In Kaede's view.
With his current level of strength, if he could master the Fifth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates, he'd probably reach the peak of Kage-level power.
If he advanced to the Sixth Gate, and his time acceleration ability improved accordingly, then he would surpass the Kage-level altogether.
Kaede had read novels before where power was categorized beyond the Kage-level into "Super Kage" and "Six Paths" tiers. To him, this division actually made sense.
The strength displayed by the Six Paths of Pain, both in destructive power and other aspects, clearly exceeded the Kage-level. Whether it was Onoki of the Stone or Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, all of them would stand no chance against Pain. Defeat was inevitable.
And as for Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju, those two didn't even need to be mentioned.
Even the combined force of the Five Kage wasn't enough to take on just one of them.
That kind of strength clearly couldn't be defined as "Kage-level" anymore. Calling it "Super Kage-level" was entirely appropriate.
Judging by the enhancement Eight Inner Gates gave him now, once he mastered the Sixth Gate, combined with Time Acceleration and Time Reversal, he would likely be able to overwhelm most Kage-level opponents with ease.
Of course—
Even within the Super Kage tier, there were still distinctions in power. For instance, even Uchiha Madara, with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the might of the Nine-Tails, the strongest Tailed Beast, still couldn't defeat Hashirama Senju.
So once you got past the Sixth Gate, power levels became a bit ambiguous. Kaede estimated that relying solely on the Sixth Gate plus Time Acceleration might still not be enough to defeat the likes of Madara or Hashirama. He'd probably need Sage Mode or a Sage's body as well.
Going further—
It was hard to say just how powerful the Seventh Gate would make him, or even whether he'd be able to open it at all.
After all, mastering the Eight Inner Gates required not just effort but also talent and physical aptitude. Not everyone could reach the Eighth Gate, if they could, then there'd be no point in developing any other ninja techniques.
"Honestly, just reaching the Sixth Gate would already be enough."
Kaede let out a quiet sigh.
As a transmigrator, if he could achieve Super Kage-level strength before the start of Naruto's storyline, then it would be 'game over.'
Destroying Uchiha Madara's plans would be a breeze. Even that broken jutsu, Edo Tensei, would be nothing to worry about. He could just gather the Tailed Beasts and the Rinnegan himself, and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
Thinking about it that way—
The Eight Inner Gates remained his top priority.
"The Fifth Gate is next... another round of grueling training."
Kaede let out a helpless shrug. To be honest, he was already getting a bit fed up with this kind of training. Even with Time Acceleration speeding things up, the time he experienced still felt very real.
And to make matters worse, he wasn't particularly talented in the Eight Gates. Rock Lee had reached the Fifth Gate in less than a year, but Kaede had spent what amounted to a year and a half just to reach the Fourth Gate. Reaching the Fifth Gate would likely take another year.
That's also why he had started looking into ways to break through using chakra instead.
After all—
If he could develop a Sage's body and become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, then activate Tailed Beast Chakra Mode, the combined power would surpass even the Sixth or Seventh Gate of the Eight Gates.
Still, for now, Kaede decided to focus on training toward the Fifth Gate. His thoughts drifted back to the power of the Illusory Clock. Closing his eyes, he once again visualized the phantom clock in his mind.
There it was.
The dial at the 3 o'clock mark was still shrouded in a dense gray mist.
"I wonder what the third time ability will be..."
He murmured softly to himself.
Time Acceleration and Time Reversal had already granted him immense power. If he could unlock just one more time-related ability, he might not need to rely on other ninja techniques at all, he could stand atop the entire ninja world by himself.
Iwagakure (Village Hidden in the Rocks)
Tsuchikage's office
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, stood behind his desk, his expression dark as he glared at the ninja in front of him. His voice was low and grim:
"Failed? That plan failed? And you're telling me it was because of some brat?!"
"L-Lord Tsuchikage..."
The Iwa ninja kneeling before him was drenched in cold sweat, clearly panicked. "Neither Lord Sekkotsu nor Lord Donton anticipated this... None of us did. We had no idea that Konoha had someone like that among their ranks."
A flash of fury passed through Onoki's eyes.
He had spent a great deal of effort arranging this operation, hoping to catch Konoha off guard at the very start of the war and seize the early advantage. But now, instead of gaining an edge, they had been thoroughly routed and forced into a passive position.
Still, blaming the advance squad now was pointless. Both Sekkotsu and Donton had died in battle, and the rest of the squad was either dead or injured.
"Do we have any intel on that young ninja?"
"Yes, sir…"
The kneeling ninja took a breath and began reporting what they had learned.
After listening quietly, Onoki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Kakashi Kaede… So he's the son of Konoha's White Fang. Dammit."
During the Second Great Ninja War, Iwagakure had suffered greatly at the hands of Sakumo Hatake. In fact, Sakumo had played a decisive role in their defeat.
A few years back, when he heard of Sakumo's death, Onoki had secretly celebrated for quite some time, rejoicing at Konoha's loss of such a powerful asset.
But now, the Third War has begun. White Fang was gone... yet his son had emerged!
And thanks to this Kaede, their advance forces had been wiped out!
Was the Tsuchikage's fate simply cursed to be at odds with the Hatake clan?
A ninja sitting on the sofa nearby stood up and addressed Onoki in a serious tone.
"Our advance force has taken heavy losses… Onoki, what do you plan to do next?"
This was Jodo, the Tsuchikage's chief advisor, second only to Onoki in rank within Iwagakure. The ambush operation had been planned jointly by the two of them.
Onoki floated into the air, his expression contemplative as he hovered back and forth. After a few moments, he looked up and spoke in a low voice:
"With the advance unit nearly wiped out, continuing to fight Konoha head-on would put us at a disadvantage. On top of that, there's a real chance that Kumogakure might try to launch a surprise attack..."
Jodo frowned slightly. "But Sunagakure has already gone to war with Konoha over the Kazekage incident. This is still a prime opportunity to strike."
"No rush."
Onoki's eyes gleamed with a calculating light.
"Even if we don't act, Konoha will still keep their guard up. They won't commit all their forces to the Land of Wind. Whether we attack or not, we're still putting pressure on them."
He continued, "If Sunagakure wins, then we'll move in together. But if they lose… then there's no need for us to jump into a losing battle with Konoha."
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