Kaito Akaden (Kaito)

Kaito Akaden Chapter 124

Kushina stirred awake, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. They were puffy from crying all night, and she had requested that both Naruto and Kaito sleep with her, feeling vulnerable after learning the truth about her clan's betrayal. She had wanted to hold her sons close while she slept.

Looking at Kaito, she offered a faint smile and asked, "Ah… didn't you sleep," She walked over to him, sat down beside him, and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. she asked " Kai-kun? What's on your mind? You know you can tell me, right?"

Kaito sighed, his expression heavy. "Lady Tsunade left, Mum."

Kushina's smile faltered, and she gently pulled away, concern etched on her face. "Don't worry, Kai-kun. She just needs time to think. I'm sure she'll come back, ya know?"

….

Kaito leaped back just in the nick of time as a massive lightning dragon crashed onto the spot where he'd been standing moments before. He landed on a tree branch, his sandals skidding slightly as he came to a halt in a small clearing. Glancing back at the direction he'd come from, his eyes narrowed.

Standing on a nearby branch was a tall, dark-skinned man with a broad, muscular frame. His full head of white hair flowed down his back, accompanied by a long beard. He wore the distinctive single-strap flak jacket of Kumogakure, with no shirt beneath, and a thick rope tied around his waist. Dark blue sweatpants completed the look. This was none other than A, the Third Raikage.

The Raikage chuckled deeply. "Hahaha, look around you, brat. You're surrounded. Kumogakure will win this war, no matter what!" As he spoke, Kaito quickly scanned the area. Sure enough, Kumogakure shinobi filled the trees all around, leaving him no room to escape.

"And when we do win," the Raikage continued with a wicked grin, "I'll make sure to take all of Konoha's kekkei genkai back to Kumogakure." He laughed darkly, and the Kumo shinobi around him echoed his amusement.

Some of them even shouted, "Yeah! We'll take all your women back to Kumogakure too!"

Kaito's left eye twitched as his gaze narrowed, hearing those words. His left hand slipped into his ninja pouch, while his right hand gripped a tri-pronged kunai, ready for action.

He quickly retrieved a handful of kunai and shuriken, tossing them into the air in a wide arc. As soon as they left his hand, they multiplied into several hundred using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.

The kunai and shuriken embedded themselves in the trees and the ground, encircling the clearing and the branches where the Kumo shinobi stood. They flew past the Kumo shinobi without hitting them, scattering randomly across the battlefield.

The Raikage laughed, his voice dripping with derision. "Was that your last desperate attack? How far Konoha's standards have fallen!" He pointed at Kaito with a sneer. "This is your end!" Cloaking himself in his lightning armor, the Raikage charged at Kaito with blinding speed, intent on finishing him off.

Just as the Raikage's fist was about to connect, Kaito vanished.

Suddenly, the battlefield erupted with streaks of red. A blur cut down every Kumo shinobi in its path, appearing and disappearing so swiftly that no one could comprehend it before it was too late.

In a flash of red, Kaito reappeared right in front of the Raikage, plunging a kunai crackling with red lightning into his chest. In a low voice, Kaito muttered, "Hiraishingiri – Level 2."

The Raikage's lightning cloak flickered and fizzled out as he slumped to the ground, gasping, "A-Akai... S-Senkō..."

Kaito relaxed his posture and glanced back at the fallen form of the Raikage, panting heavily.

Suddenly, the Raikage's body dissipated into a puff of smoke, followed by all the surrounding Kumo shinobi, revealing them to be Kaito's shadow clones, transformed to look like enemy ninjas.

Exhausted, Kaito collapsed onto the ground, staring up at the sky while trying to catch his breath.

Thanks to his durability seal—something he had created himself—the clones were able to take far more damage than normal and held chakra reserves equivalent to at least a jonin-level shinobi. Combined with his skills, it made for a deadly training simulation.

Kaito had instructed his clones to go all out against him, and they had done just that. However, with their own personalities, they decided to play the role of Kumo ninja led by the Third Raikage.

Since Kaito already knew the speed of the Fourth Raikage, the clones had kept a similar pace for the Third.

