Naruto SI: Kaito Red Lightnin Chapter 204
'I can feel the Shinigami… even hear it,' Kaito thought.
The Zetsu let out another cry as his stomach split open, flesh tearing unnaturally.
After a few seconds, Kaito's clone flickered forward. In a blur, he tore the mask off Zetsu's face and, in the same motion, slashed a kunai clean through its neck. The pale head rolled across the floor as the body collapsed with a dull thud.
The clone straightened, turning toward Kaito. "You think it worked?"
Kaito's gaze stayed fixed on the corpse for a long moment, the room heavy with silence. Finally, he gave a small nod. "Yeah… I think so. But there's only one way to find out."
He turned toward the scroll spread across the floor. Stepping forward, he knelt down and pulled out a vial of blood from his pouch and smeared it on the seal, and immediately the seals came alive, spreading outward from the scroll and racing across the floor. Black kanji formed into an intricate pattern, expanding until a wide circle enclosed the bound kneeling White Zetsu clone.
Kaito closed his eyes, steadying his breath. Then he opened them, sharp and resolute.
Raising his hand, he slammed his palm down onto the seal. "Reanimation Jutsu!" he called out.
…
As soon as Kaito slammed his palm onto the seal, the circle around the kneeling White Zetsu lit up in a bright white glow. Dust and dirt clung to its body, and the stasis seal broke. The Zetsu let out a sharp wail, struggling as the dirt and dust completely swallowed him. Slowly, the shape of a man began to form within the swirl.
A standing figure emerged as the particles settled. Minato Namikaze stood there, his face blank, body still as the jutsu finished taking hold.
The clone beside Kaito leaned in. "You think it worked?"
Kaito nodded, his throat tight. "Yeah."
Minato blinked as his eyes regained focus. He looked down at his hands, confusion flashing across his face. "...Edo Tensei?"
Lifting his head, his gaze swept forward until it landed on Kaito. His eyes widened slightly, recognition breaking through the haze. "… is that you, Kaito?"
Kaito's chest tightened. He nodded quickly, fighting back the lump in his throat. "Yeah… it's me, Dad. It's good to see you again, ya know."
Minato's lips curved into a warm smile. He walked over, placed a hand on Kaito's head the way he used to when Kaito was small. "My… you've grown… You're much taller than I remember. How old are you now, Kaito?"
"I just turned fifteen, Dad," Kaito answered
Minato paused, his expression softening as he thought aloud. "It's been over ten years, huh? That long already…" He let out a small breath, pride shining in his eyes. "Well, I must say—you've grown, Kaito. And to see you like this… you've turned out to be quite the shinobi."
His gaze lingered on his son before his tone shifted, curious. "How's Naruto?"
Kaito smiled faintly. "Naruto's doing fine. He's a lot like Mom, ya know. He should be at home right now—he's got fuinjutsu lessons with her today."
Minato froze, his smile faltering. His brows drew together. "Mom? …as in Kushina?"
Kaito's eyes watered as he wiped them quickly. "That's right… You wouldn't know. Mom's still alive—and well."
Minato blinked in disbelief, his voice breaking slightly. "How…? Not that I'm not grateful, but without—"
Kaito cut in, shaking his head. "It's alright, Dad. I understand. The condition she was in that night… well, when I saw Mom dying, I awakened a kekkei genkai."
Minato looked at him closely. "Kekkei genkai?"
Kaito nodded. "It's called Heal Bite. According to Mom, it's really rare in the clan. Anyway… it lets me heal someone by letting them bite me. I used it to heal Mom that day—and it saved her life, ya know."
Minato's lips curved into a soft smile. "I see… then I'm grateful. Thank you, Kaito. It was one of my biggest regrets—that I couldn't save your mother, that I couldn't fulfill her wish to see you both grow up. And that I left you and Naruto all alone. But knowing she was able to take care of you both… it makes me happy."
Kaito scratched his cheek and smiled sheepishly. "It's nothing, ya know. We just got lucky."
Minato chuckled faintly, then glanced around, taking in the room. "Where are we? This place feels… familiar."
"It's one of your old safehouses near Konoha," Kaito explained. "I turned it into a lab, you see."
