Girl Returned from the Wasteland, Tayuya

"Kabuto?"

A figure draped in a gray cloak pulled a knife from a White Zetsu corpse. Hundreds of White Zetsu corpses lay scattered on the ground in front of and behind him.

A strong gust of wind blew by, ruffling the man's cloak and causing his long, dark red hair to fall loosely. The girl instinctively reached out to touch it, only managing to cover part of the hair.

The camera pans upwards at a 45-degree angle, Tayuya standing atop a precipice, with an endless wasteland stretching out behind her. The dark yellow earth is somber and vast, almost like the night itself.

The wispy white clouds, like eggs with yolks scattered by shaking, floated low in the sky. Further away, there was green grass and water, with herds of cattle and sheep.

A year has passed. She has crossed many mountains and visited many places. She has seen raging rivers, as well as babbling brooks and hot springs in her hometown. She has met many people and witnessed many things.

She knew she wasn't very smart, nor did she have much luck. There were many things she didn't understand, many things she couldn't figure out, and she couldn't comprehend emotions.

Even if she likes someone, she doesn't know how to be good to him. The thought of him being surrounded by many people makes her realize that he might soon forget her.

Over time, she becomes anxious and insecure, as if she lives only for one person. She's not very bright, so she rarely thinks things through and acts solely on intuition.

Naruto said he loved her, but she knew that his love wasn't intense; it might just be infatuation. However, it was still precious to her.

Even with this affection, she didn't know how to reciprocate. In the end, all she could do was offer him her favorite piece of money.

Perhaps he doesn't like money; it's just that she likes it. Every time Tayuya feels a little sad. She doesn't want to just be someone who receives that; she also wants to give Naruto something in return.

She saw couples kissing under Kishita and walking hand in hand in the town of the Land of Fire, and felt a strange sense of unease.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't come up with any ideas even after sitting in her house from morning till night, so she chose to leave. To travel thousands of miles and see how others did it.

From forests to deserts, from mountains to wastelands, she traveled for hundreds of days and nights. She met many people and witnessed many things, and finally, a budding awareness began to sprout in her heart.

She seemed to have figured out how to love someone, so she started to turn back.

But only a year later, the Shinobi World seemed to have changed completely. The ugly face of the White Zetsu reminded her of Orochimaru, and then she traced it back to Kabuto.

Tayuya didn't have a good impression of Kabuto. The man had always been Orochimaru's assistant, and his smile gave people a very hypocritical feeling.

Three of the Sound Four had a good impression of Kabuto, but Tayuya disliked him and looked at Kabuto with disgust.

Perhaps it was because I was naive back then that I could see through Kabuto's act at a glance. I couldn't say whether that person was good or bad, but he just gave off a very uncomfortable feeling.

It doesn't look like a living person, but rather like an empty shell.

Now that Tayuya knows that all these weird things were created by Kabuto, she's not Tayuya surprised. That guy was a disgusting pervert to begin with.

However, one thing did bother her: Orochimaru had disappeared, his whereabouts unknown. Tayuya, of course, didn't believe Orochimaru was dead; she knew Orochimaru was definitely lurking somewhere.

The thought sent a chill down her spine.

She wasn't afraid of Kabuto; he was just a madman. But she was genuinely terrified of Orochimaru. Before, it was admiration; now, it was mostly fear.

After thinking for a while, Tayuya decided to return to the Land of Fire first. Hmm, go home first.

She had never had a home before, nor had she ever thought about such things. When she left home, she only saw it as a place to stay, but now that she had decided to go back, she felt a stronger sense of home.

"I wonder how he is," Tayuya murmured to herself.

~~

After the Five Great Nations were attacked simultaneously, Naruto managed to take advantage of the chaos and reaped considerable rewards. To alleviate the pressure, he specifically instructed Hydrangea and the others to also steal some valuables.

Although it can't be hidden from those who are interested, it can at least save some trouble.

There aren't that many smart people in this world who are also smart enough to understand their own nature; they're extremely rare. Even if they exist, the vast majority of them are on their own side.

Except for Sasuke Uchiha, that good-for-nothing!

He didn't want to deal with a madman, and couldn't be bothered with him anyway. No matter how much Sasuke Uchiha, he wouldn't amount to anything. Let him jump around; he could use his sword anyway.

