In the sky, a black vortex suddenly appeared, and Kaito stepped out from within it.
The moment he emerged, Kaito felt the seething hatred-filled chakra of the Nine-Tails. Looking down, he saw the scene where Sai, riding his bird, swept past Sakura.
In the end, it was Yamato who used Wood Release to save Sakura.
Seeing this, Kaito immediately understood the point in time he had returned to—it was the beginning of Shippuden, the Battle of Tenchi Bridge.
Everyone's attention was focused on Naruto, who was wrapped in the Nine-Tails' chakra. No one noticed Kaito's appearance in the sky.
At that moment, Naruto had completed his transformation into the Four-Tails form. His body became a crimson humanoid fox, and with a furious roar, the sound waves forced Yamato to raise a Wood Locking Wall.
Kaito looked down at Naruto and shook his head. With a flicker, he suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Orochimaru and the others were startled at the sudden arrival of Kaito. From their angle, they could only see his back.
When Kaito entered the shinobi world, he had slightly altered his appearance. He had sealed away the Rinnegan and limited his height to 1.8 meters. After all, his original three-meter frame would have been far too conspicuous in this world.
His hair color remained unchanged—still pure snow-white. He wore the black robe he had always preferred, emblazoned with the Uchiha crest.
Looking at Kaito's back, Orochimaru felt a strange sense of familiarity. But Yamato suddenly shouted:
"Danger! Get away from Naruto!"
This was Naruto's first time entering the Four-Tails state. He had already lost all reason, driven only by the urge to tear apart everything before his eyes.
He suddenly swung his claw at Kaito. With a sharp smack, Naruto's wrist was caught effortlessly in Kaito's hand.
This sight shocked everyone behind him into silence.
How powerful was Naruto after entering his tailed-beast state? Orochimaru had just experienced it firsthand. A normal shinobi couldn't hope to withstand him physically.
Even Orochimaru himself had relied mostly on evasion, rarely daring to confront Naruto head-on.
And now, Naruto had clearly entered an even stronger state. That casual-looking strike just now could have smashed a small mountain to rubble.
Yet the man before them had blocked it so easily. Orochimaru noticed that Kaito hadn't emitted the slightest fluctuation of chakra—he had stopped Naruto's blow using nothing but raw physical strength.
Not only Orochimaru, but Yamato and the others were equally stunned.
Naruto only grew more furious. Roaring, he tried to wrench his wrist free, but no matter how violently he struggled, Kaito's grip did not budge.
Looking at the berserk Naruto, Kaito's eyes softened with a trace of pity.
His pupils turned blood-red, and the Mangekyō Sharingan opened.
The moment Naruto saw the Mangekyō, unease welled up instinctively inside him. His struggles grew even more violent as his jaws opened wide, condensing a black sphere of energy—a Tailed Beast Ball.
Kaito showed no concern at all for the Tailed Beast Ball forming so close to his face. He simply said softly:
"Calm down, Naruto."
As he spoke, the Mangekyō radiated a red light. Deep within Naruto, the Nine-Tails roared furiously:
"Damn Sharingan, again!!!"
But its fury was powerless. With the Mangekyō unleashed, the chakra it had released was forced back into its body. The tailed transformation faded, and Naruto collapsed unconscious into Kaito's arms.
Even Orochimaru couldn't hold his composure any longer. His smile vanished as he demanded:
"Who are you?!"
Kaito smiled faintly at his voice and turned slowly, holding the unconscious Naruto in his arms.
When Orochimaru saw Kaito's face and those crimson Mangekyō eyes, he froze. Shock twisted across his features, as if he'd seen a ghost.
"You… you're Uchiha Kaito?!"
Yamato was equally shaken by the name. Beside him, Sakura had just regained consciousness. She looked at Yamato in confusion and asked:
"Captain Yamato, who is Uchiha Kaito? Isn't Sasuke the only one left of the Uchiha clan?"
Yamato's expression grew grim as he answered in a low voice:
"Kakashi-san once told me about him. He lived during the same era as the Fourth Hokage. But… he died while on a mission."
"Dead? Then how…"
Yamato shook his head. He didn't know what had happened to Kaito. But those Mangekyō Sharingan gave him an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Having come from the Root, Yamato knew what they were. The Mangekyō Sharingan—so rare it could be called one-in-a-million.
But Orochimaru's thoughts went far beyond that. He knew Kaito possessed more than just the Mangekyō—he also had the Rinnegan.
And it was Orochimaru himself who had helped awaken them!
Years ago, he had failed to resist temptation and ambushed Kaito, forcing him to overuse the Rinnegan until space itself collapsed.
The result was Kaito's complete disappearance, along with all his experimental data. Orochimaru had only survived through his own unique life-preserving methods.
And now, seeing Kaito once more, "shock" wasn't nearly enough to describe his feelings.
Kaito smiled warmly at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, long time no see. What's with that expression? Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Heh… I never thought it would really be you, Kaito-kun. I thought you were…"
"You thought I was dead?"
Orochimaru paused, then nodded slightly.
Still smiling, Kaito stepped toward him, carrying Naruto in his arms.
Orochimaru stood frozen like a statue, not daring to move a muscle as Kaito approached.
Kaito looked at him gently and asked:
"Why don't you ask me where my Rinnegan went?"
Orochimaru forced a grimace uglier than a cry.
"That is your business, Kaito-san. I won't pry."
"When did you become so modest? Those eyes are your handiwork too, after all."
As he spoke, ripples spread through his pupils, transforming into a pair of Twelve-Tomoe Rinnegan.
The overwhelming tide of ocular power nearly drowned Orochimaru. His soul, already fragile, almost fainted on the spot the instant he gazed into them.
He staggered back several steps, putting distance between them.
Kaito did not follow. A pitch-black orb floated silently at his side—the Truth-Seeking Ball.
The moment Orochimaru saw it, his pupils shrank. Instinct screamed at him: if that black sphere so much as touched him, even a hundred lives wouldn't be enough.