Naruto SI: Kaito Red Lightnin Chapter 224
Shizune swallowed. "What if he's a ROOT spy? What if he hurts Lady Tsunade? She's finally opening up after so many years…"
She hesitated, then added quietly, "I just don't want her to get hurt."
Kaito kept eating, not saying anything.
Kushina nodded slowly. "It's Tsuna-nee we're talking about. She's cautious, and she won't fall for someone that easily, ya know. Nobody could trick her so simply."
Her expression softened as she looked back at Shizune. "But I understand. You're just looking out for her. Still, there's nothing to worry about."
Kaito finally spoke, lifting his eyes from his food. "If it makes it easier for you, I already checked."
Shizune looked at him, startled. "Huh?"
Kaito nodded. "When Kenji came back, Aunt Tsunade asked me to look into his mind. He's clean."
Shizune blinked. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, I checked it myself." Kaito said calmly. "He doesn't have any embedded seals. and there were no signs of conditioning. He's not a spy."
Shizune's shoulders dropped as she let out a breath. "I… I've been worrying about this for months."
Kushina chuckled softly. "Tsunade's lucky to have a friend like you, Shizune. Someone who cares that much."
Shizune smiled, eyes a little misty. "I just want her to be happy."
Kushina nodded. "So do we."
…
The village hummed below the Hokage Tower—voices overlapping, carts rattling over stone, vendors calling out prices as people went about their day. It was busy in the ordinary way, the kind of noise that faded into the background if you listened to it long enough.
Shizune sat at her desk, sorting through paperwork with practiced efficiency.
Tonton was sprawled flat on her belly atop the desk, fast asleep, completely unconcerned with the world around her.
Shizune had just finished aligning a stack of forms when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up just in time to see Hana Inuzuka walking toward her, three dogs padding along at her sides.
Hana came to a stop in front of the desk.
"Ah—you're here already," Shizune said, a little surprised.
"I was nearby when I got the summons," Hana replied easily.
As they spoke, one of the Hinamaru triplets lowered its head, nose twitching as it sniffed curiously at the piglet sleeping on the desk.
The reaction was instant.
"Oink—oink oink—!"
Tonton squealed as she felt the breath brush against her. She scrambled backward in a panic, hooves skidding against the wood before she launched herself straight into Shizune's arms, trembling and squealing like her life depended on it.
Shizune nearly dropped the papers she was holding. "Hey—hey, Tonton, it's alright," she said quickly, steadying the piglet against her chest. "You're okay. Nothing's wrong."
The Hinamaru triplets tilted their heads in unison, ears flicking back in confusion. One of them let out a small huff, clearly offended.
Hana blinked, then broke into a grin. "Ah. Sorry about that. Looks like they scared her."
"It's alright," Shizune said, glancing down at Tonton, who was still clinging to her. She gently rubbed the pig's back. "She startles easily."
After a few moments, Tonton peeked out, realized she wasn't in danger, and slowly relaxed, letting out a small, embarrassed snort.
Hana grinned, jerking her thumb toward the door. "Mind if I go see him? I can wait there until the others arrive."
Shizune nodded. "Sure. I don't think he'll mind."
Inside the Hokage Office
Kaito sat behind the Hokage's desk, finishing the last lines of a form.
Three stacks of paperwork were spread across the desk. Two of them sat on the left, already finished and neatly aligned. The third stack, much shorter than the other two, rested on the right—the final pile he was working through.
Kaito signed the form and placed it neatly atop the completed stack. Then he reached for the smaller pile, pulled out a folder, and opened it.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Kaito groaned and slammed his forehead lightly against the desk. "If this is another stack of paperwork, I swear I'm going rogue."
He lifted his head, rubbing his face, and muttered, "Come in."
The door opened, and Hana stepped inside with the three Hinamaru triplets padding in behind her. She closed the door and grinned.
"Heh. Thought I smelled you in here." She wiped a finger under her nose with a toothy grin. "Hokage-sama."
Kaito groaned again, dragging a hand down his face. "Don't call me that, Hana." He sighed, then glanced at her. "Been a while, huh."
