The short blade in Hatake Kakashi's hand had been reforged later.
His father's original blade had snapped during the battle at Kannabi Bridge years ago. Back then, it had been deliberately sacrificed to draw the enemy's attention and buy time to activate Chidori. After that, Kakashi had a new blade forged. The edge was mixed with chakra metal, allowing chakra to flow through it. That was the true way to use Hatake Kenjutsu.
A silver flash cut through the air.
After more than a month of recovery training, Hatake Kakashi had regained his former swordsmanship. Even though he had not practiced much in recent years, he had trained brutally in the past.
The blade's light struck Kaede Kitahara cleanly.
And then passed straight through his body.
"Fake? No… that sensation wasn't fake."
Kakashi instantly realized what was different about this Phantom Body Flicker Technique. It felt exactly like he had cut into a real body, yet he had not actually hit anything.
Before he could process it, dozens of Kaede Kitaharas rushed in from all directions.
Kakashi hurriedly swung his chakra-infused blade, slashing again and again.
Their speeds were terrifying, so fast that afterimages filled the battlefield.
"So fast!" Uchiha Sasuke exclaimed.
His one-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly as he tried to track their movements. Yet both fighters were among the best of the jonin. Even though neither specialized in taijutsu, their sheer strength pushed their speed to absurd levels.
The speed Rock Lee needed to open the Fourth Gate to reach during the Chunin Exams was just their normal pace. It was not even close to a trump card.
As Sasuke kept watching, something felt off.
Their movements warped constantly. Attacks changed midway through execution. Kakashi, in particular, would be about to cut down one Phantom Body Flicker image, only to instantly turn and block another from a different direction.
"What kind of clone technique is that? Or is it Body Flicker?" Sasuke could not tell at all. He could barely follow their actions.
After a while, he finally understood something.
This was not a contest of taijutsu at all.
It was a clash of visual prowess.
It was about who could see through the other first.
By this point, Sasuke could clearly tell that Hatake Kakashi was at a disadvantage.
When two dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai clashed, it came down to raw insight. Both were at the three-tomoe level, yet Kakashi was completely suppressed.
This was not about having one eye versus two.
It was simply that Kaede Kitahara's three-tomoe Sharingan completely overwhelmed Kakashi's.
Unless Kakashi awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan technique called Kamui mentioned in Kaede's diary, his visual power would never see a sudden leap.
In this kind of battle, it looked like neither side was using many jutsu. Yet just maintaining the Sharingan consumed an enormous amount of chakra. Kakashi was already sweating, his stamina and chakra clearly declining.
Across from him, Kaede remained relaxed.
Seeing this, Sasuke felt a surge of pride.
As expected of the Uchiha Clan's bloodline.
Kakashi might be an elite jonin and even possess a Sharingan, but in the end, he was still a civilian-born ninja. How could he compare to the Uchiha Clan?
Deep down, Sasuke still believed in the supremacy of the Uchiha.
He knew he was not Kakashi's match right now. But Kaede could press Kakashi into a corner. That meant the Uchiha Clan could do the same.
Hatake Kakashi was a symbolic powerhouse of Konoha. That alone made the implications enormous.
Even if Sasuke was the only one thinking this way, he was still exhilarated.
Kaede himself was just as excited.
Hatake Kakashi's swordsmanship was undeniably top-tier. It was nowhere near his father Hatake Sakumo's level, but it far surpassed the likes of Gekko Hayate.
In a battle like this, especially one focused on visual power, Kaede was pushing himself to the limit.
If they only compared taijutsu at this level, their combat experience was not that far apart. Kakashi's greatest advantage lay in the vast array of tactics built around his Sharingan. As for Hatake Kenjutsu, he had not used it seriously in real combat for many years.
From the start, Kaede had been slightly on the back foot. Soon, they were evenly matched. Then Kaede began to completely suppress Kakashi.
Later on, Kaede even deliberately opened himself up, letting Kakashi attack.
In that process, he copied Hatake Kenjutsu in its entirety.
Another trump card added.
Of course, this was only the most basic mastery of Hatake Kenjutsu. How far he could take it depended on himself, and he would have to practice it quietly. He could not let anyone know.
In Hatake Sakumo's hands, Hatake Kenjutsu had made even the Legendary Sannin avoid its edge. In Hatake Kakashi's hands, it could not even defeat Orochimaru.
