Inside a natural cavern above a nearby river, Hyūga Suzuka had just heard Nagato recount his reunion with Kaito. Tears welled up in her pale eyes.
"What a pitiful child…"
"Why… Why do these things still happen? Isn't the village always emphasizing that shinobi must never harm civilians?!"
"Because this is war, Suzuka," Kaito answered calmly.
He glanced at Nagato—who didn't seem afraid of him at all, yet still radiated a faint sense of danger.
So the Rinnegan really has awakened…
"I'm a Konoha shinobi. I can't help you beyond this. A lot of things… you'll have to face yourselves."
Nagato stroked the tiny dog in his arms.
Further behind, Konan and Yahiko peeked timidly from behind a rock wall, only to hide again the moment Kaito casually waved at them.
"Konan…" Yahiko whispered. "You don't think Nagato is a Konoha spy, do you?"
"How could he be?!" Konan puffed her cheeks. "Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha shinobi!"
"But he's standing really close to that super-strong-looking Konoha guy. Something feels off…"
They argued in whispers while Kaito finished speaking with Nagato.
Kaito didn't give him anything, but he did pass along a message:
The war between Amegakure and Konoha was close to its end.
If fate allowed them to meet again in the future, he would visit.
Nagato's eyes lit with longing.
Just as Kaito and Suzuka prepared to leave using Shunshin, Nagato called out:
"Um…
Kaito-nii—Kaito-nii… could you teach us ninjutsu?"
"…"
Both Kaito and Suzuka froze.
Suzuka frowned deeply.
No matter how tragic these children were, teaching ninjutsu to foreign orphans—who could one day grow up to kill your own comrades—was unthinkable.
Suzuka timidly glanced at Kaito, wanting to ask him to refuse, but she didn't dare speak.
Kaito understood.
And he had neither the time nor the right to teach them.
His cool silhouette paused.
"Sorry," he said.
"We're still in wartime. If anyone found out you received training from a Konoha ninja, you'd be executed by your own village."
"That's not true! We… we…" Nagato stammered helplessly.
"Enough," Yahiko stepped out with Konan behind him.
"He's just making sure we won't end up enemies."
"And besides—"
He stuck out his tongue.
"We don't need your training anyway~ Bleh!"
Konan: "Bleh~!"
Kaito stared at their innocent, ridiculous faces for a moment… then spoke quietly:
"The battles ahead will only get harsher. Be careful."
With that, he vanished using Shunshin.
Suzuka cast one last look at the children before following.
Nagato stared blankly toward the direction they disappeared.
Konan murmured, "He's gone."
"We should go back too," Yahiko said. "Konoha shinobi really can't be relied on."
But he noticed Nagato's lonely look and squeezed his shoulder.
"You weren't really asking him for ninjutsu, were you?"
Nagato's red hair trembled as he lowered his head.
Konan sighed dreamily.
"That ninja was sooo cool. His movement was so fast I couldn't even see it… He must be a jōnin or something."
"I wish I could become a ninja too…"
Meanwhile, on the move
After parting with the children, Suzuka finally spoke:
"Captain… letting them go won't compromise our operation, right? This mission decides the final offensive against Amegakure."
Kaito landed lightly on a tree trunk and looked at her.
"No. But now—we might be in danger."
"Why?"
She got her answer immediately.
"Suiton: Manipulated Rain!"
Kaito yanked Suzuka off the trunk just as countless razor-like rain droplets shredded it into splinters.
Tap, tap, tap—
Footsteps echoed through the trees.
Shadows moved between the trunks.
"Byakugan!" Suzuka activated her dōjutsu.
Her vision shifted into monochrome chakra outlines.
Three tall silhouettes stood on branches ahead—each wearing Amegakure's signature gas mask and waterproof gear. Forehead protectors marked them unmistakably.
A fourth man stepped forward, clad in armored battle gear, still wet with the remnants of suiton chakra.
His chakra reserves dwarfed the others.
"C-Captain," Suzuka whispered, trembling. "That's an Amegakure jōnin squad! We've been sold out! Those kids—!"
The jōnin frowned when he heard "kids" and "betrayal."
They had only received a report that enemy shinobi were spotted in the area.
But seeing a Byakugan user and a suspicious Konoha pair… he understood the situation differently.
The man pressed a hand to his blade.
"So you're the one they call the Black Phantom," he said coldly.
"The Konoha brat who keeps slipping past Amegakure pursuit—Third-Class Commander Kaito."
Kaito sighed inwardly.
So I really got famous, huh.
Amegakure's teams had failed to track him for over a month.
Information Unit One had already been wiped out by a disguised White Zetsu—only one special jōnin survived.
And now, with war escalating and elite Konoha forces gathering for the assassination of Hanzō, Kaito's Unit Two was the last intel unit still operating.
When this mission ended, he could finally return home and enjoy life—perhaps even get paid for two months of commander salary plus accumulated A-rank mission rewards.
About 3.5 million ryō.
