Tilct's Realm

Kaito Chapter 102

Kaito Chapter 102

Kushina enthusiastically added, "Yeah, you can't miss out on celebrating with us." She playfully pouted before suggesting another option. "But I was thinking more along the lines of ramen. But BBQ is also great!"

Shikaku scratched his head, initially planning on declining the invitation in order to go drink with Inoichi and Choza. However, Yoshino agreed with Mikoto, leading Shikaku to sigh resignedly as the decision was taken out of his hands in order to avoid upsetting his wife.

Kushina clapped her hands together, finalizing the plans. "Alright then, it's settled! Let's go celebrate! ya know" she announced cheerfully as all the kids cheered and followed her eagerly.

….

The sun shined on the village hidden in the Leafs. As the light filtered through the trees and cast shadows on the ground, a blur zipped past. It was Kaito, moving gracefully through the trees on his way back home. On his back, he carried Naruto in a piggyback ride, the young boy exhausted from the intense training session Kaito had put him through.

"Kaito-nii, you're so mean!" Naruto complained as they reached their house. "You practically tortured me!"

Kaito gently set Naruto down on the front porch before kneeling down to untie his shoe. "You were the one who begged me to train you," he reminded Naruto, looking at him with a hint of amusement. "Are you going to give up after just one session? I thought you wanted to be Hokage like Dad was."

Naruto sniffled and wiped away tears from his eyes. "Of course I do, but couldn't you teach me some jutsu instead of just making me do endless drills?"

Standing up and placing his sandals to the side, Kaito explained patiently, "Learning jutsu without mastering the basics is dumb. You need to have a strong foundation before you can learn ninjutsu."

He lifted Naruto under his arm and slid open the front door, leading them into the cozy living room of their home. Gently setting Naruto on the floor, Kaito smiled and ruffled his little brother's hair.

As the sound of their footsteps echoed through the house, Kushina poked her head out of the kitchen to see her two sons. Naruto lay sprawled on the living room floor while Kaito stood over him.

"Welcome back!" Kushina greeted them with a warm smile. Seems like both of you had a productive day, ya know," she added, giggling. She walked out of the kitchen towards them and asked, "So, how was your first day of training under Kai-kun, naru-chan?"

Naruto looked up at her with tears in his eyes and sniffed. "Mama, Kaito-nii bullied me," he hiccupped and continued, "He made me do so many drills without resting, and every time I stopped, he shocked me with lightning from his fingers."

Kushina couldn't help but be amused by her son's complaint. "Well, Naru-chan," she chuckled, "you did ask him to train you. And besides, it'll make you strong! like kai-kun, ya know"

Kaito rolled his eyes at Naruto whining. "If you keep on whining, Sasuke will surpass you and become the next Hokage,"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he quickly sat up. "No way! I won't let that happen, dattebayo!" he declared defiantly.

Amused by this interaction between her sons, Kushina turned back to Kaito and asked, "So, how did Naru-chan do?"

Kaito simply gestured towards Naruto and replied, "He did well. But he whines too much."

At this accusation, Naruto's face scrunched up in indignation, "Hey! I don't whine!"

Ignoring him, Kaito turned to his mother, waving and saying, "I'm going to take a bath and get ready."

Kushina smiled warmly at her son and replied, "I just finished breakfast, so come soon before the food gets cold." She then looked down at Naruto and added playfully, "Come on, Naru-chan, you have to study after breakfast, ya know."

Naruto let out a dramatic cry at the reminder of his studies. Kushina chuckled and said firmly, "Hey, You're the one who asked us to train you so you can become Hokage, Ya know! so, no backing out now. Go take a bath and hurry up, or you might not get breakfast and will have to study on an empty stomach."

Muttering under his breath, Naruto stomped off to take a bath. Kushina watched him go with an amused smile on her face.

After some time, Kaito emerged fully dressed and ready for the day. He entered the kitchen where Kushina greeted him with a warm smile and gestured to the food she had prepared. "Come, come. I made tamagoyaki with rice and miso soup," she announced proudly as she placed the dishes on the table. Kaito sat down opposite her and thanked her for the food before taking his chopsticks.

Just then, a grumpy Naruto walked in with wet hair and sat down beside Kushina. He continued to grumble about both his mother and Kaito being meanies while they all said "Itadakimasu" and began eating. Naruto was especially hungry and ate quickly, prompting Kushina to chide him, "You'll choke if you eat like that, ya know."

Finishing his meal, Kaito looked up at the clock and saw that it was time for him to leave. With a quick motion, he stood up and created a shadow clone to handle the dishes, while he turned to Kushina. "Well, I'm off, Mom. Need to meet Sensei at the Hokage Tower," he said, walking towards the door.

Kaito sat on his house porch, wearing his sandals as Kushina walked out to see him off. She gave him a once over and asked, "You've got everything you need?"

"Hai, Mom. I've got everything I need," Kaito replied, standing up and putting on his sandals. "I might eat lunch with my friends, so I might be a little late."

With a smile, Kushina handed him a bento box and told him “Here you go i made some Takoyaki for him to eat later.” She hugged him tightly and kissed his head. "Have a good day and good luck. I hope you get promoted soon."

"Thanks, Mom." Kaito hugged her back before leaving.

Leaving his house behind, Kaito jumped onto the nearest tree branch and began traversing As he hopped from branch to branch with ease.

After a few minutes of travel, he reached the gates of the Hyuga compound and nodded to the guards stationed at the entrance. Hotaru was not yet outside, so Kaito leaned against the wall while he waited.

Taking advantage of the quiet moment, Kaito decided to practice his elemental Rasengan. He raised his hand and focused chakra into his palm, causing a swirling ball of Chakra to form. as the Rasengan fully formed, he added water nature chakra little by little until the Rasengan glowed with a deep blue hue and emitted the sound of rushing water.

"It's definitely easier to keep the Rasengan stable when adding less nature chakra, but it also decreases its power," Kaito thought to himself as he released the Water Release Rasengan. The water splashed onto the ground and onto his hand as it dissipated. It was clear that he still had some work to do on perfecting this technique.

After a while, Hotaru strolls out of the Hyuga compound and spots Kaito waiting for her. She quickly makes her way over to him, greeting him with a warm smile and a "Good morning, Kai-kun. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long." Kaito waves away her concern and responds with a nonchalant "No no, I just arrived." He then pulls out the box of freshly made takoyaki his mother gave him and offers some to Hotaru, asking "Would you like some?" As they start walking towards the Hokage Tower, they chat and munch on the savory snacks.

As they approach the towering structure, they spot Itachi leaning against a nearby tree with his eyes closed. They make their way over to him, Kaito calling out a friendly "Yo, Itachi! You been waiting long?" as they draw near. Hotaru greets him as well with a cheerful "Good morning, Itachi-kun." Itachi opens his eyes and nods to both of them before saying "No, just arrived a few minutes ago."

Kaito hums as he offers some takoyaki to Itachi with a skewer in hand. Itachi accepts with a grateful smile and takes a bite. Kaito then turns to Itachi and asks "Is our sensei here yet?" Itachi shakes his head.

The three of them stand around the tree, snacking on the warm takoyaki as they wait for their sensei to arrive. After a few minutes, Shikaku appears and they all greet him with an enthusiastic "Good morning Sensei!" Shikaku acknowledges them with a nod and says "Great, you guys made it just in time. Come on," beckoning them to follow as he begins walking towards the Hokage Tower.

Kaito, Hotaru, and Itachi fall into step behind their sensei.

As they reached the Hokage's office, Shikaku and his team were ushered in by the secretary.

Itachi and Hotaru followed suit and bowed. "Hokage-sama."

Kaito bowed and addressed the Hokage "Lord Third."

The Hokage sat behind his desk, surrounded by piles of paperwork. He took a long drag from his pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke before looking up at them with a warm smile. "Ahh, Team 11, just in time," he said, rising from his chair and walking around to stand before them.

Standing before them now, Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed another cloud of smoke and spoke with pride in his voice. "I want to commend the three of you on your exceptional performance in the Chunin Exams. Each one of you displayed incredible skill, strategy, and teamwork throughout the competition. After careful consideration by the judges, it has been decided that the three of you have earned the promotion to Chunin."

Hiruzen's secretary handed him a Chunin vest. Turning to the team, Hiruzen said, "Itachi Uchiha, please step forward." He handed Itachi the Chunin vest, saying, “You have once again proven why you are considered a prodigy of the Uchiha clan. Your tactical acumen, combined with your mastery of genjutsu and ninjutsu, was nothing short of extraordinary. Your performance in the Chunin Exams was a clear indicator of your readiness to take on greater responsibilities."

Itachi accepted the vest and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Hokage-sama," before stepping back.

After Itachi stepped back, Hotaru stepped forward.

Hiruzen continued, smiling, "Hotaru hyuga, your perseverance and determination were truly commendable. Breaking free from that Water Prison Jutsu took immense strength and willpower. Your mastery of the Gentle Fist technique, combined with your quick reflexes and strategic thinking, made you a formidable opponent. You demonstrated not only the strength of the Hyuga clan but also your personal growth as a shinobi. Your decision to forfeit the final round, knowing your limits and considering the best outcome for your team, was a testament to your wisdom and maturity. your selflessness and strategic insight have proven that you are not only a skilled fighter but also a wise leader. Your actions have shown that you are more than ready for the responsibilities of a Chunin. You have truly embodied the spirit of the Leaf Village."

Hotaru bowed her head. "I'm honored, Hokage-sama." She received the Chunin vest and stepped back, allowing Kaito to step forward.

Hiruzen handed Kaito the Chunin vest and said,” Kaito Uzumaki. Your innovative techniques and quick thinking were particularly impressive. The way you mastered four of the five elemental releases and combined them with your other abilities showcased not only your versatility but also your creativity. You kept your cool under pressure and adapted to each challenge with remarkable agility. Your leadership and quick decision-making in the heat of battle were exemplary. You demonstrated a deep understanding of both your own abilities and those of your opponents, allowing you to outmaneuver them effectively. You set a high bar for your peers."

Kaito accepted the vest with a "Thank you, Lord Third," and stepped back, lining up with his teammates.

Hiruzen looked at them with pride and said, “I and the village will look forward to seeing how you grow. I have no doubt that you will continue to excel and contribute greatly to the future of our village."

The three of them bowed and said, “Thank you, Hokage-sama," and “Thank you, Lord Third.”

Hiruzen chuckled, "Now, go and celebrate your achievements. You have earned it."

Shikaku nodded and ushered them out of the office.

Once outside the Hokage’s office, Shikaku turned to them and said, “Let's go to the barbecue shop so we can discuss.” He suggested this, and they nodded eagerly, following behind him, excitedly talking about being Chunin.

...

After a while, they were all sitting in the barbecue shop, having placed their orders. As they waited for their food, Shikaku turned to them with a proud expression on his face. "First and foremost, I want to tell you how incredibly proud I am of each and every one of you. Throughout the Chunin Exams and my time as your sensei, you have all shown exceptional skill, intelligence, and teamwork. You've exceeded my expectations."

Then, Shikaku turned to Kaito. "Kaito, your creativity and quick thinking combined with your strength have always been a strong point. You bring a lot of ingenuity to our team."

Kaito beamed at the compliment. "Thanks, Sensei."

Next, Shikaku directed his attention to Hotaru. "Hotaru, Your resilience and determination were truly inspiring during the exams. And your ability to make strategic decisions under pressure not only demonstrated your physical strength but also your mental fortitude."

Hotaru blushed slightly at the praise. "Thank you, Shikaku-sensei."

Finally, Shikaku looked at Itachi and said, "Itachi, your calm and strategic mind combined with your formidable skills have always been a pillar for this team. You lead by example and embody what it means to be a true shinobi."

Itachi humbly replied, "Thank you, Sensei."

Shikaku then took a deep breath before continuing. "There is something important I need to tell you all. As newly promoted Chunin, you are no longer my students in the same way. This means I will no longer be your Jonin sensei and won't be leading your missions as often as before."

Hotaru was surprised by this news and asked, "Does that mean we're on our own now?"

Shikaku nodded. "In a sense, yes. As Chunin, you will start to take on more responsibility and even lead your own teams on missions. It's a big step, but I have no doubt that each of you is ready for it. However, this doesn't mean we won't work together anymore. I will still occasionally join you on missions."

Hotaru looked a bit sad at the thought of Shikaku not leading them anymore. "We'll miss having you as our leader, Shikaku-sensei."

Shikaku gave a warm smile. "And I'll miss leading all of you. But this is part of your growth as shinobi. I want you to know that being your team leader has been one of the greatest honors of my career. Over the time I've been your sensei, I've been incredibly proud to call each of you my students."

With a final deep breath, Shikaku concluded, "Now, go celebrate your achievements. You have definitely earned it."

Kaito, Hotaru, and Itachi replied in unison with heartfelt gratitude, "Thank you, Shikaku-sensei."

After finishing their meal, Shikaku left the team after wishing them good luck and reassurance that he would be there to help if they needed anything. As they parted ways with their sensei, they decided to make their way to the top of Hokage Mountain to discuss their plans as a team.

From the peak, they gazed over the village while discussing. After some time, Itachi split from Hotaru and Kaito after they agreed to meet up tomorrow for their first mission as chunin at their usual meeting spot for tomorrow.

Kaito then escorted Hotaru back to the Hyuga compound before heading home himself. As he made his way back, Kaito thought about the future. "in the canon timeline, things with the Uchiha clan got worse after Itachi's Chunin Exams," he thought to himself with a sigh. "I don't know how much has changed or if things have gotten worse." Taking a deep breath, he ran his hand through his hair. "I need to focus on what's in front of me and continue to grow stronger."

Kaito Chapter 101

Kaito Chapter 101

Before he could react, shuriken with ninja wire wrapped around them flew toward him. One by one, they pinned him to the spot, leaving him vulnerable

Itachi reappeared behind Kaito with a kunai at his neck, smirking he said. "I win,".

Kaito wasn't done yet. With a smirk, he said, "You think so?", he disappeared in a puff of white smoke. And before Itachi could even register what had happened, his body stiffened as black marks crawled over his skin, immobilizing him.

Kaito appeared behind Itachi in a flicker and placed a kunai to his neck. "Nah, I think I win Itachi," he said grinning.

….

With a smirk on his face, Kaito removed his kunai from Itachi's neck and stepped back from Itachi facing him. Raido, landed next to them, his eyes drawn to the seal markings on Itachi's body. seeing that Itachi was unable to continue, Raido raised his hand towards Kaito and declared, "The winner of the Chunin Exams is Kaito Uzumaki!"

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as Raido announced Kaito's name as the winner. With a smile, Kaito made a half-ram hand sign and deactivated the paralysis seal, freeing Itachi from his temporary prison.

As Itachi lowered his hand that still held a kunai, he stretched and sighed before turning to face Kaito. "When did you place the seal on me?" he asked, trying to mask his disappointment at losing the fight. He had hoped to close the gap between them and prove himself as an equal to Kaito, but it seemed that Kaito was always a few steps ahead of him. He also knew that Kaito wasn't fighting at his fullest, holding back to test Itachi's strength before ultimately ending the fight

Kaito grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "When you used me as a springboard," he admitted.

Itachi nodded in understanding before saying, "You win this time. Next time, I won't fall for the same trick."

Kaito smiled at him and replied, "You keep saying that. But I still have the lead by ten," holding out his hand.

Itachi frowned playfully and retorted, "That time atop the waterfall doesn't count.", marking the end of their intense final match in the Chunin Exams.

up in the stands

Kushina's joyful cry echoed through the arena as Kaito was declared the winner of the chunin exams. She leapt to her feet, unable to contain her excitement, and exclaimed "That's my baby boy! way to go kai-kun! ya know" Her eyes were shining with pride and adoration for her son.

As she turned to Mikoto, her expression softened into a sheepish smile. "No offense, Mikoto. I don't have anything against Itachi-kun."

Mikoto simply shook her head and smiled warmly. "Ah, don't worry, Kushina. I know you didn't mean anything bad by that. You were just happy that Kaito-kun won. I would have done the same if Itachi-kun had won."

Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't contain his excitement either. He jumped up and pulled Shikamaru into a hug, shouting and cheering at the top of his lungs. "Yaaahooo! Kaito-niisan won!"

Shikamaru let out a long-suffering sign and tried to push Naruto off him, annoyed by his friend's antics. "Hey, let go, Naruto. Stop shaking me!"

Finally releasing Shikamaru, Naruto turned to Hinata, grinning from ear to ear. "Did you see that, Hinata-chan? How Kaito-nii won!" He made exaggerated movements with his arms and legs to demonstrate the epic battle.

Feeling the need to taunt Sasuke, who sat behind him, Naruto turned and taunted him by asking, ”What did you say? That Kaito-nii would lose to Itachi-nii?” He pulled down his eyelid and stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. ”Well, Kaito-nii won, and Itachi-nii lost! my big brother is stronger than yours, just like I'm stronger than you! ya know"

Sasuke's patience was wearing thin as Naruto continued to tout his brother Kaito's victory over Itachi. "Your brother only won because he cheated by using that seal on Itachi-nii. If he had fought fairly, Itachi-nii would have won. and you aren't stronger than me."

Naruto bristled at the accusation and shot back, "Kaito-nii didn’t cheat! and Using fuinjutsu isn’t cheating!" His fists clenched in anger as he defended his brother. "Kaito-nii would have won the fight even without using fuinjutsu."

Hinata, always the peacemaker, stuttered out a plea for them to stop fighting. "Ano, please don’t fight... Naruto-Kun, please calm down."

Neji, sitting beside Hinata. Deactivating his Byakugan, He had used his Byakugan to closely observe the fight, Neji thought to himself, "He was holding back."

Just as Sasuke was about to retort to Naruto's argument, Fugaku's voice cut through the tension. "That's enough, Sasuke," he commanded sternly. "Itachi lost the match fairly. Let this be a lesson to you not to underestimate fuinjutsu."

Sasuke grumbled under his breath, clearly annoyed but knowing better than to disobey his father's authority. As Hinata managed to calm Naruto.

Fugaku's narrowed gaze returned to the field where Kaito had just released the seal on Itachi. He couldn't help but think, "Kaito Uzumaki... he was holding back the whole fight. As If Itachi didn’t even pose a challenge for him..." Fugaku couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern. He knew that Kaito's strengths were far beyond what anyone could have imagined at his age.

In another part of the stands, Shisui sat alongside his fellow clan members. they watched the intense fight between Itachi and Kaito end. One of them exclaimed, "No way, Itachi lost!" while the others murmured among themselves, shocked to see Itachi bested by someone his own age.

Meanwhile, Shisui's mind was in a whirl as he observed Kaito's moves. "Hmm, it seems like Kaito was holding back against Itachi. And Itachi seemed to know that Kaito wasn't giving his all. Kaito only showed enough strength to push Itachi. Hmm, He may even be stronger than me," Shisui thought to himself.

Kakashi closed his book and spoke up, "Well, let's get going then since the fight is over." pushing off the wall where they stood leaning. Tenzō turned to Kakashi and asked, "Captain, Did you notice that Kaito was holding back during the whole Chunin Exams?" Kakashi looked at Tenzō lazily and replied, "You noticed it, huh? well, Kaito didn’t need to use his full strength. Itachi gave him a good fight, but Itachi isn’t anywhere near Kaito’s level. If Kaito were to fight seriously, he could even give me a run for my money."

Tenzō looked shocked at Kakashi and said, "You have to be exaggerating, Captain." Kakashi shook his head and said, "I’m not. It won’t be long before Kaito surpasses me in strength."

Over with Izumi and Hana, Izumi's expression reflected a mixture of sadness and pride as she watched her friend Itachi lose against Kaito. Hana breathed out in amazement, "Wow, Kaito and Itachi are on a totally different level. I couldn’t even keep up with the speed of the fight. One minute they seemed to be in one place, the next they were somewhere else." Izumi nodded in agreement, "Even with my Sharingan activated, I could barely keep up with their movements." Hana let out a sigh of defeat, "I don’t think we’ll ever be able to catch up to them."

back on the field

Kaito turned to Raido. "So, what happens now?" he asked eagerly.

Raido gestured toward the impressive Kage box and replied, "We'll wait for the Hokage to address everyone.”

Hiruzen's voice boomed through the arena, praising all the participants for their valiant efforts in representing their villages and putting on a commendable performance that showcased their individual strengths. He continued, "The fights were not only entertaining but also a display of exceptional skill. With that, I bring this year's Chunin Exams to a close."

Raido then turned to Itachi and Kaito, "You two are free to go. Report to the Hokage's office tomorrow." With that, Raido walked off.

Kaito glanced at Itachi and smiled. "Well, we should get going. I don't want to keep Mom waiting, ya know?" he said. he shutters the thought of keeping Kushina waiting, she was known to be quite terrifying when angry. In a flicker of movement, Kaito flickered from the arena and Itachi followed suit.

up in the stands

As Kaito's figure flickered into view where their parents were seated, Kushina couldn't contain her excitement and immediately wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "You were amazing, Kai-kun! Your father would be so proud, ya know?" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with pride.

Suddenly, Naruto came barreling towards Kaito and tackled him in a hug. "Kaito-nii, you're super awesome! Please teach me!" he exclaimed eagerly.

Kaito thought to himself, "I should start taking Naruto's training more seriously. He's already started with physical exercise, but focusing on chakra control and taijutsu would be good since those were canon Naruto's weakest points."

Kaito chuckled at his little brother's enthusiasm and thanked his mother before turning to Naruto. "Sure thing, Naruto. We can start your training from tomorrow, so you better prepare, ya know?".

Just then, Itachi appeared and was greeted with a hug from Kushina as well. "You were great out there, Itachi-kun," she praised him.

Itachi smiled and nodded at her before also being hugged by his mother Mikoto. "You did wonderfully, Itachi-kun. I'm so proud of you," she told him.

Even Fugaku nodded in approval at Itachi's performance. "Well done, Itachi," he said.

Hotaru walked over and hugged both brothers before complimenting them warmly. "Both of you were really good," she said with a smile. "And congratulations, Kai-kun, on winning the tournament."

Kaito's face lit up with pride as he grinned and replied, "Thank you, Hotaru-chan. You were amazing too. Who knows, if you hadn't forfeited, you might have won or it might have been Itachi."

Hotaru modestly shook her head, her smile still shining. "I doubt that," she said humbly.

Just then, Shikaku approached them and spoke. "The three of you did an outstanding job and made the village proud. You dominated the entire tournament on your first try. As for your promotion, the judges will discuss and give their opinions to the Hokage. Well meet me at the Hokage Tower tomorrow, at our usual meeting place," he informed them.

Hotaru, Kaito, and Itachi all nodded in understanding "Yes, sensei."

Kushina stood next to them and suggested excitedly, "How about we all go out to celebrate the kids' success in the Chunin Exam?"

Mikoto and Hitomi quickly agreed and Hitomi chimed in with a suggestion, "How about The Yakiniku Q?"

"Hai, Yakiniku Q sounds perfect," Mikoto agreed before extending an invitation to Shikaku and Yoshino. "You should join us Shikaku-san, after all you are their sensei. And Shikamaru-kun can hang out with Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, and Neji."

Kushina enthusiastically added, "Yeah, you can't miss out on celebrating with us." She playfully pouted before suggesting another option. "But I was thinking more along the lines of ramen. But BBQ is also great!"

Shikaku scratched his head, initially planning on declining the invitation in order to go drink with Inoichi and Choza. However, Yoshino agreed with Mikoto, leading Shikaku to sigh resignedly as the decision was taken out of his hands in order to avoid upsetting his wife.

Kushina clapped her hands together, finalizing the plans. "Alright then, it's settled! Let's go celebrate! ya know" she announced cheerfully as all the kids cheered and followed her eagerly.

Author's Note: Yes, Kaito was holding back. He is just as strong as Kakashi, a version of Kakashi who has trained alongside Kaito for the past two years with one goal in mind: facing off against Obito. This Kakashi is even stronger than the canonical 20-year-old Kakashi and could possibly be considered low-Kage level in terms of strength. Kaito's rigorous training routines put him above and beyond anyone else, which worries Kushina that he may be pushing himself too far. But Kaito is able to handle this level of strain on his body thanks to his ability to heal quickly with the Bite technique. He can then jump back into training without any fatigue, unlike others who would need rest. Plus, Kaito can use the Shadow Clone training method along with his natural talent and knowledge of the Naruto universe, giving him a high potential for growth. Just like how Itachi receives a power boost when he awakens his Mangekyō Sharingan, propelling him from a low-Kage to a high-Kage level in canon, Kaito needs a head start. Even at 10 years old, Itachi is still stronger than he was at the same age in canon because he has Kaito as a rival. If I were to rank Itachi's strength in this story, I would say he just breached high jonin. Hotaru also ranks around low-Jōnin level, similar to or slightly weaker than canon Itachi. Overall, everyone is stronger than they were in canon because they have to keep up with Kaito's incredible abilities.

Kaito Chapter 100

Author's note: I sorry for the late upload. The website I use to help me write kept freezing repeatedly, making it difficult for me to edit this chapter. It took me six hours to make the necessary edits. I hope you can understand the situation and once again, I am sorry for the delay.

Kaito Chapter 100

Kaito couldn't contain his excitement and loosened his shoulders. "How about a bet, Itachi?" he called out confidently.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at Kaito but remained composed. "And what's the bet?" he inquired calmly.

Kaito grinned mischievously. "The loser treats the winner for a full month, their favorite food," he proposed.

Itachi nodded, accepting the challenge. "Hai," he replied stoically.

Raido observed the exchange between the two opponents and asked, "Are you both ready?"

Both Kaito and Itachi locked eyes with each other before nodding simultaneously.

With a final nod from Raido, the match began with a resounding call of "Hajime!"

….

Nodding to Raido both Kaito and Itachi raised their right hand and held The Seal of Confrontation. With a final nod from Raido, the match began with a resounding call of "Hajime!" as Raido body flickering away.

As soon as the fight started, Itachi's sharingan activated and he rushed towards Kaito. Kaito met him head-on, their wrists clashing as they met in the middle. Both Genin jumped back and charged at each other again.

Kaito aimed a jab at Itachi's face, but Itachi ducked under and sent an uppercut at Kaito's chin. Kaito tilted his head back and tried to knee Itachi in the gut, but Itachi quickly grabbed his knee and used it to jump up, flipping over Kaito's head.

As Kaito landed on his feet after backflipping away, Itachi used his momentum to land an axe kick, but Kaito caught his leg mid-air and tossed him back. Itachi twisted his body mid-air and landed gracefully on his feet, just as Kaito reappeared Infront of him.

The two continued their intense exchange, each anticipating and countering the other's moves. Itachi deftly blocked Kaito's punch by grabbing his fist and flipping him onto his back. But Kaito wasn't finished yet - he twisted his body in mid-air and landed back on his feet, continuing his assault.

Itachi's hand swiftly intercepted Kaito's left fist and used it to make a hand sign. while kicking out at Kaito, seeing this Kaito tried to block it with his knee but Itachi planted his foot on top of Kaito's knee. Kaito swung his right fist towards Itachi's stomach, but Itachi was prepared caught it with other hand. Using Kaito's knee as leverage, Itachi placed his other foot on Kaito's shoulder,

Kaito couldn't help but think "Not this again" as he found himself being used as a springboard by Itachi, who had now jumped into the air while holding the tiger hand seal. With a deep breath, Itachi called out "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu", unleashing three massive fireballs in quick succession.

Reacting quickly, Kaito dodged and weaved to avoid each fireball as they exploded upon impact, leaving behind blazing craters in their wake. But Itachi wasn't finished yet. While still suspended in mid-air, he retrieved two handfuls of kunai and hurled one hand of them in every direction before landing gracefully on the ground and hurling the other handful at the other kunai with greater speed.

The kunai collided with each other, changing directions and surrounding Kaito from all directions. Kaito landed on the ground unscathed, he suddenly found himself being assaulted by multiple kunai from every angle.

But just as it seemed like all hope was lost, Kaito's body flickered in and out of sight as the kunai passed harmlessly through him.

