Thank You, Lord Hagoromo. My Name Is Kabuto Yakushi!

Noon.

After finishing her business in Hiruzen Sarutobi's office, Hagoromo prepared to head to the training grounds.

"Teacher Hagoromo!"

Um?

Just as Hagoromo stepped out of the Hokage Building, he heard someone calling his name and turned around to look.

A dozen or so trainee ninjas were waving excitedly at Hagoromo.

However, what Hagoromo was concerned about was not these trainee ninjas, but the person next to him who was clearly a veteran Genin the team.

A young man with short, silver-gray hair wore an innocent smile.

Kabuto Yakushi?

He was acting very restrained at the moment, hurriedly telling the trainee ninja not to make a fuss.

"I'm so sorry, Lady Hagoromo Yi."

Hearing footsteps behind him, Kabuto Yakushi quickly turned around and saw that Hagoromo was already right in front of him.

He quickly lowered his head and apologized.

Hagoromo waved her hand and asked the trainee ninjas with a warm expression, "How's the internship going?"

"Thanks to Teacher Hagoromo's extensive instruction, we're adapting quite well now."

One of the trainee ninjas, acting very familiar, spoke to Hagoromo.

Hagoromo nodded. He did have some impression of this person; he was active yet cautious, and very talented.

Of course, this talent is compared to that of ordinary ninjas.

"Then keep up the good work! I think you just came back from a mission, right?"

Hagoromo noticed that these trainee ninjas all had some dirt on them, indicating that they were on a mission to clean the river.

"That's right, Senior Kabuto led us there to clean up today."

"Yeah, yeah, I thought it was a useless mission, but I didn't expect Senior Kabuto to actually let us train during the mission."

The trainee ninjas chimed in, all talking at once, since Hagoromo's image at the school was that of a kind and gentle person.

These students, who had just finished their internship at the Ninja Academy, were not overly afraid of Hagoromo.

Hagoromo nodded with a smile, his eyes involuntarily glancing at Kabuto Yakushi.

"That's great. I thought these students wouldn't adapt well."

"That's not true, Lord Hagoromo. I'm simply lacking in talent," Kabuto Yakushi quickly waved his hand.

"It's also because the village is taking care of me; they know my abilities are average, so they let me take care of these kids first."

Looking at the terrified Kabuto Yakushi, Hagoromo couldn't help but sigh, "He truly is a natural-born undercover agent."

With his demeanor and expressions, an ordinary person would really be fooled by Kabuto Yakushi.

From the moment I approached, a subtle gaze had been observing me.

Although it was very subtle, one could even say that the slightest hint of fanaticism on Kabuto Yakushi's face was enough to dispel Hagoromo's suspicions about Kabuto Yakushi.

After all, many people in Konoha are looking at Hagoromo with this kind of gaze.

Even these trainee ninjas in front of us are the same.

"Alright, now that you're already interning, you should listen carefully to your seniors' instructions."

Hagoromo turned around, no longer looking at Kabuto Yakushi, and addressed the group of trainee ninjas.

"Yes! I will definitely not let Teacher Hagoromo down!"

The trainee ninjas all spoke to Hagoromo.

A smile appeared on Hagoromo's face as she bid farewell to the trainee ninjas, "Alright, go and hand over your missions."

At this moment, they had no idea what Kabuto Yakushi was planning to do.

However, Hagoromo felt it would be better for her to leave first.

Sure enough, just as Hagoromo turned to leave, Kabuto Yakushi spoke up.

"Hagoromo, I've heard your Medical Ninjutsu is quite impressive. Would I have the chance to learn from you sometime?"

Kabuto Yakushi, who hadn't had a chance to speak up until now, disregarded whether it was overstepping his bounds and spoke directly.

After all, Hagoromo has always been known for his erudition.

No matter what kind of ninja seeks out Hagoromo, he will do his best to answer.

Hagoromo's lips curled into a smile. This guy's actually in such a hurry?

"If you have time, yes."

Since this person is so eager to get close to me, I'll see what they want.

"Thank you, Lord Hagoromo. My name is Kabuto Yakushi!" Kabuto Yakushi bowed to Hagoromo with an excited expression as he saw that Hagoromo had agreed.

This wasn't too strange in front of the Hokage Building, especially since the trainee ninjas around her all looked happy when Kabuto Yakushi agreed to Hagoromo's request.

Hagoromo didn't say anything more, just nodded and headed towards the training ground.

So, is it you? Orochimaru? Or...?

Hagoromo had only two guesses about why Kabuto Yakushi wanted to get close to him.

It's either Orochimaru or Sasori of the Red Sands.

Neither of these two are simple people.

"Lord Hagoromo! I've almost mastered the Inch Power Eight Gates!"

As soon as she arrived at the training ground, Shizune shouted with a happy expression.

For Shizune, who is medical-nin, the Inch Power Eight Gates Shizune requires mastering the rhythm of her breathing.

Familiarity with each component allows for quick learning, but Mastery requires persistent practice.

"Is that so, Karin!"

Hagoromo nodded and called out to Karin, who was standing to the side.

"Here you are, teacher!"

Karin, who was practicing Earth Release: Nature Transformation with her eyes closed, immediately stopped and ran over.

"Karin, have a match with your senior sister Shizune. You can only use the Inch Power Eight Gates."

Hagoromo pointed at Shizune and said to Karin, since so far Karin and Shizune are at roughly the same level of progress.

Well, just considering the Inch Power Eight Gates alone.

"No problem!"

Karin had no doubts upon hearing this, after all, she had been training for quite some time.

Although he usually spars with Ino and others, their progress is still much faster than his.

Now that she has the newly acquired skill of Shizune to test it out, Karin would absolutely love it.

Naruto and the others, who were still training, all put down their training and gathered around when they saw that Karin was going to spar with Shizune.

Training can be too boring; sometimes it's good to find something exciting to do.

Shizune, on the other hand, was a little embarrassed, since she was considerably older than Karin.

If I lose the fight, Lady Tsunade will definitely give me a good beating.

We can't lose!

"Don't worry too much, just compete in your most suitable condition," Hagoromo clapped her hands and said to the two.

"By the way, you can also take a look at the different battles and see if you can find any points you haven't understood before."

Although Naruto and the others were already very Proficient in the Inch Power Eight Gates, Shizune was medical-nin had been with Tsunade for over ten years.

The Inch Power Eight Gates she used could provide some inspiration to Naruto.

"Yes!"

Naruto and the others nodded in agreement, then found a spot to begin watching.

Hagoromo Yi stepped between the two, raised her hand high, and shouted, "The battle begins!"