Dangerous fight

Kaito remained in his position, waiting for the next fight, while keeping an eye on the Hokage's location. No movements had occurred yet, but he knew that Orochimaru would soon launch an attack.

"Sasuke vs. Gaara."

Hayate announced the next fight, and the scene unfolded as in the anime. Sasuke hadn't arrived yet, and he would be disqualified. However, due to the audience's insistence, they postponed his fight.

"Kaito vs. Kankuro."

Upon hearing this, Kaito descended to the battlefield, while Kankuro walked to his position. They stood face to face, but when Hayate announced that the duel had begun, neither Kaito nor Kankuro prepared to fight.

"I give up," Kankuro raised his hand, conceding the match only seconds after it had started. The audience was shocked and disappointed, wanting a real fight, not a forfeit.

Kaito showed no reaction. He already knew Kankuro would give up now, as they would try to escape with Gaara after Orochimaru attacked. Returning to his position, Kaito observed the other fights that quickly passed, and finally, it was time for Sasuke vs. Gaara.

Everything unfolded as in the anime, with Sasuke arriving just in time and injuring Gaara with his Chidori. Gaara emerged from his cocoon in pain, and at that moment, many people in the audience started to fall asleep on their seats—Genin, Chunin, and civilians—all affected. Only a few, including Kaito and some other ninjas, resisted.

Among them, Kaito noticed a smoke cloud where the Hokage and Kazekage were.

'So, it's starting just like in the anime. I wasn't prepared for Kabuto's genjutsu, and I didn't even remember that it happened. Well, now the fight where Hiruzen dies.' Kaito sighed, contemplating.

While Kaito sighed, Kakashi and Might Guy approached them.

"Sakura, and you're Kaido, right, that friend Naruto won't stop talking about? I have an important mission for you both," Kakashi began as he arrived.

"It's Kaito, not Kaido," Kaito corrected Kakashi, wondering how he confused his name with a character from One Piece. He quickly dismissed it as a coincidence.

"Whatever," Kakashi shrugged, showing little concern for getting the name right. "The mission for you is to break the others out of the genjutsu, pursue Sasuke, and bring him back. He's chasing those Sunagakure shinobi. It's an A-rank mission, so be prepared."

Sakura was clearly surprised and shocked, while Kaito maintained a poker face, showing no reaction. After Kakashi finished explaining the details, he summoned one of his dogs to follow Sasuke's trail. Sakura looked at Kakashi and agreed, crawling toward Naruto to wake him from the genjutsu.

Kaito stood up and walked toward them, prompting several kunai to be thrown his way. He ignored them and continued walking. When the kunai were about to hit his back, a breeze surrounded him, knocking the kunai away.

' They'll need more than that to hit me.' Kaito thought as he calmly walked to Shikamaru's side.

"Come on, get up. I know you're awake," Kaito said to Shikamaru, who ignored him while Kaito persisted.

"If you don't get up, don't blame me if a dog bites your leg," Kaito said with a smile, but there was still no sign of Shikamaru. Pakkun walked to the side and slowly bit his leg, making Shikamaru stand up, feeling the pain of the bite.

"I warned you," Kaito smiled at the scene as Shikamaru removed Pakkun from his leg.

Naruto had just been awakened by Sakura, and he quickly stood up, still unaware of what was happening. Several kunai were thrown his way, but he easily defended himself with his staff.

"What the heck was that? Can't you guys explain already?" Naruto asked as he ducked.

"I'll explain on the way, Naruto," Sakura said, looking around. At that moment, a ninja appeared in front of them, ready to attack. However, Might Guy appeared, throwing the enemy ninja against the wall, creating a massive hole. He then looked at everyone.

"Use this new and stylish exit and complete your missions. Show the flames of youth!" After saying this, he gave a classic smile.

Sakura pulled Naruto by the arm, jumping through the new "exit," and Kaito followed. Only Shikamaru and Pakkun remained. Shikamaru clearly didn't want to go on this mission, but Pakkun bit his arm and pulled him.

...

Konoha Forest.

Kankuro and Temari were running while attempting to escape from Konoha. Kankuro carried Gaara, with Sasuke not far behind in pursuit.

A bit further away, Kaito, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Pakkun were leaping between the trees. Sakura explained to Naruto, who seemed to finally understand the whole situation.

