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Kaito Akaden Chapter 158
🕑 Added 2025-02-13 21:15:35 +0000 UTCKaito Akaden Chapter 158
Mangetsu’s eyes narrowed again. "Why would you risk a war just to help us? How do we know you weren’t the one who informed the Mizukage?"
Kaito shrugged. "I couldn’t let literal children die, just because they’re from another village. If I wanted to betray you, I could’ve just let Yagura kill you and taken the kids back to Konoha myself."
Mei’s gaze sharpened. "Then why didn’t you warn us before the coup?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow. "And risk a full-scale war between Konoha and Kiri? Or worse, be labeled a rogue shinobi? Even if I had told you, would you have even believed me?"
Mangetsu looked at the restrained civilians and gestured to them. "Then why haven’t you let them down yet?"
Kaito smirked slightly, raising an eyebrow. "And what? Drop them in the snow?"
Mei sighed, rubbing her head. "If Yagura planned this whole thing, then we just gave him a reason to exterminate the clans."
Kaito’s expression turned serious as he crossed his arms. "There’s another thing you both should know."
Mei looked at him cautiously. "What?"
"The Mizukage isn’t himself," Kaito said firmly. "He’s being controlled."
…
Mei's eyes widened. "What?" she asked, her voice sharp with surprise.
Mangetsu's expression darkened, his brows furrowing. "What do you mean he's being controlled?"
Kaito shrugged casually. "Exactly that. The Mizukage is under a genjutsu—a powerful one."
Mei's eyes narrowed. "A genjutsu?" she echoed, skepticism creeping into her tone.
Mangetsu crossed his arms, clearly unconvinced. "How do you know that? How can you be sure he's under genjutsu?"
Kaito sighed. "Because I'm a damn good sensor," he said plainly. "I can feel foreign chakra traces on him." And he wasn't lying—he could clearly sense Obito’s chakra signature clinging to Yagura like a shadow.
Mei exhaled, her mind racing. "That… makes sense," she murmured. "Yagura wasn’t like this before he became Mizukage. I remember—before he was elected, he wanted to end most of Kiri’s old ways. The people loved him. But a year after he became the Fourth Mizukage, he just… changed. We all thought he was just showing his true colors, but if he’s been under someone’s control this whole time…" Her fists clenched. "That explains everything."
Kaito thought to himself, Man, I feel bad for Yagura. The guy’s been a puppet for years. And even after dying, he was still used—turned into an Edo Tensei pawn by Obito.
Mangetsu rubbed his chin, considering the information. "But who the hell could pull off a genjutsu strong enough to control a Kage?" His eyes sharpened as he turned to Kaito. "Is this Konoha’s doing? Only someone with a Sharingan could pull off something like this."
Kaito raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would Konoha gain from controlling the Mizukage?" he shot back. "And if it was Konoha, why would I be telling you this now?"
Mangetsu scowled, unable to argue with that logic.
Kaito pressed on. "Besides, I know who’s controlling him."
Mei’s eyes snapped to him, her gaze intense. "You know who’s behind this?"
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. It’s the same person who was behind the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha eight years ago."
Mei’s eyes narrowed. "The same person?"
Kaito’s expression hardened. "He calls himself Madara Uchiha."
Mei's eyes widened. "Madara Uchiha?" she asked in disbelief.
Kaito nodded. "I'm not sure if he's Madara Uchiha, ya know. He hides his face behind an orange mask, but he has a Sharingan in his right eye. What I do know is that he's ridiculously strong—one of the hardest people to fight. He was the one behind the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha eight years ago, and I'm sure he's the one controlling the Fourth Mizukage."
Mangetsu crossed his arms, his expression skeptical. "How can you be so sure?"
Kaito met his gaze. "Because I've met him. Twice. And his chakra signature? It’s not something I’d ever forget. I’ve been hunting him for the past eight years, and I can feel that same chakra interfering with the Mizukage’s."
Mei absorbed the information, and then asked, "What can you tell us about him? This man who calls himself Madara?"
