Kaede Kitahara had never once considered interfering in the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.
He knew very well how many forces and powerful figures were involved behind the scenes. Back then, he was in no position to offend any of them.
Even during the night of the Nine-Tails incident, he had known something was happening. But as an ordinary civilian, he and his mother had simply been escorted to a shelter like everyone else.
"My family might have some Uchiha blood in our ancestry," Kaede said calmly. "I awakened the Sharingan by accident."
If anyone asked, the answer was simple.
An unknown Uchiha ancestor.
Namikaze Minato thought about it for a moment and accepted the explanation.
Unlike the Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha Clan had plenty of records of marrying outside the clan. The same was true for the Senju Clan.
Of course, not everyone could awaken the Sharingan. Most children born from Uchiha mixed with outsiders would never awaken it in their lifetime. And even if they did, they were usually brought back into the clan.
Kaede's situation was different.
The Uchiha Clan had been wiped out.
There was no clan left to bring him home.
"Wait, does that mean Sasuke still has other clan members?" Uzumaki Naruto asked, stunned. "I thought it was just him and his brother left."
"I guess I'm an exception," Kaede said with a faint smile. "But technically, aside from Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi, there are still other Uchiha in the world."
"Uchiha Madara?" Minato's gaze sharpened.
From the memories Kaede had shown him earlier, he knew that someone who might be Uchiha Madara would attack Konoha in the future, leading to his and Uzumaki Kushina's deaths.
Kaede was about to answer, but Minato raised a hand.
"Forget it. I don't need to know. Knowing won't change the outcome."
He had already planned to seal everyone's memories. Whether he knew more or not no longer mattered.
"Actually, there's something I'd like to ask you, Namikaze Jonin," Kaede said.
"What is it?"
"It's about Flying Thunder God Second Stage."
Kaede figured this was too good an opportunity to waste.
He had only mastered Flying Thunder God First Stage so far. It was already usable in real combat.
But at best, that put him roughly on the same level as the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
Compared to Namikaze Minato, who had elevated Flying Thunder God to an entirely new realm, the gap was enormous.
Minato had developed it into a second stage. That was a completely different level.
"You know Flying Thunder God too?" Minato couldn't hide his shock.
He knew better than anyone how difficult that technique was.
In Konoha's history, only two people had mastered it. The Second Hokage and himself.
Space-time ninjutsu required rare talent. And beyond that, the technique itself was extremely classified. Only a handful of people were even eligible to learn it.
Candidates went through layers of review and scrutiny before being taught. In the end, very few could even access it. Fewer still had the talent to use it.
Producing a Fourth Hokage like Minato was practically a miracle.
"Yes. I can use Flying Thunder God," Kaede admitted. "But only the first stage. I've never managed to reach the second."
He carefully avoided explaining how he learned it.
Minato assumed it had been passed down by Konoha's higher-ups, just as he himself had learned it from the Scroll of Seals.
There was no other logical explanation.
If Kaede had earned that level of trust, then in that timeline he must have been considered one of the village's own promising talents.
Minato recalled how Kaede had instantly cast genjutsu on both him and Naruto earlier. That alone showed elite Jonin-level skill.
Given his age, Kaede definitely counted as a young prodigy.
It made sense the village would value him.
What Minato did not know was that Kaede was merely an unremarkable Chunin in his own timeline, hardly someone with close ties to the higher-ups.
His Flying Thunder God had come from a cheat-like system, not from official transmission.
Minato believed he understood the situation, and his attitude softened immediately.
True to his "Little Sun" reputation, he enthusiastically began explaining Flying Thunder God Second Stage.
Kaede listened carefully, committing every word to memory. He even took mental notes, worried that once memories were sealed, he might forget everything.
As Minato spoke, Kaede gradually understood.
Flying Thunder God First Stage required pre-marking a location with a formula in advance. Preparation had to be done ahead of time.
Second Stage was different.
It allowed the user to generate a temporary formula on the spot.
Minato had drawn inspiration from the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques. By merging the Flying Thunder God formula into a temporary sealing pattern, he achieved instant activation.
"That's genius," Kaede said honestly.
Minato's talent in space-time ninjutsu was undeniable.
If he had lived another ten years, how strong would he have become?
Hard to imagine.
He probably could not break into Super Kage Level territory without Otsutsuki Clan blood, but within Kage Level ranks, he would absolutely have stood among the very top.
After all, most of Minato's techniques were designed for fighting humans. Against beings like the Otsutsuki Clan and their godlike descendants, their effectiveness was limited.
"That's about it," Minato concluded. "I don't know exactly how my future self refined it, but it should be similar. There's still room for improvement."
"This is already more than enough. Thank you, Namikaze Jonin," Kaede said sincerely.
Minato truly lived up to his reputation. Once he considered you one of his own, he was incredibly generous.
At that moment, Akimichi Choza and Aburame Shibi returned from reconnaissance.
"Minato, we've confirmed it," Aburame Shibi reported.
"Mukade is in the royal palace. Beneath it, there's an underground factory producing puppets nonstop. It's probably what Kaede Chunin mentioned earlier. He intends to use that army to conquer the world."
"The factory is holding many of Roran's civilians captive," Choza added. "Mukade is forcing them to work as labor to keep production running. What's the plan?"
"What?" Sara's face turned pale. "Please, you have to save my people."
Everyone exchanged looks.
Kaede stepped forward.
"From what I know, Mukade has spent years fusing himself with the Dragon Vein's power. He's troublesome now. At most, with the Dragon Vein's amplification, he's barely reached Kage Level. He's not unbeatable.
"But to be safe, we'll split up.
"Queen of Loulan, you know how to seal the Dragon Vein. Go straight to the underground factory and cut it off. Akimichi Jonin and Aburame Jonin will accompany you.
"As for Namikaze Jonin, Naruto, and me, we'll head directly to the palace.
"There's no point wasting time fighting his puppet army. We take out the leader. Kill Mukade, and the puppets won't matter."
The logic was simple.
Avoid a war of attrition.
Instead, use a ninja's mobility to strike at the source.
Meanwhile, Sara would sever Mukade's connection to the Dragon Vein as backup.
Kaede had full confidence in Minato and Naruto.
Neither was at their historical peak yet. Especially Minato, who was far from his strongest state.
Even so, both were solidly at Kage Level.
With Kaede added to the mix, this was an absurdly powerful lineup. Even in a great ninja war, Konoha would rarely have three Kage Level fighters stationed on a single battlefield.
It was extravagant.
"This plan works," Minato nodded.
In his estimation, he could defeat Mukade alone. With Naruto and Kaede supporting him, there would be no issues.
"Then we move."
They split into two groups.
Minato, Kaede, and Uzumaki Naruto rushed toward the palace at the city's center.
The moment they entered, countless puppets turned toward them and attacked as if recognizing intruders.
The three scattered, dodging swiftly.
It was Kaede's first time fighting these puppets. As he leapt between pillars and avoided incoming strikes, he assessed their strength.
"Boom!"
He smashed one apart with a punch.
Instant judgment.
At best, they were on the level of ordinary Chunin or Genin.
Far inferior to the puppets of Sunagakure.
Sunagakure's puppets were typically coated in poison and loaded with hidden mechanisms. Even Kaede would not dare engage those recklessly. One mistake and he would be poisoned.
And Mukade thought he could conquer the world with this?