Kaito Akaden (Kaito)

Kaito chapter 25: Preparing

It had been a few weeks since Kaito had forewarned Minato and Kushina about the potential threat of Obito attacking them during Naruto's birth. Now, on October 9th, the day before Naruto's arrival, tension hung in the air.

The morning after the first unsettling nightmare, once Minato had departed for work, Kushina mustered the courage to broach the topic with Kaito. She inquired, her voice tinged with nervousness, "Kaito-kun, you're familiar with the Nine Tails, aren't you?" Her apprehension stemmed from the fear of Kaito's reaction upon learning of her status as a Jinchuriki.

Unsure why she had brought up the subject of the Nine Tails, Kaito replied, "Hai, Mom... It's sealed within you, right?"

"Hai... You... You don't hate me because of it, do you?" she asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

Comprehending the gravity of her question, Kaito rose from his seat and enveloped her in a comforting embrace. In a gentle, reassuring tone, he murmured, "How could I ever hate you, Mom? You're my most precious person, you know." Kushina clung to Kaito, her heart swelling with gratitude and joy, tears trickling down her cheeks.

That night, despite the events of the previous evening, a palpable sense of contentment enveloped Kushina.

Every day, Kaito maintained the facade of being plagued by the same haunting dream depicting the tragic demise of his parents. He persistently urged them to take action, his fear of losing them palpable.

Throughout this period, Kaito remained steadfastly by his mother's side, forgoing even his usual training sessions. His pursuit of authenticity led him to sacrifice precious hours of sleep, determined to make the charade as convincing as possible.

Kaito's heart weighed heavily with sorrow, knowing that his relentless nightmares had also taken a toll on his mother, who was in the final stages of her pregnancy. The burden of protecting them weighed on him, leaving him with no choice but to endure the torment of waking up each night, his screams echoing the vivid horrors of his dreams.

Kaito contemplated sharing information about Obito's abilities with Minato but ultimately dismissed the idea. He reasoned, "Even if I were to disclose Obito's capabilities, Dad would still want to assess them firsthand, to devise a counterstrategy. Besides, it only took Dad a couple of encounters and a mere three to four minutes to best Obito anyway."

Additionally, Kaito recognized the limitations of recounting the dream in its entirety. Dreams are inherently elusive, and one can never fully capture every detail. He understood that for the sake of authenticity, he needed to refrain from providing an overly detailed account to his parents, aiming instead to convince them of the recurring nightmare's gravity.

Other than During a dinner one night, Kaito took the opportunity to assist Minato with perfecting the Wind Style Rasengan. It had been a week since Kaito shared his dream with them. One evening, Minato returned home after a mundane day at the office. After a refreshing bath, he joined Kaito and Kushina at the dinner table. As they enjoyed their meal, Kaito's curiosity got the better of him, and he inquired about any jutsu Minato had personally created.

"Hmm... Dad, have you ever created any jutsu yourself?" Kaito asked, aware that Minato was the mastermind behind the renowned Rasengan, a jutsu of immense influence. However, since Kaito's reincarnation into this world, he had yet to witness it in action.

Taken aback by the sudden question, Minato responded, "I do have a few jutsu that I created... Why do you ask?"

With a hint of excitement in his voice, Kaito quickly followed up, "Can you show me one of these jutsu?" He couldn't help but hope that Minato would demonstrate the Rasengan.

Minato agreed with a smile, "Sure, after we finish eating." He noticed that Kaito's mood had been somewhat subdued in the past few days due to the "nightmares," so he was happy to oblige and share the jutsu, knowing it would bring some much-needed enthusiasm to Kaito.

After finishing dinner and lending a hand to Kushina with the dishes, Minato made his way to the living room where Kushina and Kaito were waiting. He spoke up, "Alright, Kaito, this is a jutsu that I created for your mother." As he said this, Minato raised his hand, palm facing up.

Chakra began to coalesce around Minato's palm, producing a distinct swirling sound as it gathered and formed into a ball of whirling energy.

"This is the Rasengan," Minato announced with a smile. "I drew inspiration from witnessing a Jinchuriki perform a Bijūdama….i made this jutsu to help your mother stand up to the other Jinchuriki and Biju in battle. it is the pinnacle of chakra shape transformation".

"Sugoi!" exclaimed Kaito, impressed by the revelation of why Minato had created the Rasengan. He recalled that Minato had initially crafted it after witnessing a tailed beast bomb, but he hadn't known it was specifically for his mother.

"Rasengan... did you name it?" Kaito inquired, aware of Minato's tendency to give techniques long and complicated names, such as the combo attack he named for Naruto and Sasuke during the war. He was curious to know who had christened this particular jutsu.

Upon hearing the question, Kushina burst into laughter, and Minato hung his head in mock embarrassment. "Of course, I'm the one who named it... Your father wanted to call it 'Ice Pop something,' you know," she said between laughs.

Minato mumbled, "Ice Pop Inspired Nimbus Jiraiya Twin Whorl Sphere isn't a bad name," which caused both Kushina and Kaito to burst out laughing.

Grumbling slightly, Minato continued, "Though the jutsu isn't complete... Initially, I had wanted to add my nature transformation to it, but after three years of trying, I haven't been able to incorporate it."

Kaito was well aware of how Naruto managed to infuse chakra nature transformation into the Rasengan and decided to drop a subtle hint to help Minato out. He thought to himself, 'Hmmm... Naruto probably only used Wind Release Rasengan once or twice in the whole series and mostly stuck with the Rasenshuriken anyway. So, I'll give him a hint and see how it goes.'

