Kaito Chapter 112
He spun on the spot and used Eight Trigrams Rotation creating a dome of chakra, as the Phoenix flower Jutsu collided with it.
Quickly deactivating the Rotation, Mukai assumed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms stance. Itachi tried to move back to create distance, but Mukai was too fast. He landed the first eight palms on Itachi before being interrupted by an attack from Shisui, aimed at the Byakugan's blind spot.
Mukai grabbed Shisui by the throat and began to strangle him. Although Itachi was struggling to move due to Mukai's previous attack, he tried to intervene, approaching Mukai with his Sharingan active. Mukai warned him, "The Sharingan's genjutsu won't work on me."
…
Kaito sat crouched 2 kilometers away, watching the fight with his Mind's Eye of the Kagura. He observed everything, muttering to himself, "He's been hiding what he's capable of," as he recalled the information from Mukai's file that he had taken from Danzo's base.
Mukai blocked Itachi's Phoenix Flower Jutsu with a Kaiten, then swiftly performed the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms on him. Kaito was about to transport to the hiraishin marker he had placed on Itachi's forehead protector the day before, ready to intervene, but he paused when Shisui interrupted Mukai's attack by striking from the Byakugan's blind spot.
Mukai sidestepped Shisui's horizontal tanto strike and caught him by the neck. Holding Shisui there, Mukai taunted them, unfazed when Itachi attempted to use a genjutsu on him.
Using his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Kaito noticed Shisui gathering a large amount of chakra in his eyes. Realizing what Shisui was about to do, Kaito decided to intervene. He disappeared from his spot.
...
Itachi, just a few feet away, struggled to get up after enduring 14 strikes from Mukai's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms technique. He stood up shakily, desperately trying to help Shisui. His Sharingan spun rapidly as he tried to use a genjutsu on Mukai.
Mukai, noticing Itachi's attempt, warned him, "The Sharingan's genjutsu won't work on me."
Shisui, meanwhile, was struggling against Mukai's grip on his neck as he began to choke him. Desperation filled Shisui's mind as he thought, 'Could that work?' He started channeling more chakra into his eyes, causing the three tomoe in his Sharingan to spin rapidly and begin to merge.
Just as the tomoe started to merge, Shisui felt something on the back of his neck. The next moment everything went dark, and the last thing he saw was Mukai's hand still gripping his throat.
Kaito appeared out of nowhere right in front of Mukai, catching him completely off guard. With a swift kick to the face, Kaito sent Mukai skidding across the field.
As Kaito delivered the kick, he placed his left hand on Shisui's neck, sending a small jolt of lightning chakra that knocked him out. Kaito caught Shisui's unconscious body before it could fall to the ground.
Mukai came to a stop after sliding some distance, his mind racing. 'Where did he come from?'
Itachi, still struggling to stand, looked at Kaito in surprise. "Kaito… h-how…" His eyes then shifted to the unconscious Shisui.
"Yo… Itachi, you okay?" Kaito asked as he knelt down, and gently placed Shisui next to Itachi. "Don't worry, he's just unconscious."
Itachi nodded, then asked, "What are you doing here?"
Kaito stood up, turning his attention toward Mukai. "Oh, I'm actually here for him," he replied, pointing to Mukai.
Mukai, now back on his feet and eyeing Kaito warily, sneered. "So they even sent the Fourth's brat after me... heh, it won't make a difference." He readied himself for combat and then rushed at Kaito, intent on taking him down.
Kaito raised his left hand in a one-handed half-ram seal. Mukai, mid-rush, suddenly stopped in his tracks as his body stiffened. Lines of kanji began to spread across his body, immobilizing him completely.
Mukai panicked internally, 'A paralyzing seal? When did he place it on me?' He struggled, trying to break free, but his efforts were in vain.
Kaito, observing Mukai's futile attempts, calmly said, "You're probably wondering when I placed the seal on you… It was when I kicked you. And don't bother trying to break through it, it'll only get stronger the more chakra you use."
Kaito, sensing Mukai's chakra closely, continued, "You were part of the ANBU squad when Team 11 escorted the Daimyo two years back, weren't you?" Kaito recalled sensing Mukai among the ANBU guarding the Daimyo alongside Kakashi.
Mukai smirked, despite his predicament. "Heh, so you recognize me."
Itachi, managing to stand up, interjected, "We should take him back to Konoha."
Kaito shook his head. "Like I said, I'm here for him, Itachi. This isn't part of your mission."
Itachi looked at Kaito, puzzled by his sudden actions.
Without warning, chakra chains burst from Kaito's back, erecting a dome barrier around them, similar to the one Kushina had used during the Nine-Tails attack, though on a smaller scale.
Turning to Mukai, Kaito asked seriously, "Why did you sell the Konoha's secrets to Kirigakure? Was it to pay for your son's medical expenses? Or is there some other reason? Don't even try to lie to me, I can sense when people lie."
Mukai sighed heavily and confessed, "I only sold the information because I couldn't afford my son's medical bills. I tried asking for help from Konoha, but I was denied because I don't officially exist as a Konoha shinobi…" He paused, a sense of resignation in his voice. "Kill me. I take full responsibility. My wife and kids don't know anything about this and have nothing to do with it."
Kaito nodded, his expression unreadable. "Do you really think that confessing and taking all the blame will save your family? Do you really believe Danzo will leave loose ends that could come back to bite him in the future?"
Mukai's eyes widened with worry. "The Hokage wouldn't let Danzo do that."
