Everyone turned to look and saw a man with eerie slit pupils, pale skin, and lips painted purple leaning against a pillar, his smile cold and sinister. He wore the ninja uniform of Otogakure, the musical-note symbol on his forehead protector especially glaring—Otogakure, the ninja village Orochimaru had founded with his own hands.
Kakashi's gaze went cold in an instant. "Kabuto Yakushi. You came too."
Kabuto Yakushi straightened and pushed up his glasses, his smile harmless. "I'm a guide for this exam, so naturally I have to be here. As for these three little students of yours, they look rather inexperienced. Can they make it through the first round?"
Naruto immediately bristled. "Hey! Who the heck are you?! Don't look down on us! I'm definitely going to become a chunin, and then I'm going to become Hokage!"
"Hokage?" Kabuto gave a soft laugh, his gaze sliding over Sasuke and lingering on him for a moment, full of hidden meaning. "What an impressive dream."
Sasuke sensed Kabuto's gaze, and his heart tightened. That uncomfortable feeling of being watched by a venomous snake made his whole body tense.
Just then, a swirl of wind and sand rose, and a group dressed in Sunagakure ninja uniforms walked in. The boy in the lead had short light-blond hair, a Sunagakure forehead protector on his brow, and deep purple eyes. A cold, violent aura radiated from him, like a storm that might erupt at any moment.
Behind him followed two youths, one brown-haired and steady, the other pink-haired and playful. They were Sunagakure's trump-card trio—Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.
Gaara's gaze swept across the room before finally landing on Sasuke, a trace of bloodthirsty fighting intent flashing in his eyes. "The last survivor of the Uchiha Clan..." he murmured in a low voice, his fingertips unconsciously