Chapter 6: A Strom Brews in the East (Kaito)
"Kaito look!"
Kaito turned to acknowledge his beautiful wife's voice. She was bent over, her hands extended down, each one gripping one of Naruto's chubby little hands. The boy was clumsily walking with the help of Kushina. His short legs stumbled across the sandy shore of the Naka River.
A warm smile spread over Kaito's face as he watched Naruto learn to walk against the scenic backdrop of one of the many lazy sections of the river. Kushina gently hovered over the boy with a loving expression. Her long red hair fell around her face, perfectly outlining her features.
"He's so cute! Look at his chubby little legs work!" Kushina said as she pulled the giggling toddler into her arms and walked over to lay next to Kaito. She placed Naruto in his lap and leaned against him. Her head rested on his shoulder.
Arashi wrapped an arm around the squirming boy and pulled him close.
"This is paradise. I'm so glad you dragged me out of the office."
"You'll go crazy if you read mission reports all day. Also, Naruto misses you. He may not speak but he knows when his father is close." Kushina lovingly replied into his ear between planting kisses on his cheek.
Kaito turned his head and found himself staring into those violet-blue eyes. He leaned in and captured her lips in a loving kiss.
"Thank you." He said, breaking the long kiss.
"You're welcome. You can repay me by taking me to Ichiraku's for the ramen special tonight."
He shook his head in amusement, a small laugh escaped from his mouth. "Every night is a ramen special there."
"It is when your Kushina Uzumaki, his most valued customer." She giggled back, pecking him on the cheek again with a sweet kiss.
"You'd think I'd get a deal as the Hokage. But no, only you get deals."
"Kaito Furukawa! What type of honorable Hokage uses his position for monetary gains? The previous Hokages must be turning over in their graves upon seeing how shallow your ideals are. Willing to use your position as head of this village to get deals on ramen. Truly despicable."
"If Mito ate as you do. I'm sure the Leaf village would have fallen into financial ruin in its early days."
A playful slap on his chest sent him off the edge, no longer able to restrain the laughter bubbling up inside. Naruto squealed in delight as he started bobbing up and down due to Kaito's laughter.
Beep.
Kaito looked around in confusion.
Beep Beep.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what honey?"
Beep Beep Beep.
"That beeping sound. Like an alarm clock."
"I think you're going crazy. Too much time reading boring reports."
Beep Beep Beep Beep.
Kaito picked Naruto up and handed him to Kushina. He stood up and looked around. The sound didn't seem to emanate from one direction, but from all around him. He turned to Kushina again to see her look at him in worried confusion. Her mouth moved, but no words, no sound came out.
Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep.
"Kushina! Kushina, can you hear me?" he yelled at her, but all she did was shake her head.
A crash to his left sent tremors through the ground. Arashi looked and saw the ground break away under the river, forming a waterfall. Cracks propagated out towards him, forming a wide fissure between him and Kushina. Kaito started forming chakra to help him leap across the gap, but his body felt sluggish and weak. No chakra flowed in his pathways.
Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep.
"Kushina, hold on!" He tried to yell, but no sound came out. He backed up to give himself some running room to gain speed for the jump, but just before he kicked off, he felt a grip on his angle. Kaito looked down and saw a ghostly hand with red beads gripping him tightly.
Before he could reach down to loosen its grip, the hand yanked his feet out from under him and started pulling him to an opening in the ground created by the tremors.
Kaito looked up to see his wife screaming. Naruto cried in her lap, Kushina's arms extended out towards Kaito in panic.
"Kushina!" He yelled, but again the sound got caught in his throat.
Just as he was dragged over the precipice, he got one last glimpse of his wife and child before darkness engulfed him.
Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep.
Kaito lurched up. Ragged breaths escaped his mouth as he wrapped his arms around his body to stop the shaking. He felt his sweaty sleeping shirt cling to his body.
Kaito looked to the nightstand at his side, where the offending noise of the alarm clock originated. His hand came down, smashing the machine into little pieces.
"A dream. It was just a dream." He shakily said to himself as his body still trembled from the nightmare. Kaito swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rested his feet on the hardwood floor of his small apartment. He placed his elbows on his thighs and rested his head in his hands. Taking deep breaths, he slowed down his heartbeat and regained control of his body. If these night terrors continued, he'd have to set up a meeting with Inoichi. Thankfully, they didn't come up during missions or he'd have some awkward conversations with his Anbu comrades or worse, blow their position. They only seemed to bubble up in his dreams every once in a while in his apartment.
