Naruto SI: Kaito Red Lightnin Chapter 216
Tsunade blinked, momentarily stunned. Then she exhaled and reached for her sake, taking a slow sip. "So I was right," she said finally, her voice low but steady. "Alright, brat… how?"
Kaito reached into his pouch and pulled out a neatly sealed scroll, setting it gently on the table. "I created a seal that can bring back the dead."
Before she could speak, he lifted a hand. "And no — I didn't come up with the idea myself. It's based on an existing mark that Boruto had. Long story short, it's how an alien race — the Ōtsutsuki — keeps themselves alive forever, ya know. I just recreated the process in a seal."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't interrupt.
Kaito continued, his tone calm but serious. "And yeah, I know how dangerous something like this can be. That's why I didn't tell anyone. The fewer people who know, the safer it is."
He looked at her directly. "I was planning to tell you after everyone left. I just… wanted to see how long it would take before you asked, ya know."
Tsunade arched an eyebrow, lips curling faintly. "Is that so?"
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. The reason I was going to tell you… is because I want to use it to bring back Dan and Nawaki for you."
…
The noon sun hung high over the village hidden in the leaves.
The afternoon light filtered weakly through the tall windows of the Hokage's office, its warmth doing little to soften the heavy, suffocating atmosphere inside.
Stacks of paperwork covered the desk—towering columns of mission reports, budget forms, clan proposals, academy revisions, foreign correspondence, and border surveillance summaries. Each pile leaned just enough to look like a disaster waiting to happen.
The office was so quiet that even the ticking of the wall clock felt loud, counting down seconds that refused to pass any faster.
Tsunade sat at her desk with her hands clasped, elbows resting on the wood, her gaze unfocused and distant.
Her pen lay forgotten beside the half-finished page in front of her—paperwork abandoned hours ago.
Her eyes drifted back to the mountain of documents. The same mountain she'd been avoiding for days. No matter how long she stared at it, she couldn't bring herself to move.
With a tired sigh, she pushed back her chair and stood, walking toward the window. She looked out over the village for a long moment, saying nothing.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Lady Tsunade, I'm coming in."
Tsunade's gaze shifted from the window to the door just as it slid open. Shizune stepped inside—carrying yet another stack of paperwork nearly as tall as her torso.
"Here are the rest of the documents for today, my lady," Shizune said as she approached.
Tsunade exhaled heavily. "Just… put it on the desk, Shizune."
She headed back toward her chair, but instead of sitting, she reached for the coat draped over it and slipped it on.
Shizune blinked. "Huh—Lady Tsunade, where are you going?"
Tsunade adjusted the coat and walked past her. "I'm going out for a walk."
Shizune stared, horrified. "A—A walk?! But Lady Tsunade, you still have all of this paperwork to finish!"
"I'll do it later," Tsunade said simply, already at the doorway.
"Th-That's what you said yesterday!" Shizune protested, rushing after her. "A-And the day before! The paperwork is piling up!"
She scrambled to catch up, practically tripping over her own feet. "Lady Tsunade, wait! Please—if you keep pushing it off—"
Tsunade didn't seem to hear Shizune at all. She simply walked out of the office—and nearly bumped straight into someone.
"Kushina? What are you doing here?" Tsunade blinked.
Kushina Uzumaki stood on the landing, holding two neatly wrapped bento boxes. Her red hair was tied in a loose ponytail, framing her bright smile.
"Huh? What do you mean? I'm here to bring you your lunch, ya know," Kushina said, lifting the bentos toward her.
Tsunade let out a weary sigh. "Thanks, Kushina… I'm not hungry right now. I'm sorry."
She tried to walk past her.
But Kushina simply shifted left, blocking the path with the same smile, raising one bento box toward her.
"Well, at least take it with you. For when you do get hungry, ya know."
"...Thank you," Tsunade murmured, giving in and taking the bento before stepping past her down the hall.
Behind her, Shizune hurried out. "Lady Tsunade! Please wait! You really can't keep ignoring all of this work—"
But before she could chase after Tsunade any further, a gentle hand rested on her shoulder.
Kushina shook her head softly. "Let her be, Shizune. She… needs some time alone, ya know."
Shizune hesitated, worry tightening her expression. "I don't know what's bothering her… She's been like this since the day I came back. Is she… mad at me or something?"
