Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

"Well~ this place looks like a damn target. I'm an idiot, you know? Zixu always says I'm too easy to fool, so don't go explaining shit to me. Anyway... will this bullet actually fire?"

Aburame Hatsuizumi stared at the man in front of her, his face drenched in tears, but there wasn't a shred of sympathy in her eyes.

"Depends on your luck~"

She smiled and pulled the trigger. The moment froze—the man's desperate face, the bullet spiraling out of the barrel, the impending loss of life.

Gunfire bloomed into a gruesome flower on the man's forehead. He had been close—just a little more, and he would've fully activated his technique. At worst, he could have dragged Hatsuizumi down with him. But luck wasn't on his side today. Hatsuizumi's bullet was faster. It blew straight through his skull, leaving nothing but a lifeless husk.

"Not very lucky~"

Hatsuizumi shook her head, wiped the blood splatter from her cheek, and holstered her gun. Just as she was about to leave, something caught her eye—black markings appearing on the man's body. They looked like... a fūinjutsu pattern? A bit like the Eight Trigrams? But before she could analyze further, the markings faded, vanishing along with the life in the man's body. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

She adjusted her glasses, frowning. The corpse was unusual. She made a mental note of it, then packed up all her prototype firearms. Now that the fight was over, it was time to clean up. Blowing off some steam with target practice was fun, but she still had to deal with the destruction she'd caused. She planned to incinerate the remains and send them to the crematorium.

"Notify Hyuga Chinano—those rebels should be waking up about now..."

She pulled out a small snail-like device—the Den Den Mushi that Zixu had given them.

Dolulu, dolulu...

Hyuga Chinano, in the middle of training, reached into her clothes and pulled out an anthropomorphic Den Den Mushi wearing red glasses.

"What's up?... Got it. I'm on my way."

Hanging up, Chinano grabbed a few kunai and stepped out.

The uprising in the village had been put down, but what came next? That decision would have to wait for Zixu. No one knew what punishment should be given to the rebellious shinobi. Killing them outright felt wasteful—the village needed manpower—but letting them go was out of the question. With no better option, Chinano had locked them up.

If the village rebellion was a stroke of bad luck, then Uzumaki's situation was the opposite—his fortune was a rare blessing. Even after getting lost, he somehow managed to find his way back on track, heading straight for Konoha. Whether that was good or bad luck remained to be seen.

Rossinante, meanwhile, had no idea how things had gotten so damn weird, but hey—it didn't stop him from reaching Konoha. His journey was like a badly written program full of bugs, yet somehow, it still functioned.

In the end, the destination was the same—the only difference was how he got there. If a normal trip to Konoha was like a bird flapping its wings, then his journey was like a bird's wings spinning like helicopter blades. Ridiculous, but effective.

Now, standing at the outskirts of Konoha, Rossinante felt... nothing. He'd seen this place a hundred times, but he still had to put on an act.

"Is this Konoha? Damn, it's impressive. The ancient stone buildings, the disciplined guards... no wonder it's the strongest village!"

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes. They were literally standing in a civilian district.

"Of course, this is Konoha~" Sasuke nodded, playing along. Tenzo, meanwhile, stayed silent, leading the way.

Tsunade sighed. So many years had passed in a blink, and the village had changed. A nostalgic sadness washed over her.

Shizune, holding Tonton in her arms, didn't feel much—she had returned to Konoha a few times over the years just to report their status. Nothing about the village was particularly new to her.

As they entered the village, Rossinante started surveying his surroundings. His eyes wandered casually, but he was memorizing everything, locking the details away in his mind.

"Is that the Hokage Rock? Damn, it looks badass! Every Hokage's face is so powerful-looking."

He pointed toward the massive rock wall, where five faces were carved. The First Hokage looked noble, the Second had a stern aura, the Third... honestly, he looked kind of shady, the Fourth was undeniably cool, and the Fifth...

"Hahahahaha, Jiraiya's face looks hilarious up there!" Tsunade couldn't hold back her laughter. Seeing her old friend, the man who used to drink and slack off, suddenly looking all serious—it just didn't sit right.

"Lady Tsunade, he's the Hokage, you know..." Shizune reminded her gently. Tsunade restrained herself—publicly mocking the Hokage probably wasn't the best idea.

"I've heard of Konoha's strength before, but tell me—who's the strongest clan now? Some say it's the Uchiha, others claim it's the Hyuga. I'm curious. If it's a secret, forget I asked..."

Rossinante casually threw the bait. He wanted Sasuke to spill some information about the current state of the Hyuga clan.

"Of course—!" Sasuke clenched his fist, about to argue, but Tenzo stepped in.

"Mr. Rossinante, all clans in Konoha are equal. There is no 'strongest' clan. You should judge for yourself."

Before the conversation could continue, Tsunade cut in.

"Jiraiya's here."

Sure enough, the legendary Sannin appeared in his usual wooden clogs, white hair standing out as always.

"Long time no see, Tsunade," Jiraiya greeted, smiling. Behind him, Naruto immediately spotted Sasuke.

"This brat refused to train until he checked on Sakura. I swear, he's impossible to deal with. Since you're here, Tsunade, you might as well help remove the chakra poisoning from Sakura."

Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair, looking to Tsunade for assistance.

"Of course. Take me to her now. We'll catch up later."

Healing the patient came first. Along the way, Sasuke filled her in on Sakura's condition.

Rossinante waved them off, wandering around the village instead. Tenzo, naturally, insisted on accompanying him. Surveillance, obviously.

Rossinante didn't mind—he wasn't here to cause trouble. He was just gathering intel. That said, there were limits to what he could learn by eavesdropping alone.

"The Hyuga clan doesn't seem to have changed much..." he muttered, watching Hyuga members chatting and laughing on the street. "After losing the branch families that rebelled, the main family and the remaining loyal branch members seem more stable now."

From a strategic standpoint, this shift was beneficial for the main family. If the disloyal branch members had left, it only made their position more secure.

Rossinante smirked. "Interesting... very interesting."

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