Shaking his head to get rid of the last remnants of the nightmare, Kaito stood up off his messy bed and walked to the kitchen to prepare some coffee. Putting the kettle on the burner, he walked to his window and pulled back the curtains to reveal his view of the central ninja district from his top-floor apartment. Rays from the early morning light shined through the window and illuminated his apartment.
The apartment Kaito had leased was small, but it was a newer building of high quality. Minato had offered to set him up in a larger standalone house and pay for it due to Kaito technically being a Hokage, but he had refused the offer. He even refused the offer for the village to pay for his rent on the apartment he chose. There were countless others in the village that needed financial aid after the Nine-Tails attack. No, Kaito would work for his money and personal needs. Like he use to before he became Hokage. The Anbu missions Minato had him completing these last six months since his arrival paid more than enough anyway.
As they had discussed that night, he had shown Minato who he was. Minato assigned him to Anbu to help curtail most questions about a powerful ninja showing up out of nowhere. Kaito was given an independent operative designation within Anbu. This meant he operated outside of the normal Anbu teams but could be easily assigned to teams if they needed him or subbed in for missing members due to injury. It also allowed for him to be sent on solo missions without reducing the strength of an existing team.
Anbu Panther was his code name. Kaito would have preferred hawk due to his summons, but unfortunately, there was already an Anbu member with that mask. His official ninja file said he was a jonin ranked ninja. Thankfully, he didn't have to make a fake name. Kaito Furukawa didn't exist here before, so he and Minato decided to use his actual name.
The whistling of the kettle broke his daydreaming, and he turned away from the window to pour the hot water over the coffee grains. As the coffee steeped and cooled down to a drinkable level, Kaito got dressed in his standard jonin gear; black pants with a black hoodie and his green jonin flak jacket pulled over his torso. He then grabbed his Anbu gear scroll and slipped it into one of his vest pockets. It was never a good idea to walk out of your apartment donned in your Anbu gear. People not in the black ops weren't supposed to know who was Anbu and their code name. Anbu often shared their identity with other members. They weren't required to wear their masks once inside the Anbu headquarters. But they were instructed to keep it secret even from family, if possible.
Now ready for the day, Kaito grabbed his thermos and poured the hot coffee into it. Sealing it up tightly, he walked out the front door and started his leisurely morning walk to the nearest hidden entrance to the underground Anbu department.
There were secret entrances to the underground black ops HQ all over the city. There were several entrances in the Hokage tower, academy building, and other notable strategic locations. But entrances also existed in unassuming alleyways and ninja stores. The Anbu department had several underground training grounds, locker rooms, and barracks. But what most people didn't know, even most Anbu members, was that there was a second Anbu division even deeper called Root. A relatively small group of highly specialized ninja who were sworn to secrecy and reported directly to Danzo and the Hokage. Members of this organization often served in both the standard Anbu and root. But their normal comrades had no idea of their root involvement.
Kaito had contemplated disbanding the organization several times during his reign as Hokage. But despite Danzo's methods and less than desirable recruitment techniques, the need for the organization was undeniably there. A necessary evil that Minato had seen as well.
Because only Minato, Inoichi, and Jiraiya knew his true identity, Kaito was not instituted into Root, as that would require Danzo to know his secret. So Kaito was assigned to the normal Anbu division.
Taking a sip of his warm coffee, Kaito turned down a dark alley where the nearest entrance lay hidden. Coming to a stop near a dumpster, he checked his surroundings to verify no one was around. Satisfied, he pressed his index finger against a slightly discolored brick where he knew a seal was etched on the back surface. Immediately upon infusing the seal with chakra, he felt the familiar vibrations through the wall as bricks rearranged themselves to form an entrance. Slowly, the outer bricks rotated and moved, kicking up motor dust. The wall separated, creating a hole big enough for one person. Surveying his surroundings one last time, Kaito took another sip of his coffee and stepped into the darkness. The wall behind him quickly closed seamlessly, as if nothing had happened.
As he walked, his eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Seals carved into the ceiling provided a dull blue light to the entrance hallway. As he traversed deeper, he passed several hallways that all looked identical to each other. To an intruder or a newly initiated Anbu, the underground hallways were nothing short of a maze. But to him, it was a carefully and thoughtfully designed complex that provided defensible positions for ninja to ambush intruders.