There was no invincible technique. Only invincible individuals.
Hatake Kakashi felt like the person in front of him was a complete monster. Kaede's learning speed was terrifying.
Kakashi knew Kaede had a Sharingan and had probably activated it discreetly, yet his improvement in close combat was still absurdly fast.
So this was how quickly someone with the Sharingan could learn?
It was not just copying techniques instantly. It was like having an accelerator for experience itself.
Others might need ten attempts to grasp something. A genius might need three.
Kaede needed one.
And he could extrapolate from it.
With the reinforcement of two bloodlines, Kaede had unknowingly become the kind of peerless prodigy Kakashi once envied the most.
At that point, Kakashi decisively began forming hand seals.
"Chidori!"
Lightning erupted in his hand.
But he did not charge.
Instead, his chakra exploded outward, transforming into a storm of electricity.
"Chidori Current!"
Under the sweeping lightning, Kaede's Phantom Body Flicker images vanished one after another.
Kaede stared in disbelief.
That was Chidori Current.
Kakashi could use Chidori Current?
Was that even reasonable?
Kaede could not remember Kakashi ever using Chidori Current. But thinking about it, Kakashi was the creator of Chidori. He had upgraded it into Raikiri and Purple Electricity. Developing Chidori Current did not seem impossible.
Still… this was ridiculous.
Kakashi using a sword was already rare enough. Seeing him casually use Chidori Current was even more outrageous.
For Kakashi, though, Chidori Current posed no difficulty at all. He had simply never considered developing Chidori in that direction before. He knew too many jutsu, which ironically meant he had not focused deeply on Chidori.
After reading Kaede's diary and seeing how Uchiha Sasuke would develop Chidori into different forms, Kakashi quickly created Chidori Current and Chidori Sharp Spear, along with other variations he had seen.
"In that case, I'll join you."
Kaede immediately formed hand seals and unleashed Chidori as well.
Compared to Kakashi's, Kaede's Chidori was noticeably larger.
They charged at each other at extreme speed.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed as their bodies collided. In that instant, their Chidori clashed violently.
The lightning was blinding.
When Sasuke finally opened his eyes again, he saw Kaede's kunai resting against Kakashi's throat, while Kakashi's short blade pressed against Kaede's lower abdomen.
"I yield, Kakashi-senpai."
Kaede withdrew his kunai, surprise clear in his eyes.
Hatake Kakashi truly lived up to his reputation as Konoha's master technician. In that exchange, Kaede had the clear advantage in physical ability and chakra reserves, yet Kakashi still seized an opening and countered. He had forced a mutual kill.
Kakashi also lowered his blade, sighing inwardly.
What kind of monster was this?
In physique and chakra, Kaede completely surpassed him. If not for Kakashi's combat experience, or rather his experience fighting at the highest level, he would have lost today.
Was awakening the Uchiha Clan bloodline really this terrifying?
Kakashi was full of doubts, but Kaede's secrets were simply too many.
"With your strength, ordinary elite jonin are no match for you," Kakashi said. "What you lack is combat experience. Once you make up for that, there won't be many people in the world who can beat you decisively."
"You're too kind, Kakashi-senpai."
Kaede brushed the lingering arcs of lightning from his body and smiled.
There was pride in his tone, but also a hint of emotion.
Who would have thought that someone like him, a chunin cannon fodder who once believed his life was already set, would reach a day like this?
And this was only the beginning.
As he spent more time with the diary system, his strength would inevitably continue to rise.
What bothered him was that the system's lottery did not always give good rewards.
Like the past month.
One thousand Explosive Tags. One jin of chakra metal.
They were worth plenty of money, but they were not what Kaede wanted. They did nothing to directly raise his power ceiling.
"I'm still far from enough," Kaede said calmly.
He was not intoxicated by Kakashi's praise. He understood exactly what kind of world this was.
If elite jonin could barely be called strong, they were only stepping over a threshold. Strong, but only for a limited stage.
In the later era, where kage level were everywhere and even super kage level were not rare, this amount of strength meant nothing.
Seeing Kaede speak like that, Kakashi said nothing more. He only reminded him, "We're heading back to the village tomorrow. Don't forget to pack."
"Understood."
Kaede nodded.