Kaede's movements had not escaped Obito's watchful eyes.
When Obito saw Kaede close his eyes and ignore him, his eyelids twitching slightly as if deliberately provoking him, he couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Damn it... what's he so smug about…"
"A guy who got left behind by his own little brother…"
Obito gritted his teeth in frustration.
Kakashi was a cocky bastard too. He'd only been in school for less than half a year before graduating early. Honestly, both brothers were insufferable in their own way.
"I heard Kakashi recently completed an A-rank mission with a Jonin."
"Can't lie, he's pretty impressive. He became a Chunin last year. At this rate, he might become a Jonin soon..."
Someone nearby, catching onto Obito's grumbling, decided to add fuel to the fire.
Kaede was usually ranked in the top ten in class, sometimes even taking first place. So it wasn't easy to criticize him based on performance or grades. But when compared to someone like Kakashi, it was much easier to belittle Kaede.
After all, against Kakashi, who graduated at five and became a Chunin at six, Kaede's shine dimmed considerably. He barely seemed worth comparing.
Another classmate quickly picked up the cue, glanced at Kaede, and said casually, "As much as I hate to admit it, Kakashi really is a genius. Compared to him, some people don't seem qualified to be called 'big brother.'"
Smack!
Before Kaede could respond, the girl sitting in front of him, Yamanaka Inoka, jumped up and glared angrily at the boy who'd just spoken: Inuzuka Fang.
"Hey! What the hell did you just say?!"
Fang wasn't about to back down just because a girl was angry. He stiffened his neck and said, "What? Am I wrong?"
Inoka fumed but couldn't come up with a good comeback.
Kaede opened his eyes and looked at her with a calm smile. "Kakashi really is a genius. Most people would have a hard time measuring up to him…"
Inoka nodded earnestly. "Yeah, Kaede, don't listen to him. A ninja like your brother only comes around once in a lifetime. You don't have to compare yourself to Kakashi."
Yūhi Kurenai agreed with a nod.
As long as you didn't compare Kaede to a freak like Kakashi, he was already one of the most outstanding students in the class. There wasn't really anything to criticize.
Kaede shrugged innocently, cut off before he could finish speaking, and just smiled at Kurenai instead of continuing.
Seeing that Kaede didn't want to argue and the girls were clearly on his side, Inuzuka Fang could only grumble and look away, though he clearly wasn't satisfied.
Kurenai looked at Kaede, her large, beautiful eyes flickering slightly. She spoke in a soft voice. "Having a brother like Kakashi... must be a lot of pressure, huh?"
"Nope."
Kaede glanced at her and smiled. "Why would I feel pressure? The stronger my little brother is, the better, right? It's not like we're the Hyuga clan or something…"
Kurenai blinked. "What about the Hyuga clan?"
"Oh, you don't know?"
Kaede briefly explained the situation with the Hyuga clan's main and branch families. Kurenai was surprised to hear it.
She glanced over to a corner of the classroom, where a quiet student sat, and thought to herself: So that's what the noble Hyuga clan is like...
That boy's name was Hyuga Homon, nephew of the clan head Hyuga Hiashi, a member of the branch family.
As a member of a prestigious clan, he held a certain pride. He had no fondness for Kaede, who was always surrounded by admiring girls. He was consistently ranked first or second in class, and the only one he saw as a rival was Kakashi.
In truth, he could've graduated early too, but the elders of his clan had told him to follow the standard path. So he did as instructed.
"…"
Hearing someone mention the Hyuga clan, Homon turned to glance at Kaede and frowned slightly, though he didn't catch exactly what was said.
Even without hearing clearly, he could guess Kaede had brought up something about the Hyuga clan, and a glint flashed in his eyes.
"He's getting a little too arrogant…"
Things like being popular with girls didn't bother him too much, but if someone started talking about the Hyuga clan, that was a different matter.
Maybe I should give him a 'warning' after class?
Homon's gaze darkened.
After all, Kaede wasn't Kakashi. As far as Homon was concerned, the only one stronger than him in their age group was Kakashi.
While he was still deep in thought, the final student completed their clone technique test. The Chunin instructor recorded the last score, glanced at the results sheet, and announced:
"That's it for today's test."
"Those who didn't pass, Uchiha Obito, Aburame Den, and... the rest of you, stay after class for extra practice."
"There's a mock exam tomorrow, and the official advancement assessment is in four days. If you can't pass that, you'll be stuck here for remedial lessons over winter break!"
The whole class let out a collective sigh of relief at the announcement.
Obito and the others who didn't pass looked miserable. No one wanted to waste their vacation on make-up classes. It wasn't just boring, it was downright humiliating.
"That's it for today. You're all dismissed."
The Chunin instructor put the results into a folder, organized his things, and addressed the class.
Upon hearing the announcement, the students stood up together and bowed respectfully. After the instructor left the classroom, they scattered like birds.
Using the excuse "I've got something to do, see you later," Kaede quickly shook off Kurenai, Inoka, and the other girls and headed home.
Watching these precocious eight and nine year old girls bicker over him was amusing, but he had more important things to do, namely, adapting to his triple-speed state.
Compared to his double-speed, triple-speed gave him an even greater boost.
After a quick dinner, Kaede headed to the backyard, activated his triple-speed state, and began striking a special wooden training post.
To accelerate his physical development, Kaede not only trained in accelerated mode but also slept in it. His cellular regeneration and metabolism all increased, making one day for others equivalent to nearly two for him. Though chronologically eight years old, his body had developed to about nine due to months of accelerated sleep.
If he stayed in that state all the time, his body would develop even faster, but it was way too boring. Listening to lectures at three times speed made it feel like the teacher was speaking in slow motion, stretching each syllable unbearably long.
Plus, to appear normal while in that mode, he'd have to consciously slow down his speech and movements, which was incredibly annoying. So during school hours, Kaede stayed in normal mode.