In that instant, Kaito reappeared above Itachi with his tanto drawn and slashed down at Itachi, Itachi having his Sharingan active, deftly leaning back, and grabbing his own tanto.

 The sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the air as they continued to increase their speed, each trying to outdo the other.

As Itachi's tanto passed through Kaito during one particular exchange, Kaito's body flickered, and he appeared a few centimeters away from his afterimage. With lightning-fast reflexes, he kicked out at Itachi's stomach while simultaneously grabbing Itachi's wrist that held the tanto.

But Itachi was not easily taken down. His Sharingan allowed him to anticipate and block Kaito's kick with his right knee, Itachi kicked out with his left foot towards Kaito's right hand, where he held his tanto. The force of Itachi's kick sent the tanto flying through the air.

As Itachi leaned back, he brought Kaito along with him. Using the momentum of their fall, Itachi expertly utilized a chakra-enhanced throw to fling Kaito over his shoulder in the same direction that his tanto had been hurled. Kaito was quick to see his tanto he channeled his chakra to his feet grabbed it mid-air and channeled lightning nature chakra into it. As the red lightning crackled along the blade, Kaito twisted his body and flung the tanto towards Itachi with incredible speed.

Itachi, seeing the approaching tanto, swiftly tilted his body to avoid being struck and watched as the blade plunged into the ground behind him. Meanwhile, Kaito still in the air, made a half-tiger seal. as, both Kaito and his tanto flickered in and out of sight before switching places - Kaito appearing behind Itachi the place where his tanto was embedded while the tanto was in the air where Kaito had just been.

Itachi didn't have time to react as Kaito landed a spinning kick to his stomach, sending him flying through the air with tremendous force. As Itachi tumbled and skidded across the ground, he lost grip of his own tanto.

Finally coming to a stop and righting himself, Itachi stared at Kaito with confusion and surprise written all over his face. "What was that?" he thought to himself. "How did he manage to reappear behind me so quickly? Was it some kind of substitution jutsu? No...it was faster than any substitution I've seen before."

up in the stands

The crowd was buzzing with excitement as the two genin were evenly matched. Naruto couldn't contain his excitement and jumped up, shouting. "Sugoi, Kaito-nii is awesome!" he exclaimed, turning to Hinata with a big grin. "Did you see that hinata-chan? How he reappeared behind and send Itachi-nii flying?" Naruto excitedly tried to mimic Kaito's movements to hinata.

While the younger kids were captivated by the fight, the adults wore serious expressions as they observed Kaito's technique. Hiashi and Hizashi both looked surprised when Kaito suddenly reappeared behind Itachi and kicked him away. it reminded them of the Yellow Flash in battle.

"Could it be...?" Fugaku's mind raced as he watched the fight unfold. His thoughts drifted towards a certain blonde Hokage.

Shikaku also studied Kaito closely, thinking to himself, "Has he already mastered the Hiraishi? No, he didn't appear near his tanto when he switched places with it." Next to him, Choza nearly choked on his food at the sight of Kaito's jutsu. Inoichi turned to Shikaku with a shocked expression and asked, "Did he just...?"

Shikaku shook his head before Inochi could finish his question. "No, at least I don't think so."

Hotaru spoke out loud with amazement, "Wow, how did Kai-kun manage to use the substitution jutsu like that?" Kushina smiled proudly and beamed down at Kaito before responding, "That wasn't a substitution technique, Hotaru-chan." She chuckled at their reactions

Mikoto leaned in towards Kushina and asked with wide eyes, "Was that the Hiraishi no Jutsu?"

Kushina giggled and replied, "No, that wasn't the Hiraishin. That's all I'll say for now, can't give away all of Kaito's techniques." She winked playfully at her friend before turning her attention back to the fight.

Back on the arena floor

Itachi made a few hand signs, the water at Kaito's feet began to swirl and four tendrils of water shot towards him with an attempt to pierce him. Kaito, seeing this, thought to himself, "Water Fang Bullet, huh? Seems like Itachi has mastered Water Release." With a smirk on his face, Kaito stomped his foot on the ground and simultaneously made two hand signs and called out, "Earth Style: Multi Mud Wall." Four walls of earth sprang up around Kaito, effectively blocking Itachi's attack. After the jutsu collided, Kaito lowered the earth wall and looked at Itachi with a smirk. He taunted, "You didn't really think that would work against me, did you Itachi?"

Itachi only smirked back in response. He then held a half ram hand sign to his mouth and called out, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" blowing out a massive fireball, twice the size of the previous one, rushing towards Kaito.

Kaito seeing the fireball held a half-ram hand sign of his own and he called out, "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" and spewing out a stream of water that expanded and formed a wall of water in front of him. The great fireball jutsu collided with the water wall and exploded creating a thick mist that enveloped the entire arena.

But just then Kaito felt something rumbling beneath the ground. He quickly leaped back as Itachi burst out from underneath, aiming an uppercut at him. Kaito landed on his feet and watched as Itachi began to glow, his eyes widening in realization.

Itachi exploded in front of him, sending shockwaves rippling through the mist and clearing it away. Kaito used his body flicker technique just in time, appearing a safe distance away from where he had stood moments ago. But as he landed, his feet became stuck to the surface below. "Syrup Trap," Kaito thought grimly, feeling the dense and sticky water under his feet.

Before he could react, shuriken with ninja wire wrapped around them flew toward him. One by one, they pinned him to the spot, leaving him vulnerable

Itachi reappeared behind Kaito with a kunai at his neck, smirking he said. "I win,".

Kaito wasn't done yet. With a smirk, he said, "You think so?", he disappeared in a puff of white smoke. And before Itachi could even register what had happened, his body stiffened as black marks crawled over his skin, immobilizing him.

Kaito appeared behind Itachi in a flicker and placed a kunai to his neck. "Nah, I think i won Itachi," he said grinning.

Kaito Chapter 99

Author note: I want to apologize for forgetting to publish this chapter. I could have sworn I hit the publish button, but it turns out it was still in my drafts folder. My mistake.

Kaito Chapter 99

With his Sharingan predicting C's movements, Itachi swung his tanto at C. C struggled to block it with his kunai as he desperately tried to keep up with Itachi's speed and skill. Finding himself on the defensive, C jumped back to gain some distance and made a few hand signs as he unleashed another jutsu. "Lightning Style: Thunderbolt!" as he called out lightning bolts shot out from his palms and aimed directly at Itachi.

Itachi, who was close to C, was struck by the lightning bolt. However, as the lightning bolt hit him, his body turned into a murder of crows as they split apart and scattered in all directions. Reappearing behind C, Itachi twisted C's arm and slammed him onto the ground, placing his tanto at the back of C's neck.

…

C gulped hard, feeling the sharp edge of Itachi's tanto pressed against the back of his neck as he was pinned to the ground. Itachi calmly spoke, "Please forfeit." just as Raido landed next to them, seeing the situation he announced, "The winner is Itachi Uchiha!" The crowd erupted into loud cheers and applause at Raido's announcement.

Itachi released his hold on C's arm and stood up, sliding his tanto back into its sheath. nodding to Raido he made his way back to the waiting area. the crowd continued to cheer. C stood back up, and flexed the arm that had been pinned moments ago. He couldn't help but think, 'I didn't stand a chance against Itachi.'

Raido then announced to the crowd that there would be a 10-minute break before continuing with the tournament. The audience eagerly chattered among themselves, some heading off to use the facilities or get refreshments while they waited for the next round. Raido himself headed towards the waiting area.

up in the stands

Fugaku couldn't help but smirk as he watched his son pin the Kumo genin down on the ground. "Well done, son," he thought proudly. "Like a true Uchiha." Nearby, Mikoto's smile shone brightly as she heard her eldest son announced as the winner of the match.

Kushina, sitting beside Mikoto, shouted out in excitement. "Well done, Itachi-kun! You did great, ya know!" Sasuke joined in cheering for his elder brother, proudly exclaiming, "That's my big brother!" As Itachi was declared victorious and the crowd erupted in cheers, Sasuke couldn't help but think to himself "Itachi-nii is so strong."

Naruto, sitting below Sasuke, couldn't contain his amazement. "Wow, how did Itachi-nii transform into crows like that?" he asked Shikamaru who sat next to him. Shikamaru signed and replied, "It was probably a substitution jutsu with a genjutsu."

Meanwhile, Kushina sat in between Mikoto and Hitomi and pondered aloud. "Since there are three genin left," she mused, "will it be a three-way fight between Kaito, Itachi, and Hotaru?" Mikoto hummed "I think so,"

While Hitomi added, "I've never seen a three-way fight in the Chunin Exams before."

Fugaku chimed in from Mikoto's other side. "That's because there hasn't been one," he confirmed. "The Chunin Finals have always been a one-on-one fight. They'll pit two of them against each other, and the winner will face the remaining contestant."

Kushina couldn't help but voice her concern. "But that isn't fair to the others, ya know" she protested. "One of them will have to fight again right after another match." Fugaku explained, "Being a shinobi isn't about fairness. It's about adaptability, strength, and endurance. One of them will have to fight, and they must be prepared for anything."

Shisui sat beside his fellow Uchiha, and one of the Uchiha police force members cheered loudly for Itachi. "Way to go, Itachi!" he exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm. "Truly the son of the chief, a prodigy of the Uchiha clan!" The rest of the group joined in on the praise, their voices filled with pride.

Shisui watched Itachi with a small smile, thinking to himself, "Well done. Itachi"

Meanwhile, Izumi and Hana were both filled with excitement as they watched Itachi take down the Kumo genin. Izumi couldn't help but gush, "Itachi-kun was so cool taking down that Kumo genin like it was nothing!"

Hana nodded eagerly in agreement. "I thought he was hit by that lightning release jutsu, but then he turned into crows only to reappear behind the kumo genin and take him down!".

in the waiting area

Itachi made his way in, his teammates already there waiting for him. Kaito, always the friendly one, walked over and draped an arm around Itachi's shoulder. "You did great out there, Itachi," he said warmly. "Looks like all three of us made it to the final round." Hotaru too joined in on the praise, congratulating Itachi on his performance.

Kaito couldn't help but ask, "So, you guys think that we are going to have a three-way final round?" But their conversation was interrupted by Raido, who had followed after Itachi into the waiting area.

"Not exactly," Raido interjected, causing the three friends to turn their attention towards him. Kaito questioned, "Huh? What do you mean?"

All eyes turned to Raido as he explained the situation. "The finals have always been one-on-one matches," he clarified. "Due to the odd number of participants, we'll have a preliminary round before the finals. Two of you will fight, and the winner will face the remaining contestant."

Raido continued, "That brings me to why I'm here. Because of the brackets, Kaito Uzumaki will face Hotaru Hyuga. The winner will then face Itachi Uchiha in the final round." Just as Raido finished speaking, Hotaru raised her hand and spoke up. "I'll forfeit," she said calmly.

Kaito, taken aback by her sudden declaration, turned to her with a puzzled expression. "Huh? What do you mean, Hotaru-chan? Why are you forfeiting?" he asked.

Hotaru explained, "I don't have enough chakra left to fight you Kai-kun, and then face Itachi in the next round." she admitted. "Breaking free from the Water Prison Jutsu took a lot more chakra than I thought."

Hotaru continued, "If we fight now, neither of us will be at our full strength when facing Itachi. It would also give him an easier fight," she admitted. "I know both you and Itachi-kun want to face each other in the Chunin Exams. Plus, I think I've already shown my capabilities enough to be promoted to Chunin." With a small smile, she added, "No matter who wins this match, it'll be a victory for our team."

Kaito looked conflicted but ultimately respected Hotaru's decision. "Are you sure about this, Hotaru-chan?" he asked one last time.

She nodded firmly. "Hai, I'm sure."

Raido interjected at that moment, "Well then, if you're both certain about this decision, we'll proceed with the final match between Itachi and Kaito." With a final nod of confirmation, he left the room, "You have approximately five minutes before the finals,".

she pulled both Kaito and Itachi into a team hug. "Good luck to both of you," she said sincerely before turning "I'm going to find a seat with our parents before the match starts. And please," she added with a playful grin, "don't kill each other out there."

Itachi and Kaito watched her leave before turning to each other. Kaito spoke up. "Well then, let's get going," he said, leading toward the arena with Itachi following close behind.

up in the stands

As Kaito and Itachi walked onto the field. Hotaru made her way over to where her parents were seated. Hitomi noticed her approach and asked with surprise, "Hotaru-chan, what are you doing here?"

Sitting down next to her father Hiashi, Hotaru replied calmly, "I decided to forfeit the last round."

Curious, Hiashi inquired further, "Why did you choose to forfeit?"

With a small sigh, Hotaru explained, "I didn't have enough chakra left to take on both Itachi and Kaito back-to-back. Breaking free from the water prison jutsu took more chakra than I had anticipated."

Hiashi nodded understandingly and said, "You made a sensible decision, Hotaru." Smiling at her father's support, Hotaru settled in to watch the match unfold before them.

down on the arena floor

Raido stood on the arena floor, facing the excited spectators who had just returned to their seats. He consulted his stopwatch and announced with a booming voice, "The Chunin Exams final will now continue." As the crowd quieted down, he continued, "Since Hotaru Hyuga has forfeited, the final match will be between Kaito Uzumaki and Itachi Uchiha."

As soon as Raido finished speaking, both Kaito and Itachi emerged onto the field, greeted by thunderous cheers from the crowd. They walked towards Raido and stood opposite each other.

Kaito couldn't contain his excitement and loosened his shoulders. "How about a bet, Itachi?" he called out confidently.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at Kaito. "And what's the bet?" he inquired calmly.

Kaito grinned mischievously. "The loser treats the winner for a full month, their favorite food," he proposed.

Itachi nodded, accepting the challenge. "Hai,".

Raido observed the exchange between the two opponents and asked, "Are you both ready?"

Both Kaito and Itachi locked eyes with each other before nodding simultaneously.

With a final nod from Raido, the match began with a resounding call of "Hajime!"

Kaito Chapter 98

Author's note: Kaito will begin making significant changes to the timeline after the Chunin Exams Arc

Kaito Chapter 98

As Hotaru found herself trapped in a water prison, she struggled against the dense liquid that surrounded her. Every movement was restricted, and she could feel her lungs burning for air. Cursing herself for letting her guard down, Hotaru took a deep breath and activated her Byakugan, scanning for any weaknesses in the water prison. “Ah, there it is “she thought as she spotted the weak point.

Injecting chakra into the weak spot, the water prison came undone, catching Chojuro off guard. Seizing this opportunity, she swiftly executed the 64 Palms technique. As Chojuro tried to jump back, Hotaru struck him twice calling out “two palms”, then “four palms”, “eight palms”, “sixteen palms” and “thirty-two palms” each strike faster than the last. With one final cry of "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!", Hotaru delivered the final blow that sent Chojuro skidding across the ground, unconscious.

….

Hotaru's body was thoroughly drenched, her long dark hair matted against her face from being trapped in the water prison. She stood in the arena, panting heavily as she deactivated her Byakugan and looked down at the unconscious body of Chojuro. who she had used the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms technique on. "That took a lot of chakra," Hotaru thought feeling drained, she had to use a lot of chakra to break free from the water prison jutsu and then to use the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms right after.

Raido landed beside her, and Hotaru nodded seeing him. Raido seeing Chojuro's state, raised his arm towards Hotaru and announced to the crowd, "The winner is Hotaru Hyuga!" The cheers and applause from the spectators filled the air, their voices blending together into a deafening roar.

Hotaru couldn't help but smile when the crowd cheered loudly for her, their voices echoing through the arena. she waved to the crowd and made her way back to the waiting area.

Up in the stands

Kushina leaped to her feet, her voice ringing out in a cheer for Hotaru as she landed the finishing blow on Chojuro. "Atta girl! You showed him who's boss!" she exclaimed, her enthusiasm contagious among the cheering crowd.

Happily hugging Hitomi next to her, Kushina exclaimed, "I was worried when Hotaru-chan was trapped in that Water Prison, ya know" Letting go of Hitomi, kushina continued excitedly “She sure Suprise me with that move! breaking free from it! “ Hitomi smiled and nodded in agreement. "I was worried too, but I knew Hotaru-chan would find a way out."

Meanwhile, below them, Hinata was woken up by the loud cheers of the crowd and Naruto's booming voice as he cheered for Hotaru's victory. "Way to go Hotaru-nee you were super cool! ya know" he exclaimed.

Naruto's bright smile widened upon noticing Hinata stir awake, he eagerly asked, "Hinata-chan! Are you okay? You just missed it - Hotaru-nee just won, and it was super cool! ya know"

Hinata turned her gaze to the field and watched as Hotaru made her way back to the waiting area. She couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed that she had missed the match. "I missed it," she murmured to herself.

Neji, sensing Hinata's disappointment, reassured her, "Don't worry Hinata-sama, you can watch a recording later."

Hiashi, who sat with his brother, smirked in satisfaction as he watched his eldest daughter break out of the water prison and land the "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms" on Chojuro. he closed his eyes feeling immense pride in his daughter.

Just as Raido announced Hotaru as the winner, Hiashi opened his eyes and nodded with a small smile. His twin brother Hizashi remarked, "Hotaru is truly a prodigy. Though she did let her guard down and got caught in the Water Prison Jutsu. But she was able to break through it with her quick thinking."

Hiashi hummed, saying, "Hotaru underestimated her opponent and almost lost the fight, she must have wanted to conserve her chakra for the next round."

Further down from them, Choza sitting next to Shikaku commented, "I have to admit, I was certain the girl had lost when she was trapped in the Water Prison Jutsu."

Inoichi chimed in, saying, "I thought the same. I've never seen anyone break out of that jutsu without external help before."

Shikaku hummed in agreement and explained to them all, "Her Byakugan allows her to see the weak points of a jutsu, and with her Gentle Fist she can inject chakra at the right spot, disrupting the jutsu."

in the waiting area

As Hotaru entered the waiting area, she spotted Kaito and Itachi. Kaito waved enthusiastically and made his way over to congratulate her. "Hotaru-chan, you did great!" he exclaimed with a smile.

Taking notice of her damp hair and clothes, Kaito then grabbed a scroll and unsealed a towel, handing it to Hotaru. "Here, you should dry yourself off before you catch a cold, ya know.”" he said kindly.

Hotaru gratefully accepted the towel, smiling back at Kaito. "Thank you, Kai-kun," she replied as she wrapped the towel around herself.

Not long after, Itachi joined them in congratulating Hotaru. “You did well out there, Hotaru," he said with a small nod.

Their conversation was cut short as Raido called for Itachi and C to come down to the arena. Itachi began to walk away, saying "My fight is up next. See you guys later."

Kaito punched Itachi's shoulder lightly as he moved past them and wished him luck. "Good luck, Itachi!"

Hotaru chimed in as well. "Good luck, Itachi-kun!"

As they watched Itachi make his way towards the arena C followed closely behind Itachi, Kaito motioned for Hotaru to follow him. "Come on, Hotaru-chan," gesturing to the balcony.

They made their way over to the balcony just as Itachi arrived on the arena floor.

Kaito unsealed some dango and then offered Hotaru. "Do you want some dango?" he asked with a playful grin.

Hotaru nodded eagerly and took a dango, savoring its sweet flavor as they watched Itachi's match begin.

back on the filed

As soon as the unconscious Chojuro was taken away, Raido turned towards the waiting area and called out for "Itachi Uchiha and C of Kumogakure, please come down to the field!"

A while later Itachi walked over to where Raido was standing, followed closely by C. They both stood opposite each other, their eyes locked.

Seeing them, Raido asked, "Are you both ready?" Receiving a nod from both Itachi and C, Raido began the match, shouting "Hajime!".

As soon as the match began, C jumped back to create some distance, He quickly grabbed several kunai and shuriken from his pouch and hurled them at Itachi. Itachi quickly unsheathed his tanto and deflected the kunai and shuriken as he ran towards C.

dodging and deflecting, Itachi closed the distance between them, Itachi swung his tanto at C who raised his kunai to block it. As they exchanged blows, it became clear that Itachi had the advantage. With one swift sweep of his leg, he knocked C off balance and kicked him sending him skidding across the arena floor.

Skidding back, he activated the explosive tags he had attached to the kunai he had thrown earlier, creating an explosion around Itachi.

 Activating his Sharingan, Itachi used the Body Flicker technique to create some distance as the explosive tags detonated. Crossing his arms, he shielded his face from the explosion. Itachi's feet skidded on the ground as he landed a bit further away from the explosion, unharmed.

Seizing this opportunity, C quickly performed a series of hand signs to create a Lightning Style: Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Shadow Clone Jutsu. The clone rushed towards Itachi, who had just used the Body Flicker to escape the explosion.

Nearing Itachi, the clone skidded to a stop as the real C made a few hand signs and shouted, “Lightning Style: Flash Pillar!”

The “Lightning Style: Flash Pillar” genjutsu blinded Itachi as C glowed brightly, causing Itachi to cover his eyes to shield them from the blinding light.

While Itachi was momentarily blinded, the clone used “Lightning Ball,” and more than a dozen lightning balls formed around it, shooting toward the blinded Itachi.

Itachi, relying on his senses, jumped back and started dodging them narrowly avoiding the onslaught of lightning balls. However, there were too many, and soon one impacted Itachi and exploded and the rest of the lighting balls pelted him causing an even larger explosion.

But Itachi had substituted himself and reappeared above the explosion, performing a few hand signs after throwing some shuriken and calling out “Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.” Small fireballs shot from his mouth and engulfed the shuriken as they rained down on both C and his lightning clone.

C jumped back and managed to dodge the flaming shuriken, but the clone who was nearer to Itachi was struck by a few causing it to dissipate in a burst of lightning.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Itachi closed the distance between him and C once again.

With his Sharingan predicting C's movements, Itachi swung his tanto at C. C struggled to block it with his kunai as he desperately tried to keep up with Itachi's speed and skill. Finding himself on the defensive, C jumped back to gain some distance and made a few hand signs as he unleashed another jutsu. "Lightning Style: Thunderbolt!" as he called out lightning bolts shot out from his palms and aimed directly at Itachi.

Itachi, who was close to C, was struck by the lightning bolt. However, as the lightning bolt hit him, his body turned into a murder of crows as they split apart and scattered in all directions. Reappearing behind C, Itachi twisted C's arm and slammed him onto the ground, placing his tanto at the back of C's neck.

NOTE

Hey guys I'm sorry but the chapter will be posted later than expected. the grammar editing site I use is currently down and I will upload the chapter as soon as the site is back. Thank you for understanding.

Kaito Chapter 97

Kaito Chapter 97

Mangetsu quickly regained his footing and skidded back on the ground before coming to a stop. But before he could react, Kaito flickered Infront of him, and said, "its is kinda getting bored, ya know. Sorry, but I think it's time to end this."

Suddenly, red lightning crackled and surged from Kaito's body as he called out the jutsu's name - "Red Lightning: Nagashi (Stream)." Multiple arcs of red lightning discharged in every direction from Kaito's body and struck Mangetsu.

The bolts of lightning struck Mangetsu, their effectiveness heightened by his body's water nature. As the Red lightning coursed through him, Mangetsu's body convulsed and contorted, unable to fully dissipate the electricity due to his watery form. He was thrown backward, crashing to the ground in a half-liquid state. Mangetsu lay motionless, knocked out by Kaito's "Red Lightning: Nagashi (Stream).".

….

Kaito stood tall over Mangetsu, still holding the bowl of ramen in his hands. He casually took a bite and slurped it. just then, the sound of Raido landing next to him caught his attention. Kaito turned to face him, raising an eyebrow at Raido who had been watching him intently as he nonchalantly ate his ramen.

Raido muttered "Cocky brat" under his breath before gesturing towards Kaito with a hand and announcing and then gesturing for the medic team, “The winner is Kaito Uzumaki!” The crowd erupted into cheers for Kaito as he continued to slurp down his soup with satisfaction.

Just as Kaito finished slurping down the soup, a blur appeared and tackled him in a hug. It was Hotaru, who quickly let go and bonked him on the head. "Ouch! That hurt ya know. Why is everyone always hitting me?" Kaito exclaimed while rubbing his sore head.

Hotaru huffed and turned her head away, scolding him, "You deserved it for scaring us like that!"

Just then, the medical team arrived to take Mangetsu away on a stretcher.

in the crowd

Mei Terumi sat in the crowd, she watched the fight between Mangetsu and Kaito. "Konoha has some truly promising genin," she thought as Kaito easily dominated the fight. As the fight continued, Mei analyzed the fight, At first, she had thought that Mangetsu had truly won against the Uzumaki kid, only of it to be a shadow clone all along. The real Kaito appeared with a bowl of ramen in hand and effortlessly took down Mangetsu without breaking a sweat.

Watching Mangetsu being escorted away, Mei thought “First he took down Utakata without breaking a sweat, and now even Mangetsu, the strongest genin in the Hidden Mist Village in this generation,” What kind of monster will that Uzumaki kid grow up to be? One thing is certain. he will live up to the Fourth Hokage’s legacy.

Meanwhile, Kushina cheered for her son from the sidelines, her emotions subdued yet relieved that he was still alive after such a fierce battle.

Naruto's excitement knew no bounds as he jumped up and down, shouting "Woo Hoo Kaito-niisan won!" He then proceeded to shake Shikamaru in his excitement, much to the irritation of the Nara.

Releasing Shikamaru, Naruto turned to hug Hinata in his celebration. However, much to his surprise and concern, she fainted and went limp in his arms. Panic set in as he frantically tried to wake her up while Kushina, Hitomi, and Mikoto laughed at the comical sight.

Shikamaru simply shook his head, mumbling "Troublesome blonds."

Neji, seeing that Hinata had fainted, immediately rounded on Naruto. "Naruto, what did you do to Hinata-sama?" he demanded.

"I don't know! She just fainted like that!" Naruto replied in a panicked tone, not understanding what could have caused her to collapse.

As Hitomi leaned over and whispered to Naruto. "Hinata just fell asleep. Gently place her in the seat and let her lean against you." Naruto nodded in understanding, carefully lifting Hinata and placing her back in her seat. He positioned her so that her head rested on his shoulder, and Neji assisted in adjusting her position to make her more comfortable.

Meanwhile, Hiashi glared with his Byakugan activated, his eyes flickering between Naruto and Kaito. Naruto held a passed-out Hinata in his arms while Hotaru was hugging Kaito tightly on the arena floor. Hizashi pat his brother's shoulder and commented with a smirk, "It seems you will have two Uzumaki’s in your family in the future."

Hiashi shot his brother a sharp look before telling him to "shut up." At the top of the bleachers, Kakashi stood beside Tenzo, calmly flipping through pages of his beloved 'Icha Icha Paradise.'

Tenzo let out a low whistle as he observed Kaito's performance. "That Hozuki kid didn't even stand a chance against him. And that trick with the clone? Brilliant, it probably fooled everyone. I know I would have fallen for it too."

Kakashi hummed nonchalantly, still engrossed in his book. "That was just a clone for the beginning. I wouldn't be surprised if Kaito was actually eating during the match. The clone may have even won if it hadn't gotten too cocky."

on the field

Kaito rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. As he explained why he had sent a clone "I was hungry, ya know. And I couldn't let all that delicious food go to waste, so I sent my clone to fight in my place,".

As the medic-nin escorted the unconscious Mangetsu away, Raido turned towards Kaito and Hotaru. "If you two are done with your flirting,” he interrupted them, " I'd like to move on to the next match."

Hotaru blushed and stammered, "We weren't flirting!"

Kaito raised an eyebrow at Raido's comment and retorted, "We're nine, turning ten." His expression made it clear that he thought Raido was being weird.

Kaito then turned to Hotaru and wished "Good luck, Hotaru-chan." patting her on the head before walking off to the waiting area. As he walked away, Raido announced “The next match will be between Hotaru Hyuga versus Chojuro of Kirigakure."

Chojuro walked past Kaito as he made his way up the stairs to the waiting area. Chojuro glanced at Kaito and thought, "He beat Mangetsu so easily while eating ramen. If his teammates are as strong as him, I need to be careful with that Hyuga girl."

