The world broke open.
When Kaito's pupils dilated and the Eye of Reality ignited, existence itself seemed to unravel before him.
Time did not stop—it merely slowed to a crawl, and in that crawl Kaito saw everything.
Every serpent's hiss became a line of movement painted in the air. Every droplet of blood shimmered like molten glass, suspended between one heartbeat and the next. But more than sight—he saw truths.
Orochimaru's body was not flesh alone—it was chakra folded upon chakra, layers of deception stacked like the rings of an ancient tree. Kaito could see the corruption in his coils, the fractures in his soul where experiments had hollowed him. He saw lies wrapped in skin.
He saw Soka too: her fear, her courage, her dwindling chakra reserves. Her soul burned golden, fierce and protective, even as venom coursed through her veins. He saw her shoulders trembling, not from weakness, but from the will to keep standing.
It was too much. Too much data, too much truth, too much reality compressed into the narrow frame of a boy's mind. For a split instant, his skull felt like it would burst apart. His temples throbbed, blood vessels straining. His eyes burned as if molten metal had been poured into them.
But he did not stop.
He lunged.
One step—and he was there, his fist already crashing into Orochimaru's chest before the Sannin could blink. The force rippled out, snapping Orochimaru back, hurling him from the serpent's crown. The giant snake roared in anger, thrashing beneath the impact.
Soka's breath caught. The Kaito she knew had always been fast, sharp, relentless—but now he was something else. Something inhuman. His movements weren't just speed; they were inevitability. He was no longer reacting to Orochimaru. He was striking where Orochimaru would be.
The crimson chain followed his will with frightening precision. Where before it had been a wild beast thrashing at random, now it was a predator guided by perfect instinct. It curled around Kaito like a guardian spirit, its edge sharpening, its movements refined into clean arcs of slaughter.
Orochimaru recovered mid-air, flipping, his kunai flashing. His grin wavered. For the first time, his lips tightened, his jaw clenched. He landed hard upon the cracked earth, dust exploding around him.
"Keh… those eyes…" His voice was lower now, the amusement rotting into wariness. "What have you awakened, boy?"
Kaito did not answer. His voice would waste seconds. And seconds were everything.
Three seconds left.
He appeared beside Orochimaru, Kibō to Shinkō gleaming. The tanto sliced horizontally, its arc so perfect it sang. Orochimaru twisted, but the blade kissed across his ribs. Flesh parted. Blood spilled.
The Sannin's hiss rattled the battlefield. He countered instantly, weaving seals so fast they blurred.
"Wind Style: Great Penetration!"
Air compressed and detonated from his lungs, a cannon-blast that split trees in half.
Kaito raised his sword, chakra surging, and deflected. The blade screamed as it cut the gale, shockwaves splitting the ground around him. He was driven back a step, his bones jarred, but his footing held.
Soka joined in then, her golden chains lashing. She was limping, blood still pouring from her calf and shoulder, but she clenched her jaw, refusing to falter. Her chains darted forward, stabbing for Orochimaru's throat.
The serpent Sannin ducked low, twisting like liquid, but Kaito was already there—his eye predicting the evasion before it happened.
The crimson chain struck. It coiled around Orochimaru's arm and yanked. Flesh tore, bone strained, the hiss of pain leaving his lips before he severed the grip with his Kusanagi blade.
Four seconds.
Every nerve in Kaito's body screamed. Blood trickled from his nose, his ears ringing. The overload was collapsing him from within. But he refused to release it. Not yet. Not until he carved the monster down.
He stepped in, blade raised high. His chakra surged—his fury burned bright yellow, flooding into steel.
"Kenjutsu: Destruction of Hope!"
The strike fell like judgment itself. A luminous arc tore through the battlefield, gouging the earth, splitting air into shrapnel. The cut wasn't a technique. It was intent—the embodiment of every shred of wrath, despair, and defiance Kaito carried.
Orochimaru's eyes widened. He had seen thousands of jutsu, countless bloodlines. But this? This was something rawer. Cruder. Something that should not exist.
"Summoning: Triple Rashōmon!"
Three massive gates erupted, each a grotesque demon-face of wood and steel, slamming into existence with thunder. The strike hit them instantly.
The first Rashōmon split down the middle, halves crashing apart. The second shuddered, its torso torn, falling in splinters. The third groaned, a massive crack carving through its face, stopping just short of splitting it entirely.
The air quaked. The shockwave split mountainsides in the distance. Dust drowned the field.
Kaito collapsed to his knees, the Eye of Reality tearing itself closed. His vision blackened, his breath a ragged gasp. His mind blanked, his body giving in.
But Orochimaru didn't know.
He stood there, chest heaving, blood dripping from deep cuts across his arm and ribs, his robes shredded. For the first time in decades, he looked less like a god and more like a man on the edge of death.
"…Impossible." He hissed through clenched teeth, clutching his side. "Children should not… should not hold such power…"
The serpent beneath him hissed, sensing his intent. Orochimaru spat blood, forming seals with trembling fingers.
"Enough for today." His voice was venom, but beneath it, unease. He summoned another tide of serpents—not to attack, but to cloak his retreat. The creatures swarmed, coiling into a living screen of scales and poison.
He vanished into the shadows.
The battlefield was silent save for the crackle of broken earth and the dripping of blood.
Soka stared, chest rising and falling, golden chains wavering until they dissolved. She turned—and saw Kaito crumpled on the ground. His eyes were shut, his chest barely moving.
For one instant, her heart stopped.
Then she was at his side, lifting him, ignoring the stab of venom in her veins. His skin was hot, his pulse faint, but alive. Relief crushed her chest until tears nearly spilled.
"…Idiot," she whispered, holding him close. "You nearly killed yourself."
She forced herself to move. Step by step, she dragged him across the broken terrain, her breath ragged. Blood dripped from her wounds, soaking into his cloak. Her legs threatened to buckle a hundred times. But she did not stop.
Hours later, she reached a small village hidden in the valley. The people stared at her—at the battered girl hauling an unconscious boy on her shoulders, both drenched in blood. She ignored their whispers, their fear.
She bought a room at the inn with trembling hands, nearly collapsing at the counter.
In the room, she laid Kaito on the bed, brushing the hair from his sweat-soaked forehead. His face was pale, drawn, but alive.
She sat beside him, leaning her head against the wall, every muscle throbbing, every wound burning.
Her chains had faded. Her chakra reserves were near empty. Venom still burned her calf. But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that Kaito still breathed.
She looked at him—at the boy who had unleashed something beyond mortal measure, who had nearly struck down one of the Sannin himself. Her chest tightened. Fear. Awe. Something deeper, unspoken.
"Rest, Kaito…" she whispered. "I'll watch. Just rest."
Outside, the night was silent. Inside, two Uzumaki siblings lay at the edge of exhaustion, their bond the only shield they had left.
Far away, in the forest's dark, Orochimaru walked alone, his hand pressed to his bleeding ribs. His smile had returned, faint and trembling.
"What an exquisite specimen…" he murmured to himself. "A chain born of hatred. An eye that sees too much. I must have them. I will have them."
The forest swallowed him whole.
And in the inn, silence reigned.
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I saw that most of the votes were for Kaito to be a villain and to explore the world or form his organization, so I'll do that. I'll see if he will form his organization or not depending on your votes.
If you review or give a Power Stone, I'll give you an extra chapter.
A Power Stone: an extra chapter.
A positive review: an extra chapter.
This would help me a lot and would also attract more people, so I'd make more chapters per day.