Kaida went back toward his home, where there was already chatter going on. It was not hard to understand the reason behind that.
'Brother is home,' Kaida thought and entered the house.
Only to find Kimimaro sitting next to Shisui, where he was looking a little uncomfortable about how Shisui was pinching his cheeks like he was a toddler.
In one month of the time Kimimaro was with them, Hae had gone all out with the food, and somehow the boy had gone from skinny to chubby in just a month. Part of it could be because Kimimaro was not allowed to leave the house for the time being, but Hae's cooking was still the major reason.
"Oh, you are back," Shisui said, looking toward Kaida, who didn't miss Kimimaro slowly slipping away from Shisui's grasp, only to be caught once again.
"We have some things to discuss, don't we?" Shisui asked.
"Yeah, there is a good dango shop opened in the Akimichi street. Do you want to try that, brother?"
"Sure, I have been fed up with seafood after eating it for 2 months straight," Shisui said, leaving Naruto, Kimimaro, and Yomi behind, while Kaida and he went out. Yomi naturally took the role of babysitting the small devils so that they would not try to paint the house orange to make it cooler... again.
Poor Kimimaro easily agreed to everything Naruto said when he brought up how happy everyone would be. That's why everyone had decided to take turns watching these boys everyday.
Kaida, for the fifth time, shared the same half-lie, half-truth about his mission, but this time to Shisui. Even though Hiruzen had ordered everyone not to share anything about Kimimaro to anyone, since the same boy was living with Shisui and others, that rule didn't apply to them.
"So I brought him to our house till Lord Third makes any decision about where he will live," Kaida completed it while eating the last dango from the stick.
"Hmm, this is really complicated. The clan will go all out on trying to recruit the boy, but I think Guy will be able to handle it, because that guy is anything but a pushover. Though there is something else in this that is very interesting," Shisui said, looking toward Kaida with a smile.
"You really fought a Sannin on your own? Aren't you getting too ahead of yourself? Even I would not be able to face them, and you think you are ready, huh?"
"Don't worry, brother. I am sure one day you will also become capable enough to do the same."
smack
"I am sorry! He ambushed me, and I didn't have a chance to run away. I mean, I am not as fast as you," Kaida said. A chop at the head really pushed out all of the funny ideas from it.
"Don't give me that crap. You had more than 10 chances to run away after you injured him and he summoned his summons, or after that. You just didn't want to leave the boy behind," Shisui said. He was not like Hiruzen and Shikaku, or even Jiraiya. He had fought against Kaida many times, even after he got his MS. There was probably no one in the world who had a closer idea about Kaida's strength than Shisui.
The boy was powerful, way more than his age should allow, but he was still not at the level to fight against someone like a Sannin. Having strength is one thing, and the ability to utilize that strength is another.
Those people have killed more people than the number of days his brother has lived.
"Yes," Kaida didn't explain any further. He had already said that he saw the boy as someone he might have become, and Shisui understood his emotions clearly.
"Did the thought of what would happen to us if something happened to you ever cross your mind when you put your life on the line like that?"
"Yes, brother. I knew you would be able to handle everything even without me, but if I ran away then, that man would have gotten his hands on Kimimaro, and... I don't know."
"I am tired from such a long mission, so I am going to sleep till Mom comes back. Though remember, from tomorrow we will have some practice to make sure you don't die during such crazy missions," Shisui said and left the shop, but there was a smile on his face.
Though what Kaida did was amateurish and dangerous, it was not wrong. His brother was not wrong. Now he just had to be strong enough to handle being not wrong all of the time, because in this world, it requires some serious strength to do the right thing.
Kaida also understood that. That's why he was pushing himself so much, and soon a new path of strength was going to be open for him, as Karin's and Yomi's beginner training were almost complete. Karin was obviously ahead of Yomi, but surprisingly, Yomi was not lacking according to Reina either.
It was just that compared to an Uzumaki, her progress was not as visible. In general, being a fuinjutsu practitioner and being able to make seals in 2 months was beyond impressive, and Kaida had himself seen the amount of effort Yomi had put into it. She knew she was not as talented as Karin, and since they were learning at the same time, she was using tens of shadow clones every day to match the pace and was holding onto it with sheer effort and willpower, fueled by the only thought of not being powerless once again when the time comes.
How could Kaida rest when everyone around him was doing so much hard work? So he once again went to the meditation room.
And one more week passed like that. The whole world was not in a silence—not the one which comes during peace, but the one just before a storm. Everyone knew that the time was very sensitive at the moment and were waiting for just the right moment to act.
One incident, one clue, one weakness, and the world would erupt in total chaos, but for now, things were still peaceful, like a spring gaining more and more energy, just to burst out when the time is right.
And like this, one more week passed. Finally, the news Kaida was waiting for the whole time arrived.