As he got closer to the central chamber, Kaito passed several Anbu in standard gear, some wearing their masks and others having them tied to their head or waist. He gave each one a nod and the standard Anbu hand sign the black ops division used to greet each other and confirm members.
As he made one last left turn, Kaito was greeted by the Anbu quartermaster who sat at his desk behind a protective gate. Kaito gave him the hand signal and touched the seal on the door, verifying his identity and status. The quartermaster nodded, and the door swung open, allowing Kaito to continue towards the barracks.
The brightness of the hallways grew as he got closer to the barracks. Evenly spaced lights in the ceiling cast a warm yellow glow on what would have been a depressing underground chamber. Opening one last door, Kaito was finally greeted with the Anbu locker room.
Even this early in the morning, the locker room was full of activity. Men and women changing in and out of their uniforms. It was about that time when the Anbu on night patrols ended and the day shift took over.
Kaito always loved the close-knit feeling that the black ops division facilitated. There weren't separate locker rooms for the men and women. All shared this locker room, all changed in and out of their gear together. When you fought back-to-back on the battlefield and you've shared countless life and death situations with your comrades, little things like privacy when getting undressed didn't matter anymore.
Kaito set his coffee thermos down on the bench and started unsealing his locker.
"Hey Kaito. When am I going to get that rematch you promised?" Nibara Hyuga amusingly teased from behind him.
Kaito turned to see her undressing out of her standard Anbu gear. The tired bag under her eyes was a sign that she had completed her night shift.
Kaito smiled. "You owe me a drink first. That was the deal. Whoever lost had to pay for the other's night out."
Poor girl. Kaito felt just a tad guilty. The twenty-year-old Hyuga was an excellent ninja, deadly at close range because of her proficiency with the Hyuga style. But he was a kage. She never had a chance.
They had done a recon mission together to the mist border about a month back. Once news of the Nine-Tails attack and the Leaf's weekend state had spread, the other villages were nipping at the Leaf's heals. The Mist village, in particular, was more aggressive and was stealing jobs near the Land of Fire's borders.
"Yea, well you're impossible to track down! And with my recent assignment to night patrols, it's kind of hard to find time for a night out on the town."
"It would be irresponsible of me to spar with you again and increase your debt." He mockingly replied.
Kaito turned back to his locker and began undressing. His green flak jacket and hoodie came off first, and he placed them in his locker.
An arm snaked its way over his shoulder. "How about tonight? My team has tonight off, and we are thinking of bar hooping through the ninja district." Nibara whispered playfully in his ear.
"Are you trying to seduce me Nibara?" He jokingly said back, getting a giggle in response.
"Maybe. Or perhaps I just want to get to know the mysterious new Anbu who saved my ass during a mission and then kicked that same ass in a spar the next day."
"Unfortunately, your drinking session will have to be another night. I've got an assignment for you, Panther." A familiar voice rang out from the locker room entrance.
Nibara immediately pulled her arm away and snapped to attention, "Lord Fourth." She sputtered out with a blush spreading across her face.
Kaito followed suit and mimicked the other Anbu in the locker room in attention.
"At ease everyone. Panther, meet me in briefing room three when you're geared up."
"Understood Lord Fourth."
No matter how many times he said it, it always felt awkward addressing Minato as such. But in this reality, Kaito was not the Hokage anymore. And if he was to deflect suspicion, he needed to play the part.
Minato teleported away, leaving the locker room in silence.
"Oooo, special mission. Way to go Panther! Looks like Nibara will have to wait for another date to get you drunk." Hawk jokingly said.
"Oh, shut it Hawk. I know you wanted to get him drunk too."
"Lies. Slander. All the ramblings of a desperate woman." Hawk said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
Kaito laughed as he pulled his grey Anbu vest over his torso. "I'll catch up with you another time Nibara. But you better have enough saved in the bank to afford my expensive tastes."
"Yea yea. Well, good luck and be careful. Lord Fourth has been running you ragged. Keep your head on a swivel out there."
Kaito pulled his panther mask over his face. The white mask had slanted eye slits with red paint outlining them. Two red stripes on the right ear and three slashes across the left eye were the only other markings.
