Naruto SI: Kaito Red Lightnin Chapter 181
Author's Note:
Hey guys!
I'm really sorry if this chapter feels a bit off. I've been editing it for the past two days but still couldn't get it quite the way I wanted. I've also been having some issues with ChatGPT. I've been using it to help clean up my drafts, fix grammar and sentence flow, and it's been acting up a bit over the past few days.
Thanks for your patience, and I hope you all understand!
"It's important," Kaito said. "She'll explain it to you. Just take him, okay?"
Kushina gave a quick nod. "Right. I'll take him."
As Kaito turned and stepped out of the room, a soft voice called out behind him.
"Kaito-senpai…"
He paused and looked over his shoulder. "Huh? Hinata-chan? What is it?"
Hinata had followed him out and was now standing in front of him, holding out both hands. In her palms was a small container.
"Please accept this," she said, bowing her head slightly. "Ano… I made it for you."
Kaito gently took the container from her. "Huh? What's this?" he asked, opening it.
Hinata flinched slightly as she replied, "It's healing ointment… I made it for you. Mom and Hotaru-nee helped me. It's for the torn skin on your arm. Hotaru-nee said you hurt it badly."
Kaito looked at the ointment, then back at her with a soft smile. "That's really thoughtful of you, Hinata-chan. Thank you. I appreciate it."
He glanced over to where Shikaku was waiting at the corner, then looked back at her. "I've gotta go now—Sensei's waiting."
Before leaving, Kaito gently ruffled Hinata's hair. "When I'm out of the hospital, I'll take you and the others out to eat, alright? See you later, Hinata-chan."
…
The evening sun bathed the sky over the Hidden Leaf Village in its orange hue.
In the training ground that Kaito frequented, a sparring session was taking place, and the sound of metal clashing could be heard.
Kaito landed in the clearing, his feet sliding across the ground as a volley of shuriken came at him at full speed, each one coated in lightning chakra.
Kaito flicked his hand as a tri-pronged kunai appeared in his hand, ready to block the incoming volley.
As the shuriken neared, they suddenly multiplied into hundreds, surrounding Kaito from all sides, all of them attached to ninja wire.
From the edge of the training ground, Boruto pulled on the ninja wire connected to the shuriken, sending them hurtling toward Kaito from every direction.
Kaito's eyes narrowed as he was surrounded by the incoming blades.
The shuriken pelted the spot where he had stood, but none of them made contact—his body flickered and disappeared.
Kaito reappeared above Boruto.
Boruto, his Jougan already activated the entire time, flicked his gaze upward just as Kaito reappeared above him.
Kaito slashed at Boruto with the tri-pronged kunai, but Boruto moved out of the way just in time and ducked underneath Kaito's kick right after dodging.
Boruto twisted his body and sent a kick at Kaito's face, but Kaito tilted his head to the side, letting the kick sail past him.
Using the momentum, Kaito twisted his body and swept Boruto off his feet.
Boruto rolled with the motion, narrowly avoiding a dropkick.
He pushed himself off the ground and rushed at Kaito with a kunai.
Kaito met him head-on as they clashed with their kunai several times.
Boruto slashed at Kaito's head, but Kaito ducked under the attack. Boruto spun and sent a kick at him, which Kaito blocked with his left forearm, though he was slightly pushed back.
Boruto quickly turned and slashed at Kaito.
Kaito flipped over Boruto and came down on him with a slash of his kunai.
During the entire spar, Kaito had been carefully evaluating Boruto. He noticed how Boruto's Jougan tracked all of his movements. Kaito, seeing this, thought, 'He's able to follow my movements … It's as good as the Sharingan, ya know.'
As Kaito slashed down at Boruto, the kunai passed harmlessly through him. Boruto's body flickered.
Boruto reappeared behind Kaito with a slash of his own. Kaito smirked and thought, 'Using my own move against me, huh.'
As Boruto slashed, Kaito's movement suddenly blurred. He ducked, grabbed Boruto's wrist, twisted his body, and kicked Boruto in the stomach before letting go of his arm.
Boruto was sent flying across the field. He hit the ground twice before rolling and landing on his knees. Without missing a beat, he formed a few hand signs and called out, "Water Release: Wave Surge," releasing a massive wave of surging water. He followed it with two more hand signs, adding lightning chakra into the wave.
Kaito smirked and made a single hand sign, puffing out his chest before blowing out a large stream of fire while calling out, "Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame." The stream of fire surged out violently, expanding in size as it rushed forward, clashing with Boruto's water release in the middle of the field.
