Konoha Village, Hokage Building,
Inside Tsunade's office, Kakashi and Yamato stood guard beside Naruto.
Naruto listened to the rumbling outside and saw the giant deep-purple figure in the distance. His face was full of anxiety as he shouted,
"Kakashi-sensei! Captain Yamato! Let me out already! Kaito-senpai is in danger!"
Kakashi sighed helplessly and said,
"Naruto, you heard it too. This is Hokage-sama's order. She told us to keep an eye on you—it's for your own good!"
"But why would Granny Tsunade bring so many people to arrest Kaito-senpai? What crime did he commit? Just because of that Danzo?!"
At the mention of Danzo, Yamato shook his head and stepped forward.
"Naruto, you don't understand. Danzo's position is important. Of course Hokage-sama doesn't want anything to happen to him."
As they spoke, the noise outside suddenly stopped. Naruto's heart tightened. In his mind, this could only mean that Kaito had been captured.
From childhood, Naruto—starved of affection—had treasured Kaito's presence. Thinking that Kaito might be thrown into prison, his emotions spiraled out of control. A mass of red chakra began seeping out of him.
Seeing this, Kakashi thought to himself that things were bad. He quickly turned to Yamato and shouted,
"Yamato! Use your sealing jutsu, now!"
"Yes, Kakashi-senpai!"
Yamato didn't dare hesitate. He extended his hand toward Naruto, and a glowing kanji for "seat" appeared in his palm.
"Kakuan Nitten Suishu!"
The necklace hanging from Naruto's neck floated up with the jutsu's activation, glowing a bright blue. It wrapped around Naruto's body, and the Nine-Tails' chakra began to slowly fade away.
But Yamato wasn't the First Hokage. To suppress Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra, he needed the necklace's help. If it were the First Hokage himself, just a slap on the Nine-Tails' head would have forced it into silence.
Naruto swayed on his feet, on the verge of collapse. Kakashi immediately tried to move in and support him.
Suddenly, a figure appeared right beside Naruto, pressing a hand against his chest.
Seeing who it was, both Kakashi and Yamato's eyes widened. They exclaimed in shock,
"Kaito-senpai?!"
Kaito glanced at them, his voice calm and detached.
"What's this? It hasn't even been that long since we met, and you're this surprised to see me?"
"No, it's not that—but Tsunade-sama and the others..."
"They didn't catch me. Disappointed?"
Kakashi hurriedly shook his head.
"Of course not! I truly don't want either side to get hurt!"
Kaito waved his hand impatiently.
"Enough. You two can leave."
"Yes... huh?"
Kakashi and Yamato looked at each other, frozen in place, caught in a dilemma.
Seeing them hesitate, Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of crimson flashing within.
Kakashi's face changed instantly. He grabbed Yamato and pulled him out of the office.
Outside, Yamato asked worriedly,
"Kakashi-senpai, is it really okay to leave Naruto alone in there?"
Without turning back, Kakashi replied,
"Kaito-senpai won't harm him. What we need to worry about is how we're going to explain this to Hokage-sama."
...
Inside the room,
Kaito flicked his finger against Naruto's forehead, making him yelp in pain and clutch his head, looking pitiful.
Kaito gave him an exasperated look.
"Don't give me that face. You're not a kid anymore—control your emotions."
"But I was really scared that Granny Tsunade and the others would catch you!"
"Tch. Catch me? Not even her grandfather could do that. Didn't you hear what Danzo said just now?"
"I—I did. That Danzo is awful! The Uchiha clan is part of Konoha too, so why treat them differently?"
"Hmph. I'm glad you can see it that way. But Danzo isn't the only one who's rotten."
A cold glint flashed in Kaito's eyes. With a flick of his finger, two more figures appeared in the office.
They were Konoha's elder advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu—both wearing utterly bewildered expressions.
Just moments ago, they had been in a secret chamber, discussing Kaito, plotting how to pressure Tsunade into avenging Danzo. But before they could even finalize their plan, they had been pulled here without warning.
The moment they saw Kaito, it was as if they'd seen a ghost.
"Uchiha Kaito? How dare you—"
"Argh!"
Three massive dog heads appeared out of nowhere and instantly devoured the two of them. One head, having missed its share, licked its chops resentfully.
The sound of chewing and screams filled the office until a final gulp echoed. Then, just as suddenly, the three heads vanished.
Naruto's face turned pale. Trembling, he asked,
"Kaito-senpai... just now, that was...?"
"Nothing."
Kaito turned and walked over to the Hokage's chair, sitting down directly.
He closed his eyes as if drifting into sleep.
Naruto swallowed hard and quietly found himself a seat, trying desperately to calm his nerves.
...
Elsewhere,
After Kaito left, only Sasuke remained in the area. He stood frozen, staring blankly for a long while.
On the rooftop, Tsunade was still deep in thought about how to handle Kaito. Nara Shikaku spoke from her side,
"Tsunade-sama, Uchiha Sasuke is still there. Should we secure him first?"
Tsunade shook her head firmly.
"No. Not with Uchiha Kaito present. We'd best not touch Sasuke for now."
"And Danzo...?"
At the mention of Danzo, Tsunade felt a wave of headache. She hadn't felt the slightest grief over his death. What troubled her were Homura and Koharu. Those two old fossils would never let the matter rest and would almost certainly press her to mobilize people against Kaito.
But with the power Kaito had just displayed, capturing him within Konoha was an impossible task. That was the true source of her headache.
After thinking it over again and again without finding a good solution, Tsunade shook her head in frustration.
"Let's head back. This matter requires careful consideration."
With that, she made her way toward the Hokage Building.
Shikaku exchanged a look with the other clan heads, then followed after her.
When Tsunade pushed open the office door, the first thing she saw was Kaito sitting in her chair.
Naruto sneaked a timid glance at Tsunade before ducking his head like an ostrich, pretending to disappear.
Tsunade had no time to scold him. Her gaze locked onto Kaito as she slowly said,
"Uchiha Kaito, what is the meaning of this?"
Kaito opened his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.
"Nothing much. I was just wondering... if a Senju can sit in this seat, why shouldn't a Uchiha?"