Kaito's eyes followed Chojuro as they passed by each other. Chojuro then walked onto the field and stood opposite Hotaru, both of them waiting for Raido to start the match.

Raido glanced between Hotaru and Chojuro before asking, "Are you both ready?" After receiving nods from both, he declared, "Hajime!" signaling the start of the fight.

in the waiting area

As Kaito returned to the waiting area, he spotted Itachi leaning against the balcony railing, his eyes fixed on the arena floor. Kaito strolled over and joined his friend's side, receiving a curious look from Itachi. "Where were you?" Itachi asked as Kaito stood beside him.

Kaito simply shrugged in response, letting out a small laugh. "I was eating up in the stands with the others. I wasn’t going to let my clone waste the food, ya know," he explained, Kaito pulled out a sealing scroll and unsealed several dozen sweet dango, offering them to Itachi. "Want some?"

Itachi accepted the treat and took a bite, savoring the dango before speaking again. "So, I take it Kushina-san didn't handle it well when she saw your clone 'dying'," he said with a knowing nod.

Kaito let out a sigh and rubbed his face, a hint of guilt crossing his expression. "Yeah, she was pretty upset. She thought I actually died. If only my clone didn’t get so cocky at the end," he admitted, taking another bite of dango to distract himself from the memory.

Itachi nodded and hummed. "It's understandable. She is your mother."

A small frown tugged at Kaito's lips as he thought how distressed his mother was. "Yeah, I know. I'll have to make it up to her somehow," he muttered. Their attention then turned to the arena floor as Raido began the match between Hotaru and Chojuro.

on the field

As soon as the radio signaled the start of the match, Chojuro charged towards Hotaru with both of his swords drawn. Hotaru wasted no time and dropped into her taijutsu stance, ready to defend herself.

Closing the distance, Chojuro swung his left sword diagonally at her, but Hotaru was quick on her feet and leaped back to avoid the strike. Chojuro smoothly followed up with his right sword, aiming for her midsection. But once again, Hotaru evaded the attack by ducking under the blade. She retaliated with a palm strike directed at Chojuro's abdomen,

Chojuro jumped back avoiding the palm strike and then quickly charged toward Hotaru, continuing his relentless assault. She used her gentle fist technique to deflect his sword strikes while Chojuro either blocked or evaded her attacks. They continued for the exchange some time until Hotaru found an opening and struck at Chojuro with a palm strike, forcing him to block the blow by crossing his arms in an X formation.

The sheer force behind her palm stroke pushed Chojuro back, causing him to skid across the arena floor. Thinking quickly motion, Chojuro stabbed both of his blades into the ground to stop the moment and as soon as he stopped he made a series of hand signs and called out “water style water dragon jutsu“. and the water from the previous fight gathered around him, forming a water dragon that shot towards Hotaru.

Hotaru watched as the water dragon took form, her eyes narrowing. Gathering chakra in her hand, she thrusted her palm forward towards the oncoming water dragon, shouting "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm." The two Jutsu's collided with an explosion of water drenching the entire arena in its aftermath.

Amidst the chaos, Hotaru felt a presence behind her and instinctively ducked as a sword swung where her head had just been moments before. As she turned to face her new opponent, another Chojuro appeared over her with a horizontal sword strike aimed at her.

Rolling to the side to evade the strike, Hotaru planted her feet and faced off against Chojuro once again. This time, Chojuro lunged at her with a stabbing motion, but she was ready for it. Using the gentle fist, she deflected the stab with her palm and countered with a palm strike to Chojuro's abdomen.

The strike connected with Chojuro and he burst into water that splashed over Hotaru revealing it to be a water clone. But before she react the real Chojuro appeared behind her. While making a few hand signs, he thrust his palm towards her and shouted, "Water Prison Technique."

In an instant, the water around Hotaru formed into a ball with her trapped inside. Breathing heavily from exertion, Chojuro declared that it was over and asked Hotaru to forfeit.

As Hotaru found herself trapped in a water prison, she struggled against the dense liquid that surrounded her. Every movement was restricted, and she could feel her lungs burning for air. Cursing herself for letting her guard down, Hotaru took a deep breath and activated her Byakugan, scanning for any weaknesses in the water prison. “ah, there it is “she thought as she spotted the weak point.

Injecting chakra into the weak spot, the water prison came undone, catching Chojuro off guard. Seizing this opportunity, she swiftly executed the 64 Palms technique. As Chojuro tried to jump back, Hotaru struck him twice calling out “two palms”, then “four palms”, “eight palms”, “sixteen palms” and “thirty-two palms” each strike faster than the last. With one final cry of "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!", Hotaru delivered the final blow that sent Chojuro skidding across the ground, unconscious.

Kaito chapter 96

Kaito chapter 96

author's note: I would greatly appreciate any feedback on the progression of the story and welcome any suggestions for improvement. Thank you.

Unable to dodge the attack, Mangetsu was swept up by the powerful current and crashed into the arena walls, shaking the entire structure. As the waves died down, Mangetsu struggled to stand against the wall.

Kaito appeared in front of him, holding his tanto at Mangetsu's neck with a smirk he said "It's over,". just then Mangetsu who was struggling to stand up smirked and said “It is “then turned into water. kaito realizing what just happened tried to jump back only for the water around his feet to become thick and quickly water tendrils shot up and enveloped him.

As Kaito struggled to break free from the watery restraints, Mangetsu materialized from the water behind him. He pointed his finger in the shape of a gun at Kaito's head and without hesitation fired a powerful blast of water using his Water Gun jutsu.

….

blood spattered in all directions as the attack connected with Kaito's head. His lifeless body fell to the ground with a sickening thud just as Raido landed beside them, too late to stop the jutsu.

Mangetsu stood looking down at Kaito's motionless form and the pool of blood spreading beneath his head. he was panting heavily and was clutching his left arm, which had suffered extensive damage from Kaito's earlier use of the Water Style: Giant Waterfall jutsu.

In the stands, Kushina's voice could be heard screaming "Kaito!" while Naruto yelled out "Kaito-nii-san!" and Hotaru yelled out "Kaito-kun!" Their voices echoed throughout the now-silent arena,

up in the crowd

Kushina's voice carried through the arena as she screamed out "Kaito!" Tears streamed down her face as she watched in horror. Naruto dropped his bowl of ramen as he shouted out "Kaito-nii-san!".

Amidst the gasps and murmurs of shock from the crowd, Mikoto sat beside Kushina and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh no..."

Hitomi, sitting nearby, also covered her mouth in shock and disbelief. This was not how she had expected the match to end. "This can't be happening..."

Hinata could only cover her eyes in horror at the sight before her. Shikamaru looked horrified by what had happened. Sasuke never thought he would see someone who could rival his older brother being killed.

Shikaku, sitting up straight and arms crossed, had a serious expression as looked seriously at the prone form of Kaito

in the waiting area

Hotaru cried with desperation, "Kaito-kun!" She could only watch in despair as her crush was struck by Mangetsu's “water gun jutsu”, blood spattering all around. Her eyes widened in mortification as she saw her crush and teammate fall to the ground, lifeless.

Standing beside her, Itachi's arms were crossed and his gaze narrowed at Kaito. Chojuro, nearby, looked on with a serious expression. He couldn't help but acknowledge the strength that Kaito must have possessed to push Mangetsu.

Tears welled up in Hotaru's eyes, her desperation evident as she attempted to leap down to the arena floor. However, Itachi swiftly caught her arm, preventing her.

"Let me go!" Hotaru pleaded, her voice choked with tears and anger as she struggled against Itachi's firm grip.

Itachi shook his head and replied calmly, "Just watch."

up in the stage

 Kushina fell back into her seat with a look of despair on her face. Tears filled her eyes as she whispered weakly, "Kaito..."

Naruto couldn't bear to look up. Tears streamed down his face, his body trembling with a mix of grief and anger. His chakra started to stir around, reacting to the emotional turmoil within him. Beside him, Kaito simply slurped loudly on his ramen, seemingly unfazed by the intense emotions surrounding him. "Damn, he managed to beat my clone," he remarked casually after swallowing a mouthful of food.

All eyes turned towards Kaito, some filled with shock and others with disbelief who was eating ramen.

back on the arena floor

Mangetsu Hozuki's relief turned to shock as Kaito's lifeless body dispersed into white smoke. It was a shadow clone all along.

Mangetsu jumped back, clutching his left arm in pain, his eyes scanning the arena floor frantically for the real Kaito. He cursed inwardly, berating himself for letting his guard down at such a critical moment.

Raido, who had been ready to declare Mangetsu the winner. "Heh," he chuckled to himself, "I was just about to declare the Hozuki kid the winner. He sure fooled me with that trick."

in the waiting area

 A puzzled look crossed Hotaru’s face hearing Itachi’s words. She turned back towards the arena floor just in time to see Kaito's prone form puff into white smoke, revealing itself to be nothing more than a shadow clone.

Relief flooded through Hotaru as she clutched at her heart. "Thank God, he's okay," she whispered tearfully. Wiping away the tears that threatened to fall with an angry expression. "I'm going to kill him for scaring me like that!" she declared, her voice trembling with emotion. Then, turning to Itachi once again, she asked curiously, "How did you know that was a clone, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi simply hummed in response to Hotaru's remark, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Kaito has used that trick on me a few times during our sparring sessions,"

up in the stage

Kaito sensed the eyes of everyone on him and turned towards them, puzzled. "What?" he asked innocently, wondering why everyone was staring.

Before he could react, Kushina lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a fierce hug. Tears streamed down her face as she held him close, relieved that he was safe and sound.

Naruto joined in, jumping onto his big brother and shouting gleefully, "You're okay! Nii-san!"

Kaito was taken aback by this sudden display of affection, he gently pushed them back slightly, looking between them with concern. "Whoa, Mom, why are you crying? What's wrong?" he asked, bewildered by the intensity of their reactions.

Kushina wiped her tears away hastily, then bonked Kaito on the head, her voice shaking with a mixture of relief and reproach. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she scolded him, her eyes still wet with tears.

Rubbing the top of his head where his mother had hit him, Kaito asked indignantly, "Hey, that hurt! yknow, what was that for?"

Kushina pulled him into another hug, whispering through her sobs, "I thought I had lost you."

It finally clicked for Kaito why his mother had reacted so strongly. The trauma of losing her husband and now almost losing her eldest son must have been too much for her to bear. He rubbed her back soothingly as she cried on his shoulder.

Eventually, Kushina let go of Kaito and he tried to explain himself. "I couldn't let my clone waste the food I bought, you know? That would just be a waste since I'd still be hungry even if he ate it." Kaito rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously as he continued, "That's why I sent him to fight in my place. But that cocky clone just had to let his guard down." His frustration was evident in his exasperated tone.

Shikaku shook his head and warned Kaito, "If you don't get down there, you're going to be disqualified."

With a resigned sigh, Kaito replied with a simple "Hai." Turning towards the arena once more, before his body flickered in and out and disappeared.

back on the arena floor

Mangetsu frantically looked around, searching for Kaito while clutching his left arm. Suddenly, Kaito emerged onto the field with a body flicker, his form flickering in and out before fully materializing. In one hand, he held a steaming bowl of ramen, while the other chopsticks.

Casually slurping down some ramen, Kaito asked Mangetsu, "Are we fighting or what?", hearing Kaito’s taunt Mangetsu made a series of one-handed hand signs before calling out "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu." A massive water dragon formed with surrounding water and launched towards Kaito.

Kaito jumped up just before the water dragon impacted where he stood. While in midair, Mangetsu appeared in front of him using the body flicker and swung his sword at Kaito. However, the sword passed right through Kaito's body as an after-image flickered out and Kaito reappeared behind Mangetsu in another flicker. Kaito delivered a chakra-enhanced kick to Mangetsu’s back that sent him crashing to the ground.

Mangetsu quickly regained his footing and skidded back on the ground before coming to a stop. But before he could react, Kaito flickered in front of him, and said, "It's kinda getting bored, ya know. Sorry, but I think it's time to end this."

Suddenly, red lightning crackled and surged from Kaito's body as he called out the jutsu's name - "Red Lightning: Nagashi (Stream)." Multiple arcs of red lightning discharged in every direction from Kaito's body and struck Mangetsu.

The bolts of Red lightning struck Mangetsu, their effectiveness heightened by his body's water nature. As the Red lightning coursed through him, Mangetsu's body convulsed and contorted, unable to fully dissipate the electricity due to his watery form. He was thrown backward, crashing to the ground in a half-liquid state. Mangetsu lay motionless, knocked out by Kaito's "Red Lightning: Nagashi (Stream).".

Kaito Chapter 95

Kaito Chapter 95

Taking advantage of Kiko's momentary blindness from the light pillar jutsu, C swiftly rushed towards her and slashed at her with his tanto. She managed to block his strike with one of her battle fans, but the impact sent it flying away from her grasp.

In an attempt to retaliate, Kiko reached for her other battle fan to send a wind attack towards C. But before she could, he sent her flying with a swift kick to her stomach.

Struggling to stand, Kiko was met with C's tanto at her neck as he stood over her and declared "It's over." The battle had been won.

….

Kiko could feel sweat trickling down her face as she looked up at him. Slowly nodding in agreement, she stuttered out a defeated "hai," acknowledging that she had lost the fight.

Just then, Raido landed beside them, his arrival unnoticed until now. Hearing Kiko's confirmation of her loss, he raised his hand towards C and announced to the crowd, "And the winner of the sixth match is C of Kumogakure!"

The audience roared with approval for C's, despite the short duration of the fight. It was still an exciting spectacle, and both fighters showcased their talents during the match.

As soon as C was officially declared the winner, C calmly sheathed his tanto and began to walk back to the waiting area. As soon as his sword was removed from her neck, Kiko slumped down in despair from her loss. The weight of failure heavy on her shoulders.

Raido then announced, "We'll have a short 15-minute break before continuing with the semifinals." The crowd slowly began to disperse, some heading to use the restroom or grab a quick bite to eat while others discussed the intense match they had just witnessed.

With Kaito

As Kaito strolled through the bustling food stalls, he spotted his clone at the dango booth, buying dozens of the sweet treats. Kaito approached him, eyebrow raised in curiosity. "How are you going to pay for all this?" he asked.

His clone jumped in surprise before realizing Kaito's meaning. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Uh, I didn't think about that," he admitted, forgetting that he only had cloned money with him. Kaito let out a sigh of exasperation. "Come on," he said before pulling out his wallet and paying the vendor.

The two of them wandered around the food stalls, indulging in various dishes and losing track of time as they savored each bite. As they walked, they eventually came across Teuchi's small ramen stall.

Kaito suggested with a grin, "Let's get some ramen." His clone nodded in agreement, knowing how much their mother and Naruto loved it. "We should buy a few bowls."

Approaching the booth with eager steps, both Kaito and his clone caught the attention of Teuchi who looked up from preparing a bowl of ramen. "Kaito, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the arena?" he asked in confusion. Ayame, who was also behind the booth, blushed when she saw Kaito. "Good morning, Kaito-kun," she greeted shyly.

"Good morning, Ayame-chan," Kaito replied with a warm smile. "They gave us a break."

He placed an order for a few bowls of ramen and as they waited for their meal, they continued to sample different dishes from the surrounding food stalls. However, they were so engrossed in eating that they didn't hear their names being called.

Ayame noticed and gently nudged Kaito. "Kaito-kun, your name is being called," she informed him with a soft smile.

That's when they heard Raido's booming voice calling for them.

Kaito and his clone exchanged panicked glances. "Oh, shit," they muttered in unison.

back in the arena

As the fifteen-minute break came to an end, people began to make their way back to their seats. The air was thick with anticipation and excitement as Raido stepped onto the field, glancing at his watch before addressing the crowd. "The Chunin finals will now resume!" His voice echoed through the stadium, urging everyone to take their places once again.

He turned to the waiting area and called for the next match participants. "Will Kaito Uzumaki of Konoha and Mangetsu Hozuki of Kirigakure please come to the arena floor?" he called out.

in the waiting area

Itachi stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, leaning against the balcony railing. Beside him stood Hotaru, her gaze fixed on the arena floor. Just then, Raido calls Kaito and Mangetsu for the next match.

Mangetsu, who had been leaning against the wall at the back of the room, stood up and made his way down to the arena floor with a calm and confident stride. Chojuro walked over to the balcony to watch the fight.

Hotaru scanned the arena for her friend Kaito but couldn't spot him. Turning to Itachi, she asked with concern in her voice, "Itachi-kun, where could Kaito-kun be?"

Itachi hummed thoughtfully before replying, "Maybe he's in the restroom or something." Hotaru nodded in agreement, hoping that Kaito would make it back in time for his match.

up in the stands

Kushina anxiously scanned the bustling crowd for her eldest son, she asked no one in particular, "Where is he?"

Anxiety crept into Kushina's nails as she nervously bit on them, her eyes darting back and forth in search of her son.

Beside her, Mikoto calmly suggested, "Maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something."

Kushina nervously bit her nails as she continued to scan the crowd,

Naruto who was sitting alongside Shikamaru and hinata asked, "Hey, where's Kaito-nii-san?" as he looked around

Sasuke, always eager to taunt his rival Naruto, said, "Maybe your brother got scared and ran away."

Naruto's face contorted in anger as he fiercely retorted, "My brother wouldn't run away! He's not a coward!" His fists tightened, ready to punch Sasuke.

Hinata nodded in agreement, wanting to defuse the escalating tension between the two boys. "H-Hai, Nar-Naruto-kun, Kaito-nii-san wouldn't have run away. He's probably just held up by something," she stuttered out, trying to calm Naruto down.

Shikamaru sighed in annoyance at the noise and commotion caused by his friends, "Troublesome."

back in the arena floor

Mangetsu strode over to where Raido stood and patiently waited for his opponent. Seeing that Mangetsu had arrived, Raido turned back to the waiting area. After a brief pause, he called out once more, "Kaito Uzumaki, please proceed to the arena floor now!"

in the waiting area 

Hotaru's brow furrowed in concern as she spoke, "Where could Kaito-kun have gone?"

Itachi offered a solution, "Why don't you use your Byakugan to locate him?"

Nodding, Hotaru activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. After a moment, she stopped and muttered, "Kai-kun is over at a booth, eating ramen."

Itachi couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh, his face showing a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

back in the arena floor

Raido, standing in the middle of the field voice boomed over the stadium "Last call! If Kaito Uzumaki doesn't step onto the field in the next 2 minutes, he will be disqualified!" The murmurs in the crowd grew louder, as many had placed huge bets on Kaito to win the chunin exams. They had seen him as a clear favorite, being the son of their beloved fourth Hokage.

Raido held a stopwatch in his hand and counted down the 2 minutes. Just as he was about to reach the 2-minute mark on his stopwatch in the last seconds, Kaito appeared on the field in a body flicker. His form flickered in and out before materializing much like Shisui's signature technique.

Kaito scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he apologized, "Sorry for being late, got caught up in something." Raido put away his stopwatch and replied, "You made it just in the nick of time. A few seconds later and you would have been disqualified."

With both competitors present, Raido looked at them both and asked, "Are you both ready?" They both nodded. Seeing this, Raido signaled for the match to begin and jumped back, shouting "Hajime!"

In the stands, Kushina let out a sigh of relief at seeing Kaito appear on the field. "Thank goodness he made it... But I'm still going to hit him on the head for almost getting disqualified!" she muttered with a smirk.

Both contestants stood poised and ready as the proctors started the match. The tension in the air was palpable as the two young warriors prepared to battle it out for their chance at becoming chunin.

up in the crowd

In the stands, Kushina let out a sigh of relief at seeing Kaito appear on the field. "Thank goodness he made it... But I'm still going to hit him on the head for almost getting disqualified!" she had smiles on her face.

naruto jumped off his seat, and “See that, Kaito-nii would never run away!, believe it" He then turned to Sasuke and stuck his tongue out

in the waiting area

Hotaru watched as Kaito appeared on the field in a body flicker. She deactivated her Byakugan and whispered to herself, "He made it..." Both Itachi and Hotaru watched as the radio started the match.

back on the arena floor

As soon as the signal was given, both Kaito and Mangetsu both leaped back, creating distance between them. Kaito quickly retrieved a handful of shuriken from his pouch and threw them at Mangetsu with practiced ease. But Mangetsu was just as skilled, and he retaliated with a flurry of shuriken of his own.

But just as their shuriken were about to clash, Kaito's shuriken multiplied into thousands, thanks to his mastery of the "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu". The sheer number and speed of the shuriken overwhelmed Mangetsu's and flew towards him.

Thinking quickly, Mangetsu landed on the ground and jumped back again, to avoid the barrage of shuriken. mid-jump, As he weaved through some hand signs with incredible speed and spewed out a stream of water that quickly expanded into a wall in front of him. He called out the name of the jutsu - "Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu" - as he landed.

The endless barrage of shuriken relentlessly hammered against the water wall. But just then, Kaito appeared beside Mangetsu in a body flicker, moving so fast that his figure seemed to flicker in and out. He swung his curved tanto blade at Mangetsu.

Mangetsu quickly side-stepped the attack However, as Kaito's blade connected with Mangetsu's left arm, it became stuck in place. To his shock, he saw that Mangetsu's left arm had turned into water upon contact with Kaito's weapon. This caused a momentary distraction for Kaito as he thought, "What the...?".

Seizing the opportunity, Mangetsu used his own tanto to attack Kaito. But Kaito was quick on his feet and jumped back, pulling his tanto out of Mangetsu's arm in the process. As he did so, Mangetsu's arm reformed back into its solid state without any damage.

Kaito couldn't help but mentally whistle to himself as he “i knew that the Hydrification Technique of the Hozuki clan was broken but that, heh let’s see how my water release compares to his “Kaito knew that the Hozuki clan’s ability was one of the most overpowered Kekkei Genkai in the Narutoverse. Its only weakness was lightning release, which unfortunately for Mangetsu, Kaito possessed but Kaito wanted to see how his water release compared to Mangetsu’s.

Seeing Kaito jump back again, Mangetsu quickly raised his right hand over his head and held his left hand in a half-ram hand sign. he called out "Hidden Mist Technique" and a thick fog began to envelop the arena, just like when Chojuro had used it against Yura earlier.

up in the stadium

Meanwhile, Kaito arrived with bags full of delicious food. He asked excitedly, "Did I miss my fight?" Before taking the seat next to Naruto, Kaito pulled out some steaming bowls of ramen and passed one over to Kushina and another to Naruto. "Here you go Mom, naruto," he said with a smile.

Naruto and Kushina eagerly accepted the ramen with gratitude, their faces lighting up with delight as they thanked him. "Thank you, Kai-kun," Kushina said sweetly, while Naruto added, "Thanks, nii-san. you are the best, yknow"

Next, Kaito unpacked an array of treats from his bags. There were dango, soft and chewy mochi balls, crispy taiyaki filled with red bean paste, and savory dishes like chicken karaage and takoyaki. He also brought out plates of sushi, stir-fried noodles, and fried rice. With a smile on his face, Kaito distributed the food to Shikamaru, Hinata, Sasuke, Mikoto, and Hitomi, all of whom eagerly thanked him before digging in.

As he watched the ongoing match intently, Kaito turned to Fugaku, Hiashi, Hizashi, and his sensei Shikaku who were sitting nearby, he asked if they wanted any of the food. However, they politely declined.

Undeterred, Kaito took out a bowl of steaming ramen for himself and started slurping away, eagerly watching the ongoing match while enjoying his delicious food.

back on the arena floor

As the mist thickened, Kaito stood confidently with a smirk on his face. He thought to himself. “the hidden mist, it's a good strategy if your opponent isn’t a sensor like me“ Just then, Kaito felt the presence of Mangetsu to his left and swiftly blocked his incoming sword swing with his tanto. Kaito's grin widened as he saw the shock on Mangetsu's face at being blocked. reacting quickly, Kaito delivered a kick at Mangetsu's mid-section that sent him flying.

Righting himself in midair Mangetsu landed and disappeared into the thick mist and launched another attack, only for Kaito to gracefully dodge and block each strike. Realizing that his attacks were having no effect, Mangetsu used Water Release: Water Spikes, creating sharp water spikes from underneath Kaito that shot up.

However, Kaito was always one step ahead. Sensing the attack, he leaped up and avoided being impaled by the sharp water spikes just in time. While still in midair, he threw a barrage of kunai and shuriken towards where he had sensed Mangetsu.

who was now caught off guard by the sudden attack. But Kaito didn't stop there - using the Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu, he multiplied the number of shuriken flying toward Mangetsu. the shuriken peppered his body as it turned into water and the shuriken passed through him before can colliding with the ground behind him.

Kaito sensed that the fight was coming to an end as he grew bored with his opponent, Mangetsu. He landed gracefully on the ground and formed two hand signs, calling out Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave. The moisture in the air began to condense and swirl together, creating a massive vortex of water. Suddenly, it exploded from the top in the form of a powerful wave, engulfing the entire battlefield.

Just as Mangetsu managed to stabilize himself atop the rushing water, Kaito quickly formed another hand sign and called out Water Style: Giant Waterfall. A large volume of water surged toward Mangetsu, thrashing violently and tearing apart the arena floor. The force of the jutsu also dispersed the Hidden Mist jutsu that had been surrounding them.

Unable to dodge the attack, Mangetsu was swept up by the powerful current and crashed into the arena walls, shaking the entire structure. As the waves died down, Mangetsu struggled to stand against the wall.

Kaito appeared in front of him, holding his tanto at Mangetsu's neck with a smirk he said "It's over,". just then Mangetsu who was struggling to stand up smirked and said “It is “then turned into water. kaito realizing what just happened tried to jump back only for the water around his feet to become sticky and quickly water tendrils shot up and enveloped him.

As Kaito struggled to break free from the watery restraints, Mangetsu materialized from the water behind him. He pointed his finger in the shape of a gun at Kaito's head and without hesitation fired a powerful blast of water using his Water Gun jutsu.

Note

Hey guys I'm sorry but the chapter will be posted a bit than expected. it’s the same problem again. Thank you for understanding.

Kiato Chapter 94

Kiato Chapter 94

 The genjutsu took effect immediately, with Nemui looking terrified and failed to block Itachi's kick that sent him flying backwards. Nemui quickly regained his composure and tried to take in the surroundings again, only to be trapped in another genjutsu by Itachi. This time, Nemui managed to break free from the genjutsu, but before he could he had to dodge the kunai and shuriken barrage itachi had thrown at him.

Due to the lingering effects of the genjutsu, Nemui wasn’t able to dodge all the projectile as some of the kunai grazed him while some shuriken struck his back. itachi repeated this by placing nemui under a genjutsu every time he woke up to take in his surrounding, until Nemui couldn't take it any longer and screamed in fear while holding his head. He fell to his knees mentally broken.

….

The screams echoed throughout the chunin arena, silencing the crowd as they watched in shock. Raido, one of the proctors for the exam, quickly landed on the field beside Nemui and called for medical assistance. He knelt down next to the Kumo genin, wondering “what kind of genjutsu did that Uchiha kid up him in, he broke the kid “.

Raido pressed a pressure point on Nemui's neck to knock him unconscious and end his suffering. Just as the medic-nin arrived to check on Nemui's injuries, Raido stood back up and raised his hand towards Itachi, declaring "Winner of the fifth match, Itachi Uchiha!".

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as Raido announced Itachi's victory. Calmly, Itachi made his way back to the waiting area, leaving behind a defeated and broken opponent in his wake.

up in the stage

Fugaku sat with his arms crossed and a smirk playing on his lips, he closed his eyes with satisfaction. "Itachi showed just enough without revealing all his cards. Fighting like a true Uchiha," he thought proudly to himself.

Meanwhile, Mikoto beamed at her son and praised him softly, "Well done, Itachi-kun."

Kushina couldn't contain her excitement and cheered loudly for Itachi, "Yatta, you did great Itachi-kun!"

Hitomi observed from below where they were sitting and remarked, "Whatever genjutsu Itachi placed him under must have been really strong."

