Kaede chuckled to himself for a moment, then stood up and said, "Alright, I'm heading out to buy some groceries. Want to come along?"
"Sure! I need to pick up a few ninja tools anyway," Rin replied, clapping her hands in agreement.
Coming from a civilian family, she was issued some basic gear at the academy, but now that she was officially a genin, she had to purchase the rest herself.
Yuhi Kurenai, on the other hand, didn't need to worry about ninja tools. Her father, Yuhi Shinku, was a jonin of the village, and their home was well-stocked with kunai, shuriken, and all the usual supplies. Still, there was no way she was going to let Kaede and Rin go shopping together without her.
"I have a few things I need to buy too," she added quickly.
Seeing both Rin and Kurenai eager to join, Kaede turned to Kakashi, who was already headed for his room.
"Kakashi, you should come too."
"I don't need anything," Kakashi replied lazily.
"Exactly. That's why I'm calling you, to help carry stuff. I'm stocking up on a lot of food."
Since they'd already graduated from the Ninja Academy, the Third Great Ninja War was clearly approaching.
It made sense to stockpile supplies before inflation kicked in. Besides, Kaede's training method relied heavily on Time Acceleration, which meant he burned through resources far faster than most people.
"...Huh?"
Kakashi's expression fell flat.
He stared at Kaede with a look that screamed, Do you even have a conscience?
Seeing Kakashi's helpless, begrudging obedience to his older brother's whims, Rin pursed her lips to keep from laughing, while Kurenai's expression twitched in amusement.
Though Kakashi was only a year younger than Kaede, Kaede's physical development had been enhanced by accelerated training. He now looked like a 12- or 13-year-old, a full head taller than Kakashi. It made him seem like an older brother constantly bullying his little sibling.
"Alright, quit whining and let's go."
Kaede smacked Kakashi lightly on the head and headed out the door.
Kakashi didn't dodge, only let out a hollow sigh and followed along like a man who had lost all hope in life.
The four of them quickly made their way to the streets of Konoha.
Kaede had another reason for bringing Kakashi, taking two girls out shopping alone just looked... weird. And if either Kurenai's dad or Rin's father happened to see them, things could get awkward fast. Not that Kaede thought either of them could beat him now... but that wasn't really the point.
With Kakashi around, the group of four looked perfectly normal. At most, they'd get a curious glance from passersby.
Before long—
Kaede had finished his shopping and packed everything into four bags. He and Kakashi each carried two. Rin and Kurenai offered to help, but Kaede smiled and refused, much to Kakashi's irritation.
Just as they continued walking down the street, a commotion up ahead caught their attention.
"I-I'm sorry! I won't mess it up again! Please, take me on the mission this time...!"
Might Duy stood nervously in front of a chunin, apologizing over and over.
But the chunin just frowned. "It's not the first time. Honestly, I can't trust you anymore. I can't take you with me."
"Please, I beg you..."
Seeing that his pleas weren't working, Duy knelt right there in the middle of the street and bowed his head deeply. "I promise I'll do better than ever before, please give me one more chance."
The chunin hesitated, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but eventually shook his head.
"Sorry. You'll have to find someone else."
With that, he turned and walked away.
"Please... just one more chance..."
Duy tried to grab his arm, but the chunin leapt away and vanished down an alley in the blink of an eye.
Kaede and the others happened to be walking by and saw the whole exchange.
"That's... Might Guy's dad, right?" Kurenai said hesitantly.
"Looks like he's in trouble," Rin murmured.
From the look of it, he'd been kicked out of his squad. Rin couldn't think of any way to help—after all, she was just a fresh genin herself.
"..."
Kakashi also watched the scene in silence. He thought of Guy, who was always challenging him and treating him as a rival. It reminded him that he himself had butted heads with plenty of ninja teams too, though his situation was different.
What confused Kakashi most was how someone like Might Duy, a clumsy genin who always caused trouble, could raise a son like Guy, who also got into the academy as a special exception but had the audacity to challenge him daily. And Duy genuinely seemed to believe his son would one day surpass Kakashi.
He couldn't quite understand where all that confidence came from.
Still...
In terms of taijutsu talent, Guy was undeniably exceptional. out of all the genin Kakashi had fought, Guy's raw strength in close combat was probably the highest. Even if his ninjutsu skills were trash, he definitely had a shot at becoming a chunin.
Just then, Kaede suddenly walked toward Might Duy, drawing the attention of Kurenai, Rin, and Kakashi.
"Duy-senpai, you seem to be in a tough spot," Kaede said gently as he approached.
Might Duy turned from where he was staring after the departing chunin and quickly recognized Kaede.
"oh, it's you... you've grown again in the blink of an eye. You're even taller than Guy now."
There was a hint of amazement in his voice, but his expression remained heavy.
With prices skyrocketing, survival was hard enough without missions, and as a genin, it was almost impossible to take on missions alone. Getting kicked out of his squad was a massive blow.
He sighed.
"I made some mistakes and got booted from the team. I came today to try and ask for one more chance, but no luck... sorry you had to see that."
Kaede thought for a moment, then said, "Are you looking to form a squad? If that's the case, I might be able to help."
Might Duy looked at him in surprise. "You just graduated, right? Teams under a jonin sensei usually don't allow someone like me to join."
Kaede shook his head with a small smile. "My situation's a little different. I'm not part of any team right now. If you don't mind, we could form a temporary team."
After all, Kaede had learned key insights into the Eight Gates from Duy and successfully trained in it. There was no way he could just ignore someone who had helped him like that.
Kakashi, Rin, and Kurenai's squads were already full, so the only option was to team up with Duy himself.
of course—
Part of it was gratitude. But teaming up with Duy also meant safety.
In some ways, it might even be safer than going on missions with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru hadn't yet reached his peak. If he went up against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist alone, escaping would already be pushing it, taking down four and injuring three was absolutely impossible.
But Might Duy could do it!
Even if his fully opened Eight Gates weren't quite as powerful as Guy's, they'd still place him above Kage-level. on a mission with Duy, even if they ran into the Third Raikage or the Third Tsuchikage, they'd still have a chance to survive.
Not that such a scenario was likely.
In most cases, opening just the Seventh Gate gave Duy jonin-level power. With Kaede's own strength added in, they'd be more than capable of handling standard missions.
As Kaede finished his thoughts—
Nearby ninjas all wore stunned expressions.
Someone... actually volunteered to team up with the Eternal Genin Might Duy?!