People only believe what they see with their own eyes—like the very-much-alive Kaito standing right in front of everyone now.
"Damn it! I really thought you were dead—I cried for days, you bastard!" Nawaki slapped Kaito hard on the chest. Kaito gave a helpless smile. "I was on the run. No way to send word back. What was I supposed to do?"
"Hmph." Tsunade folded her arms, cheeks still faintly flushed from last night's heavy drinking. "You owe me money."
"?" A swarm of question marks popped up over Kaito's head.
"What money?"
"I lost big at the tables. Normally when I lose, nothing bad happens—so clearly I was protecting you with my bad luck. How about it? Lend me a few million to win some back?"
Kaito's expression went flat and cold. "...No."
He'd just earned over three million in mission pay. Lend it to her so she could throw it away? Was he insane? And from the sound of it, she'd already gambled away everything she'd just gotten. What a spendthrift.
"Tch. Still such a cheapskate."
At that moment, the three members of Squad Eleven arrived after getting the news. Yakushi Nonō and Uchiha Mikoto pushed Nawaki aside without ceremony and threw themselves into Kaito's arms.
Nonō: "Waaah—Kaito-sensei! You're really alive!"
Mikoto: "I almost thought you were gone for good!"
Tsunade's mouth twitched. She glanced at the poor brown-haired kid now rolling pitifully into the corner by the wall. Part of her wanted to punch both girls—only she was allowed to bully her little brother.
But this time, she'd let it slide.
After a few comforting words, Kaito caught sight of Might Duy flashing a big thumbs-up. Kaito smiled faintly and, even with the two girls clinging to him, returned the gesture.
Soon enough, news of Kaito's safe return spread throughout the village. Konoha wouldn't shortchange him—Hiruzen planned to promote him straight to jonin. But the shadow clone refused.
"Sorry, Lord Hokage."
"I didn't do well enough this time. If not for my command mistakes, Keita, Shinji, and even Yūshirō—three excellent chunin—wouldn't have died under my leadership." The clone's face was full of guilt, moving Hiruzen deeply.
Compared to many commanders, Kaito genuinely cared about his subordinates' safety.
He was the village's future.
"I understand."
"But the nickname 'Black Phantom' is likely to become famous across the shinobi world. I hope you'll carry that name and keep fighting."
"I will."
Then came the deeper reward. Hiruzen decided to let Kaito choose one forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals—Jiraiya's later reports had confirmed Kaito's terrifying self-taught talent.
Kaito shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage. I still have many jutsu I haven't fully mastered. Rather than powerful forbidden techniques, I prefer perfecting what I already have before learning more. So... truly, I'm sorry."
He bowed politely, projecting an image of someone without ambition but deeply loyal to his comrades.
That kind of person...
Hiruzen liked best.
"I see. Then the village will issue you an extra mission bonus instead. Your real body can pick it up at the mission desk later."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
"Good. You're dismissed."
"Yes. Please get some rest, sir."
Poof!
After the clone vanished, Hiruzen was touched once more. Only Kaito had noticed how exhausted and worn he'd become lately. Meanwhile, his own son...
BAM!
"Father! I heard that Kaito bastard is back?!"
Hiruzen sighed, deflated. His eldest had been at the border, where few dared give him orders, and it showed—he was still so immature.
"Yes."
Hearing the confirmation, Sarutobi Shinnosuke pumped his fist. "I knew it! That guy wouldn't go out in such a lame way!"
Hiruzen couldn't help asking, "Heh. Don't you always act like you hate him?"
"That's different!" Shinnosuke's face tightened, voice deadly serious. "Kaito and I are just rivals. But when it comes to the village, there's no way I'd ever want him dying at the hands of those filthy enemies!"
For a moment, Hiruzen felt proud. "You've grown, Shinnosuke."
"Hmph! None of your business. I'm going to check if that kid lost an arm or a leg—I wanna mock him good!"