"You could say that." Hana walked closer, one hand settling on her hip as she looked him over. "You look terrible."
Kaito snorted. "Thanks. I try."
He leaned back in his chair. "I'm basically dead inside at this point. Paperwork does that to you. It's the bane of all shinobi, ya know."
Hana grinned, her eyes flicking to the stacks on the desk. "Let me guess. Lady Tsunade dumped all her paperwork on you and left again?"
Kaito snorted, already turning back to the folder. "Something like that. She had to attend a meeting with the daimyo's advisor, so she dumped it all on me."
Hana leaned closer to the desk, eyeing the stacks. "This much?" She tapped one of the finished piles curiously.
"This is the third stack today," Kaito said dryly. "Hopefully I'll finish this up and leave before another one shows up."
Hana hummed. "So being Hokage is just doing a bunch of paperwork, huh. No wonder you weren't happy when Lady Tsunade named you the Sixth candidate."
Kaito sighed as he placed another signed file onto the completed stack. "And you guys said I was crazy for not being happy."
"Well," Hana said, shrugging, "look on the bright side."
Kaito looked up at her. "And what's that?"
She grinned. "You're getting real good at signing your name." She laughed at her own joke.
Kaito's eye twitched.
Hana stopped wiping at her eyes and cleared her throat. "Alright, alright. So…" She straightened slightly. "What is it that you summoned me for? I'm guessing it's a mission."
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much." He went back to the paperwork in front of him.
Hana waited a second for him to continue. When he didn't, she frowned and crossed her arms. "So you gonna tell me, or what is it?"
Kaito didn't look up. He placed the signed paper onto the completed stack and reached for another file. "Wait a bit," he said calmly. "It'll be easier to explain when everyone's here, ya know."
Hana stood there awkwardly as Kaito continued working, the only sound in the room the soft shuffle of paper.
After a moment, Kaito glanced at her. "So… how's your training to become a vet coming along? Hotaru told me you just got your license to practice."
Hana blinked, then nodded. "Yep. Honestly, it's going pretty well." She went on, explaining how things were going for her as Kaito listened while working through the paperwork.
A moment later, there was a knock at the door.
Shizune poked her head in. "The team you asked for is here."
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. Let them in."
Shizune stepped aside, allowing Shisui Uchiha, Ko Hyuga, and Muta Aburame to enter the office before closing the door behind them.
Shisui wore his usual attire, except for the headband covering his left eye. If someone didn't know he was missing it, they might've thought he was just a big fan of Kakashi Hatake and copying his style—especially after Kakashi a few years covering his sharingan.
All three glanced around the office, clearly surprised to see Kaito behind the desk instead of Lady Tsunade.
"Sorry," Kaito said. "It's just me here. Lady Tsunade's out."
Shisui smiled as he stepped closer to the desk. "You summoned us, Lord Sixth?"
Hana burst out laughing again.
Kaito's eye twitched. "Don't start," he said flatly.
Shisui chuckled. "So, what's up?"
Kaito sighed, reached into the desk drawer, pulled out a scroll, and tossed it toward Shisui.
Shisui caught it instinctively and unrolled it, skimming through the contents.
"We received this earlier today," Kaito said. "It's a mission request from the daimyo's court."
Kaito shook his head slightly. "Couple days ago, a caravan belonging to someone closely related to the Fire Daimyo left the Land of Fire, headed toward the Land of Rivers. It was supposed to arrive yesterday." He glanced up briefly. "As you can guess, it didn't."
Shisui looked up from the scroll. "The caravan went missing?"
"Not exactly," Kaito said, shaking his head again. "They sent a team to investigate. What they found was the caravan burned to the ground. The guards were killed and burned along with it." His tone stayed casual, but his eyes hardened slightly. "The caravan was part of a bride's dowry—expensive and important family heirlooms passed down maternally."
Kō frowned. "There weren't any tracks?"
"None that the team could find," Kaito replied.
Muta adjusted his glasses. "So shinobi, then."
"Most likely," Kaito said with a nod.
