Naruto SI: Kaito Red Lightnin Chapter 198
Author's Note:
Hey guys!
Sorry for the late upload—I feel like I've been apologizing a lot lately. I've really been having a tough time writing this chapter, and I'm sorry if it doesn't quite live up to the usual standard.
Lately, it's been hard getting my ideas from mind to paper the way I want, and I haven't been fully satisfied with what I've written. That said, I'm hopeful the next chapter will come together better.
Thanks for sticking with me, and I hope you still enjoy this one.
Kaito glanced at Naruto, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
The Nine-Tails stared at Naruto for a long moment before rumbling low, "If you can prove to me… that you're not like the others… then maybe."
Naruto nodded quickly, flashing a wide grin. "Then I'll work hard to earn your trust, ya know!"
The Nine-Tails let out a deep growl. "Whatever… now get out of here. I want to sleep."
Kaito chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Well… guess we should get going."
Kushina nodded, casting a glance back at the giant fox. "I'm sorry… again."
Then she looked at Kaito and Naruto. "Alright… let's go. We shouldn't bother him anymore, ya know."
Naruto gave a quick nod. "But… how do we get out?"
Kaito lifted his fist toward Naruto. "Same way we came in."
Kushina raised her fist too.
Naruto bumped fists with both of them—
And in a second… the three of them disappeared.
'Those two… the brat and his brother… We'll see if they're different… or just like the rest…' With a quiet snort, the massive fox rested its head back on its paws. Its eyes slowly drifted shut—
And the chamber fell back into silence.
…
Birds soared over the rooftops, chirping cheerfully as the morning sun bathed the village in a soft, golden glow.
At the academy training grounds, a large crowd of genin had already gathered. They stood in clusters before a wooden podium set up at the front of the field, murmuring among themselves. Around them, Chūnin exam guards stood alert at every corner, keeping a close eye on the growing crowd.
Teams had come from all over—Suna, Kiri, Amegakure, even Hidden Waterfall. Notably, though, not a single team from Iwagakure or Kumogakure had arrived this year.
There were over a hundred teams taking part in this year's Chūnin Exams. Many stood with their teammates, chatting in low voices. Some whispered with friends from their home village. Others scanned the crowd, sizing up the competition.
From a second-story window overlooking the field, Kaito stood silently with his arms crossed, eyes sweeping over the genin below. His gaze moved slowly, searching the crowd, trying to see if he recognized anyone from memory.
Itachi stood beside him, dressed in standard jōnin attire with the Uchiha clan symbol on his arms. His expression was calm, thoughtful.
Hotaru leaned casually against the window frame on Kaito's left, flipping through the list of registered candidates with a practiced rhythm.
Kaito squinted a little. 'Hmm… don't recognize most of them. All new faces. Though… wait a sec…' He leaned in slightly. "Hey… I think I've seen that guy before. Back in the academy days."
Hotaru glanced up. "Who?"
Kaito pointed down at a small Konoha team standing closer to the edge of the field. "That kid there—doesn't he look familiar?"
Itachi followed his gaze, then gave a small nod. "Mm. I think he was in our class."
Itachi followed Kaito's gaze, then gave a small nod. "Mm. I think he was in our class."
Just then, the door creaked open and Hana walked in, carrying a small stack of papers. "Hotaru, here's the rest of the candidate registration forms—" She stopped when she noticed the three of them clustered near the window.
Raising an eyebrow, she walked over and leaned slightly against the frame. "What are you all looking at?"
Kaito pointed again. "That kid over there. I'm pretty sure I've seen him before."
Following their line of sight, Hana's eyes landed on the Konoha squad. She squinted, then let out a small "Ohh."
"Him? That's Saisu Kamano. He was in our class. Graduated with me and Izumi. I'm honestly surprised you even remember him—figured you guys forgot everyone else from our year since you three graduated early."
"Saisu Kamano…" Kaito muttered, then suddenly snapped his fingers. "Now I remember! He was that kid who used to challenge me and Itachi during every practical session."
Itachi gave a small nod. "Yeah… he kept trying to outdo us in everything back then."