"No, no," Kushina assured quickly. "Don't worry so much, Shizune." She gave her shoulder an encouraging pat. "She's just got a lot on her mind right now, ya know. She'll come back around… she just needs time to think."
Kushina then offered the second bento toward her. "Here—this one's for you."
Shizune blinked, surprised. "For… me?" She accepted it with a small, grateful smile. "Thank you, Kushina-nee."
"Well, come on," Kushina said, cheer rising in her voice. "Let's sit down and eat while you tell me what you and Genma have been up to during your honeymoon, ya know."
Kushina giggled like a schoolgirl as she linked her arm with Shizune and gently tugged her down the hall.
Shizune's face flushed pink. "K-Kushina-san…!"
…
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky, the air still brightening after the rain had just finished. Small puddles dotted the ground near the Konoha gates, shimmering softly as a droplet slid from the booth's roof and splashed into one of them, sending ripples outward.
Kotetsu and Izumo sat inside the gate booth, both looking half-dead from boredom.
Kotetsu's eyes were half-lidded, his cheek resting heavily on his hand, elbow propped on the counter.
Izumo wasn't doing much better—he let out a long yawn and leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the road.
Just then, a voice startled them both.
"Ah, it's nice to see the village being so diligently guarded by our legendary Gatekeepers."
Kotetsu and Izumo yelped, nearly jumping out of their seats. They whipped their heads to the side to see Kaito standing beside the booth, a huge grin on his face as he chuckled at their reactions.
Izumo sighed in relief. "Oh—it's you, Kaito…"
Kotetsu groaned. "Don't do that, man, you nearly gave me a heart attack," he muttered, pressing a hand to his chest.
Kaito laughed. "Well, both of you shouldn't be sleeping on duty. The village could be attacked at any moment, ya know."
Hotaru offered the two gatekeepers a friendly smile and wave as she came in from behind Kaito.
Itachi simply nodded in greeting as he handed Kotetsu their entry forms.
Kotetsu grumbled as he took the papers. "We weren't sleeping… We were just—just bored."
Izumo got up and stretched, arms reaching overhead. "Yeah, try sitting at a gate for twelve hours straight. Then you'll know."
Kaito smirked. "Hey, you two are the ones who bragged about being the legendary Gatekeepers of Konoha. You brought this on yourselves, ya know."
Kotetsu scowled. "We never called ourselves legendary!" He stamped the forms with a dull thud.
Izumo dragged a hand down his face. "It was a joke… ONE TIME."
Kaito raised a brow. "Uh-huh. Sure it was."
Hotaru giggled softly behind him
Kotetsu shook off his embarrassment with a cough. "Anyway—so the rumors are true?"
Kaito blinked. "Huh? What rumors?"
Kotetsu grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, pointing straight at Hotaru. "The one about you dating the Hyūga princess."
Hotaru froze on the spot. Her entire face flushed a bright pink.
Itachi glanced between the two of them, raising an eyebrow with quiet amusement.
Izumo let out a low whistle. "Ohhh, look at her blush. Yep—rumors confirmed." He chuckled.
Kaito rubbed his eyebrows and released a long, suffering sigh, already knowing exactly where this nonsense started. He muttered under his breath, "Mom… why…"
Kotetsu leaned over the counter eagerly. "C'mon, Kaito—spill it."
Izumo added with a laugh, "You two are the talk of the town, you know. 'Konoha's golden boy—the son of the Fourth Hokage—and the Hyūga princess~'"
Then, without warning, both gatekeepers broke into childish chanting:
"Sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G"
They puckered their lips, making exaggerated kissing noises.
Hotaru immediately covered her face, mortified to her core.
Kaito's eye twitched. "Don't you have better things to do than tease kids?"
Kotetsu puffed out his chest. "No."
Kaito stared at him flatly. "Not even finding girls for yourselves?"
Both Kotetsu and Izumo blinked.
Kaito snapped his fingers with an exaggerated gasp. "Oh, right—my bad. You two are already a couple."
Kotetsu and Izumo went pale. "WE ARE NOT!" they shouted in perfect unison.
Kaito tilted his head innocently. "You're not? Huh. That's weird. Half the village thinks you are, ya know."
Izumo staggered back like he'd been stabbed.
"W–what are you talking about?! Who's been… talking about us?!"