At this point, Naruto looked bewildered and turned to ask, "Hey, what just happened?"

Sasuke snorted and replied matter-of-factly, "Itachi nii-san won the fight."

Naruto rolled his eyes and said annoyed, "Yeah, I know that. I'm asking why he suddenly started screaming while holding his head. Ya know?"

Shikamaru, who was sitting next to Naruto, stared intently at the screaming genin and commented, "I think it was a genjutsu."

Naruto tilted his head to the side and asked curiously, "What's a genjutsu?"

Kaito's shadow clone, who was also next to Naruto, answered calmly, "Hai, you are correct Shikamaru. It was a genjutsu. Genjutsu is one of the main types of jutsu. It allows the user to cast illusions on their target and make them experience whatever the user wants them to."

Hinata's soft voice stuttered as she asked, "Anything?"

Kaito nodded and explained further, "Hai, anything as long as they can imagine it."

Naruto furrowed his brows and questioned, "But I didn't see Itachi nii-san use any hand signs to use genjutsu."

Kaito nodded in understanding and clarified, "Itachi doesn't need to use hand signs because of his Kekkei Genkai. He has the Sharingan, which allows him to put anyone under a genjutsu with just a glance."

Naruto nodded eagerly, his eyes wide with excitement as he exclaimed, "Wow!" He paused before turning to Kaito scratching the back of his head. "Uh, Kaito-nii, what is Kekkei Genkai?"

Kaito let out a sigh and began to explain, his voice tieredly. "A Kekkei Genkai is something you are born with. Certain clans possess it, like the Uzumaki clan with their chakra chains." As he spoke, he displayed his chakra chain in front of them before pointing towards Hinata. "Just like Hinata-chan and her family, who have the Byakugan. That's why they have those unique white eyes. Similarly, the Uchiha clan has the Sharingan."

As Kaito finished explaining the intense fight to Naruto and his friends, he stood up and announced that he was going to grab something to eat. Turning to the group, he asked if anyone wanted anything as well.

Choza let out a low whistle in admiration. "Did you see the way Itachi handled Nemui? His strategic movements were impeccable. It was almost as if he could predict every move Nemui made."

In agreement, Inoichi nodded. "He adapted so quickly, especially when he realized that Nemui was fighting in his sleep. Using genjutsu to disrupt Nemui's attacks each time he woke up was a brilliant move. His skills are truly beyond impressive for someone his age."

Shikaku pondered thoughtfully, "Itachi's proficiency is certainly exceptional. His ability to analyze his opponent's strategy and exploit weaknesses so effectively is a rare talent, even among seasoned ninja."

In awe of Itachi's prowess, Inoichi shook his head in amazement. "I've only heard rumors about how skilled he is, but seeing him in action is truly remarkable."

Choza added his own observation, "And his taijutsu technique is well-refined. Even against an unpredictable style like Nemur's, Itachi maintained complete control throughout the entire fight. He didn't just rely on his Sharingan, his fundamentals were solid."

Shikaku chimed in once more, "Itachi's understanding of both ninjutsu and genjutsu is impressive, but what stands out the most is his strategic mind. He can read his opponents' battle style and adapt to it effortlessly."

In a different section of the bleachers, Shisui sat with a satisfied smile as he watched Itachi's match. "Well done, Itachi," he thought to himself. "Using genjutsu on Nemui every time he looked up was a brilliant move." Shisui admired Itachi's strategic thinking and how he didn't have to reveal all his abilities to win.

Meanwhile, Hana and Izumi were sitting together, completely captivated by Itachi's skills. "Did you see that, Hana?" Izumi exclaimed excitedly. "Itachi-kun was amazing! The way he fought was just... wow."

Hana nodded in agreement. "Yes, Itachi is truly on another level. His opponent never stood a chance. His movements were so precise, and he kept his cool the entire time."

Izumi, beaming with pride for her cousin, gushed, "I know, right? The way he figured out that Kumo genin's technique so quickly and used his Sharingan to trap him in a genjutsu was incredibly smart."

back on the arena floor

Raido stood on the field, waiting for the buzzing crowd to quiet down. He cleared his throat and called out in a booming voice, "Will Kiko of Sunagakure and C of Kumogakure please come down to the field?" looking towards the waiting area.

in the waiting area

Meanwhile, Itachi made his way back into the waiting area just as Raido announced the next pair of competitors. Kiko and C walked past him just as he entered the waiting area, they glanced at Itachi as they walked past him.

Hotaru and Kaito approached Itachi, Kaito's hand was lazily placed behind his head with smiles on their faces. "hey, well done out there, Itachi," Kaito said with a pat on his friend's back. "What did you do to that guy in your genjutsu? He freaked out pretty bad." Hotaru nodded in agreement and added, "Yes, you did great Itachi-kun."

Itachi nodded and replied, "Thanks guys, Oh I showed him how he would die every time I placed him under my genjutsu. every time making it more gruesome. "

Kaito let out a low whistle and shook his head. "Damn, Itachi. That's brutal. You might have just ended that guy's career as a shinobi."

With a small smile, Kaito shrugged and said, "Well, I'll see you two later." Kaito walked past him towards the exit while Hotaru asked curiously, "Where are you going, Kai-kun?"

Kaito waved over his shoulder and replied nonchalantly, "Just gonna grab something to eat. ya know"

on the arena floor

As Kiko and C stood opposite each other, Kiko looked a bit nervous as she looked at C. Raido, the proctor, looked at them both and asked "Are you both ready?" Receiving a nod from both competitors, Raido began the match with a resounding "Hajime!" as he jumped back to give them space.

Kiko wasted no time as she jumped back, reaching for a scroll that she quickly unsealed. In a flash, two battle fans appeared in her hands.

C also moved into action, throwing out several shuriken towards Kiko. But she was quick to react, using her battle fans to create a powerful gust of wind that blew the shuriken off course and clattered them to the ground.

Not one to be outdone, C rushed towards Kiko with his tanto drawn. But she was prepared. She swung her battle fans with all her might, unleashing the "Kamaitachi no Jutsu! (Wind Release: Sickle Weasel)" A fierce wind carrying razor-sharp blades sliced through the air towards C.

But C was not an easy opponent. With swift hand seals, C called out his technique "Raigen Raikōchū! (Lightning Style: Flash Pillar)" A blinding flash of light erupted from his position, intending to disorient Kiko and disrupt her attack.

Kiko shielded her eyes with her arm, but her fan’s motion didn’t cease. The winds were still heading towards C, forcing him to jump to the side narrowly avoiding the attack. The wind blades carved into the ground where he had stood moments before.

Taking advantage of Kiko's momentary blindness from the light pillar jutsu, C swiftly rushed towards her and slashed at her with his tanto. She managed to block his strike with one of her battle fans, but the impact sent it flying away from her grasp.

In an attempt to retaliate, Kiko reached for her other battle fan to send a wind attack towards C. But before she could, he sent her flying with a swift kick to her stomach.

Struggling to stand, Kiko was met with C's tanto at her neck as he stood over her and declared "It's over." The battle had been won.

Kaito Chapter 93

Kaito Chapter 93

In a last-ditch effort to gain the upper hand, Yura used the Body Flicker technique to swiftly close the distance between them and stab Chojuro with his kunai. However, much to his shock, Chojuro he had stabbed turned into a water, causing Yura to Realize it was a water clone, jumping back to create some distance between them, Yura landed on one knee as the exhaustion from using multiple jutsu and sustaining injuries started to take its toll. He fervently scanned the area for Chojuro, but before he could react, he felt a sharp blade pressed against his neck.

Chojuro held his blade steadily against Yura's neck, slightly winded from the intense battle. He spoke with a hint of weariness in his voice, "It's over, please forfeit the fight."

….

Yura, he felt the cold metal of a blade press against his neck from behind. He could hear Chojuro's voice, calm, saying "It's over, please forfeit the fight." Yura cursed himself internally for letting his guard down, “When did he replace himself with a water clone?” Then it hit him ” it must have been when Chojuro used the Hidden Mist Jutsu”

With no other choice, Yura let out a defeated sigh and muttered, "I forfeit," to Raido who stood across from them both. As soon as he heard Yura's words, Raido announced to the crowd, "The winner of the fourth match is Chojuro from Kirigakure!"

The crowd erupted into cheers for the thrilling battle they had just witnessed. As Raido made the announcement, Chojuro took the blade away from Yura's neck and sheathed it. Turning to face Yura, he gave a slight bow and said, "Thank you for the fight." But Yura ignored him and walked back to the waiting area in frustration and disappointment.

back in the waiting area

Kaito and his team leaned against the balcony railing, their eyes fixed on chojuro as he placed the blade on yura neck. A girl from the Suna team stood a bit further from them, her hands gripping the railing tightly as she watched her teammate lose the match. A few steps away stood two genin from Kumo, lazily watching the action. At the back of the waiting room, Mangetsu stood leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, seemingly disinterested in his teammates' fight.

Kaito spoke up as he observed the match, "He replaced himself with a water clone when the water wall exploded. Hmm, he also seems to be skilled in kenjutsu. He must be training to join the next generation of Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen."

Hotaru nodded in agreement, "Hai, and he's quite skilled in water release ninjutsu as well."

Itachi chimed in with a low hum, "And he's mastered the silent killing technique."

The girl from Suna gripped the railing tightly, her voice trembling as she watched her defeated teammate make his way back to the waiting area. "Not even Yura could win..." she muttered dejectedly.

Itachi then started walking towards the exit, announcing, "I'm up next," as he saw both Chojuro and Yura making their way back.

Kaito turned to Itachi and wished him luck before he passed by. Hotaru also turned her head towards Itachi and added, "Good luck, Itachi-kun." He simply nodded in response before making his way down to the arena floor.

As Itachi walked towards the battleground, the lazy-looking genin from Kumo also followed suit making his way down from the balcony.

back on the arena floor

As both Chojuro and Yura, made their way back to the waiting area, Raido's voice rang out over the stadium. "Will Itachi Uchiha and Nemui of Kumogakure please make their way to the arena floor?" The crowd buzzed with anticipation as Itachi stepped onto the arena floor, looking calm and composed. followed by Nemui, he looked more relaxed.

The two of them stood before Raido, taking their positions opposite each other. Nemui, the older and more experienced of the two, stood lazily and let out a bored yawn. In contrast, Itachi stood focused, his gaze fixed on his opponent.

Meanwhile, up in the stands

 Sasuke perked up at the mention of his brother's name. He turned to Naruto with a smug grin. "Watch closely. You'll see how strong Itachi-nii-san is and how a true Uchiha prodigy fights."

Naruto simply shrugged in response. "I still bet Kaito-nii-san would win."

Kushina, who sat beside Mikoto, couldn't contain her excitement. She turned to her friend and asked eagerly, "Are you excited to see Itachi-kun fight?"

Mikoto nodded, her expression a mix of eagerness and nervousness. "I am eager to see him fight, but I'm also worried because he's up against an older genin. I know Itachi-kun is strong, but I can't help but worry."

Kushina and Hitomi both agreed with her sentiments, sharing similar worries for kid.

Fugaku sat with his arms crossed, quietly observing Itachi as he prepared for battle. His thoughts were filled with pride and curiosity “Let’s see how far you’ve come, son.”

In front of Fugaku and the others, Inoichi couldn't help but ask, "I've heard rumors about how skilled the Uchiha kid is. Are they true?"

Choza nodded in confirmation. "Hai, they say he's the most prodigious Uchiha the clan has ever produced."

Shikaku let out a sigh. "I can't vouch for that, but he's definitely a prodigy."

In the waiting area

Kaito leaned against the railing in the waiting area, watching as Nemui lazily made his way towards the arena. "Is that kid related to the Nara clan somehow?" he asked, noting Nemui's relaxed demeanor. Hotaru giggled and replied, "Hai, it almost looks like he is being forced to participate."

in the arena floor

Itachi and Nemui stood facing each other as Raido looked at them both and asked, "Are you both ready?" Itachi and Nemui nodded in unison, indicating their readiness. With a nod from Raido, he declared, "Hajime!" and jumped out of the way.

As soon as the fight began, Itachi leapt back while pulling out a few kunai’s, and throwing them at Nemui. However, Nemui, letting his head fall as the fight began, deflected all the kunai with a kunai of his own, his head still down.

Itachi landed and launched himself forward, aiming a punch at Nemui's face. Just as Itachi's fist was about to make contact, Nemui's right hand shot up and caught the punch with ease. Using Itachi's momentum against him, Nemui tilted his body slightly and flipped him over. All of this was done with Nemui's head still lowered.

Itachi's body twisted in midair, his movements fluid and precise as he used the momentum to propel himself back and create distance between himself and his opponent. As he landed in a crouching position, his mind raced with thoughts “How did he counter my attack without seeing “. Across the field, Nemui raised his head briefly before lowering it back down again.

seeing that Itachi thought “interesting“, before Itachi's eyes his Sharingan and charged towards Nemui. Using the body flicker jutsu, Itachi appeared in front of Nemui in a blur, aiming a powerful punch at his face. To Itachi's surprise, Nemui tilted his head to the side and evaded it with ease.

The two genin continued to exchange kicks and punches, each anticipating the other's moves. As they continued to trade blows, Itachi noticed that Nemui would occasionally raise his head to assess his surroundings before lowering his head. Itachi filed this information away for later, as he used Nemui as a springboard to launch himself into the air.

From above, Itachi threw several shurikens while making hand signs and blowing multiple small fireballs from his mouth. "Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!". The flames engulfed the shuriken as they flew toward Nemui with great speed. Sensing danger, Nemui raised his head and scanned the field, and seeing the flaming shuriken quickly lowered his head and dodged the flaming projectiles.

As Itachi landed back on the ground, he observed Nemui closely and realized how he was able to anticipate attacks by periodically checking his surroundings. A faint smirk crossed Itachi's face as he thought to himself, "So that's how he's doing it."

back in the waiting area

Hotaru's Byakugan was activated as she watched the fight between Itachi and the Kumo genin, Nemui. Her pale eyes scanned every movement, every jutsu being used in the fight. Suddenly, she deactivated her Byakugan and gasped in shock.

"He... he is..." Hotaru struggled to find words to describe what she was witnessing.

Kaito finished her sentence for her, a knowing look on his face. "Sleeping," he said with a hum. They both watched as Itachi used Nemui as a springboard and unleashed a Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu.

Hotaru turned to Kaito, her expression curious. "Hai, how is he doing that, Kai-kun?" she asked. "He's asleep, but still able to fight so skillfully."

Kaito rubbed his chin in thought before responding. "I think his fighting style is like the Drunken Fist," he explained. "A skilled user of the Drunken Fist can make themselves seem drunk in an instant without actually getting drunk. When they are in that state, they can be ten times stronger than their base state. I think in his sleep, Nemui has heightened senses that allow him to fight better than when he's awake, but he needs to occasionally check his surroundings. It looks like Itachi has figured out the same thing."

Hotaru nodded in understanding, turning her attention back to the intense battle unfolding before them. In his mind, Kaito couldn't help but think, "Heh, it's almost like Ultra Instinct from DBS."

A small chuckle escaped as he added "Shikaku-sensei would kill to have a technique like that," Kaito added, earning a giggle from Hotaru. They both knew that their teacher would be envious of Nemui's unique fighting style.

back in the arena floor

Itachi rushed towards Nemui and continued their taijutsu battle it intensifying as they exchanged punches, kicks, and blocks. As always, Nemui glanced around to assess his surroundings, but this time Itachi was prepared. and caught Nemui’s gaze and with his Sharingan Itachi cast a genjutsu on Nemui when their eyes met.

 The genjutsu took effect immediately, with Nemui looking terrified and failled to block Itachi's kick that sent him flying backward. Nemui quickly regained his composure and tried to take in the surroundings again, only to be trapped in another genjutsu by Itachi. This time, Nemui managed to break free from the genjutsu, but before he could he had to dodge the kunai and shuriken barrage Itachi had thrown at him.

Due to the lingering effects of the genjutsu, Nemui wasn’t able to dodge all the projectiles as some of the kunai grazed him while some shuriken struck his back. itachi repeated this by placing Nemui under a genjutsu every time he woke up to take in his surroundings until Nemui couldn't take it any longer and screamed in fear while holding his head. He fell to his knees mentally broken.

Kaito Chapter 92

Kaito Chapter 92

As the Eight Trigrams Rotation ended, Hotaru took her stance and declared, "You are within my divination." Before Atsui could react, she struck him twice with precise strikes ”two palms ”. She then continued with "four palms," "eight palms," and "sixteen palms, " calling out the technique name "Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms." Her arms moved in a blur as she delivered 32 strikes with blinding speed, each one hitting Atsui with incredible speed.

As the move ended with a final palm strike to his stomach, Atsui was sent flying through the air, crashing onto the ground with a thud. He struggled to get up but ultimately fell back down in defeat. Hotaru stood victorious, her Byakugan still activated as she looked down at her opponent.

…..

Atsui groaned and laughed through the pain, a small trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth. "I guess my sister wasn't wrong," he managed to say between gasps.

 Hotaru appeared slightly winded, but otherwise unscathed, she deactivated her Byakugan, signaling that the fight was over. looking down at Atsui's prone form and replied, "You weren't bad yourself."

Atsui coughed and chuckled weakly. "Heh, didn't even make you sweat," he said as Raido landed beside them.

Raido took in Atsui's state and raised his hand towards Hotaru. He announced, "The winner of the third match is Hotaru Hyuga!" The crowd erupted into cheers for an entertaining fight.

Hotaru waved to the cheering crowd as she made her way back to the waiting area. Meanwhile, Raido signaled for the medic-nin, and they rushed to attend to Atsui's injuries and transport him to the infirmary.

Up in the stands

As Raido announced the winner of the fight Kushina sprang to her feet, her voice ringing out as she cheered with one hand raised and the other cupped around her mouth. "Way to go, Hotaru-chan! You were absolutely amazing! ya know" Her voice carried through the crowd, filled with pride and excitement.

Sitting back down with a wide grin, Kushina turned to Hitomi and said, "See? You don't have to worry. Hotaru-chan is strong."

Hitomi nodded in agreement, visibly proud of her eldest daughter's skills.

Beside them, Yoshino added, "Shikaku did mention that they were prodigies, but seeing them in action is something else indeed."

Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't contain his excitement as he exclaimed, "Did you see that, Hinata-chan? Hotaru-nee was super awesome! I had no idea she was that powerful. And that jutsu she used to block the enemy's attack... so cool! believe it" He gestured wildly in an attempt to imitate her moves from his seat.

Hinata nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with admiration. "Hai, Hotaru-nee was truly amazing. I hope I can become as skilled as she is." Her voice trailed off at the end, barely audible.

Hinata looked up to her older sister with great admiration and yearned to like her confident and strong.

Neji, sitting beside Hinata, simply nodded in agreement as if it were expected. "As expected of Hotaru-sama. She is a prodigy of the Hyuga clan after all."

Sasuke remained silent but gave a small grunt of acknowledgment

Hiashi, meanwhile, looked smug and proud as he looked at his eldest daughter. His chest swelled with pride at the sight of his daughter, Hotaru, as she stood over the prone form of the Kumo genin. "She has truly become strong," he murmured, his voice proud.

Beside him, Hizashi sat with a small smile on his face. "She had the entire fight under control," he remarked to Hiashi. "With that display, she will undoubtedly be selected for promotion."

Below them, Shikaku sat with Inochi and Choza, after seeing the fight. Choza let out a low whistle of amazement. "You weren't kidding," he said to Shikaku. "That girl didn't even falter throughout the whole fight, she had it completely under control."

Inochi nodded in agreement. "Hai, as soon as she activated her Byakugan, the fight was over,".

Shikaku hummed thoughtfully as he leaned back in his seat.

Meanwhile, Izumi Uchiha and Hana Inuzuka watched from their own vantage point nearby. Hana's jaw dropped in awe as she exclaimed, "I didn't even see Hotaru move on her last attack!"

Izumi, who had her sharingan activated during the fight, replied, "Hai, it was hard for me to keep up with Hotaru even with my sharingan. and the whole fight she was a few steps ahead of the Kumo genin."

Hana shook her head in disbelief. "I knew Hotaru was strong, but this is insane," she admitted.

Izumi said. " Well, it should be a surprise. She graduated alongside Itachi-kun and Kaito-kun when they were 7."

Back in the waiting area

Hotaru walked back in, greeted by her beaming teammates. Kaito smiled warmly with his hands folded behind his head. "You were amazing, hotaru-chan You had the whole fight under control," he praised, patting her on the head playfully. "And you looked super badass when you used the Kaiten to repel that guy, ya know."

Itachi nodded in agreement. "Hai, you did well. and the way you finished the fight was as Kaito put it badass " he added.

Hotaru couldn't help but blush at the praise and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, guys," she said as they made their way back to the balcony to watch the next match.

Just then, they heard Raido call for Chojuro and Yura to make their way to the arena floor.

Hearing their names being called, Chojuro and Yura descended down to the arena.

Kaito watched as they left while thinking to himself, "Hmm, I wonder how strong this young Chojuro is...He was chosen to be the Sixth Mizukage. in the Boruto era"

back on the arena floor

As Atsui was taken away on a stretcher, Raido looked up at the waiting area and called out to “Will Yura of Sunagakura and Chojuro of kirigakure come down “. Both genin made their way down to the arena floor after a few minutes. Chojuro looked slightly nervous, while Yura stood with determination. As they stood opposite each other, Raito stood in the middle and asked, "Are you both ready?" getting a nod from both Genin, Raito jumped back "Hajime!" signaling the start of the match.

As soon as the signal was given, both Chojuro and Yura leaped back, creating distance between them. Chojuro landed with one arm raised into the air and held the other in a ram sign. and called out his jutsu "Hidden Mist jutsu," as the thick mist began to surround the entire arena.

Yura reacted quickly and launched kunai and shuriken at Chojuro, but he was too late. The mist had already grown so thick that it obscured Chojuro's form from view. Yura cursed himself “Damm, this is the hidden mist jutsu“ and tried to sense for Chojuro.

Sensing movement to his right, Yura threw a kunai with an explosive tag in that direction. The explosion echoed through the mist, but it seemed to have no effect on its thickness. Suddenly, Yura felt a presence behind him and quickly leaped away just in time to avoid being struck. As he landed some distance away, he felt something wet on his cheek and realized it was blood from a previous attack. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he continued to search for Chojuro within the thick fog.

But Chojuro's attacks were relentless, landing several slashes on Yura's body. Desperate to turn the tide of battle, Yura threw more kunai with explosive tags in an attempt to disperse the mist and expose Chojuro's location.

The kunai exploded and the misty air was filled with the sounds of the explosion but the mist stayed. Yura, seeing that he was taking damage, quickly made a few hand signs and shouted "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" The powerful wind jutsu blew away the thick mist, revealing Chojuro standing unscathed and Yura with several cuts on his body. Reacting swiftly, Yura threw kunai with explosive tags attached at Chojuro while simultaneously using "Wind Release: Gale Palm" to enhance their speed. The projectiles rushed towards Chojuro with blinding speed, aided by the fierce winds.

But as they closed in on their target, Chojuro jumped back and performed a series of hand signs before spewing a torrent of water from his mouth "Water Style: Water Wall!". The water quickly formed a wall of water between him and Yura, the incoming kunai collided with the water wall.

The explosive tags attached to the kunai detonated upon impact with the water wall, causing a loud explosion that sent water raining down onto the arena. Not wasting any time, Yura made more hand signs and unleashed a barrage of wind bullets with "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere." They flew towards Chojuro with deadly accuracy, but the skilled shinobi darted through them effortlessly.

Yura watched as Chojuro easily evaded his vacuum spheres, Yura quickly reached for some shuriken and threw them towards his opponent. However, Chojuro was quick to react and countered by throwing his own shuriken to intercept them. But much to his surprise, Yura's shuriken were sharpened with wind chakra and sliced cleanly through Chojuro's kunai. Though he managed to dodge the majority of them, Chojuro still felt a few shurikens grazing his side and drawing small trickles of blood.

Unsheathing his blades, Chojuro wasted no time in rushing towards Yura at full speed. Seeing this, Yura armed himself with two kunai and met Chojuro head-on. Their weapons clashed as they exchanged blows, both displaying impressive skill in blocking and parrying each other's attacks. As they fought on, Yura's injuries began to take their toll on him, slowing him down as he tried to keep up with Chojuro's relentless attacks.

In a last-ditch effort to gain the upper hand, Yura used the Body Flicker technique to swiftly close the distance between them and stab Chojuro with his kunai. However, much to his shock, the Chojuro he had stabbed turned into water, causing Yura to Realize it was a water clone, jumping back to create some distance between them, Yura landed on one knee as the exhaustion from using multiple jutsu and sustained injuries started to take its toll. He fervently scanned the area for Chojuro, but before he could react, he felt a sharp blade pressed against his neck.

Chojuro held his blade steadily against Yura's neck, slightly winded from the intense battle. He spoke with a hint of weariness in his voice, "It's over, please forfeit the fight.".

NOTE

I'm sorry but the chapter will be posted later than expected. Unfortunately, I am currently experiencing technical difficulties with my account on the Grammar Assistant site. I appreciate your understanding.

Kaito Chapter 91

Kaito Chapter 91

author’s note: I made the decision to switch up the match pairings from Hotaru versus Chōjūrō to Atsui versus Hotaru Hyuga, meaning that Yura will now be pitted against Chōjūrō in the first round.

Tekai smirked, thinking he had won. But his victory was short-lived. as the jutsu ended A chilling voice came from behind him, "Too slow." Mangetsu had transformed into water and reappearing behind Tekai. Before Tekai could turn, Mangetsu's blade flashed, decapitating him in one swift, clean motion.

In the waiting arena

Tekai's female teammate Kiko exclaimed his name in horror at their teammate's decapitated opponent. The other Genin from Sunagakure tightened their grip on the railing as they witnessed the gruesome scene.

The arena fell silent, mangetsu took out his water bottle and sip it while walking back to the waiting area. Raido stepped forward, raising his hand to declare the winner. "The match is over! The victor is Mangetsu Hozuki!"

…..

Up in the stands 

The entire chunin arena fell into a tense silence as Mangetsu walked off the field, leaving behind the lifeless body of the Suna genin he had just defeated. The crowd, usually eager for the excitement and entertainment of the exams, was suddenly reminded that this was not simply a tournament, but a form of war.

Little Naruto's face twisted in horror as he stood up from his seat, his small fists shaking with anger and sadness. "Why did he have to kill him?" he muttered through gritted teeth. Beside him, Hinata also looked horrified, tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of the dead Suna genin. She closed her eyes and turned away, unable to bear the gruesome scene.

Sasuke's expression shifted from shock to one of seriousness as he took in the reality of death on the battlefield. Shikamaru, too, looked on with horror as he thought to himself, "Is this really the life of a shinobi?"

Kushina, who sat behind Naruto, leaned over and pulled him into a comforting hug, whispering soothing words to calm him down. "It's okay, Naruto," she murmured softly.

Hitomi placed a gentle hand on Hinata's shoulder, offering comfort to the shaken little girl. Meanwhile, Yoshino and Mikoto watched their respective sons with worried expressions, knowing that their children were being exposed to the harsh realities of the shinobi world far too early.

Fugaku sat stoically with his hands crossed and eyes closed, his expression unreadable as he spoke grimly. "This is what the shinobi world is, Where the weak are killed by the strong."

Naruto looked down at his tiny fists, shaking with anger and sorrow. "But that isn't fair," he said firmly. "He didn't deserve to die."

Shikaku shook his head sadly and replied, "The world isn't fair, Naruto. The Chunin Exams are a form of war. That's how things have always been."

Determination flashed in Naruto's eyes as he declared, "Well then, I'll change how things are!"

But Fugaku only shook his head again, dismissing Naruto's words as impossible. Kaito, sitting on the bench beside Fugaku, placed a comforting hand on Naruto's head and smiled reassuringly at him. "Naruto," he said kindly, "it may be hard to change the world, but it's not impossible. And if anyone can do it, I believe you can." His smile was warm and full of faith. "Remember, we become shinobi to protect those we care about and to strive for a better future."