Minato nodded slowly, his sharp gaze turning back to his son. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, Kaito, but…" He looked down at his Edo Tensei form, then back at Kaito. "Why did you summon me? And I assume you didn't tell your mother what you were doing." He gestured at himself.
Kaito shook his head. "No. Mom doesn't know. And as for why I summoned you…" He closed his eyes and exhaled before meeting Minato's gaze again. "It's because I want to revive you, Dad."
Minato blinked, his brows furrowing. "Revive me? You mean the Edo Tensei?"
Kaito shook his head firmly. "No. I mean, really revive you." He walked over to the bedside table, where one of the White Zetsu lay motionless. Kaito gestured toward it, showing Minato the open seal drawn on the scroll. "With this."
Minato followed, stepping closer until his eyes fell on the Zetsu's pale body. His gaze flickered past it, darting toward the seven others lined up along the wall. His expression darkened. "It's the same one I cut down… when I rescued you. They're clones?"
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. They're clones—not shadow clones, but something more permanent. They're called White Zetsu."
Then he pointed at the seal again, voice steady. "And I meant it when I said I want to revive you—with this. I call it the Karma."
Minato leaned over the seal, his eyes moving quickly as he studied the sealing formula on the scroll. It didn't take long for him to grasp its purpose. His expression darkened as he straightened, looking at Kaito with sharp eyes.
"Kaito… this seal forcibly imprints a person's will and soul onto another vessel."
Kaito lowered his head slightly, voice quiet but firm. "Yeah, I know."
Minato's jaw tightened, and he let out a slow breath. "I'm disappointed in you, Kaito. To create something like this… and to go as far as using people as sacrifices." He shook his head, a pained look in his eyes. "I understand you wanted to bring me back. But to do it this way—"
Kaito's eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head. "Wait, Dad! I never sacrificed anyone. I wouldn't do that." He gestured urgently to the White Zetsu lying along the wall. "I only used them. They're not human—they're more like plants than people."
Minato's gaze flicked over the pale figures, but his frown didn't ease. He sighed heavily and shook his head again. "Kaito… even so, you shouldn't play with natural laws like this. If you bend them too far, they'll snap back. It will come back to bite you."
Kaito's chest tightened. His hands curled into fists as his words spilled out. "Everything's changing, Dad. We need you. I don't think I can do it alone. I messed up… I don't know what to do, ya know." His voice cracked at the end, the weight he'd been holding in breaking loose.
Minato's stern expression softened. He reached out, resting a steady hand on Kaito's head. "Kaito… I believe in you."
But Kaito shook his head hard, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. "You don't understand, Dad. The timeline is changing. Everything is shifting, and I don't know what to do."
Minato's brows furrowed, confusion plain on his face. "The timeline?"
Kaito wiped at his eyes with the back of his sleeve and nodded. "Remember when I used to tell you about my dreams? How I dreamed Mom would be attacked when she gave birth to Naruto, and that a masked man would attack Konoha?"
Minato's eyes narrowed, his voice low. "Yeah. I remember."
Kaito nodded again, his voice trembling but steady enough to push forward. "When I was knocked out after using Heal Bite on Mom… I saw more. Not just flashes—whole visions. Dreams of a different timeline. One that is similar to ours but isn't."
Minato's frown deepened. "A different timeline?"
"Yes," Kaito said, swallowing hard. "In that timeline… I don't exist. You and Mom only had Naruto. And both of you… You both died the night he was born." His voice cracked as he forced the words out. "And Naruto… he ended up growing up all alone. An orphan. Hated and ostracized by the villagers."
Kaito nodded, his voice heavy. "In that timeline… I wasn't born. You and Mom only had Naruto. And both of you… You died on the night of his birth. Naruto grew up an orphan. Alone. Ostracized."
Minato's eyes softened as the pieces clicked together. "So… that's how you knew. About the attack that night… and that's how you knew how to break the Shiki Fūjin."
Kaito gave a small nod.
"I—events of that timeline, they were similar to ours," Kaito explained carefully. "So I… well, I used what I knew to change some of the outcomes for the better. Like how the Uchiha clan was supposed to be wiped out by Danzō and Hiruzen."
