Chapter 070
He understood that he was currently gaining the power of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Judging from her past behavior, creating children was also part of resisting the Ōtsutsuki clan.
So maybe now, instead of making children, she had decided to cultivate him.
After all, a thousand years had passed, and the God Tree bears fruit once every millennium—so it made sense to assume that the Ōtsutsuki clan might be coming soon.
But clearly, Kaguya wasn't as smart as Black Zetsu. At least Black Zetsu knew his own strength wasn't enough, so he tricked Uchiha Madara, Madara deceived Obito, and Obito in turn misled Nagato.
As for his side, well—he had Sasuke and Naruto to take the fall.
So maybe it was a bit much, but he would gladly accept the power, just not pay for it.
[Filial Son - Black Zetsu]:...
Noticing this, Black Zetsu actually had something to say.
Because it had clearly seen that this time, Kitahara Kaede had proactively borrowed Lady Kaguya's power—and then activated Amenominaka.
Shukaku was the guinea pig for Amenominaka.
So in that moment, Black Zetsu started suspecting… maybe Kitahara Kaede had seen through Lady Kaguya's bunny-nin identity, and had deliberately accepted everything.
But it didn't dare ask.
Lady Kaguya had told it not to interfere.
┭┮﹏┭┮...
Black Zetsu never imagined that after being a filial son for a thousand years, he'd get scolded by Lady Kaguya.
But it was true—he hadn't actually accomplished anything useful in all that time.
····
Of course, only those aware of the hidden context would think about such things. The members of the small group chat, who knew nothing about the Ōtsutsuki clan, were focused elsewhere.
Specifically, the previous Hokage were all most concerned about Konoha.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]:But that little Kitahara Kaede sure acts fast.
[The Man Who Kicked Uchiha Madara Flying with Eight Gates]:Huh?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]:Look, the current proctor of the second Chūnin Exam is still there, right?
[The Man Who Kicked Uchiha Madara Flying with Eight Gates]:Yeah, you're right.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]:But it's actually a Wood Clone.
[Tobirama]:A Wood… Clone?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]:Yep. Since I use Wood Style too, I'm very familiar with this—it's a Wood Clone.
[Minato Namikaze]:That makes sense. Suddenly removing Orochimaru disguised as Anko… for the regular examinees, that would mean the proctor just vanished, right?
[Minato Namikaze]:So how could the exam continue?
[Minato Namikaze]:Would the Chūnin Exam have to be suspended like that?
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]:Exactly. After Kaede transferred Orochimaru and Shukaku, he quickly used a Wood Clone to transform into the proctor and continued hosting the exam.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]:Hiruzen told him to act if anything went wrong with the Sand Village. But with Orochimaru impersonating Anko, things escalated.
[Big Dumb - Hashirama]:And Kaede's move immediately de-escalated the situation.
As Hashirama explained, everyone continued watching the video in the group chat.
Because Kitahara Kaede's Wood Clone—disguised as Anko—was now seriously explaining the rules.
"Becoming a Chūnin means you'll take on even more dangerous and important missions."
"To complete missions, a ninja needs two things."
"First is the ability to complete the task. Second is the ability to judge the mission's nature."
"Each team will receive one scroll—either Heaven or Earth."
"There are 145 participants, which means 46 teams."
"Half of the teams will get Heaven scrolls, the other half Earth scrolls."
"You'll have to fight or use other means to collect a matching pair."
"Your goal is the tower in the center of the forest, and you must arrive within three days."
"Also, you are absolutely forbidden from opening the scrolls during this process."
[Descendant Chat Group (^_-)]
[Minato Namikaze]:Normally, Kaede-kun shouldn't know the rules of the exam, right?
[Kakashi Hatake]:Yeah, earlier when Orochimaru disguised as Anko started speaking and stuck out her tongue, she was immediately exposed and replaced.
[Kakashi Hatake]:But now Kaede is stating the rules, and the other examiners assisting "Anko" aren't even blinking.
[Kakashi Hatake]:That means everything he said is correct.
[Kakashi Hatake]:So… did Kaede peek at the answers?
