakfast and left the next morning, Kaede had already trained for what was essentially over twelve hours, and he still didn't step outside, continuing his training in his room.
The development of Chidori…
The Eight Gates…
The Hatake swordsmanship…
He put all three aside for now, because the Cell Activation Technique was currently the most essential. It was a foundational ability, and once mastered, it would help greatly with both Chidori development and Eight Gates training.
Through such relentless practice, with triple speed active, only one day and one night passed in the outside world, but Kaede had effectively trained for three full days.
Meanwhile, at the Ninja Academy—
The Chunin Exam has become the hottest topic over the past two days.
Normally, students didn't pay much attention to the Chunin Exams, but ever since Kaede, who had an enormous spotlight on him,graduated early and joined the exams, interest spiked dramatically.
A group of girls had gathered together.
Shizune pondered, "If I remember right, the Chunin Exam has three rounds. I think the third round is public, so we should be able to go watch."
"That's the format," Kurenai Yuhi nodded, though her mind seemed elsewhere. She believed in Kaede's strength, but her father, Yuhi Mahiru, had specifically warned her that this year's exam was dangerous, so she couldn't help but worry.
Just then, Inuzuka Kiba passed by and overheard them. He sneered, "You're all thinking too highly of him. It's not even certain Kaede passed the first two rounds. There are ninjas from other villages this time."
Shino Aburame adjusted his glasses and said in a calm voice, "My father said the second round usually has the highest elimination rate."
Rin Nohara smiled sweetly, "I believe Kaede will pass for sure."
"…I wouldn't be so sure," Uchiha Obito muttered. "I don't think he'll make it to the third round."
Just as Obito finished speaking, a voice suddenly came from nearby.
"You got that right,Kaede really didn't make it to the third round."
Everyone froze and turned to see the source: Yamanaka Inoichi, who had just entered the classroom, a strange glint in his eyes.
Kurenai Yuhi gasped in surprise, "Kaede didn't make it to the third round?!"
Inoichi withdrew his gaze and gave her a glance. "Your father's one of the proctors, isn't he? You didn't hear anything about the exam?"
Kurenai frowned and shook her head. Her father hadn't come home yesterday, and she hadn't had a chance to ask about the results. She only knew Kaede passed the first round.
Inuzuka Kiba burst out laughing, "Ha! Told you! Graduated early and jumped straight into the Chunin Exams? No way he'd pass, totally overconfident!"
others who were hostile toward Kaede also looked visibly pleased.
But just then, Inoichi cast a sideways glance at Kiba and said:
"Who told you he failed the Chunin Exam?"