Time moved forward slightly.
Konoha.
Just as Might Duy opened the Eight Gates, shattered Obito's Susanoo, and forced Obito out of sync with the Nine-Tails, giving Namikaze Minato the chance to transfer the Nine-Tails away,
Inside his home, Kaede's eyes flickered with a faint glimmer. His gaze shifted toward the direction Minato was moving with the Nine-Tails.
"Might Duy opened the Eight Gates..." he mused quietly.
"Obito's luck is pretty rough, halfway through his dance and someone interrupts him."
Kaede smiled faintly to himself, then looked back at Rin and Kakashi, who were nearby.
"You all stay here. Don't leave."
Whoosh!
In his words, Kaede vanished in an instant.
He didn't confront Uchiha Obito head-on. Instead, moving at incredible speed, he darted from the rear of Konoha, flying straight toward the mountain range where Minato was relocating the Nine-Tails.
A month ago,
His time-acceleration ability had increased another notch, now at six times normal speed.
At six times speed, combined with his Sage's body, even without opening the Eight Gates, his speed was astonishing. In moments, he reached Minato's position.
What he saw was a desperate Namikaze Minato.
Minato stood atop the Nine-Tails' head. Behind him, Kaede sensed an overwhelmingly evil spiritual wave, the power of Reaper Death Seal.
The Reaper Death Seal sealing technique had pierced Minato's body and was controlling the Nine-Tails.
Minato knew his body couldn't become a jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. With the Nine-Tails out of control, he couldn't use a normal sealing method. The only way to stop the Nine-Tails was to use the Reaper Death Seal, forcibly controlling the beast, sacrificing himself to kill the Nine-Tails as well.
But,
The fighting power Obito unleashed made him realize this plan was futile!
He had thought Obito's strength depended entirely on the Nine-Tails; once sealed, he and Jiraiya could defeat him. But that was far from true!
If Minato sacrificed himself with the Nine-Tails via the Reaper Death Seal, no one could stop 'Uchiha Madara' on the other side. And Minato's own body wasn't strong enough to be a jinchūriki and continue fighting Madara.
In that moment of despair,
Kaede arrived.
"So that's the Shinigami summoned by the Reaper Death Seal? I can't see it, but I can sense it... It doesn't feel like a simple sealing technique's power..."
Kaede squinted, staring at the back of Minato.
The Shinigami summoned by the Reaper Death Seal was a chaotic and evil mass of spiritual energy, an overwhelming force no ordinary ninja could possess.
Kaede immediately recalled his earlier theory: Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was sealed by the Sage of Six Paths; the Ten-Tails was split apart; its husk, the Outer Path Gedo Statue, was sealed inside the moon by the Sage.
So where did Kaguya's spirit go?
Kurotsuchi? No, that was only a tiny fragment.
Most of Kaguya's spiritual energy likely, like the Sage of Six Paths, existed in an immortal state, wandering between illusion and reality in this world.
The Shinigami summoned by the Reaper Death Seal was probably a fragmented, chaotic mix of Kaguya's consciousness, lacking self-awareness and serving only as a vessel for the seal.
"Kaede..."
"Did you train in Sage techniques?!"
Minato looked at Kaede, sensing his aura, surprised.
He noticed Kaede's current body was completely different from before.
Kaede calmly nodded, looking at the struggling Minato who was stuck maintaining the Reaper Death Seal seal.
"Yes."
Minato's eyes shifted. He inhaled deeply and said, "With your current state, you should be able to bear the Nine-Tails' chakra..."
"You want me to become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?"
Kaede met Minato's gaze.
Minato nodded, then glanced toward 'Uchiha Madara'.
"I can't become the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. Neither Jiraiya nor the Third Hokage can stop him. Now, only you... only you becoming the jinchūriki might have the power to stop him."
"So you want to hand Konoha over to me again?"
Kaede said flatly.
A bitter expression flickered across Minato's eyes.
"I know you might mock me... but I have no choice but to ask. You're the only one left who can stop him. I haven't been able to be the Hokage Konoha needs... Kaede, I can't hold on much longer."
Kaede was slightly surprised.
He hadn't expected things to unfold like this.
He came here thinking about the Nine-Tails, his body could now contain its chakra, and gaining that power would push him closer to the Sage of Six Paths, even reaching half his level.
He'd expected he'd have to do some work to get the Nine-Tails, but Minato was willingly offering it. Thinking it over, it made sense. From Minato's perspective, this was the only way left to save Konoha.
Moments later,
The Nine-Tails' chakra, controlled by Minato's Reaper Death Seal seal, flooded into Kaede's body.
Already possessing a Sage's body, Kaede easily bore the Nine-Tails' chakra, more stable even than the Uzumaki clan's natural affinity.
"The rest is up to you..." Minato said with difficulty.
Kaede turned, sensing the Flying Thunder God Seal he left inside Konoha. Then he activated it, vanishing instantly.
Whoosh!
Back inside Konoha,
Kaede reappeared on the roof of his family home.
From this vantage point, he could see Uchiha Obito controlling the complete Susanoo, gripping the enormous blue sword with both hands, the blade wrapped in a fierce wind, descending toward Konoha.
"Well then..."
"The next chapter of Konoha begins now."
Kaede crossed his arms and gazed at the falling sword.
A faint golden aura of Sage magic shimmered and spread over his body, lifting him into the air.
Perfect Sage Mode, with flight!
The fusion of the three great Sage arts had elevated his control over natural energy to an almost seamless unity. The natural energy-filled world was like a pond, and he was a fish swimming through it.
Under the watchful eyes of countless Konoha shinobi,
Kaede, wrapped in golden Sage light, rose above the village, positioning himself directly beneath the descending blue chakra blade.
"Look over there!"
"Who is that...?"
"That chakra... could it be... Kaede-sama?!"
Several sensory-type shinobi's eyes flickered with shock.
Kaede, the silver flash of Konoha!
It's not over yet. It's not over. There's still one last hope!
After recognizing the figure soaring to meet the enormous descending blue chakra blade as Kaede, nearly every Konoha shinobi fixed their gaze there, breath caught, time seeming to freeze.
Kaede,
Can he stop such a terrifying enemy?!
Almost no one in Konoha hadn't heard his name, but few had witnessed him in action, especially his recent battles where he killed the Third Raikage, Hanzō of the Salamander, and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
As Konoha's shinobi and civilians, they knew Kaede was powerful, perhaps the strongest in the shinobi world, but no one truly knew the extent of his strength.
In this near-stilled moment,
Bathed in golden light, Kaede finally touched the complete Susanoo.
Before countless eyes,
Kaede reached out a single hand, a hand so small and insignificant compared to the towering Susanoo, and pressed it upward against the descending blade.
Crack!
The blue blade, which had split two distant mountains with a single swing, froze midair as it met Kaede's palm.
With a slight press of his fingers, countless cracks rapidly spread across the blade.
Then, in the stunned silence of all who watched, it shattered into countless glowing fragments.
Silence.
An eerie quiet fell over Konoha.
==========
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