"Hmm... Did you try using a shadow clone to assist you with it?" Kaito inquired, his gaze fixed on the Rasengan in Minato's palm.

Hearing the question, Minato looked puzzled. "Huh... Why would I use a shadow clone to help with adding nature transformation to the Rasengan?"

Kaito explained, "You know... dividing up the task. It must be like looking in both directions at the same time, right? So, using a shadow clone to infuse nature chakra while you can concentrate on maintaining the Rasengan." He couldn't help but mentally apologize to Kakashi for borrowing his solution.

Minato's eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing Kaito's suggestion. He exclaimed, "That's it!" and in a flash, he teleported away.

Startled, Kaito turned to his mother, who was shaking her head and sighed, "Why did you have to give him ideas, Kaito-kun?"

The next morning, to everyone's surprise, Minato returned with a triumphant grin on his face. It was no shocker, really. Minato was truly a monstrous talent. It had taken him only one night to perfect the Rasengan, a feat that even Naruto, with the help of hundreds of clones, took days to achieve.

…

It was currently evening, and Minato had arrived back home early to spend some quality time with his family before he had to head out again. Kaito lay stretched out on the sofa, his head resting on his mother's lap as he slept. It had been exhausting for Kaito to maintain the act of having nightmares every night, causing him to lose precious sleep.

Suddenly, they all heard a knock at the door. This unexpected sound startled Kaito, causing him to jolt awake. This wasn't part of his act, as he had been particularly alert to his surroundings, uncertain about how his presence might have altered the course of events.

"It's okay, Kaito-kun, it's just the door," reassured Kushina, her hand gently caressing his head. Meanwhile, Minato went to the door to greet whoever was on the other side.

Having been abruptly awakened, Kaito turned his gaze towards the door and observed Minato welcoming in Hiruzen Sarutobi and his wife, Biwako Sarutobi.

Upon seeing them, Kushina rose from her seat and warmly greeted them, saying, "Lord Third, Lady Biwako... Come in, it's good to see you."

"Ah, Kushina, good to see you doing well," Hiruzen responded with a smile as he exchanged pleasantries.

Biwako added, "It's good to see you, Kushina. I hope the baby's doing well," as she placed a gentle hand on Kushina's stomach, expressing her concern for the growing life within.

Minato graciously served tea as they all took their seats at the dining table.

"Ah, this must be young Kaito... I've heard quite a lot about you from Minato," Hiruzen remarked upon seeing Kaito. Biwako chimed in, "My, my, the last time I saw you, you were but a baby."

Kushina gave Kaito a gentle nudge. "Kaito-kun, this is the Third Hokage and his wife, Lady Biwako. She's the one who helped me during your birth."

Kaito bowed his head respectfully and greeted, "Hajimemashite."

Kaito, however, harbored a different sentiment towards Hiruzen. He couldn't shake the knowledge of the hardships Naruto endured due to decisions made by the self-proclaimed "strongest hokage." It weighed heavily on him that despite his father's wishes, Naruto's childhood was marred. He pondered, 'He allowed the village to bully and shun Naruto, even though he possessed the power to put an end to it.'

In contrast to Jiraiya, whom Kaito didn't harbor any animosity towards, his feelings towards Hiruzen were rooted in resentment for all that he and his associate Danzo had orchestrated, and would continue to do.

After a while of exchanging pleasantries, Kushina turned to Hiruzen and inquired, "What brings you here, Lord Hiruzen?"

Upon hearing the question, Hiruzen solemnly responded, "Kushina, I hope you recall what giving birth as a jinchuriki entails. During the childbirth, the seal containing the Nine-Tails weakens... I'm sorry, but as a precautionary measure, you will have to deliver the child the same way young Kaito was, away from the village, inside a barrier."

Minato, faced kushina and interjected, "we have the seal to think of, so i will be accompanying you"

Hiruzen nodded, affirming, "Just like the last time, Minato. Taji from the ANBU will join you, and I will also send my wife, Biwako, to assist. This must be carried out with the utmost secrecy... As before, I will assign bodyguards, but they will be ANBU operatives under my direct command."

As Hiruzen issued his orders, Kaito couldn't help but think, "Huh, who is the Hokage here... Does the old monkey still think he's in charge? And why does he still have ANBU directly under him?"

In a serious tone, Kaito announced, "I'll also come with you, Mom," capturing everyone's attention. He knew what was at stake, and he hoped that his presence would influence the course of events. Internally, he resolved, "I can't entrust my mother's safety to the old monkey's cannon fodder ANBU."

As Kaito requested to be present during the birth, Kushina and Minato exchanged a knowing glance, understanding his concern.

Before they could respond, the old man, with a stern expression, interjected, "It's not a place for children to be," his tone serious as he fixed his gaze on Kaito.

Ignoring the old monkey, Kaito fixed his parents with determined eyes. Recognizing that they wouldn't be able to dissuade him, Minato and Kushina exchanged resigned glances.

"Alright, you will accompany your mother," Minato relented, and Kushina nodded in agreement.

Biwako, her concern evident, interjected, "You can't be serious, Minato," her gaze shifting between them and her husband.

"It isn't a place for kids, Minato," Hiruzen added, but Minato responded with a reassuring smile, saying, "It's okay, Lord Third. I'll keep an eye on him."

"I'll go on ahead and prepare everything," Minato declared, to which Kushina nodded. With that, Minato departed.

Recognizing that there was no point in further argument, Biwako spoke up, "I will take you there, Kushina."

"Hai, I appreciate it," replied Kushina with a smile.

Meanwhile, Kaito stood to the side, mentally preparing himself for what lay ahead.

-----------

If you wish to support this story, please join me at patreon.com/Tilct