Naruto SI: Kaito Red Lightnin Chapter 184
Author's Note:
Hey guys!
Sorry for the late chapter—I had some trouble editing and had to rewrite parts of it again. The next chapter will be the one where Naruto and the others receive the gifts and letter from Kushina.
I'll also be uploading a Hogwarts: Neville's Insert chapter tomorrow, and then on Monday, the next Naruto SI: Kaito – Red Lightning chapter will be up.
Thanks for your patience and support as always!
He ran to the edge, gripping the railing and looking out. Below, the Hidden Leaf Village stretched out as it always had—peaceful, whole. The Hokage Monument was clear in the early morning haze, Naruto and Kakashi's faces carved proudly into the mountain. The sun had yet to rise.
Boruto turned to Sasuke, eyes wide. "Sasuke! Look!" he said, grinning. Then he raised a fist into the air with joy. "We're back home, ya know!"
Before Sasuke could respond, Boruto's head snapped to the side, sensing someone approaching.
"Boruto! Sasuke-san!" Konohamaru, hurrying up the stairs onto the rooftop. His face was tense, urgency in his voice.
Boruto's eyes lit up. "Big brother Konohamaru!" he called out with a grin.
Konohamaru barely slowed as he reached them. "What are you two doing here? Wait—never mind. Listen, Urashiki has infiltrated the village! Things are bad right now!"
Sasuke gave a slight nod, his face calm and focused. "We know. We were just about to report to Naruto about it."
Konohamaru blinked. "Huh? Oh… right." He frowned in confusion but didn't question it further.
Without another word, Sasuke turned toward the Hokage Tower. "Let's go, Boruto," he said, then vanished using the body flicker.
Boruto shot one last grin at Konohamaru. "See you later, Big Bro!" Then, Boruto flickered in and out of view a few times before vanishing completely.
Konohamaru stared for a second, blinking. "…Huh. That's new. When did He learn that?"
…
Boruto and Sasuke stood inside the Hokage's office, delivering their mission report on everything that had just happened.
Sasuke finished with a quiet, "...and that's what happened."
Naruto stood at the window, gazing out over the village. He stayed silent for a moment, then turned around to face them.
"So… with Urashiki gone, that means every confirmed Otsutsuki we've encountered so far has been defeated?"
Boruto nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
Naruto gave a slow nod, then turned back toward the window. "I see…"
He walked over and leaned back against his desk, arms folded. "And you were sent back to the past… but my mom survived in that timeline?" he asked, a bit confused.
Sasuke shook his head slightly. "Sort of. It was an alternate timeline—one where you had an older brother. Same age as Itachi. Most of the changes in that world were because of him."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, squinting. "Ehh… timelines, huh? This is all really confusing…"
Boruto let out a sigh. "We were sent to the past, but it wasn't our past. In our world, Grandma died the day you were born. But in the timeline we were sent to… your brother saved her."
Naruto nodded slowly. "So it's kind of like that time Sakura and I ended up in another version of Konoha—where Dad never became the Fourth Hokage, and both he and Mom were still alive."
Boruto blinked. "Wait, what? You've been to another timeline, too? When did that happen?!"
Even Sasuke looked surprised. "I've never heard about this."
Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking. "To be honest, I'm not sure if it was a real timeline or just some powerful genjutsu. Now that I think about it… It might've been a prototype of the Infinite Tsukuyomi or something. Obito was the one who sent us there."
He scratched his cheek and added, "The whole thing was weird. Everyone acted totally opposite from how they are here. Shikamaru was dumb. Sasuke…" Naruto looked over with a smirk, "You were a total flirt—always hitting on everyone."
Sasuke's eye twitched.
"And Hinata…" Naruto continued, his voice dropping. "She's so sweet and gentle here, ya know? But that Hinata… she was scary." He visibly shivered.
Boruto blinked in shock. "Seriously?! But… Mom's always been kinda scary, ya know."
Naruto shot him a look. "Don't let her hear that, ya know."
Naruto looked up at them and added, "Everything was the mirror opposite of here. But I think… maybe it was what I would've wanted in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. It happened right after I learned who my parents were, so… it kinda makes sense, ya know?"
Boruto looked even more confused. "You're just making this up, aren't you?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm not. I remember spending time with Mom and Dad. It was… really nice to finally meet them. To just be with them, even for a while, ya know?"
Sasuke gave a thoughtful nod. "Then it might have been the Tsukuyomi after all. Everything you described fits what your ideal world would look like."
Naruto nodded slowly. "I see…" Then he smiled and straightened up a bit. "Well, thanks for all your hard work."
