BANG!
Brick exploded beside Kaito's head as Mei Terumi's fist slammed into the wall, her fiery red hair whipping behind her like a warning flare. Dust rained down. A single shard nicked his mask.
He turned slowly, watching the cracks spider out from her knuckles.
"...Noted," he muttered.
"Kaito, if you leave the village without permission again, I won't cover for you anymore!"
"Next time, you'll face the village's punishment!"
Kaito quickly plastered an embarrassed smile, trying to explain.
"Mei Terumi... I don't have many friends. You're the only one with a good head on your shoulders. What choice did I have?"
Her glare could've set him ablaze on the spot. Furious... but faltering.
His words hit somewhere deeper than she expected.
The tension in her jaw twitched, and for a moment she looked away, fighting a smile. Damn it. He was annoying. But honest.
Clenching her teeth, Mei lowered her voice, her tone sharp but controlled.
"Recently, there have been few missions in the village, but too many ninjas. If someone as noticeable as you goes missing for too long, others will surely take notice."
She stepped closer.
"Leaving the village without permission is a serious offense."
Kaito gave a solemn nod. He understood—at least, outwardly.
Inwardly, his gaze flicked to the Mizukage's office.
If not for Madara Uchiha standing behind the Third Mizukage, there wasn't a soul in Kirigakure who could take him in a one-on-one. He could afford to be arrogant.
But there was no reason to say that out loud.
Instead, he shrugged and let out a defeated sigh.
"Yeah, yeah... I get it. I'll be more careful next time. Now... would you mind lowering your fist?"
He flashed a teasing smile.
"With your temper, besides me, who else would marry you?"
Mei's expression brightened for exactly one second—then dropped.
"Excuse me?"
She folded her arms, cocking a hip with dangerous confidence.
"Do you think I'm desperate? I am Mei Terumi. Who wouldn't want to marry me?"
Kaito tilted his head.
Her confidence was dreamlike—fitting only in an Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Still, he kept his mouth shut. Barely.
Mei narrowed her eyes, sensing the silent judgment radiating off him. Her fist twitched again, rising—
"Someone's approaching."
Kaito's voice cut in sharply. Calm. Focused.
His Byakugan had been active the entire time.
Mei paused mid-swing. Her eyes softened. The shift in her was instant—fiery to serene in a breath.
Kaito sighed inwardly.
She was his childhood friend. Smart, gentle—when she wanted to be. But with him, it was always the fists first.
Unaware of his thoughts, Mei's expression darkened again.
She could feel someone. An unfamiliar chakra.
Just as she raised her fist, an Anbu ninja entered her sensory range, surprising her.
There is someone!
Kaito's sensory range is quite long now.
Is it a coincidence, or has Kaito mastered some new secret technique?
Stomp!
The Anbu ninja halted, pulling out a purple scroll from his cloak with precise efficiency.
Seeing the crucial scroll, Mei Terumi chose to leave voluntarily, while the Anbu ninja coldly said,
"Kaito, this is a mission from Lord Mizukage."
Kaito nodded slightly, reaching out to take the mission scroll. Even before opening it, transparent text that was visible only to him appeared.
[Mizukage Mission: Destroy Konoha]
[Mission Description: Lead Kirigakure ninjas, ambush Kakashi Hatake, capture Rin Nohara and make her the Three-Tails Jinchuriki. Then, lead Rin Nohara to release the Three-Tails in Konoha.
PS: You may encounter unexpectedly powerful ninjas, including Obito Uchiha.]
[Mission Difficulty: SS]
[Complete All Missions: Exchange Attempts +3.]
[Upon mission completion, you may receive exchange attempts: fragments, "1", and "2".]
Exchange attempts that add directly, not just fragments?
Kaito was intrigued.
He had never seen such generous rewards in the system.
But thinking about it, it made sense.
This mission involved Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu in a historic moment!
Even with ample rewards, it was justified.
However,
Considering his plan to save Rin Nohara, additional exchange rewards were out of the question.
Only in capturing Rin Nohara might he obtain an exchange reward.
Winning one exchange attempt could allow him to choose any Kekkei Genkai or delay his bloodline disease.
As for the choice, he'd consider it after surviving the battlefield.
Suppressing his excitement, Kaito reached out and unrolled the scroll, scanning the mission's tactical details.
Routes. Positions. Patrol cycles. All precise—too precise.
White Zetsu was behind this intelligence. No doubt.
