Everything Akihara Kagura said was true.
In his memories from his previous life, Akihara Kagura had a certain impression of Kabuto Yakushi.
The future Kabuto Yakushi was quite a useful talent. His espionage skills alone surpassed those of many people, and he was probably only a little worse than Akihara Kagura.
Besides that, Kabuto Yakushi was highly intelligent and exceptionally good at learning. In the future, he could help with human experiments, improve various ninjutsu and forbidden techniques, and perhaps even help Akihara Kagura learn the ninja world's most mysterious senjutsu.
In short.
This man was a talent.
What did the ninja world need most? Talent.
To draw closer to Kabuto Yakushi, Akihara Kagura had fabricated a story out of thin air at Training Ground Nine about having come from an orphanage. At best, it could make Kabuto Yakushi view him favorably; it could not make Kabuto Yakushi truly trust him.
The best method...
Was naturally a solid bond.
What was the most important thing in the ninja world? Bonds.
As long as he could forge a potentially solid bond with Kabuto Yakushi, Kabuto Yakushi would remember his existence, and there would be a chance to turn him into one of his own in the future.
However...
The two of them actually had no connection whatsoever...
So, Akihara Kagura first claimed that he, too, had come from Konoha Orphanage, that he, too, missed life at the orphanage, and that he, too, missed the orphanage's dean...
All of that...
Was false.
Yet those falsehoods were Kabuto Yakushi's true feelings.
The one who had truly come from the orphanage was Kabuto Yakushi. The one who truly missed life at the orphanage was Kabuto Yakushi. The one who truly missed Yakushi Nonō, the dean of the orphanage, was Kabuto Yakushi. The one who truly wanted Yakushi Nonō to see a photograph of him after he had grown up was also Kabuto Yakushi...
Akihara Kagura's lies were merely a warm prelude, making Kabuto Yakushi believe they had something in common;
Now, Akihara Kagura needed to use a tragic story to shatter that warm prelude, making Kabuto Yakushi believe that a bond truly existed between them.
As long as there was a bond between them...
There would be a possibility that Kabuto Yakushi might help him in the future.
After all, Akihara Kagura did not know any Kotoamatsukami Genjutsu that could alter another person's will, nor did he have some system ability that could monitor whether someone was loyal to him. He certainly would not use such crude, dangerous, and troublesome control methods as planting a cursed seal in someone's vital spot...
Akihara Kagura was merely a working man.
If a working man wanted to obtain more, he could only resort to a few simple methods and find ways to make more capable friends.
"Kabuto Yakushi."
Akihara Kagura watched Kabuto Yakushi, whose face was filled with wariness, and smiled teasingly. "What do you think I want you to do?"
"I don't know yet..."
Kabuto Yakushi furrowed his brow. After thinking for a moment, he answered, "But I know one thing. When you met me, you probably weren't as happy as you claimed to be just because you had encountered someone from the same orphanage..."
"When you first mentioned Dean Nonō's name, there was no longing on your face. It was more like you were speaking of someone you had not seen in a long time..."
"Still."
"I was very happy today."
"Because no one has mentioned the past in a long time."
"Because everything you said at the training ground was what I wanted to say."
"Perhaps I have been suppressed in this organization for too long..."
Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses and said softly, "I miss those days at the orphanage more and more, and I miss the person who treated me like a mother more and more..."
As Kabuto Yakushi said this, his tone suddenly shifted. "However... you do not miss your days at the orphanage, nor do you miss Dean Nonō..."
"Is that so?"
"Lord Kagura of the Root Organization."
A trace of resolve appeared in Kabuto Yakushi's eyes. He trusted the instincts and experience his many years as a spy had given him. "You hate me... and you also hate Dean Nonō..."
"You say you want to look after me, yet you made me offend other people in the Root Organization, those combat shinobi I cannot afford to offend..."
"You do not want me to remain in the Root Organization..."
"You even... want to use Root's people to kill me..."
Kabuto Yakushi felt as though he had guessed some of the truth and asked softly, "Am I right, Lord Kagura?"
"..."
Clap... clap... clap... clap...
The youngster could not help applauding. The smile on his face grew wider and wider as he nodded in praise. "Not bad. You guessed it all."
Not bad, my ass!
He had guessed everything wrong!
Had Kabuto Yakushi not doubted whether any of it was true or false? Or did he think he was not worth deceiving? Was this Kabuto Yakushi really that smart?
Fine.
It had all been false from the start.
Kabuto Yakushi could only infer false conclusions from a false direction. It was already not bad that he had guessed the tragic storyline Akihara Kagura had just devised.
"I find it hard to understand."
Kabuto Yakushi looked at the youngster with a trace of confusion in his eyes. "You were also adopted by Dean Nonō, and you also lived at the village orphanage. There should not be any hatred between us."
"Why shouldn't there be?"
Akihara Kagura could not help laughing happily.
The youngster slowly spread his palms and said, word by word, "Many immense hatreds often stem from nothing more than a small matter, a thought that suddenly arises in someone's mind..."
"What do you mean?"
Kabuto Yakushi did not quite understand.
"Jealousy."
"One of the world's original sins."
Akihara Kagura slowly approached Kabuto Yakushi, the smile on his face gradually turning cold. "If there were no comparisons in this world, there would be no hurt, nor would emotions like jealousy be born..."
"Jealousy?"
"Yes, unprecedented jealousy..."
Akihara Kagura came close to Kabuto Yakushi. The youngster's gaze gradually turned sharp and cold. "Why do you get to share Dean Nonō's surname? Why has Dean Nonō always kept you in her thoughts? We were both merely adopted children, and I was the one who came first..."
"Because..."
Kabuto Yakushi hesitated before giving the answer. "When Dean Nonō adopted me, I had forgotten all my memories. I did not remember my name or my parents, so Dean Nonō gave me her surname..."
Kabuto Yakushi recalled that woman as warm as a mother and continued, "Dean Nonō... has she always kept me in her thoughts?"
"Yes..."
"She has always kept you in her thoughts..."
"She even forgot that another child had also been sent into Root's base."
Akihara Kagura slowly turned around and walked step by step into the covered bridge. "I originally did not want to hate her, nor did I want to hate you. I did not even want either of you to enter Root..."
"But..."
"I saw what she had done for you. I saw her constantly asking about you in the Root Organization, yet she never remembered me. She had no idea what kind of days I lived here, or what kind of bullying I suffered here as a child!"
"Perhaps... she had already forgotten me."
"I gradually began to dislike her and hate you, the one she kept in her thoughts. I realized something: I, who had carried out Root's will, had developed an emotion like jealousy..."
"We had both entered Root..."
"We were exactly the same kind of people..."
"Kabuto Yakushi..."
"How unfair this was..."
Second update
Before you continue