The collision of the two jutsu caused a massive shockwave, blanketing the entire training ground in a thick, dense mist.
Kaito stopped his jutsu as he sensed Boruto's jutsu weakening. He knew not to go overboard, aware of how destructive the Majestic Destroyer Flame could be. He had intentionally held back, matching Boruto's attack rather than overwhelming it.
Kaito had been gifted the Majestic Destroyer Flame by Fugaku and Itachi as thanks for helping the Uchiha clan reintegrate with the village. They had offered him access to the Uchiha clan's fire jutsu library, and Kaito had chosen the Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, remembering Madara using it in the 4th shinobi War.
Kaito stood in the mist, waiting for Boruto's next move—but he didn't have to wait long, as Boruto came at Kaito like a missile, using Boruto Stream.
Kaito sidestepped him, and Boruto sailed past, landing on his feet.
From Kaito's left, one of Boruto's shadow clones came at him with a kunai slash.
Kaito blocked the slash just as another shadow clone charged in from the right.
Kaito pushed back the clone on the left just in time to duck under the incoming strike from the one on the right. He grabbed that clone's wrist, pulled him forward, and threw him into the one on the left. The two collided and dispersed in a puff of smoke.
As Kaito turned around, he locked eyes with the original Boruto—his Jougan glowing a bright light blue. In his hand, a fully formed Rasengan pulsed with chakra as he thrust it at Kaito.
Kaito met Boruto's Rasengan with his own. The two jutsu clashed violently, and the shockwave from the collision blew away the thick mist covering the training ground.
The two Rasengan exploded, sending both Kaito and Boruto flying back.
Kaito quickly righted himself and landed on his feet, skidding to a stop, looking completely fine.
Boruto, on the other hand, skidded across the ground before rolling to a stop on his knees, panting heavily.
Boruto muttered, "Damn."
Kaito gave a small smirk and stepped forward. "Let's stop here, Boruto. It's getting late, ya know."
Boruto sighed, deactivating his Jougan before dropping onto his butt, then falling back onto the ground, panting hard. "I thought I got you with that…"
Kaito chuckled as he walked over, hands tucked in his pockets. "What did you expect? Close the gap between us in just a month of training? Get real. You'd need years before you reach my level, ya know."
"Yeah, yeah… just you wait," Boruto grumbled as he stared up at the dimming sky.
Kaito stood over him and said, "But I gotta say—you've improved a lot in this one month. I'd say you're around low Jonin level in base. And with that eye of yours? High Jonin, maybe even brushing low Kage level. Not bad for twelve, ya know."
"Hah… still not as good as you," Boruto muttered.
Kaito shrugged, smirking. "Well, you can't really compare yourself to me. I'm just built different, ya know."
Boruto let out a small scoff. "Yeah, yeah…"
Just then, Sasuke landed beside Boruto and glanced down at him. "You did well, Boruto. You've improved a lot."
Boruto looked up at Sasuke with a smile and nodded. "Sasuke-san…"
Kaito held his hand out.
Boruto said, "Give me a sec." After a few moments, he grabbed Kaito's hand, letting himself be pulled up. "Thanks."
Sasuke studied him for a moment before asking, "You have gotten a lot better at using your Jogan. You were able to track Kaito's movements pretty well. Did it drain more chakra while you were tracking Kaito's movements? "
Boruto covered his right eye and shook his head. "No, it's the same as when I activate it. I don't even feel it draining my chakra. It feels… natural."
Kaito stepped up beside them, arms crossed. "It's no use if your eyes can track my movements but your body can't react fast enough, ya know. Stick to the training plan I gave you. If you follow it right, your body will be able to keep up with your eyes."
Kaito nodded and continued, "That said, you've come a long way since we started. Your physical strength and speed have improved a lot over the past month. Your chakra control's way better, and your jutsu's improved a lot, especially your nature release and the Rasengan, which is stable now and it's bigger and a lot stronger than before. You're even getting the hang of my Body Flicker variation. Just a bit more training, and you'll be able to work it into your fighting style."
Kaito then looked up at the sky, "We should get going—it's getting dark. Mom's making you a feast since you'll be leaving tomorrow."
"This'll be quicker," Kaito added as he placed a hand on Sasuke's and Boruto's shoulders. A second later, they vanished from the training ground in a flash of light.
They reappeared in front of the Uzumaki residence. Boruto staggered slightly but caught himself before falling.
"Hey," Boruto grumbled, brushing himself off. "Don't just do that. At least give us a warning next time."
Kaito shrugged as he walked toward the door. "You'll have to get used to the sensation if you ever want to learn it, ya know."