Hotaru flipped through her list, eyes scanning until she found the entry. "Here. Saisu Kamano. Genin cell includes Tokuma, Yashiro Ukiso. This is their first attempt at the exams. So far, they've completed forty-five D-rank and thirty-five C-rank missions."
Itachi nodded. "That's a decent track record."
Kaito hummed. "Think he's still the same as before?"
Itachi shook his head. "If he is… I doubt he'll pass the exams."
Hotaru looked back out the window and said, "Well, looks like everyone's here. Itachi-kun, I think it's time."
Kaito grinned. "Make sure to make a cool entrance, ya know."
Itachi gave a slight nod—then in the blink of an eye, his body dissolved into a flock crows and disappeared.
Hotaru sighed, shaking her head. "Was that really necessary?"
Kaito grinned. "Hey, of course it is. Part of being a shinobi is looking cool, ya know."
He leaned in slightly, peering down at the massive crowd of genin below. "So… how many do you gals think will make it to the next stage?"
Hana, now standing behind them again, crossed her arms thoughtfully. "Hmm… honestly?" She frowned at the thought. "I'm glad we did it last year. I don't think Izumi and I would've passed if we were taking it this year."
Kaito blinked. "Eh? Come on, we didn't make the exams that hard, ya know."
Hana scoffed and said, "Maybe for you three."
...
Saisu Kamano stood off to the side of the training grounds with his team, arms crossed and eyes scanning the field.
His teammate Tokuma adjusted his hitai-ate and asked, "When do you think they're gonna start the exams?"
Kamano answered with a quiet grunt. "Probably waiting for the last few teams to finish registering. Gotta be over a hundred out here…"
Yashiro leaned forward, squinting toward the front. "I heard from my dad that Lady Tsunade let some kid organize the exam this year… Wonder who the proctor's gonna be?"
Just then, on the wooden stage, a flock of crows began to gather, their cawing noise grabbing everyone's attention. As the crows merged together, a person appeared where they had converged.
Takuma glanced over, did a double-take, and asked, "Wait… is that who I think it is?"
Kamano gulped, "No way…"
Yashiro blinked. "Yeah… it's him. It's Itachi."
The last crow merged with Itachi's body as he stood on the wooden podium with a lazy expression.
Itachi addressed the crowd, "Good," he said calmly. "Everyone seems to be here. My name is Itachi Uchiha, and I will be the proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Exams. Now, I will explain what the first round of this exam entails. Please listen carefully."
He continued, "Each team has been assigned a sealed folder when they registered earlier." He held up a folder in his hand. "This folder contains information on your target."
Itachi added, "Each team has been assigned a different target. Your task is to find this person somewhere in the village and steal these." He held up a golden card and a red card, deliberately positioning the gold card in front of the red card. "Each of them will be carrying these two cards."
"In short," Itachi explained, "your mission is to locate them, plan accordingly, and retrieve these two cards without being detected. These cards hold the coordinates to the second stage of the exams. You have two hours to make it to the designated location."
He paused, looking at them intently, and said, "There are a few rules you must follow. Every move you make is being monitored by assigned proctors. If your target detects you—you fail."
Another pause.
"If you're spotted by civilians three times, you fail. If you cause damage, panic, or interfere with another team… you'll be removed from the exams entirely."
He paused again, letting the rules settle like mist over the courtyard.
Itachi said, "That is all. Your time starts now."
Without fanfare, Itachi's body dissolved into the crowd as the crows scattered.
Silence lingered for a moment longer before the teams began to scatter.
Kamano let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "...Yeah. We're totally screwed."
…
Kamano hopped from one tree branch to another, Takuma and Yashiro, followed close behind as they weaved through the forest canopy, making their way toward the coordinates they had deciphered from the cards.
Kamano glanced over his shoulder. "Are you sure this is the right location?"
Takuma nodded, though he sounded a little uncertain. "I think so. The guy had the gold card above the red card. And remember? When Itachi held them up during the briefing, the gold card was in front of the red one… so the gold should be the first half of the coordinates, and the red is the second."