Naruto looked up at Kaito, his eyes shining with determination once again. "Thank you, Kaito-niisan," he said, his voice now steady with resolve.

In the waiting area

Mangetsu strolled back into the waiting area. As he took a casual sip of water, Kaito caught a glimpse of him from the corner of his eye and couldn't help but think, " If i remember correctly he was called ‘The Second Coming of the Demon”. He's fully embraced the Mist Village's ruthless philosophy, just like Zabuza." Hotaru and Itachi stood nearby, their faces impassive as he already accepted the possibility of death in the chunin exams.

As Mangetsu made his way towards his teammate, he passed by the remaining Suna genin who glared at him with hatred. One female genin even shouted out, "You bastard! You didn't have to kill him, you monster!" She attempted to rush towards Mangetsu but was quickly stopped by her fellow Suna genin, Yura. "Kiko," Yura said sternly, "as much as I want to kill that bastard for what he did to Tekai, we can't start a fight here. It will reflect poorly on our village."

Mangetsu glanced at them from the corner of his eye and spoke with a cold tone. "Act like shinobi. This is not a game. As the Hokage said, the chunin exams are a substitute for war. If you cannot handle it, then perhaps you should quit." Without even glancing back at them he walked over to Chojuro.

Chojuro nervously looked around, sensing the tense atmosphere in the air.

Back on the field

 Meanwhile, on the field, Raido signaled for the medic team to come forward and announced loudly, "The winner of the second match is Mangetsu Hozuki!" Some in the crowd cheered while others remained silent.

As they carried away the lifeless body of the Suna genin, Raido cleared his throat and continued, "The next participants for the third match are Atsui from Kumogakure and Hotaru Hyuga. Please come down."

In the waiting area

In the waiting area, Team 11 leaned against the railing and watched as the medics gently placed the deceased Suna genin on a stretcher. They listened intently as Raido summoned Hotaru and Atsui to battle.

Hearing her name being called, Hotaru smiled confidently and said, "It's my turn now."

Kaito grinned and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I know you don't need it, but I'll still wish you good luck," he said. Leaning in closer, he added with a mischievous glint in his eye, "Just remember not to go too hard on him. He may be from Kumo, but he's not the one giving orders." Kaito knew that Hotaru held some resentment towards Kumo after her kidnapping attempt and then demanding her father head. With a small laugh, he added, "But that being said, go kick his butt, Hotaru-chan. And don't take too long. ya know"

Standing beside Kaito, Itachi gave Hotaru a small nod of encouragement and said” Good luck, Hotaru”.

Hotaru nodded determinedly and replied, "Hai, I'll do my best." With a graceful leap off of the waiting area, she landed gracefully on the arena floor.

up in the stands

In the stands, Kushina, Hitomi, Naruto, and Hinata perked up at the sound of Hotaru's name being called. Naruto immediately began cheering for her as she made her way onto the field. "Come on Hotaru-nee, kick his butt!" he yelled enthusiastically.

Kushina joined in, shouting encouraging words to her daughter. "Do your best Hotaru-chan!"

Hitomi whispered worriedly to Kushina, "I know Hotaru-chan is strong, but I can't help but worry. These matches are turning out to be more brutal than expected."

Kushina smiled reassuringly and replied, "She will be fine. She's very strong from what I have heard. And even if she was in danger, do you think Kai-kun would let anything happen to her? He is fiercely protective over her. ya know"

Hitomi smiled, feeling comforted by Kushina's words as they watched their daughter take her position on the field.

Hinata also smiled proudly, quietly cheering for her older sister. "Good luck Hotaru-nee," she whispered.

Hiashi's eyes were intensely focused on the match, his expression unreadable. He had no doubt in Hotaru's abilities.

Back on the field

As Hotaru and Atsui arrived, they stood facing each other with a small distance between them. Atsui's neck-length blond hair was styled in an asymmetrical bowl cut, framing his sharp features and piercing green eyes. He appeared to be about a year older than Hotaru, his confident stance exuding strength and power. (In Cannon atsui is younger than itachi)

"Are you Hotaru Hyuga?" Atsui asked, his gaze fixed on her. "I've been hoping to fight you ever since I heard your name."

Hotaru tilted her head slightly, intrigued by his boldness. "Why is that?"

A smirk formed on Atsui's lips as he replied, "To test if you're as strong as my sister says you are."

Confusion crossed Hotaru's face as she asked, "Your sister?"

Atsui nodded confidently. "It seems you've forgotten. My sister's name is Samui. You and your team fought against her two years ago."

Realization dawned on Hotaru as she remembered the blonde girl named Samui who had been their opponent during their first C-ranked mission in the Land of Iron. "Ah, I remember now," she said.

Atsui's smirk widened. "My sister has said that you were one of the toughest opponents she ever faced. I couldn't resist the opportunity to see for myself just how strong you are."

Hotaru met his gaze with determination. "I won't disappoint you then."

Raido, looked at them both and asked if they were ready. Upon receiving their nods, he gave a sign with his hand and said, "Hajime!" he jumped back to signal the start of the fight.

As soon as Raido began the fight, Atsui rushed towards Hotaru at full speed, his sword drawn and ready for a strike. Hotaru reacted quickly by jumping back and blocking his sword strike with a kunai before parrying the blow. The two continued to exchange blows, each one counting and deflecting the other's attacks with precision.

Growing frustrated, Atsui jumped back and slashed out with a wide arc of his blade, calling out "Cloud-Style Crescent Moon Beheading" as a wide arc appeared in front of him. However, Hotaru was able to jump up and avoid the slash, deftly deflecting the swing with her kunai before it was sliced through by Atsui's chakra-infused blade.

Examining her now-sliced kunai, Hotaru thought to herself, "That technique uses chakra to sharpen the blade." Without missing a beat, she dropped the damaged weapon and took on a gentle fist stance.

Atsui rushed back at Hotaru once again, slashing at her horizontally with his sword in an attempt to cleave her in half. But Hotaru easily side-stepped the strike and shot out her palm towards Atsui. He managed to block it with the hilt of his blade just in time, the two of them continuing to exchange strikes. Hotaru utilized her gentle fist techniques, using her palms to slightly deflect Atsui's blade with precise movements.

The two engaged in a fast-paced exchange of strikes, Hotaru utilizing her gentle fist techniques to precisely deflect Atsui's sword strikes.

As they continued to fight, two clones of Atsui suddenly appeared around Hotaru, surrounding her from all sides. Without hesitation, they jumped into the air and called out their move, "Reverse Mist Beheading." All three of them swung their swords at Hotaru simultaneously, but she remained calm and focused. she activated her Byakugan and surrounded her body with chakra. As the swords were about to strike her, she expelled the chakra and rotated on the spot, creating a dome of rotating chakra around her while muttering "Eight Trigrams Rotation."

the swords collided with the chakra dome and was rippled, sending Atsui and his clones flying and dispersing them in the process. Atsui himself was flung off his feet and landed hard on the ground, spitting out blood from the impact. He struggled to stand up on shaky legs but refused to give up.

As the Eight Trigrams Rotation ended, Hotaru took her stance and declared, "You are within my divination." Before Atsui could react, she struck him twice with precise strikes ”two palms”. She then continued with "four palms," "eight palms," "sixteen palms, " calling out the techniques name "Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms." Her arms moved in a blur as she delivered 32 strikes with blinding speed, each one hitting Atsui with incredible speed.

As the move ended with a final palm strike to his stomach, Atsui was sent flying through the air, crashing onto the ground with a thud. He struggled to get up, but ultimately fell back down in defeat. Hotaru stood victorious, her Byakugan still activated as she looked down at her opponent.

Kaito Chapter 90

Kaito Chapter 90

But just as it seemed like Utakata was about to land a punch, the punch passed through Kaito and Kaito reappeared above Utakata with a ball of chakra swirling around his hand. With a cry of "Rasengan!", Kaito slammed the Rasengan into Utakata's back. Utakata's body was slammed onto the arena floor completely destroying the arena floor and creating a thick cloud of smoke.

When the smoke finally cleared, Kaito stood over Utakata's prone form on the ground. Despite the intense battle they had just engaged in, Kaito appeared unscathed except for a small burn on his cheek from one of Utakata's attacks.

…..

Kaito stood over Utakata, flexing his hand as he looked down at Utakata. "I had to use a lot more chakra than I thought," he muttered, unable to tear his gaze away from the Rasengan mark etched on Utakata's back.

Raido landed gracefully next to them, as he took in Utakata's unmoving form. "He has already mastered the Fourth’s Jutsu," Raido thought to himself, glancing once again at the Rasengan mark on Utakata's back.

Breaking the silence, Raido loudly announced, "The winner of the first match of the chunin exams finals is Kaito Uzumaki!" as he raised his hand towards Kaito in victory.

The crowd erupted into wild cheers and applause, their excitement reaching a fever pitch at witnessing such a thrilling battle between two skilled Genin.

And in the stands

Naruto bounced up and down, his voice echoing through the stadium as he cheered for his brother. "Way to go, big brother!" he shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

Turning to Sasuke, he exclaimed, "See that? Kaito-Nissan is definitely going to win this!" sticking his tongue out at Sasuke to which Sasuke just “Hn”

Kushina joined in, her cheers loud and proud. "That's my baby boy!" she yelled, jumping up and down with excitement.

Beside her, Mikoto smiled awkwardly as her friend continued to cheer loudly. Fugaku maintained a stoic expression, in his mind he thought. "he definitely has the skills to be a chunin, He could have ended the fight earlier if he wanted to. I wonder who is stronger, Itachi or him?"

Inoichi chimed in, "The kid had the whole match under control. He has the skills and composure to be a Chunin. We might have our first likely candidate for promotion."

Choza hummed in agreement. "The kid is truly impressive."

Shikaku nodded, already aware of Kaito's capabilities.

But Kushina couldn't contain her excitement, waving her arms energetically as she continued to cheer. "That's my boy! I knew you could do it, Kai-kun!"

Turning to the others with a radiant smile, she exclaimed, "Did you see that? He handled it so calmly! He definitely got that from me! yknow"

Mikoto smiled back, "Hai, Kaito-kun seemed to have the whole fight under control."

Hitomi Hyuga sitting beside them said, "He will definitely be promoted to Chunin after that match." as she watched the boy which her eldest daughter had a crush on.

Kushina's eyes glistened with happy tears. "Minato would be so proud of him too. yknow"

Naruto looked up at his mother with determination shining in his eyes. "Did you see that, Mom? Kaito-Nissan was just amazing, I'll be even stronger than him! believe it!"

Kushina playfully ruffled Naruto's hair, her face softening with love. "Just keep training hard, Naru-chan. You'll get there."

In another part of the stances

Two girls sat together, their eyes fixed on the arena below. The first girl had long brown hair that cascaded down her back in a thick ponytail, with bangs framing her face and deep onyx eyes. A small mole rested just below her right eye. She wore a long-sleeved, high-collared purple shirt, proudly displaying the Uchiha clan symbol on the back. This was Izumi Uchiha.

The other girl had her long brown hair pulled up in a ponytail with two locks of hair framing her face over her large, black eyes. She sported a grey shirt and black pants, with the traditional fang-like tattoos of the Inuzuka clan adorning both of her cheeks. This was Hana Inuzuka.

Both girls proudly wore the Konoha forehead protector, marking their recent graduation from the Ninja Academy. Hana sat alongside her mother, her eyes wide from the fight she just watched. "Wow," she exclaimed. "I didn’t know that Kaito was this strong. I couldn’t even see him move."

Hana's mother, Tsume, smirked and replied, “That kid is probably faster than most Jonin in the village. He was still holding back, you know. He didn’t even exert much to take down his opponent."

Izumi nodded in agreement, humming softly before letting out a sigh. "Itachi, Kaito, and Hotaru are already so far ahead of us," she lamented.

Tsume chuckled and said knowingly, "What did you expect? Those three are prodigies. Kaito might even rival the Fourth Hokage one day. They must train incredibly hard to have achieved this level so young.” remembering how Kushina was worried that Kaito might be overtraining himself.

 Tsume turned to Izumi and Hana and added. "If you two want to catch up to them, you should train really hard. Otherwise, they might just leave you behind."

Both girls nodded in determination, their eyes set on becoming stronger and keeping pace with their talented peers.

somewhere in the stances

Shisui sat perched on bleachers along with his fellow Uchiha clan members. His active Sharingan was glued on Kaito uzumaki down in the arena below, studying every move. As Kaito effortlessly dodged and countered his opponent's attacks with his Rasengan, Shisui couldn't help but be impressed. "Kaito is really strong," he thought to himself. "He has complete control over this fight from start to finish."

One of his clan members sitting beside him interrupted his thoughts. "Hey Shisui, do you think Itachi could defeat that kid?" Shisui paused for a moment before responding, "It's hard to say. Both of them have been friends and part of the same team for so long that they know each other's fighting style inside out. I'm looking forward to seeing them face each other."

The other Uchiha nodded in agreement, intrigued by the idea. "That would be a fight worth watching." Shisui couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm. "Indeed," he said. "It would be a fight between two prodigies. Both have their unique strengths and techniques. Itachi's precision and Genjutsu versus Kaito's speed and versatility. It would be a great fight to watch."

Back on the field

Kaito beamed as he waved at the cheering crowd, feeling a swell of pride in his chest as he heard his mother's voice shout out from the stands. "That's my baby!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with emotion. A warm blush crept up his cheeks as he waved back at his mother and brother, who were the loudest in their cheers.

As the team of medic ninjas rushed onto the field to tend to the unconscious Utakata, Kaito walked back to the waiting area. As he walked in Hotaru ran up to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "You were amazing out there, Kai-kun!" she exclaimed, beaming at him. Itachi nodded in agreement. "Good fight Kaito, You had the whole fight under control. and You demonstrated the skills to be a chunin.”

Meanwhile, some distance away, Chojuro observed as his teammate was carried off on a stretcher by the medic ninja. He muttered. "He was toying with Utakata,". he looked nervous in facing someone with his skills. Beside him stood Mangetsu, wearing an impassive expression as he watched Kaito, Itachi, and Hotaru with keen interest. A small smirk played on his lips as he thought to himself, "Those three...This will be interesting."

Raido, stood in the middle of the arena, seeing that Utakata had been taken by the medic-nin called out for the next match participants. "Mangetsu Hozuki and Tekai, step forward!"

Hearing his name, Mangetsu Hozuki, walked down to the arena floor. His movements were calm and deliberate, his expression impassive. He was followed closely by Tekai, a blue-haired genin from Sunagakure, who had a fierce look in his eyes.

As they stood opposite each other, Tekai sneered, "I'm going to kill you for being Kiri scum."

Mangetsu remained unfazed, taking a slow sip from the water bottle he always carried with him, waiting patiently for the proctor to start the match. Tekai, agitated by Mangetsu's nonchalance, taunted, "I'm going to show you that Suna is superior."

Raido stepped forward, glancing between the two combatants. "Are you both ready?" Receiving nods from both, he stepped back and shouted, "Hajime!" before leaping out of the way to signal the start of the fight.

The match began with an explosion of movement. Tekai lunged forward, throwing a series of quick punches and kicks. Mangetsu parried the blows with practiced ease, his expression never changing. Tekai growled in frustration, his movements becoming more aggressive.

Mangetsu saw an opening and drew his sword and rushing at Tekia with incredible speed. Tekai dodged the oncoming slash forming hand signs swiftly to unleash a water bullet while shouting “Suiton: Teppōdama”. A powerful stream of water surged toward Mangetsu, engulfing him completely as it exploded.

Tekai smirked, thinking he had won. But his victory was short-lived. As the jutsu ended A chilling voice came from behind him, "Too slow." Mangetsu had transformed into water and reappeared behind Tekai. Before Tekai could turn, Mangetsu's blade flashed, decapitating him in one swift, clean motion.

In the waiting arena

Tekai's female teammate Kiko exclaimed his name in horror at their teammate's decapitated opponent. The other Genin from Sunagakure tightened their grip on the railing as they witnessed the gruesome scene.

The arena fell silent, mangetsu took out his water bottle and sipped it while walking back to the waiting area. Raido stepped forward, raising his hand to declare the winner. "The match is over! The victor is Mangetsu Hozuki!"

Kaito Chapter 89

Kaito Chapter 89

The others began to make their way towards the designated area as Hotaru approached Kaito with a hug. "Good luck, Kai-kun," she said before joining the rest of the spectators in the waiting area. Itachi nodded at Kaito in acknowledgment as he too made his way to the stands.

Raidō motioned for Kaito and Utakata to move towards the center of the field, they stood opposite with distance between them as Raidō stood between them in the middle. The crowd erupted into loud cheers and excitement as they eagerly anticipated the battle ahead.

…..

In the stands

As Shikaku made his way down the stairs to his seat in the stands, he exchanged nods with the other shinobi around him. he sat next to Inochi and Choza, waiting for the Chunin Exams to begin. Inochi turned to Shikaku and asked, "So, what do you think of this year's exams? got bets on anyone"

Shikaku let out a tired sigh before responding, "I don't know for sure, but I have confidence that one of my students will come out on top."

Choza raised an eyebrow at his friend's certainty. "That confident, huh?" he remarked.

Shikaku simply nodded. "I've trained them for the past two years, and I know how capable They are. you’d say the same if you were assigned as their sensei.”

Choza chuckled. “Right, we’ll see how good Shikaku’s students are.”

Kushina's eyes lit up as she spotted her son's and his teammates entering the arena. "Look, it's Kaito, Hotaru, and Itachi!" she exclaimed, pointing them out to Mikoto and her other friend

naruto who was jumping up and down in excitement. "Go, Kaito-nii! Go, Hotaru-nee! You can do it!" Naruto cheered loudly.

Shikamaru couldn't help but roll his eyes at Naruto. "Naruto, you're being too loud," he said only for the blond to ignore.

The arena was hushed as the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, began his speech, praising the young shinobi for their hard work and encouraging them to do their best. After his speech, the participants started walking off to the stands, preparing for their matches.

Kushina's excitement grew as she saw that her son was scheduled to fight first. "Kai-kun's up first!" she cried out, clapping her hands together. "Kick his butt, Kai-kun! Make Mama proud!"

On the arena floor

With the wind blowing in front of them, Kaito and Utakata stood opposite each other, their proctor Raido standing in between them.

 Kaito couldn't help but ask his teammate, "There is something I've been curious about. Were you three put on the same team since you graduated, or were you specifically selected to be on the same team for the exams?”

 Utakata tilled his head with a confused look, "And yes, my team was purposely formed for the Chunin Exams. In the Hidden Mist, we have an apprentice system where some top students are chosen by a jonin to be their apprentice. The others are placed into teams of three or the Genin Corps. "

Kaito nodded, as he thought. "That must be how the Seven Ninja Swordsmans of the mist finds their successors through apprenticeship," he mused silently. Just then, Raido, their proctor, spoke up. "Are you both ready?" Seeing that they were, he signaled for them to start “Hajime“ as he left back.

Both Kaito and Utakata leapt back from each other and Utakata took out a small flute-like instrument. As he began to blow into it creating bubbles that moved toward Kaito. Kaito reacted quickly and threw a few shuriken at the bubbles, causing them to explode upon impact.

Taking advantage of the explosion, Kaito used his body flicker technique to appear behind Utakata and threw a punch at Utakata back. But to his surprise, Utakata popped revealing him to be a bubble clone that burst upon contact.

"A clone...but when?" Kaito thought as he sensed someone behind him. He quickly jumped forward while turning to face Utakata just as a wave of bubbles bombarded the ground where he had been standing moments ago.

Sliding back from the force of the explosions, Kaito retaliated by throwing more shuriken at Utakata. Once again, they collided with bubbles and exploded.

Seeing an opening, Kaito rushed towards Utakata and threw a punch, but Utakata was able to dodge and jump back, blowing more bubbles in the process.

Kaito jumped back as well, trying to avoid the bubbles. But found his legs stuck to the ground, looking down, he saw that he had stepped into a patch of sticky at the place where some of Utakata’s bubble had impacted.

Before he could react, Utakata made a hand sign as all the bubbles floating around on the battlefield moved fast toward Kaito. They hit him from all sides, creating a small explosion upon impact.

Back on the stands

Naruto watched in horror as his older brother, Kaito, was struck by the powerful bubble attack. "No, Kaito-nii!" he cried out, fear and concern evident in his voice.

Shikaku explained the situation to the others. "That kid Utakata used his exploding bubble as a distraction while setting up a trap with his different variation of his bubble jutsu."

Choza raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Is this all your student can do?"

But Shikaku simply shook his head and replied, "Kaito is just playing around and feeling out his opponent. Watch closely, the match has already been decided."

Meanwhile, in another part of the stands, Terumi Mei watched the Genin fight with a deep frown. "That kid is just toying with Utakata as if he isn't a threat at all," she muttered to herself.

 She couldn't help but think “This kid, must be the son of the late Fourth Hokage.”

Across from her, Kakashi stood with his hands in his pockets, observing the fight with lazily. Beside him was Yamato, who asked, "Is that the kid we met during the Danzo incident?"

Kakashi nodded in confirmation. "Hai, that's him."

Yamato looked thoughtful as he watched the ongoing battle. “He’s playing around with the other kid.”

Kakashi had already lost interest and took out his infamous book 'Icha Icha Paradise', flipping through its pages casually as he replied nonchalantly, "Hmm, it looks like the fight is already over."

Back on the field

As the smoke cleared, Kaito's figure is nowhere to be seen. But then, in a blur of movement, Kaito reappeared behind Utakata with lightning speed. The older genin barely had time to react before Kaito slammed him onto the ground, with a palm on Utakata's back "This was fun," Kaito said, "but I don't want to waste my chakra prolonging the fight." As black marks began to appear on Utakata's body from where Kaito's palm had made contact, he found himself immobilized and unable to move.

Releasing his grip on Utakata's back, Kaito stood up and began to walk away, calling out to the proctor, "The match is over." However, just as Raido was about to call the match, both Kaito and Raido felt a surge of powerful chakra emanating from Utakata. kaito turned back in surprise to see that Utakata had broken free from the immobilizing seal and stood slowly, shrouded in an orange cloak of chakra. "It's not over yet," he growled fiercely.

In an instant, Utakata rushed at Kaito with blinding speed. Anticipating the attack, Kaito jumped up into the air to avoid the punch. In mid-air, he thought “his using his Biju’s chakra”. As he dodged multiple attacks from Utakata, Kaito landed gracefully on the ground, only to come face-to-face with Utakata once again.

Kaito moved to side-step yet another punch, but this time he wasn't quick enough. The acidic chakra grazed his face, leaving a painful burn in its wake. "This chakra..." Kaito thought, But before he could dwell on it further, Utakata punched at kaito stomach which kaito blocked but was sent him flying across the arena from the force behind the punch. Regaining his balance in mid-air, Kaito landed back on his feet skidding back, but not without noticing the burns on his hand from where he had made contact with Utakata's chakra. “This chakra... it's acidic. This must be the power of the Six-Tails “ he muttered under his breath.

Just as Kaito was about to make his next move, Utakata used his unique jutsu to bombard the area around them. Dodging and weaving through the onslaught of bubbles.

Back in the stands

As the chakra cloak appeared around Utakata, Naruto suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He doubled over, clutching his midsection. The intensity of the fight between the two shinobi caught the attention of the onlookers, particularly the adults who watched with rapt attention.

Hinata, who sat beside Naruto noticed Naruto's discomfort, and asked with concern, "Naruto-kun, are you okay?"

Shikamaru also took notice and inquired, "Hey, Naruto, you alright?"

Kushina, seeing her son in pain, swiftly made her way to him and knelt beside him with worry etched on her face. "Naru-chan, what's wrong?" she asked.

Naruto winced, trying to speak through the pain. "My stomach... it hurts really badly like it's on fire."

Kaito's clone, who was standing beside Kushina, furrowed his brow in thought. “Could this be because of another tailed beast's chakra?” he wondered. Acting quickly, the clone wrapped a small chakra chain around Naruto and began channeling his chakra to suppress the Buji chakra. "How do you feel now?" he asked.

Naruto's face relaxed slightly as the pain subsided. "It's better," he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

The clone then made up an explanation for Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru's benefit. "The chakra that the other genin is using can cause discomfort to others, especially those sensitive to it. It seems to have affected Naruto."

Both Hinata and Naruto nodded in understanding while Shikamaru remained skeptical but shrugged it off and refocused his attention on the ongoing match.

Naruto looked up at Kaito's clone with genuine concern in his eyes. "Will the real you be okay?" he asked.

The clone gave a reassuring smile. "The real me is just playing around. Don't worry, Naruto. I'll be fine." His words seemed to calm the young Uzumaki and he returned his gaze to the arena, ready to continue watching the fight unfold.

In the waiting area

Hotaru watched the intense battle unfold in the arena. She asked Itachi with a concerned expression. "Isn't that chakra...?"

Itachi nodded, his eyes narrowing as he focused on Utakata. "Hai, it's similar to that girl from Kumo two years ago."

Hotaru's worry deepened. "Do you think Kaito will be okay?”

Itachi gave a slight nod, his gaze never leaving the fight. "He's playing around. He's got this."

Hotaru let out a small. "Hai."

Back on the arena floor

Kaito landed gracefully on the top of the wall, narrowly avoiding another attack from Utakata. But Utakata is relentless and follows him onto the wall. Kaito expertly dodges and weaves through Utakata's attacks, But as Kaito glanced over at his opponent, he noticed a change in Utakata's demeanor. The once calm and focused ninja was now consumed with rage.

Utakata grows increasingly frustrated as Kaito evades his attacks, causing him to tap into more of his Biju chakra. as a chakra tail sprouts from his back and lashes out at Kaito.

Kaito thought ” I need to end this, while I’m pretty sure I could handle the Six-Tails if it really comes to it, but Utakata might lose control and be consumed by the rage and go on a rampage and that will only cause more problems for me, mom and naruto.” as he landed back on the arena floor.

As Utakata Chakra tail rushed towards Kaito, Kaito jumped back and quickly dodged as the Chakra tail impacted the place, the force of the attack created a large crater where Kaito had just been standing moments ago. Sliding back on the ground, Kaito watched as Utakata continued to charge towards him with incredible speed.

But just as it seemed like Utakata was about to land a punch, the punch passed through Kaito and Kaito reappeared above Utakata with a ball of chakra swirling around his hand. With a cry of "Rasengan!", Kaito slammed the Rasengan into Utakata's back, and Utakata's body was slammed onto the arena floor completely destroying the arena floor and creating a thick cloud of smoke.

When the smoke finally cleared, Kaito stood over Utakata's prone form on the ground. Despite the intense battle they had just engaged in, Kaito appeared unscathed except for a small burn on his cheek from one of Utakata's attacks.

Kaito Chapter 88

Kaito Chapter 88

But their conversation was interrupted by a snort from behind them. Naruto turned to see Sasuke smirking at him as he said confidently, "If anything, Itachi-niisan will be the one to win."

Naruto's competitive spirit flared up as he shouted back, "Hey! What did you say, Sasuke?"

Ever since they had met, Naruto and Sasuke seemed to have a constant rivalry between them, always trying to one-up each other. Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his ears, "Do you have to be so loud, Naruto? It's too early for that."

But Naruto just huffed and replied determinedly, "We'll see." He took a seat next to Shikamaru and Hinata, eager for the competition to begin.

…..

After taking the photo, Kushina gave each of them a warm hug and said encouragingly, "Do your best guys and good luck! We'll be cheering for you. And please stay safe." She hugged Kaito a little tighter than the others before breaking away.

Kaito simply smiled and nodded in response, then made a quick shadow clone to accompany his mother as she, Naruto, and the clone headed towards their seats in the bleachers.

As Kushina and Naruto departed with Kaito's clone, Shikaku turned his attention to his three genin. He gestured lazily to them and said, "Alright you three, we should also get going."

