Kabuto

Konoha Hospital. △↗Top of the screen says,

After the selection tournament ended, Kakashi immediately brought Sasuke, whose body was showing abnormalities, here—a detached building located in a corner of the hospital.

Before the selection tournament was over, Kakashi hurriedly left the tower, looking worried.

Sasuke's condition is unstable and keeps fluctuating, which makes Kakashi very worried.

Following closely behind him Sakura Haruno, a girl who, after watching Hinata's match, wasn't very interested in the remaining battles.

Although Sakura had already agreed to give Kakashi some important information, when the time came, she didn't know how to begin.

Perhaps after watching Sasuke will be a good opportunity.

Kakashi, preoccupied with the safety of his disciple, and Sakura, slightly apprehensive, remained silent the entire way.

Until they arrived at Sasuke's hospital room.

They were greeted not by a fully recovered Sasuke, nor by the Anbu silently protecting them nearby.

Instead, there were corpses scattered all over the ground.

And Kabuto's attack without warning!

"Whoosh!"

Kabuto's sneak attack was easily intercepted by Kakashi, whose face turned ashen as he stared intently at Kabuto, who stood before Sasuke's Sasuke, attempting to harm him.

"Oh my... you two are just in time, Kakashi, and Sakura Haruno." Even after being caught red-handed, Kabuto could still turn around and greet the two with a fake smile, as if he wasn't a spy there to harm Sasuke, but a friend visiting Sasuke.

"Kabuto, no matter which country's spy you are, I advise you to lay down your weapons and surrender now..." Kakashi said coldly, "Otherwise, I cannot guarantee whether you will leave this room alive!"

"With your weak legs," Kabuto chuckled softly, "And that pathetic Genin behind you, you think you can stop me?"

The girl whose name had been chosen stepped forward, her emerald eyes radiating a chilling murderous intent that seemed to freeze the air into frost. She parted her lips slightly and spoke coldly.

"Tell me your heart... otherwise, I'll kill you sooner or later!"

Kabuto didn't take the girl's cold words to heart. No matter how others praised her as a talent, in Kabuto's eyes, whose strength was comparable to Kakashi's, Sakura was nothing more than a weakling.

There's no need to take the words of the weak to heart.

Kakashi waved for the girl to calm down and said in a deep voice, "Who are you, and what do you want to do to Sasuke?"

Kabuto narrowed his eyes and stared at Kakashi. The fighting spirit of this Elite Jonin Konoha of Konoha, known as the Copy Ninja, was growing stronger and stronger. He seemed to be calmly asking questions, but he could launch an attack at any moment!

Despite claiming to be on par with Kakashi in strength, Kabuto was unwilling to engage in a direct confrontation with Kakashi. Moreover, Sakura was lurking nearby, and being hit by her Water Blade Technique would be no joke...!

However, Kabuto was even less likely to answer Kakashi's question truthfully.

"Kakashi, you'd better prepare at least ten Anbu of this caliber in the future!"

"Answer my question properly!" Kakashi ignored Kabuto's attempt to change the subject, his eyes growing colder and colder.

"What if..." Kabuto quietly tightened his grip on his Kunai, "... or what if I don't?"

"Then—" Kakashi's voice suddenly turned cold, then he let out a roar and charged towards Kabuto, "—you'll have to learn your lesson!"

Clang— Kakashi knocked the Kunai out of Kabuto's hand. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi was swiftly subdued, pinned to the ground, and the Kunai pierced his palms, pinning his hands to the ground!

The familiar sensation of the Kunai piercing his penis made Kakashi realize that this was a real penis, not a clone created by Chakra.

Could it be that I caught his true form so easily?

Kakashi wasn't surprised at all; instead, he sensed something was amiss!

Immediately afterwards, the two corpses of the Anbu lying on the ground suddenly leaped up, one rushing towards the door, and the other lunging towards the window!

"Trying to leave? You think you can get away!" The girl sneered, the ball of high-pressure water lying quietly in her palm.

Water Release: Super Water Gun Technique!

The figure lunged towards the window with incredible speed, leaping out in the blink of an eye!

The girl was almost certain that this was the real person. At such a speed, she had no time to think about whether she could leave any survivors. The water line in her hand shot out and cut the figure in the air in two!

Blood, entrails, and pieces of the body scattered in the air like a rain of blood!

Meanwhile, Kabuto, rushing towards the door, was stopped by Shadow Clone that had been prepared beforehand.

Kakashi and Sakura, thinking they had succeeded, were just about to breathe a sigh of relief when they heard their Shadow Clone shout, "Kokoro, this isn't Kabuto!"

At the same time, in the instant the two relaxed their guard, the real Kabuto, who was lying on the ground pretending to be a corpse, suddenly sprang up and jumped out of the window on the other side!

By the time Sakura and Kakashi reached the window, Kabuto had already disappeared downstairs.