Kaito lifted a finger thoughtfully.
"Hmm… well, I heard someone spotted both of you gazing into each other's eyes—like you were about to make out—a few weeks back."
Izumo grabbed the counter. "WHEN?! WHAT?!"
Kotetsu clutched his head. "Why does everyone take everything we do out of context?! We were checking for genjutsu!"
Kaito shrugged. "Hey, I'm just repeating what I heard, ya know."
Hotaru covered her mouth as she giggled, her shoulders shaking.
Even Itachi's lips twitched at the edges.
Kotetsu's voice cracked. "Who said that?! WHO?!"
"Huh, I heard from Anko," Kaito replied with a casual shrug.
"ANKO?!" both gatekeepers screeched in horror.
Kotetsu and Izumo deflated instantly, slumping over the counter like they'd been struck by lightning, horrified.
Kaito took the completed forms from Kotetsu's limp hand. "Well! We'll be off. Good luck, lovebirds."
"WE'RE NOT A COUPLE!" both gatekeepers screamed behind them.
Once they were out of earshot, Hotaru let out a soft laugh. "That was mean, Kai-kun…"
Kaito looked genuinely confused. "Huh? What do you mean, Hotaru-chan? I wasn't lying. Anko really told me that, ya know. And me and Aunt Tsunade even walked in on them holding hands once, ya know."
Hotaru blinked. "W–wait, really?"
Before she could recover from that mental image, Itachi spoke quietly.
"So… both of you are dating."
Hotaru jumped at the question. "W-We—I mean—what? That's not—" Her face turned bright red, her words collapsing into embarrassed noise.
Kaito nodded casually. "Yep. Well, we only went on a date a few weeks back, ya know."
Hotaru choked on air.
Itachi gave a small nod. "I see. Then… congratulations."
"Thanks," Kaito said with a grin. Then he looked at Itachi and added, "So when are you going to ask Izumi out?"
Itachi blinked. "What?"
Hotaru giggled, regaining her composure. "You know Izumi-chan likes you, right?"
"… I don't know," Itachi said,
Hotaru and Kaito exchanged a look and tried not to laugh.
Soon, the three arrived at the Hokage Tower and walked down the corridor to the Hokage's office.
As they reached the door, Kaito glanced back at them. "Hey, how about we gather the rest of the gang and go out for dinner tomorrow?"
Hotaru brightened instantly. "I think that's a great idea."
Itachi tilted his head. "Do you think the others will be free?"
Kaito shrugged. "I don't know," he said, reaching for the door handle.
His hand paused mid-air, expression tightening into a frown. He knocked once, then slid the door open.
Inside, Shizune sat behind the desk, already drowning in paperwork. She looked up the moment they entered.
"Welcome back," she greeted.
Kaito scanned the room. "She's not here, huh."
Shizune's small smile faded into a sigh as she set down her brush. "No… Lady Tsunade left. She said she was going out for a walk."
Hotaru stepped closer. "Has something happened?"
Shizune sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm not sure… but she's been very unhappy lately." She looked between the three of them before asking quietly, "Something's been bothering her. Do you know what's going on?"
Kaito, Hotaru, and Itachi exchanged a look.
Shizune continued, rubbing the back of her neck. "I asked Kushina-nee, but she told me to give Lady Tsunade space. She's been letting the paperwork pile up and just… keeps zoning out."
Another sigh left her lips. "That's why I'm doing some of the minor forms myself."
Kaito nodded slowly. "I see…"
His mind slipped back to the day he told Tsunade he could revive Dan and Nawaki.
To the way she froze. Her hands trembled. Her voice cracked when she whispered that she needed time.
Hotaru's expression softened. "I hope Tsunade-sama is alright…"
"Don't worry," Kaito said gently. "I'm sure she just needs some time to herself, ya know."
It had been over two weeks since he'd given her that offer.
And in those two weeks, a few things had changed.
Minato was now officially part of Team Ro.
Kakashi had returned to ANBU to work alongside him.
Minato's real identity remained hidden—known only to Kakashi.
Kaito exhaled and ran a hand through his hair.
Just then, his head flicked toward the window—moments before a familiar chakra signature arrived.
Jiraiya appeared outside the office window and slid it open with casual ease, stepping inside.
"Oh? Oh! Hello, everyone," he greeted with a grin. "Hey, kid—I see you just got back from a mission."
