Uchiha Kaien looked up and surveyed the training grounds around him.
The area was spacious, with training dummies and wooden targets scattered throughout. After scanning the field, Kaien realized that there were quite a few potential partners for A to choose from today.
Aside from a kid in the far corner wearing sunglasses—who seemed like a likely candidate for Killer B—there were several other well-built boys around A's age stretching and getting ready.
"Hey, isn't this a bit much? Picking this many potential partners—aren't you gonna wear yourself out?" Kaien teased, poking A in the side.
The whole setup looked like some kind of selection ceremony. If you didn't know better, you might mistake it for... a beauty pageant. Too bad both sides were full of muscle-bound guys—not exactly easy on the eyes.
Kaien felt completely out of place in this setting.
"I'm sure I'll find the right partner today," A said with confidence. He was feeling lucky.
"So this thing goes on for more than just one day?"
"Of course. This is the final round. If I still can't find my 'Bi' today, I might end up like my old man—working solo."
"Everyone here has been handpicked from the best of Kumogakure's young shinobi. The competition is fierce."
"Huh... Well, best of luck then. Hope you find someone who clicks with you."
Kaien's response was half-hearted. Truth be told, he wasn't all that interested in the Lightning Release: Double Lariat.
In a real battle between high-level shinobi, who'd actually stand there and let two guys perfectly coordinate a finishing move on them?
Sure, the technique was fast—but faster than space-time ninjutsu?
There could only be one fastest shinobi. There was no room for second place.
The Double Lariat felt more like a ninjutsu designed to build trust and coordination between partners.
Its real value wasn't in the final attack—it was in the bond formed through countless repetitions of it.
And honestly? Its only notable success so far was taking out that fake Kisame who was actually a White Zetsu clone.
To Kaien, this whole setup felt more like an elaborate talent search. A way to identify the most gifted young shinobi in Kumogakure—the ones who might one day support the next Raikage.
This was one way to forge bonds.
Two people working together could achieve far more than they could alone—especially if both were elite.
Kaien's attention drifted toward a man standing behind the Third Raikage. His hair was split white and green, bandages wrapped from his neck to his shoulders, and his right cheek was painted with strange eye makeup.
Blue B the current Jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails, silently stood watch behind the Third.
He was the Third Raikage's original "B."
But even though Blue B carried the Eight-Tails, he still couldn't pull off the Double Lariat with the Raikage.
He simply couldn't match the Third Raikage's insane speed and overwhelming strength.
The Third had climbed to the very top of the Kage tier. There was no one in Kumogakure who could truly keep up with him.
That's why he developed the Hell Stab techniques—brutal, solo taijutsu skills that made up for the lack of a partner.
In fact, his signature Hell Stab and Black Lightning made him so powerful that no one could partner with him anymore.
That strange Black Lightning intrigued Kaien. Was it a form of Storm Release, or just a unique lightning nature transformation?
Whatever it was, it hadn't even been passed down to his son. That alone spoke volumes.
Still, Kaien decided not to make any rash moves. Messing with the Third Mizukage or Kazekage was one thing, but the rest of the Kage? He wasn't ready to challenge them just yet.
Whether it was Hiruzen Sarutobi, Ōnoki, or the man standing before him now—he couldn't beat any of them at his current level.
But the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki? That was a different story.
Maybe it was time to push the timeline up a bit—bring forward the Eight-Tails' rampage inside Kumogakure.
If he remembered correctly, Blue B started to unravel internally not long after becoming a Jinchūriki. That was a crack he could exploit.
Being ostracized by the villagers, slowly building mental pressure, fatigue gnawing away at his body and soul... haunted by visions of death and consumed by emotional emptiness.
A perfect target for the [Alluring Gaze].
Kaien chuckled quietly. What a stroke of bad luck for the Eight-Tails' host. In the original timeline, he got ensnared by Orochimaru's genjutsu. This time, Kaien had him in his sights even earlier.
Maybe it was time to give the poor guy a little push toward "freedom."
He'd be doing the guy a favor, really—gifting him an eternal, dreamlike illusion. Honestly, the man ought to thank him.
...
"Kid, it looks like you've got someone in mind already?"
The Third Raikage noticed the faint smirk on Kaien's face. He didn't sense any malice—just assumed the boy was enjoying the AB pairing trials.
"Raikage-sama," Kaien said, raising a hand to point, "that kid with the sunglasses—he might just be the one."
It was the spiky-haired kid in shades—likely Killer B.
Judging by his chakra reserves, Kaien figured it had to be him.
Potential Jinchūriki always had abnormally high chakra levels, even before the beast was sealed within them. That massive pool of chakra was what made it possible to suppress a tailed beast at all.
"We'll see how sharp your eye really is, then," the Third Raikage said, following Kaien's finger and turning his attention to Killer B—just as B stepped onto the field.
This would be his first test with A.
"Double Lariat!"
With a cry, the two unleashed the technique. In a flash, the training dummy's head snapped clean off!
It was a perfect match.
The right "Bi" for A had finally appeared.
...
"Hahaha! Kid, I didn't know the Sharingan could help you pick people like that!" the Third Raikage roared with laughter, visibly pleased. He'd finally found a partner worthy of his son.
That boy... might just inherit Blue B's mantle someday. He'd have to be nurtured carefully by Kumogakure.
"The Sharingan can't really 'see' potential in people," Kaien replied, "but it can copy ninjutsu. If you let me, I'd like to try replicating that move myself. Would you give me a shot, Raikage-sama?"
Even if he couldn't beat the Third, Kaien was confident that his Sharingan's precision and motion tracking could let him duplicate the Double Lariat and pull it off flawlessly with A.
"You're saying you can pull it off yourself, just by copying it?" the Raikage asked, a bit surprised.
Kumogakure's techniques weren't particularly complicated to learn—but truly mastering them? That was another story. Only a handful ever did.
Could the Sharingan really replicate something like that with full precision?
"Just give me a chance. With you here, even if you release my chakra seal, I doubt I'd be able to cause much trouble, right?"
Kaien smiled, eager to show off the power of the Sharingan.
The Third Raikage nodded, amused and intrigued.
"If you want to try, go ahead."
With that, he released the false chakra seal Kaien had disguised using [Weakness Camouflage].
He was curious to see just how far the infamous Kekkei Genkai—retrieved at the cost of so many Kumogakure lives—could really go.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (156 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)