Kaito Chapter 40

Kaito Chapter 40

As everyone settled into bed for the night, Kaito couldn't help but worry. "I'll have to increase the number of clones watching over Mom and Naruto just to be safe," he thought.

He knew it was Danzo who had caused all this chaos. "I know it was you who did this...and most likely because I rejected your offer," he seethed as he stared up at the ceiling. "Just you wait, you arrogant shit...I'll make you regret ever crossing us." But for now, there wasn't much he could do except keep a close eye on his family.

…

Hiruzen sat at his desk in the Hokage office, surrounded by stacks of paperwork. His pipe hung loosely from his lips as he scribbled away. Suddenly, an ANBU appeared and dropped to one knee before him. "Hokage-sama," they reported, "there was an incident involving Lady Kushina earlier today."

Hiruzen furrowed his brow and took a puff from his pipe. "Report."

The ANBU straightened up and spoke quickly, "Two chunin confronted and harassed Lady Kushina. We received this information from the Konoha police force. Her son, Kaito Uzumaki, was also present and intervened, beating up the two chunin."

Hearing this, Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

The ANBU continued, "Upon investigating the reason for the chunin's actions, we discovered rumors circulating around the village that Lady Kushina was responsible for the Nine Tails attack."

Puffing out smoke with a serious expression, Hiruzen ordered, "Suppress all rumors about Kushina and find whoever is responsible for spreading them. Also, increase the number of ANBU guarding her and her family."

The ANBU bowed their head and replied, "Hai," before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Feeling heavy with guilt, Hiruzen walked over to the window overlooking the village. He looked up at the Hokage monument and whispered, "I failed you, Minato." With a sigh, he returned to his desk to continue his never-ending pile of paperwork.

….

The sun was beginning to set over the village hidden in the leaves, casting a warm golden light through the trees. The villagers were going about their daily routines, children played in the streets while merchants sold their goods in the marketplace. In the academy, the instructor dismissed his class for the day, reminding them to study during the upcoming winter break.

Kaito let out a sigh looking up from the scroll he had been reading and stretched his arms above his head. "Finally, it's over," he said to his friends Itachi and Hotaru.

Itachi looked at him and said . "It's not like you were paying attention anyways," he remarked.

Kaito grinned, unfazed. "Doesn't change the fact it's boring.", Rolling up his scroll, Kaito turned to Hotaru who was packing her belongings. "Well, are you guys ready to leave?" he asked.

Hotaru quickly finished packing and nodded. "Hai," she replied.

The three of them walked out of the academy together, chatting about their plans for the holiday break. Kaito walked backwards, taking in the sights and sounds of their bustling village.

"So what are you guys doing over the holidays?" Kaito asked, hands behind his head.

Itachi nodded. "Father wants to help me with my training."

Hotaru replied, "Hmmm... Father said we would be visiting an allied clan during winter break. He also mentioned wanting to train me in some of our clan's techniques. What about you, Kaito-kun?"

Kaito hummed in thought. "Most likely learning fuin jutsu from my mom... other than that, nothing much."

"We should meet up during the rennie festival," Kaito suggested with a grin.

Both Itachi and Hotaru agreed with nods and a cheerful "hai."

"Well, I'll see you guys later then," Itachi said as he parted ways with them.

Kaito and Hotaru waved to him and walked the opposite direction.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to the Hyuga compound," Kaito offered as he led the way.

On the way, they stopped by a dango stand and chatted about their plans for the festival. Finally reaching the Hyuga compound, Kaito turned to Hotaru. "I'll see you during the rennie festival then," he said with a smile.

Hotaru nodded and they went their separate ways, excited for the upcoming festivities.

As Kaito walked home, his thoughts turned to the past few months. It had been two months since Naruto's birthday and now it was the end of December. The days following Naruto's birthday were filled with anger towards Danzo for revealing the truth about the Nine-Tails attack. Despite Hiruzen's attempts to suppress the information, the damage had been done. The village was divided, some blaming Naruto's mother Kushina while others defended her. Kushina had retreated, rarely leaving their home and spending most of her time working on fuinjutsu. Meanwhile, Kaito had increased the number of shadow clones guarding her to five.

Over the course of a year, Kaito's chakra reserves had grown significantly. When he first learned the shadow clone jutsu, he could only make around 10 clones without getting tired. Now, he could make up to 25 before feeling fatigued. However, to be more conservative, Kaito preferred to only make 20 at a time.

Kaito had also started using more clones for training in order to accelerate his progress. He had increased the number of clones working on the third step of water nature manipulation. With three clones extracting water from the air, they were able to fill a cup halfway in just one hour.