Kaito, Itachi, and Hotaru all nodded in agreement and followed behind Shikaku towards the entrance for the participants. As they walked, Kaito turned to his friends and asked, "So, are you two ready?"

Hotaru's nodded enthusiastically. "As ready as ever! I've been training nonstop for this. My dad even helped me perfect a new jutsu!"

Itachi's expression was calm but determined as he replied, "Hai. I believe I am prepared."

Kaito's grin widened at their responses. "That's great. There is no doubt that we will face each other today, so when we do, let's give it our all."

Hotaru nodded in agreement and added, "It'll be fun to see how far we've all come over this month."

Itachi chimed in with determination, "No holding back then."

As they followed Shikaku, he led them to a room. As they entered the room, they could see the other nine participants and several chunin proctors pacing around, Seeing Team 11 entering a chunin proctor approached them and asked them, "Names and ID?"

Shikaku calmly provided the chunin with their names and ID numbers to be checked. The chunin carefully scrutinized each number and name on his clipboard before nodding and saying, "Everything checks out. Please wait here as the exams will shortly begin." With that, he left to attend to other participants.

Turning to his team, Shikaku's gaze swept over each member before speaking, "You three have grown so much since I first became your sensei. I am proud of the strong shinobi you have become." He then added with a small smile,

"Remember, winning this tournament is not a requirement for promotion to chunin. As long as you show skill in strategy and leadership, you can still be promoted even if you lose your battles. " He paused for a moment before continuing, "This is a major milestone in your journey as shinobi, so I wish you all luck."

Kaito nodded eagerly, determination in his eyes. "Thank you, sensei. We will give it our all."

Hotaru's smile widened at her sensei's words. "We won't let you down, Shikaku-sensei."

Itachi's expression remained stoic but his eyes shone with determination. "We will our best sensei."

With one last nod from Shikaku, he body flickered out of sight leaving the three teammates to join the rest of the participants.

As they waited for the exams to begin, kaito looked around the room, he noticed one team from each of the major nations represented in the Chunin Exams, except for Iwagakure which had chosen not to participate.

 Kaito couldn't recognize anyone from Suna's team. They all appeared to be around 13 to 14 years old, with one member standing out with their unique appearance. This boy had blue hair and purple markings on his cheeks. He proudly wore a blue forehead protector and his attire consisted of a black shirt, bandages wrapped around his wrists, black pants, and shinobi sandals.

Beside him stood another male teammate, much shorter and with black hair that hung over his right eye. He had dark eyes that. His outfit was a beige robe-like shirt with black trousers and sandals.

Lastly, there was the only female member of the team, a fair-skinned girl with long dark hair down her back. brown eyes, She wore a grey midriff vest over a simple plain shirt, revealing her stomach. Adorned in arm-guards and black stockings, she sported the Sunagakure forehead protector.

Kaito couldn't help but think to himself, "Other than the Kiri team, I don't recognize any of them." The other team from Kumo was unfamiliar to him. They all appeared to be around 13 or 14 years old. One member had a lazy demeanor, almost falling asleep on his feet. Another had blonde hair and fair skin, with a sword strapped to his back. The third was also blonde, but didn't seem to have any weapons on him.

The chunin in front of them called out, "Alright everyone, please follow me." He led them out the room and through a tunnel that eventually opened up to a bright light at the end.

As they emerged from the tunnel, the sound of cheering filled their ears. The chunin signaled for them to enter the arena floor.

The crowd's cheers grew even louder as they stepped onto the field. In the center stood the proctor - a man with a weal-like scar running across his face. His spiky brown hair added to his intimidating appearance, along with his dark eyes and standard attire of a Konoha shinobi. He wore a forehead protector and a flak jacket.

As they lined up before the proctor, The third hokage Hiruzen's voice echoed from the Hokage booth, as he addressed everyone “Congratulations on making it this far. You’ve all shown exceptional skill and determination to reach the final stage. Today, you will be tested not only on your strength and technique but also on your ability to think strategically and adapt under pressure. Remember, becoming a Chunin is not just about winning matches, it’s about proving you have what it takes to lead and make difficult decisions in the heat of battle. now let the chunin exams begin”

The crowd erupted into cheers and shouts of encouragement, As Hiruzen finished speaking, Raidō turned towards the participants with a serious expression. "My name is Namiashi Raidō, and I will be the proctor for the final stage of these Chunin exams," he announced. Taking out a paper, he showed it to them before continuing. "The matches will be one-on-one, in this order."

Raidō held up the list of match-ups, his voice booming across the training ground as he announced, "This is who you will be facing." Each participant turned their eyes to the paper, taking note of their opponent for the day. After folding it and tucking it into his pocket, Raidō asked, "Any questions?"

Kaito Uzumaki versus Utakata

Mangetsu Hozuki versus Tekai

Atsui versus Hotaru Hyuga

Yura versus Chōjūrō

Itachi Uchiha versus Nemui

Kiko versus C

Kaito's lips curled into a smirk as he studied the name beside his own. "So, I'm up first against Utakata, huh? And then in the next round, it'll be Mangetsu," he thought to himself. Not receiving any questions from the other fighters, Raidō declared, "Now, the first fight will be between Kaito Uzumaki and Utakata. The rest of you, please make your way to the waiting area," gesturing towards a nearby stand.

The others began to make their way towards the designated area as Hotaru approached Kaito with a hug. "Good luck, Kai-kun," she said before joining the rest of the spectators in the waiting area. Itachi nodded at Kaito in acknowledgment as he too made his way to the stands.

Raidō motioned for Kaito and Utakata to move towards the center of the field, they stood opposite with distance between them as Raidō stood between them in the middle. The crowd erupted into loud cheers and excitement as they eagerly anticipated the battle ahead.

Kaito Chapter 87

Kaito Chapter 87

"Ah, you're late Kai-kun," his mother scolded playfully. "Quickly go take a bath and put on the yukata I set on your bed. We might be late for lunch."

Excitedly jumping off the couch, Naruto exclaimed, "Kai-nii! Hurry up! We're going to Ichiraku Ramen for lunch! Believe it!"

With a sheepish smile on his face, Kaito scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Hai hai, I'll be ready in 5 minutes," he replied before rushing off to get ready for their family outing.

….

Inside the Uzumaki residence, Kaito stood in his room before a large mirror, he adjusted his right sleeve. He wore a sleek black t-shirt with long sleeves, under a white sleeveless jacket with the Uzumaki clan symbol emblazoned on its back. The jacket remained openin the front. His lower half was clad in black ANBU-style pants.

Kaito's had Bandages wrapped tightly around his ankle to calf, On his right hand, more bandaging could be seen, starting at his hand and extending up to his forearm.

“Hmm“ humming in Satisfaction, Kaito left his room and made his way towards the kitchen. As he walked down the hall, he could hear his mother's humming. Entering the kitchen, Kaito was greeted by the sight of his mother Kushina and younger brother Naruto sitting at the table enjoying breakfast together.

"Good morning mom, Naruto," Kaito called out cheerfully as he approached the table. He leaned down to kiss his mother's cheek before taking a seat next to Naruto at the table.

Kushina was dressed beautifully in a traditional red and white kimono, her fiery red hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. Naruto sat beside her in an orange shirt featuring the Uzumaki clan symbol on its back, paired with simple black shorts.

Smiling warmly at her oldest son, Kushina replied, "Good morning Kai-kun. Come eat, you have a big day ahead" She gestured towards his plate of chicken katsu with rice that she had prepared.

Naruto, still half-asleep, greeted Kaito with a drowsy "Good morning Kai-nii" before letting out a loud yawn. Kaito chuckled and ruffled his brother's hair

whiched Earned him a indignant “Hey!" and scowl from his little brother. before Naruto went back to eating his breakfast.

Kaito chuckled again and said “itadakimasu” before digging into his own meal. he looked up at the clock on the wall in realization. “Oh shit, we're going to be late,” he exclaimed, shoveling his food in faster.

"Sloooow down," Kushina admonished her son, shaking her head affectionately. "We have plenty of time before the finals start, yknow"

But Kaito was already finished with his breakfast and stood up quickly. "I have to meet my team at 8, it's already 7 mom," he said hurriedly.

"We have plenty of time, you know," Kushina repeated calmly as she gathered up their empty plates and headed to the sink.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Kaito created a shadow clone to help with the dishes and said, "Let me take care of that mom." The clone took the dishes from Kushina and quickly began washing them

“Ah, thank you,” Kushina replied gratefully as she left to gather her things for the day.

“Come on naruto “ Kaito motioned for Naruto to follow him. Together, they made their way to the front door and sat down on the worn wooden porch steps. Kaito slipped on his sandals, while Naruto mimicked his elder brother's actions with enthusiasm.

"Do you have everything you need, Kai-kun?" Kushina asked as she emerged from the house with a small bag in hand.

Standing up once again, Kaito nodded confidently. "Hai, I have everything," he replied, patting the pouch at his side where he kept his belongings.

Kushina then took Naruto's small hand in hers and stretched out her other hand towards Kaito. "You know, we haven't walked hand in hand like this in a long time," she remarked with a smile full of nostalgia.

Kaito couldn't help but smile back. "Sure, mom," he replied before grasping her hand in his own.

Together, they set off towards the Chunin Exams arena on the other side of the village. As they walked through the bustling streets, they saw many other people heading towards the arena as well. It was a bright and sunny morning in the Hidden Leaf Village, with warm rays of sunlight streaming down onto the busy streets.

The village was alive with activity as people from all over came to watch the highly anticipated Chunin Finals. Naruto, wide-eyed with wonder, couldn't help but ask his mother, "Wow, mama, why are there so many people today?"

Kushina smiled down at him and explained, "Well, it's the chunin exam finals. People from all over come to see the shinobi compete for their village’s. It's also a way to promote the strength and skill of their village's ninja to the client," she explained.

As they approached the towering stadium-like structure that served as the chunin arena, they were met with a sea of people. The base of the stadium was packed with vendors selling food and merchandise to the eager crowd.

Upon reaching the main entrance of the stadium, Kaito spotted his team along with their sensei waiting for them.

"Yo guys, sensei! Sorry if I kept you waiting," Kaito called out as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hey everyone! Hope we didn't keep you waiting too long," Kushina said cheerfully while still holding onto Kaito and Naruto's hands.

"Kai-kun, Lady Kushina, no. We haven't been waiting long," Hotaru responded with a smile as she saw them approaching. She knelt down to Naruto's height and greeted him with a warm hug. “Naruto-kun! Look at you, getting so big! Are you excited for the matches today?"

Naruto beamed and returned her hug eagerly. "Yeah, Hotaru-nee! I can't wait to see Kai-nii and you kick butt!"

"We just met up ourselves, Kushina," Shikaku chimed in dismissively while nodding to Kaito.

Itachi simply nodded in greeting to Kushina before bowing slightly. "Lady Kushina."

As Naruto looked at shikaku and asked, "Hey, Uncle Shikaku, did Shikamaru come with you?" Naruto and Shikamaru had become close friends over the years often meeting at the park "And is Hinata-chan here too, Hotaru-nee?" His eyes darted around eagerly, searching for his other friend.

Kushina, who was standing nearby, also looked around and asked Itachi and Hotaru, "Where are your parents, Itachi-kun, Hotaru-chan? and I don't see Yoshino-san anywhere. didn’t they come?"

"They went to the stands to find their seats," replied Hotaru calmly, while Itachi nodded in agreement.

Shikaku chimed in, "You should head over there as well, Kushina. There should be some open seats near where Yoshino and Shikamaru are sitting. Row 34, block B."

"Well," Kushina responded with a bright smile, "if you don't mind, Shikaku, I would love to take a picture of them all together first." She pulled out a camera from her bag and eagerly got ready to snap a photo.

Shikaku let out a small sigh and gave his permission. Kaito, Itachi, and Hotaru stood together for the picture, with Hotaru in the middle flashing a peace sign. To her right stood Kaito with a gentle smile on his face, while Itachi stood on her left looking with a small smile. Kushina counted down and then exclaimed, "Okay everyone, say 'Chunin'!" The trio chorused back in unison before Kushina captured the moment with her camera.

After taking the photo, Kushina gave each of them a warm hug and said encouragingly, "Do your best guys and good luck! We'll be cheering for you. And please stay safe." She hugged Kaito a little tighter than the others before breaking away.

Kaito simply smiled and nodded in response, then made a quick shadow clone to accompany his mother as she, Naruto, and the clone headed towards their seats in the bleachers.

As they navigated through the rows of seats in block B, Kushina's eyes scanned the faces of her fellow spectators. She spotted Yoshino sitting beside Choza's wife and Inochi's wife next to them sat Hiashi's wife and their children sat nearby, including Hinata who appeared shy and a bored-looking Shikamaru. In another row below them were Choza, Inochi and Hiashi sat beside his brother hizashi, while above Yoshino sat Fugaku and Mikoto with their son Sasuke. Kushina greeted them all with a warm smile as she approached their row.

"Hey guys, you don't mind if I join you?" she asked cheerfully.

Mikoto smiled and patted the seat beside her. "Of course not, come sit next to me," she said.

The others also welcomed Kushina with friendly smiles. Her attention was drawn to Hitomi, Hinata's pregnant mother, whose stomach was visibly swollen. "Oh my, Hitomi, how far along are you?" Kushina asked with excitement.

Hitomi beamed back at her. "Five months now," she replied happily as they continued to chat.

Meanwhile, Naruto made his way over to sit with Shikamaru and Hinata. He greeted them eagerly, "Hey guys, are you just as excited as me? i cant wait to see Kaito-nii kick butt, believe it!"

Hinata replied shyly, "G-good morning Naruto-kun. hai, I am excited to see Hotaru-nee." stutter out. beside her sat Neji

But their conversation was interrupted by a snort from behind them. Naruto turned to see Sasuke smirking at him as he said confidently, "If anything, Itachi-niisan will be the one to win."

Naruto's competitive spirit flared up as he shouted back, "Hey! What did you say, Sasuke?"

Ever since they had met, Naruto and Sasuke seemed to have a constant rivalry between them, always trying to one-up each other. Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his ears, "Do you have to be so loud, Naruto? It's too early for that."

But Naruto just huffed and replied determinedly, "We'll see." He took a seat next to Shikamaru and Hinata, eager for the competition to begin.

Kaito Chatper 86

Kaito Chatper 86

"Big brother!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he hugged kaito .

"Hey there, Naruto," Kaito greeted him as the young boy.

Kaito turned to his mother and asked, "Mom, what are you both doing here?" Though seeing the basket, he already knew the answer.

Kushina smiled and replied, "You forgot your lunch at home, yknow! So, we were bringing you your launch and I thought we could have a picnic while we are at it yknow."

As if on cue, Kaito's stomach rumbled loudly, causing him to blush sheepishly. Kushina chuckled and said, "Looks like you're hungry. Come help me set up the picnic blanket."

….

As the late morning sun shone over the village's hidden leaf’s, a festive air seemed to surround it. The village was abuzz with excitement as the Chunin Exam finals were just around the corner.

In the training ground nearest to the Uzumaki residence, Kaito lay on the ground, exhausted and covered in cuts and nicks, his hands trembling in frustration. Beside him stood one of his shadow clones, holding a scroll in hand, the surrounding area littered with deep holes from his failed attempts.

Kaito let out a frustrated sigh and exclaimed, "I can't do it," Kaito groaned, "No matter what I try, I can't form the wind release Rasengan with just one hand."

The clone holding the scroll replied, "Perhaps you are approaching it from the wrong angle, boss."

He continued reading from the scroll, "Dad wrote that he had to use a 3 to 1 ratio to add his nature transformation into his Rasengan."

"What do you think I've been doing?" Kaito retorted irritably.

But the shadow clone persisted, "Yes, but why not try the opposite? Instead of adding 3 parts wind chakra to 1 part normal chakra, why not do the opposite?"

Kaito furrowed his brow and looked at the clone with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. "Why would I do that? We already got the windstyle Rasengan working with the use of a shadow clone using the same ratio," he said skeptically.

The clone tilted its head and replied, "But the Rasengan becomes unstable when you try to add wind chakra to it. So why not reduce it and get used to it first?"

Kaito considered this for a moment, his mind buzzing with possibilities. "Huh, that might just work," he thought to himself as he stood up and held out his right palm facing upwards.

Chakra gathered in his hand, and Kaito watched as it started to rotate and take form. The chakra rapidly spun, taking on the size of a small basketball. But then Kaito added wind nature chakra into it, causing the Rasengan to slowly change color to light green.

A ring of chakra formed around the Rasengan as Kaito continued to infuse it with wind nature energy. A high-pitched sound filled the training ground as the Rasengan grew in power.

"It finally worked!" Kaito exclaimed with excitement shining in his eyes as he looked down at the green wind release Rasengan in his hand.

The clone cocked its head in confusion. "Huh, why does it look different from others?"

Kaito shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I think it's because of the different ratio," he replied as he let go of the Rasengan, watching as it dissipated into thin air.

The clone looked at Kaito with curiosity, asking, "Why did you cancel it?"

"I wanted to try it again and make sure it wasn't just a fluke," Kaito replied, gathering chakra in his hand once more to create the wind-release Rasengan.

As he succeeded in forming the powerful jutsu, Kaito's eyes gleamed with determination. "Let's see what this can do," he said confidently before launching the Rasengan towards a tree in the training ground.

The wind release Rasengan sliced through the air and struck the tree, cutting it cleanly in half before exploding and creating a small dome of destruction. But as Kaito examined the damage with a frown, Kaito muttered, "It seems weaker than the other variation."

His clone nodded in agreement. "Hai, it may be weaker, but it also seems less straining on your body," it pointed out, glancing at Kaito's hands.

Lost in thought, Kaito hummed before turning to his left and addressing someone standing there. "How long are you planning on standing there?" he asked casually.

The figure turned out to be Kakashi, dressed in his casual ANBU attire with a book in hand. He hopped down gracefully from the tree branch he had been perched on and landed beside Kaito with a friendly "Yo" and an eye smile.

Kaito shifted his gaze to Kakashi and couldn't resist asking, "How long have you been there?" His shadow clone handed him back the scroll before dispersing itself.

Kakashi simply shrugged. "Not that long. Looks like you managed to add your nature transformation to the Rasengan," he remarked, glancing at Kaito over his book.

Kaito shrugged nonchalantly and spoke to Kakashi, "It's not exactly what I had in mind, but it's still progress." He then asked, "Did you just come back from a mission?"

Kakashi nodded, his gaze still focused on the book in his hand. "Hai, just returned a few hours ago and happened to be nearby so I decided to stop by." He paused and looked up from his book to ask, "Speaking of which, why aren't you resting? The Chunin finals are tomorrow."

Kaito hummed thoughtfully before responding, "I just wanted to get some training in. Ya know"

He then asked Kakashi with a more serious tone, "Found any leads on Lady Tsunade?"

For the past two years, Kaito had been searching for Tsunade, hoping to convince her to heal his mother's condition. At first, he thought it would be an easy task, but he soon realized that she was skilled at hiding her tracks. Even Naruto and Jiraiya had only stumbled upon her by sheer luck in the original timeline.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "She was sighted near the Land of Tea a few months ago, but the trail has gone cold since then."

A feeling of defeat washed over Kaito as he let out a heavy sigh. "Well, let me know if you hear anything else."

As he gazed at the evening sky, Kaito began to walk away from the training ground. while walking away, he turned back and said to Kakashi, "I should get going. See you tomorrow."

He made his way through the trees, leaping from branch to branch with practiced ease.

In just a few minutes, Kaito arrived at his modest home. He pushed open the door and called out, "Mom, I'm home!" His mother emerged from the living room, dressed in a vibrant red kimono, while his brother was seated on the couch wearing an orange yukata.

"Ah, you're late Kai-kun," his mother scolded playfully. "Quickly go take a bath and put on the yukata I set on your bed. Or we might be late for lunch."

Excitedly jumping off the couch, Naruto exclaimed, "Kai-nii! Hurry up! We're going to Ichiraku Ramen for lunch! Believe it!"

With a sheepish smile on his face, Kaito scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Hai hai, I'll be ready in 5 minutes," he replied before rushing off to get ready for their family outing.

Kaito Chapter 85

Kaito Chapter 85

They continued chatting as they made their way to Kaito's home. When they reached the Uzumaki residence, Kakashi stopped outside.

Seeing kakashi stopping, Kaito asked, "You're not staying for dinner?"

Kakashi shook his head and replied, "No, I have something to attend to, maybe some other time."

With a nod, Kaito said, "Then I'll see you at the finals."

Kakashi gave a small nod before body flickering away.

Once inside his home, Kaito spent time with his family before retiring for the night. He couldn't help but feel both nervous and excited about his upcoming training with Might Guy.

…..

The village hidden in the Leafs was still shrouded in darkness, but the first hints of dawn were starting to break through. In the uzumaki residence, Kaito was already dressed for the day and ready to start his training. He grabbed his tanto as left his room with light footsteps.

As he made his way down the corridor towards the kitchen, He could hear the faint sounds of birds chirping outside, signaling that it was almost time for the villagers to begin their daily routines.

Upon entering the kitchen, Kaito found his mother Kushina bustling about, preparing breakfast for the family. She was dressed in her usual apron and had a warm smile on her face as she tasted a the soup to make sure it had enough salt.

"Good morning Mom," Kaito greeted her as he walked over to her and kissed her on her cheek. "What are you making today?"

Kushina hummed happily at her son and replied, "Good morning to you too Kai-kun! I'm making tamagoyaki with rice and miso soup. I just finished making the rice and miso soup. all that's left is cooking the tamagoyaki." She turned off the stove for the soup and set it aside.

"Let me help, mom," Kaito offered as took out a bowl and some eggs. Kushina chuckled and allowed her son to assist, He cracked the eggs into the bowl while Kushina poured in the dashi that she had prepared earlier.

Together, mother and son worked together as they cooked the tamagoyaki. It was one of their favorite bonding activities, and they always had fun while doing it.

The kitchen was alive with the sounds and smells of cooking as mother and son worked together to make their favorite dish, tamagoyaki. Kaito's small hands carefully cracked the eggs into a bowl while his mother, Kushina, expertly mixed them with a splash of soy sauce. They laughed and chatted as they cooked, enjoying this special bonding time that they both cherished.

After finishing the tamagoyaki, they sat down at the table to eat breakfast. Kushina took a bite of her perfectly cooked egg roll and asked her son, "So, kai-kun, what are your plans for today?"

Kaito swallowed his bite before answering, "Just training. Kakashi asked one of his friends to help me since he was away on a mission. I'll be meeting him later."

Curiosity peaked, Kushina hummed and asked, "Do you happen to know who Kakashi asked to help you?"

Kaito thought for a moment before replying, "Someone named Guy. Do you know him, Mom?"

Kushina nodded, "Guy? Isn't he the one with the green jumpsuit?" She tapped her chin in thought. "I don't believe we've met before, but I have seen him around the village a few times. Your father has mentioned him as well." She shrugged and went back to eating her breakfast.

As they continued to eat, Kaito asked "What about you Mom? Any plans for today?".

Kushina finished chewing and replied, "Not much. I don't have any errands to run today. Just some free time. Although I do need to teach Naru-chan some fuinjutsu later." She let out a sigh and shook her head. "Speaking of which," she said with a hint of frustration in her voice, "I need to wake that boy up."

As she stood up to clear their plates, Kaito offered to wash the dishes. She smiled gratefully at him before heading upstairs to wake up Naruto. After washing the dishes, Kaito made a shadow clone and walked towards the front door.

Just as he finished tying his sandals, Kushina came back down and saw him off. "Bye Mom, I'll see you later," Kaito said with a small wave before giving her a quick hug.

"Do your best, y'know," Kushina called out after him, a proud smile on her face as she watched him disappear into the distance.

Hopping effortlessly from tree to tree, Kaito made his way toward the training grounds

After a few minutes of travel Kaito landed in a clearing and stretched his body. "Let's get started," he muttered to himself before making a cross-hand sign and creating six shadow clones.

Looking at his clones, Kaito confidently declared, "You guys know what to do." the clones split and set off to work on their assigned tasks - three focusing on earth nature transformation, one was tasked with perfecting ninjutsu with minimum chakra and hand signs, and two were training to better use his Adamantine Sealing Chains. Meanwhile, Kaito himself made a half-ram sign and activated the gravity and resistance seal on his body.

As soon as the seals were activated, Kaito felt the strain on his body increase. he didn't want to impede his growth by constantly keeping the seal active. after all, he was only 9 and a half years old. "It's now on level 5," he thought as he began his training.

He started by running around the training ground at full speed for 30 minutes before moving on to calisthenics and finishing with an hour-long meditation while using his Kagura's mind's eye to sense the surroundings. he dispelled each clone one by one with a five-minute interval between each one.

As he focused on his meditation, Kaito sensed someone approaching the training ground. He opened his eyes and saw a man with a distinctive bowl-cut hairstyle landing in the clearing. The man wore a vibrant green jumpsuit with a Konoha vest over it and had his forehead protector tied neatly around his waist. Kaito recognized him as Might Guy and the person Madara deemed as the strongest taijutsu user.

Kaito observed that Guy had chakra, though not as much as other ninja. It was a common misconception that Guy had little to no chakra, but in reality, he simply had a smaller reserve compared to others. himpossessing the summoning contract with turtles is proof.

Guy approached Kaito with his trademark grin and energetic attitude. "Yosh!" he exclaimed, you must be Kaito, i am mighty guy Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey “ Giving Kaito a thumbs up and a Grin

Kaito stood up and nodded respectfully. "Yes, I'm Kaito. Pleased to meet you, Guy-san. Kakashi mentioned that you'd be sparring with me."

Guy's grin widened at the mention of Kakashi. "Ah, my eternal rival approaches me with a request to aid you in your training as a sparing partner! Let us fan the flames of our youth with a spar!" His enthusiasm was infectious.

Kaito nodded excitedly, as he asked, "Hai, taijutsu only?" As he got into his ready stance

Guy nodded in agreement and mimicked Kaito as he got into the strong fist stance. In the blink of an eye, Kaito was in front of Guy, throwing a fast punch aimed directly at his opponent's face. But Guy effortlessly sidestepped and countered with a powerful punch of his own.

Kaito reacted quickly, blocking the blow by grabbing his fist and thinking to himself, "He's fast." Using his grip on Guy's fist, Kaito flipped and aimed a kick towards Guy's head. But once again, Guy dodged by leaning back and catching Kaito's leg before tossing him backward.

Mid-air, Kaito righted himself and landed in a skidding before looking up to see Guy apon him with his signature move - the "Leaf Hurricane". With fast reflexes, Kaito managed to dodge the attack and counter with a kick of his own.

The two continued their intense spar, jumping back and forth as they exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks. However, Kaito could feel himself starting to get overwhelmed by Guy's skill and strength.

Taking a hard punch to the face, Kaito was sent flying backward but managed to catch himself mid-air and land in another skidding motion. wiping the blood from the corner of his lip, Kaito thought, "The strongest indeed. he lives up to his name. I'll need to give it my all if I want this spar to last." With a confident smirk, Kaito got back into his stance, ready to give it his all against Guy.

The training ground was riddled with holes from their intense spar. Kaito lay on the ground, panting heavily while Guy stood beside him, both of them feeling winded and exhausted. Bruises decorated Kaito's body and face, and blood trickled down from his split lip. Guy didn't look much better as he also sported a few bruises.

"Yosh! What a youthful display, young Kaito! Your flames of youth burn brightly," Guy exclaimed between breaths. "I shall run around the village 100 times to fan the flames of youth!"

Kaito couldn't believe how much energy Guy still had after their intense fight. As he sat up and took a sip of water from an unsealed bottle, Kaito couldn't help but ask, "Guy-san, when can we have another spar?"

Pausing mid-ramble, Guy looked at Kaito with a thoughtful expression. "Hm...I will come by every two days," he finally replied.

Kaito nodded, knowing that guy would be a good sparing partner to keep up with. With a booming voice, Guy announced, "Yosh! I should get going and complete 100 rounds around the village!" And with that, he took off running in the direction of the village, shouting something about the power of youth.

