In another courtyard.
Kaede stood calmly in the center of the yard, his right hand placed behind his back. He only lifted his left hand, using it alone to deflect the relentless attacks from Uchiha Itachi, who was launching an all-out frontal assault.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Itachi's fists collided repeatedly with Kaede's defenses. His Sharingan eyes, blood-red with two tomoe spinning slowly, tried to track Kaede's movements, searching for even the slightest opening. But he couldn't find a single flaw.
After another clash, Kaede pushed his left hand forward.
Boom!
Even though Itachi crossed his arms in front of himself to block, Kaede's palm strike still sent him flying backward through the air.
While airborne, Itachi remained calm. His hands flashed through a series of hand seals at lightning speed.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Whoosh!
A massive, blazing fireball surged toward Kaede.
Kaede's expression remained composed. He simply swung his left hand like a blade through the air. In that instant, the fireball was cleaved cleanly in two.
Ssst! Ssst! Ssst!
At that same moment, seven or eight shuriken burst forth from within the flames, aimed precisely at Kaede's vital points.
Kaede smiled slightly. He raised his left hand and caught one of the flaming kunai between his index and middle fingers, instantly extinguishing the fire. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he batted away all the other kunai with blinding speed.
Just then,
Itachi had vanished from view.
The next moment, he emerged from underground directly behind Kaede, thrusting a kunai straight at his back.
Clang!!
Before it could land, a single index finger blocked the strike. The kunai hit the fingertip and rang out with a metallic ding, unable to advance even a millimeter.
"That's enough."
Kaede turned around and looked at the slightly winded Itachi. "This series of attacks would've been more than enough to take down most Chunin. Looks like you haven't been slacking off after graduating early."
Itachi took a quiet breath to calm himself, then flipped the kunai into a reverse grip and respectfully bowed to Kaede.
Kaede turned and began walking away. "Go find Shisui. Tell him I've acknowledged your strength and approve you joining the Third Unit of the Hokage Guard."
"Yes, sir."
Itachi's eyes lit up with rare satisfaction.
As Kaede's student, he knew how difficult it was to earn Kaede's recognition. Even after graduating early, he had continued to seek guidance from the Uchiha clan's prodigy, Shisui. Being allowed to join the Hokage Guard and work alongside Shisui was something he truly welcomed.
Kaede stepped out of the courtyard. In the next instant, his figure blurred and vanished from the Uchiha compound, reappearing inside the Hokage Tower.
Nara Shikaku had just arrived at the Hokage's office and happened to witness Kaede's sudden appearance. Unfazed, he bowed and said, "Hokage-sama, the Cloud emissaries have arrived. I'm thinking of holding a celebration tomorrow, what do you think?"
"That's fine."
Kaede nodded. "Do it how you see fit."
Shikaku acknowledged the order with a nod. "Then I'll go inform the departments and begin preparations."
After watching Shikaku leave, Kaede glanced out the window. The sky was already beginning to dim. He turned and headed up to the fifth floor, quickly returning to the living room.
=============
Meanwhile, in Yuhi Kurenai's room.
Anko Mitarashi stood in front of her with both hands on Kurenai's shoulders, shaking her slightly.
"Kurenai, just listen to me this time. You have to make your move early! If you can get Kaede to, well, you know, then Rin won't even stand a chance! Everything she's done will have been for nothing. We have to go straight to the root of the problem…"
The more Kurenai listened, the redder her face became. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and interrupted, flustered.
"Anko! Where did you even learn this kind of… stuff?!"
"From books, of course! Kakashi's got a ton of these kinds of books."
Anko's cheeks were also flushed, but her tone was filled with excitement. "So? Let's do it this way. I'll help you out. This time, we're going to take Rin down for good!"
Kurenai hesitated, blushing even harder. "B-but… if I do that, won't Kaede think I'm a little too… um… forward?"
"He won't."
Anko nodded confidently. "Men love this kind of thing. Every book says so. There's no way it'll go wrong."
"N-no, I really can't… I don't think I can go through with this…"
"What? Are you seriously going to let Rin win? She'll definitely make her move sooner or later. If you're still worried, then how about this instead, "
"W-wait, what?!"
Kurenai's eyes widened in shock, her thoughts thrown into complete chaos by Anko's next suggestion.
=============
Back in the living room…
Kaede had just taken a bite out of an apple when his movements froze slightly. The corner of his mouth twitched as he slowly took another bite.
Great. Thanks to Kakashi's books, Anko's been completely corrupted, and now she's trying to drag the calm and elegant Kurenai down with her. Judging by the sound of it, she's nearly succeeded.
Thirteen corrupting sixteen, huh…
He recalled that when he was sixteen in his previous life, he'd still been an innocent teenager. Was it just that this world was different… or was there no such thing as a "pure girl" to begin with?
Kaede leaned toward the latter.
A few moments later,
The door to Kurenai's room opened. Kurenai and Anko walked out, both looking slightly unnatural. When she saw Kaede sitting on the sofa, Kurenai's eyes showed a flash of panic.
"U-uh… Kaede, you're back. I'll go start dinner right away!"
She quickly scurried into the kitchen, visibly flustered.
Kaede gave Anko a sidelong glance. "What were you two talking about in there?"
Anko just grinned. "Nothing important. I'll go help with dinner!"
=============
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.
Kaede received a request for an audience from Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan. Already having a good idea of what he wanted, Kaede didn't refuse and went straight to the office.
"...And that's the situation, Hokage-sama. I hope you'll grant us permission."
Hiashi bowed respectfully after laying out his request.
It turned out that the day of the Konoha celebration also happened to be Hinata's birthday. According to Hyuga tradition, the third birthday of a main family child had to be celebrated within the clan, as it involved specific customs regarding the main and branch families.
"If the Hyuga clan skips the celebration, it might come off as disrespectful to the Cloud emissaries... but I suppose we don't need to concern ourselves too much with their opinion."
Kaede's initial comment made Hiashi tense up, but the latter half instantly put him at ease.
When he looked up, he saw Kaede smiling lightly, clearly unconcerned.
"I approve. Go ahead."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Hiashi bowed again, showing his gratitude, and then turned to leave the office.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria