Outside the village, battle still raged.
Inside Konoha, calm gradually returned.
For violating shinobi regulations, Kaito, Yūhi Ryuun, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke were each sentenced by the Hokage to one week of confinement—no leaving home, no missions, no external contact.
Which led Ryuun's clever little brain to produce a perfect solution.
"Then… can I stay at Kaito's place?"
ANBU: "..."
The ANBU glanced sideways, their silent stare sweeping over.
Kaito turned his head away, then frantically signaled with his eyes.
Why are you looking at me?! Reject her!!
Unfortunately, the ANBU completely failed to understand.
"The Hokage didn't forbid it. It shouldn't be an issue," the ANBU said calmly.
"Actually, it'll make monitoring you more convenient."
"Cough—cough!" Kaito nearly choked.
The ANBU ignored him and calmly wrote down:
Residence: Third floor, Room 306. Two occupants.
Kaito went numb.
Then how the hell am I supposed to go to Loulan?!
"Well… isn't this a bit—"
"Kaito, you've got two rooms anyway. I'll just take the small one~" Ryuun smiled.
"…."
"You have one hour to buy supplies," the ANBU continued.
"After that, I and another ANBU will monitor you continuously for one week."
"Oh, right. My ANBU codename is Blackmaru. Same as my ninken."
A small black puppy perched atop Inuzuka Tsume's head barked softly.
"Thank you, Miss Blackmaru," Kaito said stiffly.
"Inuzuka Tsume: You're welcome."
An hour later, Ryuun happily hauled a pile of daily necessities from the Yūhi compound straight into Kaito's apartment—
and, before he could protest, claimed the spare room as her own.
"Kaito," he said helplessly, "you're an unmarried woman. Living with me isn't really appropriate, is it?"
"What's inappropriate about it?"
"This is called early adaptation."
Her face reddened slightly, yet her words showed zero shame, leaving Tsume—still filling out the report—momentarily stunned, pen trembling.
"From now on," Tsume said flatly,
"for one week, you may not leave, meet anyone, or transmit any signals externally."
"Any violation will be treated as defection."
"Understood." x2
This was confinement.
Not imprisonment—more like probation.
Because the Hokage trusted their loyalty, it was only one week.
If it were someone like Orochimaru, it would've been months.
All supplies had to go through ANBU.
ANBU also had the right to enter at any time.
Time passed.
Inside the room, Kaito thought carefully.
If Ryuun weren't here, he could leave behind a slime clone, then use Flying Thunder God to jump directly into the Queen of Loulan's office.
That location was the endpoint of the Heavenly Transfer Technique, and where newly delivered FTG kunai were stored.
The ring on his hand was forged from Dragon Vein–nourished chakra metal, also a core component of Loulan's communication devices.
And the Queen's office had shielding that bypassed inner-city barrier detection.
Dragon Vein marker + detection shielding = no barrier response.
If Minato could borrow Dragon Vein chakra, he could freely teleport inside Loulan's inner city.
But right now, Minato couldn't carry that many people at once—
otherwise Naruto's group would've been teleported directly to the border long ago.
"…Whatever."
"I'll make a clone first."
Just as Kaito prepared to cast the jutsu—
Bang!
The door flew open.
Kaito panicked and yanked the blanket over himself.
Wait—this is my house!
"Kaito, what do you want to eat tonight—"
Ryuun froze.
"…Uh. Am I interrupting something?"
She stood there in a blue-and-white apron, spatula in hand, black curls tied into a neat ponytail.
Her gaze drifted to the tissue box on the nightstand.
She sighed softly.
"Kaito… you've reached that age, huh."
"?????"
"Well… you don't necessarily have to use that…"
She shifted awkwardly, knees brushing together, face turning red.
Kaito didn't even look.
"Out."
"Y-Yes, yes~ Sorry to bother you!"
She closed the door—
then immediately opened it again, peeking through the crack.