With Kabuto on his left and Sasuke Uchiha on his right, Naruto could easily switch sides and choose between them at will. He could frame whichever one he wanted, one today and one tomorrow.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly smiled. Thinking about how he had emptied the warehouses of several nobles from the Land of Fire a few days ago, he suddenly had a whim to roughly count how much money he had.

Before Naruto could even start counting the money, Uzuki Yugao suddenly arrived.

This time, they still used the balcony. Perhaps the people in the Anbu really treat the balcony as a door; they all either like to peek through the windows or use the balcony.

"I succeeded," said Uzuki Yugao calmly.

"What?" Naruto seemed somewhat surprised to hear the news of Baki's death and glanced at her again.

"I took advantage of the Impure World Reincarnation corpses attacking Sunagakure and Sand in. I changed into tattered clothes and pretended to be a panicked woman. In the chaos, I rushed at Baki and stabbed him to death."

The Anbu Captain is still the Anbu Captain, and Uzuki Yugao has grown considerably over the years. In the past, she probably would never have thought of such a ruthless and decisive scheme.

"Did it really work?"

"It's done." She said calmly.

A couple of days ago, Uzuki Yugao asked if she could try, as she wanted to kill Baki. Naruto happened to be busy creating chaos, agreed without hesitation.

At the time, Naruto didn't care at all, and simply gave her more manpower, letting her do as she pleased. He only promised at the end that it didn't matter if it didn't work this time, he would find a suitable opportunity to kill Baki another day.

Opportunities don't come every time, but Naruto was incredibly busy at the time and didn't have the energy to deal with anything else. In any case, he never expected Uzuki Yugao to be so decisive.

Baki's death did have a tiny bit of an advantage for Naruto, but not much.

"Okay, that's fine then." There wasn't much to say anyway, so Naruto responded, already planning his next move. "I understand, you can go ahead and do your thing."

He tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa and spoke slowly.

"There's nothing for you to do in Sunagakure anymore. You're the Anbu Captain, and if you're not in Konohagakure a few times, people will notice. You don't need to worry about anything else; just leave it for now."

Uzuki Yugao knew Naruto was giving her a break, and she wanted to say no, that she could help. However, Naruto's words made sense; the frequent disappearances of the Anbu Captain would arouse suspicion.

Besides, she did have things to do.

"Good."

Uzuki Yugao had already left the house, half of her body leaning out, when she suddenly turned back and said thank you.

"Heh." Naruto tilted his head back and squinted his eyes while leaning against the sofa.

Before setting off, Naruto didn't have time to make any further arrangements, telling them to act according to the situation. The bottom line was to let the people of the Five Great Nations know that it was Kabuto who was controlling the corpses.

Not only that, Naruto also demanded that the girls leave behind some clues, making the meaning of Kabuto's name even more mysterious.

Kabuto wanted to become famous and be remembered by everyone. Naruto did only one thing: make everyone suspect that Kabuto wasn't just one person's name, but rather the name of a group of people.

Using his name as a vehicle, he devoured Kabuto.

The principle is simple: it's purely about smearing. Whatever Kabuto wants to prove, Naruto does the opposite, adhering to the principle of not stopping until he's thoroughly infuriated Kabuto.

Anyway, Kabuto has always liked to lie, saying one thing to one person and another to another, earning him the reputation of having a thousand faces. Now he wants to clear his name and tell everyone that his name is Kabuto.

All Naruto did was spit in his face and curse him, "You bitch, you think you can get away with this? Keep dreaming." He then proceeded to ruin Kabuto's reputation.

Kabuto has many aliases, but this is his only real name, given to him by his mother, the orphanage director Yakushi Nonō. He can't bear to part with it, nor can he abandon it.

~~

Black Zetsu listened to Kabuto's angry roar not far away and couldn't help but feel a little bored. He didn't understand why humans always liked to waste time on meaningless things.

What does a name matter? Since he became conscious, he has only had one name: Black Zetsu. He knows very well that he is a part of his mother, and that his purpose in living is to break the seal and rescue her.

For thousands of years, he has been striving and working hard towards this goal. Although he has not succeeded, he is still quite proud of himself.

At least he's persistent, isn't he?

For short-lived creatures like humans, the concept of a thousand years is completely foreign. Black Zetsu has been waiting for an opportunity, and has been taking action all along.