He turned and met Nibara's gaze. He gave her a nod and a reassuring fist bump. "No way I'm dying out there when the prospect of a free night of drinks lies on the horizon."
Nibara shook her head as muffled laughs escaped the other Anbu in the room.
"Alright, I'm out. Have fun tonight guys. I expect embarrassing stories of Nibara plastered and causing a scene at the bars."
"That's a guarantee Panther," Bear said while swatting away Nibara's slaps.
Exiting the locker room, Kaito swung his katana over his shoulder and made his way to briefing room three. Entering the room and closing the door behind him, he saw Minato activate the privacy seals. Kaito took off his mask and joined Minato at the table.
"Making friends I see. Nibara is a good ninja. I can see she fancies you." Minato said with a grin.
"Minato, it's only been six months. I'm not looking for romance." He said solemnly, breaking the playful atmosphere.
"Sorry, that was in poor taste on my part. But you are fitting in well. Despite the short time, you've already gained a positive rapport with many Anbu and several team captains. Some of them have already expressed an interest in you joining their team. But I think your independent operative status gives us far more flexibility than you joining or leading an established team."
"I agree. And it's been nice to get back into the active ninja life. I definitely missed it after being cooped up in the office all day. I'm sure you can relate." Kaito said back.
"I think I'm going to need glasses soon. All the reports are killing my eyes." Minato sighed tiredly. "Anyway, the mission," Minato said, changing the subject. "Two weeks back, I sent a team of three chunin to the land of waves to investigate some worrying signs of Mist activity. They were instructed to masquerade as wave citizens and observe the current situation. The land of waves is an independent nation, so I wanted to avoid conflict. But we received reports that the Hidden Mist village was making some economic investments into Wave and mist ninja numbers in the region have increased."
"That's worrying. The land of waves is poor, so no surprise the Mist is taking advantage of our weakened state to increase their presence in the region. If successful, they would have a significant influence over important trade routes that pass through the Land of Waves." Kaito replied while rubbing his chin in thought.
"Exactly, thus the reason for me sending the team. But the team was supposed to report in three days ago with an outpost near the border. I got a hawk message last night stating the team misted their date." Minato paused, then continued. "I'm worried they got caught up in something. It's a good team with level heads. But you know how it is in the field. Shit happens."
"Understood, and you need me because of my hawk summons. I can get to the Land of Waves in a day and a half."
"Yes, a normal team would take a week to get there. I'm hoping it's an overreaction, but sending you seems like the best option. However, there's another reason I'm sending you."
"And that is?"
"Over the past couple of weeks, Danzo has handed me several reports on the Mist and Land of Waves. In his eyes, he believes conflict is imminent. But all Danzo sees is conflict. I want your eyes over there. The eyes of a man who has served as Hokage, a man that knows firsthand the blood that war brings."
Kaito sighed. "Understood, I'll give you my opinion upon my return. What are my rules of engagement?"
"Standard black ops guidelines. Avoid detection if possible. Leave nothing that can tie you back to the leaf. But if you need to engage to save our ninja, then I trust your judgment." Minato smiled. "This should be a cakewalk for the legendary Wind Walker."
"Understood," Kaito said, and stood up from the table. He turned toward the door but then paused. "Before I go. Any intel on our target?"
"None, I've used your summons to fly my clones all over the elemental nations. None of them could pick up a signature from the seal I placed on the man's arm. He must have found a way to destroy the seal. Or he destroyed his arm. Jiraiya's spy network hasn't provided any leads either." Minato frowned in frustration. "Kaito, I think it's going to be a long wait until he pops up again. All we can do is prepare and ensure the Leaf is ready when conflict comes. He knows my abilities, but he doesn't know about you. You're our ace in the hole."
Kaito nodded and turned to leave the room. Walking out of the briefing room, he pulled his mask back over his face and headed back towards the quartermaster, where he could pick up some rations for the trip.
They may not be any closer to finding the masked man, but Kaito could still help the Leaf. He would put his mind and body to work. Every ninja he could save, every mission he could complete would help the Leaf for the future conflict coming.
Once at the quartermaster, Kaito grabbed some rations, solder pills, and medical supplies in case the ninja he was checking on were injured. Then he exited the Anbu compound and rushed off towards the front gate. If he hurried, he could make it to the land of waves by mid-day tomorrow.