Then came the roster. The team he would lead.
Names. Some unfamiliar. Some...
He froze.
One line.
One name.
Zabuza Momochi.
His lips moved before he could stop them. "Demon of the Hidden Mist..."
Ruthless. Proud. A provocateur who despised the Kaguya clan.
But not evil.
Not truly.
Zabuza wanted change—just like Kaito. He would later try to kill the Mizukage to end the Blood Mist regime. He would fail. And defect.
But not truly.
To Mei Terumi and the future leadership, Zabuza was never a traitor. He was a hero.
One of the few who truly tried to fix this broken village.
But prejudice ran deep in Kirigakure. Deep enough that Zabuza would never trust a Kaguya.
Not yet.
Unless...
Unless Kaito gave him a reason to.
A perfect chance was in front of him.
He smiled slightly.
Capturing Rin Nohara.
It was the key.
If he played it right, he could shift Zabuza's future—and maybe Kirigakure's too.
[FATE SHIFT DETECTED — ZABUZA MOMOCHI]
[Confirmed Status: Kirigakure Ninja]
[Obtained Exchange Fragment: 1]
[Note: Exchange fragments can be used to acquire a character's experience, skills, or unique traits.]
"Zabuza was a well-developed character early in Naruto, leaving a deep impression on me during my school days. Based on my calculations, he was likely the same age as Kakashi. With Obito and Rin being Chunin now, Zabuza joining Anbu isn't too hard to understand, right?"
Kaito rolled the scroll shut, his eyes narrowing with determination.
The mission was clear.
The risk was immense.
But the rewards?
The chance to rewrite fate?
Unmatched.
This wasn't just about completing a mission anymore.
This was about reshaping history itself.
***
It was one of those nights.
Cold, but not the kind that hurt. Just enough to creep into the corners of your room and remind you that even with central heating, you could still feel alone.
Kaito sat on the couch, barefoot, blanket over his shoulders. The space around him was quiet—too quiet for a place this big. Floor-to-ceiling windows. City lights stretch forever. Everything looked perfect.
But he wasn't.
The laptop on the coffee table looked out of place. Scratched. Old. One of the few things he hadn't upgraded. It was playing Naruto on Kissanime.ru, with great subs, and 4k resolution.
And there it was—that scene.
Rin.The Chidori. Kakashi's hand still glowing. The silence hit harder than any scream.
Kaito stared at the screen, unmoving.
"He killed her," he said out loud, not to anyone. Not even to himself. Just… to fill the air.
He wasn't angry. Just stunned. The way you get when fiction hits a little too close to something you can't name.
Kakashi didn't fall apart. He didn't cry or explain himself. He just stood there—frozen, broken. And Kaito? He felt that. Not the act. The aftermath.
That unbearable stillness.
Everyone thought having money made you bulletproof. Like it could buy clarity, or at least distance. But all it ever did was make it easier to hide the cracks. Dress them up. Push them out of view.
Kaito had the life people envied. First-class flights, clean suits, meetings in glass towers. The kind of success that looked good. On paper. But there were nights too many where he felt like a background character in his own story.
It wasn't that anything went wrong. It was just that nothing felt real.
Except this.
Watching Kakashi carry guilt like armor. Watching him keep going, not because he was strong, but because there was nothing else to do.
That stuck with him.
Obito, though? That was harder to watch.
He started kind. Clumsy. Full of heart. The one who smiled too much talked too fast. The one who made you believe the world could be better.
And then he broke.
Turned the love he lost into rage. Turned himself into something cruel. Cold. Detached. He called it justice. But Kaito had seen that kind of pain before—up close. Obito wasn't seeking justice. He was trying to make the world feel what he felt.
And Kaito hated that.
Grief doesn't give you permission to destroy people. it's not a free pass. It's just something you carry. Like Kakashi did. Like anyone who doesn't let pain rewrite who they are.
"You could've been better," Kaito had whispered once to the screen. "You didn't have to become this."
Hope died in his eyes.
He burned the world for revenge
even saints he slew.
That night stuck with him. More than most.
It wasn't about the anime. It was about what it reminded him of.
That no matter how far you run, no matter how much you earn, some losses just sit with you. And you don't get to turn them into excuses.
You just live. With the weight. Like a scar.
And even now, years later, he could still hear the silence after Rin's death. Not on the screen. In himself.
***
Soft heart in the storm,
caught between blades and heartbreak she bloomed,
then was gone.