Chapter 47: Meeting Yakushi Kabuto Again
"Everyone, I've got new intel." Anko walked into the control room and addressed the ANBU inside.
They turned to her. Anko organized her story and explained the Sound nin situation, leaving Naruto out of it.
"Should we terminate the Chūnin Exam immediately?" one ANBU asked.
"No. The Hokage ordered the exam to continue on schedule. We'll just stay on guard against Orochimaru causing trouble in the shadows."
After a pause, she added, "Other chūnin. Split into three-man groups and locate Kin Tsuchi. Don't alarm her—use her to trace Orochimaru."
"Yes."
She personally took two ANBU and began a stealth sweep through the Forest of Death.
That lined up with Naruto's thinking too. For him and Sakura to search for Kin personally was inefficient and risky. If he leveraged his "network," he could get twice the result for half the effort.
Meanwhile, chūnin patrols would also squeeze Kin's room to act, forcing her to spend energy evading pursuit.
Elsewhere—
"Yo. Fancy seeing you here."
The moment Team Seven finished packing up, a tall silver-haired figure approached. He bore faint signs of battle.
"Yakushi Kabuto…" Naruto looked at him without speaking. Sasuke stepped forward, wary.
"Relax, I'm not here to steal your scrolls." Kabuto raised his hands quickly. "I got separated from my teammates. I need to move alone, so I'm hoping to find some allies."
Sasuke's suspicion didn't ease. "Have you collected both Heaven and Earth scrolls?"
"Of course." Kabuto produced his set and waved them. Naruto and Sakura stayed silent; Sasuke finally loosened slightly.
Unlike the original timeline, Sasuke hadn't handed over their scrolls to Orochimaru in panic. After seizing the Earth scroll from the Sound team, Team Seven had already met the requirements to pass.
Compared to canon, they were far more in control.
"Let's go together," Naruto said, stepping up with a half-smile that never reached his eyes. "We're all Leaf. Better to have each other's backs."
Sakura still didn't speak, but her gaze slid to Naruto, thoughtful. She knew Kabuto was here to gather data on Sasuke for Orochimaru, so Naruto's attitude was… interesting.
Was he planning to use Kabuto as a disposable shield? With all these unstable new factors, it made sense.
"Let's go together, Kabuto," Sakura agreed after a beat.
Sasuke turned to them, his expression turning faintly strange.
So these two aren't even pretending anymore. Just openly colluding, huh?
Bullying me for being single?
But to preserve his persona, Sasuke said nothing and nodded.
Kabuto looked at the three of them and gave a grateful, gentle smile.
Naruto and Sakura returned a similarly "kind" smile, warming the air between them.
"You want to lead?"
"No no, you should lead."
"You're pretty polite."
"A friend from afar is a joy, hahaha."
"You're well-bred."
"Haha. I, Uzumaki Naruto, am a cultured man known ten villages over."
Sasuke: "…"
Naruto and Kabuto kept trading courtesy like they were at a diplomatic summit—encouraging cooperation, building a shinobi community of shared destiny—
All while both of them were silently lying through their teeth.
Soon, the four of them neared the central tower.
Naruto looked calm on the surface. Inside, he was tightening up. While he chatted with Kabuto, he kept sweeping the forest with dozens of spare instincts, ready for Kin to jump out.
If I were Kin, I'd interfere before we pass. Once we clear the second round, the variables multiply.
They moved on. Even Sasuke started to notice something was wrong.
"Have we been here before?" he pointed.
"Finally noticed. If you hadn't, my legs were about to fall off…" Naruto feigned surprise and turned to Kabuto. "Senpai, it really looks like it. Can you protect us?"
He put on wide, shining eyes full of expectation and admiration.
Kabuto's warm smile twitched. "Naruto-kun… right. Let's do our best together."
Shame you're about to get knocked out. Otherwise I'd keep bullying you all the way to the finish… Naruto sobered, eyes scanning as he considered the upcoming plot.
He remembered they'd run into some genjutsu users here—nothing too strong. Standard genin threat level.
"Hehehe… so you finally noticed."
A male voice drifted through the air.
The forest warped. Black, distorted silhouettes bloomed everywhere—each masked, each holding a kunai.
"Sasuke, can you bounce their genjutsu with Sharingan?" Naruto asked. "Strong enough eyes can reflect illusions, right?"
He wanted the simplest solution.
Sasuke hesitated, then murmured, "I'll try."
Naruto turned to Sakura. "You handle the kunai coming from blind angles. Can you?"
Sakura frowned. "What are you—"
"Going for a one-shot."
The black silhouettes charged.
Sakura and Kabuto deflected the attacks—Sakura with raw fists, Kabuto with kunai—while Sasuke shut his eyes and began feeding chakra into them.
"Hng…" The moment chakra gathered, Sasuke felt stabbing pain in his shoulder. The foreign power within him stirred again. Kabuto caught it all.
But then Kabuto's attention snapped to Naruto.
Naruto formed a Shadow Clone. Without using Nine-Tails chakra, one clone started molding swirling chakra on Naruto's palm.
The air around it roared.
"That is…" Kabuto's pupils constricted. His interest slid from Sasuke to Naruto.
…
Elsewhere, in a bush close to the fight—
The unconscious woman woke groggily. She rubbed her temples, then dropped to her knees in sudden agony, clawing at her own head.
She covered her mouth with one hand, forcing down any sound.
"Just a little more… I'm almost saved…"
The feared wild card forced herself upright and staggered toward the battle.
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