Watching the black-clad shinobi desperately trying to flee, Aaron didn't bother giving chase. Instead, he calmly raised his right arm and unleashed the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Air Quake!"
Crack! Snap!
The air itself fractured, like a pane of glass about to shatter. Jagged fissures spread across the sky, as though reality had been struck by an invisible hammer.
Boom!!!
Whoooosh!!
A massive shockwave tore through the forest, whipping up hurricane-force winds. Trees were ripped from the ground, soil overturned in great chunks, leaves and debris spiraling into the air.
The fleeing shinobi froze in place, utterly overwhelmed.
He couldn't comprehend it.
What kind of monstrous power was this?
The shockwave from a single punch… strong enough to level half a forest?
"Is this really something a shinobi can do? Can taijutsu actually reach this level?"
With escape clearly impossible, the man's will collapsed. The light drained from his eyes as he muttered to himself, allowing the raging winds to tear him apart.
Looking at the devastation before him, Aaron rubbed his temple.
Good thing this happened outside the village. If this had been inside the Hidden Leaf, the repair costs alone would've been a nightmare.
This was like using a cannon to swat a fly. He'd wiped out nearly half a forest just to eliminate a Special Jonin.
Still, glancing at Kakashi, who looked like his entire worldview had just shattered Aaron decided it was worth it.
Kakashi had been personally assigned to him by Minato. A prodigy who became a Jonin at twelve. And between them lingered that awkward history of taking the same Chunin Exams Kakashi passing, Aaron failing.
So even though he could've simply used the Body Flicker Technique to catch up and end it quietly, Aaron had chosen the dramatic route instead. A spectacle.
And honestly? Seeing the normally cool, aloof Kakashi looking like he was questioning his entire existence was pretty entertaining.
Kakashi stood up, eyes wide, grass and dust clinging to his clothes. Remembering his earlier thoughts, shame crept into his expression.
"Aar– Aaron-senpai… y-you…"
Shock, embarrassment, curiosity so many emotions collided that he began to stammer.
Aaron replied calmly, "Why are you so surprised? That was just about the level of an average Chunin. Compared to the Leaf's younger generation, it's nothing special."
Late-generation Leaf Genin could throw down like walking natural disasters. Compared to them, this was child's play.
"Average Chunin…" Kakashi muttered, speechless.
Average? What kind of Chunin levels half a forest with one punch? As if he'd never been a Chunin himself.
"Kakashi."
Aaron's tone suddenly turned stern.
"What happened to you is tragic. But as a shinobi, once you accept a mission, you give it your full focus.
If you get yourself killed, that's your own failure. But dragging your teammates down with you or causing the mission to fail, that's unacceptable."
Kakashi felt like the ground should swallow him whole.
First he'd failed to notice he was being tailed. Then he'd ignored Aaron's warning out of arrogance. In battle, he'd allowed himself to get distracted and ended up injured.
It was a disaster from start to finish.
If Aaron had truly been just an average Chunin, they'd both be corpses by now.
"Aaron-senpai… I'm sorry." Kakashi lowered his head.
"Louder. You call that the voice of a shinobi?"
"Aaron-senpai, I'm sorry!"
Aaron nodded in satisfaction.
"Do you have any idea how much Minato believes in you? How high his expectations are?"
He paused.
"I wasn't planning to tell you this. But your performance today left me no choice.
The reason Minato arranged for us to work together is because you'll soon be joining the new ANBU unit. You'll be serving under me."
Kakashi fell silent.
Through Aaron's words, he could clearly feel Minato's faith in him.
For Minato to assign someone this strong, someone who had hidden his true power, to guide him… it couldn't have been easy.
And he had nearly squandered that trust.
"Even though you performed poorly, considering you're the son of the White Fang and out of respect for Minato, I'll give you one more chance."
Aaron tossed a scroll to Kakashi.
"I'll teach you a taijutsu technique. If you can master it within a week, I'll take you on as planned. If not, it won't matter who vouches for you."
Kakashi caught the scroll and opened it.
Inside was the training method for "Shave," one of the Six Powers techniques.
With his foundation in Whitebeard's style of combat and a clear understanding of the principles behind the Six Powers, Aaron had recreated several of the simpler techniques, integrating chakra control into them.
For example, by channeling chakra into the feet during Shave, the strain on the body could be reduced while dramatically increasing speed.
He'd developed the Six Powers with a bigger vision in mind: strengthening the new ANBU.
If every operative in the unit mastered these techniques, their combat effectiveness would skyrocket.
And the stronger the ANBU, the stronger the Hidden Leaf. The stronger the village, the stronger he would become.
It was a mutually reinforcing system.
"Taijutsu…" Kakashi murmured.
This wasn't like the techniques he'd learned before. Traditional training focused heavily on chakra manipulation. But this scroll emphasized physical conditioning just as much.
He tucked the scroll away and said firmly, "I'll master it."
The dead couldn't return. What mattered was honoring the living. He wouldn't betray Minato's expectations again.
Seeing the renewed fire in Kakashi's eyes, Aaron nodded inwardly.
That had been the real goal all along.
He had no intention of leading a version of Kakashi who wandered around muttering, "Rin… my Rin…" and drowning in guilt.
He'd have to teach the technique eventually anyway. Better to frame it as a trial and push Kakashi to rise.
And if Kakashi somehow failed, there were other solutions.
The system points he possessed weren't just for improving his own template compatibility. They could directly enhance abilities, his or others'. As long as they were Leaf shinobi, he could invest in them.
Still, if Kakashi couldn't master it, he'd be disappointed. A twelve-year-old Jonin prodigy should have the talent for something like this.
Especially since Shave was among the simpler of the Six Powers.
"What about them?" Kakashi gestured at the three shinobi knocked unconscious by Aaron's overwhelming killing intent.
"Take them back," Aaron replied coolly. "Hand them over to the Interrogation Division. Anyone who dares to ambush Leaf shinobi will pay the price."
The Hidden Leaf had suffered greatly in recent wars. But it had once been the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
And as the saying goes in the West, even a fallen giant still casts a long shadow.
If they traced this back to a minor faction, a single squad of Jonin would be more than enough to make an example of them.