Chapter 43

Kakashi stood up groggily and walked in front of Tsunade, kneeling down in a respectful manner.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I shall remember this favor for all my life." Although Kakashi had not completely moved on, after Tsunade's recent therapy, Kakashi was now much more stable and mentally strong enough to face his past. Kakashi couldn't help but silently shed a tear because, after losing everything in life and giving up on himself, he never thought of a second chance. Tsunade's help made him feel eternally grateful for the Sannin.

"So, kid, why don't you check out your new powerup? Go and stretch out in the training yard. I need to look after these kids, so you can go by yourself. And you can return to your Shinobi duties after you have adapted to your new state." Tsunade simply waved her hand, as if saying it was just a trivial matter, and she continued carrying on with her work. Kakashi nodded gratefully and walked towards the training yard.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon that the last of them woke up. Kinoe was the last person to wake up, and none of them were aware of what exactly had happened. However, everyone who went through the ritual could feel the positive changes in their bodies. Naruto, especially, was brimming with so much energy that Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder if the kid had eaten something to make him so overactive. After making sure everything was alright with Naruto, Hiruzen left the Senju compound to carry on with his Hokage duties, which must have piled up due to his half-day absence.

Tsunade and Hiruzen had decided that once Jiraiya returned, they would share the truth about Naruto's parents with little Naruto. As per what Kazuki mentioned about the new seal, Naruto will be able to interact with the Nine Tails from now on. So, they had decided that it was best not to keep this information from little Naruto, and with Tsunade being Naruto's guardian, his safety was assured.

Kazuki, who was exhausted, only woke up late in the evening. When he opened his eyes, he saw his elder sister Shizune sitting on a chair, going through a scroll.

"Ah, big sister Shizune, how long have I been sleeping? Is Sensei not around?" Kazuki inquired.

Shizune, putting down the scroll upon seeing Kazuki awake, quickly moved towards him to ensure he was alright. "Kazuki, how are you feeling now? Are you experiencing any discomfort?" Shizune wanted to make sure her little brother was doing well before addressing his questions. Over time, Shizune had grown very attached to Kazuki and now considered him her own little brother.

"Yeah, I'm alright, big sister. I'm just a little tired. I should be fine after having a good meal. So, where are the others?" Kazuki, now almost recovered, questioned Shizune again but did not disclose why he was so exhausted, as Tsunade must have provided some alternate reason for his fatigue.

"Sensei went to help Sandaime-sama. As for little Naruto, he is out in the yard playing with Shikamaru and Choji. Your aunt Yoshino had come by earlier to check up on you, and even your Jonin sensei had come." Shizune shared the details as Kazuki got up and poured a glass of water to drink.

Now, with most of his energy regained, Kazuki went towards the yard. Although Shizune offered to cook a huge meal for Kazuki, he offered to help, but Shizune insisted he leave the matter to her.

As Kazuki neared the yard where the kids were playing, he could pick up hushed whispers with his heightened senses. It was none other than little Naruto sharing some secrets with Shikamaru and Choji.

"Oye, I feel there is something wrong with this place; I think there might be ghosts here. I can hear a weird voice speaking to me," Naruto shared, fear apparent in his little voice.

Kazuki, understanding the reason, quickly flickered next to the kids. With the sudden appearance of Kazuki, the three kids were startled initially, but they relaxed when they saw it was their big brother.

"Big brother Kazuki!" the kids called out in delight after the initial surprise.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Kazuki was questioned, and it was little Choji who answered.

"Big brother Naruto says that this place has ghosts. He says they are whispering to him," Choji shared with a scared look. However, Shikamaru kept his silence, trying to figure out the reason and also considering if Naruto was trying to pull a prank. Then he thought Naruto was not smart enough to pull off such an elaborate scheme.

"Naruto, why don't we discuss this with Sensei later? Being from the Senju clan, she should be able to explain it. In the meantime, why don't I see how much you guys have progressed?" Kazuki knew that now, with the seal changed and a new deal with Kurama, Kurama must have tried to interact with little Naruto from within his consciousness. Kazuki thought it was better to explain things when Shikamaru and Choji were not around, so he chose to divert the topic for now.

With their big brother's words, both Choji and Naruto calmed down. Only little Shikamaru started pondering deeper and understood that Kazuki was trying to divert the topic, choosing to ask his brother about it later.

"So who wants to go first? If you guys perform the three basic jutsus properly, I will teach you something interesting."

With Kazuki's promise, all the kids started showing off their progress in the three basics. Naruto, who had a previous surge in chakra due to the ritual, was not able to perform the three basic jutsus properly. Choji and Shikamaru couldn't help but mock Naruto, and the kids started a mock fight, with Kazuki keeping a watchful eye over them.

