"To be honest, it doesn't matter whether Sasuke cos back or not. Konoha owes the Uchiha clan, and Uchiha Itachi, far too much."
"So, my appearance disrupted your plans?" Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"I guess you could say that."
"What now? Kakashi should be bringing Sasuke back soon."
"What else can we do? Just pretend it didn't happen. If Sasuke wants to run off to Orochimaru, he'll find a way eventually," Tsunade muttered, rubbing her temples.
"Should we make him leave behind everything he learned from Konoha before he goes?" Kaito's expression hardened as he spoke.
"What do you an?" Tsunade frowned in confusion.
"His hands," Kaito said coldly. "Konoha raised him, trained him, taught him ninjutsu. Now he wants to turn traitor? For Itachi's sake, asking for a pair of hands isn't too much."
"You're starting to look a little frightening. This is the first ti I've seen you like this," Tsunade admitted with a troubled expression.
"I don't have a choice. I don't want Konoha to create another future enemy. In the end, the Uchiha massacre happened because of Konoha."
"You… you even know about the Uchiha clan's extermination?" Tsunade's eyes widened, shock clear on her face.
She'd only uncovered the truth after becoming Hokage and digging through classified records. How did he know?
"Is it really that hard to guess? Uchiha Itachi wiped out his entire clan. You could fool a kid with that story, but Sasuke's not going to stay naive forever. One day, he'll realize sothing's wrong."
"Think about it. The Uchiha clan was one of the largest in Konoha — hundreds of mbers. How could a thirteen-year-old boy slaughter all of them by himself?"
"Stop kidding yourself. Do you think the Uchiha were a bunch of pigs waiting to be butchered? And even if they were, on the night of the massacre, the sounds of bloodshed and screams would've been deafening. You're telling no one noticed? No one nearby, no patrols? Only finding out after it was over? It's laughable. If it wasn't on Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders, who would believe that?"
"These… these are your guesses?" Tsunade asked, pointing at him, a little incredulous.
"Of course. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Right now, Sasuke's still young and blas Itachi. But once he grows up, once he kills Itachi, who do you think he'll co after next? Konoha."
Kaito's words ca effortlessly, as if he hadn't just told a bold-faced lie.
Tsunade sighed heavily. "Forget it… I'll think about it."
"Good. Just make a decision soon. Worst case, if Sasuke attacks Konoha in the future, I'll kill him myself," Kaito said indifferently.
"Right. With your insane talent, you wouldn't have to be afraid of Sasuke anyway. Now, get out of here and go spend ti with those two girlfriends of yours. I'll call you if I need sothing," Tsunade waved him off.
"Actually, do you have the Scroll of Seals? I want to learn a couple of jutsu from it," Kaito asked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Oh? What jutsu are you after? Flying Thunder God?" Tsunade smirked, a rare glint of amusent in her eyes.
"No," Kaito shook his head. "I want to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Eight Gates Technique."
"I can understand the clones — with your chakra reserves, you're ready for it. But the Eight Gates? That's no joke. Even Might Guy barely walks away from that unscathed. Open the Eighth Gate, and you die," Tsunade warned seriously.
"Relax. With my current body and your dical ninjutsu, as long as I don't open the final gate, I'll be fine," Kaito grinned confidently.
Though in his heart, he thought, Better not let her know about my real plan for the Eight Gates. She'd lock in a cell before letting train it.
Tsunade sighed. "Fine. Wait here."
She left the office and returned a mont later carrying a large scroll. Handing it over, she warned, "This is top-secret. Read it here. Don't let anyone else see."
"Understood," Kaito nodded, unrolling the Scroll of Seals.
He quickly morized the techniques for the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Eight Gates Technique.
"All done," Kaito said, closing the scroll and passing it back to her.
"Good. Now get lost," Tsunade waved a hand, clearly done with him for now.
"See you later, Tsunade-sama," Kaito said politely, heading for the door.
After leaving the Hokage building, Kaito found Hinata and the others and spent a peaceful week with them. Once the ti felt right, he returned to the Shikkotsu Forest to resu his Sage Mode training.
The familiar landscape, the scent of damp earth, and the presence of slugs made it feel like ho.
"Kaito-sama, shall we begin? I've gathered the nearby slugs," Katsuyu said softly from his shoulder.
"Thank you. But this ti, make it 120," Kaito requested.
That was the current limit of shadow clones he could handle while maintaining a stable ntal state. Not that his chakra would run out, but even with his constitution, controlling more than 120 clones at once strained his mind.
After all, he wasn't so chosen one like Naruto.
Kaito imdiately began training, imrsing himself in natural energy alongside his clones. With 120 shadow clones working in unison, his progress skyrocketed.
It had taken him weeks to finish Sage Mode last ti. Now, with this new thod, he achieved an incomplete version in just one month.
Kaito's Sage Mode differed from Naruto's and Hashirama's. Two small white tentacle-like horns protruded from his forehead, a trait similar to Jiraiya's incomplete transformation.
He knew it was the result of rushing.
Unable to let it stand, Kaito committed himself to refining it further, determined to stabilize the natural energy within his body until he achieved a perfect Sage Mode, free of physical mutations.
An incomplete Sage Mode ant his cells couldn't fully endure the flow of nature energy, causing visible distortions. His solution was simple — push his cells to adapt through relentless training, until his body could contain nature energy in perfect harmony.
He wasn't going to settle for less.
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