"A B-rank ninjutsu at your age… As expected of White Fang's son. You've inherited your father's talent well."
Danzo sat not far away, addressing Kaede. Though his words sounded like praise, his tone was calm and flat.
Neither he nor Hiruzen Sarutobi doubted the truth of Kaede's claim. Creating a B-rank ninjutsu wasn't something one could fake, any lie would be exposed immediately.
Kaede looked at Danzo and replied, "You're too kind, Lord Danzo."
"It seems you're even more outstanding than I anticipated."
Sarutobi looked at Kaede and couldn't help but offer a word of admiration. Then, he continued slowly, "Though you haven't graduated yet, I have a mission for you."
A mission?
Kaede was slightly taken aback.
If they were trying to get him to join Danzo's Root division, surely they wouldn't phrase it as a "mission."
Before Kaede could think further, Sarutobi spoke in a low voice, "Your task is to apply for early graduation… and participate in the Chunin Exams five days from now."
"The Chunin Exams?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Kaede's face.
Early graduation made sense, if there was a mission for him, it would have to be as a full-fledged ninja. But taking part in the Chunin Exams immediately after graduating… What kind of mission was this?
"Let me explain the situation briefly. I believe you'll understand."
Sarutobi stood up and walked out from behind his desk, speaking as he moved, "The shinobi of Kumogakure and Kirigakure will arrive in Konoha the day after tomorrow. The Chunin Exams in five days will include them as participants. This exam isn't just about selecting outstanding Chunin, it is a form of warfare between us, Kumo, and Kiri!"
The weight behind Sarutobi's words caught Kaede off guard.
So the situation in the ninja world was growing even more tense. The Third Great Ninja War would break out next year. under such pressure, Kirigakure and Kumogakure still planned to send ninja to participate in Konoha's Chunin Exams, clearly with the intent to intimidate or negotiate.
Seen in this light, it wasn't surprising Sarutobi would assign such a task to him.
If the exams were being used for provocation and diplomacy, Konoha would naturally treat the matter with utmost seriousness. They wouldn't send just any Genin to participate.
Having quickly put the pieces together, Kaede responded to Sarutobi,
"I understand, Lord Hokage."
"Hmm. Go and prepare."
Sarutobi nodded, signaling that Kaede was dismissed.
After bowing respectfully to the Hokage, Kaede turned and left the office.
once he was gone, Danzo turned to Sarutobi and said quietly, "He's even more exceptional than I imagined... After the Chunin Exams, hand him over to me for training, Hiruzen."
Sarutobi shook his head. "Let's not bring this up again, Danzo."
Danzo frowned but didn't back down. Instead, he stood and fixed his eyes on Sarutobi, saying in a deep voice, "I had no objection to letting Kakashi train under Minato. But someone must walk in the shadows and bear the darkness… That's why Kaede should be entrusted to me. You understand this better than anyone!"
"Let Kaede shoulder the darkness, hmm…"
Sarutobi frowned slightly and muttered.
Danzo's words weren't without merit. Konoha had flourished to this extent thanks to a balance between himself, the Hokage in the light, and Danzo, who dealt with the shadows. That was also why Sarutobi had turned a blind eye to many of Danzo's actions over the years.
As a Hokage, Sarutobi understood well: Where there is light, there is shadow. Darkness would never disappear. And if Minato were to succeed him as Hokage, someone would indeed be needed to operate from the shadows.
Sarutobi thought for a moment, then returned to his seat and said,
"I need to think about it some more."
"..."
Danzo regained his calm.
Sarutobi's response was exactly what he'd expected.
As long as it wasn't an outright refusal, and Sarutobi said he would "think about it," it meant his will was already wavering. There was no need to push too hard now. A few subtle moves would be enough to achieve his goal.
…
After leaving the Hokage's office, Kaede let out a sigh of mild exasperation.
"So I still can't graduate normally, huh."
Still, graduating early and participating in the Chunin Exams was far preferable to being thrown into Root and trained by Danzo. Compared to that, this was a much better outcome. And for Kaede, it didn't really matter whether he graduated early or not.
But with this mission, it would be hard to keep a low profile. Sarutobi's intention was clear—he wanted Kaede to go all out in the exams, and ideally crush the ninja from Kirigakure and Kumogakure before they even made it past the preliminaries.
That said…
The casual exchange inside the Hokage's office might have seemed ordinary to anyone else. But Kaede, who understood Danzo's personality better than Danzo himself, was 99.9% sure: Danzo had already set his sights on him.
"No surprise there, he is the ultimate schemer of the Naruto world…"
Kaede couldn't help but sigh.
Ever since the Second Great Ninja War, Danzo's shadow had been behind almost every major conspiracy in the ninja world. He was involved in Yahiko's death, which accelerated the formation of the Akatsuki; the manipulation behind White Fang's suicide; his collaboration with Orochimaru… The list went on.
Now that Kaede had revealed his talent and power, it was inevitable that Danzo would try to involve him too. Honestly, if Danzo were to die early, the ninja world might still see war, but peace would probably last a good deal longer.
….
The Next Day
Kaede submitted his application for early graduation to the Ninja Academy.
under Sarutobi's orders, the academy processed it at lightning speed and scheduled his graduation exam for that very afternoon.
The exam for early graduation included the standard basic ninjutsu, the Three Basic Techniques, and a written test. Additionally, there was a combat test that required the candidate to survive three minutes under the attack of a Chunin instructor.
For Kaede, who already had the power to kill an elite Chunin, this posed no pressure at all. Even without using his Time Acceleration state, he passed with ease.
In the end…
Kaede passed the early graduation exam with a perfect score in all areas!