"Um… tonight… I can help you. Don't push yourself. Doing it alone isn't good…"
"??????"
Help with WHAT exactly?!
Kaito pointed silently.
Door closed.
He jumped up and locked it.
On the bed, a half-formed slime mass pulsed gently.
To last over a week, the clone needed sufficient chakra.
He couldn't afford to waste any.
Outside the door, Ryuun—who had heard everything—nodded in sudden realization.
"So he is secretly doing that kind of thing…"
"The power of cohabitation really awakened his desires… tonight's a chance!"
Dinner passed.
Kaito hid the clone in the wardrobe, instructing it to act normally after his departure.
From Konoha to Loulan, traveling nonstop at night, it would take less than 24 hours.
He needed to arrive early to prepare the return procedure.
After dinner, Kaito washed dishes. Ryuun hovered beside him relentlessly.
Women really were troublesome creatures.
"Ryuun, dinner was good."
"Really? Hehe~"
Afterward, as Kaito returned to his room—
A slender arm blocked the door.
"Kaito… can we sleep together tonight? I'm scared of the dark…"
He stared.
"You're a genjutsu expert. Afraid of the dark?"
She puffed her cheeks.
"I just am!"
Troublesome.
Extremely troublesome.
That was why Kaito hated relationships—
clingy, time-consuming, exhausting.
Later that night—
They bathed together.
Ryuun nearly short-circuited.
Kaito stared at the ceiling.
"Ryuun."
"…Ryuun?"
Her eyes had turned into spirals.
"…Come to my room tonight. I'll tell you something."
Without her cooperation, his absence would be noticed.
The clone wouldn't fool someone this close.
"Okay!"
She nearly steamed.
Kaito sighed.
Too many women complicated everything.
Illusion Space
"What?! You're… an actual surgeon?!"
Inside the illusion, Ryuun finally understood everything.
"…Thank goodness. The only one who's ever seen my body… was you."
Tears followed.
"I… tried to kill the 'Surgeon' back then…"
"Turns out I almost repaid kindness with betrayal…"
She sobbed.
"Kaito… are you going to expose yourself? Tell the village?"
She rushed forward and hugged him tightly.
"No."
"I'll never betray you."
"Even if the Hokage puts a blade to my neck—I won't."
Kaito held her gently.
"…Are you the only one who knows?"
Here it came.
"Right now? Yes."
A lie—but a useful one.
Her eyes lit up instantly.
"You're so good to me~"
Meanwhile, Naruto's group fled in rough condition.
With Minato and Jiraiya guiding them through blind spots, they finally escaped the Land of Rivers.
The next day, 1 p.m., they reached Loulan again.
"I… really don't want to say goodbye," Minato murmured.
Naruto looked down.
"It's okay," Jiraiya said cheerfully. "We'll be punished anyway."
At Loulan's outer gate, soldiers scanned them.
One said coldly, "You injured three of ours—and still dare return?"
They were allowed through only after crystal-ball verification.
One soldier added flatly:
"One almost died."
"If not for the All-Powerful Minister, no doctor could've saved him."
Loulan Inner City
Kaito inserted a sealed heart into a cloned body.
"Release Evil Seal."
The heart beat again.
"This… is the Sand ninja's heart from six years in the future?" Sally murmured.
"It proves something," Kaito said calmly.
After interrogation via genjutsu—
He confirmed it.
Parallel world. Same trajectory.
Then—
Crunch.
He crushed Hundred-Feet's heart.
The four began to glow.
"…We're going back?" Sai whispered.
Naruto turned, waving.
"Dad! Jiraiya-sensei! Goodbye!!!"
"Eat well! Find a girlfriend! Become Hokage!" Minato shouted.
"I will!" Naruto cried.
Light ascended.
They vanished.
Silence.
"We'll handle Loulan's side," Queen Sally said calmly.
"The past incident—settled."
"Really?" Minato breathed.
"Yes."
Kaito opened his eyes.
"So that's how it works."
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