NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45 - Takigakure Submits!
"Oh?"
Kaede smiled playfully, still standing casually in place.
"Then show me what you've got."
Sakuto Matsushiro took a deep breath and roared as he charged toward Kaede.
The moment he got close, he threw a punch straight at Kaede's face.
Bang!
But in the next instant, Kaede effortlessly caught his fist mid-air.
"H-How is this possible?!"
Sakuto's eyes widened in disbelief.
Even after his chakra had increased tenfold, enhancing all of his physical attributes… Kaede caught his full-powered punch like it was nothing?
Refusing to accept it, Sakuto tried to pull his arm back to attack again.
But no matter how much strength he used, he couldn't break free from Kaede's grasp!
Panicking, Sakuto leapt and kicked at Kaede's head.
Kaede casually raised his other arm to block it.
Crack!
Cold sweat streamed down Sakuto's back—his leg had broken.
The moment it struck Kaede's arm, it felt like he'd kicked solid iron.
Kaede smirked. "Not bad strength… but still not enough."
With that, he grabbed Sakuto by the leg and swung him through the air, sending him crashing into a massive boulder.
Only when he hit it did he finally stop.
Kaede scoffed, "Bring out your other tricks. I won't waste time on you otherwise."
Sakuto gritted his teeth as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He knew this was his one and only chance.
Kaede's growing impatience was clear as day.
If he didn't put up a performance worthy of Kaede's expectations, he might really wipe out Takigakure.
And oddly enough, Sakuto realized something: deep down, he wasn't rejecting Kaede's arrival anymore.
Everything he was doing now… was more about showing Kaede that Takigakure was worth something.
Sakuto leapt onto the large rock and quickly formed hand seals.
Kaede said calmly, "Last chance. Don't disappoint me."
Sakuto's face grew stern as he completed the seals.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)
The river nearby surged as a giant water dragon—dozens of meters long—rose and roared at the sky.
"With all that extra chakra, it's got decent momentum," Kaede narrowed his eyes. "But if that's all…"
"Then your village has no reason to exist."
Sakuto roared back, "I'm not done yet!"
He formed more seals, and arcs of lightning began crackling around him.
"Raiton: Hiraishin!" (Lightning Style: False Darkness)
A massive ball of lightning shot into the sky and fused into the water dragon.
"Combined Technique: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"
The dragon roared again, now crackling with electricity, and rushed straight at Kaede.
Kaede raised his sword.
With a single slash, the blade cleaved the dragon's head in two.
But in the next moment, the severed dragon reformed itself.
Kaede's eyes lit up with interest. "Now that's more like it."
After drinking the Hero Water, this jonin-level shinobi was actually pulling off attacks with Kage-level threat.
If this world used chakra measurements, this attack had the output of at least 2.5 Kakashis—also known as 2.5 Kaka.
"In that case, I'll take things a bit more seriously."
Kaede brought his hand to his mouth.
"Katon: Gōka Ryū no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique)
With just 1 Kaka of chakra, Kaede unleashed a fire dragon even larger than the enemy's water dragon!
The moment they clashed, the fire dragon opened its mouth and bit off the water dragon's head.
But the water dragon fought back, wrapping its remaining body around the fire dragon.
The two dragons tangled and twisted until their energy reached a critical point—
BOOM!
An enormous explosion of flames erupted, incinerating the remnants of the lightning-infused water.
Kaede's fire jutsu… was burning water!
Sakuto was stunned. The gap between them felt like heaven and earth.
Kaede laughed lightly. "Infusing lightning into water—a great idea for paralysis."
"Too bad it doesn't mean anything if you can't land a hit."
Whoosh!
As he spoke, Kaede disappeared and reappeared right next to Sakuto.
With a powerful kick, he sent the man sprawling, then stomped his head into the ground.
He pressed his blade, Kyōka Suigetsu, against Sakuto's forehead.
"Your display convinced me that Takigakure might be worth something."
"But if you don't obey, that worth is meaningless."
Feeling the cold steel against his forehead, Sakuto's soul practically left his body.
He knew—if he didn't submit, Kaede wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
And not just him—the entire village.
"I… I'll keep my promise… Takigakure will submit to you!"
Sakuto's voice trembled, desperate and fast—afraid Kaede might change his mind.
Luckily, Kaede had been looking for new subordinates to assist the Uchiha.
He slowly removed the blade from Sakuto's forehead, allowing the man to breathe again.
"Ugh… ahhh!"
The next moment, Sakuto's body curled up in agony as he vomited violently.
Kaede had removed his foot from Sakuto's gut just in time.
"The Hero Water's not a bad thing," Kaede remarked. "But you people are shortsighted. You only know how to use it—not how to improve it."
"Th-thank you…" Sakuto gasped, eyes full of gratitude.
Kaede's last kick had forced out the remaining undigested Hero Water, saving his life even if it weakened him.
Kaede ignored him and looked toward the remaining Takigakure shinobi, who watched nervously from afar.
"We… we submit too!"
The smarter ones immediately dropped their weapons and knelt down.
That snapped the rest out of their daze. One by one, they all discarded their weapons and knelt.
Kaede looked at his smiling clansmen and gave an order:
"Naoto, go investigate everything about Takigakure."
"Yes, clan head!" Naoto replied immediately.
The Uchiha began probing into the village's secrets. The Takigakure shinobi stood obediently under Sakuto's lead, often pulled aside for questioning.
Kaede, with nothing else to do, turned toward the still-entranced Seven-Tails.
He activated his Mangekyō again, and the beast instantly woke from the genjutsu.
The moment it remembered what had happened, fear crept into its eyes.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Just one glance had forced it to kneel!
"Your future master," Kaede smiled.
"Now, you have two options—either I find a new Jinchūriki and seal you again… or you become my summon beast."
The Seven-Tails roared in rage.
"You think I'm some kind of tool?! Why the hell would I accept your choices?!"
Kaede's smile grew wider. "Because… I'm stronger than you."
His Eternal Mangekyō flared with power—and the Seven-Tails immediately lost control over its body.
Kaede said coldly, "A few days ago, I visited the Nine-Tails. It's far more reasonable than you."
"Seems like when the Sage of Six Paths split the Ten-Tails, he gave the Nine-Tails not just more chakra… but also more brains."
"You—!" the Seven-Tails seethed with fury.
To be mocked like this by a mortal who hadn't even lived a hundred years—
If it could move, it would've blasted Kaede with a Tailed Beast Bomb right then and there!
…
(End of Chapter)
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