There were strict rules for this exercise: the clones weren't allowed to use their own shadow clones or the Hiraishin technique. Kaito, on the other hand, was limited to using only Hiraishin to face all of them. This was a test to sharpen his proficiency with the technique.

Kaito closed his eyes, steadying his breath as he reflected on the past six months.

After Tsunade had left, he, his team, and his family decided there was no point in staying at Degerashi Port any longer, so they left. Tsunade hadn't outright rejected the position of Hokage, but she had simply walked away without giving them an answer.

Kaito and Shikaku had considered various candidates to step in as the Fifth Hokage, but none seemed ideal.

Jiraiya had been a strong option, but he had already turned down the position twice before and hadn't remained in the village since Orochimaru's defection. Kaito knew Jiraiya wasn't the best choice either, given his foolish beliefs and lack of interest in leadership.

Shikaku was another possibility. While a brilliant strategist and leader, Shikaku himself admitted he wasn't at a Kage's combat level. His appointment might give other villages dangerous ideas about launching an attack.

That left Fugaku Uchiha as the only real option, but making him Hokage would be difficult, especially given the current circumstances.

And speaking of the situation—things had worsened. Itachi had confirmed that the Uchiha clan was indeed planning a coup d'état. They had already begun stockpiling weapons and armor in preparation.

itachi had told him that Shisui had informed the Hokage and his advisors about the impending coup, confirming the dire state of affairs.

Itachi was also acting as a double agent, working both for the Uchiha clan and the Hokage, so he had intimate knowledge of the situation.

Time was running out, and Kaito felt lost, unsure of the right course of action.

He had only one real option: help the Uchiha clan execute the coup. But in his mind, the plan would involve only killing the Hokage and his advisors.

If he and Itachi worked together, they could eliminate the Third Hokage and his council without too much difficulty. With Hiraishin, Kaito could discreetly mark the targets and teleport them far from Konoha, making it easy to kill them and make it seem as though they had simply vanished.

Kaito sighed in frustration.

Just then, he heard the cry of a hawk from above.

Sighing again, he stood up and teleported to the head of his father's statue atop the Hokage Monument. In the next instant, he flickered away, reappearing beside the window of the Hokage's office.

Peering through, he saw several figures seated inside, including Koharu, Homura, and Hiruzen Sarutobi himself. They were gathered around the table, with Hiruzen puffing calmly on his smoking pipe.

Kaito knocked lightly on the window, then opened it, asking, "You called, Lord Third?"

Hiruzen nodded, smiling warmly. "Ah, Kaito-kun, come in. You're rather early—I only just sent out the summons."

"I was nearby when I received it, Lord Third," Kaito said as he stepped into the office, only for Koharu and Homura to immediately chastise him for entering through the window.

Kaito didn't bother greeting the two elders, as he wasn't particularly fond of them.

Koharu huffed, "Is this any way to enter the office of your village leader?"

Homura added, "This is highly disrespectful to the Hokage's authority. I expected better from Minato's son."

Hiruzen waved them off, chuckling. "It's quite alright. Jiraiya and my other students used to do the same."

Kaito simply deadpanned, staring at them with clear boredom. Inwardly, he thought, Maybe I should just kill them now and be done with it. He could sense about five Anbu nearby, none of whom were particularly strong.

Hiruzen turned to Kaito, his tone more relaxed. "It's been a while, how have you been, how's Kushina, Naruto-kun, and Karin-chan? If i'm not mistaken they started at the academy this term."

Kaito nodded. "They're doing well, Lord Third. Mum's keeping busy. With Naruto in school, she has a lot more time to work on developing new seals. As for Naruto and Karin, yes, they started at the academy this year. Naruto's finding it hard to focus in class—says he's bored—but other than that, they're both doing fine. Karin's adapted to life in Konoha well, and she's even made some friends, mostly through Naruto."

"Ah, that's good to hear," Hiruzen replied, puffing out a plume of smoke. "I'm glad you're all doing well, my boy."

Kaito tilted his head slightly and got straight to the point. "Was I called here for a mission, Lord Third?" He then glanced at the two elders, thinking to himself, If this is about a mission, why are these two old farts here? They usually don't get involved in mission assignments unless it concerns the Fire Daimyo—and even then, rarely.

