Kitahara Kaede opened his eyes.
The room was dim, the small lamp by the bedside still glowing, while the night sky of Konoha stretched beyond the window.
He sat on the bed, motionless.
There were no wounds on his chest, no blood on his hands.
Yet, the sensation of Terumi i hugging him in her arms in that canyon, the feeling of her tears falling one by one onto his face, remained vividly clear.
The sound of her voice, pleading with him not to close his eyes, still echoed in his ears.
After that, he had heard nothing.
Because by then, he was already dead.
Kitahara Kaede closed his eyes.
The end of the first simulation had been the sa.
A complete death, a perfect death—the kind of death that leaves a lasting scar on those left behind.
This was the path he had chosen, and the ending the system demanded.
"It was just a simulation," he whispered.
No one answered him in the quiet room, but the suffocating feeling in his chest refused to dissipate.
He remained silent for a long while before finally shifting his gaze.
He thought of Pakura.
The northern fishing port.
She would likely stay seated on the pier, waiting from before dawn until the sun rose, and then until noon.
In the end, the only thing that would arrive would be an empty road.
Would she curse him?
Likely.
But the more she did, the more it proved she had believed him.
She believed he would co; she believed he would take her away; and she believed his promise that he wouldn't lie to her.
Kitahara Kaede raised a hand and pressed his fingers against his brow.
"It was all fake..." his voice was soft, as if he were speaking only to himself. "Why am I feeling bother by it?"
In his mind, the system notification chid.
[Simulation ended.]
[Calculating evaluation...]
Kitahara Kaede looked up at the semi-transparent panel floating before him.
It suddenly occurred to him that this simulation had contained no system-issued tasks. Every step had been his own choice.
He stared at the panel, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
'It should at least be a Double S, right?'
The panel paused for a mont.
[Evaluation: Double S-Rank White Moonlight.]
Kitahara Kaede's gaze flickered.
As expected.
[Comnt: You were the first person in the Bloody Mist to make her look up, and you were also the blade she personally plunged into your heart.]
[You gave her a reason to change Kirigakure, and you gave her a lifeti of guilt she can never escape.]
The system continued to scroll.
[Additional Comnt: You guided the Scorch Release ninja, who was destined to perish in betrayal, onto a different path, making her want to live for herself for the first ti.]
[You did not keep your appointnt, so she will rember that empty road forever.]
Kitahara Kaede stared at the lines of text in silence.
After a few seconds, he murmured, "That's so evaluation..."
[Distributing settlent rewards...]
Kitahara Kaede sat up straighter.
Emotions could be suppressed slowly, but rewards could not.
These were things he had traded his life for.
[Perfectly acquired Bloodline Limit: Wood Release.]
Kitahara Kaede stared at those words, his breath hitching for two seconds.
'I can actually get this?'
He quickly realized that the system provided rewards based on the evaluation, not through chanical copying.
Both Terumi i and Pakura were Bloodline Limit users. With a Double S-rank evaluation, it was only logical that the settlent would yield a higher-tier ability like Wood Release.
However, it also ant that an imnse amount of trouble had just arrived.
He knew how many atrocities Danzo had committed for the sake of Wood Release, and how Madara had gone so far as to fake his death for Hashirama's cells.
He raised his hand. A tiny wooden sprout erged from his palm, vibrant with fresh green life.
Kitahara Kaede watched it for a mont, then curled his fingers, and the sprout instantly vanished.
[Chakra Extraction Efficiency: Increased from 15% to 65%.]
[Permanent Physical Constitution Enhancent: Increased from 10% to 20%.]
[Permanent Ninjutsu Execution Enhancent: Increased from 10% to 20%.]
Kitahara Kaede's breath hitched again.
This increase wasn't just a small step forward; it was a massive leap.
He closed his eyes, feeling the endless stream of chakra within him.
Compared to before, the flow was smoother and faster.
His previous reserves were already enough to support Jonin-level combat. Now, his foundation was deeper, his explosive power was greater, and his endurance for prolonged battles had increased significantly.
Kitahara Kaede opened his eyes.
Based on chakra volu alone, he had already crossed the threshold of the Kage-level.
Combining Wood Release, toxin immunity, and the combat experience of two lifetis, dealing with an average Kage-level opponent would be fundantally easy.
But it wasn't enough.
Battles in the later stages of the Hokage era were wars of giants, involving things like the Six Paths Rinnegan.
He had to keep climbing.
Kitahara Kaede got out of bed and walked to the table.
For now, Wood Release had to remain hidden.
The sudden surge in his chakra had to be kept secret as well.
He needed to maintain his identity in Konoha.
The mission system, the intelligence channels, and Minato's trust were all tied to the village; he couldn't afford to lose those assets yet.
He stood by the table, quickly scanning his thoughts.
'So, who is the greatest threat right now?'
Danzo.
Kitahara Kaede's gaze chilled.
In the past, he had feared Danzo—not because he couldn't win a fight, but because Danzo operated in the shadows. He had high authority and dirty thods. If they truly clashed, the complications would snowball.
Back then, he wasn't strong enough; if he were targeted, his only option was to shrink away.
Now, it was different.
Danzo was still a nuisance, but he was no longer a nuisance that required hiding.
Kitahara Kaede's voice was barely a whisper.
"You'd better not reach out again."
He wasn't saying this to anyone in particular; he was simply adding it to his plan.
If Danzo continued to watch him, continued to apply pressure, or continued to use Root to set traps, Kaede would strike first.
There was no rush, but it was a certainty.
The system interface flashed again.
[Condition to unlock next High-Level Simulation: Ten million ryo.]
Kitahara Kaede glanced at it expressionlessly.
Last ti it was five million, and he had worked himself to the bone taking missions.
This ti it had doubled. While the number was higher, it actually felt less oppressive.
With his current strength, completing A-rank missions and securing special rewards would be much faster.
More importantly, he wasn't in a rush to start a third simulation.
Kitahara Kaede sat back down on the bed.
Before, he had only wanted to survive.
Survive Mount Kikyo, survive the Third Shinobi World War.
But for the first ti, he felt that he shouldn't focus solely on survival.
If he only dealt with Danzo, another would simply take his place.
To be truly safe, he had to pull out every single threat hiding beneath the surface by the roots.
Obito, Rin, Minato, and Kushina...
The deaths of these people were never isolated incidents.
Behind them were Madara and Black Zetsu.
Kitahara Kaede stared at the dark ceiling.
'Deal with the cause before the effect.'
He didn't want to be a savior.
He simply wanted to stay one step ahead and remove every single pawn Black Zetsu intended to use to manipulate the world, one by one, from the board.
He lay back down and closed his eyes.
"Can't rush it. I'll sleep first."
The night in Konoha was quiet.
Soon, silence filled the apartnt.
...
Hidden Mist Village.
In a dim room, Terumi i lay on her bed, her brow furrowed and her eyelashes trembling with unrest.
She seed trapped in a deep nightmare, a single tear sliding from the corner of her eye.
Her chest felt tight and painful, as if sothing were blocking her breath.
In the darkness, her fingers curled unconsciously, as if trying to grasp onto sothing.
Her lips parted, letting out a sobbing murmur.
"Kitahara... Kaede."
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