Shizune immediately stood up, smiling. "Jiraiya-sama, you're back!"
Jiraiya gave a fond grin. "Ah, Shizune—it's good to see you again. I heard you married that kid, Genma. I'm happy for you." He reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the wedding. Here—this is a gift from me."
Shizune bowed, accepting it politely. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya burst into loud laughter and waved dismissively. "Don't thank me yet! Inside—along with the wedding gift—I included my collection of novels. Give them to your husband. He'll have great use for them."
Shizune turned bright red and stammered, unable to respond.
Hotaru blushed as well, fully aware of what Jiraiya's "novels" contained.
Jiraiya glanced around again. "So—where's Tsunade?"
Shizune clasped her hands. "Lady Tsunade isn't in the office right now. She… went out for a walk."
Jiraiya blinked. "A walk?"
Shizune nodded. "Lady Tsunade's been acting unusual lately. She's been putting off her work… and drinking a lot."
Jiraiya stared at her, completely deadpan. "Huh? Since when does that count as unusual?"
Kaito sighed. "Anyway, why are you here? Weren't you supposed to be doing your research?"
Jiraiya puffed out his chest proudly. "Ho-ho! I was, but I cut it short to come back to the village."
Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Jiraiya's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. "I checked the intel. You were right. The Akatsuki will make their move in two years. I wanna make sure the kid can protect himself—so I'm gonna train him."
Kaito stared at him. "In the village, right?"
Jiraiya blinked. "Huh? Well, I figured taking him outside would be—"
"No."
Kaito cut him off immediately, tone flat. "You want to train him, you train him here. Naruto's not leaving the village."
"But kid—" Jiraiya tried again.
"You either train him in the village, or you don't train him at all," Kaito said firmly. "You don't have anything that can counter the masked man's abilities. Naruto's safer here."
Jiraiya opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, Kaito appeared in front of Jiraiya, his palm on Jiraiya's chest.
Jiraiya looked confused and voiced, "Wait—what are you—"
Jiraiya flickered. And vanished.
Hotaru gasped. "K-Kaito—what did you do?!"
Kaito shrugged casually. "He was being annoying. I sent him to the Land of Tea, ya know."
Shizune pressed both hands to her face in horror.
"Kai-kun!" Hotaru swatted his arm, scandalized.
Kaito ignored the look she gave him and turned to Shizune instead. "I'll take over the paperwork for now. You should rest."
He formed a hand seal, creating a clone.
The clone frowned immediately. "Why do I have to—"
Kaito shot him a glare.
The clone shut up instantly and shuffled to the desk to start working.
Kaito turned back to Hotaru and Itachi. "I've got something I need to take care of. I'll see you both tomorrow for dinner. We'll meet up at Yakiniku Q at seven."
Before either of them could respond, his body began fading in and out—
And he vanished completely.
…
The evening sun hung low over the lake near Senju Park, its orange rays rippling across the water's surface.
Leaves swayed gently in the breeze.
At the center of the lake, atop a natural formation of rocks, stood a small azumaya—connected to the shore by a narrow red wooden bridge.
Tsunade sat on the wooden ledge, leaning back against one of the pillars. One leg was bent, the other dangled freely over the edge. Her arms were loosely folded, a half-empty bottle of sake resting in her right hand.
Near her feet sat the empty bento box Kushina had given her.
She stared absently at the lake—completely lost in thought.
Her hair swayed softly in the wind.
The evening light washed warm and orange across her face.
A single droplet slid from the roof above and fell into the lake below, the ripples spreading outward.
Tsunade's eyes flicked toward the disturbance, her gaze distant.
Another breeze rustled her green haori.
Behind her, Kaito appeared—standing near another pillar, leaning against it with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
She didn't acknowledge him. She simply let out a quiet sigh and took a long swig of sake.
Neither spoke.
They stayed like that in heavy silence as the sky slowly darkened and the sun sank lower, dipping toward the horizon.
As the final sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the trees, Tsunade finally broke the silence.
"…Alright."
Kaito opened his eyes, confused. "Alright, what?" he asked, looking at her.
Tsunade stood from the ledge, slipping her sandals back on. She turned to him, expression firm—though her eyes trembled.
"Alright," she repeated softly. "Do it. Bring them back."
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