A Loyal Dog

Light flashed in Kabuto's eyes. He sat bolt upright on the operating table and frantically checked whether anyone had tampered with his body.

If anyone else had said that, he might not have believed it.

But he was facing Orochimaru, a maniac for body modification, and Uchiha Genya, who had gone even further down the road of abandoning his humanity!

They really might have turned him into a girl!

Better safe than sorry when it came to something like that!

Watching Kabuto panic, Nonō could not help saying:

"Kabuto, everything before this was a lie. Even my death was staged. It was all to give you enough motivation to go to Ryūchi Cave and learn Senjutsu."

Nonō sounded a little proud as she said it.

Kabuto had learned Senjutsu. In all of Konoha, apart from Lord Jiraiya, who was rarely there, Kabuto was the only one who had managed it.

The fact that Xuanye practiced Senjutsu was a closely guarded secret in Konoha and throughout the Land of Fire. Nonō knew nothing about intelligence at that level.

At the very least, Kabuto could expect to land a department-head post one day. He might even make it into the decision-making circle.

To Nonō, that would bring honor to the whole family.

The time she had spent pretending to be dead had not been wasted.

Still, seeing how much Kabuto's appearance had changed, she could not help worrying.

Would the villagers bully Kabuto for looking different?

Once Kabuto confirmed that he had neither lost any important parts nor gained any new ones, he glared at Xuanye and demanded:

"Is this another Illusion Technique meant to make me submit?"

He had checked for himself. Nonō had shown no signs of life.

How could it be... How could this have been a setup from