Yashiro huffed, leaping to the next branch. "I really hope you're right… what if they deliberately stacked them that way to throw us off?"
Kamano gritted his teeth. "We won't know until we get there. Either way—" he landed on a thick branch and crouched "it's the best lead we've got."
They dropped down into the clearing just in front of the Forest of Death's massive gates. The area was quiet, heavy with tension. A few teams were already there, standing in small groups, scattered across the clearing. Some glanced their way, but quickly went back to murmuring among themselves. Everyone was waiting.
A Chūnin walked over to them, clipboard in hand, He gave Kamano's squad a quick once-over. "You three, wait here. Still got a few minutes left on the clock."
Kamano stepped forward. "Wait… does that mean we passed?"
The Chūnin didn't even look up. "Still being decided. Final results will be announced once time's up. You've only got five minutes left. Sit tight." as he walked away
Takuma motioned for them to follow and led the team over to a shaded spot beneath a nearby tree. They settled in, catching their breath, their eyes drifting over the teams that had made it.
Kamano scanned the clearing. "Only this many?"
Yashiro shook his head. "Well… the rest must've gone to the other location."
Takuma narrowed his eyes, still observing the crowd. "Even then… this is less than half of who started. And barely any Leaf teams."
Only five Leaf teams had made it. Two from Amegakure. Three from Suna. Three from Kiri. Two from Taki.
They sat in silence, nerves growing tighter with every passing second.
Then, their eyes drifted toward the platform beside the Forest of Death's gate, where two figures sat in the shade, just behind the main stand.
Kaito perched on the table, balancing his chair on two legs as he leaned back, lazily munching on a fried chicken burger. Beside him, Hotaru sat, eating fries while scanning through reports.
The chunin approached and said, "That's it. Doesn't look like any more teams are gonna make it with only one minute left."
Hotaru looked up and asked, "How many teams made it through?"
The chunin handed her a paper and replied, "15 teams in total."
Hotaru looked surprised. "Only 15 teams?" she asked.
The chunin nodded and said, "Many were caught by the chunin target when they tried to steal the cards. Some were disqualified because civilians noticed them, and a few even considered creating distractions that could cause property damage. The chunin had to step in and disqualify them before anyone got hurt."
Hotaru looked shocked and asked, "Eh? Did they really try that, even after Itachi warned them they would get disqualified?"
The chunin scratched his head and said, "Yeah, I don't know what they were thinking."
Kaito kicked off the table and stood up. "Well, Itachi's here," he said.
Just then, a flock of crows appeared at the gates and merged into Itachi.
He scanned the clearing in silence for a moment, eyes drifting across the remaining teams. "You've all made it," he said at last. "Which means you chose correctly… or paid close enough attention."
"You weren't just being tested on stealth," he said, voice level and firm. "You were being tested on how well you listen. How well you watch. How well you think under pressure."
"If you can't notice the weight of a gesture… the shift of a hand… the pause between words—then you're not ready to lead others into battle. A Chūnin needs to make decisions as they will be called upon to lead." He let that sink in.
Then, with his usual calm, Itachi addressed them once more. "With that… the first phase of the Chūnin Exams is complete," he said. "Those of you still standing here… have passed."
There was a murmur of cheers and relieved sighs.
Kaito strolled up beside Itachi, hands stuffed in his pockets, a casual grin tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Well," he said lightly, "it's good you all made it past the first stage… but I'm gonna have to cut the celebration short." He chuckled, eyes scanning the genin below. "Because the second test starts now, ya know."
A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd—some confused, others visibly annoyed or nervous.
Kaito didn't even blink at the noise. He just raised his voice enough to slice through the chatter.
"This round's designed to mirror real battlefield conditions. The kind of situation you might face during wartime." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward the massive gates behind him. "That's the Forest of Death."
He let that hang in the air for a moment. The name alone had a way of making people shift uncomfortably.
"Inside that forest are injured shinobi," he continued, tone even. "They're stuck behind enemy lines, wounded, and each one of them is carrying intel—critical intel—that could shift the tide of war in your village's favor."
The crowd went still.
