Yakushi Kabuto

"Y-you three..."

"You're only bringing shame on the Uchiha Clan!"

Facing these clan members like Uchiha Izuma, who had no 'measure' to speak of,

Shisui scolded them in a stern voice, though he felt an indescribable weariness and helplessness.

No wonder everyone in the village looked at Uchiha Clan shinobi that way.

"Damn it..."

Feeling Shisui's sharp gaze on him, Uchiha Izuma reluctantly lowered his fist.

He was furious, but Shisui, the clan's prodigy, was stronger than all three of them.

"Yu..."

"I apologize to you on behalf of the three of them."

After stopping Uchiha Izuma and the others,

Shisui walked over to Yu, looking apologetic.

"Tch..."

"I wasn't done playing."

Yu pursed his lips in annoyance at Shisui's apology.

Even so, the three fingers of Yu's right hand, which had been deftly manipulating the threads, came to an abrupt stop.

"But for Shisui's sake..."

"I'll let you three off!"

There was no refusing a favor to the future-famous Body Flicker Shisui, especially since he had just helped Yu out a little.

Shisui was such an honest and upright prodigy that it was hard to dislike him, even if he were an enemy.

As he spoke, Yu withdrew the Parasitic Thread he had been controlling.

Uchiha Homura and Uchiha Kan, who had been standing nearby, immediately regained control of their bodies.

"That's an incredible ability. Is it your Kekkei Genkai?"

Shisui had just watched Yu take control of two of his Uchiha Clan comrades without making a sound.

Now Shisui fixed Yu with a bright, intent gaze. The extraordinary talent and strange, powerful ability Yu had displayed had clearly piqued the Uchiha prodigy's interest.

"A Kekkei Genkai..."

Feeling Shisui's heated gaze, Yu shrugged indifferently.

"If you want to think of it that way, sure."

In the Naruto World, a power like a Devil Fruit could only be understood as a Kekkei Genkai.

Well... a Kekkei Genkai far more powerful than most.

"If I get the chance, I'd really like to fight you."

Seeing Yu's indifferent attitude, Shisui felt as if his punch had landed on cotton.

But soon, his tone shifted, and his expression grew fervent again. "The Ninja Academy starts in two months. I'm guessing you'll be going too, right?"

"We'll see." Sensing the intense battle lust in Shisui's eyes, Yu gave a noncommittal chuckle.

"As for the Ninja Academy... I'll think about it."

If I can scrape together the tuition by then... Yu silently added, feeling miserable.

Naruto had been so poor that he could only afford instant noodles, yet he still went to the Ninja Academy in the original story. The Third Hokage and the others must have pulled some strings for him...

"Anyway, it's getting late. I should head back."

"See you next time, Shisui."

Glancing at the darkening sky, Yu turned and walked away before Shisui could respond, leaving only a wave over his shoulder.

"Yakushi Yu... What an interesting guy."

Watching Yu's figure disappear across the grass, Shisui murmured to himself, a strange light flickering in his dark eyes.

"Looks like the Ninja Academy won't be as boring as I thought..."

By the time Yu returned to the Konoha Orphanage, it was already evening.

Urushi and the others had finished dinner, but Yu had found something to eat on his way back.

"Yu!"

"You're only getting back now?"

The moment Yu walked into the wooden house, Urushi was the first to stand.

But after seeing Yu's monstrous performance that day, Urushi no longer looked at him the way he used to.

There was fear, envy, and perhaps even a little longing and admiration.

"Yeah, my training ran a little late today..."

"And I met an interesting guy."

As though he hadn't noticed that Urushi's gaze had changed, Yu simply nodded. He noticed that all the minor injuries on Urushi had already been healed.

Besides the children, including Mayuna and Momoka, the silver-haired boy who had been rescued the day before was also in the orphanage's main room.

"They told me you were the one who saved me yesterday."

"Um... thank you."

When Yu entered the room, the silver-haired boy walked over to him.

The wound on his forehead had been bandaged, and he was wearing a black samurai helmet.

He also had a pair of large, round, black-rimmed glasses perched on his small nose.

The boy was half a head taller than Yu. His face reddened slightly as he said, "And... I have a name now."

"The matron gave me one."

"Kabuto. My name is Yakushi Kabuto. The matron also gave me her glasses."

So it really was him...

Yu looked at the shy boy in front of him.

With the glasses Yakushi Nonō had given him, Kabuto finally looked like the character Yu remembered.

Yu sighed inwardly, his gaze growing complicated.

Yakushi Kabuto—the assistant to Orochimaru, one of the Three Sannin. He was a talented shinobi skilled in medical ninjutsu, espionage, ninjutsu, and much more.

He was a character Yu had thought highly of in the original story. Not only was he intelligent and meticulous, but from his very first appearance, he had been as strong as Hatake Kakashi, 'Konoha's Copy Ninja.' Kabuto had been only twenty years old at the time.

Later, he absorbed the abilities of Orochimaru and his subordinates, then independently mastered Sage Mode in Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Senjutsu Sanctuaries. At one point, he was strong enough to suppress Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke working together.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, his Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu surpassed even that of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju and Orochimaru, making him one of the major villains who set the final war in motion.

As a child, he had been an orphan of the Third Shinobi World War, adopted by Yakushi Nonō, the matron of the Konoha Orphanage. Later, Danzo had taken him into Root and threatened Nonō into carrying out espionage missions for him.

In the end, because the two of them knew too many secrets, Danzo had schemed to make them kill each other and sent Orochimaru to eliminate them both. But Orochimaru had recognized Kabuto's talent and invited him to join Otogakure.

Of course, the Kabuto standing before Yu now

hadn't yet fallen into darkness after Yakushi Nonō's death. He was still just a kind, shy boy.

"Your Medical Ninjutsu is amazing..."

"If I can, I want to learn Medical Ninjutsu too. Then I could help everyone!"

As he spoke, young Yakushi Kabuto looked at Yu with envy and admiration.