"Kaito!" Soka's voice rang out through the quiet of the forest clearing.
Kaito looked up from the rough stone he was sharpening his blade on, a faint smirk curling his lips. He watched her approach with a playful spark in his eyes, and when she finally reached him, the two fell into casual chatter. Yet beneath their words lay an unshakable tension—they weren't ordinary shinobi anymore. These past years had turned them into something far beyond the ordinary.
Kaito had forged his own path in ways that no shinobi before him had dared. He had created the Sage Mode of the Whirlpool, a state where his body merged with the essence of nature itself. The markings of spirals burned faintly on his hands whenever he summoned it, a testament to the unique Uzumaki bloodline's ability to withstand and harness energy others would collapse under. With this Sage Mode, his regeneration became astonishing, wounds knitting in moments, his physical strength multiplied, and his chakra reserves expanded to terrifying levels. But it was more than raw power. This mode purified his body—removing poisons, neutralizing toxins, even restoring diluted bloodline traits to their true potential. It stabilized bloodline limits and pushed them toward perfection. Compared to the frog, slug, or snake sages, his absorption rate of natural energy was blisteringly fast, a storm pulling in everything around him.
But that wasn't all. His mastery over sealing arts had advanced so far that he could now apply the Four Symbols Seal with the ease of a brushstroke and could even bind a tailed beast if he had to. His taijutsu and kenjutsu evolved into terrifying weapons of precision. He had developed a new kenjutsu technique—Kenjutsu: Destruction of Hope!—a relentless flurry of slashes that covered a massive range, each cut carrying destructive pressure waves that shattered stone and broke armor like paper.
Kaito had also broadened his arsenal of elemental jutsu.
Wind Style: Great Penetration, a focused lance of compressed air capable of tearing through trees and splitting stone.
Wind Style: Wind Burst, a medium-speed but devastating gust sharp enough to slice through limbs or gouge deep wounds in flesh and armor.
Wind Style: Whirlpool, an original technique of his own, where a spiraling current of wind wrapped around his strikes. A single blow while cloaked in this vortex could shatter bones and rupture organs from the rotational force, inflicting unbearable pain—equally lethal and torturous.
Lightning Style: Shadow Clone, a deadly variation of the shadow clone infused with lightning chakra. Not only could it perform jutsu, but when destroyed, it detonated in an electric discharge that paralyzed anyone caught too close.
And of course, the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which he had mastered for training, strategy, and reconnaissance, sharing back knowledge and experience instantly upon their dispersal.
But Soka had walked her own relentless path. She trained as a medic, her control of chakra becoming sharp enough to master the Mystical Palm Technique, healing wounds faster than most elite medics. Her physical conditioning had skyrocketed, her stamina and speed pushing limits she once thought impossible. Under Kaito's guidance, she learned sealing arts as well, mastering the Four Symbols Seal and even the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, proving she was no less formidable. Kaito was teaching her the Whirlpool Sage Mode, too. She could already sense and draw in nature's energy, but she struggled to balance it with her mental and physical energies. Still, her progress was undeniable—one day, she would stand in the same storm as him.
Her arsenal of jutsu had become just as diverse as Kaito's:
Water Style: Water Cannon, a high-pressure jet of water from her mouth strong enough to blast enemies back and crush them with raw force.
Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave, unleashing a sea of water that rose into towering waves, allowing her to command the battlefield like a living tide.
Water Prison Jutsu, an inescapable sphere of water stronger than steel, holding her opponent immobile so long as she maintained contact.
Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation, a massive wall of flames seven meters tall and five wide, incinerating everything in its path.
Fire Style: Flame Dragon Bullet, one of her hardest techniques to master—conjuring a dragon-shaped torrent of fire that split into three directions, engulfing enemies in an inescapable inferno.
Together, the two had climbed to a level that rivaled legends. Kaito now stood at the height of an experienced Kage, while Soka reached the power of a young Kage just stepping into her mantle.
But their rise wasn't won easily. Their training was a crucible of pain. They had endured endless hours beneath a waterfall that pounded against their backs like hammers, forcing them to refine chakra control until the current felt like nothing. They stood inside blazing rings of fire until their lungs burned, mastering resistance and calm under crushing heat. They fought until their bones broke, then healed, only to fight again. They sprinted across forests with weights chained to their arms and legs until the chains snapped under their strength. They meditated atop cliffs where the winds threatened to hurl them into the abyss, learning to pull in the natural energy without losing themselves to stone. They clashed against each other for days without pause, sharpening reflexes until every strike was instinct. They even devised torturous endurance drills: Soka maintaining healing on herself and Kaito simultaneously while sparring, or Kaito sealing his own chakra flow partially to train under restrictions harsher than any battlefield would give him.
Every scar, every tear, every drop of blood shed in those years forged them into weapons of terrifying sharpness.
Now, at thirteen, they stood not as wandering children but as shinobi who could alter the tide of nations. And Kaito, with the knowledge from another world still fresh in his mind, knew exactly what was coming. This year, Kumogakure would attempt to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails' new jinchūriki.
"Do they really think they'll lay hands on one of my own while I'm watching?" Kaito muttered, his golden eyes narrowing. His tone wasn't pride—it was a predator promising blood.
He turned to Soka. "Prepare yourself. Use the Transformation Jutsu. They can't know who we are. The Hyūga might still spot us with their Byakugan, but at the very least, we can cloud the waters."
Soka nodded firmly, determination burning in her gaze.
"Then it's settled," Kaito said, rising to his feet, the spiral marks of his Sage Mode faintly glowing on his skin. "Our next destination… the Land of Fire. Konoha."
Together, they set off toward destiny.
End of Chapter.
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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.