Sasuke glanced at Boruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Half the credit goes to Boruto. He figured out what Urashiki was really after—and that gave us the opening we needed."
Naruto gave Boruto a proud grin. "Boruto, huh? Well done, son." He gave him a thumbs-up.
Boruto grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't do much, ya know."
Sasuke added, "The time-traveling turtle is no longer in the Otsutsuki's possession. So they won't be able to target Boruto the same way again."
Naruto nodded. "That's good. I guess things are pretty much back to normal now, huh? Still… we'll need to inform the other villages about everything."
He pushed himself off the desk, stretched, and walked around to his chair, yawning. "Well, anyway, both of you should head back to re—"
Just as he sat down, Sasuke cut him off. "Actually, there's something else we need to tell you."
Naruto blinked and looked up at him. "Huh? What is it?"
Sasuke's expression grew serious. "It's about the mark on Boruto's hand."
Boruto smacked his forehead. "Oh right… I completely forgot about that."
Naruto straightened up in his chair, his expression turning sharp. "Wait—what about it? Did you find something out?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. While we were in that alternate timeline… your brother, Kaito Uzumaki, was able to sense and figure out the mark's true nature."
Naruto leaned forward. "And? What does it do?"
Sasuke exhaled slowly. "Using senjutsu, he sensed that the mark is slowly rewriting Boruto's DNA, turning it into that of an Otsutsuki."
Naruto blinked, confused. "Rewriting his DNA…?"
Sasuke nodded again. "Kaito figured out the mark is a method for Otsutsuki resurrection. Before they die, they place this mark on a host. Over time, it rewrites the host's DNA until they're fully Otsutsuki. Once it reaches one hundred percent… the Otsutsuki is reborn—by taking over the host's body."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He looked from Sasuke to Boruto. "Then… the person with the mark…"
Sasuke nodded grimly. "Yeah. They get overwritten. Erased."
Naruto stood up, tense. "Tell me there's something we can do. Sasuke, your Rinnegan—can it remove it?"
Boruto waved a hand. "Relax, old man. Grandma and Kaito already handled it. Look." He raised his hand and showed Naruto his palm—there was now a ring surrounding the Karma mark.
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah… thankfully, we met your mother and brother in that timeline. Once they understood what the mark really was, they studied it and created a seal that can fully suppress it. According to them, the seal will hold until Boruto dies naturally. They even built in a few safeguards in case anything triggers it."
Naruto's shoulders relaxed slightly. "But… they couldn't remove it?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No. Not without killing him. They said they needed more time—maybe even years—to safely remove it without harming Boruto. Time we didn't have."
Naruto let out a long sigh of relief and slumped into his chair. "Thank god… You should've led with that, ya know. I nearly had a heart attack."
Boruto grinned. "Where's the fun in that, ya know?"
Naruto gave a soft chuckle. "So… going to that timeline was kind of a blessing, then."
Sasuke nodded and pulled out a scroll, tossing it to Naruto. "This is a copy of the seal. Kaito thought we might run into another case like this, or someone else could get marked in the future."
Naruto caught the scroll and unrolled it slightly, scanning the markings.
Sasuke continued, "I agree with him. There's always a chance it could happen again. The seal needs one of us to add our chakra to it as a safety measure."
Naruto nodded. "Like my sealing jutsu, huh? But I'm not really good at fuinjutsu…"
Boruto smirked. "Don't worry about it, ya know. We've got it covered."
Sasuke reached into his cloak and placed another scroll on Naruto's desk.
Naruto blinked, picking it up. "Huh? What's this—another seal?" He turned it over in his hands, looking up at Sasuke.
Sasuke shook his head. "Sort of. It's a technique. Kaito created it. He wanted me to give it to you."
Boruto's playful grin faded. He grew serious, watching the scroll closely.
Naruto looked puzzled as he slowly unrolled the scroll. "A technique… for me?"
Sasuke nodded. "Apparently, he created the technique himself, but can't use it. He said you might be the only person who can… and survive."
Naruto looked up, blinking. "Only I can survive it?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. According to Kaito, the technique works similarly to nuclear fusion. It fuses two different chakra types together to create energy that's exponentially stronger than the chakra used. In your case, it would be your chakra and Kurama's, fused inside the seal. He called it 'Baryon Mode.'"
Naruto looked even more confused. "Baryon Mode… chakra fusion?" he repeated, trying to make sense of it—then his eyes widened, then narrowed like he was talking to someone.