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The next morning, Gai and his team were at the Hokage building to take on a new mission that was going to be assigned that day. Being a special squad, unlike the other squads, most of their missions were issued by Sandaime himself, and they only had to approach the Mission Assignment Desk if they had no missions assigned by the Hokage himself.

Currently, Gai and his team were waiting in front of the Hokage's desk while waiting for him to approve their new mission.

"This is a B-rank mission. You guys just need to patrol the barrier and the new grounds that we are going to expand our village into in the future. You will be taking the lead, Gai. Your team will be accompanied by a newly formed Genin team and a barrier team. This mission might take a long time, so you need to make sure to map every single detail, as this information will be directly given to the Fuin Grandmaster. A cartographer will also join the barrier team to help you guys out."

Hiruzen explained their mission briefly, and Kazuki had to survey the land around the village barrier and the future expansion area to help with the layout of the new defenses. So Hiruzen used this as a cover so that Kazuki could collect all the information up close.

"Understood, Hokage-sama. We will make sure to complete the mission to perfection," Gai declared with full enthusiasm and led his team out of the Hokage's office.

As Kazuki and his team made their way towards the village gate, two teams were waiting for their arrival. One was a newly formed Genin team after the last graduation, and the other was a barrier team. Kazuki recognized that the genin team included Gekko Hayate, and the barrier team was garbed in white with their faces covered to ensure their safety. An ANBU team was also assigned to secretly ensure the safety of the barrier team, and Kazuki was able to spot all the hidden ANBU with his heightened senses.

"I am sure everyone must have been briefed about the mission, so I will just go with the arrangements. Itachi, you will accompany the Genin team and form a perimeter around the barrier team as they survey. Torune, you will stay near the barrier team for immediate support and the exchange of information. Myself and Kazuki will act as the outer perimeter individually."

Gai made a simple but efficient arrangement. The plan was designed to provide maximum assurance for the safety of the barrier team. Every single fuin user in a village was a rare resource, so their safety was paramount. With the barrier team now venturing outside the village barrier and further, their safety needed to be assured.

Currently, a few dozen miles away from the Leaf village barrier, a team of Shinobi was stealthily making its way towards the Leaf village. The team leader decided to take a quick break and made a hand gesture for the team. As the team settled down for a quick break, the shinobi on the team set a perimeter. The team was led by a ninja who had one of his eyes sealed with a fuin tag behind his ANBU mask; he was also the sensor ninja of the team. The team consisted of a dozen shinobi, and upon closer inspection, one could say that the team was an ANBU squad of the Kirigakure village.

"Captain, is the intelligence accurate? Are we sure that this is not a trap laid by the other party?" A Jonin from the infiltration team couldn't help but ask the mission leader as they traveled deep into enemy territory based on intelligence they received from the underground black market channel.

"Although the intel may not be authentic, we have received a mission from Mizukage-sama himself, so we need to execute it, no questions asked. There is no room for failure, and if the intel is authentic, then we may be able to capture or kill a few fuinjutsu users from the Leaf. If luck is on our side, we may be able to get the barrier key for the Leaf, making their defenses ineffective."

After resting for half an hour, the team once again started moving stealthily in the direction of the leaf village, removing all the traces.

Kazuki was currently surveying the area around which the future expansion was planned. He was acting as the outer perimeter for the team, and with Gai on the other side, the barrier team was carefully surveying the outer barrier and efficiently fixing any damages that might have occurred. Normally, the barrier team would not have to leave the confines of the village barrier, as maintenance could be done from within. However, the mission included surveying for future expansion, so they had to venture further out.

The mission progressed with no hassle until noon. As this was a long-term mission, the barrier team would return to the village after carrying out each day's task. Just when the team had concluded a short break, Torune, who was near the barrier team, received a message from one of the bugs he had assigned to Kazuki. Torune, now on full alert, conveyed that a group of Shinobi was stealthily approaching in their current direction. Kazuki, who was out scouting, was also retreating as he laid various traps toward the direction of the barrier team. Torune made sure to relay the information to the ANBU squad and Genin squad so that they could prepare themselves in the face of the incoming danger.

After making a quick decision, the ANBU team split in two, one heading to intercept the incoming Shinobi and the other to help the barrier team retreat safely. Itachi, along with the Genin team, was assigned to escort the barrier team along with Torune, and Gai moved in the direction of Kazuki, who was laying traps to intercept the incoming enemies. The ANBU had already sent secret messages to the village regarding the incoming enemy team.

As the ANBU and Gai reached the location where Kazuki must have been, they couldn't spot anything. A small pebble flew in the direction of Gai, which he caught, and when he turned around, he saw Kazuki gesturing for them to follow. Gai was not surprised; however, the two ANBU who had come to intercept the enemies were surprised that they were not able to sense a Genin who was so close to them. Kazuki was already aware of their arrival and was hiding behind an isolation barrier, and one of the ANBU caught Kazuki's attention as he knew who the Shinobi was.