An Unexpected Kiss

Kaito was running through the village as Naruto chased him. The two of them looked like shadows, briefly appearing on the rooftops and disappearing. Laughter and taunts echoed, the only sounds breaking the silence.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Unbeknownst to Kaito, three new people joined the chase. Hikari, Ryuji, and Ino were now following not too far behind.

After a few minutes of intense pursuit, with many civilians and other ninjas noticing the commotion, a sense of tranquility set in as they witnessed the children playing happily.

...

Kaito stopped at one of the training fields, waiting for Naruto to catch up.

Whoosh!

"You're too slow, Naruto," Kaito remarked as Naruto landed in front of him.

Naruto took a deep breath, ready to attack Kaito, but at that moment, three more shadows appeared.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Hikari, Ryuji, and Ino landed gracefully, catching their breath. They had joined the pursuit without Kaito noticing.

"What's up with you guys? How can you run at such speed for so long and still be fine?" Hikari complained, catching her breath.

Kaito was surprised by the arrival of the three; he hadn't noticed their joining in the pursuit.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kaito asked curiously.

"Hahaha, not sure. We just noticed two crazies running at high speed in the village, and since we were heading to your place to visit, we decided to follow you," Ryuji said with a smile.

"Hey, not crazy, maybe lacking a few screws in the head, but that's normal," Kaito asserted proudly.

Ino covered her mouth to suppress a smile, while Hikari and Ryuji shook their heads in disbelief.

"Hey, since we're here, what do you think of having a little training session?" Kaito suggested, looking at everyone, who were surprised by his proposal.

"Haha, let's do it, Kaito. I want to see if a special jounin is really that strong," Naruto said, smiling and ready to battle.

"Perfect timing, Kaito. I've been training a lot lately and wanted to see how strong I am," Ryuji agreed, cracking his fingers.

Hikari and Ino exchanged glances, contemplating for a moment, but they eventually declined, choosing to observe.

"Alright, then you two come at me with everything you've got," Kaito smiled and called them both at once.

Ryuji was slightly surprised, thinking Kaito would fight them separately.

"You're overestimating yourself, Kaito. That'll be your downfall. Let's take him down, Naruto."

"Alright, let's wipe the floor with him," Naruto agreed.

The three prepared to fight and distanced themselves.

"I'd like one of the lovely ladies to start this battle," Kaito said, looking at the girls.

Ino blushed a bit upon hearing this, while Hikari smiled and pushed Ino forward.

"Alright, I'll count to three," Ino said, still blushing, as Kaito and the others quickly agreed.

"1"

"2"

"3"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As soon as Ino finished counting, Naruto and Ryuji disappeared, while Kaito looked at Ino and winked, making her blush even more.

Whoosh!

At that moment, when Kaito disappeared, several wind blades and kunai struck that position.

Kaito appeared not too far away, smiling and looking towards Naruto and Ryuji.

"Clever, but you know I've been friends with you guys for a while now; I know your tricks." Kaito began swinging his arm, and several wind blades were directed towards Ryuji and Naruto.

Kaito's attack speed was several times faster than Naruto and Ryuji's, so his wind blades reached them in a matter of seconds.

But Ryuji was ready for this, and a barrier of earth had already emerged in front of them.

The blades cut deeply into the earthen barrier but couldn't penetrate it.

Seeing this, Kaito wasn't bothered and unleashed more wind blades, easily destroying the barrier. However, Naruto and Ryuji were no longer behind the barrier.

Naruto appeared beside him, using the same jutsu he had used against Kiba.

A large tornado emerged from the tip of his staff as he thrust it forward.

"Wind Vortex," Naruto said as he attacked.

The wind vortex rapidly advanced towards Kaito, who began forming hand signs quickly. A water barrier appeared around him.

A large amount of water splashed when the wind vortex and the water barrier collided, but the barrier resisted the impact well.

Kaito deactivated his barrier, and at that moment, he felt his feet sinking as if in quicksand. Looking down, he saw the muddy ground.

"We got you, Kaito!" Naruto shouted as ten clones surrounded Kaito. Three used wind blades, two employed the Great Wind Pressure jutsu, and the remaining five utilized the Wind Vortex jutsu.

All these jutsus would surely intimidate someone, but Kaito wasn't overly concerned. He began forming hand signs.

"Not so fast, my friend," Ryuji grinned, and the muddy ground rose, trapping Kaito's arms. Kaito tried to free himself, but there was no sign of release.

Naruto's and Ryuji's jutsus closed in on Kaito. It seemed there was no escape for him, but at the last moment, the muddy ground under him froze completely. Kaito exerted some force, breaking the frozen mud, and the jutsus landed on his position, causing a complete collision of various jutsus that raised dust, obscuring the view.

The girls held their breath while watching, and Ryuji and Naruto were on high alert, knowing this wouldn't be enough.

It didn't take long for Kaito to appear on a tree nearby. As the dust settled, all that remained in the area were wooden splinters.

The girls finally breathed a sigh of relief but were excited about the battle, especially Ino, who was rooting for Kaito.

"Whew, the substitution jutsu is very useful. Glad I learned it," Kaito sighed while speaking, but his hands didn't stop moving. After forming some hand signs, a water serpent emerged.

The serpent writhed around Kaito for a moment and then advanced toward Naruto.

