Back home

When they arrived back in camp, Kaitou dismissed everyone besides Raiga, who he personally brought over to the medical care facilities. He also released the seal after explaining everything of importance to the medics in charge.

The next point on the agenda was to report to Tobirama about the mission. So that was Kaitou's next destination.

Kaitou entered the Hokage's office with his usual composed expression. Tobirama, as always, wasted no time with pleasantries. His sharp eyes immediately focused on his young nephew. 

"Report." 

Kaitou gave a small nod before speaking. 

"The enemy forces have been nearly completely eliminated, because of hostile actions from their side. As suspected, they were gathering strength for future attacks. Had we allowed them to regroup, they could have posed a possible threat in the future." 

Tobirama folded his hands together, listening intently. "Casualties?" 

"No deaths on our side. One injured - Raiga. He won't be able to fight for some time, but he will recover." 

A brief silence passed before Tobirama gave an approving nod. "You handled it well." 

Kaitou, however, didn't react to the praise. Instead, he continued, "That being said, I won't be taking on any further missions for a while." 

Tobirama raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?" 

"I need time to refine my techniques. The battle was won, but I found some inefficiencies and mistakes in my fighting style, I'll have to figure this out alone. To really improve. I won't take another assignment until I've improved." 

The middle aged Senju studied him for a moment before leaning back in his chair. "Very well. I won't force you onto the field prematurely." 

Kaitou nodded. "There's one more thing." His tone was firm - colder than usual. "I will refuse any and all political missions in the future." 

Tobirama's eyes narrowed slightly. "You understand that as a shinobi of the village, you don't always have the luxury of choosing your missions?" 

Kaitou's gaze didn't waver. "I understand. And yet, I refuse." 

A tense silence filled the office. 

"I have no interest in the power games of politicians," Kaitou continued. "Nor do I have the patience for their empty words and hidden motives. If you assign me a political mission, I will decline it. Every single time. As the representative of the Uzumaki Clan, I know that I have such freedoms." 

Tobirama exhaled quietly, his sharp gaze never leaving Kaitou's. Then, after a long pause, he simply said, "Understood." 

With that, the conversation ended. Kaitou gave a slight bow and left the office, closing the door behind him without another word.

With that finished, he without any extra stops went to his home. While not physically exhausted anymore, he wanted to clear his mind, even with [Gamers Mind] his thoughts could still travel, however he wants after all.

The next days were quiet, Kaitou often meditated and did mental stimulations of his battles, to fight any and all mistakes he could find, before removing them entirely. The meditation also helped him with his Zanpakuto, his bond improved by leaps and bounds over the last years, and he was close to reaching his Shikai.

The progress was relatively slow compared to some characters from Bleach, but that had multiple reasons. First, most of them were literally beings made from the energy they were trying to connect to the sword. Secondly, Kaitou was forced to focus a large amount of his time on taming his Chaos Release.

At the beginning, it even ran rampart a few times. This even destroyed quite a few beds, thankfully they were not too difficult to replace.

One of the main points he found as mistakes or inefficiency was the lack of a proper partner. Even with his current capabilities and arsenal of techniques and abilities, most fights seem inefficient.

To maximize his arsenal he would need support. For this there are multiple options to take, though, sadly not many that would work for a longer timeframe.

His current options were to find someone else to team up with, which is difficult because most people that were helpful were either strong enough to go out alone, or others who he couldn't team up with for long.

The next solution is to train someone else, that has a lot of potential, but even this seemed not feasible right now, as who would want to become the student of an 8 year old.

As for the last one, get himself a summoning beast. This seemed to be the most viable and effective option. It was also the easiest to acquire, because he would only need to find a suitable one.

It was at this moment that Kaitou remembered something, his System Shop. He unlocked this quite a while ago, when he received a 'Fate Point' as a quest reward. While he didn't find anything of immediate use back then, but one of the things that picked his interest back then that he didn't need at that time, would now be perfect.

He then opened up the Shop panel, and scrolled through, before he found what he was looking for,

[Summoning Contract: A creature most suited to you.]

Cost: 1 Fate Point.

Description: A one-time summoning jutsu that will transport you to the location of the group most suited to your nature and abilities. From there, you must form the contract yourself.

Kaitou thought about it for a second before deciding to go with it. He bought it and in the next instant there was a piece of paper with weird seals, some of which he had never seen before, in front of him. He stored it in one of his storage seals for now, because it would be too suspicious if someone came looking for him, while he was gone.

When he was about to continue with his meditation, he was interrupted by footsteps that were coming closer.

Kaitou's sharp senses had already detected the approaching footsteps long before they reached his training ground. His chakra perception immediately recognized the two individuals, but he remained seated, waiting for them to make their presence known.

A moment later, Raiga and Fuyuki stepped into the open space.

Raiga looked determined, his usual lighthearted energy subdued. Fuyuki, while more relaxed, carried a look of firm resolve in his sharp eyes.

Kaitou didn't say a word, simply watching as the two knelt before him.

"We have come to pledge our allegiance to you," Raiga declared, voice steady and unwavering.

Kaitou's eyes narrowed slightly. "…Explain."