The new moon cast long dull shadows through the alleyways of the Land of Waves capital. The wood planks that formed the majority of the streets creaked as waves sloshed below hitting the pylons that held the majority of the city above the shallow tides.
The Land of waves was composed of an archipelago of islands. A mix of stone and wood made up the capital city. The rich lived on the ever-sparse land, safe in their warm stone homes. The poor lived on top of the waves in wooden shanty towns that traversed the lagoons between islands. The sea breeze always present whistled through the jagged streets and seeped between the gaps in the poorly built wooden buildings.
Kaito had landed on one of the exterior islands near the capital several hours ago and immediately started his search for the Leaf ninja team. Eventually, after investigating the outer islands, his search brought him into the capital.
Mist ninja were everywhere.
Due to the large amount of ninja, Kaito had to restrict his sensing ability. If there were none, he could have expanded his wind dome out to encompass a large part of the city and then calmly traversed the town until he sensed the leaf ninja. But the chances were high they had some sensors posted around the city. So Kaito had to pull his dome into a size of fifty-feat and quietly traverse the streets.
He had opted to remove his anbu gear because of the high density of people and had stolen some local clothes from a clothing line. He was now donned in a shabby hole-filled brown cloak with a black scarf around his neck that he could pull up to cover the lower part of his face if needed.
The search was tedious. Kaito had to search virtually street by street, dodging mist ninja when he could to avoid them sensing the chakra usage needed to maintain his sensing ability. But eventually, after several hours, one dull chakra signature pinged his senses.
Only one, and they were in deep shit.
Kaito crouched behind a pile of trash in a dark alleyway. Across the street in front of him, about sixty feet away, was a rundown three-story building comprised entirely of wood. Two mist ninja were posted out front and several others patrolled the streets and nearby rooftops. No doubt more were inside, possibly interrogating the captive.
If they hadn't already, it was only a matter of time before they broke through the chunin's resolve and extracted their identity and village affiliation. All Anbu were heavily trained and conditioned to withstand torture. Due to the nature of their missions, capture was always a possibility. But chunin didn't receive the same level of training. Some would die before they broke. Others not so much.
Kaito wove the hand seals required for his wind walker jutsu. He felt the gentle sensation of wind encompassing his body and they suppressed it to an unperceivable layer around his body. The wind chakra encompassing his body would muffle his movements, but if needed, with the jutsu still active, all he had to do was push more chakra out and he could greatly increase its destructive abilities.
Kaito quietly glided through the alleyways until he reached the base of a building adjacent to the building where he suspected the leaf ninja was. Quietly scaling up the side of the building, he paused just before the rain gutter and peered over the edge. Standing on top of the building was one of the mist ninja sentries.
Kaito would need to take this one out if he was going to get any closer to the captive.
Pulling himself silently over the ledge, Kaito effortlessly drifted across the wood rooftop. In one smooth movement, he slid his arm around the man's neck and covered his mouth with his other hand. Before the man could make a noise, Kaito wrenched the mist ninja's neck, snapping the cervical vertebrae, and severing the spinal cord. The ninja's body went limp in his arms.
Hoisting the body over his shoulder, Kaito quietly dropped to the alleyway below. He had spotted a loose wooden plank earlier when scouting the area. Prying it up, he slipped the body through the gap and gently placed it into the water below. With the vast amount of debris and trash floating under the city, it was likely no one would notice before the tides receded and pulled the evidence with it.
A creak of a plank at the end of the alleyway alerted Kaito of a patrolling sentry. Kaito quietly lifted a fabric window curtain and slid into the window of the building he was previously on. A snore two feet to his left revealed the sleeping form of a civilian man and woman.
Kaito crouched down below the windowsill and waited for the sentry to pass. The bedroom darkened as the ninja passed between the window and the light cast by the new moon. Kaito silently slipped out of the bedroom behind the patrolling sentry. Using the same technique moments before, Kaito grabbed the ninja and snapped his neck. He then softly laid the limp body down on the wooden floor and turned him over to get a good look at the man's features. Kaito took a minute to study the man's face, even lifting his eyelids to get the right color of his eyes. Then, once satisfied, he performed a high-level transformation jutsu, copying the man's features exactly. Everything from the positions of the freckles on the man's nose to the wrinkly unkempt nature of his uniform. Then Kaito pried the same wooden plank loose and dropped the second body silently into the gentle waves below.