Minato's eyes widened, shock flickering across his face. "What? Why would the Third even consider something like that?"
Kaito's expression hardened. "Because of the tension between the village and the clan after the Nine-Tails' attack. Even after Mom told the Third that the masked man wasn't from the Uchiha clan, they were marginalized and treated poorly and were forced to move to a corner of the village, where we were constantly under surveillance. Danzō spread rumors that the Nine-Tails was controlled by a Sharingan, just to add fuel to the fire. And Hiruzen—being the coward he is—didn't stop it. He let Danzō do whatever he wanted."
Minato's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing, but Kaito pressed on.
"it pushed them to the brink of a coup. I knew we needed a new Hokage if we were going to solve this, and electing an Uchiha would've been the most direct solution, but…"
Minato nodded slowly, grim understanding in his eyes. "Their reputation after the ninetails attack would have made that impossible."
"Exactly," Kaito said. "That's why I tracked down Lady Tsunade and convinced her to return and take the hat. With Shikaku-sensei's help, we gathered support from the clan heads and pushed it through."
Minato blinked, caught off guard. "Shikaku Nara… was your jōnin sensei?"
Kaito's lips tugged into a small smile. "Yeah. Mine, Hotaru's, and Itachi's. I graduated at seven, by the way."
A chuckle slipped from Minato, pride shining through his shock. "Seven, huh?"
Kaito's smile was faint but real. "Anyway—with sensei's help, we convinced the clans and the daimyō, and Lady Tsunade was elected the Fifth. We managed to impeach the Third. But even then… Danzō made his move. He attacked the Uchiha clan… as well as Mom and Naruto."
Minato's eyes flew wide. "Why? I can understand his twisted reasoning with the Uchiha, but your mother—?"
Kaito's gaze sharpened, his voice dropping low. "Because Danzō and I … we were enemies. A few months after your death, Danzo approached me and wanted me to join Root. I turned him down. So he leaked that Mom and Naruto were the jinchūriki. He twisted it further—made Mom the scapegoat for the Nine-Tails' attack. You can imagine what happened next."
Minato's throat worked as he closed his eyes, pained. "They weren't treated well."
Kaito scoffed bitterly. "That's an understatement. Mom was openly condemned. And because her chakra coils were still damaged from the Nine-Tails' attack, she had phantom fits that left her crippled—she couldn't defend herself or Naruto. In a single day, half the village turned its back on us."
His voice dipped lower, bitter and raw. "I remember the day clearly, ya know. It was Naruto's first birthday. We were on our way back after we'd just visited your grave. When a chūnin confronted us. He cursed her and called her… a whore."
Minato's fists tightened, his knuckles pale. "Hiruzen… let them get away with it?"
Kaito shook his head. "I don't know what happened to them after. We left once the police dragged that guy off—after I pummeled him."
He let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair. "After that, Mom barely left the house. But…" Kaito's voice softened, "Not everyone treated us like that. The village was divided. Plenty of people supported us—and respected you, Dad."
Minato closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, shoulders heavy. "I see…"
Kaito pressed on. "Anyway… since I knew what happened in that other timeline, I also knew about Danzō, the Third Hokage, and Orochimaru. I used that knowledge against them. Spread rumors about them—the same way they spread rumors about Mom and Naruto."
He raised his hand, stopping Minato before he could speak. "And before you say I did something wrong—I thought it through. I needed to destabilize Hiruzen's position as Hokage and strip Danzō of his power. And the rumors? They were true. They were experimenting on children. On villagers. Hiruzen knew about it—and only acted after it was exposed. Even then, he let Orochimaru escape… and Danzō got off scot-free."
Minato's eyes narrowed, but he stayed quiet, listening.
Kaito continued, his tone sharpening. "That's not why he attacked Mom and Naruto, though. He came after them because I exposed him in front of everyone. I revealed that Danzō had a Sharingan under his bandaged eye. And what did Hiruzen do? Gave him a slap on the wrist." Kaito scoffed bitterly. "After that, Danzō and I clashed a few times. I nearly killed him on more than one occasion. Once, when he tried to kill Kakashi, and again during my Chūnin Exams. He sent ROOT after me and my team—I sent them back with explosive tags attached to their bodies. Burned half his face for that."