Raiga bowed his head slightly. "I owe you my life. That is something I cannot ignore." His fists clenched. "I've thought about it carefully, and I've spoken to my clan. They agreed. From now on, my blade is yours to command."

Fuyuki smirked slightly. "Raiga insisted. And where he goes, I go." He met Kaitou's gaze head-on. "While I was a bit sceptic in your strength at first, after seeing what you pulled off in that battle… I realized something." His tone grew serious. "If I want to reach my full potential, there's no better person to follow than you."

Kaitou sighed, rubbing his temple. "…I didn't save you so you could swear fealty to me."

"That doesn't change what we've decided," Raiga countered.

"…Tch." Kaitou studied them both, weighing his options. Their loyalty was genuine - but blind loyalty alone, was useless for Kaitou. If they were serious about this, they needed to prove their worth.

He exhaled through his nose. "Fine. But I won't accept just empty words."

Both of them perked up slightly.

"I'll only acknowledge you two if you pass a test," Kaitou continued. "You must prove to me that you can adapt and evolve."

Raiga smirked. "Name it."

Kaitou's expression remained cold. "You will each learn a new kekkei genkai - one that if possible complements your weaknesses."

Raiga and Fuyuki froze.

"…You expect us to learn a bloodline limit?" Fuyuki asked, raising an eyebrow. "You know that's not something just anyone can do, right?"

"I do," Kaitou said, "but you're not just anyone. Both of you are very talented young Shinobi, in my opinion two have the potential to replicate a kekkei genkai through training and effort."

Raiga and Fuyuki exchanged glances, then turned back to Kaitou. "Alright," Raiga said, his smirk returning. "What do we need to do?"

Kaitou pulled out a small, disk-shaped device and placed it on the ground between them. It was an improved version of the Chakra Nature Analyzer he had used as a child. 

"This will determine your elemental affinities more accurately than simple chakra paper," Kaitou explained. "Place your hands on the surface and channel chakra into it." 

Raiga and Fuyuki followed his instructions, pressing their palms against the cool metal. The device hummed softly, intricate seals lighting up as it analyzed their chakra. 

After a few seconds, symbols for different elements appeared. 

- Raiga: Lightning (Primary), Wind (Secondary), Earth (Tertiary)

- Fuyuki: Fire (Primary), Earth (Secondary), Water (Tertiary)

Kaitou examined the results carefully. These combinations gave him a better idea of how to push their abilities further. 

He turned to Raiga first. "Your greatest weakness is speed. While your reflexes are sharp, your actual movement speed is lacking compared to other elite fighters. You need something that enhances your mobility while maintaining your offensive edge." 

Raiga crossed his arms. "Yeah, I've noticed that too. What's your solution?" 

"You'll learn something I created a while back, Speed Release - a combination of Lightning and Wind Chakra. This will allow you to stimulate your muscles in special ways that can enhance your speed, and in turn your attacks as well. You'll be able to move faster and strike harder." 

Raiga's eyes widened. "With that my speed will finally not hold me back anymore!" 

Kaitou nodded. "While it may seem very one dimensional, this combined with your solid foundations and your clans Metal release will result in a deadly combination. If you master it, you'll be able to outrun most opponents and wreck through whole battlefields." 

Raiga grinned. "That sounds like my kind of style." 

Next, Kaitou turned to Fuyuki. "Your issue is different. Your fighting style is already precise, but it lacks the sheer power to overwhelm an enemy in a direct clash. You need something that gives you both offense and defense at the same time." 

Fuyuki nodded. "So what do you have in mind?" 

"You'll learn Lava Release - a combination of Fire and Earth Chakra. With this, you'll be able to create and manipulate masses of lava at will. If used right, you could use it to form armor, create defensive barriers, or simply decimate your enemies with the lava as a powerful weapon. This will help you in dealing huge amounts of damage, while at the same time give you many other options for applications. With this only your imagination will be your limit, if you lack the creativity I can also help you, it was something I used a lot when I first learned it." 

Fuyuki smirked. "So I just have to make what I need and force people to fight on my terms?" 

"Exactly," Kaitou confirmed. "The lava itself deals a lot of damage as long as it hits them, so with the right techniques you will be able to fully control entire battlefields alone, for as long as your chakra holds on." 

Fuyuki cracked his knuckles. "I like the sound of that." 

With their new goals set, Kaitou motioned for them to follow him. "The theory is the easy part. Now, let's see if you can actually make it work." 

They nodded in determination, eager to learn something that would help them so much.

Kaitou put his meditation once more on pause and helped them with instructions. He already made it clear to them, that while he would aid in the initial steps, they have to achieve it by themselves. This was after all still a test, to see if they'll be able to keep up with him in the future.

It was already surprising enough that the two of them, who were no less than seven years older than him, even wanted to be his subordinates and learn from him.

Because of this he made up his mind to help them in the first three days to lay the foundation, and then leave them to their self-studies. He, after all, still has his summoning contract waiting for him.

Even with the possibility of some useful subjects, the prospect of powerful summons, and maybe even sage mode was just too appealing to Kaitou.