Kaito asked, "Do you really believe that? The same Hokage who did nothing when Danzo was caught with a Sharingan in his left eye socket?" Shaking his head, Kaito continued, "Your house has been monitored by Root ANBU for the past two days… They're still there right now as we speak."
And Kaito wasn't lying. He had one of his shadow clones monitoring Mukai's house for the past two days and had sensed the presence of multiple ANBU keeping watch over the family.
Mukai's expression shifted to one of concern, realizing the gravity of the situation. He looked at Kaito and asked, "What do you want? I doubt you came all the way out here just to tell me this. You placed a barrier around us, you clearly want me alive. If not, you would have killed me by now."
Kaito nodded, confirming Mukai's suspicions. "Hai, I'm not here to gloat or to kill you... I want you to become my spy."
Itachi's eyes widened in shock at Kaito's proposal, his gaze narrowing with suspicion. Mukai's eyes also narrowed, clearly wary of the offer.
Kaito continued, "What do you know about the Nine-Tails attack?"
Mukai blinked, confused. "What the Hokage had us briefed."
Kaito nodded and elaborated, "Well, the Third might have told you that a masked man was behind the nintails attacked."
"Do you remember the Daimyo mission? well, he was also the one who attacked the Daimyo," Kaito added, making Mukai's eyes go wide in realization.
Kaito continued, "And recently, I discovered that he's been forming an organization of S-ranked shinobi. Their goal is to capture all nine Bijuu."
Mukai nodded, processing Kaito's words, and then asked, "So, you want me to infiltrate this organization?"
Kaito nodded again. Mukai hesitated before asking, "Why should I? You already said my family and I are as good as dead. What do I have to gain from this?"
Kaito leaned in slightly. "What if I told you that if you agree to work as a spy for me, I'll save your family and relocate them far away from Konoha?" He pulled out a sealing scroll. "This scroll has 100 million Ryo for them to start a new life, and for your son's treatment. When your mission ends, I'll personally ask the new Hokage to pardon you, and you'll be welcomed back to Konoha as a hero."
Itachi's eyes narrowed at the mention of a new Hokage.
Mukai considered the offer and asked, "How can I trust you? What's the guarantee that you'll keep your word?"
Kaito shrugged. "You can't. But what other choice do you have? but just so you know I never go back on my word."
Mukai then asked, "What do you mean by 'new Hokage'?"
Kaito shrugged again. "That's not your concern. You'll find out soon enough."
Mukai stared at Kaito for a long moment, then asked, "How do you plan on getting my family out of the village without alerting anyone? Like you said, my house is already being watched."
Kaito took out a tri-pronged kunai and held it up, letting it dangle from his ring finger through the kunai's hole. " Does this look familiar?"
Mukai's eyes widened at the sight of the kunai. "So that's how he appeared in front of me without me noticing," he thought.
Mukai stayed silent for a moment, contemplating, before he nodded. "Alright, I'll spy on the organization for you, but you have to keep your promises."
Kaito created a clone and dispelled it before walking over to Mukai. "Good. Now, open your mouth and stick out your tongue." He loosened the seal that held Mukai in place, allowing him to move his head.
Mukai complied, and Kaito examined the cursed seal on Mukai's tongue. "This is a lousy seal. The design is pathetic. I could make a better one in my sleep," Kaito muttered before placing a finger on the seal and breaking it.
He then placed his own seal on Mukai's tongue, a spiral pattern appearing as it took hold.
Kaito stepped back. "That's to make sure you don't speak of this to anyone." Mukai nodded, fully aware of the consequences of a cursed seal.
Kaito released the paralysis seal holding Mukai, allowing him to stretch.
Mukai turned to Kaito and asked, "So, what are my orders?"
Kaito nodded. "As of today, Mukai Kohinata is dead. You'll be taking on a new identity." He tossed a sealing scroll to Mukai. "You'll be hunting some bounties and creating a name for yourself." Kaito then took out another scroll and opened it on the ground.
Kaito unsealed a corpse and placed it on a seal matrix. He pointed to a spot on the matrix and instructed Mukai, "Smear some of your blood here."
Mukai complied, cutting his palm and smearing the blood onto the indicated spot.
Kaito made a series of hand signs and then placed his palm on the scroll. The scroll lit up, and the corpse began to glow and transform into an identical copy of Mukai.
Kaito pointed at the newly transformed body. "Dress this body in your clothes. There's a set of spare clothes in the scroll as well."
As Mukai removed his uniform, Kaito continued, "They call themselves Akatsuki. As I mentioned, they're primarily made up of S-class shinobi. The masked man is their leader, and Orochimaru is also a member. they wear long, black cloaks with red clouds "
Mukai paused, processing the information, and asked, "Orochimaru one of them?"
Kaito nodded. "Among others. I want you to get recruited into their ranks and provide me with information on their plans through this." He handed Mukai an ear clip. "Put this on your ear. It will let you communicate with me. Just push chakra into it and speak it in your mind."
Mukai finished dressing the corpse and then asked, "What about them?" He pointed to Itachi and Shisui.
Kaito replied, "Itachi is my friend, and I trust him." He pointed at the body. "Itachi already has your corpse to return to the village."
Mukai then asked, "When will you relocate my family?"
Kaito hummed thoughtfully. "I just did. My clones have already relocated them." He created a shadow clone. "This clone will take you to them."
Mukai nodded and touched the shadow clone's shoulder. The clone performed a few hand signs and transported them away.
Kaito turned to Itachi and asked, "So, what do you want to know?"
Itachi, eyeing Kaito intently, asked, "What did you mean by 'new Hokage'?"
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