[Minato Namikaze]:What are you even talking about, Kakashi?
[Kakashi Hatake]:Meh, just saying things out loud.
[Tobirama]:In other words… Kitahara Kaede really is from the future?
[Tobirama]:And he… knows everything!?
[Nine Tails - Kurama]:...
[Tobirama]:Kurama, anything you want to say?
[Nine Tails - Kurama]:No, not really.
[Filial Son - Black Zetsu]:...
Black Zetsu stared at the Nine Tails.
It felt like Kurama knew something about Kaede's bunny-nin identity. That pause earlier, when Minato said Kaede knew everything—it must have meant something.
Sigh.
Now even he felt things were getting troublesome.
Because if Mother's identity got exposed…
··········
Meanwhile, the Wood Clone Kaede had deployed completed its mission, now acting as Anko to distribute the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
But first, all participants had to sign a liability waiver.
After all, the ninja world was far from kind—death could come at any time during missions. If someone wasn't mentally prepared, they didn't deserve to be a Chūnin.
"Speaking of which…"
Since they hadn't received the scrolls yet, the exam hadn't technically started.
That meant Jonin instructors like Kakashi could still move freely among the examinees.
So Kakashi, feeling curious, approached Kaede's clone.
"You worked hard just now," Kakashi said. "But I'm a little curious—why continue hosting the exam yourself?"
Meanwhile, Temari and Kankurō were frantically searching for Gaara.
They'd never guess Gaara and Shukaku were currently trapped in another dimension… having hotpot with Kitahara Kaede.
Their instructor, Baki, had also arrived and was now looking for Gaara.
Though no drastic measures were taken, the Sand Village had effectively collapsed.
Word had come from the Third Hokage—Orochimaru had impersonated the Kazekage, so after this Chūnin Exam, the Sand Village would be in great danger.
Especially since even their Tailed Beast weapon, Gaara, had gone missing.
So, the threat from the Sand had been neutralized.
But Kakashi was still curious.
"You could've just used that opportunity to—"
"Part of it was to save face for Konoha," Kaede interrupted."A proctor being impersonated… if word got out, it'd look bad."
"And besides, Sasuke and Naruto were really looking forward to this Chūnin Exam."
"Also…" Kaede paused, "So was I."
"Passing this exam means I can be promoted to Chūnin right away."
"I really don't want to keep doing those meaningless, tedious Genin missions."
"..." Kakashi.
Yeah, he figured.
Kaede was doing it for himself after all.
That personality—he hated unnecessary trouble.
Kakashi was starting to understand why the Second Hokage had said that if they wanted to nominate Kaede as the Fifth Hokage, they'd have to find someone else to do the grunt work.
Because if someone else handled the boring tasks, Kaede might actually agree to it.
Made sense, though.
Back then, even with all his knowledge, Kaede had only ever presented himself as average, ordinary, mid-level.
So maybe he was just a big shot trying to live a newbie's life—picky and lazy about it, too.
"..." Kakashi, now enlightened.
[Kakashi Hatake]:@Shukaku, you hear that? Kaede-kun will deal with you soon.
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:Oh?
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:But it's so hot right now.
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:I think I'm about to melt.
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:I don't want freedom anymore, I just want to turn back into Gaara. But… if I do, Gaara might disappear.
[Kakashi Hatake]:?? Shukaku, didn't you say you had thick skin?
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:But the lava temperature seems to be rising.
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:I'm already using chakra to resist it.
[Minato Namikaze]:Huh?
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:What's that saying again… something about boiling frogs?
[Tobirama]:You mean "boiling a frog in warm water."
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:Yeah, that one…
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:At first I didn't think the lava was a big deal, but now something feels off.
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:So.
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:@Kakashi, tell Kaede to remember that I'm still soaking in lava!
[Kakashi Hatake]:...
[Kakashi Hatake]:His Wood Clone is already handing out the Heaven and Earth scrolls.
[Kakashi Hatake]:The exam's underway.
[Kakashi Hatake]:Just hang in there a little longer.
[One-Tail - Shukaku]:%...
---
Chapter 140+ on my patreon.com/dzeref887