The Byakugan Sky Net's Gaze and Kabuto Yakushi's Cold Sweat

A cold, splintering pain surged viciously back along that invisible chakra thread into Kabuto Yakushi's mental world.

It was not physical harm, but a deeper sensation of tearing that originated from the soul.

It was as if a master surgeon had used an invisible scalpel laced with deadly poison to precisely locate the core neural link between him and Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, then... lightly drawn the blade across it.

"Urgh!"

Kabuto grunted, his body stiffening uncontrollably for half a second. The round glasses on his nose nearly slipped off. He instinctively reached out to steady them, but his fingertips touched a patch of cold, clammy sweat.

What had happened?

His mind raced frantically, trying to analyze everything that had occurred in that one-tenth of a second.

There had been no explosion.

No roar of ninjutsu.

Not even the slightest excess chakra fluctuation had escaped.

The scouting snake that could silently travel through cracks in stone, one even a Jonin would struggle to detect, had simply... vanished into thin air.

It had not been severed or burned away. Rather, some higher-level power had directly "erased" it from existence as a concept!

"Lord Orochimaru..." Kabuto's voice was dry and hoarse. He abruptly turned around and looked toward the deathly silent forest shrouded in thick mist, a nearly terrified expression appearing in his eyes for the first time.

This forest had come alive.

At that moment, every silent giant tree, every dew-laden leaf, and every inch of damp earth seemed to have grown pairs of eyes.

Pair after pair... of pure-white, cold, indifferent eyes.

There was no killing intent or anger in them, only pure "observation," like God looking down upon ants.

The sensation of being seen through completely, with nowhere to hide, made Kabuto—a top spy who walked in darkness—feel as