Kabuto hastily retreated in fear of Kaito's next attacks, which kept coming as he continued to try to end his life then and there, albeit unsuccessfully, as Kabuto had been resolute when he noticed his arm frozen, promptly cutting it off without hesitation and quickly distancing himself.
Orochimaru seized the opportunity to attack, but Kaito still had his Asura Mode active and cut down all the snakes coming his way. However, Orochimaru remained unfazed, having already vanished and reappeared next to Kabuto.
"Hiss! You're quite interesting, especially with that arm of yours concentrated with natural energy. Aren't you afraid of becoming an ice sculpture?" Orochimaru remarked while focusing on Kaito's dark-ice arm.
Both Jiraiya and Tsunade had already noticed this, but they were ignoring it, being in the midst of battle.
Kaito didn't respond and simply focused on observing his surroundings to avoid any surprise attacks.
The once noisy battlefield now fell into a few seconds of silence as everyone stared, anticipating any odd movements.
Orochimaru and Kabuto were the first to move, disappearing once again, leaving everyone on edge.
But even after several minutes, nothing happened, prompting Kaito to sigh. Orochimaru was still too much for him to face, even in his temporary Sage Mode.
Tsunade and Jiraiya were disheartened because they wanted to stop Orochimaru once and for all, but they lacked the determination to attack to kill, giving Orochimaru, who attacked mercilessly, an advantage.
Naruto had already descended from Gamabunta and was by Kaito's side, discussing the fight.
"Hahaha, what's this new ninjutsu, Kaito? Your arm is amazing; you managed to pierce through a magma barrier while still defeating the enemy who was freezing without being able to defend himself," Naruto exclaimed.
Kaito smiled at Naruto; this blond-haired boy was so energetic and talked a lot, which was something no one could take away from him.
He simply answered Naruto's questions by saying it was natural energy, something Naruto had only heard from Jiraiya once, as he boasted about how strong he was.
"Really? The perverted sage said it was very difficult to use natural energy, that he was one of the few who could do it, but now even you can use it. Did you know that old pervert was a liar?" Naruto pouted after hearing Kaito's explanation. After all, the perverted sage had claimed it was very difficult and that few people could learn it, but now his friend Kaito was using it, and they were practically the same age.
Naruto turned to Jiraiya and ran directly towards him, with an expression of indignation.
"You old pervert and liar! Were you trying to boast again?" Naruto began shouting at Jiraiya, who looked irritated.
"You damn little brat, who do you think you are for me to need to lie to you?" Jiraiya shouted back at Naruto, both seeming to have the same personality.
"They're practically the same; if Naruto had white hair, I'd say he was Jiraiya's son," Kaito laughed sincerely, enjoying their interaction, as he did in the manga/anime. So seeing it happen personally made him even happier with his new life.
"I think the little brat deserves another piece of meat, and this time of better quality..." Kaito mused to himself, but he was soon drawn to the woman with blonde hair approaching.
"So, you're Kaito, whom Naruto talks about so much. You don't have two heads, but you do have your arms," Tsunade joked with him as she reached him.
"I see you're in a good mood, Lady Tsunade," Kaito deactivated his Asura ability and bowed as he greeted her.
"And you're very well-mannered to be friends with someone as explosive as Naruto," Tsunade was surprised because she thought Kaito's personality would be similar to Naruto's, but he was totally different from Naruto.
"Well, putting that aside, do you need help? Are you injured anywhere?" She asked as she examined Kaito, pausing for a few seconds at his arm with natural energy.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade, I'm actually fine, but it could have been different if you hadn't shown up. After all, I was fighting against a Sannin," Kaito sighed, but soon his expression returned to normal.
"You fought well; I think few could have survived Orochimaru's attacks," she said, biting her lip slightly in anger, as she hadn't been able to stop her former teammate.
As they conversed, a certain white-haired ninja appeared in front of them, his face almost close to Kaito's.
"You're brave, kid, treating natural energy like this. Aren't you afraid of having your whole body frozen?" Jiraiya spoke, interrupting their conversation.
"I can see that natural energy is gradually spreading; it may seem minimal, but in less than two years, if you don't resolve it, your whole body will be frozen to death," he continued.
Kaito wasn't surprised by this, as he knew his own body better. But he wasn't afraid of something like that happening because he could already manipulate that dark ice a bit; in a few months at most, he could solve this problem.
The others present were shocked to hear this, especially Naruto, who thought it was some very strong ninjutsu that used natural energy, not something that would end up killing him.