Kaito's eyes hardened. "So yeah… he figured out what we were planning, set things up ahead of time, and when the chance came, he attacked the Uchiha clan and Mom. It was a distraction so he could escape."
Minato's expression darkened, his voice low. "So he's still alive. And he's gone rogue."
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. But we're going off-topic." He sighed, shaking his head. "The point is, I used my knowledge of that other timeline to make changes in ours. But…" He gave a tired, bitter smile. "You can guess what happens when you change events."
Minato's eyes softened with understanding. He gave a small nod. "It becomes unpredictable. And your knowledge… becomes useless."
Kaito's shoulders slumped, his voice breaking. "I messed up, Dad. I-I thought I was changing things for the better, but it only made everything worse. I don't know if I can fix things, Dad, I…"
He looked down, his fists trembling. "I knew the masked man was going to massacre the clans of Kiri and plunge the village into a civil war. When Lady Tsunade sent me, Kakashi, and Hotaru to investigate, I didn't want to get involved. I thought interfering could spark a war. But… because of that choice, I watched them wipe out the Kaguya clan. If I had just tried—just once—I could've relocated them, at least saved the innocent. But I hesitated. I let those kids, those people, be slaughtered…" He let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head.
"I couldn't let that happen to the Terumī and Hōzuki clans. So I acted. I teleported them to safety, saved as many shinobi as I could. And since I knew Yagura was under a genjutsu, I gave Mei Terumī, the current Mizukage, a seal that could help her deal with it. But…" His voice dropped, guilt filling it. "It had a butterfly effect. Everything started changing even more, ya know…"
Minato placed a gentle hand on Kaito's head. "Have you told anyone about your memories?"
Kaito shook his head. "Only you."
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly, his tone calm and analytical. "Then tell me everything you know. Every detail."
Kaito swallowed and nodded. "The Akatsuki… they're going to make their move two years earlier. They'll come after the jinchūriki. Naruto won't be ready by then—not even close."
Minato's brows furrowed. "Akatsuki?"
"They're the masked man's group," Kaito explained. "They're hunting all the bijū to revive the Ten-Tails."
Minato's head snapped up. "The Ten-Tails…? from the legends."
Kaito shook his head firmly. "Well, it's not a legend, Dad. It's real. You can ask Kurama about it—he used to be part of it."
Minato blinked, his eyes narrowing. "Kurama?"
"It's the Nine-Tails' true name," Kaito explained softly.
Minato stilled, his expression shifting, as if listening to a voice only he could hear. His eyes sharpened after a long pause.
Finally, he looked back at Kaito, his face grim. "I see… so that's his plan. To revive the Ten-Tails."
But Kaito shook his head. "No… that's just part of it. Their real plan… is to revive Kaguya."
Minato's brows furrowed in confusion. "Kaguya?"
"She's the progenitor of chakra," Kaito explained. "The mother of the Sage of Six Paths. She's not human, Dad—she's part of an alien race, the Ōtsutsuki. They travel across worlds, draining planets dry to harvest chakra fruit. Well… Madara doesn't know about Kaguya. Their plan is to follow what's written on the stone tablet created by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki—the Sage of the Six Paths—for his descendants. But that tablet… was tampered by Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu. He's the will of Kaguya herself. His goal is to revive her by using the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Minato blinked, stunned. "Wait, Alien?... And chakra fruit?"
Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know all the details. But from what I learned… Kaguya was sent here with her superior, Isshiki. They came to feed the Ten-Tails and grow a chakra fruit from this world. But… something happened. She fell in love with a feudal lord of that era and turned against Isshiki. She wounded him badly and thought she'd killed him. The truth is, the Ten-Tails isn't just some beast—it's the Divine Tree. It feeds on all life on a planet until nothing's left, and then it produces a chakra fruit. The Ōtsutsuki devour that fruit to grow stronger. But the tree only bears fruit when it's fed an Ōtsutsuki sacrifice. Kaguya was meant to be that sacrifice."