Now in the appearance of the mist ninja sentry, Kaito suppressed his chakra down to a level similar to the man he was disguised as and calmly walked towards the building that he suspected held the leaf ninja.
After years of experience, Kaito found that simple confidence during a transformation jutsu worked best, assuming you got the appearance correct. Often, if you walk in and act as you belong, no one noticed the slight differences in stride or chakra feel. If you're uncomfortable, they'll sense something is off, even if your transformation is perfect.
Kaito circled the building to the back entry he scouted earlier. He calmly grasped the latch, opened the door, and walked in.
Immediately Kaito was greeted with the site of another mist ninja fifteen feet down the hall, walking his way.
"Hey Kuruno, I thought you were on patrol duty." The man said as he continued towards Kaito.
"Yea I am, but that last meal I had is wreaking havoc on my stomach," Kaito said confidently.
"Ha-ha, shit man. The food in this shithole fucking sucks. Listen, I owe you some money from last night's poker match. Let me cover your shift for a bit and we can call it even."
Kaito gave the man a thumbs-up as he rubbed his stomach, feigning discomfort. "Thanks. I may be a while."
"Take your time. I got you." The mist ninja replied, amusingly as he walked right past Kaito.
Kaito continued down the hallway without pausing, silently thanking his lucky break. This night also was that mist ninjas lucky night. Not only will he not have to pay back his dead comrade, but by being fooled by Kaito's deception, his life was spared.
Kaito turned down the next hallway and saw the stairs he was looking for. The single chakra signature he had sensed earlier was on the third floor. Continuing down the hallway and up the stairs to the third floor, Kaito paused and looked around the corner. Thankfully, there was no one in the hallway, but he could hear the muffled voice of a man and the pained cry of a girl coming from behind the door at the end of the hallway.
Fuck.
Kaito had to take a risk. There was at least one man in the room with the captive, most likely interrogating her. He had to verify if there were more.
Kaito formed the single hand seal required to form his wind dome sensing technique and slowly pushed it out. By mixing wind-natured chakra with the air, he was able to weave the dome in and out of small gaps in the walls. Once it encountered a living presence, the natural vibrations of bodily functions and the hum and density of chakra reverberated back to him via his technique.
As his technique expanded to encompass the room, he felt the presence of two people. One small with a weak chakra signature. This had to be Kurenai. Her chakra would be weak from malnourishment and constant questioning. The other was a much larger chakra signature compared to the young girls. Smaller than Kaito's by some amount, but still larger than the average ninja. And judging by the density, Kaito guessed it was a low-level jonin.
There was no way Kaito would be able to open the door and sneak in behind the man. A stealth kill like he performed on the two sentries outside would be impossible. No, he'd have to enter still under the disguise and kill the man quickly before an alarm could be raised. No doubt the man would be put on edge once Kaito entered. The Jonin most likely wasn't expecting company, especially not someone that should be on patrol. The confusion would only last a moment before the jonin's natural instincts kicked in. Kaito would have to kill him in that short time. If not, a lengthier confrontation, even only a second more, would alert the other ninja nearby.
Kaito turned around the corner, pulled out a kunai, and began walking towards the door at the end of the hallway. He pushed chakra into his Wind Walker jutsu so that he could use it to increase his movement speed. From his sensory technique, he knew the man was directly in the center of the room standing over the captive.
"Tell me which village you work for, and I promise to end your life quickly." The jonin said from behind the door. The sound of a hard slap rang out, followed by a muffled cry of pain.
Kaito crossed the last remaining distance and opened the door calmly. The Jonin turned in surprise towards Kaito.
"Kuruno what the…"
Kaito wasted no time. With a burst of wind chakra, he wind-dashed the distance in milliseconds, leaving a trail of turbulent air in his wake. The jonin barely had time to register the movement, only managing to twitch his hand in the direction of his kunai holster before Kaito's kunai slashed across his throat. His warning cry caught in his throat before the alarm was raised. Kaito reached up and covered the man's mouth with his palm, silencing the blood-filled gasps for air. He quietly lowered the thrashing man to the ground, his hand still covering his mouth. Blood pooled on the floor as the man's movement became more lethargic.
Eventually, the life drained from the mist ninja's eyes and the muscle spasms stopped. Kaito removed his hand from the man's mouth and wiped the blood off his arm onto the sleeve of the mist ninja.