He continued, "Whoever did this either had intel on what the caravan was hauling, or they ran into it by chance and took advantage. If it's the former…" He paused briefly. "Then we're dealing with someone confident enough to mess with someone closely related to a daimyo."
Shisui nodded slowly, understanding clear on his face, and rolled the scroll back up.
Kaito gestured toward it. "Your mission is to find out who stole it and recover all the stolen items as fast as possible."
Then he looked directly at Shisui. "You'll be taking the lead on this, Shisui."
Shisui nodded. "Right."
"Yeah," Hana added with a grin. "You can count on us."
Kaito nodded. "Alright then. You should get going if you're going to catch their trail."
"Then we'll take our leave, Hokage-sama," Shisui said, bowing slightly with a grin.
The others copied him unconsciously.
Kaito's eye twitched.
They turned to leave when Kaito spoke again. "Hana."
Hana paused and turned back, confused. Shisui and the others did the same.
Kaito tossed her one of his three-pronged kunai.
She caught it instinctively and looked down at it. "Huh?"
"Keep it with you," Kaito said evenly. "Channel chakra into it if you run into someone too dangerous to handle yourselves. I'll be there in a second, ya know."
Hana grinned. "Wow. Look at you. Being all reliable and Hokage-like."
Kaito grabbed a crumpled piece of paper from the desk and threw it at her. "Shut up and get out."
Laughing, Hana turned and followed the others out.
The door closed behind them.
Kaito let out a long sigh and glanced back at the remaining stack of paperwork.
"…I really hate this job."
…
A While Later
Kaito finished stamping the last piece of paperwork and set it neatly on the completed stack. He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.
Finally.
He stood up and stretched, rolling his shoulders as he got ready to leave the office.
That was when the door opened.
Tsunade walked in with Shikaku, followed by Kotetsu and Izumo, both carrying stacks of paperwork that looked far heavier than they wanted to admit.
Tsunade glanced at the desk and smirked. "Hey, brat. Looks like you actually finished the paperwork."
She stepped closer to the desk and gestured casually. "Set them on the desk, boys."
Kotetsu and Izumo moved forward and placed the stacks on the left side of the desk with audible groans.
"Whew, that was heavy," Kotetsu muttered, stretching his arms.
Kaito's eye twitched as he stared at the new stacks.
"I'm not doing that."
Tsunade blinked. "What?"
Kaito waved at the neatly finished piles. "I just cleared your backlog. I'm not touching anything else."
Tsunade waved him off dismissively. "Relax, brat. I'm not dumping it on you." She walked around the desk and took her seat.
Kaito visibly relaxed. "Good. Because I was seriously considering faking my death."
Tsunade snorted.
She then nodded toward Kotetsu and Izumo. "Thanks, boys. Drop those off at administration on your way out. Finished paperwork goes over there."
Kotetsu and Izumo nodded. "Alright," they said in unison as they picked the stacks back up and headed out.
"Well," Kaito said, turning toward the window, "I'll be leaving too. See you later." He paused briefly. "You too, Sensei."
"Wait, brat," Tsunade said, stopping him.
Kaito turned back. "Yeah?"
"Did anything happen while I was away?"
Kaito sighed lightly and reached back to the desk, pulling out a file. "There was a mission request from the daimyo's court. High priority."
He handed her the copy.
Tsunade skimmed through it, her expression growing more serious. "You already assigned it?"
"Yeah," Kaito nodded. "I sent Shisui, Hana, Muta Aburame, and Kō Hyuga."
Tsunade glanced up. "Shisui? Don't you think sending him on a mission like this is a bit overkill?"
Kaito shook his head. "Not really. The whole thing feels off. No bandit group or random rogue shinobi would touch a daimyo's caravan unless they were hired mercenaries… or confident enough in their skills not to care."
He paused, his expression sharpening. "And with everything happening at our borders right now—shinobi going missing lately—it's pretty clear someone's probing us."
Tsunade studied him for a moment. "So you think something's going on?"