Minato's voice was quiet, his face grave. "…Kaguya was going to be fed to it?"
Kaito nodded, then pointed to the seal glowing faintly on the bedside table. "Yeah… Kaguya was the lower-ranked of the two. And they don't really die when they're fed to the Ten-Tails."
Kaito pointed to the seal, "They use the Karma to resurrect themselves and repeat the process on another planet."
Minato's gaze snapped to the seal, eyes narrowing. "Hold on. If this is the Ōtsutsuki's seal for resurrection, then how did you get it? Did you… Recreate it from your memories?"
Kaito shook his head. "No. I didn't make it. Your grandson—from that alternate timeline—he came here by accident."
Minato froze, his entire body stiffening. His eyes went wide. "…My grandson?"
Kaito let out a long sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Explaining everything is really tiring, ya know. But… well, yeah. One of the Ōtsutsuki wanted Kurama inside Naruto, but that Naruto was stronger than him. So he used a device to travel back in time to get Kurama from a younger Naruto. Sasuke—Itachi's younger brother—he's Boruto's teacher in that alternate future. Boruto… he's Naruto's son."
Minato blinked, eyes widening slightly. "…Naruto's son?"
Kaito nodded. "Yeah… Naruto has a son and a daughter. Her name's Himawari. Oh, by the way, Mom has pictures of them." His lips curved into a small smile for a moment before it faded as he went on. "Well, anyway… according to Sasuke, the time-travel device sent them into our timeline because he and Boruto interfered when Urashiki Ōtsutsuki was using it. Apparently, Urashiki stole the device from Konoha. I'm not even sure how Konoha got their hands on something like that, but… either way, when they fought him, Boruto and Sasuke both got dragged into this timeline.
He paused, looking at Minato carefully. "You following, Dad?"
Minato took a slow breath and nodded. "Yeah. I'm following."
Kaito continued, "Well, Boruto was marked with Karma in his timeline. When an Ōtsutsuki attacked them, Naruto and Sasuke killed that one, but before he died, he gave Boruto his Karma. While Boruto was here, I copied his Karma to research it, Mom and I… we made a containment seal for his karma, so he doesn't get his body stolen, ya know. You caught up, Dad?"
Minato nodded again, his face grave. "Yeah. So Sasuke defeated Urashiki, and then they went back to their timeline."
Kaito shook his head sharply. "No. Sasuke was useless in that fight. I did most of the fighting, ya know. I had to borrow some of Kurama's chakra from Naruto to finish Urashiki off. Luckily, Urashiki is one of the weakest of them, and he underestimated me. And I managed to catch him off guard. Otherwise… if he'd gotten serious, we would've lost."
Minato's face darkened, his jaw tightening. "I see." His voice was low and grim.
Kaito nodded, then hesitated, scratching his head. "Well… anyways…" He looked at Minato, trying to gather his thoughts. "Eh, where did I leave off?"
Minato supplied quietly, "Feeding Kaguya to the Divine Tree… and using Karma to resurrect themselves."
Kaito nodded. "Yep. Well… I'm not exactly sure why Kaguya betrayed Isshiki. I think it was because she fell in love with that feudal lord, but in the end… he betrayed her. From what I've pieced together, the other countries' feudal lords tried to kidnap her for themselves. Kaguya fought back—killed their men. And when they threatened war if she wasn't handed over, the man she loved caved in."
Kaito sighed, shaking his head. "Betrayed, cornered… she fed the tree Isshiki's lower half. And then… she ate the fruit of the Ten-Tails. After that, she cast everyone into the Infinite Tsukuyomi. She knew that since she had betrayed Isshiki, others would eventually come looking for her. So she started building an army."
He pointed at the row of pale bodies along the wall. "These. The White Zetsu. They were supposed to be her soldiers. She would sacrifice people she chose, feed them to the Divine Tree, and turn them into this."
Minato's face darkened, his expression grim.
Kaito let out another sigh. "Anyway… her sons eventually found out. They discovered she was sacrificing people. After months of fighting, they managed to seal her away. She became the moon. But before she was defeated, she gave birth to her will—Black Zetsu. He's been changing history ever since, twisting events so that he can resurrect Kaguya. For that to happen, they need the Rinnegan. To awaken it, they need the combined chakra of the Senju and Uchiha… more specifically, the chakra of Indra and Asura."
