"I didn't even arrive in time to save you! Who could have done such a cruel thing, attacking a group of children with such brutality? Has my youth truly faded away? I couldn't even protect the next generation of Konoha... This is all my fault."
"Uncle Guy, can you please stop crying? It seriously creeps me out!" Sakura helplessly tied her forehead protector around her hair again and said, "Our eyes are fine. Perfectly okay."
"Huh? You aren't blind?!" Guy's eyes widened, two broad tear streaks marking his face. Combined with his strange appearance, it was an absolute sight for sore eyes.
The whole group couldn't help but develop several angry vein marks across their brows. Were they blind?! Their eyes were just overwhelmed from being exposed to that green frog costume and the goblin haircut!
"Uncle Guy, we're about to take the exam soon, so we won't chat longer with you," Sakura slightly turned her head sideways. She might as well look at Naruto and the others for some visual relief—Akemi and Lee's styles were just too much to bear.
"Yeah yeah yeah, Honored Uncle Guy, we'll be on our way then!" The whole group nodded hastily, practically fleeing the scene. No matter how many years had passed, Guy's image still remained harsh on their eyes.
Watching them leave, Guy blinked confusedly in place. Eventually, he decided to continue chasing his youthfulness. As for sentimental love and all that, he would leave it for another lifetime.
"Phew! We actually made it out alive..."
Running all the way to the classroom door, Sakura and the others finally exhaled in relief. That outfit and those youthful proclamations from Guy were terrifying—looking any longer probably would've damaged their eyes for good.
"There sure are a lot of people here taking the Chunin Exams!" Seeing several classrooms packed full of genin, everyone was astonished beyond words.
"No matter how many show up, ultimate victory will definitely belong to us!" Naruto declared with a wide grin. The others nodded firmly—none of the shinobi here stood a chance against them.
"Still, better to be cautious. These days, everyone has their own secret techniques. Being overly confident might lead to tripping over even the smallest obstacle!" Sakura warned. In the vast shinobi world, no one could predict how many weird jutsu might exist. As ninja, carelessness was never acceptable.
"You guys should keep quiet too. The Chunin Exams already make people nervous enough. At a time like this, behaving openly like you do only draws unnecessary attention!"
Kabuto Yakushi, wearing round little glasses and sporting a particularly amiable smile, approached and spoke to Sakura and her friends. And indeed, nearly everyone inside the classroom was now staring at them, looks filled with killing intent—as if ready to devour them whole.
"Heheh..."
However, Kabuto Yakushi's originally kind smile abruptly froze as he approached, still chuckling, trying to strike up a conversation with the group. What the hell did this mean? He came over nicely offering advice, yet got nothing but a dismissive laugh in response?!
Alright, sure, I've got my own reasons for being here—but do they have to be this cold?
After one person scoffed with a "Hmph," Sakura and the others simply walked past Kabuto Yakushi without even sparing him a glance. To them, he might as well not have existed.
"Hey, I've got ninja registration cards here—I can show you info on every single participant! Don't you want to take a look? You can see anyone's intel!" Kabuto called out, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to promote his offer.
"Thanks, but we're not interested! Besides, we already know what we're looking for!"
Sakura politely declined Kabuto's offer. Then, the group sat down in their seats and began pretending to meditate. In reality, though, they were already gathered inside their Inner Space, deep in conversation. Only a sliver of their awareness remained focused outward, just enough to keep track of anything happening around them.
Chapter 163: A New Dawn for Shisui
Kabuto Yakushi, shouldering the crucial task of infiltrating the enemy from within, stood rooted in place, feeling extremely awkward. He wanted to strike up a conversation with Naruto and Sasuke—get them curious and win them over. But no luck. They wouldn't even let him open his mouth.
Kabuto was seriously confused. According to his intelligence reports, although Sasuke was rather cold by nature, Naruto usually acted lively. Yet now, both were silent—and more importantly, he had the eerie feeling that this entire group somehow saw right through him.
"Is this the spy Sakura mentioned?"
Back inside their Inner Space, recalling how Kabuto had approached them earlier, Naruto said, "If Sakura hadn't clued us in beforehand, we might've actually bought into his whole act!"
"This guy's appearance is way too deceptive—you can't help but see him as harmless at first glance!" Everyone, even Sasuke, felt wary of Kabuto. Without Sakura's warning, they probably would've been friends with him by now.
"That smile is so fake!" Hinata scoffed disdainfully. "His grin clearly isn't genuine at all!"
"I never imagined Orochimaru, after being gone for so many years, would still have spies left inside Konoha!" Fugaku Uchiha's expression grew serious. Orochimaru's name once echoed across the entire shinobi world—his strength went without saying.
"To put it one way, Kabuto's story is complicated—he started off as an orphan, yet under Danzo's manipulation, he was twisted into what he is today."
When you think about it, Danzo really was that despicable. Thinking about everything Kabuto had gone through, Sakura immediately felt like grabbing him and giving him a severe thrashing.
"Again with Danzo?!" Kushina Uzumaki didn't know what to say anymore. It seemed like Danzo was always somehow behind every evil deed.
"Besides Orochimaru's Leaf Destruction Plan, his visit to Konoha must also be targeting Sasuke!" Itachi Uchiha's eyes flashed with a cold gleam.
Back then, he came after me, so I used the Sharingan to trap him in a genjutsu and took him down with one strike. Since then, he's probably had his eyes on the Sharingan. Right now in the open shinobi world, aside from myself, only Sasuke possesses the Sharingan. Knowing Orochimaru's style, he'll mark Sasuke with a cursed seal first, then manipulate him into joining, so he can eventually take over his body. If I'm right, he'll probably lure Sasuke by promising power, manipulating him into following willingly.
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