Hiruzen nodded. "Yes, you were. We're just waiting for the others to arrive so I can explain the mission details to all of you together."

Koharu cleared her throat, cutting in. "Since you're here early, there's something we need to discuss that's come up recently."

Homura handed Kaito a small black book, opened to a specific page.

Kaito took the book and looked at the open page, seeing his name written alongside a picture of himself.

Kaito Uzumaki

Age: 11-12

Hidden Village: Konoha

Jonin Sensei: Shikaku Nara

Rank: Chunin

Threat Level: S

Status: Active

Affiliation: None

Intelligence: High

Known Chakra Natures:

Wind

Lightning (highly proficient)

Earth

Water (highly proficient)

Description:

The son of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki. Kaito has red hair and blue eyes, making him easily identifiable.

Known Abilities:

Incredibly fast

Highly skilled in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and fuinjutsu

Subdued a Jinchuriki at the age of 8-9

Proficient in kenjutsu

Able to use the Uzumaki clan's chakra chains

Wields red lightning, similar to Kakashi's Chidori

Can use the Rasengan with ease, including elemental variations of the technique

Special Ability:

Hiraishin no Jutsu: He possesses the ability to use the Fourth Hokage's most prized technique. His level of mastery is unknown, but approach with caution.

Note:

Do not engage unless you are an S-rank shinobi.

Reward:

50 million ryo (dead)

"It seems the Raikage really didn't take kindly to me injuring his arm," Kaito thought as he glanced up from the bingo book, already anticipating what these fools were going to ask.

Homura spoke first. "That's the latest edition of Kumogakure's bingo book, and you've been added to it with a rather hefty reward attached."

Koharu followed, her tone sharp. "One of the reasons we called you here is to ask why you've been placed in their bingo book." She narrowed her eyes at Kaito—or rather, tried to, as she always had them closed for some reason.

Hiruzen interjected, his voice more serious. "And can you explain why there's a note saying you can use the Hiraishin no Jutsu?"

Kaito shrugged casually. "It must be from when I ran into the Raikage a few months ago." Now that the secret was out about his ability to use Hiraishin, Kaito figured it wasn't a big deal to admit he'd encountered the Raikage. However, he had no intention of sharing all the details.

Both Hiruzen and Homura's eyes widened. "You ran into the Raikage?" Hiruzen asked, sounding shocked.

Looking down at the book, Kaito responded calmly, "It was a few months back, while Hotaru and I were on a mission. We crossed paths with the Raikage near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water." Kaito wasn't about to tell them the whole truth, so he gave them a version that tied into one of the missions he and Hotaru had completed around that time.

Kaito continued, "While we were resting for lunch, the Raikage and his subordinates landed in the same clearing we were in. It seemed the Raikage recognized both me and Hotaru. One of his subordinates suggested they should kidnap us to create their own Uzumaki and Hyuga clan for Kumogakure. the Other said that since Konoha had humiliated them, this would be the perfect opportunity."

Hiruzen, piecing everything together, asked, "So you used Hiraishin to flee from them?"

Kaito nodded.

Koharu then added, "That still doesn't explain why you didn't inform your Hokage about this incident or your ability to use Hiraishin." Homura nodded in agreement.

"It honestly slipped my mind. It was a three-week mission, and we were exhausted by the end of it," Kaito shrugged. "I'm not as proficient with it as my father. It still takes a lot of chakra and concentration to pull off, and it's completely useless in battle. I didn't think it was worth informing the Hokage about."

Hiruzen nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, I'm glad both of you managed to escape that ordeal unharmed."

He then glanced at the book in Kaito's hands. "It will be difficult for you now that there's a price on your head."

Kaito closed the book and handed it over to Homura. "I don't think things would be much different if people knew I could use Hiraishin. It might even serve as a deterrent."

Hiruzen chuckled. "Yes, that might be the case. Your father's use of that jutsu is quite well-known."

Just then, they heard a knock on the door, and Hiruzen called out, "Enter!"

A familiar black-haired teen walked in, followed by an unfamiliar-looking Anko and a few other shinobi. It was Shisui, standing at the front. He bowed slightly and said, "You asked for us, Hokage-sama?"

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