Gaara Attacks

The blade was so thin and light that even Naruto hadn't noticed it.

But Keiichi had spotted it with his Sharingan. He couldn't get a warning out.

Dodge! Keiichi's eyes were wide, his face twisted with panic.

"That was close! That was close!"

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of Naruto and caught the blade with effortless grace, as if plucking a flower. Then he flicked it back.

A wound appeared between Kabuto Yakushi's brows. Blood began to seep out, then even his brain spilled from the wound.

He was well and truly dead.

Anyone who could kill Kabuto Yakushi with a single strike clearly wasn't ordinary. With his shock of white hair, heavy makeup, enormous scroll on his back, and wooden sandals, who else could the newcomer be?

The Toad Spirit of Mount Myoboku, Sage Immortal!

"Is Kabuto Yakushi dead?" Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He and Keiichi had given everything they had and still couldn't kill their powerful enemy. How had he suddenly died?

"That's right!"

"Th-then... who... who are you?"

Only then did Naruto notice the white-haired ninja who had appeared beside him. He jumped in fright and stumbled backward.

"Wah! I'm the White-Haired Ghost, here to claim your life!"

Jiraiya pulled a face at him, never expecting Naruto, already wound tight with nerves, to be so easily frightened that he passed out on the spot.

In truth, Naruto had already reached his limit. He'd only stayed conscious by sheer force of will. Now that he saw Kabuto Yakushi was dead, the tension holding him together finally snapped.

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head. He didn't reflect on his own behavior at all; instead, he thought Naruto was far too timid and decided the boy was going to be a handful.

How could the Fourth Hokage's son be a coward?

Then his eyes fell on Keiichi, floating on the lake like a corpse. The boy had passed out too, and if he wasn't treated soon, he might not survive the night.

"Honestly, what were two kids doing playing in the middle of the wilderness? They nearly ruined my important business!" Jiraiya grabbed one under each arm, hoisted them over his shoulders, and disappeared into the woods.

As for the dead Kabuto Yakushi, they doused his corpse with Toad Oil and cremated him on the spot, ending the life of a spy who had played many sides.

A man who should have caused a great stir much later in the story had now died quietly. But aside from Keiichi, probably no one would realize the far-reaching consequences.

One day later.

Before Keiichi even opened his eyes, the strong smell of disinfectant reached him. He looked around at the bright room, the curtains stirring in the breeze, and the flowers on the bedside table.

He realized he was in Leaf Hospital.

He tried to move, but a sharp pain stopped him. The only thing he could move was his eyes. Looking down, he saw that everything below his neck was wrapped in thick bandages. His head was probably wrapped the same way.

This mummy-style bandaging really was typical of the Leaf Medical Corps.

What happened to Kabuto Yakushi?

Oh, right. Jiraiya killed him.

The moment Keiichi saw Jiraiya flick the blade back, he'd passed out, finally letting himself relax.

If that didn't kill you, did you think you were Orochimaru?

He soon learned from the doctors just how severe the cost of the Eight Inner Gates had been.

His bodily functions had collapsed, several internal organs were failing, and he had more than a dozen broken bones. Fortunately, he'd been brought in in time. Otherwise, even Tsunade wouldn't have been able to save him.

All he could do was smile bitterly at that. As expected, nothing came for free.

If he really wanted to use the Eight Inner Gates as a trump card, he'd have to train his bones and muscles as relentlessly as Rock Lee. But that would mean neglecting his other training.

And even after several years, there might be little to show for it.

All things considered, it would be a poor trade.

The one thing that comforted him was that the system notification chimed just as he woke up.

"Orochimaru's funeral feast, Kabuto Yakushi gets taken out early: earned 80 Magic Modification Points."

"Added a dramatic twist: Naruto created a jutsu that shouldn't have existed: earned 60 Magic Modification Points."

Good grief, he'd earned 140 points in one go. This really hadn't been a bad deal!

But he'd paid for them with his life. He silently vowed not to take such a reckless risk again. There was no point earning a pile of Magic Modification Points if he ended up dead!

That brought him to 190 points in total. He'd nearly redeemed the annual gift pack right away, but in the end, he held back.

What if he needed the points urgently later?

Not long after he woke, his first visitor arrived. It was Kakashi.

Chapter 59: Gaara Attacks

From Kakashi, Keiichi learned that Naruto was in relatively good shape. He'd only hurt his arm, and had been discharged as soon as he woke up.

Naruto had planned to come look after Keiichi, but Jiraiya had dragged him away. By now, he was probably already getting special training from him.

What weighed on Keiichi's mind was that Gekko Hayate really was dead.

According to the report from Kikyo Castle, Gekko Hayate's body had been found. A note was recovered from the lining of his clothes, stating that he had recently been tracking Kabuto Yakushi's movements.

For now, all they could establish was that Gekko Hayate's death was connected to Kabuto Yakushi. The man was strongly suspected of being a spy who had betrayed the Leaf Village.

Then Kabuto Yakushi had ambushed Naruto and Keiichi, further proving his sinister intent to kidnap Naruto. Fortunately, Jiraiya had arrived in time and killed him on the spot.

Kakashi didn't know what had happened during the fight, or how strong Kabuto Yakushi really was, so nothing seemed amiss to him. He even thought Naruto had gotten Keiichi caught up in it.

After all, Keiichi was just a Commoner Ninja. It made no sense for him to be a target of Orochimaru.

But Keiichi alone knew that Kabuto Yakushi had come looking for trouble with him. Naruto had simply been caught in the crossfire.

Kakashi didn't stay long. After briefly explaining the situation, he went back to continue giving Sasuke special training. He had clearly felt the pressure from Jiraiya.