Kaito shrugged. "I don't know. There could be something going on, or it could just be a bandit group led by a rogue jōnin getting in over their heads." He glanced aside. "I sent Shisui just in case the mission goes south. Plus, the mission's paying high enough that he won't mind."
Shikaku nodded thoughtfully. "I think it's the best call, considering what's been happening lately."
Tsunade nodded as well, a satisfied smirk tugging at her lips. "You're starting to sound like a Hokage."
Kaito's eye twitched.
He looked up at the clock and straightened. "It's five. I'm heading out."
"I'll walk with you," Shikaku said, already moving toward the door. "I still have a report to file."
They left together, the door closing behind them and leaving Tsunade alone in the office.
A While Later The window creaked open as Jiraiya popped into the room.
Tsunade let out a dramatic sigh. "Why can't anyone use the door like a normal person?"
Jiraiya grinned. "Where's the fun in that?"
She rubbed her temple. "What do you want, Jiraiya?"
"Well," he said casually, "I'm heading out tomorrow, so I thought you'd like to go drinking."
Tsunade shook her head. "Can't."
"Come on, Hime," he said immediately. "I'm buying. You can get the most expensive sake they've got."
Tsunade looked up from the paperwork on her desk. "I've got this to get through."
Jiraiya blinked. "Huh? Since when do you care about paperwork this much?"
"I don't," she said flatly. "But lately I've been dumping a lot of it on the brat, and I kind of feel bad about it." She tapped the desk. "And besides that, I already have plans tonight."
Jiraiya groaned. "You're killing me."
"Maybe next time, Jiraiya," Tsunade said.
He stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah… Ok."
He slipped back out the window.
After he was gone, Tsunade glanced toward the window he'd left through and let out a quiet sigh.
…
Later that evening
The streets near the market district were still lively.
Lanterns hung over food stalls, their warm glow spilling across the road as voices carried over the steady clatter of plates and laughter. It was the comfortable kind of noise—the sound of people winding down after a long day.
Ichiraku Ramen
Naruto and Jiraiya sat at the counter, steam rising from their bowls.
Next to Naruto, five empty ramen bowls were stacked neatly, evidence of how the night had been going so far.
Naruto slurped up a mouthful of noodles, cheeks puffed slightly as he swallowed. "Ahh, man, this is really good, ya know."
"Slow down, kid," Jiraiya chuckled. He reached over and placed an extra slice of chashu onto Naruto's bowl.
Naruto looked up as the meat landed. He blinked, then grinned.
"Nice!"
He lifted the bowl to his mouth and splurped down the rest of the ramen and broth in one go.
Jiraiya chuckled as he leaned back against the side wall.
That was when his eye caught a familiar figure walking past outside.
He blinked. Huh… is that Tsunade?
Naruto finished the last drop, slammed the empty bowl onto the counter, and turned toward Jiraiya. "Thanks again for bringing me out to eat, ya know!"
The chair beside him was empty.
Naruto blinked.
"…Huh?" He looked around. "Where'd he go?"
Just then, Ayame stepped up and placed the bill on the counter. "Here you go, Naruto."
Naruto leaned forward and squinted at it.
"…Five hundred and sixty ryō?"
Seven bowls of ramen. Extra toppings on every single one.
Naruto froze.
Elsewhere Jiraiya crouched atop a nearby building, the night breeze tugging lightly at his clothes. He pulled out his telescope from within his robes and peered through it.
"There you are…" he muttered.
He followed Tsunade's movements, then frowned. "Huh? Who's she with?"
He zoomed in slightly. "Wait… isn't that guy—what was his name again?"
He zoomed in further.
"…What's she doing with him?"
His frown deepened when he saw Tsunade holding Kenji's arm.
"Why is she holding his arm like that?"
Jiraiya continued to trail them from rooftop to rooftop.
When Tsunade and Kenji entered a yakiniku restaurant, Jiraiya repositioned himself and peered inside.
He watched as they ate together.
Talked.
Laughed.
Fed each other.
Slowly, the realization sank in.
"…She's on a date."
Jiraiya lowered the telescope, collapsed it, and stood there in silence for a moment.
Then he turned away and walked off into the night.
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