Kaede had moved to rejoin the others with the battle now coming to a rushed end; Kenta had enough power within him now to cause a considerable shift in how things would go, but based on how he was defending his comrades now it was apparent that he didn’t have the will to kill those he had called his friends once. He intercepted all the jutsu he could in a timely fashion, using enlarged fists and feet to deflect what he could and halt all pursuers that would follow them. Many of his subordinates were surprised at the lengths he went to see them safe, to which he would bellow out to get a move on. The sole efforts of a single person could often change the opinions of an entire group of people. With Nikuya being dealt with by the Hokage, Kenta was the only leading officer to help instruct them, and though they ran away Kaede was certain most of which had felt guilty about it in the end regardless of the will to live.

Reuniting with the others as most of the pursuers of the retreating Imperial force came at Kenta, Kaede’s Byakugan had picked up a specific detail nestled away in the trees further behind, particularly close to Natsumi’s mother, Chizuma. Coming to a quick conclusion she was certain of, the Hyuga had been perplexed at Karela’s conclusion of Natsumi becoming an enemy. Letting Kenta run away was a particular error of judgment amongst all involved, but Kaede was thankful that they were able to see otherwise. Despite any anger they might’ve held towards him, Kenta was enduring all of the hate he could in order to see others flee alive, knowing they may never forgive him. However, to suggest attacking Natsumi was pretty much suicide considering the limited capabilities of the entire group shown. Other than perhaps Natsumi, Katsu might’ve been the only one who could do anything. Dren had been slow to act in many cases even though he was older and shared the rank of Jounin with her, and Karela’s anger was clouding her judgment to the point she might bring the others down. 

[b]“No,”[/b] Kaede started, her tone adopting more maturity than innocence. She had placed hope that the others could work together without her being there, but that was a mistake; organizing an attack on Natsumi was not going to solve anything, nor was running. [b]“Attacking Natsumi is out of the question. Out of all the people she could have gone against, it was Kenta specifically, not any of us. There’s some level of control with her, and attacking her now might change that if we aren’t careful. Her body is also capable of being shrouded in flame, you might get Dren killed trying to touch her.”[/b] Not even Kenta could hold onto Natsumi for long, and as much as she didn’t enjoy thinking less of others, Dren hadn’t proved very capable in combat. As of now if he were to fight anyone present, he might die without his comrades beside him. The options Karela presented were reckless and careless, but no one had questioned them whatsoever. This was a bad sign. [b]“Kenta isn’t running away. Those pills he took give him incredible power, but he’ll die shortly after taking just one. I don’t want to see him die, just look what he’s doing!”[/b]

Kenta, in spite of all the power within his body, refused to kill anyone that found their way in his range. He knocked one shinobi into a group of others, reached behind himself without even looking to grab another, and tossed him into that very same group. Established as an enemy of the rebellion but still going to great lengths to ensure no one else died but himself, all to buy the fleeing Imperials time to get away …he was still a good man, and it seemed like the only people capable of seeing that were the girls who had grown up to know a gentle side to this ferocious enemy. 

[b]“If he wanted to kill any of us, he would have. He hasn’t done so because he doesn’t want to, he’s still a shinobi of the Leaf to the day he dies, and I won’t see it happen today.”[/b] Organizing this group was going to prove impossible in the midst of battle, especially knowing that Kenta was likely triple the strength of all of them combined. The only saving grace they had was that Kenta obviously left them alive because he had no desire to win. As long as they were mindful of the obvious patterns he was following, they could defeat him. Kenta Akimichi, as strong as he was, couldn’t defeat the inevitable, nor was he prepared to. [b]“For now, back Natsumi and myself up if we need it.” [/b] 

Beginning to accelerate towards Kenta as he proceeded to catch the blades of two opponents and snap them in half with his bare hands before taking their heads and smashing them together, surely knocking the pair out and causing one major headache, Kaede tensed as he sensed her approach and drew back a fist.

Whatever happened next, she couldn’t miss.