Boom!!
With a single punch, the wooden stake in front of him exploded into pieces.
"It actually sparked…"
Seeing the result of his punch, Kaede's heart stirred.
The Eight Gates technique doesn't grant long-range attack capabilities until the sixth gate. But once the sixth gate is opened, punches can generate enough friction with the air to create flames, flaming air bullets that can be fired from a distance. That's the essence of the Peacock Whirlwind!
"Hup!"
With a low shout, Kaede's fists suddenly erupted, punching rapidly forward.
Flame-like light flared from his fists, but it still wasn't enough. He could generate fire, but not launch the flaming projectiles.
After punching dozens of times in quick succession, Kaede finally stopped.
"Just a bit more…"
He exited the Eight Gates state, calming the chakra inside his body. Taking a deep breath, his eyes didn't show any disappointment, instead, they were filled with excitement.
The boost from opening the third gate of the Eight Gates had far exceeded his expectations!
Combining the triple speed of Time Acceleration with the power of the Third Gate, his speed was already approaching that of the sixth gate, he could achieve a semi–Peacock Whirlwind effect!
"Though it doesn't quite count as a real long-range attack and falls short of the real Peacock Whirlwind, the fire from the fists still carries about a third of its power."
Kaede took a deep breath.
Generating flames from the friction of his punches with the air, it was like his fists were on fire. That could be counted as a unique taijutsu technique. But coming up with a proper name for it was proving tricky.
A half-finished Peacock Whirlwind…
Peacock… what? Doesn't feel right.
There wasn't a fitting animal name to tack onto this incomplete version. Might as well just call it Fire Fist.
"Speaking of which… after activating Cell Activation Technique, my recovery and vitality really are amazing. The third gate's side effects were reduced to just a little soreness."
Stretching his body, Kaede could feel the minor aches fading rapidly. His body was recovering quickly, no longer feeling sore or fatigued.
And this was his first time opening the Gate of Life!
With further training and once his body fully adapted to the third gate, the side effects might be completely offset by his enhanced regeneration.
"Orochimaru really is a genius for developing a jutsu like this."
Kaede couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
on the foundation of Cell Activation Technique, there were also techniques like Soft Physique Modification and Skin Shedding, but those didn't interest him much. Turning his body into something snake-like wasn't suitable. The only one that suited him was this basic Cell Activation Technique Jutsu.
"oh, right."
At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through Kaede's mind.
He took out the White Fang blade, formed a one-handed seal, and infused chakra in an instant. With a crackling sound, arcs of lightning flickered along the blade's edge.
"Lightning Style… Lightning Slash!"
After unleashing the Lightning Slash, Kaede took a breath, then suddenly forced open the Third Gate again.
The Gate of Life burst open once more, and his chakra surged violently. The lightning arcs on the White Fang's blade became unstable, wavering wildly, but didn't collapse.
"As I thought, I can cast Lightning Slash first, then enter the Third Gate state!"
Kaede's heart leapt with excitement.
Without hesitation, he maintained the Gate of Life and Time Acceleration states. Gripping the White Fang, he swung it forward with all his might.
Empowered by the speed of the Third Gate, Time Acceleration, and Lightning Style, the blade unleashed a crescent-shaped arc of light that tore through the air.
Whooosh!!!
The crescent arc, roughly one meter long, slashed forward, carving a trench in the ground before Kaede that extended nearly five meters before fading away.
"Got it."
Seeing this, Kaede couldn't help but smile.
This was the effect achievable only in the second stage of the Hatake Sword Style!
using Lightning Slash, the Third Gate, and Time Acceleration, he had brute-forced his way into the second stage of the Hatake Sword Style through sheer speed and power!
"In terms of raw power, this fully matches the standard of the second stage of the Hatake Sword Style. A strike like this, released in an instant, even a Jonin would struggle to block or dodge it. It could one-shot them!"
Kaede judged the power of this strike.
Against seasoned Jonin close to Kage-level in speed and ninjutsu, it might not be effective, but against ordinary Jonin, they'd have a high chance of being instantly killed!
"At last, I've developed a secret technique that's worthy of the name."
"…I'll call it Moon Flash."
Exhaling, Kaede closed the Third Gate.
opening the Gate of Life twice in quick succession naturally had harsh side effects. Even with Cell Activation Technique running through every cell, he couldn't fully resist the strain. This time, he clearly felt the soreness in his limbs and waist muscles.
But the pain wasn't unbearable. He endured it, and after about ten minutes, his body began to recover.
"Come to think of it… my current power level is kind of hard to define."
Regular Tokubetsu Jonin likely couldn't last more than a few rounds against him. If he used Moon Flash, he could probably one-shot them.
Against standard Jonin, he could likewise gain the upper hand, maybe even defeat or kill them in a short fight. But against Elite Jonin, that would be tougher.
If he couldn't take them down quickly, he might lose. Still, unless they had weird forbidden techniques, most wouldn't be able to catch him if he chose to escape.
So… somewhere between Jonin and Elite Jonin?
That seemed like a reasonable estimate.
So what could someone stronger than a Jonin do next? Simple: keep training.
The ninja world was too dangerous, Jonin-level strength wasn't enough to roam freely.
"Next is the Fourth Gate… if I can unleash the Peacock Whirlwind after opening the Fourth Gate, I should reach Kage-level strength."
There was a wide gap between Elite Jonin and Kage-level.
A village could have many Elite Jonin, but only a handful of Kage-level ninja.
In Kaede's eyes, once someone pushed all aspects to the peak of Jonin-level and mastered some unique secret arts, they could be considered quasi-Kage, a fuzzy tier between Elite Jonin and true Kage. This was like some of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Their strength varied widely. Some were Elite Jonin who, upon wielding a powerful sword, reached quasi-Kage level. Like Kisame's predecessor, Fuguki Suikazan, with the Samehada sword.
Above that, even among Kage, there were major differences in strength.
If he had to break it down, he could classify them into Low Kage, High Kage, and Peak Kage.
For example, the Fourth Kazekage (Gaara's father) was a Low Kage. Orochimaru, during his defection from Konoha, had High Kage-level strength. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in his prime, was Peak Kage, still capable of killing Orochimaru at that time.
To survive the Third Great Ninja War, Kaede would need to reach at least Kage-level, ideally High Kage, to be relatively safe.
And even that wasn't true safety. Even the Third Raikage, an absolute monster,was eventually worn down and killed by thousands of Iwagakure ninja under Onoki's command.
In the ninja world, until you surpass Kaguya otsutsuki, true safety doesn't exist.
"I've still got a long road ahead…"
Kaede exhaled slowly.