Sweat dripping down his face, Kaito lied back on the soft grass and used Heal bite to mend any injuries from their intense training session. After about 30 minutes, he sensed two familiar chakra signatures approaching the training ground. Sitting back up, Kaito thought aloud, "What are they doing here?"

Just then, Kushina appeared in the clearing, holding Naruto's hand and carrying a picnic basket in her other arm. Four and a half-year-old Naruto excitedly ran toward his big brother,

"Big brother!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he hugged Kaito.

"Hey there, Naruto," Kaito greeted him as the young boy.

Kaito turned to his mother and asked, "Mom, what are you both doing here?" Though seeing the basket he already knew the answer.

Kushina smiled and replied, "You forgot your lunch at home, yknow! So, we were bringing you your launch and I thought we could have a picnic while we are at it yknow."

As if on cue, Kaito's stomach rumbled loudly, causing him to blush sheepishly. Kushina chuckled and said, "Looks like you're hungry. Come help me set up the picnic blanket."

Note

I'm sorry but the chapter will be posted later than expected. Unfortunately, I am currently experiencing technical difficulties with my account on the grammar assistant site. Thank you for your understanding.

Kaito Chapter 84

Kaito Chapter 84

“hey, it’s not my fault that its super boring “Naruto pouted and rubbed the spot on his head where Kushina had bonked him.

Ignoring Naruto, Kushina turned to Kaito and eagerly asked, "So how did you do in the Chunin exams?" Excitedly, Kaito pulled out the pack of dango he had bought and replied, "come on, Mom. Let's go to the kitchen so I can tell you all about it."

Together, they made their way to the kitchen where Kaito proceeded to recount his experiences during the exams while enjoying their snacks.

…..

The afternoon sun shone brightly in the village hidden in the leafs. In the training ground where Kaito often frequented, explosions could be heard echoing through the trees as the ground shook from their force.

 skidding back on the dirt as he faced the direction he had just come from. His face was drenched in sweat and his breaths came out in heavy pants.

In his hand, Kaito held a tanto, its blade crackling with red lightning that danced around it. Suddenly, a bolt of red lightning shot towards him from the same direction he was facing. Reacting quickly, Kaito formed a half-ram hand sign, calling out "Water Style Water Wall Jutsu!" As he spewed a stream of water, forming a wall of water in front of him just in time to block the incoming attack.

The fierce clash of their jutsu created a deafening explosion that reverberated through the earth. Kaito struggled to regain his balance as he was thrown off by the impact, only to be met with a sword narrowly missing his head. Reacting quickly, he bent his body and lashed out with his left leg, delivering a powerful kick to his opponent. The force behind it was enough to send them stumbling back several feet, giving Kaito a brief moment to catch his breath in the intense battle.

As Kaito was about to pursue his attacker another attack came at him from the right. The cry of "wind style vacuum spheres" as a massive sphere of wind hurtled towards him. But just as it reached him, Kaito seemed to phase through it and the attack collided with a nearby tree.

Above the attacker, Kaito reappeared and with is tanto drawn in one swift motion, ready to strike. But before he could, another tanto met his blade, blocking his attack. kaito locked eyes with the person wielding the other tanto, his shadow clone. Kaito was going all out facing off against four of his own shadow clones.

 just as they clashed the clone that kaito attacked slashed back at kaito and the blade passed thought Kaito as he appeared behind both clone and kicked them towards another approaching clone.

the clone dodged the incoming clones and aimed a punch at Kaito's head. seeing the incoming punch, Kaito sealed the tanto away his tanto and caught the clone's punch. Using the clones momentum against it, he flipped the clone over and sent it flying into a nearby tree.

In that moment, another clone materialized from behind Kaito and aimed for a surprise attack. But Kaito leaned back and let the tanto pass harmlessly by. As his hand sparked with red lighting and a glowing red blade extended from his hand and pierced through the clone from behind, causing it to dissipate into white smoke.

just then the three other clones used body flicker technique to appear around Kaito, One materialized above him, another behind him, and the third to his right. Without hesitation, Kaito extended both hands and a wave of red lightning surged out from his body, pushing the clones backwards. The one nearest to him disappeared in a puff of white smoke while the other two were left struggling to regain their footing. Before they could mount any sort of counterattack, they were pierced by multiple red glowing senbons, and puffed into white smoke.

Kaito fell to one knee, panting heavily as exhaustion washed over him. "Damn, that was harder than I thought it would be," he muttered through gasps for air. With a heavy thud, he flopped onto the ground and took deep breaths to recover.

"It seems you have mastered those three jutsu," said Kakashi, walking into the torn up training field. He was dressed in his ANBU attire without his mask.

Turning his head towards Kakashi, Kaito replied tiredly, "You're late, Kakashi. By six hours."

Kakashi approached Kaito and handed him a bottle. "Well, I was needed by the Hokage," he explained.

Sitting up and accepting the bottle gratefully, Kaito asked between sips, "Thank you. Are you heading out on a mission?"

Kakashi nodded and replied solemnly, "Yes. My squad will leave tomorrow and I won't be back for two weeks”

Kaito hummed in understanding and said, "Well, good luck on your mission."

It had been around a week and a half since the second part of the Chunin exams had ended, marking the start of the month-long wait for the finals to begin. During this time, Kaito had spent every moment training with Kakashi, pushing himself beyond his limits. His shadow clones had also been busy recreating some of Sasuke's jutsu, including the Chidori Nagashi (Stream), Chidori Senbon, and Chidori Spear. With Kakashi's help, he managed to recreate them using his Red lightning as a base.

"So how's the progress coming along with the Rasengan?" asked Kakashi, standing over Kaito and offering him a hand up.

"No luck," Kaito sighed in frustration as he stood up, taking Kakashi's offered hand. "It's too unstable. I can't seem to infuse my nature transformation into the Rasengan without the help of a clone."

He ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "I still don't understand how Dad was able to create and master the Elemental Rasengan one-handed in just a day."

Kaito had been trying tirelessly to master the Rasengan infused with his chakra nature transformation without relying on his shadow clones to stabilizing it. He had already succeeded in creating wind, water, and lightning release Rasengan’s with their help, but when it came to doing it on his own, The technique was unstable and often resulted in explosive outcomes. It frustrated Kaito, especially knowing that it had only taken Minato a day to fully master the wind release Rasengan with one hand.

But he refused to let this setback defeat him. He was determined to master the technique on his own without any shortcuts or assistance from his shadow clones to accelerate the learning.

As Kakashi shook his head, he remarked "Well, sensei was said to be a genius among geniuses."

Kaito hummed in agreement and asked, "So did you just come to inform me that you won't be available for training?"

Kakashi nodded as they walked out of the training ground. "That, and since I won't be here to help you during the Chunin finals, I asked a friend to assist with your training while I'm away."

Curiosity sparked within Kaito as he asked, "Who is this friend?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled in an amused smile as he answered, "His name is Guy. He will meet you here tomorrow morning at our usual time. And fair warning, his training methods are intense."

Kaito's eyes widened at the mention of Guy's name, and he couldn't help but wonder how his taijutsu skills would compare to his.

They continued chatting as they made their way to Kaito's home. When they reached the Uzumaki residence, Kakashi stopped outside.

Seeing kakashi stopping, Kaito asked, "You're not staying for dinner?"

Kakashi shook his head and replied, "No, I have something to attend to, maybe some other time."

With a nod, Kaito said, "Then I'll see you at the finals."

Kakashi gave a small nod before body flickering away.

Once inside his home, Kaito spent time with his family before retiring for the night. He couldn't help but feel both nervous and excited about his upcoming training with Might Guy.

Kaito Chapter 83

Kaito Chapter 83

Kaito couldn't help but interrupt Hiruzen's long-winded explanation, not wanting hiruzen to take another few minutes to explain. "So it's a tournament then? Will we know which bracket we will be placed in beforehand or will it be on the day of the tournament?"

Hiruzen nodded in response. "Yes, it is a tournament. The bracket placement will be done on the day of the tournament."

As Hiruzen continued to talk, Kaito found himself tuning him out and eagerly awaiting their dismissal. Soon enough, they were dismissed and Shikaku strolled over lazily.

"Come on," he said to team 11. "Since you three have qualified for the final stage, I'll treat you guys and we can discuss your training for the finals." Kaito, Hotaru and itachi happily nodded and followed Shikaku

….

The village hidden in the Leafs was abuzz with life, the sun shining brightly and casting a warm glow over the busy streets below. Amongst the crowd, Team 11 could be seen making their way through the crowds led by their jonin sensei, Shikaku Nara.

It had only been a few short minutes since the second stage of the Chunin selection exams had ended, and now they found themselves stopping in front of a quaint shop. The sign above read "YakinikuQ", its warm lights inviting them inside.

As they entered, a plump woman in her thirties greeted them with a smile. "Welcome to YakinikuQ," she said to Shikaku, recognizing him immediately. "Oh, Shikaku-san it’s you and you've brought your team along too. Come in, take a seat."

Shikaku nodded gratefully and followed the woman to a nearby table where his team joined him. They settled into their seats as Misami, the owner of the shop, handed them menus and took their drink orders.

Shikaku ordered for the group, "We'll have the party platter and some sake for me."

Misami turned to the rest of the team and asked, "And for you three? What would you like to drink?"

Kaito hummed thoughtfully before deciding on Sencha tea. Hotaru requested Macha tea while Itachi opted for Sencha as well.

After confirming their order, Misami went off to prepare their drinks and meal to grill in front of their table. The team sat back and relaxed, enjoying the cozy atmosphere of the shop and eagerly anticipating their meal to come.

Misami went off to prepare their order, Shikaku turned to his team with a proud smirk. "First off, I would like to congratulate you three on reaching the finals of the Chunin Exams," he said warmly. "Not many teams make it this far in their first attempt." He then took out small cards from his pocket and handed one to each member. "These are your scores for the written exams."

Kaito's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his score. "I got full marks?" he thought incredulously. He couldn't believe that he had received a perfect score on the written test. While he had breezed through the questions easily, he had expected to make at least a few mistakes in his calculations.

A small sense of pride swelled within him as he wondered if his score was higher than his father's.

Hotaru looked over at Kaito's result and exclaimed, "Wow, Kaito-Kun! You got full marks! I got a 93. What about you, Itachi-kun?" She turned to their teammate, who calmly replied, "I got a 96."

Shikaku's expression softened into approval as he nodded, his deep voice resonating through the quiet room. "The village keeps a record of those who receive the highest marks without cheating," he explained. "And you, Kaito, now hold the joint highest score in the history of the written exams. Itachi holds second place. And Hotaru, you are not far behind either."

Hotaru's curiosity got the best of her and she couldn't help but ask, "Sensei, you said that Kaito-kun has the joint highest score...who is the other person?"

Just as Shikaku was about to answer, Kaito interjected with a proud grin on his face. "it’s My dad, isn’t it" he announced, looking up from the result sheet.

Hotaru and Itachi exchanged surprised glances while Shikaku confirmed, "Hai, the fourth hokage. Minato Namikaze held the highest ever mark in the written exam."

Their conversation was interrupted by a Misami entering with their food. The smell of sizzling meats filled the air as Misami placed various dishes on the table before leaving them to enjoy their meal.

"Speaking of records," Shikaku continued, placing various cuts of meat on the grill as they waited for it to cook. "You three also broke the previous record for completing the second stage held in Konoha in just 6 hours."

Impressed by their achievements, he added, “Your exceptional performance in the first two test has gained you three much attention, and many will be watching you closely in the final round."

As soon as their delicious meal was ready, they each served themselves and raised their chopsticks in unison. "Itadakimasu!" they exclaimed in unison before eagerly biting into the succulent meat.

As they ate, Shikaku's informs them. "As you already know, the finals is a bracket style tournament where you may end up facing each other in one of the rounds. To make it fair, all three of you will be training separately during the month-long wait."

Kaito, Hotaru, and Itachi nodded in understanding. They knew that this was necessary for a fair competition.

Shikaku then turned to Itachi and Hotaru says. "Your fathers have informed me that your clans will be in charge of your training for the finals."

Both Itachi and Hotaru nodded, knowing that their fathers would want to ensure they were prepared for the challenge ahead.

Finally, Shikaku turned to Kaito and asked, "Do you have someone specific that you want to train with?"

Kaito hummed thoughtfully while taking a bite of his food. "Hai, I’ve already asked Kakashi to help me with my training before the exams began."

Shikaku nodded in approval. "Good," he said. "I was going to ask one of my friends to help with your training if you didn't have anyone." They continued to eat and discuss their preparations for the finals, enjoying each other's company and looking forward to the challenges ahead.

After finishing up their meal, the team walked out of the restaurant, Kaito patting his stomach with a satisfied grin on his face. "Man, that hit the spot," he exclaimed. Hotaru couldn't help but giggle at her teammate's antics, while Itachi simply walked along beside them with a satisfied expression on his face.

Shikaku followed behind them, holding the bill and watching his students with a small smile. "Alright guys," he said, turning to them once they were outside. "I'll check in on your progress every few days and offer any help if needed. And remember, if you need anything, you know where to find me." The three students nodded in understanding before bidding their sensei farewell as he walked off into the bustling streets.

Kaito turned to Hotaru and Itachi with a determined glint in his eye. "Well," he said confidently, holding out a fist towards them. "I have no doubt that we'll face each one another in the final. And when we do, let's go all out and give it everything we've got."

Hotaru smiled back at him, raising her own fist to meet his. "Hai," she replied with determination in her voice. "I'll give it my all."

Itachi smirked and joined in, raising his fist as well. "I wasn't planning on holding back either," he said with a knowing look in his eyes

Giving one final nod, Kaito and Hotaru parted ways with Itachi and continued walking in the same direction. As they strolled, Kaito made a quick stop to purchase some dango for his mother and for Naruto. After walking Hotaru home, Kaito finally arrived at his own house.

Stepping through the door of his home, Kaito called out, "I'm home!" But there was no response. Confused, he looked around but saw no signs of anyone else being there.

Wandering through the empty halls, searching for his mother and brother. As he passed by the sealing room, Kaito heard a familiar voice exclaim, "Ow! Hey, that hurts believe it!" followed by another voice scolding, "Well then you shouldn't fall asleep, y'know." one belonging to mother and the other to his brother.

Recognizing his mother's voice, Kaito opened the door to see Kushina standing over Naruto as he rubbed his head where she had bonked him. Smiling, Kaito asked, "So you've started teaching Naruto sealing, huh Mom?"

Kushina turned towards her eldest son and gave him a warm hug, saying, "Kai-kun, Welcome back." She released him from the hug and said"If only, he could stay awake for his lessons." exasperatedly

“Hey, it’s not my fault that it's super boring “Naruto pouted and rubbed the spot on his head where Kushina had bonked him.

Ignoring Naruto, Kushina turned to Kaito and eagerly asked, "So how did you do in the Chunin exams?" Excitedly, Kaito pulled out the pack of dango he had bought and replied, "Come on, Mom. Let's go to the kitchen I'll tell you all about it."

Together, they made their way to the kitchen where Kaito proceeded to recount his experiences during the exams while enjoying their snacks.

Kaito Chapter 82

Kaito Chapter 82

So they proceeded to detail the events to their sensei, leaving nothing out.

When they finished, Shikaku's brow furrowed in thought before he asked gravely, "So all seven of them are in here then?"

Itachi shook his head and gazed at Kaito intently as he spoke to their sensei, "No, Kaito. Let the leader go."

Kaito's smile widened mischievously as he retorted, "Like I said, I didn't let him go. He's just delivering a message for me, you know." He shrugged nonchalantly at the disapproving looks from his comrades.

Shikaku simply massaged his temple and muttered under his breath, "Troublesome."

….

The moon cast a soft, ethereal light through the dense forest, illuminating the wild undergrowth and twisted branches. A figure cloaked in black rushed through the trees, his movements shaky as he moved with stealth. he wore a mask bearing an animal marking .His destination was a hole-like structure on the forest floor, just outside of Konoha.

As he landed on the ground with a groan, the Anbu leaned against a nearby tree, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. Blood seeped from a stump where his right arm used to be, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain as he made his way towards the hole. With shaky hands, he jumped in.

As he landed on a bridge within the structure, he could feel his strength waning. But he pressed on, slowly walking down a dimly lit corridor that seemed to stretch on forever. The whole base seems to have been abandoned, only the sound of his own footsteps echoing off the walls.

Struggling to stay upright, the Anbu leaned on the cool stone wall as they reached the end of the dark corridor. As they emerged into the blinding light, they saw three figures waiting for them in the room ahead.

One of them was Danzo Shimura, accompanied by his two Anbu guards. The first guard wore a half mask that revealed their lower face and a black cloak with a hood. The second guard wore the standard Konoha Anbu attire and had a sword strapped to their back. The injured Anbu slumped to the ground as they reached the end of the corridor, but the other Anbu quickly rushed forward and caught them before they fell.

 "Tenji, what happened?" asked the Anbu with the sword to the anbu code named tenji. Danzo's expression turned to a frown as he stood up from his chair and approached them with his cane tapping against the floor. "Tenji, report. Where is the rest of your assigned team?" he demanded sternly.

The injured anbu panted heavily, struggling to catch their breath before replying, "All of them are dead. The targets knew we were following. We failed the mission, Danzo-sama."

Danzo's eyes narrowed in anger and disappointment. "You failed the mission," he repeated, his tone icy and unforgiving. "Give me a detailed report of what happened."

Just as the injured anbu started to explain in detail, seals began to appear on their body and the anbu's body went rigid it started to eeriely glow.

Danzo's eyes widened in alarm as he barked out quickly, "Move!" But it was too late as the seals exploded, sending debris flying everywhere. the anbu wearing a black cloak shielded Danzo with his body, pushing him back as they took the brunt of the explosion.

As the dust settled and the chaos subsided, Danzo struggled to stand among the rubble. He pushed aside the lifeless body of a burned anbu, his right side completely blown up from the explosion. His right arm was missing and parts of his face were charred and unrecognizable.

As he sat up, Danzo muttered to himself through gritted teeth, "That brat...he purposely allowed my man to escape knowing that he would report back to me. And then he placed an explosive seal on him, blowing him up when he returned." Danzo let out a heavy breath, realizing the cunning and dangerous nature of his opponent.

"He is just like his father," Danzo thought to himself bitterly, recognizing the same ruthless and clever tactics in the young boy that had once been wielded by his father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze.

….

Team 11, along with the other genin who had successfully completed the second stage of the Chunin Exams, were led into a spacious room within the tower. Kaito strolled leisurely behind his team, hands tucked casually behind his head as he took in their surroundings.

The room was filled with around seven other teams who had also passed the second stage, including the team from Kirigakure with Mangetsu Hozuki and the same team that Team 11 had ambushed during the second stage to gain the earth scroll, they were glaring towards team 11 with eyes narrowed.

For the past five days, Kaito, Hotaru, and Itachi had been confined to their rooms. passing time by playing board games as they waited for the second part of the exams to conclude. During this time, they also had kushina’s cooking that Kaito had kept sealed within a sealing scroll, he had enough food to last them weeks.

As they entered the larger room, all thoughts of boredom vanished from Kaito's mind as he took in the impressive arena-like setup. In the front stood a massive statue of two hands holding the ram hand sign.

Kaito couldn't help but think to himself, "Huh, this is the same arena where Naruto fought during the preliminary round." The teams lined up in front of the Hokage, with proctors of the exams standing beside him and each team's jonin sensei positioned behind him. including Kaito's own sensei Shikaku. Amidst all the familiar faces, he also spotted Terumi Mei, the future Fifth Mizukage.

A voice broke through the chatter. Shibi, pushing his sunglasses into place as he addressed the assembled genin. "Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on successfully completing the second stage of these exams," he said, causing some of the genin to exchange excited whispers.

"But as previously stated," Shibi continued, "you will need to have passed both the first and second stages in order to participate in the third stage." He gestured towards Inoichi, who stepped forward with a clipboard in hand.

"The ones that I call out will be disqualified, along with their entire team," Inoichi announced sternly. As he began reading off names, tension filled the air. Three individuals were called out, their teams immediately disqualified as well.

Protests erupted from some of the teams, but they were quickly escorted out by their respective jonin sensei. Among those disqualified was the Kiri team that Team 11 had ambushed in the previous round.

Inoichi's voice cut through the murmurs of disappointment as he announced, "Your test results will be given to your jonin sensei. If you wish to see them, please consult with them later."

"Now that is over, the Hokage will explain the third exam to you," Inoichi added, nodding towards the elderly leader of the village.

Hiruzen stepped forward, clearing his throat before addressing the gathered genin. "Before I explain the third exam, I want to reveal something about its true purpose. I am about to tell you why we host these chunin exams." He paused, scanning the faces of the young shinobi before continuing. "Why do you suppose our country..."

Kaito tuned out Hiruzen's words, already knowing the true meaning behind the chunin exams. He didn't want to waste time listening to the old man's long-winded explanation. Instead, he observed his fellow genin and thought to himself, "So it seems four teams have passed...hmm, I doubt there will be a preliminary round since we have the perfect number of participants."

Among the remaining teams were Kaito's own team, Mangetsu's team, a team from Suna, and a team from Kumo. Kaito hummed to himself in contemplation. "The only ones who may give me trouble are Itachi, Hotaru, Mangetsu, and possibly that Six-Tails jinchuriki. Other than them, I don't think I'll have much difficulty facing off against the others."

Kaito's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Hiruzen's voice as he began to explain the final rounds of the tournament. "And now," Hiruzen announced, "I will begin the explanation of the final rounds. Accordingly, the final matches will begin one month from now. You will be placed in a bracket where you will have to face each other in a series of one-on-one battles."

Kaito couldn't help but interrupt Hiruzen's long-winded explanation, not wanting hiruzen to take another few minutes to explain. "So it's a tournament then? Will we know which bracket we will be placed in beforehand or will it be on the day of the tournament?"

Hiruzen nodded in response. "Yes, it is a tournament. The bracket placement will be done on the day of the tournament."

As Hiruzen continued to talk, Kaito found himself tuning him out and eagerly awaiting their dismissal. Soon enough, they were dismissed and Shikaku strolled over lazily.

"Come on," he said to team 11. "Since you three have qualified for the final stage, I'll treat you guys and we can discuss your training for the finals." Kaito, Hotaru and itachi happily nodded and followed Shikaku

Author's note: I would appreciate any suggestions on what new skills or knowledge Kaito should acquire during his one month break.

Kaito Chapter 81

Kaito Chapter 81

Hotaru and Itachi landed next to Kaito, who simply said, "Told you these ROOT ANBU were cannon fodder."

Confusion crossed Itachi's face as he asked, "Why did you let him go?" He looked at Kaito for an explanation.

Hotaru also voiced her concerns. "Hai, Kaito-kun," she said quietly. "Is it ok to let him leave like this?"

Kaito's lips curled into a sly smile as he turned to face them. "Who said I let him go?" He then changed the subject, looking up at the darkening sky. "Damn, it's getting late. I really want to end this second test before the day is over. ya know" With that, he started walking in the direction of the tower.

….

As the sun set, casting the forest into darkness, the soft glow of the moon illuminated the trees. Team 11, having sealed up the remains of the Root Anbu after their battle, made their way towards the center of the Forest of Death to reach the tower. They were on high alert, keeping an eye out for any other teams that they could try to ambush.

After a few hours had passed and they were currently sitting on the roof atop of the tower, Kaito had his eyes closed and was using his Kagura's Mind's Eye ability to scan their surroundings for any teams. he opened his eyes still, he turned to Hotaru, and asked her, "There's a team about 1.5km in that direction. Can you take a look" pointing towards where he sensed the team.

Hotaru nodded and said, "hai." She activated her Byakugan and reported back, "There is a team from Kirigakure setting up a trap in that direction."

Kaito furrowed his brow and asked, "Is it the same team we encountered before?"

Hotaru shook her head. "No, it's one of the other Kiri teams."

Kaito hummed in thought before Itachi spoke up again. "Can you use your Byakugan to check if they have the Earth scroll?"

Kaito nodded in agreement. "Hai, good thinking Itachi. I don't want to waste time fighting a team that doesn't have what we need."

Hotaru focused her Byakugan on the approaching team and confirmed their suspicions. "Hai, they have the Earth scroll."

Kaito stood up and stretched his muscles then turned to his teammates and asked, "So how do you guys wanna do it?"

Itachi spoke up from beside Hotaru, his expression serious, "We should ambush them," he said confidently. "We have the advantage with us knowing their positions." With that, he leaped off the top of the tower, quickly followed by Hotaru and Kaito.

As they closed in, Itachi turned to Kaito and instructed, "Kaito, use your clones to trigger their traps. When they are distracted, Hotaru and I will take them out from behind."

Kaito nodded in understanding and Hotaru chimed in with her agreement, "Hai."

They stopped atop a sturdy tree, a few meters away from the Kiri Genin team. With practiced ease, they split up and took their positions.

Itachi taking position checked in with his team through their radio communicator, "Hotaru, Kaito, are you both in position?"

"Hai," came Hotaru's after landing in a bush nearby she had her Byakugan active as she kept an eye on their targets.

Kaito created a clone when they split and sent it in the direction of one of the traps that Hotaru had pointed out with her Byakugan.

Landing gracefully on another tree near the Kiri Genin camp, Kaito observed the traps set up by their enemies. "They've put some thought into these traps and layered them with genjutsu," Kaito thought to himself as he landed near one of the traps.

He then spoke into his communicator, "Hai, I'm in position."

A while later, they received a response of "Hai" as the shadow clone landed in place to trigger the first trap.

Seeing that they were ready to execute their plan. "Alright, start," Itachi ordered. In perfect synchronization, the shadow clones triggered the traps.

The young ninjas had just finished setting up camp for the night and were now eating fruits they had collected on their journey. Among them was a boy, aged 13 or 14, with tousled brown hair and a prominent scar across his left cheek. He turned to his teammate, a boy with sleek black hair and piercing gray eyes, and praised him thinking, "Hiroki, setting traps near the tower was a smart move.

The female Genin smiled in response and replied confidently, "Hai, We'll only have to face off against teams that have already been weakened by fighting others."

Hiroki grinned confidently and replied, "And if we're lucky, our genjutsu traps will do most of the work for us." His teammates chuckled in response, feeling well-prepared and hopeful for what lay ahead.

Suddenly, a loud crash broke their conversation - one of their traps had been sprung. Hiroki's grin widened as he said, "Looks like we have some company." The trio quickly turned towards the direction of the trap, surveying the area with cautious but excited eyes.

The scarred kid spoke up, his voice filled with surprise and triumph, "Who would have thought that the trap would have worked so quickly eh?" A grin formed on his face as he awaited their next move.

Hiroki turned to the girl in their group, and instructed her, "Mihori, You stay here. Shino and I will go check out the trap." Mihori nodded obediently, her hand tightening around her weapon.

As Hiroki and Shino approached the trap, they found that it hadn't caught anything. But just as they were about to turn back, Haruki suddenly felt a presence behind him. He spun around just in time to see Shino being knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant. Before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his body, and everything went black.

Kaito stood over the black-haired genin with a frown on his face. "Well, that was anticlimactic," he commented to Itachi, who stood over the kiri genin with a scar running across his left cheek.

Itachi nodded in agreement and turned to Hotaru. "Let's take them to where Hotaru is," he said, gesturing towards the other remaining female genin.

Together, they carried the unconscious genin to where Hotaru waited with a kunai pressed against the throat of the remaining female genin. Upon seeing her worried expression, Kaito reassured her, "Don't worry, we only knocked them out." he dropped the knocked-out genin unceremoniously onto the ground and turned to Hotaru. "So, did you get the scroll yet, Hotaru-chan?" he asked eagerly.

“Hai“ Hotaru nodded and held up the earth scroll she had gotten from the female kiri genin. Kaito and Itachi nodded in approval before turning to the female kiri genin. "We'll leave you to tend to them, good luck," Kaito said awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

With that team 11 used the body flicker technique to quickly exit the area and head towards the tower. Meanwhile, the female genin rushed over to her teammates' side to check on them anxiously.