Sakura watched coldly as Kabuto deliberately removed his mask to reveal his true face before disappearing, without uttering a word.

In fact, she had completely forgotten this part of the story, otherwise she wouldn't have been completely unprepared.

But then again, even if we were prepared, what good would it do?

With Sasuke right next to Kabuto, they couldn't afford to let Kabuto live, fearing the consequences.

Kakashi checked Sasuke's body and, finding that Kabuto hadn't done anything wrong, breathed a sigh of relief.

He patted Sakura on the shoulder. "Alright, although we didn't manage to capture him, at least Sasuke is safe, which is a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune."

Sakura forced a smile.

Kabuto is Orochimaru's man, so there will definitely be another chance to meet him in the future. Sooner or later, he will fight Orochimaru and his group again. Sakura will get her revenge someday.

By then, Sakura probably won't even care about someone like Kabuto.

After glancing at Sasuke's peaceful sleeping face, Sakura turned to Kakashi and said seriously:

"Kakashi-sensei, I have something important to tell you..."

The girl decided to make a lie.

"If this is true, then this is no small matter! Are you sure Orochimaru is going to attack Konoha during the third exam?" Kakashi was taken aback upon hearing the information Sakura provided!

That's right, the girl's panic stemmed from the second exam, when Orochimaru attacked Sasuke and, in order to recruit Sakura to his side, devised a plan to destroy Konoha!

"I swear on my life and honor, Orochimaru meant it! He really wanted to attack Konoha!" The girl skillfully crafted her words, avoiding any hint of falsehood and highlighting the truth.

Judging from this statement alone, Sakura didn't even lie.

The highest level of lying is not nine parts truth and one part falsehood, but ten parts truth and none of it. It involves using only a portion of the truth to induce others to reach the conclusion they want.

Unbeknownst to him, Kakashi activated his Sharingan and stared intently into the girl's eyes.

The girl's blue eyes were clear and bright, without a trace of impurity.

Her gaze was firm and pure; Kakashi couldn't see anything to doubt.

The girl looked back at Kakashi calmly, without hesitation or gloom.

Yes, she was indeed his disciple Sakura Haruno, and she was still a trustworthy Konoha Ninja. Kakashi made this judgment in his mind.

A spy wouldn't do that.

Even if it's to gain trust, there's no need to reveal such important information. Gaining trust is something only suspected individuals do, and Sakura is already highly trusted. If she really is a spy, then her actions would be superfluous.

Moreover, if even a ninja like Sakura, with her personality and background, can become a traitor, then Kakashi doesn't know how many ninjas in Konoha can be trusted anymore.

However, the fact that the intelligence source is legitimate does not mean that the intelligence itself is legitimate.

Why would Orochimaru reveal such information? Was he deliberately misleading us?

It doesn't seem like it.

Even if the information that Orochimaru was going to attack Konoha was false and Konoha took it as true, so what? It would simply make Konoha more cautious and vigilant, resulting in a false alarm, and Konoha would suffer no real losses.

Even without Orochimaru's actions, Konoha would be on edge for a long time just by his appearance in the Konoha Chunin Ninja Exams. In fact, the vast Konoha of Konoha, with its mix of old and young, doesn't even have a single Kage Level who can withstand Orochimaru.

If Orochimaru were to really invade Konoha... Kakashi shuddered.

Moreover, all the signs, including Sasuke being attacked by Kabuto, indicate that this could actually happen!

Even if this intelligence only presents one possibility, it is enough to put Konoha on high alert, causing widespread panic.

With that in mind, Kakashi no longer hesitated.

"Your intelligence is very important. I'll report back as soon as I've finished dealing with things here."

He patted Sakura's head and smiled.

"I haven't congratulated you on passing the preliminary rounds yet! Keep it up! The third exam will start in a month, so you'd better make the most of that time!"

"Receive!"

Sakura slammed her head down heavily!

Meanwhile, in the tower of the Forest of Death, the Genin stood in a row facing the Hokage.

"Before we disband, there's one last thing I need you to do..." The Third Hokage said with a smile, lifting his pipe, and waved for Anko, who was carrying a lottery box, to come forward. "Each of you needs to draw a number from this box in turn to determine your opponent for the third match..."

Next, Anko carried the box and had everyone draw lots one by one, with Ibiki behind and recording each lot drawn.

"Naruto, you need to draw three times. Draw one for Sakura and one for Sasuke!" Anko reminded him as she walked up to Naruto.

So Ibiki recorded it—

"Naruto Uzumaki... Number 1."

"Sasuke Uchiha... Number 4."

"Sakura Haruno... uh, number!"

Naruto and the people around him were slightly taken aback.

The first match is an internal battle between Naruto and Sakura from Team 7, right...?

[My eye was uncomfortable, so I finished writing this with my right eye closed. Please bear with it for now...]