Minato suddenly stilled, as if listening to someone else's voice. His eyes narrowed slightly. "So… they need the Sage's bloodline."
Kaito nodded. "Exactly. Madara managed to achieve it after his battle at the Final Valley. He didn't die that day. His real goal was Hashirama's cells—he implanted them into himself. That's how he awakened the Rinnegan before he finally died. Then he transplanted those eyes into someone else, so he could be revived when the time was right. Black Zetsu tricked Madara into believing he was his will. He's been manipulating everything from the shadows—including the masked man—to collect the tailed beasts and prepare for Madara's revival."
Minato nodded slowly. "So that's their plan…" He leaned in slightly. "Then if that's the problem, stopping the masked man and sealing away Black Zetsu would solve everything."
Kaito shook his head, letting out a long sigh. "You really think I haven't thought about that, Dad? If I wanted to, I could've killed them both already. No… they're not the real threat here. Remember what I said about Kaguya's superior?"
Minato's eyes widened. "…Isshiki. He's alive. And the other Ōtsutsuki, too."
Kaito nodded grimly. "Yeah. Isshiki is still alive. He's weak right now, but he'll come in the future. And the other Ōtsutsuki… they're still out there, too. In the other timeline, Naruto and Sasuke—Itachi's brother—turned out to be the reincarnations of Asura and Indra. During their battle with Kaguya, Hagoromo himself appeared and gave them his strength so they could seal her. And even then… even then, they weren't anywhere close to Kaguya's full level. As for Isshiki—he's on another tier altogether. The only reason Kaguya ever injured him was because she caught him off guard and stabbed him from behind with a fatal strike."
Kaito's hand tightened into a fist. "In that future… Naruto and Sasuke together were just barely strong enough to defeat Isshiki. And even then, they were extremely lucky."
Minato nodded, his face grave. "I see. And if the timeline has shifted… if things are happening two years earlier… that means Naruto and Sasuke might never receive the power from Hagoromo ."
Kaito nodded. "That's right, Dad. We have no way of knowing if Hagoromo will give Naruto and Sasuke his powers here in our timeline. Even though I am fairly certain that our Naruto will be stronger than the other Naruto at the same age. If that happens, we will need another solution, which is why we need your help, Dad."
Minato tilted his head slightly, brows knitting. "My help? What can I do?"
Kaito met his father's eyes. "You have insane potential that rivals even Hashirama and Madara. If you train for four years—specifically to fight them—you can reach their level. And with Kurama's help, plus Sage Mode… I think you could compete with them in terms of raw strength. As for Me? I'm not sure if I can reach that level in that little time, ya know."
Minato nodded slowly, processing it, but his gaze stayed sharp. "Even if I do… that still doesn't solve the problem of Kaguya. Or the other Ōtsutsuki."
Kaito sighed but nodded. " That's why… if Naruto and Sasuke don't get that power-up, then we need you to stop Black Zetsu and Madara before Kaguya is revived. Also, we have some time to plan before Isshiki later."
His expression hardened, but then softened again as he exhaled. "And if we fail to do that… I have a failsafe. I'm not sure if it'll even work, but… It's our last resort against Kaguya."
Minato's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
Kaito hesitated, then admitted quietly, "I'll try to recreate the Six Paths chakra… artificially."
Minato blinked, shocked. "…How is that even possible?"
"In theory? Yes," Kaito said, his voice steady but tinged with doubt. "If we combine all the tailed beasts' chakra together and then add senjutsu on top of it… in theory, we can recreate the Six Paths Senjutsu. The same power Naruto got from Hagoromo in that timeline."
Minato studied him closely, the disbelief plain in his eyes. "And you think that's possible?"
Kaito let out a shaky breath. "I don't know, Dad. It's only a theory. That's why…" His voice softened, raw with vulnerability. "That's why we need you, Dad. I don't know if I can really do this on my own, ya know."
If you wish to support this story, please join me at patreon.com/Tilct
please contribute some power stone