Unlike the bustling scene in Konoha, Kabuto Yakushi had secretly arrived at a mountain outside the Konoha.
With the participation of the Five Great Nations in this Chunin Ninja Exams, Kabuto Yakushi failed to even qualify for the official tournament.
On the one hand, his strength was indeed not outstanding enough, and on the other hand, he deliberately concealed it.
"Grown ups!"
In front of a cave, Dou respectfully knelt on one knee.
At this moment, he was wearing a cloak, and the calm and composed expression on his face turned into one of respect and trepidation.
"Come in!"
As Orochimaru's voice rang out, Kabuto slowly walked into the cave.
This cave is where Orochimaru and the Second Hokage studied and exchanged ideas. Over the years, the cave has become empty, but otherwise it remains unchanged.
"My lord! I failed to qualify for the official competition..."
Kabuto immediately apologized to Orochimaru, because Orochimaru's original goal for him was to gather as much information as possible about the new generation of Konoha and other ninja villages through the official tournament.
This information wasn't very useful to Orochimaru, because he already knew quite a bit of it, and it wasn't of any use to him anyway.
However, the participants in the Northern Lands could use this intelligence, and Orochimaru couldn't just hand it over to Anko out of thin air, nor did he have the time to worry about such things. So, Kabuto Yakushi and the other spies came in handy.
Before Kabuto could finish speaking, Orochimaru waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down.
"Your current task is to negotiate with the ninjas of Sunagakure. If I'm not mistaken, the plan will proceed as scheduled in a month!"
Orochimaru has already obtained Rasa's disguise, and he has secretly persuaded many ninjas in Sunagakure. If he wasn't worried that Chiyo would see through his disguise, he could have mobilized even more.
As for why it's a month later, one reason is that he needs to persuade more people, and another reason is that the final Chunin Ninja Exams will also be scheduled a month later.
During this time, they can make more preparations. Given Kabuto's understanding of Konoha, it shouldn't be difficult for him to lead this attack.
He now has another identity: an outer member of the Root ninja, that is, Danzo's spy.
Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Kabuto's face also turned serious, and he said with a firm expression:
"Please rest assured, sir! I will definitely not let you down!"
Orochimaru then explained more details of the mission to him, mentioning that he would be giving orders to Baki, the instructor of the Sunagakure, in his capacity as the Fourth Kazekage.
Orochimaru seemed to have thought of something and casually said to him:
"Choose a secluded place to meet Kazuma, not on the rooftop, remember that!"
In the Original Work story, the two met on the rooftop, and were later discovered by Gekko Hayate, which led to Uzuki Yugao being separated from him.
Leaving aside the issue of breaking up this couple that leaves us with a lingering sense of regret, let's just talk about the problem of meeting on the rooftop.
Why do spies in every world like to meet on rooftops? Don't they know that this place is easy to be discovered and easy to die in?
Of course, the fishpond is out of the question, because a section chief named Jiang from next door accidentally fell into the water and drowned... Not to mention next door, even Big D doesn't dare to meet with others at the fishpond without permission.
Fortunately, Konoha doesn't have any fish ponds, so Orochimaru didn't need to remind them of that.
"Yes! I will definitely pay attention!"
Kabuto respectfully agreed. Although he didn't know why they couldn't meet on the rooftop, he figured he just had to obey orders. Orochimaru must have a reason for saying that.
"Has Danzo made any moves?"
After digesting the question, Orochimaru continued.
I learned from Dou that the old guy has been quite well-behaved lately, but he generally won't contact the other party unless there's a specific reason.
"You should be able to call him out, right?"
Upon hearing this question, Dou hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.
"If it were in Konoha... it should be possible! What does the master intend to do is..."
At this point, he was able to bury his hatred deep in his heart, and all his pretense and deception were just for the purpose of killing his enemy!
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction.
It's not good for elderly people to stay cooped up in basements all year round. They'll get rheumatism and bone pain after a while. They should come out and get some sunshine occasionally to improve their health!
"Don't cut off contact over there yet; I can still come in handy when the time is right!"
After giving all the instructions, Orochimaru did not let Kabuto leave. Instead, he handed him a vial of medicine.
If you want a horse to run, you have to feed it well. Since Kabuto was doing such a diligent job, Orochimaru naturally wouldn't show favoritism.
"This is the first stage of the Body Enhancement Potion. After injection, it will gradually improve your physique, and your Chakra and physical strength will be elevated to a higher level!"
He had been infiltrating Konoha for three years, almost three more years, and he had worked hard, even if he hadn't achieved anything great. His efforts had finally paid off, and Kabuto was almost moved to tears.
Although this world is not as humane as Earth, where people will readily help each other at the slightest disagreement, life as a spy is not easy.
Being in the deepest hell not only causes immense mental and physical torment, but also means facing a boss who might kill subordinates at the slightest provocation. It's fair to say that one's body and mind must be constantly on edge.
He might not have been able to endure such a life of constant fear and trepidation if he hadn't had a firm goal in his heart.
Kabuto trembled slightly as he received the medicine, but recovered in just a moment. Orochimaru noticed this reaction, proving that he truly deserved to be called a double agent!
"This medicine has no side effects. There will be an adjustment period of one day after the injection. You can go back and try it again!"
Orochimaru patted him on the shoulder. He valued Kabuto highly, as this little brother would be of great use in the future.
Once he calmed down, Kabuto put the potion away. Only then did he realize the unspoken message Orochimaru had just said.
"This is only the first stage of the evolution potion..."
He also thought of the Northern Lands ninjas who participated in the exam; apart from Tayuya being eliminated, the rest of them made it to the official competition.
Those people were all stronger than him, and some even possessed Curse Mark power. He really had no confidence in facing them.
"Could it be...?"
As if sensing Kabuto's confusion, Orochimaru immediately said:
"All the members of the Northern Lands who participated in the Chunin Ninja Exams this time were injected with the drug, and... Sasuke Uchiha was injected with it not long ago!"
These words immediately surprised Dou. He had expected the former, but why was the latter injected as well?
Before he could ask a question, Orochimaru continued:
"I have high hopes for him. He's also very useful to me. Perhaps you two will be spending a lot of time together in the future!"
The meaning is self-evident: Orochimaru has taken Sasuke to Sasuke, or rather, he's developed a fondness for his talent.
However, these are not things he should worry about. The fact that the person could talk to him so much already proves that they value him enough.
Right now, he's just a pawn in Orochimaru's game. It will be a long time before he can break free of the game and become a true player!