Sasuke, walking beside him, glanced over. "So… you've figured out a way to remove the mark on Boruto's hand?"
Kaito shook his head as he stepped up to the doorway and took off his sandals. "No. I don't think we can remove the seal without killing Boruto." He stood up, sliding the door open. "We need more time to study it. It's not like Orochimaru's curse mark. This one's tied to the soul. From what we've learned, the only way to get rid of it is to resurrect the Otsutsuki who placed it—bring him back in another body. Once the Otsutsuki revives, the mark automatically disappears from anyone else."
"We're back, Mom!" he called into the house.
Boruto frowned. "So… you can't remove it?"
Kushina popped her head out of the kitchen with a warm smile. "Welcome back! I'm just finishing up. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, ya know."
Kaito nodded. "We can't. Not right now. We'd need more than a month to study the seal properly, and you guys can't stay in this time period much longer—you've already been here long enough. So Mom and I designed a seal that'll lock it down completely, stop it from progressing any further."
Hearing that, Kushina walked out of the kitchen with a ladle in hand. "Kai-kun's right. We'd need a lot more time if we were going to remove the seal on Boruto-chan, ya know."
Sasuke nodded slightly. "Does sealing the mark have any side effects on Boruto?"
Kaito shook his head. "No, it completely seals it off and keeps it contained. Mom and I also designed a few fail-safes in case something unexpected happens, like it coming into contact with another mark."
Sasuke looked at him. "What if he comes into contact with another mark?"
Kushina answered before Kaito could. "The mark has a built-in emergency protocol. If it comes into contact with another mark, the process speeds up—it shortens the time needed for the Otsutsuki to resurrect, ya know."
Kaito nodded. "My guess is that they travel in pairs. If both get killed somehow, the marks act as a backup. It's a fail-safe, just in case something goes wrong."
Sasuke took that in and gave a nod. "So when are you planning to seal the mark?"
"After dinner," Kushina replied, glancing at Boruto. "We're not sure if the sealing process will knock Boruto-chan out, ya know."
"Wait—what?" Boruto blinked.
Kaito turned to Sasuke. "And we'll need you to add your chakra into the seal for the fail-safe."
Sasuke gave a silent nod in response.
Kushina then clapped her hands together. "Well, now that's settled, you two should go wash up," she said, looking at both Kaito and Boruto. "I'll get the food ready—"
Her eyes suddenly widened. "The food!" she shouted before turning on her heel and rushing back into the kitchen.
Kaito sighed and headed toward his room.
It had been three weeks since Kaito was discharged from the hospital after the Urashiki incident.
A few things had happened during that time.
On the same day Kaito was discharged, Lady Tsunade performed a thorough medical examination on Itachi. What she found was serious—early signs of MPA, or Microscopic Polyangiitis, a rare autoimmune disease. Because of that, Itachi was placed on temporary leave and removed from ANBU. Until Tsunade found a cure, he had been reassigned to Kaito's team and was strictly advised not to use his Mangekyou Sharingan, as it could aggravate the condition.
Though he was currently on leave, his parents had been informed of the diagnosis. Mikoto-san had personally thanked Kaito over and over for noticing something was wrong early on.
As for Kimimaro, the theory they had about his condition being linked to his kekkei genkai was confirmed by Tsunade. She discovered that Kimimaro's cellular bone regeneration was slowly killing him. She told him outright not to use his kekkei genkai anymore and to start training without depending on it.
According to her calculations, if Kimimaro kept using it at full power, he wouldn't last more than five to six years before his body completely gave out. Kaito remembered that in the original timeline, Kimimaro had only lived until fifteen or sixteen. That meant Orochimaru's curse mark had only delayed things slightly.
Kaito had an idea for how to cure him—but it would take Tsunade's help, and he still needed to find the key to make it possible.
As for everything else, things had slowly gone back to normal.
Naruto had returned to the academy after another week of training. Karin had also come back after spending some time staying over at the Hyuga residence.
Boruto, on the other hand, had been going through intense training—brutal, even.
Kaito had him working with multiple shadow clones every day to maximize training efficiency. To prevent the strain from killing him outright, Kaito heals him after each clone dispels. While Kaito trained Boruto's physical abilities and ninjutsu, a few shadow clones stayed home and studied sealing under Kushina.
Kushina had gone full sensei mode. strict, sharp, and expecting her students to take everything seriously. Luckily for Boruto, he actually had some talent when it came to sealing. Unlike Naruto, who couldn't focus on it for the life of him.
If you wish to support this story, please join me at patreon.com/Tilct
please contribute some power stone'