Of course, Naruto would do whatever it took to deal with any crisis that could be nipped in the bud.
That included a dangerous figure like Yakushi Kabuto.
After learning from some of the important intelligence extracted from the brains of Shimura Danzō and the Root members that this Konoha Pot King had been in close contact with Yakushi Kabuto before they ambushed and killed him, Naruto followed that lead. He ordered Hoshichi and Xinghuo to each lead dozens of Snow Ninja Anbu stationed across the continent in a large-scale search. If they could find Kabuto before he inherited the rest of Orochimaru's legacy—especially before he learned Senjutsu—
Naruto believed that, given the baseline strength of his Anbu,
even a single squad
could easily capture Yakushi Kabuto, or at least kill him!
The longer they waited,
the more it would jeopardize Naruto's plans.
Who knew whether Kabuto might seek out Obito and work with him, just as he had in the original story?
If that happened,
the allied forces of the Six Nations would have to face a huge army of Impure World Reincarnation fighters.
There would be advantages to that, of course,
but there would also be serious drawbacks.
Plans and changes
often went hand in hand in an instant.
Naruto hoped he could keep everything that followed under his control as much as possible, though he knew full well how difficult that would be.
"Still no news?"
Out at sea,
aboard a giant oil tanker,
as it raced toward the continent at top speed,
Naruto stood on the deck of the largest tanker and looked at the Snow Ninja Anbu kneeling before him. His brow furrowed slightly as he spoke.
"Yes, Snow Shadow. We found a secret base belonging to Orochimaru in a small country in the south