Kaito exhaled. "Not much, but what I do know is that physical attacks don’t work on him. He uses some kind of space-time ninjutsu that makes him intangible—he can phase through attacks and objects like they’re nothing. And he’s fast. Might even be faster than the Raikage. He also has the Sharingan strong enough to control a Tailed Beast. On top of that, he’s part of a mercenary group that calls themselves the Akatsuki. I think he’s their leader. The group is mostly made up of A-rank shinobi and higher… one of your former seven ninja swordsman Juzo biwa is a part of it."
Mei frowned. "He can use space-time ninjutsu?"
Mangetsu’s expression hardened. "If the Mizukage is under a genjutsu, wouldn’t breaking him out of it free him?"
Kaito shrugged. "Maybe. Or it could kill him." His tone was blunt, but there was a trace of something else—hesitation. "He's been under that genjutsu for years now, ya know? I don’t know what kind of side effects that has. If I had to guess…" His voice trailed off as he thought to himself. In my opinion, Yagura probably died when he was freed—maybe from the genjutsu’s side effects. I don’t know the exact details, but in the original timeline, Ao figured out he was under a genjutsu with the Byakugan… and I doubt Mei was the one who killed him.
Mei clenched her fists. "Even if his life is at risk, we don’t have a choice. This 'Madara' has already caused too much damage to the Hidden Mist. If we let him continue, there won’t be a village left to save."
Kaito’s gaze sharpened. "Are you even strong enough, though? I doubt either of you can take Yagura on and win right now."
Before either of them could respond, another Kaito suddenly appeared on the field—this time bringing someone with him.
….
The moon hung high over the Hidden Leaf Village, casting a soft glow over the rooftops.
One of Kaito’s clones sat cross-legged on the roof of the Uzumaki residence, eyes closed in deep meditation. Using his Mind’s Eye of Kagura, he remained alert, silently watching over the house.
Meanwhile, another of Kaito’s shadow clones, still disguised, materialized inside his room in a crouch. Standing swiftly, it strode over to the table and began rummaging through a stack of scrolls.
“Come on, come on… where is it?” the clone muttered, unrolling one of the scrolls and scanning its contents.
A moment later, its eyes sharpened. “Here it is.” Finding the seal it needed, the clone unsealed it—only for another scroll to materialize on top of the one it had just opened.
"Alright," it murmured, pocketing the scroll it had been searching for. Carefully, it rolled the original scroll back up and placed it exactly where it had found it.
Taking a steady breath, the clone closed its eyes and focused on a specific Hiraishin marker. In an instant, it vanished.
Just as it disappeared, the door creaked open, and Kushina peeked her head inside.
“I could’ve sworn I heard something in here…” she muttered.
Seeing nothing out of place, she sighed. “Must’ve been one of Kaito’s shadow clones.”
With one last glance around, she shrugged and closed the door, leaving the room silent once more.
….
In a small apartment on the quieter side of the village, Tenzo stepped out of the shower, towel draped over his head as he dried his damp hair. He wore a simple black shirt and blue pants, his body still warm from the steam.
With a satisfied sigh, he muttered, “Nothing like a hot shower.”
He walked over to the small table in his apartment and sat down, unwrapping the packed food he had bought earlier. The rich aroma of fried rice filled the air, making him sigh again. “Smells delicious,” he mumbled to himself before digging in.
Just as he took his first few bites, he suddenly felt a hand on his back.
His eyes widened in alarm, and before he could think, he instinctively jumped away—only to choke on the rice still in his mouth. Coughing violently, his reflexes kicked in, and a wooden spike shot out from his left hand as he tried to aim it threateningly at whoever was in front of him.
His throat burned, eyes watering as he struggled to clear the lodged rice.
Meanwhile, the intruder—still in disguise—leapt to the side. “Hey, hey! It’s me—Kaito Uzumaki!” Kaito shouted, his chakra chains shooting from his back to wrap around the wooden spike before Tenzo could fully attack.