Kaito activated his sensory jutsu and verified that no alarm had been raised. He felt no chakra flairs or quick movement in the building. Ending his technique to reduce his chance of being found, he turned his gaze from the dead ninja to the captive hanging from the wooden ceiling beam.
Kurenai Yuhi, rank chunin, age fifteen, hung from the ceiling by her arms. Her red eyes, wide open in terror, bounced back and forth between Kaito and the dead ninja on the floor. Her clothes were nothing but dirt-torn rags draped over her body. Bloodstains covered her ripped garments.
Realizing the girl saw his transformation jutsu and not him, he quickly released the jutsu, revealing his true identity. Not that it would help much though. She had no clue who he was, and he wore nothing that identified him as a leaf ninja.
"Kurenai, I'm here to get you out of here. I'm a leaf ninja."
The girl's eyes teared up in relief. Kaito slowly approached. He wrapped one arm around her waist to support her weight and with the other hand, cut the rope that was holding her up. Immediately, her body went limp, and her arms collapsed around his head. He cradled her head against his shoulder and rubbed soothingly against her back. He could feel her bare back was wet with blood.
Poor thing.
Kaito tilted her head back so that he could look into her eyes.
"Before I remove this rag from your mouth, I need you to promise to be quiet. Can you do that for me?"
Kurenai barely managed a nod. She was so weak and dehydrated, Kaito doubted she could support the weight of her own head.
He reached up and removed the tied rag from her mouth.
"We don't have much time, Kurenai. But before we leave, I need you to confirm something. Your two teammates, are they dead?"
"Yes," a weak voice responded.
Kaito sighed and bowed his head in silent mourning for his two fallen comrades. He then cradled her head against his shoulder and stood up. His other arm was still wrapped around her waist, supporting her weight. He could tell she didn't have the strength to hold on by herself, so he couldn't carry her on his back. He'd have to use his arms to carry her in front.
With his one free hand, Kaito pulled the scarf around his neck up to cover the lower part of his face.
"Ok. Let's get you out of here."
Unfortunately, the room they were in had no windows, so Kaito turned around and exited the door he came through. But just as he exited the room, a mist ninja rounded the corner at the end of the hallway. Kaito immediately wind-dashed forward. Catching the female ninja by surprise, he grasped the woman by the throat with his free hand. With a chakra enhanced squeeze, Kaito crushed the woman's throat, collapsing her trachea before she could utter a sound.
Kaito gently lowered the woman's limp body to the floor. He didn't have time to hide the body. He had to get out now. He backed away from the stairs and entered one of the other rooms on the third floor. Thankfully, this one had a window. With Kurenai still in his arms, Kaito slid open the window and stuck his head out. The alley below was clear and none of the rooftop sentries were currently looking his way.
Sticking his free hand out, Kaito circulated chakra to the palm of his hand and stuck it to the exterior wall above the open window. He then lifted up his legs and swung them out the window, hanging for a moment from the one hand plastered to the wall. He then pushed chakra to the souls of his feet and place each foot on either side of the window. Cutting the flow of chakra to his palm, he released his hand from the wall and then walked perpendicular to the exterior wall surface towards the ground below.
As soon as his feet hit the wooden planks of the dimly lit alley, he heard an alarmed scream from inside the mist ninja building.
They must have found one of the bodies inside.
Kaito moved fast, pulsing his wind walker jutsu he wind-dashed away into another alley and continued to sprint. He heard a shout from one of the sentries on a rooftop behind him and the all too familiar whistle of an incoming kunai. Kaito sidestepped into another side street, dodging the kunai. Without breaking stride, he continued his mad dash through the cluttered streets of the wave capital. With his free hand, he formed the seal for the standard clone jutsu and sent five massless clones in different directions to confuse the mist ninja.
Thankfully, due to the new moon, very little light permeated through the clouds. This made it easy to slip from one shadow to the next, avoiding the gazes of the sentries in pursuit. The never-ending maze of streets and decrepit buildings helped him gain distance between himself and his pursuers while the decoy clones thinned the numbers of ninja he had to evade.
After twenty minutes of dashing between shadows and ducking behind piles of trash, Kaito reached the edge of town. Looking back, he saw shadowy figures with lanterns jumping between rooftops and yelling commands to each other.
Kurenai squirmed in his arms. Kaito looked down to see her red eyes staring up at him.
