Kaito Akaden (Kaito)

Kaito Akaden Chapter 127

For the next ten minutes, Kushina carefully painted the kanji on Anko's skin, the symbols trailing from her neck down her body and onto a scroll that contained the seal matrix.

Kushina stood up, wiping her hands. "Alright, Kai-kun, you're up."

Kaito nodded, moving to sit in front of the sealing scroll. "Okay, brace yourself. This is going to hurt... a lot."

Anko took a deep breath. "Bring it. I can—ahhhh!" Her words turned into a scream as Kaito slammed his hand onto the seal matrix, initiating the sealing process.

The entire procedure took about two minutes, and by the end, Anko slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.

Kushina glanced at Kaito with a deadpan expression. "Did you really have to do it when she wasn't ready?"

Kaito just shrugged, offering a tired smile. "I'm exhausted, Mom. I just wanted to get this over with."

Kushina sighed, walking over to Anko to help put her shirt back on. "Fine. But you can sleep after you carry her to the guest room."

….

Neji had his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

Hinata sat on the ground beside Karin, both of them catching their breath after the intense session.

Naruto lay flat on his back, gasping. "I think I'm just gonna take a nap for a bit, ya know?"

Hinata looked up, still breathing hard, and asked, "Do you do this every day?"

Karin, sitting next to her, nodded. "Hai, Kaito-nii makes us do this almost every day."

Neji, standing near Naruto, nodded in agreement. "If this is how they train, no wonder they're both so strong."

Hinata and Karin both nodded, clearly in agreement.

Naruto groaned. "Nii-san's going easy on us. His usual training is way worse than this."

They were in the training ground where Kaito usually trained. Hotaru had brought Hinata and Neji along to join the session, and it was the first time either of them had trained with Kaito.

Kaito had given Naruto and Karin training weights, as the routine had become easier for them since they did it nearly every day.

Kaito clapped his hands together to get their attention. "Alright, enough rest. We're moving on to the next part of your exercise."

Naruto groaned, throwing his head back. "Oh, come on, nii-san! Can't we rest a little longer, ya know?"

"Stop complaining, Naruto," Kaito said with a smirk as he formed a ball of water above Naruto's head and dropped it, soaking him.

Naruto sputtered, jumping up and pointing an accusatory finger at Kaito. "Oi! What was that for?!"

Hotaru, standing beside Kaito, giggled at Naruto's antics. "Come on, guys. After this, we're done for the day."

The others nodded, getting to their feet, while Naruto grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms.

Kaito ignored Naruto's grumbling and said, "Alright, we're going to do a dodging exercise."

Naruto groaned, already knowing what was coming.

Hinata raised her hand nervously. "Um, are you going to throw kunai at us?"

Hotaru smiled and shook her head. "No, we'll be throwing these." She held up a ball. "They're soft, so they won't hurt much."

"But," Kaito added, "there's a seal on them. If the ball touches you, you'll get a mild shock. So, you'd better dodge them."

He grinned, adding, "Whoever gets hit the least, I'll buy them whatever they want." His promise clearly intended to make them more competitive.

Neji smirked confidently. "This is going to be easy."

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Kaito said with a mischievous smile. "You're not allowed to use your Byakugan."

With that, Kaito created 30 shadow clones, positioning them in the surrounding trees.

"You'll have to dodge for the next hour," Kaito explained. "You can't leave the clearing, but teamwork is allowed." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, that's about it."

Naruto raised his hand hopefully. "Can we at least take these weights off?" Karin nodded eagerly beside him.

Kaito shook his head. "Nope. You've done this exercise before, so to make it more challenging, you'll keep the weights on."

Naruto crossed his arms, grumbling Stupid older brothers and stupid training weights.

Kaito's clones stood ready, each holding a ball and prepared to start throwing.

"Alright, get ready... set... go!" Kaito called out. With that, both he and Hotaru jumped back onto a tree branch to watch.

As soon as Kaito shouted "Go," the shadow clones began peppering the four of them with the balls.

All four of them—Naruto, Karin, Neji, and Hinata—started dodging the incoming balls as if their lives depended on it.

Naruto and Karin used to this kind of training, began dodging and jumping back, but weighed down by the training weights, their reactions were slower.

"Ow!" Naruto shouted as he was pelted by a ball, not moving fast enough to dodge.

The same went for Karin; as they adjusted to the training weights, they got hit multiple times.

But once they got used to the weight, they could keep up with the onslaught.

Neji dodged and weaved through the barrage of balls, but as the intensity increased, it became harder for him to keep dodging.

He started using his Gentle Fist to deflect the incoming balls while also dodging, but as time went on, fatigue set in, and he began getting hit by more and more balls.

Hinata, on the other hand, was performing the best among the four. She used minimal body movement to dodge the incoming balls, deflecting some of them with her Gentle Fist. Her efficient style allowed her to conserve energy while avoiding most of the hits.

Kaito and Hotaru observed from where they were perched. Kaito remarked, "Hinata-chan's doing well. She quickly figured out that moving too much would just tire her out, so she's using minimal movement to dodge."

Hotaru nodded. "Hai, Hinata is very skilled, but she doesn't like fighting. If she did, the clan would see her as a prodigy."

