Kaito Chapter 82

Kaito Chapter 82

So they proceeded to detail the events to their sensei, leaving nothing out.

When they finished, Shikaku's brow furrowed in thought before he asked gravely, "So all seven of them are in here then?"

Itachi shook his head and gazed at Kaito intently as he spoke to their sensei, "No, Kaito. Let the leader go."

Kaito's smile widened mischievously as he retorted, "Like I said, I didn't let him go. He's just delivering a message for me, you know." He shrugged nonchalantly at the disapproving looks from his comrades.

Shikaku simply massaged his temple and muttered under his breath, "Troublesome."

….

The moon cast a soft, ethereal light through the dense forest, illuminating the wild undergrowth and twisted branches. A figure cloaked in black rushed through the trees, his movements shaky as he moved with stealth. he wore a mask bearing an animal marking .His destination was a hole-like structure on the forest floor, just outside of Konoha.

As he landed on the ground with a groan, the Anbu leaned against a nearby tree, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. Blood seeped from a stump where his right arm used to be, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain as he made his way towards the hole. With shaky hands, he jumped in.

As he landed on a bridge within the structure, he could feel his strength waning. But he pressed on, slowly walking down a dimly lit corridor that seemed to stretch on forever. The whole base seems to have been abandoned, only the sound of his own footsteps echoing off the walls.

Struggling to stay upright, the Anbu leaned on the cool stone wall as they reached the end of the dark corridor. As they emerged into the blinding light, they saw three figures waiting for them in the room ahead.

One of them was Danzo Shimura, accompanied by his two Anbu guards. The first guard wore a half mask that revealed their lower face and a black cloak with a hood. The second guard wore the standard Konoha Anbu attire and had a sword strapped to their back. The injured Anbu slumped to the ground as they reached the end of the corridor, but the other Anbu quickly rushed forward and caught them before they fell.

 "Tenji, what happened?" asked the Anbu with the sword to the anbu code named tenji. Danzo's expression turned to a frown as he stood up from his chair and approached them with his cane tapping against the floor. "Tenji, report. Where is the rest of your assigned team?" he demanded sternly.

The injured anbu panted heavily, struggling to catch their breath before replying, "All of them are dead. The targets knew we were following. We failed the mission, Danzo-sama."

Danzo's eyes narrowed in anger and disappointment. "You failed the mission," he repeated, his tone icy and unforgiving. "Give me a detailed report of what happened."

Just as the injured anbu started to explain in detail, seals began to appear on their body and the anbu's body went rigid it started to eeriely glow.

Danzo's eyes widened in alarm as he barked out quickly, "Move!" But it was too late as the seals exploded, sending debris flying everywhere. the anbu wearing a black cloak shielded Danzo with his body, pushing him back as they took the brunt of the explosion.

As the dust settled and the chaos subsided, Danzo struggled to stand among the rubble. He pushed aside the lifeless body of a burned anbu, his right side completely blown up from the explosion. His right arm was missing and parts of his face were charred and unrecognizable.

As he sat up, Danzo muttered to himself through gritted teeth, "That brat...he purposely allowed my man to escape knowing that he would report back to me. And then he placed an explosive seal on him, blowing him up when he returned." Danzo let out a heavy breath, realizing the cunning and dangerous nature of his opponent.

"He is just like his father," Danzo thought to himself bitterly, recognizing the same ruthless and clever tactics in the young boy that had once been wielded by his father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze.

….

Team 11, along with the other genin who had successfully completed the second stage of the Chunin Exams, were led into a spacious room within the tower. Kaito strolled leisurely behind his team, hands tucked casually behind his head as he took in their surroundings.

The room was filled with around seven other teams who had also passed the second stage, including the team from Kirigakure with Mangetsu Hozuki and the same team that Team 11 had ambushed during the second stage to gain the earth scroll, they were glaring towards team 11 with eyes narrowed.

For the past five days, Kaito, Hotaru, and Itachi had been confined to their rooms. passing time by playing board games as they waited for the second part of the exams to conclude. During this time, they also had kushina's cooking that Kaito had kept sealed within a sealing scroll, he had enough food to last them weeks.

As they entered the larger room, all thoughts of boredom vanished from Kaito's mind as he took in the impressive arena-like setup. In the front stood a massive statue of two hands holding the ram hand sign.

Kaito couldn't help but think to himself, "Huh, this is the same arena where Naruto fought during the preliminary round." The teams lined up in front of the Hokage, with proctors of the exams standing beside him and each team's jonin sensei positioned behind him. including Kaito's own sensei Shikaku. Amidst all the familiar faces, he also spotted Terumi Mei, the future Fifth Mizukage.

A voice broke through the chatter. Shibi, pushing his sunglasses into place as he addressed the assembled genin. "Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on successfully completing the second stage of these exams," he said, causing some of the genin to exchange excited whispers.

"But as previously stated," Shibi continued, "you will need to have passed both the first and second stages in order to participate in the third stage." He gestured towards Inoichi, who stepped forward with a clipboard in hand.

"The ones that I call out will be disqualified, along with their entire team," Inoichi announced sternly. As he began reading off names, tension filled the air. Three individuals were called out, their teams were immediately disqualified as well.

Protests erupted from some of the teams, but they were quickly escorted out by their respective jonin sensei. Among those disqualified was the Kiri team that Team 11 had ambushed in the previous round.

Inoichi's voice cut through the murmurs of disappointment as he announced, "Your test results will be given to your jonin sensei. If you wish to see them, please consult with them later."

"Now that it is over, the Hokage will explain the third exam to you," Inoichi added, nodding toward the elderly leader of the village.

Hiruzen stepped forward, clearing his throat before addressing the gathered genin. "Before I explain the third exam, I want to reveal something about its true purpose. I am about to tell you why we host these chunin exams." He paused, scanning the faces of the young shinobi before continuing. "Why do you suppose our country..."

Kaito tuned out Hiruzen's words, already knowing the true meaning behind the chunin exams. He didn't want to waste time listening to the old man's long-winded explanation. Instead, he observed his fellow genin and thought to himself, "So it seems four teams have passed...hmm, I doubt there will be a preliminary round since we have the perfect number of participants."

Among the remaining teams were Kaito's own team, Mangetsu's team, a team from Suna, and a team from Kumo. Kaito hummed to himself in contemplation. "The only ones who may give me trouble are Itachi, Hotaru, Mangetsu, and possibly that Six-Tails jinchuriki. Other than them, I don't think I'll have much difficulty facing off against the others."

Kaito's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Hiruzen's voice as he began to explain the final rounds of the tournament. "And now," Hiruzen announced, "I will begin the explanation of the final rounds. Accordingly, the final matches will begin one month from now. You will be placed in a bracket where you will have to face each other in a series of one-on-one battles."

Kaito couldn't help but interrupt Hiruzen's long-winded explanation, not wanting hiruzen to take another few minutes to explain. "So it's a tournament then? Will we know which bracket we will be placed in beforehand or will it be on the day of the tournament?"

Hiruzen nodded in response. "Yes, it is a tournament. The bracket placement will be done on the day of the tournament."

As Hiruzen continued to talk, Kaito found himself tuning him out and eagerly awaiting their dismissal. Soon enough, they were dismissed and Shikaku strolled over lazily.

"Come on," he said to team 11. "Since you three have qualified for the final stage, I'll treat you guys and we can discuss your training for the finals." Kaito, Hotaru and itachi happily nodded and followed Shikaku

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