Bang! Bang! Bang!!
Kaede's fists struck the wooden post again and again, each blow landing with a heavy, muffled thud. Deep dents formed in the tough, specially reinforced wood, clearly showing the impact of his punches.
When it came to taijutsu training, Kaede was nothing if not diligent.
His Time Acceleration ability currently served two main purposes. The first was to grant him base movement and reaction speeds far beyond ordinary people, an advantage he could freely stack at will during combat.
The second was boosting his training speed, or more accurately, increasing his total training time.
When training in accelerated mode, every three hours of effort for Kaede only amounted to one hour passing in the outside world!
In other words...
Whether in battle or in training, the enhancement from Time Acceleration seemed to affect only speed on the surface, but in reality, strength was also involved. After all, according to Newton's Second Law, force equals mass times acceleration...
And this law applied just as well in the world of Naruto.
Kaede vaguely remembered a character from another world saying something like:
"Speed is power. Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?!"
If his speed during Time Acceleration could truly reach the speed of light, then a single strike might very well be capable of shattering the world!
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
After adjusting to triple-speed for a bit, Kaede suddenly stopped. He quickly formed a hand seal and activated the Shadow Clone Technique.
Poof! Poof!
Two identical copies of Kaede appeared, one to his left and one to his right, surrounded by a brief cloud of smoke.
The Shadow Clone Technique, widely considered the ultimate support jutsu for training, was something Kaede had prioritized from early on. He'd gotten the training method for it from Kakashi a while back.
Using this technique in the Ninja Academy would drop jaws to the floor, because Shadow Clone Jutsu was a B-rank ninjutsu, three entire ranks above the basic E-rank Clone Jutsu taught in class.
Even many Chunin struggled to master Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Just being able to use it proficiently was enough to crush the vast majority of students and qualify Kaede for early graduation.
Swish! Swish!
Once the two shadow clones appeared, they each dashed off to a different part of the yard.
One of them grabbed a short sword placed on the left side of the courtyard, White Fang, the ninja blade left behind by Sakumo Hatake, which Kaede had inherited as the eldest son.
Kaede had been diligently practicing the renowned Hatake Sword Technique, a powerful style that incorporated chakra into its form—a perfect match for his Time Acceleration ability.
If he could one day master the Hatake Sword Technique to the level of Konoha's White Fang, he'd be able to roam the ninja world unchallenged. In accelerated mode, he might even stand toe-to-toe with those who exceeded Kage-level!
Meanwhile, the second clone moved to the opposite corner of the yard. There, it held out its palm and began to shape and compress chakra into a spherical form.
That's right—the Rasengan.
The core principle behind the Rasengan was chakra shape transformation. Since it was a close-range jutsu, it also synergized well with Time Acceleration. More importantly, training the Rasengan was an excellent way to improve chakra control.
Kaede had already mastered basics like tree-walking and water-walking long ago.
To further refine his chakra control, the Rasengan was the logical next step. However, his chakra reserves weren't even close to Naruto's absurd levels, so his progress was slow. Even after a few months of effort, he'd only managed to get halfway.
"With triple-speed, my body should grow to around age ten in about a month… That should be just enough to meet the physical requirements for Eight Gates training."
While training, Kaede kept contemplating his next steps.
The Eight Gates were extremely important to him. Because of their massive side effects, they weren't suitable for young children, which was why he hadn't tried to secretly learn them from Might Duy just yet.
Still, no matter what, he needed to acquire the training method for the Eight Gates eventually. Despite the drawbacks, their power was undeniable.
Kaede was very clear on his core principle: improve every aspect of his strength to the fullest. That way, he could maximize the power of his Time Acceleration; three times, five times, or even more!
After all, to him, this "Phantom Clock" was like having an upgraded, side-effect-free version of the Holy Grail World's Time Manipulation, and it could be kept active at all times!
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
The clone wielding the White Fang blade continued slicing through the air in the eastern yard, practicing precise strikes infused with chakra.
Though shadow clones couldn't enter accelerated mode, that didn't matter. Kaede only needed them to accumulate experience and skill proficiency.
Meanwhile, the second clone kept condensing chakra in its palm, forming a faint, glowing sphere that rotated with increasing stability.
Poof! Poof!
After a while, both clones exhausted their chakra and vanished in small clouds of white smoke.
Kaede paused his own training and felt a wave of experience and memory flood back into his mind, he absorbed and integrated it quickly.
Taking a deep breath, he once again formed the hand seals.
Poof! Poof!
Two more shadow clones appeared.
This time, beads of sweat formed on Kaede's forehead. He could feel his chakra reserves struggling to keep up.
"Chakra... is always a limiting factor…"
Kaede sighed inwardly.
Naruto, who could train with dozens, or even hundreds, of shadow clones, was truly a freak of nature. A freak among freaks. Just ridiculous.
Then again, he was an Uzumaki and also had the Nine-Tails sealed inside him. His chakra volume was off the charts, there was no replicating that.
After another round of training…
Poof! Poof!
The clones dispersed once again.
Kaede didn't make any new ones this time. His main body had been training taijutsu nonstop, burning through chakra. Two sets of dual clones was already his limit for now.
"1,377… 1,378…"
Kaede counted silently as he repeatedly side-kicked the reinforced wooden post. He didn't stop until his legs were trembling and his body could barely keep going.
Still in accelerated mode, he staggered over to the side of the courtyard, grabbed a water cup, took a sip, and nibbled on a couple of biscuits.
With his metabolism also sped up, his recovery came faster too.
If he kept Time Acceleration active all day, then to him, a single day would equal seventy-two hours. That meant nine meals and three sleep sessions per day.
"I don't know if I could still train with full-body fractures and a 49°C fever…"
"But training more than twenty-five hours a day? Totally doable."
Kaede couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he thought this.