BAM!
Shinnosuke's voice faded as the door slammed shut. Hiruzen's face instantly darkened. As expected... Kaito was still the better one.
What kind of mature ninja wished a comrade got maimed on the battlefield?
After dealing with wave after wave of visitors, Kaito finally collapsed onto his own bed, ready to sleep.
In his hand was the new bankbook Nonō had given him—the old one had been voided by the bank after his "death."
And according to Nonō, there was also a life-sized statue custom-made for nearly fifty thousand ryō, now sitting in his house.
Kaito thought for a moment. Lying there, he lifted his head slightly and glanced at the statue in the corner.
In broad daylight, the eerily lifelike stone figure seemed to stare straight at him. A chill ran down his spine.
"Maybe I should just toss it."
"Damn it! Fifty thousand ryō! How many cups of instant noodles and milk, how many shuriken, how many kunai, how much—"
"Yo~ Still alive, huh."
"..."
Kaito glanced over and saw someone posing dramatically outside his bedroom window. It was none other than his old classmate.
"Shinnosuke-jōnin. Long time no see. Heard you were on the Fire-Wind front. Didn't expect you back so soon."
"Hmph~ My third-class command wasn't as heavy as your missions, but I crushed it anyway."
"Also—"
"Even if you earned some merit on the battlefield, you'll never pass next year's chunin exam. All my students are—"
Creak—slam!
Kaito shut the window, drew the curtains with a small smile, and waved.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke: "..."
"You bastard! I'm telling you—you're never passing that exam to become chunin! If you wanna rank up, just accept the village's promotion like a good boy! Don't embarrass yourself in the exams!"
(Shinnosuke still didn't know Kaito had been offered direct jonin promotion—he only knew about the chunin path.)
Soon, the noise outside faded. Kaito flopped back onto the bed with a dead-fish stare.
So annoying. Being handsome really does make you a target.
"Sleep, sleep. Got stuff to do tonight."
Time quickly slipped into night.
Hospital, fifth floor recovery room.
On-duty doctor Kitada Aina was at her desk, writing observation reports for each patient.
Knock knock knock—
"Come in."
After hearing no response, she called again. "Person outside, please come in!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the doorknob started rattling wildly, like someone was yanking it back and forth.
Click-click-click—
Kitada Aina: "?"
She figured it was a prank. With a small sigh, she set down her pen, walked over, steadied the frantic knob, and opened the door.
"Look, it's late. Cut the nonsense—huh?"
No one was there. She poked her head out—empty hallway.
For a split second, a smile spread across her face. She stepped back, locked the door...
...and then sweat beaded on her forehead as her pupils dilated in terror.
There's—there's a ghost—!!
After waiting a long while in silence, she cautiously opened the door again, peeked out—still nothing. Relief washed over her.
"Just my imagination. Scared me half to death."
She turned back toward her desk...
Bump.
Her eyes half-closed, she walked straight into something tall and solid, letting out a soft yelp.
Under the dim light, she rubbed her eyes and looked up at the shadowy figure. "Who walks without—"
One thought screamed in her mind:
How is there someone else in this room?!
Kitada Aina spun to flee and scream for help, but a large hand clamped over her mouth lightning-fast. Muffled cries escaped.
Then she felt warm breath by her ear. Her body reacted strangely—she realized it was a man.
A deep, magnetic voice whispered, "Sorry."
"Tonight... I need to borrow you for a bit."
"It won't hurt. Just sleep nicely."
Her eyes turned ashen.
The man behind her was definitely combat-type, beyond chunin—maybe even a jonin.
And the perverted kind.
Just as Kaito prepared to knock her out cleanly, he sensed she wanted to speak.
"ROOM."
A pale blue dome enveloped only the two of them. Seeing the ability for the first time, Aina's shock deepened.
"Speak."
"I'll give you this chance to say whatever you want."