Recognizing the chains, Tenzo exhaled sharply and retracted his Wood Release. He was still coughing as he shot Kaito an annoyed glare. “Damn it,” he muttered once he could finally breathe again. “Don’t do that! You nearly made me choke to death! How the hell did you even sneak up on me without me noticing?”
Kaito scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Uh… yeah, my bad. I didn’t mean to startle you. I placed a Hiraishin marker on you the last time we met, ya know?”
Tenzo sighed, rubbing his forehead before crossing his arms. “Alright… what brings you here? Aren’t you supposed to be on a mission?”
Kaito’s face turned serious. “I’m here for you. I need your help.”
Noticing the shift in Kaito’s tone, Tenzo immediately straightened. “What is it?”
“I’ll explain, but we have to hurry.”
Tenzo frowned but nodded, walking toward his room. “Let me get changed first. And we should inform the Hokage—”
“No time for that,” Kaito interrupted, grabbing Tenzo by the shoulder.
“Wait—!” Tenzo barely had time to protest before they both vanished, leaving behind the quiet apartment.
….
Tenzo stumbled into the snow-covered clearing, his breath coming out in short puffs from the cold air.
As he steadied himself, he looked up and took in the scene before him. Several Kiri shinobi stood in the clearing, chakra chains sprouting from their backs as they restrained a group of unconscious people. His eyes narrowed—those weren’t actual Kiri shinobi. That was Kaito using a Henge. And from the way one of his clones was handling the prisoners, it was clear Kaito had been busy.
His gaze shifted to another Kaito, one identical to the one that had appeared in his home. This one stood alongside two Kiri shinobi—one with auburn hair and piercing eyes, and another with silver hair and a sharp gaze.
The clone that had brought Tenzo handed the real Kaito a scroll. “Here you go, boss.” With that, it dispelled itself.
Kaito scratched the back of his head. “Yeah… sorry for bringing you here so suddenly, Tenzo, but I need your help.”
Tenzo took a moment to compose himself before turning his attention to the two unfamiliar shinobi. His gaze flicked back to Kaito. “Alright… what exactly is going on here?”
Kaito exhaled. “Long story short the Mizukage was about to wipe out them for planning a coup. I kind of… interfered and got the civilians out of there.”
He then gave a quick rundown of everything that had happened.
Tenzo’s eyes widened in shock. “You interfered in another village’s affairs? Do you have any idea how serious that is?”
Kaito crossed his arms, his expression unwavering. “Hey, I couldn’t just stand by and let him slaughter defenseless women and children, ya know?”
Tenzo opened his mouth to argue, but Kaito cut him off. “Besides, the Mizukage is being controlled by the masked man.”
Tenzo stiffened. “Are you sure?”
Kaito nodded. “Yeah. No doubt about it.”
Tenzo rubbed his chin, his expression darkening. “That’s worse than we thought… If his genjutsu is strong enough to control the Mizukage, then he’s even more dangerous than we initially believed.” He turned to Kaito, his tone firm. “We need to inform Lady Hokage immediately.”
Kaito nodded. “Already planned to.”
Tenzo crossed his arms. “Then what exactly do you need my help with?”
Kaito hesitated for a second before rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, about that…” He gestured toward the unconscious civilians. “They need shelter. They’ve got nowhere to go, ya know. So… I need you to build houses for them.”
Tenzo’s eye twitched. He stared at Kaito, deadpan.
“You want me to build houses?”
Kaito nodded, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Yeah… Can you? I’ll owe you one, ya know.”
Tenzo sighed, shaking his head. “Alright, but you definitely owe me for this.”
Kaito grinned. “Sure thing.”
Tenzo exhaled, already regretting this. “How many do you need?”
Kaito thought for a moment. “Fifteen large houses should be enough.”
Mei, looking skeptical, crossed her arms. “How is he going to build houses alone?”
Kaito smirked at her. “Just watch.”
Tenzo let out another sigh before running through a series of hand signs. Placing his palm on the ground, he called out, “Mokuton: Shichūka no Jutsu!”
Immediately, massive wooden structures sprouted from the ground, twisting and expanding until they formed fifteen large houses.
