Konoha Village.
The mountain forest behind the village.
Now that Kakashi had become a Chūnin, and Kaede's strength had long surpassed the Chūnin level, their training duels could no longer be held in their small courtyard, there simply wasn't enough space to fight seriously.
"Are you ready?"
Standing in a wide clearing, Kakashi held a kunai in each hand. His body leaned forward slightly, already poised for battle as he stared at Kaede from a distance.
Kaede stood calmly in place, holding the chakra short blade known as White Fang. His expression was tranquil as he replied: "Come."
Swoosh!!
The instant Kaede spoke, Kakashi sprang forward like a bolt of lightning.
His twin kunai turned into afterimages as they slashed from both sides, swift and unpredictable. Kaede, however, didn't rush. With steady movements, he swung his chakra blade in clean arcs, deflecting every strike with practiced ease.
Clang!
After parrying a few moves, Kaede's eyes flashed. With a sudden, powerful downward slash, he broke through Kakashi's guard, his blade slicing across Kakashi's chest.
But then—
Kakashi's figure burst into smoke and vanished.
Shadow Clone!
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Before Kaede could regain his stance, a voice called out from behind him. Heat surged through the air as a massive fireball roared toward his back!
Kaede didn't even flinch. With a simple step, he launched himself forward, narrowly dodging the full brunt of the fireball.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
But before he could fully regain his footing, seven or eight shuriken spiraled out of the flames, each one wreathed in fire, cutting off every path of retreat.
Kaede smiled faintly.
"You've gotten good at blending ninjutsu and shuriken attacks."
Then, he moved.
His short blade, White Fang, flickered like a phantom, slicing through the air in a series of graceful arcs. The blade's speed was unnatural, carving glowing lines through the air.
In the blink of an eye, all of the flaming shuriken were knocked aside!
Hiss!
Almost simultaneously, Kakashi emerged from the ground, less than a meter behind Kaede. With a swift stab, he drove his kunai toward Kaede's back, only for the blade to come to a stop, resting gently against his shirt.
"I win."
A bead of sweat rolled down Kakashi's forehead as a glint of triumph flashed in his eyes. This was the first time he had ever defeated Kaede in a spar!
But—
Kaede calmly turned his head and gave Kakashi a faint smile.
"Do you really think so?"
Poof!
With a soft burst of smoke, Kaede's body dispersed into a cloud of vapor, vanishing entirely.
It was another clone!
Kakashi froze in place, disbelief written all over his face.
"A clone? But how—"
Before he could finish the thought, a gust of wind suddenly swept in from behind him!
Kakashi spun around and raised his arm to defend, but it was too late, Kaede's kick landed squarely against his arm, sending him stumbling back.
A heavy force came crashing down, and Kakashi couldn't resist it. He stumbled back five or six steps before he managed to steady himself.
"Was that… a Shadow Clone just now?!"
Kakashi stared at Kaede in disbelief.
He was sure he hadn't seen Kaede perform the Shadow Clone Technique. And besides, how could it be cast so silently, without leaving the slightest trace?
"No," Kaede shook his head.
"That was just a regular Clone Technique."
Kakashi was momentarily stunned.
"Impossible! Normal clones can't attack! How could one block my flaming shuriken?"
"When I blocked the flaming shuriken, I was still using my real body."
Kaede gave a faint smile. "You probably won't understand it just by hearing me say it, so watch carefully."
As he finished speaking—
Kaede gripped White Fang with one hand, while his other hand moved at a speed so fast it blurred into afterimages. In what seemed like a single instant, he completed two sets of hand seals.
Clone Technique.
Substitution Technique.
"Wha…"
Kakashi stood there, jaw dropped.
Both the Clone and Substitution Techniques were basic jutsu taught at the Ninja Academy. There was nothing shocking about knowing them, but what did shock him was Kaede's seal speed.
One-handed seals.
And they were even faster than two-handed seals!
He had always known Kaede was fast, faster than him, even, but this was something else entirely. The speed at which his fingers moved was inhuman, nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye!
"What's up with your hands… That speed is beyond normal human limits!" Kakashi exclaimed, wide-eyed.
Kaede didn't look surprised at Kakashi's reaction.
After all, this time he had used triple speed. Two times speed might still pass as normal, but three times? From a regular perspective, it looked outright monstrous.
"Who knows." Kaede shrugged.
"Maybe I just have exceptionally good motor skills."
Kakashi gave him a dead-fish stare, the kind that screamed "You think I'm stupid?"
"Even superhuman reflexes wouldn't explain that."
He furrowed his brow as memories resurfaced, strange things he'd occasionally noticed about Kaede over the past few years.
"I remember… you weren't like this before. But starting about two years ago, you began getting faster. This isn't normal, it's already approaching the realm of a kekkei genkai. If you can go even faster…"
Kekkei Genkai.
Every ninja knew this term.
Many existed in the world, some common, like elemental chakra fusions (Lava Release, Scorch Release, etc.), and some rare and powerful, like the Sharingan, Byakugan, or Shikotsumyaku.
Kaede's speed wouldn't be out of place even among jōnin. But that wasn't the point—it wasn't just speed. It was unnatural, as if his entire body was operating in fast-forward, out of sync with the world around him.
The only plausible explanation…
Was a kekkei genkai.
The Hatake clan had always passed down swordsmanship, not bloodline limits. But there were plenty of cases where a regular ninja spontaneously awakened a unique kekkei genkai. It was rare, but not unheard of.
Kaede might not yet be classified as having one, but if he could move even faster…
Then it would be a kekkei genkai, one like no other.
"Yeah… that might be it," Kaede murmured thoughtfully.
His ability, the Illusory Clock, did indeed fit the bill. In the world of Naruto, where forbidden techniques like Izanagi existed, a kekkei genkai that enhanced speed wouldn't be out of place at all.
Kakashi considered this and said: "If you think so too, then it's probably true… But I don't remember reading about any kekkei genkai like that. There's no record of anything similar…"
Kaede stroked his chin. "If there's no record, then I must be the first to awaken it. In that case…"
"Let's call it, Ghost-Style Kekkei Genkai."
"Ghost Release, huh?" Kakashi nodded.
"That movement really does feel inhuman, like a ghost darting through shadows. Fits perfectly."
Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of "Glitch Release," Kaede thought to himself, amused.
But whether it was ghost-like or glitchy, it didn't matter. It was just a cover.
If this ability were truly to be considered a kekkei genkai, then it should bear only one name—
Time Kekkei Genkai.
*******
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