She was an old acquaintance, after all—her little brother had once been under him. The night was long; listening wouldn't hurt.
Freed from the hand, staring at the blue barrier, her heart sank completely. She couldn't escape. Screaming would only endanger her life.
"P-Please... be gentle. I-It's... it's my first time..."
"?" A giant question mark appeared over Kaito's head. You're not a virgin, though.
Also, didn't the village say they wouldn't tell you? And you don't even recognize my signature fruit ability—why first time???
While Kaito was confused, the girl still had one tiny wish. She turned, met the questioning eyes behind the rabbit mask, and asked softly:
"Can I... see your face?"
"I want to know what the future father of my child looks like..."
The second sentence shattered Kaito's question marks. His eyes turned to dead-fish stare. "Sure. I'll show you right now."
Aina's face lit up with nervous expectation.
"Demonic Illusion: Hypnotic Gaze!"
The Yūhi clan's inherited genjutsu had greatly improved Kaito's skill. What once took days now finished in seconds.
Staring into her suddenly vacant eyes, Kaito layered more mental interference, fully submerging her in hypnosis.
"Next, when you hear a finger snap, you'll sleep deeply for nine hours."
"Yes..."
Snap—
The girl went limp, collapsing into Kaito's arms.
Faced with the soft, willing body in his grasp, even Kaito—as a man—couldn't help swallowing hard. He gently laid her on the resting bed and covered her with a blanket.
"Sleep well."
"This is the last time."
...
Scars don't fail to heal—they heal slowly because the skin's structural balance is disrupted, making tissue regeneration inefficient.
Under the precise control of the Op-Op Fruit, all he needed was to give the subcutaneous tissue a boost—add "workers" to speed things up, gradually restoring the original cell balance while phasing out the fruit-created cells.
After more than an hour, the girl's skin had almost fully recovered. Even the stitched wounds were gone, as if they'd never been.
At the same time, Yūhi Ryuun felt burning hot, like her whole body had become a furnace—despite the room's air conditioning.
"Hot... so hot..."
Hearing her murmur, Kaito brushed her cheek and smiled faintly.
"Lucky kid."
"Your wounds—I healed them."
The words were meant for Yūhi Tsuki, bound silently nearby.
Tsuki didn't know who this was, but he was terrifyingly strong. He'd disguised himself as Doctor Kitada, entered instantly, used genjutsu to freeze her, then unfolded the Op-Op ROOM to treat her daughter.
To her, it felt like a helpless husband tied up, forced to watch a stranger's hands all over her child.
Now all the bandages were off. Even the hospital gown was fully open—every critical area exposed.
(Necessary to minimize fruit consumption and better monitor recovery.)
"No need to thank me."
"It's just a little hobby of mine."
"W-What exactly did you do to my daughter?!" Tsuki had thought he was a pervert planning assault.
But now her daughter's horrific scars and wounds were completely gone. So... he must be a good person?
"Nothing much. Just a small experiment. Human experimentation works best... on humans."
Catching Tsuki's furious glare, Kaito glanced back at Ryuun's bare body, lightly tapping each former wound site—to Tsuki, it looked like he was taking advantage.
"But don't worry."
"This child's recovery was a success. My experiment didn't fail."
"You can get her checked tomorrow and discharge her."
Tsuki tried to calm herself. Seeing that after "having his fill of tofu," he wasn't going further, her emotions grew complicated. "You helped my daughter—thank you. Name any reward. Just... please don't touch her again! If you want anything... come at me instead!"
Her mind flooded with lewd scenarios: right here in the room, in front of her daughter... or years later, this man entering their home and...
Kaito: "..."
Are you people sick in the head?
Kaito sighed, used genjutsu on Tsuki too, sending her to dreamland, then tucked her in properly.
Then he turned to dress Ryuun.
Unfortunately, the heat woke her.
Those bright red eyes locked onto Kaito.
"What... did you do to my body?"
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