The next pair of visitors were his two teammates, who had also spent a long time in the hospital.

They'd obviously come to make fun of him, since they'd happened to be discharged just as Keiichi was admitted.

They really were a relay team.

After a few casual remarks, they ran out of things to talk about. They were all Commoner Ninjas, but Keiichi had been exposed to things ordinary people could never access. The gap between them had grown, and they didn't have much in common anymore.

Keiichi could only give them a brief introduction to their teacher, Gekko Hayate. But as he spoke, he found himself losing interest. Those two teammates had never even spent time with Gekko Hayate.

He, Keiichi, had been Gekko Hayate's only student. He had no one who could understand him if he wanted to unburden himself.

He only wondered what sort of teacher Hiruzen would assign him next.

No. It was anyone's guess whether Hiruzen would even live that long.

Sasuke, whom he'd tried to talk some sense into, didn't visit, but Sakura did.

She came to vent, and the reason was simple: Naruto and Sasuke had both gone off for special training, leaving her with nothing to do all day.

She wanted to train, but no one could guide her, and she didn't know what she should work on.

But if she didn't train, she was afraid she'd become a burden.

She was the only one who didn't have to take part in the third round, and she didn't know what the point was of training so hard.

She was completely torn up about it, so she came to talk to Keiichi. What she really wanted to know was what she should do.

Keiichi couldn't exactly tell her, Once Tsunade arrives, you'll have someone powerful to rely on. There's no point worrying about this now.

So all he could do was brush her off and change the subject.

Sakura realized he was brushing her off, and didn't come back the next day. At last, Keiichi got some peace and quiet.

He knew so few people in the Leaf Village to begin with. And as a Commoner Ninja, he mattered even less to anyone.

All he wanted now was to recover as quickly as possible and make it in time for the third-round matches.

He knew how serious his injuries were. At this rate, he'd still be stuck in the hospital recovering when Orochimaru launched his plan.

What if some careless Sunagakure ninja came in and cut him down?

More importantly, he absolutely didn't want to miss these Chunin Ninja Exams. He wanted to change the course of his life, and this was his chance.

So even though it was a bad deal, he gritted his teeth and went for it!

"Spent 100 Magic Modification Points. Uzumaki Bloodline purity increased by 10%."

He couldn't raise it any further unless the plot modification percentage passed the next threshold.

But he wasn't worried. Ever since Kabuto Yakushi died, the plot modification percentage had increased by about 3%, and it was still rising.

That gave him an Uzumaki Bloodline with 15% purity. With the traits of this bloodline, he would recover much faster than before.

Keiichi patiently recuperated in the hospital. After about five days, he could just barely walk, though he still couldn't remove his bandages. He looked ridiculous.

When he had nothing else to do, he went to visit Rock Lee's room. Both of them had ended up like this because of the Eight Inner Gates, and since they were both wrapped up like giant dumplings, they had plenty to talk about.

For example, they could swap tips on how to rise from the dead.

Just kidding. They were really talking about which way of getting out of bed was easiest.

Of course, Keiichi had an ulterior motive: he was trying to get Rock Lee to teach him how to learn the Eight Inner Gates.

He already knew the technique, but the Leaf Village didn't know that.

He didn't want to end up locked away in the Torture and Interrogation Force's basement again for being forced to use the Eight Inner Gates.

Unfortunately, Rock Lee was only a casual acquaintance. There was no way he'd casually pass on such a supreme martial art, so they reached an impasse.

Fortunately, just as Keiichi had predicted, on the day before the Chunin Ninja Exams began, Gaara really did sneak into Rock Lee's room. Keiichi, who had been hiding in the room with the Invisibility Technique, caught him red-handed.

The plan was called "entrapment"!

"That's far enough, Gaara!" A hand suddenly seized Gaara by the wrist, and a calm voice spoke.

Gaara turned to look, his expression dark.

How had this person appeared beside him without making a sound?

"Let go, if you don't want to die," Gaara said coldly.

"This is the Leaf Village. Even if you kill Rock Lee and me, do you think you'll make it out of this hospital?" Keiichi remained calm.

"I can try." Gaara turned his wrist, and sand began gathering around Keiichi.

But as soon as the sand covered Keiichi's ankles, it could go no farther. Gaara suddenly found himself unable to move, and his chakra stopped flowing.

"That was close! That was close!"

The one who'd arrived was, of course, Shikamaru. Taking advantage of the two of them fighting, he'd hidden in the darkness and quietly activated the Shadow Possession Jutsu.

It had worked perfectly.

"You..." Gaara was somewhat surprised. How had they known he would show up here? It was as if they'd set a trap in advance.

He'd guessed correctly. Keiichi was the reason Shikamaru was here.

Keiichi had originally wanted to call Naruto over to help, but Jiraiya was keeping such a close watch on him that Keiichi had asked his childhood friend Shikamaru instead.

Shikamaru, of course, wouldn't refuse Naruto. After all, they were childhood friends.

"Please leave. If you want to fight, we'll meet you in the arena," Shikamaru said calmly.

"That won't work. The monster inside me doesn't see it that way. If I don't kill him, it'll get angry." Gaara wore an exaggerated grin, looking almost like a monster.

Shikamaru couldn't help taking half a step back, breaking into a cold sweat.

What was wrong with this guy?!

He was seriously creepy!

"It's telling me to kill every enemy and leave no one alive. So he can't be an exception!" Gaara's gaze fell on Rock Lee, his expression hideously twisted.

By then, Shikamaru was struggling to keep Gaara under control. It was the first time he'd encountered someone who could still fight back while held by the Shadow Technique.

The sand floated up again, this time pointing straight at the three of them. At a single thought from Gaara, everyone there would lose their heads.

The tense standoff was about to explode!