Orochimaru

Yuzuru's time in the instance was limited, and every second there had to be put to use, so he was in a hurry. Even so, he stopped in his tracks...

There was something he wanted to confirm.

He turned toward a collapsed building, searching for the source of the sound. Then he came upon two mortally wounded ninja and a child.

"Senior Omori, is that you?"

One of the wounded seemed to be Kairi Omori, Yuzuru's teammate in the real world.

The person with her was probably her husband, and the child was likely theirs. But Kairi Omori had been her name before; it must have changed by now... Seeing the scene before him, Yuzuru recalled the three of their names.

Ikkaku Umino, Kairi Umino, and Umino Iruka.

If there had been no variables in the real world, then Torifu Akimichi, Kairi Omori, and Hazuki Uchiha would all have survived until the Nine-Tails' Rampage. That proved they hadn't died on their mission in the Land of Rain, but had returned safely.

But now there was a small variable in the real world: Yuzuru. Could everything still happen as it originally had? Was the future shown in the instance truly a future that had developed from the real world?

"Who... are you...?"

Kairi Omori managed to open her eyes, but she didn't seem to recognize Yuzuru. Her gaze was full of wariness.

"Senior Omori, it's me, Yuzuru, your former teammate. Don't you remember?"

"...Tea...mmate?"

It was clear that Yuzuru didn't exist in Kairi Omori's memories. This confirmed that the so-called instance was an isolated space-time and that events there wouldn't interact with those in the real world.

The instance should be consistent with the original Naruto world, unaffected by variables added in reality... He didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad one.

"Take..."

At this point, Kairi Omori didn't care who Yuzuru was. She only hoped he would take her child away quickly and get him to safety... Though she could no longer speak, she was still silently begging Yuzuru for help.

Fortunately, another rescue ninja arrived, sparing Yuzuru the dilemma of whether to change his plans.

A Konoha Ninja Body Flickered to their side and scooped up Umino Iruka. At the same time, he told Yuzuru, "Don't just stand there! Get to safety!"

Perhaps because she had seen her child rescued, all the light faded from Kairi Omori's face.

Yuzuru sighed, then got to his feet and continued toward the Hokage's office... Well, this counted as seeking shelter too.

By then, all of Konoha had fallen into chaos. The Third Hokage was leading an elite squad to fight the Nine-Tails... Yet even amid this disaster, two major forces in Konoha remained inactive: Shimura Danzō's Root, and the Uchiha Clan.

Yuzuru drew closer to the Hokage's office, but the problem was, even if he knew where Konoha kept its ninjutsu and forbidden techniques, could he get inside?

Even with Konoha in such disarray, it was easy to imagine ninja still guarding those top-secret locations.

Yuzuru could only try to break through with the Body Flicker Technique, or use a Rasengan to ambush the guards... He had no choice if he wanted to improve his combat strength. Taking risks in this instance was still much better than taking them in the real world.

Outside was a mess, but the Hokage's building was eerily quiet. The moment Yuzuru slipped inside, he sensed something was off.

It was far too quiet. Had the Nine-Tails' attack left no one on guard inside the Hokage's office?

That didn't seem likely.

Looking at the empty building, Yuzuru couldn't simply chalk it up to another stroke of luck.

He stayed on high alert as he followed the corridor deeper into the building. Then he found a staircase leading underground. When he reached the landing, he finally discovered something unusual... An Anbu Ninja's corpse lay there.

There was no blood or scent of blood. The ninja had died quite "peacefully." Yuzuru checked the body and found that the man's neck had been broken. The killer's technique had been remarkably clean. Someone had killed an Anbu as easily as a chicken.

"Could there be someone else here?"

As he ventured farther underground, Yuzuru found several more Anbu Ninja corpses. When he reached the entrance to the Secret Technique Vault, he saw that the door stood open.

An eerie light spilled through the crack.

Yuzuru paused at the entrance. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. Going into the Secret Technique Vault probably wouldn't end well, but now that he was already here, he wasn't willing to turn back.

A place like the Secret Technique Vault was far too important. It was basically a "complete guide to Konoha's skills." Even if Yuzuru didn't come this time, he would eventually need to. So at the very least, he had to confirm what was going on inside.

With that thought, he stepped through the door.

Not far inside, he saw a figure sitting cross-legged on the floor.

A candle burned beside the figure, and scrolls were spread all around him. As Yuzuru stepped inside, a pair of snake-like eyes immediately turned toward him.

Well, it wasn't hard to guess who would break into the Secret Technique Vault at a time like this. It was practically just as expected.

"Who are you?"

"Uh, please, carry on. I'm just looking for a few Wind Release Ninjutsu scrolls."

Yuzuru glanced at the scrolls spread out in front of Orochimaru and felt his eyes glaze over... He couldn't study them; he couldn't even understand them.

"Wind Release is on the third bookshelf inside."

"Thanks."

Yuzuru headed farther into the library. Orochimaru turned his attention back to the scroll in front of him, then... Hm? Was something not quite right?

Orochimaru slowly turned his head, his gaze fixed on Yuzuru's back... What was this, some kind of chance encounter in a library?

Two people sneaking in to steal secret techniques, and they could actually get along peacefully?

"Never mind. I'll deal with him later."

Orochimaru's time was precious too. He didn't want to waste a second.

He was just a minor ninja. There was no need to pay him much attention. When the other man was ready to leave the vault and passed by, Orochimaru could take care of him then... That was what he thought.

Feeling the cold gaze behind him, Yuzuru broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the feeling lasted only a moment; Orochimaru had already shifted his attention.

Yuzuru didn't even know how he'd just managed to talk to Orochimaru, but since Orochimaru hadn't attacked him right away, the outcome was acceptable.

Following Orochimaru's helpful directions, Yuzuru reached the designated spot and found plenty of Wind Release Ninjutsu scrolls. Some even bore the Shimura Clan's insignia.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave, Vacuum Blade, Wind Blade Technique..."

Yuzuru pulled out a scroll and quickly memorized its contents. He would remember as many techniques as he could before the instance ended.

"Wait..."

But as he memorized the scroll, Yuzuru suddenly lost focus. He'd just realized something... If Orochimaru was here, didn't that mean he wasn't elsewhere?

He quickly pulled up the instance map and searched carefully for a while. At last, he found a location deep underground called Orochimaru's Secret Laboratory.

Orochimaru's laboratory was a treasure trove too.

But there wasn't enough time to go there now, so he had to hurry and memorize the Wind Release techniques. He could plan a trip to Orochimaru's laboratory for next time...

Yuzuru had only just finished memorizing a few techniques when he suddenly heard the squelch of a blade sinking into flesh. By the time he realized what had happened, his chest had gone cold.

He looked down in disbelief and saw a pale arm thrust through his chest from behind.

A cold voice sounded behind him.

"You weren't just thinking about me, were you, young man?"

"..."

What a goddamn lunatic.

They were both readers. You read your book, I read mine. How could he stab someone in the back like that?