"Your job is simple: find the injured shinobi, and get that intel to the tower in the center of the forest."
He gave a small smirk. "Sounds easy, right?"
Some genin straightened up, others narrowed their eyes.
"Well… It's not. Because you won't be alone out there, squads of Chūnin will be hunting you, acting as enemy ninjas. They won't hold back. If you're subdued, you're out."
Whispers broke out immediately. One kid even gulped audibly.
Kaito's gaze swept over them again, voice steady.
"This is a team mission. You're expected to move and work together. The injured shinobi won't lift a finger to help. If they can't walk or they're unconscious, you carry them. You have three days to reach the tower. Plan wisely, move smart, and protect your teammate."
Another uneasy ripple moved through the gathered teams. A few squads leaned into huddles, already whispering strategy.
Kaito pointed toward a booth where Hotaru stood waiting. "Head over there. Sign the waiver, get your gate assignment, and a Chūnin will escort you to your start point."
He gave them a lazy wave. "That's it. Good luck out there… and try not to die, ya know."
Then, without missing a beat, Kaito turned and walked over to the booth, plopped down beside Hotaru, and grabbed a clipboard. He started flipping through the stacks of forms casually as the line of genin began to form in front of them.
…
Tsunade stood silently at the window of her office, arms crossed as she stared out at the rain falling over the Hidden Leaf. The soft patter against the glass filled the quiet room.
Behind her, Shikaku Nara stood beside the desk, arms folded, eyes closed in thought.
Across from him, Fugaku Uchiha was reviewing a scroll in his hand, eyes moving steadily over the contents.
He looked up. "Should we mobilize a small squad to the border? Just in case."
Shikaku opened his eyes. "It'd be a cautious move… but it could also be interpreted as provocation."
Tsunade sighed and turned from the window, about to respond—when a knock came at the door.
She looked over her shoulder. "Come in."
The door creaked open and Kaito poked his head through. "Yo, Lady Tsunade. Got the report, ya know."
His eyes briefly flicked to Shikaku and Fugaku, both of whom looked unusually serious. 'Huh… something's up,' Kaito thought, stepping inside.
Tsunade gestured for him to approach as she moved to sit at her desk. "How's the exam coming along?"
Kaito walked in, shutting the door behind him and handing her a file. "Second stage just started. As for the first test… only fifteen teams made it through."
Shikaku raised a brow. "Only fifteen? Out of a hundred and forty-eight? That's less than ten percent."
Tsunade blinked and looked up from the report. "Are you sure we'll even have enough left for a final round?" Her expression was half-incredulous.
Kaito scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Ehh… maybe we made it a little too hard, ya know. But I'd say at least ten genin will make it to the finals—probably more."
Tsunade exhaled and leaned back. Then she pulled a sealed scroll from her drawer and slid it across the desk toward him. "This came earlier. Delivered by a Kiri jōnin this morning."
Kaito raised a brow as he picked it up. He broke the seal and unrolled it.
His eyes widened briefly before narrowing with suspicion. "The Mizukage wants to visit Konoha…" he muttered.
'Yagura… Wants to attend the Chūnin Exam finals? What the hell is Obito planning…?' he thought, his mind already racing.
Tsunade gave a slight nod. "Yeah."
Kaito's voice dropped, mostly to himself. "Why would Yagura come in person? Is this about the Yuki clan…?"
"We don't know," Tsunade admitted. "And we can't exactly deny him either. It's normal for a Kage to attend the finals. If we refuse, it could be seen as disrespect."
"But," Shikaku added, "we all know Yagura is under the masked man's influence. This is high risk."
Fugaku set his scroll down. "It could be cover for something more… like an attack on the village. I say we deploy a small force to the border as a precaution."
Shikaku nodded. "Agreed. but we have to do it with out being detected. if we don't want to escalating things if this is just a simple visit."
Tsunade stood and returned to the window. The rain still fell steadily, veiling the village in a light mist.
"We'll prepare for the worst… and hope for the best," she said quietly. Then she glanced back at Kaito. "I want you with me when we receive the Mizukage."
Kaito nodded without hesitation. his mind already racing.
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