They hadn't gone far when they realized that other ninjas were chasing them. Shikamaru decided to stay behind and delay the enemies.

So the four of them continued, Pakkun constantly sniffing Sasuke's scent, indicating the direction they should follow.

As they were getting closer, Kaito felt some movements in the trees. He threw several kunai in that direction, and some ninjas jumped from the trees, dodging the kunai.

Upon realizing this, everyone stopped, observing these new ninjas. It was impossible to identify which village they belonged to, as they were all covered in black coats.

"Look what we have here, just what we needed," one of the ninjas said, looking at the four of them. The others laughed, giving them strange looks.

"Naruto, you go ahead. I'll deal with these guys and catch up with you soon," Kaito said, realizing that these guys were suspicious. They emitted the same vibe as the ones he had faced before.

Naruto observed the enemies for a moment and agreed, as he had complete trust in Kaito. Sakura also agreed when she saw that Naruto didn't protest. They continued walking, slightly changing their direction.

The ninjas didn't react and let the three pass while keeping their focus on Kaito.

"Your little friends are gone now. Now comes the fun part. We never thought we'd find a descendant of the Yuki clan again. The last ones died in rather cruel ways at our hands, you know?" one of the ninjas said, smiling at Kaito, although it didn't seem like a genuine smile.

Kaito was surprised; he didn't expect to encounter these people here. He wasn't even aware that they still existed since his entire clan had basically been wiped out.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Kaito asked, even though he knew they wouldn't answer. He asked merely to play the victim.

"Hahaha, a moment ago, you were all arrogance," one ninja laughed while looking at Kaito.

Feigning fear, Kaito stepped back and appeared genuinely scared. This prompted the ninja who had spoken earlier to advance in his direction.

He quickly reached Kaito and threw a punch at his face, seemingly very fast. Kaito narrowly dodged, and the ninjas were put on alert. However, in the next moment, they were relieved to see that the child had successfully avoided the attack because he had stumbled over a branch. His frightened expression confirmed their belief.

"I surrender, please don't hurt me," Kaito cowered, completely shielding his face with his arms.

Seeing this, the ninjas approached quickly. One of them tried to grab Kaito, but at that moment, Kaito formed a final hand seal, creating a water sphere that entrapped them all. Without waiting to give them a chance, Kaito froze the sphere, leaving only their heads exposed.

All the ninjas were stunned and in shock; they didn't expect this. Their information had stated that the child only had the power of a mid-level Genin and hadn't even awakened his kekkei genkai.

Kaito was relieved that tricking them was much easier than he expected. Walking toward the ninjas, Kaito prepared to start investigating who they were when he sensed a ninja appearing behind him, holding a kunai pointed at his heart—a potentially fatal blow. However, Kaito blocked it with an ice blade he had just formed.

Looking at his opponent, Kaito realized that this ninja was dressed the same way as the others. The ninja jumped back upon seeing Kaito defend himself.

"Idiots! How could all of you fall for such a stupid trick?" the man cursed and then looked back at Kaito.

"You need to come with me, kid. Will it be willingly or by force?" the man asked Kaito.

"No, thank you. I'll have to decline your offer."

'I'd be an idiot to accept; clearly, they don't intend to do anything good for me,' Kaito thought, getting into a battle stance.

The man didn't care much and began forming some hand signs, putting Kaito on high alert. It didn't take long for him to finish his jutsu, and a large fireball shot out, destroying and burning everything in its path toward Kaito.

Forming some hand signs, Kaito launched a large water bullet that hit the fireball, creating a vast amount of steam that filled the forest, impairing visibility.

Upon seeing this, the man decisively retreated out of the steam while keeping an eye on Kaito.

'He thought quickly; if he had stayed for just one more second, I would have frozen him. Unfortunately, he was too fast.' Kaito thought.

"We've fought many times against people from the Yuki clan. Clearly, we have experience with what you can do. Unfortunately, these idiots were too arrogant due to incorrect information." The ninja spoke to Kaito, seemingly undisturbed that the others were frozen.

Hearing this, Kaito furrowed his brow, looking again at where he had frozen the other enemies. He realized that all of them had managed to escape, putting Kaito on high alert.

'Darn it, now this is going to be a complicated fight. They seem to have some way of breaking free from my ice, but they need some time for it.' Kaito thought as he scanned the area, finally spotting his enemies not far away. They had escaped the steam and seemed to be alert and cautious now.