Kaito nodded in agreement. "Neji's doing well too, but he needs to work on his stamina."

Hotaru glanced at him, a bit concerned. "Aren't we pushing them too hard, Kai-kun? They're only six years old."

Kaito sighed, his expression softening. "I don't want them to get hurt in the future just because we went easy on them, Hotaru-chan. You know how bad things are right now. I just want them to be safe, ya know?"

Hotaru sighed as well, understanding what he was referring to. She nodded, fully aware of what could happen.

By the end of it, all four of them were sprawled on the ground, panting heavily.

Kaito and Hotaru landed in front of them.

Kaito clapped his hands. "Well done, all of you," he said as he handed them water bottles.

He then turned to Neji. "You did well, Neji, but you'll need to work on your stamina."

Neji nodded, finishing his water while still catching his breath. Hotaru patted him on the shoulder.

Kaito ruffled Naruto and Karin's hair. "You two got used to the weights quickly. Maybe I should increase them, ya know?" he teased.

Naruto grumbled something about "stupid weights."

"You all did great," Kaito continued. "Especially you, Hinata-chan. You had the fewest hits." He grinned as he patted her head.

Hinata blushed at the praise, ducking her head shyly.

"Great job, Hinata," Hotaru praised, giving her little sister a hug.

Karin cheered for Hinata. "Good job, Hinata!" she said, patting her on the back, to which Hinata smiled.

"Well, as promised, I'll buy the winner whatever they want," Kaito said, looking at Hinata. "So, Hinata-chan, what would you like?"

Hinata looked up at him shyly. "Ano... it's okay, Kaito-nii."

Hotaru put an arm around her shoulder. "How about cinnamon rolls? Your favorite?"

Hinata nodded shyly.

"Well then, let's get you some cinnamon rolls," Kaito said as he led them out of the training ground toward the village.

After picking up some cinnamon rolls and taiyaki for the others, Kaito walked behind the group with Hotaru as they reached the Hyuga clan compound.

Neji, Naruto, Karin, and Hinata were chatting among themselves as they enjoyed their treats.

Upon arriving at the Hyuga compound, Neji turned to Kaito and asked, "Can I join your training again?"

Hinata nodded eagerly. "Ano... c-can I come t-too?"

Naruto beamed at them, giving a thumbs-up. "You're more than welcome, ya know!"

Karin nodded in agreement.

Kaito smiled. "Yeah, sure, if you guys want to."

Hotaru added, "I can bring them tomorrow."

Looking up at the darkening clouds, Kaito remarked, "Looks like it's going to rain. See you guys tomorrow," as he turned to walk home.

After quickly saying goodbye to Hinata, Hotaru, and Neji, Naruto and Karin caught up with him as they continued heading back.

Reaching the Uzumaki residence, Kaito followed Naruto and Karin into the house. "Mom, we're back!" he called.

Suddenly, Kaito paused mid-step, his eyes widening. "Shit..." he muttered, as he received his clone's memories. Without hesitation, he quickly teleported out of the house.

Kushina emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. Looking up, she said, "Welcome back, guys..." She paused, looking puzzled. "Huh? Didn't your brother come in with you two? I could have sworn I heard Kai-kun," she asked, confusion evident on her face.

Naruto turned to his mother, equally baffled. "What are you talking about? He was right behind us..." His voice trailed off as he realized Kaito wasn't there.

Karin noticed the open door and Kaito's absence. "Maybe he left to do something," she suggested.

Kushina's expression shifted from confusion to concern. "Kaito-kun wouldn't leave without telling me unless it was an emergency," she thought to herself.

…

"It seems we can't prevent the Uchiha coup d'état. If a civil war erupts in the Leaf Village, the other villages will invade for sure. A new shinobi war would break out," Shisui said, standing on a cliff facing Itachi as he coughed up blood.

Shisui looked weak; his left eye was closed, and blood was trickling down his face from the empty socket.

Itachi, seeing Shisui's condition, stepped forward to support him. "Shisui, there's..."

Shisui cut him off. "When I tried to stop the coup with Kotoamatsukami, Danzo stole my left eye. That man doesn't trust me at all. He intends to protect the village his own way, no matter what it takes or how it looks. I suspect he'll come after my right eye next, so I'll give it to you before he has the chance." Shisui plucked out his right eye and held it out to Itachi.

Itachi stared in shock. "Shisui, you can't..."

Holding out his hand, Shisui insisted, "You're the only one I can count on, my best friend. Protect the village and the Uchiha name—both of them."

Tears welled up in Itachi's eyes, but he nodded, his Sharingan activated. He took the eye from Shisui. "Alright, I accept it. What will you do now?"

"If I die, many things will change. I've left a note," Shisui said as he walked backward, edging closer to the cliff's edge.

Itachi realized what was happening and called out, "Shisui, wait..."

But Shisui interrupted, "Don't try to stop me, Itachi." He smiled one last time before leaning back and falling off the cliff into the river below.

Itachi lunged forward, trying to grab Shisui as he fell, but he was too late. He watched helplessly as Shisui disappeared over the edge, shouting, "Shisui!" His hand reached out, but he was too far away.

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