"I already know about this; to be exact, I have at most a year and nine months to resolve this," Kaito spoke calmly.
Jiraiya was surprised by his indifferent tone, as if his life wasn't at stake.
"Well then, now that you know, our mission is concluded, and from what I see, so is yours. So, I suggest we head back to the village," Jiraiya suggested to everyone, as both their objectives had been completed; all that remained was to report to the Hokage.
"Unfortunately, I'll have to pass for now; I still have personal matters to attend to outside the village, but I have important information to share that can't wait," Kaito said again, leaving Jiraiya curious.
Kaito began to explain to everyone present the information he had obtained, starting with the cult worshiping a demon in the Land of Iron. Kaito had become aware of many of their locations, and one of them was near Konoha, leaving the two Sannin shocked, especially Jiraiya, who was a master of espionage and information gathering and had never discovered this, but he didn't doubt the truth of the information.
After allowing everyone to digest this information, Kaito began to talk about the organization hunting people with kekkei genkai for experiments, shocking everyone again, except Naruto, of course, since he had no knowledge of these matters.
"Alright, I'll report to the Hokage and personally investigate both of these," Jiraiya put his hand on his chin for a few seconds after hearing everything and gave his response, giving Kaito a degree of relief, as Jiraiya was the best at infiltration.
Naruto came to talk to Kaito again for a few more minutes while Jiraiya talked with Tsunade about the received information, but soon Kaito bid farewell to everyone and set off again on his journey, as his goal of becoming stronger had not yet been achieved.
Tsunade and Jiraiya watched as he disappeared into the forest, both having the same thought.
'The village has created another little monster,' they both sighed as they thought about Kaito's future achievements.
...
Kaito quickly left that place and headed for his next destination, but what he didn't expect was for a beautiful woman with red hair to appear in front of him.
"So, you thought you'd get away, huh? I've been watching everything, from the beginning of the fight to the end, and I must say, you're really strong, especially with that left arm of yours," Mei put her hand to her mouth and chuckled lightly as she looked at Kaito's expression, which seemed to have seen a ghost.
'Damn, I totally forgot about this woman; I should have gone with the Sannin; she probably wouldn't attack me.' Saying this, he furrowed his brow, but remembering her personality in the anime, he relaxed a bit, though this clearly didn't go unnoticed by the Mizukage.
"So tell me, what would a ninja from Konoha be doing at the Mizukage's residence? Perhaps trying to start a war again?" Mei asked, placing her hand on her hip.
Kaito broke into a cold sweat; even though he knew she was a character who sought peace in the anime, this was real life, and things could change.
"W...Well, I was actually after a missing-nin from my village, who might be lurking in your residence. So, to avoid inadvertently causing a war, I tried to locate and eliminate him before he could do anything harmful to Kirigakure," Kaito said, already sweating profusely, as Mei Terumi was exerting great pressure on him.
Mei, upon hearing this, tried to verify if his words were true, searching for any change in his breathing rhythm or heartbeat. However, after examining him, she judged it as truth.
"Well, I'll consider it. I'll check with your Hokage. Luckily, we maintain fairly peaceful relations, and it would be a shame to kill such a talented young man who possesses the power of an ancient clan from my village," she said, easing off the pressure she had been exerting.
'Actually, such a powerful young man is certainly very promising. Harming or even killing him could spark a war between Kirigakure and Konoha, which is the last thing I want right now,' Mei thought as she searched for something to say, trying to distract her mind from thoughts of war.
"Now that you're not using the Transformation Jutsu, you seem familiar," Mei said.
Kaito fell silent, thinking about who Mei might know who looked familiar to him. However, after thinking for a few seconds, he finally came to a conclusion. The Yuki clan was originally from Kirigakure, so it was normal for Mei to have seen someone who looked like him or even his mother.
"Ah, I remember; you remind me of a deceased friend of mine, her name was Hana," Mei finally remembered, but with that also came sadness.
Kaito observed the Mizukage's expression change to sadness but quickly return to normal. He was surprised that she knew his mother, or at least someone with a name similar to his mother's, but at most, that was it. After all, it was quite plausible; they were from the same generation.
"It seems like no information about my mother being alive leaked out. After all, the Yuki clan disappeared overnight, so it would be normal to assume that all the members had died," he thought, hesitating.
Mei noticed Kaito's hesitation and became confused. After all, how could he recognize the name of her friend who had died so long ago?
"Well, perhaps your information is a bit off because Hana... is my mother," Kaito spoke slowly. Mei was paralyzed for a few seconds.
