Stepping out of the Konoha Hospital, Nawaki looked up at the azure sky and the misty, ethereal clouds. He squinted his eyes and broke into a smile.
"Finally out."
"Nawaki!" Tsunade stood at the hospital entrance, waving enthusiastically at him.
"Sis!"
Nawaki's smile grew even wider as he trotted over to Tsunade's side.
"Be careful! Your body has only just healed," Tsunade called out worriedly.
"Don't worry, Sis. My body is super strong. It's no big deal anymore," Nawaki said, deliberately rolling up his sleeve and flexing his arm to show off his small, but present, bicep.
"Heh." Tsunade shook her head with a laugh and ruffled his hair. "Alright then. In that case, would the strong little ninja please come home with me?"
"Yeah!"
The two chatted and laughed all the way home, with the main topic of conversation being Kaito.
"The village found a powerful teacher for you, mainly to help you learn how to control the Nine-Tails' chakra as quickly as possible."
"Sis." Nawaki's cheeks puffed out in dissatisfaction. "That last time was just a moment of carelessness. The Nine-Tails' seal is actually really strong. I definitely won't let it get out and cause trouble again."
"Nawaki, the sealing jutsu requires a large amount of your own chakra to maintain. If another crisis like the last one happens, there's still a danger of the Nine-Tails' chakra breaking free. So, you have to be good and learn from your teacher. This isn't just about your own life; it's also about the safety of the village. It's a mission you must complete!" Tsunade's tone became serious.
Hearing her words, Nawaki's expression grew more solemn. "I understand, Sis. I'll work hard!"
"Now that's a good boy."
"I'm a ninja now! I'm not a kid anymore!"
Returning to the estate and seeing the familiar sights, Nawaki was overcome with a powerful sense of nostalgia.
"It's been a while."
With a grin, he was about to head back to his room to bask in the feeling when he saw an unfamiliar young man standing before him. The man's extraordinary presence instantly captivated Nawaki.
Tsunade smiled and walked to his side. "Nawaki, this is your teacher, Kaito."
'He's my new teacher? He doesn't look half bad.'
Nawaki wiped his nose with the back of his finger and declared loudly, "Hello! Nice to meet you! My name is Nawaki, the man destined to become Hokage!"
"My name is Kaito." A smile played on Kaito's lips. "Although this is the first time you're seeing me, this is the second time I've seen you."
"Eh, really? How come I don't remember?" Nawaki asked, confused.
"That's because you were already unconscious when I saw you."
"Nawaki, the last time you were controlled by the Nine-Tails' chakra and didn't recognize anyone, he was the one who brought you back to your senses," Tsunade explained from the side. "So, he's your savior. You need to thank him properly. During his lessons, you must listen to his every word. Understood?"
"Of course I know how to repay a debt of gratitude, Sis." Nawaki squinted with a smile. "I'll be in your care from now on, Teacher Kaito!"
"Happy to help," Kaito replied with a brilliant smile of his own.
After a simple welcome-back meal, Kaito's little classroom opened for business in the courtyard.
The observers included not only Tsunade and Orochimaru but also the uninvited Danzo. He claimed to be there on behalf of the busy Third Hokage to check in on Nawaki's studies. With the Third Hokage as his massive shield, Tsunade, however unwilling, had no choice but to let him in.
"I'm merely an observer. Pay me no mind. Just pretend I'm not here," Danzo said leisurely, tucking his hands into his wide sleeves.
'How am I supposed to pretend you're not there when you have a giant villain-face plastered right over there?'
Kaito complained silently. Following his pre-planned lesson, he cleared his throat twice and began to lecture. "As the saying goes, 'know yourself, know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.' If you want to subdue the Nine-Tails, you must first understand it. Therefore, today's main topic is the epic, magnificent life of the Nine-Tails!"
"Kaito, you're not going to feed us some random fairy tale, are you?" Tsunade said with a skeptical look.
"The peanut gallery should remain quiet and not disrupt the class." Kaito had fully slipped into his role as a teacher and very bluntly told Tsunade to shut up.
"..." Seeing Nawaki's rapt attention, Tsunade resentfully closed her mouth.
"Ahem, where was I? Your sister's sudden interruption made me forget."
"You were about to tell us about the Nine-Tails' epic, magnificent life," Nawaki said, raising his hand.
"Ah, right, right."
Kaito settled back comfortably into a lounge chair, fanning himself. "Let us begin with the birth of the Nine-Tails."
"Uh-huh, uh-huh."
"We humans are born of human mothers, snakes are born of snake mothers, and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox is no exception. It, too, was born of a mother. However, its mother was very special. It was a stone."
"A stone?"
Nawaki's eyes lit up. Tsunade and the others wore strange expressions.
"That's right! But this was no ordinary stone. Allow me to elaborate." Kaito slapped his fan for emphasis, his voice ringing with authority. "A thousand years ago, this land was plagued by endless war. The evil energies of slaughter, hatred, and greed accumulated, filling the heavens and the earth to the point where they disrupted the world's balance of yin and yang. Earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters followed one after another."
"At that time, a sage, in order to help humanity escape this predicament of endless disasters, gathered all those negative emotions and sealed them within a spirit stone. But what the sage never could have imagined was that these negative emotions, entangled within the seal, actually gave birth to a new life. Its birth was a symbol of misfortune, and it filled the sage's heart with unease."
"Finally, on a dark and stormy night, the sage could bear it no longer. He sought to use the power of the lightning to annihilate the calamitous life within the spirit stone once and for all. Unfortunately, he underestimated the power of humanity's infinite negative emotions. The lightning not only failed to destroy the ominous life but actually set it free."
"Upon its escape, the heavens and the earth changed color. Amidst the terrifying storm that it unleashed, its name echoed ceaselessly—the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! And that is the story of its origin."
"So that's how it happened," Nawaki said, asking eagerly, "What happened next? Did the sage manage to subdue the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and seal it again?"
"Ahem, my throat is dry. Let me take a sip of water first."
Kaito took a jug of water, poured it gleefully into his mouth, sighed, and continued, "Unfortunately, the sage had exhausted himself by summoning the heavenly lightning. Facing the ferocious and evil Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, he could only let it go. The fox found a secret place to lie low, and only after the sage passed away did it begin to run rampant without restraint, until the First Hokage appeared, suppressed it with a single hand, and sealed it within Konoha."
"So, does that mean the First Hokage was even stronger than the sage?!" Nawaki exclaimed excitedly. "I want to be like the First Hokage, too, and suppress the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox with a single hand!"
"No!" Kaito shook his head. "Facts have proven that suppressing the Nine-Tails with force is not the right approach. Therefore, we must find another way. And that way is..."
Under the expectant gazes of everyone present, he slowly spoke the word:
"Love!"