But looking at this jōnin's chakra…
That's assuming I survive.
Kaito tossed a scroll to Suzuka.
"This one's yours."
"Captain…" she whispered.
Kaito smirked.
"I've been on the battlefield this long and barely met any real enemies."
"Honestly… your Amegakure pursuit teams kinda suck. Over a month, and you never even found my shadow."
The chūnin behind the jōnin bristled with rage.
The jōnin, however, remained calm and stared at Suzuka's scroll.
"You really think I'd fall for such a cheap trick? Exchanging intel right in front of me?"
Suzuka understood instantly.
She carried the decoy.
"I understand, Captain."
If it buys him time, then so be it.
"I'll go ahead!"
She vanished.
Kaito tucked a fake scroll back into his vest and smiled coldly.
The jōnin nodded.
"You three—catch the girl. Bring her back alive. She has Byakugan. Don't mess up."
"Yes, sir!"
They moved—
Until Kaito suddenly flashed through hand seals.
"I never planned on letting you chase her."
"On guard!!" the jōnin roared.
All three chūnin froze mid-step.
The jōnin stared, counting seals.
Ten… fifteen… twenty…
Nothing happened.
His brows twitched.
"…You think this is funny?"
"Not really," Kaito said, sticking his hands into his pockets.
"But it works."
He had intentionally released large chakra bursts while forming incomprehensible sequences of seals.
A textbook method of psychological warfare.
The jōnin sneered.
Schlinnng—
He drew his blade, killing intent flooding out.
"I am Seiu," he said.
"Vice-captain of Amegakure's pursuit corps."
Kaito's eyes narrowed.
Seiu… the one who annihilated Information Unit One.
"Well, I guess this means I'm not getting out of here alive," Kaito muttered—
Mostly for the sake of unseen watchers.
He had already checked his route from the outpost to Sector 7—no pursuit signs.
Only the hidden Zetsu network could've leaked the info.
So it wasn't Nagato's group.
"Are you ready to die?" Seiu asked.
"The real intel should be on you, fox."
"You even pretended to pass intel to your comrade—did you think we'd fall for that?!"
White Zetsu (hidden): I can confirm the scroll was always on him… well, until now.
Kaito let a flicker of "panic" cross his face.
"Believe whatever you want. Feel free to chase her if you think I'm lying."
"Hah! If the scroll were really with her, would you dare say that?"
Seiu spat.
"You're a disgrace to your comrades."
Then—
"Ninja Art: Rain Mist!"
Thick fog rose.
The sound of rainfall vanished, absorbed by the mist.
From afar, Suzuka stopped.
No one chased her.
Using Byakugan, she saw Kaito's motions.
The scroll had no Unit Two markings.
The real rear guard…
is him.
"Captain…" she whispered.
Then she turned and ran toward camp.
Inside the Mist
White Zetsu emerged slightly from a tree.
"A fog technique like Kirigakure's, huh?"
"He's dead this time," White murmured.
"Not necessarily," Black Zetsu corrected, a tremor of unease in his tone.
"That man is no ordinary genin."
Only a true commander would risk shifting bases so often.
Unit One had died because they stayed predictable.
But Kaito…
He had been a nightmare to track.
Seiu's presence vanished into the mist, his speed amplified by suiton.
He moved behind Kaito in barely a second—blade slicing for Kaito's wrist.
"Die!"
Kaito appeared panicked—
CLANG!
"What—?!"
His blade was blocked.
By Kaito's kunai.
Kaito smiled faintly.
"I thought you'd be stronger."
Their strengths matched—Seiu locked blades with him, stunned.
This power… on genin paper rank?!
"No… impossible!"
Then—
"Wait. I get it!"
He pointed his blade accusingly.
"You're not a genin!"
"My assassination move can catch most jōnin off guard, yet you reacted instantly!"
Kaito shrugged.
"Ever consider the possibility that I'm a sensory-type shinobi?"
"Sensory…"
Seiu finally understood how Kaito evaded them for so long.
"But it doesn't matter. You'll still die."
"No sensor can continuously read incoming attacks at high speed."
Kaito tossed a handful of mixed kunai and shuriken.
Seiu scoffed.
He sidestepped lightly.
"You forgot—inside this mist, I have sensory abilities too."
Kaito's shadow clone: You talk too damn much.
Among the thrown weapons—
One kunai was special.
Not Flying Thunder God.
Just an explosive tag.
BOOM!!!
Water splashed everywhere.
The jōnin's body exploded—
A water clone.
The real Seiu halted his movements mid-attack, eyes widening.
"He—he switched with a clone?!"
His sensory perception couldn't distinguish the swap.
The explosion masked Kaito's departure.
By the time Seiu realized it—
Kaito had already escaped the forest.
His clone dispersed in two hits—intentionally.
He could have killed Seiu's clone in return.
But—
He was technically a genin.
A genin killing an elite jōnin?
Impossible.
Clearly.
Kaito sprinted across the wet landscape.
Finally…
My first international vacation begins.
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