Naruto dodged the serpent's attack and used the Wind Blade jutsu, but the water serpent skillfully evaded the attacks and lunged at Naruto again.

While Naruto battled the water serpent, Kaito approached Ryuji, who was prepared for the encounter. His hands were covered with a stone glove, providing additional attack and defense power.

Kaito formed an ice blade and attacked Ryuji, who defended himself using his left arm. The blade and the arm collided, leaving Kaito and Ryuji face to face.

The two smiled and began to attack each other. Kaito swiftly slashed in various directions, but Ryuji dodged lightly, barely keeping himself in the fight. After a few seconds of this exchange, Ryuji found an opening and struck Kaito's ice blade with his fists, causing Kaito to step back a bit. As Kaito's physical strength was inferior to Ryuji's, he took advantage of this and launched a full-on assault, unleashing a sequence of powerful punches on Kaito.

Kaito's eyes gleamed at the challenge, and he began to dodge. Each of Ryuji's blows was potent; his taijutsu was well-polished and solid, unlike Kaito, who was more focused on his kenjutsu. After a series of attacks, Ryuji jumped back, distancing himself from Kaito.

A shiver ran down his spine, and without turning, Kaito summoned an ice barrier behind him. At that moment, a powerful gust of wind struck the barrier, so intense that ice shards scattered in all directions.

Naruto had already freed himself from Kaito's ninjutsu and had unleashed his Wind Vortex jutsu.

Kaito briefly glanced back, but he had to focus on Ryuji, who was advancing for close-quarters combat. Naruto, wielding his staff, also moved forward, putting Kaito at a disadvantage.

Ryuji attempted his punch sequence again, forcing Kaito to evade. However, a staff came at him, causing him to defend with his ice blade. The force behind the blow pushed Kaito toward Ryuji, who was ready for it and punched with all his might into Kaito's ribs.

Realizing this, Kaito had only enough time to create a layer of ice in the targeted area. Ryuji's attack broke through some layers of ice and sent Kaito flying, causing him some pain upon impact. Nonetheless, Kaito gritted his teeth, spun in the air using the force of the blow, and Naruto seized this opportunity to attack Kaito with a wind ninjutsu. Naruto's jutsu quickly formed and collided with Kaito.

Or at least, that's what Naruto and Ryuji expected.

Just as they thought Kaito had been hit, a large water bullet struck Naruto from behind, sending him flying. This surprised Ryuji, but when he turned to observe, Kaito was already behind him with an ice blade at his neck.

Ryuji was shocked because just moments ago, Kaito had been hit by Naruto's jutsu. Ryuji looked again at Kaito, who had been hit by Naruto's jutsu but showed no sign of blood despite being all cut up. Instead, there was a blue glow, revealing that Kaito was an ice clone.

"When did you do that?" Ryuji asked incredulously.

By this time, Naruto had already gotten up. His body was sore and soaked, but curiosity overwhelmed any discomfort.

"Hahaha, the moment I created the ice barrier, I made an ice clone and then used the substitution jutsu when you guys attacked me. I wasn't dodging your attacks for nothing," Kaito explained with a smile.

Naruto and Ryuji were shocked to learn this; they hadn't noticed anything, and Kaito had orchestrated it all.

At that moment, the girls joined them.

"That was awesome, Kaito! You played with their minds, tricking their thoughts," Ino praised with a smile.

"Haha, it was nothing. They just aren't as observant," Kaito chuckled while scratching his head.

Naruto and Ryuji were a bit annoyed, but since it was true, they remained silent about it.

"Ryuji, don't worry. Our sensei promised to find the best teachers to train us," Hikari reassured Ryuji, getting close to him and lifting his spirits.

Kaito narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly, thinking about a certain something.

Ino had also noticed the closeness between Hikari and Ryuji in recent times.

Naruto, on the other hand, was lost in thought about something.

Approaching Ino slowly, Kaito observed Ryuji and Hikari talking.

"Ino, don't you notice something strange between those two?" Kaito whispered.

"Yes, they're very close—too close just to be friends," Ino replied, covering her mouth.

The eyes of both Ino and Kaito glowed intensely.

"Hey, Naruto, hey, Ino. Let's leave the lovebirds alone," Kaito called Naruto and spoke to Ino, although his intention was for Ryuji and Hikari to hear.

"Alright, let's give the couple some space," Ino agreed with a smile.

Naruto was completely confused, but as he looked at Ryuji and Hikari, his mind started working, and a mischievous grin formed on his face.

Passing by Ryuji, he lightly nudged him with his arm, gently pushing Ryuji toward Hikari, making them get closer, resulting in an unexpected kiss.

Ryuji and Hikari were incredulous after the unexpected kiss. They quickly glanced at everyone around them. Kaito and Ino were visibly surprised by the unexpected turn of events. Meanwhile, Naruto remained oblivious to what he had just caused, only seeing Kaito and Ino raising a sign with the number 10 written on it.

"Congratulations, Naruto," Kaito thanked Naruto for the unexpected scene, making Ryuji and Hikari even more embarrassed. The two looked at each other, their faces resembling tomatoes, still feeling the taste of each other's lips. In their embarrassment, Ryuji and Hikari quickly disappeared in opposite directions, unable to bear the looks on their friends' faces.