Even after repeated failures, they remain indomitable.

Thinking this way, Black Zetsu looked down on Kabuto even more, genuinely believing that humans were a bunch of inexplicable creatures. It's just a name; he'd changed it countless times.

Besides, wouldn't it be more convenient for a villain who is utterly wicked to act without a name?

No one could understand the anger in Kabuto's heart. After calming down, he guessed almost immediately who the mastermind was: Naruto Uzumaki!

The two of them have been at odds for quite some time. This guy has been on guard against him in Konohagakure and hasn't left the village for a long time.

Now look what's happened, that bitch Naruto Uzumaki's revenge has come!

Boom!

Kabuto, but the bitterness in his heart only grew stronger. Naruto Uzumaki was too terrifying; he almost always attacked at Kabuto's weak points.

He had sent White Zetsu to attack the woman he cared about, thinking that she would restrain herself, but he never expected that she would hide in the shadows and bite him hard.

Name! Black Zetsu, a creature without emotions, how could he possibly know what he has lost?

Naruto Uzumaki had completely stirred up the situation; the Impure World Reincarnation army was ready, and Kabuto couldn't possibly keep it hidden. He thought that by going ahead, no one would know he had prepared an Impure World Reincarnation ninja force.

But the truth is, that little bastard Naruto Uzumaki stabbed him in the back. Kabuto, unusually losing his composure, gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "Naruto Uzumaki, you're dead."

"Then let's put them on high alert! Send out the rest of the White Zetsu, and I'll gather my Edo Tensei Army. This time, we must kill Naruto Uzumaki, make him die!"

Kabuto gritted his teeth and growled, then his eyes caught sight of a wildflower by the roadside, and he stomped on it hard!

Uzuki Yugao carefully placed the bouquet in front of Gekko Hayate's tombstone, her eyes filled with sadness, and slowly rose and took two steps back.

The sky over Konohagakure was gloomy, and countless tombstones were densely packed in the grass. Uzuki Yugao stood there Uzuki Yugao.

"Baki is dead. I killed him."

"The methods I used were not honorable; assassination was my only chance, and fortunately, I succeeded."

"The blood was very sticky, and I was so nervous that I couldn't even hold the knife."

At this point, Uzuki Yugao smiled and tucked her purple hair, which was being blown about by the wind.

"If my men knew that their captain was as nervous as a rookie when he killed someone, they would probably laugh at me for a long time."

"I was really happy when that person died."

"Hayate."

"I've avenged you, it was my own obsession," she murmured to herself. "I couldn't have done it alone, you have to forgive me."

"I really can only do this. If you were still here, you would definitely think I'm naive. But you know what? A person's name is really important, but... the villagers don't remember you anymore."

"No one remembers that there was once a Jonin named Gekko Hayate Jonin died for the village. Only a few years have passed, and almost no one remembers you anymore."

"So I can't wait any longer, you'll understand, right?"

Standing before the tombstone of Gekko Hayate Uzuki Yugao spoke at length, as if she wanted to say everything she had to say. The more she spoke, the more guilty she felt, and finally she squatted down and cried.

She simply couldn't wait any longer; you can't blame her. Fortunately, it's all over now.

Night falls.

Uzuki Yugao raised her head, wiped away the remaining tears, took a deep look at Gekko Hayate's tombstone, and then turned and left. The past was now behind her.

She no longer needs to be laughed at by Naruto, nor does she need to constantly carry a sense of guilt. She has done all she could; the rest is up to her.

Back on Konohagakure Street, Uzuki Yugao originally wanted to go home, but after taking a few steps, she changed her mind and thought that going home would just mean staying in the bathtub, lost in thought and feeling melancholy.

After hesitating for a moment, she lifted her foot and walked in another direction from the village.

At Konoha Street 404, Naruto was sleeping on the sofa when he suddenly heard a noise coming from the balcony. He groggily sat up, glanced at the balcony, and rubbed his eyes.

"How did you find the time to come here?"

"I'm very free." Uzuki Yugao said succinctly, pursing her lips. "I'm very annoyed and don't know what to do. Going home doesn't help."

"So you came to find me? What do you take me for?" Naruto rolled his eyes, stood up, yawned, and was about to go back to his room.

He turned his head and glanced at it, but stopped in his tracks.