"I see," he said quietly, nodding. "So… this is a suicide technique then." He glanced at the scroll. "Kurama just told me he has something similar. He said using it would burn through our life force… like fuel."
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, that's basically it. But this version is different. Kaito said the seal isolates a portion of both your chakra and Kurama's inside it. So instead of burning through your life force, it contains the fusion energy. That means you'd be able to survive."
He crossed his arms, voice calm but serious. "The reason he said it wouldn't work for anyone else is because of the strain it puts on the body. The user would need to be healed constantly while the technique is active. Kaito believes Kurama could handle that—healing you as you fight."
Sasuke looked Naruto in the eye. "Kaito also said there's a chance we'll face someone… someone stronger than any Otsutsuki we've dealt with so far. That's why he gave you the seal—just in case we ever need it."
Just as Sasuke finished speaking, a flare of orange chakra pulsed out of Naruto. It took shape, forming a chkara head of Kurama beside him.
Sasuke didn't even blink, but Boruto jumped back, startled. "Whoa! Since when could you do that?! just… pop out like that?"
Naruto chuckled. "He's always been able to, ya know. He just doesn't usually bother."
Kurama's head turned toward the scroll in Naruto's hand. "So… that guy actually managed to create a seal that contains chakra fusion and lets the user use it without the biggest drawback… Interesting. As expected of Minato's son."
Naruto looked offended. "Hey! I'm also his son, ya know!"
Kurama snorted. "If I hadn't been there when you were born, I would've doubted it with how dumb you are," he said flatly, not even sparing Naruto a glance.
Sasuke continued, unfazed. "According to Kaito, the technique is extremely inefficient. It burns through chakra so fast that even with your massive reserves, it would only last a few minutes."
Kurama nodded. "Yeah, I figured. So he wants us to add more chakra into the seal, right?"
Sasuke nodded. "Right. Based on his calculations, you'd need around thirty days' worth of chakra from both you and Kurama just to make it last a full day."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Thirty days? That's a lot of chakra…" He folded his arms and glanced toward Kurama. "What d'you think? Safe enough?"
Kurama snorted. "Relative term, brat. You'll still burn through all that packaged chakra, and it'll feel like being stuffed in a pressure cooker. But compared to one of us dying? Yeah—it's the better option." With that, Kurama's chakra retreated back into Naruto's body.
Naruto nodded and looked at Sasuke. "Alright. So, how do I apply it?"
Sasuke pointed to a section on the scroll where a circular seal was drawn. "Place your palm here and channel your chakra into it. The seal should copy itself onto your hand. According to Kaito, it'll slowly siphon off your chakra a little at a time—so you won't feel the strain."
Naruto nodded. "Got it." He placed his palm on the circle and began channeling chakra.
The seal glowed softly as the kanji etched into the scroll began to move, flowing up onto his hand. Within seconds, the glowing symbols arranged themselves into a spiral at the center of his palm.
Naruto looked at it curiously. "Huh… that's it? I thought it was going to hurt or something." He studied his hand. "I can feel it… the seal's drawing a little chakra from me and Kurama."
Sasuke nodded. "That's good. It means the seal's working."
Naruto looked up at both of them. "Is there anything else I should know?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No. That's everything."
Naruto stretched, cracking his neck a little. "Well then, I think you two should go home and rest. Especially you, Boruto."
Boruto smiled and said, "You should come home too, Dad. I'm sure Mom and Himawari would love to see you—plus, it's already morning." He pointed to the window, where the early sunlight poured through.
Naruto glanced at the rising sun, then back at Boruto. "I'd like to… but I've still got work to finish." He gestured to the towering stack of paperwork around his desk.
Boruto frowned. "But Dad…"
Sasuke, who had already made his way to the door, turned back and said, "Actually, Naruto… I think you should go home today. Spend time with your family. Or one day, you might regret not doing it."
Naruto blinked, caught off guard. "Huh?"
Sasuke gave him a look. "Just leave a shadow clone to finish the paperwork. Trust me—you'll want to go home today."
Boruto stepped in, voice hopeful. "Yeah, Dad! Just for today—leave a clone, ya know?"
Naruto looked between the two of them and sighed. "…Alright, alright. I guess I could leave a shadow clone behind just this once."
Boruto fist-pumped. "Yatta!" Then, without wasting a second, he grabbed Naruto's arm. "C'mon! If we hurry, Mom and Hima will have just woken up—and if we're lucky, she won't have started cooking yet!"
As Boruto dragged him toward the door, Naruto stumbled a bit, laughing. "Hey—slow down! I still need to leave a clone behind, ya know!"
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