Mei’s eyes widened in shock. “Mokuton…” she whispered.
Mangetsu narrowed his eyes. “The Kekkei Genkai of the legendary First Hokage.”
Tenzo panted heavily, his breathing ragged from the exertion. He dropped to one knee, sweat forming on his forehead.
Kaito was beside him in an instant, placing a supportive hand on his back. “Thank you, Tenzo. You’re a lifesaver. You alright?” he asked, smiling widely as he channeled some of his chakra into Tenzo to help him recover.
Tenzo nodded, still catching his breath. “Yeah… I’m fine.”
Meanwhile, a Kaito clone carried the unconscious civilians into the newly built houses, carefully placing them inside. After ensuring they were settled, the clone placed seals on each house to keep them warm.
Kaito nodded in satisfaction before forming a series of hand signs. Placing his palm on the ground, a complex seal matrix spread across the island, glowing faintly before disappearing into the earth.
Mangetsu eyed him suspiciously. “Hey… What was that? What did you do?”
Kaito, still crouched with his palm on the ground, glanced up at him, slightly annoyed. “I used a seal to make sure Yagura doesn’t find this island. They’re safe here now.”
He stood up, dusting his hands off. “And before you ask, the seals on the houses are warming seals—to keep them from freezing, ya know.”
Mangetsu’s gaze then shifted to the Yuki clan members who were still being held by chakra chains. He pointed at them. “And what about them? Why haven’t you put them in one of the houses?”
Kaito met his gaze, then glanced at Mei before answering. “Because I’m taking them with me.”
Tenzo’s attention snapped to Kaito, his brows furrowing.
Mangetsu’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
Kaito met his gaze, his own eyes sharpening. “I said I’m taking them with me,” he repeated firmly. “The Yuki Clan is finished in Kiri. There are no shinobi left—only women and small children. Not a single genin or chunin. They’re civilians. And let’s be real here… Kiri has treated them like garbage for years. Do you really think they’d want to help you take back the village?”
Mangetsu’s grip tightened around the hilt of his Hiramekarei, his posture tensing. Tenzo shifted slightly, preparing for a potential fight—until Mei spoke.
“That’s fine by me.”
Mangetsu turned to her sharply. “What do you mean?”
Mei crossed her arms and looked at him seriously. “The only reason we’re even alive right now is because of him. He didn’t just save us, he saved our clan. He could’ve ignored what was happening and walked away, but instead, he chose to help. He even found us a place to stay.” She exhaled. “And he’s right. The only ones left in the Yuki Clan are civilians and children. Kiri has treated them like nothing for years. We should let them go.”
Then, to everyone’s surprise, Mei bowed slightly toward Kaito. “Thank you, Kaito-san.”
Kaito scratched the back of his head, looking a little awkward. “I was just doing what was right, ya know.” He then pulled out a scroll and handed it to her. “This contains a year’s worth of rations for a large group… and 50 million Ryo.”
Mei’s eyes widened. “This is…” She looked up at him and nodded. “Thank you again.”
Kaito gave a small nod before his expression turned serious again. “And I meant what I said before—neither of you are strong enough to take on Yagura as you are now. I’d suggest laying low and gathering support from the rest of the village before making your move.”
He then turned to Mangetsu and pointed at him. “And you—you’re way too weak to fight him right now, especially with that dumb sword of yours. Ditch the damn thing and start learning techniques from your late Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki. If you do, maybe you’ll stand a chance against Yagura.”
Mangetsu scowled but didn’t say anything.
Kaito rummaged through his pouch and pulled out a small seal, handing it to Mei. “This is a one-time-use seal designed to counter powerful genjutsu. When you fight Yagura, use it on him.”
This was a seal Kaito had specifically designed to counter Kotoamatsukami and Tsukuyomi.
Mei took the seal, nodding in understanding. “I’ll make sure to use it wisely. Thank you.”
With that, Kaito turned to Tenzo. “Alright, let’s go.” He placed a hand on Tenzo’s shoulder, and in the next instant, they vanished from the field.
