The gates of Konohagakure did not offer the warmth Kaito had expected. As he and Kagami Uchiha crossed the threshold, the bustling energy of the village felt jarringly superficial compared to the rhythmic, life-or-death silence of the Land of Rain. To the civilians, the war was a series of headlines and rising prices; to Kaito, it was the smell of wet iron and the sound of bone snapping under a Black Flash.
He moved through the streets with a gait that drew stares. His Physical Integrity: Stage 3 upgrade had altered his presence; he didn't just walk, he displaced the air around him. His Steel Bone Density gave his movements a heavy, deliberate grace, and the upgraded Roughness trait caused a faint, sandpaper-like hiss whenever his clothes brushed against his skin.
"Don't look at them, Kaito," Kagami whispered, his Sharingan deactivated but his eyes scanning the rooftops. "The village is happy to have a hero, but they are terrified of what that hero had to become to survive."
They weren't headed for the Hokage's office. Instead, they were diverted toward a nondescript stone building in the laboratory district—the entrance to the Foundation's subterranean hive.
The Descent into the Foundation
As they descended the spiral staircase into the dark, Kaito flared his Observation Haki. The world shifted into a monochrome map of cold intents. He felt the ROOT operatives stationed behind the walls, their heartbeats unnervingly steady, their "wills" suppressed into nothingness.
"Kagami Uchiha. And the 'Hollow Shadow'," a voice rasped from the end of the hall.
Danzo Shimura stood in a circular chamber illuminated by a single, flickering lantern. He leaned on his cane, his bandaged face making him look like a relic of a more brutal age.
"Leave us, Kagami," Danzo commanded. "This is a debriefing for a Special Jonin candidate. Your presence is no longer required."
"I am his handler, Danzo-sama," Kagami countered, his voice like flint. "By order of the Third Hokage, I am to remain with Kaito during all high-level assessments."
Danzo's one visible eye narrowed. "Hiruzen is soft. He sees a child. I see a weapon that is vibrating with an energy that doesn't belong to this world."
He turned his gaze to Kaito. "Step forward, boy. Show me the 'Black Flash' that the Iwa scouts are so terrified of."
The Assessment
Kaito didn't move. He stood his ground, his Total Concentration Breathing a low-frequency hum in the silent room.
"I don't perform for the Council, Shimura-sama," Kaito said, his voice carrying the new, metallic resonance of his upgraded frame. "The 'Black Flash' is for enemies of the Leaf. Are you an enemy?"
The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. The ROOT operatives in the shadows shifted, their intent suddenly sharpening like unsheathed blades.
Danzo didn't flinch. Instead, he signaled to a side door. A massive, iron-clad training golem—a relic from the First War infused with high-level earth chakra—was rolled into the center of the room.
"Strike it," Danzo commanded. "If your power is truly physical, then chakra-resistance will not save this machine. Prove to me that you are an 'Anomaly' worth the village's investment."
Kaito looked at the golem. It was nearly three meters tall, its stone surface engraved with defensive seals that would absorb almost any Ninjutsu.
Hiss... Haaaa...
Kaito focused. He didn't use Soru. He simply stepped forward. He felt the Steel Bone Density anchoring him to the floor. He raised his right hand, his Armament Haki coating his knuckles in a layer of obsidian that seemed to swallow the lantern's light.
He didn't hit it with a swing. He used a short-range thrust—the Divergent Fist logic.
THUD.
The initial impact was quiet. But then, the Stage 3 physics kicked in. The delayed kinetic wave traveled through the stone golem's core, vibrating at a frequency that matched the structural integrity of the earth-chakra seals.
CRACK.
The golem didn't just break; it exploded into fine sand. The iron plating twisted as if it had been hit by a wrecking ball. The shockwave blew out the lantern, leaving the room in total darkness, save for the faint, violet glow of Kaito's Slaughter Demon fragment in his inventory.
The Shadow's Offer
"Incredible," Danzo whispered in the dark. "No chakra signature. No hand signs. Just raw, distorted intent."
When the lights were relit, Danzo was standing inches from Kaito. "The Academy cannot teach you what you need to know. The Uchiha can only show you how to be a ghost. But I... I can show you how to be a god. Join the Foundation, Kaito. I will give you access to the forbidden scrolls of the Second Hokage. I will give you the resources to finish your 'Integration' before the Third War consumes us."
> [System Prompt: The Fork in the Path]
> Option 1: The Root's Embrace. (Unlock: High-Tier Assassination Skills / Dark Verse Integration).
> Option 2: The Way of the Leaf. (Maintain Bonds with Team Hiruzen / Traditional Growth).
>
Kaito looked at Danzo's hand, then at Kagami, who was standing by the door with his hand on his sword. He felt the "intent" of the village above him—the families, the shops, the laughter of children who didn't have to breathe like machines.
"I am a student of Kagami Uchiha," Kaito said, his voice echoing in the stone chamber. "And I am a teammate of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. If the Foundation wants me, they can find me on the battlefield. But I will not be your shadow, Danzo."
Danzo's face remained a mask, but Kaito's Observation Haki caught the flicker of cold, predatory annoyance. "A pity. You chose the path of the sun. But remember, Kaito... the sun is the first thing that blinds people before they fall."
The Meeting with the Third
As they left the ROOT headquarters, Kagami let out a breath he had been holding for ten minutes. "You have a habit of making very powerful enemies, Kaito."
"I just don't like boxes, Sensei," Kaito replied.
Their final stop was the Hokage's office. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, the room filled with the scent of cherry tobacco and old paper. He looked at Kaito not as a weapon, but with a gaze that was heavy with a grandfatherly sorrow.
"I've read the reports from the Central Dam, Kaito," Hiruzen said softly. "Tsunade tells me your body is undergoing a transformation that she cannot explain. Jiraiya says you saved their lives by breaking the laws of nature."
He leaned forward, setting his pipe down. "You are eight years old. By law, I should send you back to the Academy. But the war does not care for laws. The Council has recommended you for the rank of Special Jonin."
Kaito stood at attention.
"But I have a condition," Hiruzen added. "You will not be assigned to a standard squad. You will remain under the tutelage of Kagami Uchiha, but you will also be required to attend 'Humanity Sessions' with the Academy's medical staff. We cannot have our best soldiers forgetting how to be people."
> [System Status: Integration 4.0%]
> New Title: Special Jonin of the Void.
> Points Awarded: 1,000.
>
The Calm Before the Storm
That night, Kaito sat on the roof of the Uchiha compound, looking at the stars. The village was quiet, but he could feel the gears of the world turning. The Iwa were regrouping. The Kumo were watching. And somewhere in the dark, Orochimaru was looking at a fragment of twisted metal from the dam.
He summoned the System Shop one last time before sleep.
> [New Tier Unlocked: Verse Integration - Demon Slayer (Sun Breathing)]
> Cost: 1,500 Pts.
>
Kaito took a slow, deep breath. Hiss... Haaaa...
The war was far from over. And the "Hollow Boy" was only just beginning to fill with fire.