As the three members of Team 11 landed in front of the tower, they were greeted by four imposing doors. Without hesitation, they entered through one and found themselves in a mostly empty room. Only a single board with a riddle written on it was present.

Hotaru began reading the riddle out loud and Itachi read it silently, Kaito not wanting to waste time pulled out two scrolls from his pouch unfurling and tossing them towards the center of the room. His actions startled his teammates, who turned to question him.

But before they could speak, white smoke began to pour out of the scrolls, and with a puff their jonin instructor Shikaku Nara appeared before them, rubbing his face in frustration.

"I should have known you three would finish so quickly," he sighed.

Hotaru couldn't contain her surprise as she exclaimed, "Sensei? What are you doing here?"

"The scroll," Itachi said as he pieced together what had happened. "It was a summoning scroll."

"Hai," Shikaku confirmed. "And I am here to inform you that you have successfully completed the second test."

Kaito wasted no time in asking, "So what happens now, sensei?"

"Well, since you have completed this test at record speed, you will have to wait for the other teams to finish. But don't worry, I'll show you where you'll be staying during that time," Shikaku replied with a nod.

Just as he was about to lead them away, Kaito stopped him. "Wait, sensei." He reached into his pouch and pulled out another scroll. "Here," he said, tossing it to Shikaku who caught it deftly.

Curious, Shikaku asked, "What is this?"

Kaito's expression turned grim as he replied, "The ANBU sent after us by Danzo."

Shikaku's face darkened with concern as he asked sternly, "Explain now."

So they proceeded to detail the events to their sensei, leaving nothing out.

When they finished, Shikaku's brow furrowed in thought before he asked gravely, "So all seven of them are in here then?"

Itachi shook his head and gazed at Kaito intently as he spoke to their sensei, "No, Kaito. Let the leader go."

Kaito's smile widened mischievously as he retorted, "Like I said, I didn't let him go. He's just delivering a message for me, you know." He shrugged nonchalantly at the disapproving looks from his comrades.

Shikaku simply massaged his temple and muttered under his breath, "Troublesome."

Kaito Chapter 80

Kaito Chapter 80

As the lead anbu the sight of his fallen comrades and his own severed arm. Blood dripped from his wound, mixing with the dirt and leaves on the forest floor. But he didn't have time to dwell on their deaths as a loud explosion shook the ground beneath them. Kaito and the root anbu captain both turned towards the commotion, their attention drawn away from their intense fight. they saw a blazing inferno where Itachi had gone off.

Meanwhile, A large gust of air tore through the trees, leaving them uprooted in its wake. Hotaru's battle must have reached a critical point.

Kaito couldn't help but smile as he used his kagura mind's eye to confirm that his friends had finished their fight. "Well, it seems my companions are done with their battle," he remarked to himself. "I should probably finish things here as well." he said looking back at the Captain of the root anbu squad.

….

With itachi 

As soon as the Root Anbu launched their attack, Itachi's used the body flicker jutsu to dodge and separated from his team and sprinted towards a nearby river, two Root Anbu chased after him as he led them towards the river. One of them was a female anbu wearing a hooded cloak and the other was a male anbu wearing a cloak, both of them wielded wakizashi.

Reaching the river, Itachi landed on the surface of the water as he slid back, his eyes fixed on the two Root Anbu landing before him. Itachi had his right hand on the handle of his tanto as the female anbu spoke, her voice laced with malice. "We will not show mercy, even to a kid,".

But Itachi was unfazed. "And I won't show any mercy to a traitor," he retorted, unsheathing his tanto sword as he rushed towards the two anbu. he met the female anbu in the middle, as the clashed blades .

 Itachi skillfully dodged and parried an attacks from the female Anbu as he flipped over the male anbu and kick hime back as itachi focused on the female anbu. just then, the male Anbu came up behind him and swung his sword down with great force. Itachi reacted quickly, ducking out of the way and jumping back to create some distance between them.

The female Anbu took advantage of this opportunity and threw shuriken with ninja wire attached towards Itachi. He countered with his own kunai, expertly deflecting them away.

Meanwhile, the male Anbu engaged in close combat with Itachi, their blades clashing in a deadly dance. In a split second, Itachi jumped back, activating his Sharingan as he easily dodged and deflected more of the incoming projectiles from the female Anbu. With the power of the Sharingan, Itachi could now see that each shuriken had been attached with ninja wire.

As he continued to block and parry the male Anbu's attacks and deflected the shuriken from the female Anbu with kunai’s, Itachi couldn't help but be impressed by their teamwork and skill. "So this is how Anbu fight," he thought to himself.

Despite their combined efforts, Itachi remained calm and calculated. In a calculated move, he jumped between the oncoming shuriken and threw his tanto, pinning all of them together on to a rock. Landing atop the tanto's handle with perfect balance, Itachi stood confidently and proclaimed, "It's over. I've already seen through your attacks."

The two Root Anbu landed in front of Itachi. The female Anbu taunted him, "You're pretty good kid, but this is as far as you'll go." she said as she cut one of the ninja wires with a swift movement of her blade.

Itachi saw as they were ensnared by their own attack. As the ninja wires began to tighten and break, it swiftly caught the female Anbu's hand with one wire and the male Anbu's neck with another. The female Anbu cried out in shock, "What? How?" while the male Anbu screamed in pain as the wire tightened around his throat.

Itachi stood confidently atop his tanto sword, looking down at his defeated opponents. "As I said, it's over," he declared. "I saw through your attacks from the moment you initiated them. Using my kunai, I altered its trajectory just enough to catch you off guard."

Itachi caught hold of one of the ninja wire. "And this is where it ends for you," he said calmly before making a series of hand signs and shouting, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" A powerful stream of fire burst forth from his mouth and traveled along the ninja wire towards the two Anbu, completely engulfing them in flames and ending their lives.

But then, Itachi heard an explosion coming from where his teammate Hotaru was. Without hesitation, he took off towards the source to assist his comrades in battle

With Hotaru

As soon as Hotaru broke away from her team, she was hotly pursued by two Root ANBU. One wore a long, dark coat, and through her Byakugan, Hotaru could see that he belonged to the Aburame clan. The other ANBU donned the standard attire of the anbu but carried two curved blades in reverse grip. Hotaru led them to an open clearing.

The ANBU with the dual blades closed in on her, his movements fluid and precise. He slashed at Hotaru, who quickly blocked with a kunai. But the attacks kept coming, and Hotaru had to jump back and keep blocking as the ANBU relentlessly rushed at her.

With her byakugan active she could see the swarm of kikaichu approaching from behind, and Hotaru flipped over the ANBU's with the blades and used him as a springboard. And she landed between the two Root members, she took a fighting stance.

The ANBU with the curved blades taunted her. "As expected of the Hyuga clan’s heiress. But I am afraid is as far as you go." The aburame root ANBU released a cloud of buzzing kikaichu bugs from beneath his sleeves.

“I need to finish off the one with the blade first before turning my attention to the Aburame clan member.“ Hotaru thought she strategized. having made her mind hotaru focused her eyes, and dropped the kunai and rushed towards the ANBU with the curved blades

As they met in the middle, Hotaru deftly dodged each slash from the ANBU's blades, she used her clans gentle fist technique to redirect their attacks. She also had to constantly dodge swarms of kikaichu bugs that the Aburame root anbu sent her way.

just then, the ANBU wielding the two blades made a slight mistake in his attack and overextended himself. Seizing the opportunity, Hotaru struck his wrist with a powerful palm strike, causing him to lose one of his blades which flew off to the side. and he quickly tried to jump back and gain some distance.

But Hotaru took a confident stance as she declared, "You're within my divination." Before the ANBU could even react, she launched her attack, calling out "Two Palms" as she landed two precise strikes on his chakra points. She followed it up with "Four Palms" in quick succession, blocking off more of his chakra points.

As her speed increased, Hotaru shouted "Eight Palms" and landed eight more strikes. Then "16 Palms" followed by another 16 strikes at blinding speed. With each strike, she blocked more and more of his chakra points until she reached "32 Palms," landing a total of 32 strikes. And just when the ANBU thought it couldn't get any worse, Hotaru revealed the name of her technique: "Eight Trigram 64 Palms."

At an incredible speed, Hotaru landed 64 consecutive strikes, leaving the ANBU completely defenseless and unable to move. and ending the move with one final palm strike, she sent him flying backwards lifeless.

But in the midst of her technique, Hotaru suddenly found herself surrounded by a swarm of kikaichu, by the aburame root anbu. As she completed her move, the swarm closed in on her. Quickly Hotaru expelled chakra from all over her body and spun in place, shouting "rotation!" A dome of chakra erupted around her, spun violently as it tore apart the kikaichu and sending them flying back.

Hotaru only maintained the jutsu for a brief moment before she released it, wasting no time as she rushed towards and jumped at the Aburame Root ANBU who stood atop a nearby tree branch The ANBU threw several kunai with explosive tags attached at her, while also releasing more kikaichu.

Hotaru focused her chakra into her palm and thrust it forward, shouting "Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm)!" A highly compressed stream of air shot towards the incoming kunai, redirecting them back with twice the speed towards the aburame anbu.

Before he could react, both the vacuum palm and the exploding kunai had reached him. The resulting explosion only amplified the power of Hotaru's attack as it tore through the forest floor and uprooted trees in its path.

Hotaru landed gracefully on the ground, her breath coming out in ragged gasps as she deactivated her byakugan. She leaned over, placing her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. She had just used three high-level techniques back to back, leaving her drained but victorious.

Itachi appeared beside her, his own breath slightly labored. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched on his face.

Hotaru nodded, managing a small smile. "Hai, I just need to catch my breath."

After a few moments of rest, Hotaru turned to Itachi and said, "Let's go, Itachi-kun." They leapt into the air, making their way towards Kaito's location.

As they arrived, they saw Kaito standing, as the lead ANBU member tried to escape while clutching his bleeding stump. Without hesitation, Itachi threw a kunai at the ANBU, but Kaito intercepted it by throwing one of his own. The two weapons clashed mid-air before falling to the ground.

Hotaru and Itachi landed next to Kaito, who simply said, "Told you these ROOT ANBU were cannon fodder."

Confusion crossed Itachi's face as he asked, "Why did you let him go?" He looked at Kaito for an explanation.

Hotaru also voiced her concerns. "Hai, Kaito-kun," she said quietly. "Is it ok to let him leave like this?"

Kaito's lips curled into a sly smile as he turned to face them. "Who said I let him go?" He then changed the subject, looking up at the darkening sky. "Damn, it's getting late. I really want to end this second test before the day is over. ya know" With that, he started walking in the direction of the tower.

Kaito Chapter 79

Kaito Chapter 79

Itachi, who had been standing beside Kaito, swiftly pulled out a kunai to defend himself and his team against their attacker. But as he struggled to stay conscious, several anbu suddenly appeared, landing on the surrounding trees and looking down at Team 11.

One of them landed in front of Kaito and Itachi, his mask had that looked like a panda, he chuckled. "Well, would you look at that? They've figured out how they were poisoned."

He stepped forward, grabbing Kaito by the hair and pulling him up to meet his taunting gaze. Kaito tried to fight against the Anbu's grip, but his vision began to blur and fade as the poison took hold.

And as darkness closed in around him, all he could hear was the Anbu's cruel laughter and mocking words: "Not so tough now, huh?

……

In a small clearing, the limp bodies of Itachi and Hotaru lay on the forest floor, their faces pale and their breathing shallow. The poison that had been administered to them had taken full effect, rendering them motionless. The leader of Root ABBU squad stood holding an unconscious Kaito by his hair. he laughed as his squad landed around him.

One of the ROOT ANBU nudged Itachi's still form with his foot, remarking to his comrades, "Well, that was too easy."

A female ROOT ANBU wearing a long black coat, added, her with a voice filled with disdain, "How disappointing. To think that Danzo-sama sent out seven of us just to take down these brats."

Meanwhile, another ROOT ANBU wearing a hood crouched down next to Hotaru's body. placed his hands on hotaru and he checked for a pulse and confirmed that they were still alive. He then turned to their captain and asked, "What should we do with them? This one has an unsealed Byakugan – its rare."

The captain of root ANBU holding Kaito by his hair laughed as he pulled out a kunai. "Finish them off," he ordered his squad. "Take their dojutsu and burn their bodies. That kid's Sharingan would make a perfect replacement for the one Danzo-sama lost." With those words, he slashed his kunai across Kaito's throat.

But as the blade passed through Kaito's neck, the Genin suddenly transformed into a white smoke and disappeared. The captain of root ANBU staggered back in shock, looking around frantically for any sign of his target.

Just then, two figures of Itachi and Hotaru lying motionless on the forest floor also transformed into white smoke revealing all three of them had been shadow clones all along.

"W-what? When did they..." the captain of root ANBU stammered, bewildered and caught off guard.

"See? I told you those idiots wouldn't figure out that those were just shadow clones," a voice called out from a nearby tree. All eyes turned to see Kaito lounging comfortably on a branch, with Itachi and Hotaru sitting beside him. both of them wore an ear clip similar to the one one Kaito's ear.

Kaito casually reached into a bag of popcorn that sat between them, munching on it nonchalantly as they watched the root ANBU team in amusement.

flashback

Kaito let out a heavy sigh as he reached into his pouch and pulled out a small, unassuming object. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it to Hotaru and Itachi, who caught it with curious expressions. Kaito's eyes were serious as he explained, "Alright, here's the plan."

"We're going to use our shadow clones as bait and see if the anbu are really after us.” He gestured to the item in their hands before continuing, “ these ear clips I'm giving you are similar to mine. they have my stealth seal integrated into them and they can also detect any insects like the ones used by the Aburame clan and kill them with a plus of electricity."

As he spoke, Kaito created a shadow clone and activated his own ear clip. "Just wear it and direct your chakra at it to activate the seal array," he instructed.

Both Hotaru and Itachi nodded in understanding and quickly created their own shadow clones before donning the ear clips and activating them.

flashback end

With the root Anbu's attention firmly on them, Kaito stood up on top of the branch they were sitting on. Hotaru joined him, while Itachi was crouched on branch, his eyes narrowed at the root anbu. "Well, I guess that answers whether they were sent after us, huh?" Kaito asked, looking down at the group of root anbu below.

"It seems that Konoha has some rogue anbu," Itachi stated gravely.

"Hai, and they seem to be still under Danzo’s orders " Hotaru added, activating her byakugan and narrowing her eyes as she focused on their enemies.

Kaito scrunched up the now-empty popcorn bag in his hand and said, "Infiltrating a chunin exam held by Konoha, attempting to assassinate the son of the Fourth Hokage, attempting to stealing the dojutsu from the heiress of the Hyuga clan and the heir of the Uchiha clan...quite the impressive list of offenses."

"Come on guys, we should take care of these cannon fodder and head to the tower before night falls," Kaito suggested nonchalantly, stretching his arms above his head.

But it seemed that all of Kaito's taunting had only served to anger the root anbu even more. In a sudden burst of movement, several of them threw kunai towards the three friends with deadly accuracy.

Kaito, Itachi, and Hotaru reacted quickly, using body flicker to dodge the projectiles and split up as the root anbu split to pursued them.

As Kaito landed on the ground, he slid gracefully and unsealed his tanto. and channeled his lightning chakra into the tanto as a burst of red lightning chakra coated it, he blocked the slash by the captain of the root anbu, who had now closed in on him along with two others.

"The three of you should have fled while you had the chance. Now you and your teammate will die here because of your arrogance." the root anbu captain sneered.

"I could say the same for you," Kaito retorted as he deflected the root anbu captain’s sword strike with his tanto. Kaito Used the force of their clash to pushed himself back and leapt away, while taunting his opponents. "I hope you three don't disappoint."

But just as he finished speaking, another root anbu suddenly appeared from the left, hooded and wielding a sword aimed directly at Kaito. But the attack just phased through kaito, Kaito had left behind nothing but a mere afterimage as he reappeared behind the anbu. With a powerful kick, he sent his attacker flying towards the other two approaching root anbu.

With swift one handed hand signs Kaito shout out "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" water from the surrounding air began to gather and took the form colossal water dragon that charged towards the three root anbu with force.

In tandem with his water dragon jutsu, Kaito also made another one handed hand sign with the hand holding his tanto and roared out "Red Lightning: Electromagnetic Murder!" As the water dragon rushing towards its targets crackled with red lightning, intensifying its power and making it almost impossible to evade.

As the water dragon raced towards its targets, the root anbu captain reacted quickly by performing a series of hand signs and shouting "Earth Style Earth Wall!" With their hands slammed onto the ground and a sturdy wall of earth rose up to meet the oncoming attack.

For a brief moment, nothing happened as the water dragon collided with the earth wall. But then, cracks began to appear, and the wall started to crumble under the intense force of the jutsu. “what but how“ The root anbu with the hood muttered in disbelief as they jumped away from the water dragon the earth wall buying them enought time for them.

But they didn't have much time to ponder as Kaito was already upon them. He appeared mid-air in front of the three of them and delivered a powerful kick that sent their captain crashing into the forest ground. At the same time, he swung his tanto towards the anbu with the sword who managed to block the attack but was forced to jump back and land on a nearby branch for stability.

Meanwhile, another anbu rushed at Kaito from behind with a kunai in hand. But before they could strike, Kaito swiftly grabbed their wrist and used their momentum to twist his body and throw them at their comrade with the sword.

The anbu with the sword leapt over their falling comrade and retaliated by slashing at Kaito. The two engaged in a flurry of blows, their weapons clashing against each other in a fierce battle. Just as it seemed like they were evenly matched, the leader anbu came charging at Kaito from behind, sword aimed at his back.

But Kaito was one step ahead. As the leader Anbu's sword passed through his afterimage, he appeared behind them and delivered a powerful kick that sent them flying towards their two subordinates.

As the root anbu captain struggled to stand up, Kaito landed gracefully on the ground and taunted them with a smirk. "Is that all? I'm really disappointed," he said with a sigh before muttering to himself, "I might as well end this."

In a fit of rage, the hooded Root Anbu charged towards Kaito, shouting "You bastard! You will pay for underestimating us!" The Anbu charged towards Kaito, sword at the ready. But just as he swung his blade towards Kaito, chakra chains burst forth from Kaito's body and wrapped around the Anbu, immobilizing him.

With a glint of excitement in his eyes, Kaito said, "I've always wanted to use this jutsu but never had the chance." He raised his palm towards the bound Root Anbu and chakra began to gather and form a Rasengan. As it took shape, Kaito made a gun gesture with his finger as the rasengan began to compress to the size of a marble and called out, "Rasendan!" The compressed rasengan bullet shot towards the bound Anbu with blinding speed, impacting with their head and completely blowing it off. The other Anbu watched in horror as their comrade fell lifelessly to the ground.

The root ANBU with the kunai, witnessing his comrade's death, quickly formed hand signs. "You bastard!" he shouted before unleashing a powerful jutsu: "Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves." A invisible blades made of wind flew towards Kaito.

However, Kaito was prepared. He made a one handed hand signs and calmly stated, "Water Style: Water Wall." In an instant, a wall of water rose up in front of him, shielding him from the incoming attack. The two jutsu clashed as water splashed around.

the two remaining root anbu ran towards Kaito as he wasted no time and used body flicker to quickly move avoid the on coming attack. The captain, determined to take down Kaito, clashed swords with him while the other ANBU supported him by throwing kunai at kaito hoping to create a opening.

Kaito blocked one of the slashes and created a shadow clone without the use of any hand signs. The clone immediately rushed towards the ANBU with the kunai.

Meanwhile, the root ANBU captain saw an opportunity and attempted to strike at Kaito's neck. However, it was only an afterimage as Kaito had already used body flicker to appear above him. With a swift slash, Kaito aimed for the ANBU's neck.

The ANBU managed to slightly shift his body, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow. But in doing so, his arm holding the sword was slashed off. He let out a pained cry as he jumped back to create some distance between himself and Kaito.

As soon as the shadow clone was created, it wasted no time and also used body flicker to reach the remaining ANBU who was throwing kunai at them. With a burst of speed, it rammed its tanto coated in red lightning straight through the ANBU's chest before they could react. "And two down, one more to go." the shadow clone said as the root anbu slumped down.

As the lead anbu the sight of his fallen comrades and his own severed arm. Blood dripped from his wound, mixing with the dirt and leaves on the forest floor. But he didn't have time to dwell on their deaths as a loud explosion shook the ground beneath them. Kaito and the root anbu captain both turned towards the commotion, their attention drawn away from their intense fight. they saw a blazing inferno where Itachi had gone off.

Meanwhile, A large gust of air tore through the trees, leaving them uprooted in its wake. Hotaru's battle must have reached a critical point.

Kaito couldn't help but smile as he used his kagura mind's eye to confirm that his friends had finished their fight. "Well, it seems my companions are done with their battle," he remarked to himself. "I should probably finish things here as well." he said looking back at the Captain of the root anbu squad.

Kaito Chapter 78

Kaito Chapter 78

Itachi shakes his head, his expression serious. "No, if what you said was true, then I don't think you can handle 7 anbu at the same time."

Hotaru nods in agreement, her ponytail bobbing as she speaks. "Hai, we are not letting you fight them alone."

Kaito lets out a heavy sigh, knowing that they won't back down and the approaching anbu only add to the urgency. He nods, resigned to their decision, and tells them, "There is no point in arguing with you guys." He rubs his forehead in frustration before pulling out something from his pocket and tossing it to Itachi and Hotaru. They both catch it and look at Kaito expectantly.

"Alright," Kaito begins. "Here's what we're going to do..."

….

Outside forest of death, a Konoha chunin strolled leisurely along the gates surrounding the training ground with a clipboard in hand. The warm sun beat down on his shoulders as he hummed a catchy tune to himself. He had been tasked with guarding this sector of the gate, ready to disqualify any participant who leaft before their allotted five days were up.

As he idly looked around, taking in the familiar sights of the training ground, a sudden commotion caught his attention. A deafening scream pierced the air, followed by multiple explosions resonating from deep within the forest. The chunin's lips curled into a smirk as he muttered to himself, Well well, it seems like the real fun has begun." With a renewed sense of excitement, he continued on with his duties as if he hadn't even heard the chaos unfolding just beyond the gates.

In a clearing deep within the forest of death was a scene of destruction and chaos. Signs of battle were everywhere, with kunai and shuriken scattered across the ground and embedded in trees. The earth was scorched with black marks and burns marred the once lush greenery.

Team 11 stood in the middle of the destroyed clearing as kaito crouched down and looked at the genin from Kusagakure that he had killed. Kaito then rummaged through the genin's pockets and pouches, Kaito let out a sigh as he finished searching one of the Grass Village Genin's pockets. "He doesn't have the scroll," he said, disappointment evident in his voice. standing back up and He glanced towards itachi.

Meanwhile, Itachi was searching the body of the other member he had killed. He shook his head in disappointment as he held up the items he had found. "No luck here either. He only had some weak explosive tags and shuriken." he muttered to himself, pocketing a handful of weak explosive tags and shuriken for later use.

Kaito nodded in agreement, his eyes going over the dead female genin's who Hotaru was searching through her belongings, as he approached Hotaru, he asked, "Any luck for you, Hotaru-chan?"

Hotaru nodded, holding up a scroll she had found in the genin's pouch. "Hai, I found this scroll." She showed Kaito and Itachi a whute scroll to her teammates. "But it's the heaven scroll, not the earth scroll."

Kaito let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing his temples. "After all that effort, just for the wrong scroll."

Turning back to face them, Kaito said with resignation, "Well, it might come in handy if we run into trouble later on." But then he turned to look at the lifeless bodies of of the kusa genin strewn across the forest floor. "What do you think we should do with them? Leave them or burn their bodies?"

Itachi walked over to join them and suggested, "Since we should just leave them be, I think the chunin proctors will collect them and return them to their respective villages."

Kaito hummed in agreement, knowing full well the importance of keeping the secrets of a shinobi's body safe. It was one of the reasons why hunter shinobi existed – to protect those secrets at all costs.

Kaito felt a sharp sting on the back of his neck and cursed under his breath, swatting at the bug that had bitten him. "Darn bugs," he muttered, feeling irritated by their unwelcome presence. "We should leave this place," Kaito declared ready to leave the area. "There are too many bugs here for my liking.", With a hopeful tone, he added, "And who knows, maybe we'll run into another team before sunset."

Hotaru nodded in agreement, swatting at another bug that had bitten her arm. "Hai, we should leave," she chimed in, eager to escape the troublesome creatures. Itachi simply nodded in silence, not bothering to voice his discomfort as he too swatted away a bug.

With a collective nod, the three of them exited the clearing and set off into the trees, gracefully leaping from branch to branch.

The group continued their steady pace, making good distance as they pushed deeper into the heart of the forest. to implement their original plan to ambush a team near the tower. Kaito, Itachi, and Hotaru began to slow down considerably, feeling the exhaustion and drowsiness creeping in from their long journey.

Kaito shook his head, trying to clear the fog that was settling over his vision. He could feel his breath ragged in his chest as he leapt to another tree, glancing back to see Itachi and Hotaru struggling just behind him. Their movements were sluggish and labored, like they were carrying an invisible weight on their backs.

Just then, “ahhh“ Hotaru cried as her foot slipped when she landed on a branch, her body tumbling and her vision blurring. “hotaru“ Kaito called out as he quickly changed direction and jumped towards hotaru, expertly catching Hotaru before she fell to the ground. But the abrupt change in momentum caused Kaito to lose his balance, and they both landed with a thud on the forest floor. Kaito took the brunt of the impact, landing back-first with a thud while shielding Hotaru from the fall.

Kaito let out a groan from The impact of their fall, causing him to groan in pain. as he tried to sit up, his body throbbing from the fall. He turned to Hotaru, who lay atop him in his arms, and asked with concern, "Are you okay, Hotaru-chan?" But he saw that she was unresponsive. Her chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, her face pale and sweaty.

Itachi landed beside them, dropping down on one knee as he caught his breath. He could see that something was wrong, as he said to Kaito, "something is wrong" as His eyes scanned their surroundings warily.

Kaito struggled to sit up with Hotaru still in his arms, Kaito's breathing was ragged as he fought to keep his eyes open.. he looked at itachi and said "I think We were poisoned."

Itachi's expression grew serious as he nodded and asked. "But when? I don't remember the Kusa team using any poison."

Kaito nodded in agreement, his mind racing for an explanation. "They didn't...it must have been the bugs." With a shaky hand, he reached into his pouch and pulled out three small vials filled with a general antidote.

But before he could administer it, a kunai hurtled towards them, catching them off guard. Kaito's reflexes were too dulled as the sharp blade impaled his hand, breaking all of the vials and spilling its contents onto the forest floor. He let out a pained scream and quickly moved Hotaru towards Itachi for protection as he tried to stand up.

Itachi, who had been standing beside Kaito, swiftly pulled out a kunai to defend himself and his team against their attacker. But as he struggled to stay conscious, several anbu suddenly appeared, landing on the surrounding trees and looking down at Team 11.

One of them landed in front of Kaito and Itachi, his mask had someword looked like a panda, he chuckled. "Well, would you look at that? They've figured out how they were poisoned."

He stepped forward, grabbing Kaito by the hair and pulling him up to meet his taunting gaze. Kaito tried to fight against the anbu's grip, but his vision began to blur and fade as the poison took hold.

And as darkness closed in around him, all he could hear was the anbu's cruel laughter and mocking words: "Not so tough now, huh?

Author's note: Once again, I apologize for the delayed upload. I would also appreciate any feedback on this chapter and your suggestions for how the story should continue. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Note

I apologize, everyone. Unfortunately, I won't be able to upload a new chapter today. While using a grammar and writing assistant, I accidentally deleted some parts of the chapter. I am extremely sorry for this mistake and will make an effort to rewrite and post the chapter by tomorrow.

I want to apologize for only uploading 2 chapter a week over the past few weeks. I've been busy with one of my projects, but starting next week, I will try my best to upload three chapters. Thank you for your patience and understanding.