Yakushi Kabuto

"You three doing this..."

"Only brings shame upon our Uchiha clan!"

Facing Uchiha Izuma and these clansmen who lacked 'capacity,' Shisui rebuked them in a low voice, though he felt an indescribable sense of annoyance and helplessness in his heart.

It was no wonder that everyone in the village wore such expressions whenever they saw a ninja from the Uchiha clan.

"Damn it..."

Feeling the sharp gaze of Shisui before him, Uchiha Izuma retracted his fist with resentment.

Although he was deeply unwilling, Shisui, as the genius of the clan, possessed strength that surpassed the three of them.

"Hane..."

"I apologize to you on their behalf."

After stopping Uchiha Izuma and the other two, Shisui walked up to Hane, a trace of apology on his face.

"Tch..."

"I wasn't done playing yet."

Facing Shisui's apology, Hane curled his lips in dissatisfaction.

However, despite his words, the nimble movements of the three fingers on his right hand came to an abrupt halt.

"But for Shisui's sake..."

"I'll let you three off!"

He couldn't refuse to give face to the future renowned 'Body Flicker Shisui,' especially since the man had just done him a small favor.

For a genius ninja with such an upright and open character as Shisui, even enemies generally found it difficult to harbor ill will toward him.

As he spoke, Hane retracted the Parasitic Thread he had been manipulating.

The bodies of Uchiha Homura and Uchiha Kan, standing nearby, immediately regained their freedom.

"A very strong ability. Is this your Kekkei Genkai?"

Having just witnessed Hane silently control two of his Uchiha clansmen, Shisui stared at Hane with burning eyes. Clearly, the extraordinary talent and strange, powerful ability Hane had displayed had already piqued the intense interest of this Uchiha genius.

"A Kekkei Genkai, huh..."

Feeling Shisui's scorching gaze, Hane shrugged indifferently.

"If that's how you want to interpret it, then sure."

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

Hmm... a Kekkei Genkai far more powerful than most others.

"If there's a chance, I truly hope to spar with you."

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

However, he quickly changed the subject, his expression becoming fervent once more. "But in two months, the Ninja Academy will open. I assume you'll be going too, right?"

"There will be a chance." Sensing the intense fighting spirit radiating from Shisui's eyes, Hane gave a noncommittal laugh.

"As for the Ninja Academy... we'll see when the time comes."

If I can scrape together the tuition by then... Hane added silently and bitterly to himself.

It seemed that Naruto being poor enough to only afford instant ramen in the original story while still being able to attend the Ninja Academy was likely because the Third Hokage and the others had pulled some strings for him...

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

"See you next time, Shisui."

Glancing at the darkening sky, Hane didn't wait for Shisui to recover; he turned and walked away, leaving behind only a waving silhouette.

"Yakushi Hane, is it... truly an interesting guy."

Watching Hane's back gradually disappear into the grass, Shisui stood in place and muttered to himself, a mysterious light flickering in his black eyes.

"It seems the Ninja Academy won't be as boring as I imagined..."

By the time he returned to the Konoha Orphanage, it was already night.

Urushi and the others had all finished dinner, though Hane had taken care of his own hunger on the way back.

"Hane!"

"You finally show up this late!"

Seeing Hane walk in through the wooden door, Urushi was the first to stand up.

However, after witnessing Hane's monstrous performance today, the way Urushi looked at him was already different than before.

There was some fear, some envy, and perhaps, a touch of longing and admiration.

"Hmm, I practiced a bit late today..."

"Besides, I ran into an interesting fellow."

It was as if he hadn't noticed that Urushi's gaze was different from before.

Yu merely nodded slightly, only to discover that the minor injuries on Urushi's body had already been completely healed.

Inside the main hall of the Konoha Orphanage, besides the younger children like Mayuna and Momoka, there was also the silver-haired boy who had been rescued yesterday.

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

"Um... thank you."

Seeing Yu walk into the hall, the silver-haired boy stepped forward to meet him.

The wound on his forehead had been bandaged, and he had been given a black samurai-style helmet to wear.

Beyond that, a pair of large, black-rimmed circular glasses now sat upon his delicate nose.

Looking up at Yu, who was half a head taller than him, the boy's face flushed slightly. "Also... I have a name now."

"The Director gave me a name."

"Kabuto. My name is Yakushi Kabuto. The Director even gave me her own glasses."

It really was him...

Yu looked at the somewhat shy boy standing before him.

Now that he wore the glasses gifted by Yakushi Nonō, his appearance finally aligned with the character from Yu's memories.

Yu sighed inwardly, his expression becoming somewhat complex.

Yakushi Kabuto—the assistant to Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin from the original story, a talent proficient in medical ninjutsu, espionage, and various other arts.

He was a character Yu had held in high regard; not only was he intelligent and meticulous, but upon his first appearance, he possessed strength not inferior to the "Copy Ninja" Hatake Kakashi, even though Kabuto was only twenty at the time.

Later, he absorbed the abilities of Orochimaru and his subordinates, and successfully mastered Sage Mode on his own at Ryuchi Cave, one of the three great sage regions, at one point suppressing the combined efforts of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.

During the final Fourth Shinobi World War, by relying on an Impure World Reincarnation technique that surpassed even the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, and Orochimaru, he became one of the bosses who ignited the final conflict.

As a war orphan from the Third Shinobi World War, he was adopted by Yakushi Nonō, the director of the Konoha Orphanage, before being taken by Danzo to Root to blackmail Nonō into performing espionage missions for him.

In the end, because they knew too many secrets, Danzo schemed to make them kill each other and even dispatched Orochimaru to eliminate them both, though Orochimaru, having taken a liking to his talent, invited him to join the Village Hidden in the Sound instead.

Of course, the Kabuto standing before Yu now...

Had not yet stepped onto the path of evil due to the death of Yakushi Nonō; he was still just a kind and shy boy.

"Your medical ninjutsu is amazing..."

"If it's possible, I'd like to learn medical ninjutsu too, so that I can help everyone!"

As he said this, looking at Yu, the young Yakushi Kabuto's expression was filled with envy and admiration.