"Were almost safe, Kurenai. Just bear with me for a bit longer and then I can address your wounds."
He received a weak nod in reply.
Kaito dropped off the edge of the pier, landed softly on top of the water, and started his sprint across the large expanse of water between him and the next island. He'd have to gain some distance between him and the city before he summoned Tachi. He couldn't have the mist ninja see such a technique. No one but Minato and Inoichi knew of his hawk summons. But in the future, when he inevitably became more recognizable, he couldn't have anything linking him back to this incident. Thankfully, it was impossible to track a ninja running over water. Water walking left no footprints. Once the water settled from the disturbance there was no evidence someone had been there.
Once on the other side of a small island with a thick pocket of jungle between him and the village, Kaito bit his thumb and summoned Tachi.
A large cloud of smoke dispersed in the sea breeze to reveal the brown and black hawk he'd flown around the elemental nations with for the better part of ten years. Kaito climbed onto the hawk's back and settled down in the saddle. Squeezing his legs, he gave Tachi the single to take to the sky.
"Stay as low as possible for the first hour Tachi, and steer clear of islands. We can't have a sentry spotting us with the moon at our back."
"Understood sir."
Once in the air, Kaito twisted Kurenai around in the saddle, so her back was facing him. He lifted her shirt to get a view of the damage. They'd done a number on her. Cuts zigzagged her back, but thankfully they weren't too deep. They were meant to inflict pain, not damage. The leaf medics would do their magic and there would be little trace of the damage. Physical damage, at least. Mental was another story.
Kaito reached into his pocket under his stolen cloak and pulled out the medical supplies he took from the quartermaster. Unsealing the scroll, he grabbed the antiseptic paste and some bandages.
"This is going to sting. Hold in there Kurenai. You'll be home in two days."
The girl turned her head and regarded him. "Thank you, but just who are you? I've never seen someone move as you do."
Kaito applied the first bit of antiseptic paste on her back, causing the girl to wince in pain.
"I'm no one," Kaito said softly as he spread the paste over the worst of her wounds. "But a word of advice, omit the specifics of my abilities from your report. Keep the details for the Hokage's eyes and ears only. Understood?"
The girl nodded as she flinched in response to more paste being applied to her back.
Minato was not going to like his report. The Mist wasn't just spreading influence throughout the Land of Waves; they were pretty much occupying it. Minato had a tough choice ahead of him. The shipping routes through the waterways the Land of Waves controlled were lucrative. If left unchecked, the hidden Mist village would secure a healthy inflow of funds. And with the Leaf's expenses focused on the rebuilding effort, the Mist would develop a sizable economic advantage over the Leaf. An advantage they would no doubt use to their advantage in upcoming conflicts.
Kaito sighed tiredly. He could feel a headache building in his head. Perhaps he will take Nibara up on her offer. He could use a drink and some fun.
Authors Note 2/15/2022:
Time skip!
Six months have passed and Kaito has integrated himself into this version of the Leaf village. Minato has been working him hard, sending him on missions to support Anbu operations. All the ninja branches are spread thin because of the losses from the nine-tails attack. Every life Kaito can save helps the leaf.
But he's still plagued by the loss of his wife. Six months isn't enough time to get over his wife's death, and the knowledge that Minato's Kushina is alive brings back painful memories of his wife Kushina.
Sneaky stealth mission! Kaito could have just gone in there and slaughtered everyone in the mist outpost. He's certainly strong enough. He has similar war achievements to Minato. Hell, he could have just cut the entire building in half using his wind Fūma Shuriken. But he wasn't appointed to Hokage because of strength alone. He's a kage level ninja who uses his head to pick the path of least resistance and risk.
Kaito isn't Naruto. He doesn't have the luxury to be nice and change the hearts and minds of his enemies. The Leaf is in trouble, the masked man is out there. And occasionally, enemy ninja need to die.
Anbu comradery was fun to write. I love to imagine the locker room as a fun place of bantering and jokes. Not the bleak, oppressive atmosphere that is always shown in the anime. Anbu go on dangerous missions that involve killing and death. Something that the other ninja branches don't experience on such a regular basis. These teams have to be extremely close and support each other, both physically and emotionally. Otherwise, they'd all break from the stress.
I also imagine ninja night outs on the town to be crazy. Do ninja do karaoke?