"Impossible, you must be about 12 or 13, and she's been dead for 14 years," Mei quickly denied, but Kaito simply shrugged as if to say 'whatever.'
Mei fell silent, trying to understand how this could be possible. Her expression shifted from sadness to a smile, then denial, and then acceptance, while Kaito simply waited in silence.
After a few minutes.
"Where is she now? Is she okay? Why do you have green hair? Why didn't she send me a message? Why didn't she come to visit me?" Mei asked several questions at once.
"If I'm from Konoha, you can probably guess where she is. She's doing great. I have green hair because I inherited it from my father, Haruki. As for why she didn't send a message or visit, I'm not sure," Kaito replied.
"So, in a way, I'm your aunt," Mei's expression was indescribable, a mixture of various feelings. However, looking at Kaito and his face so similar to her friend Hana, she began to accept it slowly, as happiness took over.
Kaito looked at her surprised; after all, depending on how deep the friendship between his mother and Mei was, she could really be called his aunt.
Without waiting, Mei gave Kaito a tight hug, to which he had no reaction at all. He simply didn't expect this; he expected another fierce fight with him trying everything to save his life, but now he was being hugged, which generated a very confusing feeling. However, after processing everything that was happening, he returned the hug.
After a few seconds, Mei let go, and she started bringing up various topics about Hana or how she ended up there. The conversation between the two continued for several minutes until Mei left with a happy expression on her face, and Kaito finally sighed because if he had to fight against a Kage, he would be dead, but now he had gained an aunt, and a Kage-level aunt at that.
'This was everything but what I expected,' Kaito muttered, but he was truly happy.
Taking advantage of her departure, Kaito performed some hand seals and touched the ground, summoning a small black cat. This was a summoning jutsu he had learned; the little black one had gone out for a stroll around Kirigakure, and he hadn't had time to retrieve him before fleeing the village, but now he summoned him.
Meow! Meow!
"Why did you bring me here, my servant? I was getting ready for the fights on the roof."
Kaito smiled and stroked the fur of the feline, who was about to complain again, but at that moment, he saw a large piece of meat in his hand.
Meow! Meow! Meow!
"I knew it was a great idea to have you as my servant. I can finally eat some quality food."
After meowing, the little black one took the meat directly from Kaito's hand and began to devour it, eagerly savoring every bite.
Kaito, who was watching, thought that the feline was thanking him for the food, so he stroked its fur again.
After a snack, Kaito and the little black one set off through the forest for another journey.
He was determined to solve the problem with his left arm before returning to the village because he didn't want any of his acquaintances to worry. Although Naruto had already heard about it, Kaito knew that he would probably forget or not mention it to anyone else given his personality.
...
Several weeks had passed since Kaito had left Kirigakure. During his journey, he had encountered no further problems, so he spent most of his time controlling the natural energy in his left arm.
Meanwhile, the little black one roamed the forest as if it were its backyard. Thanks to its strength, it had no predators, so it hunted anything it felt like eating.
Kaito didn't mind this much; the forests of the ninja world were filled with a diverse array of animals, so there wouldn't be any extermination, at least he hoped so.
Another two months passed peacefully, where Kaito had adapted to living in nature while he trained. He had made excellent progress and felt much stronger than when he left the village. His frozen arm had gained some degree of mobility as he had successfully managed to move a small portion of the black ice. However, he still needed to gain more refined control to be truly useful in combat.
Kaito clenched his left hand, making his fingers close, and then relaxed, letting his fingers open.
"My left hand is almost functioning normally now, but I can still feel the black ice wanting to freeze me every minute. But with a few more months, I'm sure I'll fully control this dark ice. Then, I'll reach the level of a jounin for sure, maybe even elite jounin, and if I master Sage Mode, perhaps I can finally reach the Kage level," Kaito thought as a gleam appeared in his eyes.
He needed strength beyond the Kage level for the events that would occur in the future, so he was so dedicated to controlling the dark ice and then mastering Sage Mode. The black ice wasn't entirely formed of natural energy; it seemed to have merged with the essence of his kekkei genkai. So, Kaito found it easier to master the dark ice before attempting Sage Mode because he still hadn't found a way to balance natural energy and his chakra within his body.
"Let's go, little black one. We have something to deal with that can no longer be delayed," Kaito called to the feline, who was lying on a nearby tree. Now that he could use his left arm again, he was ready to investigate the mysterious organization. Thanks to the information he obtained from the former missing-nin of the village and his appearance, he could sneak in and gather as much information about them as possible, and that was something that couldn't wait.