Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Kaito stepped out of the training space and silently carried the meat out of the kitchen.
Three days outside—one month inside.
The difficulty of mastering the Rasengan had exceeded his expectations. After a month inside, Kaito had only grasped the basics of the technique.
The second stage—compression—was the most problematic. It wasn't just about difficulty. If the Rasengan wasn't compressed correctly, it would explode and injure his own palm.
At one point, Kaito attempted to use Lightning Release to reinforce his body. In the moment of detonation, he had even tried turning his right hand into lightning.
Unfortunately...
Even after channeling his chakra that way, more than half of the Rasengan's power still struck his hand.
That painful failure taught Kaito an important truth—ninjutsu could still damage someone using elemental chakra flow.
His right hand was severely injured. He didn't have Naruto's rapid healing ability.
Since then, he let his shadow clones handle Rasengan training while he focused on taijutsu.
Even if his physical strength wasn't his greatest asset, he couldn't afford to neglect it. He understood well: if you don't move forward, you fall behind.
Shadow Clone was truly an overpowered jutsu. He finally gained basic control over the Rasengan about an hour before his time in the space ended.
On the morning of the third day, Kaito strolled toward the Ninja Academy.
Along the way, he saw many parents bringing their children—presumably for the entrance exams.
Kaito shook his head slightly. These were peaceful times.
Most of these civilians' children weren't suited for shinobi life. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had been a rare exception.
"So many people..."
When Kaito arrived at the Ninja Academy, even he was surprised. The crowd of students was enormous.
At the entrance, parents gathered, chatting in clusters.
Kaito scanned the children until his eyes landed on the ones he was looking for:
"Haruno Sakura, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke... and Uzumaki Naruto."
"Kaito! Over here!" a voice called out nearby.
Kaito turned his head and saw Ino waving excitedly. Beside her were Choji munching on snacks and Shikamaru with his usual lazy expression.
Kaito smiled and walked over.
"Ino! Shikamaru, Choji—long time no see!"
"Long time no see! Crunch," Choji replied mid-bite.
"You're here too... So many people... I wanna go home," Shikamaru muttered weakly.
Kaito ignored the complaint and habitually ruffled Ino's hair.
"How've you been these past few days? What do you want for dinner tonight? I'll cook!"
"Oh, right! I almost forgot today's the day I'm eating at your place!" Ino slapped her forehead in realization.
"But... I might not make it today. Gotta eat at home," she added, suddenly looking deflated.
"Don't let it get you down. Today's the entrance exam—focus! Just tell me what you want next time, and I'll cook it for you."
Kaito gently pinched Ino's cheek with a smile.
From a distance, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Choza were quietly watching the interaction—with very different expressions.
Inoichi's face darkened visibly. The other two looked more amused than anything.
"Inoichi, that's Zero's son, right? I didn't expect him to get along this well with your daughter,"Shikaku said, smirking.
"He's following in Minato's footsteps, huh? Starting early on the whole 'find a wife' path?"Choza teased.
Inoichi let out a frosty snort. "Enough from both of you."
But his eyes remained fixed on Kaito with a very unfriendly expression.
Kaito, still chatting with Ino, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He turned and saw Inoichi glaring daggers at him.
He gave a polite nod toward the trio, thinking to himself, "Damn... Father-in-law's mad again."
"Hm?"
Abruptly, Kaito frowned. Aside from Inoichi, someone else was watching him from the left.
He turned and locked eyes with someone staring at him with undisguised interest.
It was a young man, standing beside a boy around Kaito's age wearing the Uchiha clan crest.
Kaito forced a polite smile and turned back to Ino, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
Why is Uchiha Itachi watching me...?
"Brother, what're you looking at?" asked the small voice of Uchiha Sasuke beside him.
"Nothing. Sasuke, today's the entrance exam. Do your best," Itachi said, gently flicking Sasuke's forehead.
"I got it! I'll definitely take first place!" Sasuke said confidently.
"Good."
Itachi glanced back at Kaito, eyes deep and unreadable like a starless void.
That kid... He's gotten stronger. Maybe I can make him...
...
Kaito had no idea what Itachi was thinking—nor did he want to. With his current strength, he couldn't get involved with someone like that.
He was here for one thing: the Ninja Academy entrance exam.
With that focus in mind, Kaito, Ino, and the others waited.
Before long, Iruka appeared in his standard Chunin vest.
He scanned the crowd and raised his voice.
"All children taking the entrance exam, please enter the academy! Adults, kindly wait outside."
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