However, Kaito was still unsatisfied with his progress in lightning nature manipulation. It had proven to be much harder than water manipulation and it took him a whole month just to crinkle a leaf using lightning chakra. Determined to improve faster, Kaito enlisted a clone to help him perfect this technique.

As Kaito arrived home, he let out a sigh of relief. It had been a long day at the academy and he was looking forward to some rest. "I'm back, Mom," Kaito called out as he entered the house, the familiar scent of home wafting through the air.

Not hearing a reply, Kaito walked further into the house, as he sensed for any signs of his mother's presence. He made his way towards the backyard, where he found his mother sitting with baby Naruto in her lap, showing him the different types of plants in their garden. As soon as she saw Kaito, Kushina greeted him with a warm smile. "Welcome back, Kaito-kun. How was the academy today?"

"You know the same….What are you guys up to?" Kaito asked curiously, looking at both his mother and Naruto with interest.

Kushina chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately. "Naru-chan wanted to see all the beautiful flowers we have here, so I brought him outside."

Kaito couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth seeing his mother and little brother enjoying each other's company.

"What do you want for dinner tonight, Kaito-kun?" Kushina asked as they all headed back inside.

"Anything is fine, Mom," Kaito replied with a shrug.

"How about pork katsu with curry? One of your favorite," Kushina suggested with a mischievous smile.

Kaito's eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite meal. "That sounds amazing! I'll help you make it after I take a quick shower," he said before heading off to his room. The comforting smells of home and the laughter of his family filled him with a sense of contentment as he looked forward to spending the evening together over a delicious meal.

As Kaito quietly entered his room, he was surprised to find his clone diligently working on something at his desk. "Is it finished?" Kaito asked, peering over the clone's shoulder. "Just finished," the clone replied, showing him an intricate earring. He then dissipated himself and transferred all of his memories and knowledge to Kaito.

As Kaito examined the seal, his mind drifted back to his last spar with Itachi. The Uchiha had effortlessly put him in a genjutsu, but thankfully Kaito's Kagura's Minds Eye ability allowed him to break free. Still, he couldn't help but feel frustrated that he had lost the match due to Itachi's constant attempts at trapping him in a genjutsu. This new seal was his solution - a way to protect himself from future genjutsu attacks knowing it would give him an advantage in their next spar.

Kaito had been making significant progress in fuinjutsu, now able to create his own seals with ease. His mother Kushina, a seal master herself, had recently started to teach him about barrier seals - one of her specialty.

During one of their lessons, Kaito couldn't help but ask a question that had been on his mind for a while. "Mom...are there any anti-space time barriers?"

Kushina furrowed her brows in thought. "Hmm... no, I don't believe there are any anti-space time barriers."

"Why is that?" Kaito pressed on with curiosity.

"Because space-time ninjutsu is incredibly rare. In fact, there are only two known techniques: the hirashin and its variations, and the summoning jutsu. And even fewer people possess the ability to use them," Kushina explained.

Kaito furrowed his brow in contemplation. "So that's why Dad didn't use any space-time barriers during Naruto's birth...because there aren't any to begin with."

A sad look crossed Kushina's face as she nodded "Yes...the closest thing to a space-time barrier would be your father's creation - the Hiraishin: Dōrai (Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder), a variant of the hiraishin.".

After taking a refreshing shower, Kaito stepped into the kitchen and immediately began helping Kushina with dinner preparations. It didn't take long for her to notice the new earring adorning Kaito's ear, much to her curiosity.

"What's with the earring, Kaito-kun?" Kushina asked, gesturing towards it.

"Oh, this?" Kaito took it off and displayed it for her. "It's a new seal I've been working on."

Intrigued, Kushina eagerly took the earring from him. "A seal? What does it do?"

"It's something I came up with after sparring with Itachi," Kaito explained. "It disrupts my chakra flow to break me out of a genjutsu."

Kushina looked at him curiously. "But can't you break out of a genjutsu by yourself?"

Kaito nodded. "Yes, but this seal can break me out of any genjutsu as soon as it's cast on me. It can be very useful, especially against someone with a Sharingan."

"Ah, I see. That could come in handy," Kushina remarked. "Have you tested it yet?"

"No, I just finished it today," Kaito replied, helping her set the table. "I'll test it out during my sparing session with Kakashi tomorrow."

"Hmm...let me know how it goes and if you need any help with it," Kushina said as they settled down for dinner.

"As a matter of fact, I do need your help," Kaito admitted as he sat down. "I have a few more ideas for seals, but I'm not sure how to go about them or if they're even possible."

He pulled out a notebook filled with his scribbled ideas and handed it to Kushina.

She flipped through the pages, thoroughly impressed. "Wow, Kaito-kun...these are some really good ideas," she praised with a smile.

And so, they continued to discuss and brainstorm about potential seal ideas for the rest of the evening.

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