Naruto Was Surprisingly Easy to Fool-So Innocent

"Naruto won!" Kabuto Yakushi, who had been hiding in the bushes and observing the situation, had paid special attention to Naruto's performance. It had far exceeded his expectations. He continued, "Naruto is strong. Looks like I need to update his intelligence file."

As the Earth Scroll was unfurled, black incantations appeared on it. Those obscure, incomprehensible markings looked like trouble at a glance.

Kankuro and Temari were shocked, because Gaara was closest to the Earth Scroll. He would be the first to be affected.

The sand automatically moved to defend him, forming a round sphere around Gaara. The sand ball was completely airtight, wrapping him up tightly.

Kankuro broke out in a cold sweat as he controlled his puppet to rush toward the Earth Scroll. The puppet grabbed the Earth Scroll and swiftly moved away from Gaara.

"Gaara is fine!" Temari was overjoyed. Seeing Kankuro's puppet take the Earth Scroll away, she finally let out the breath she had been holding.

"Hehe." Naruto wore the same confident smile.

Just then, the sand sphere surrounding Gaara began to collapse. The sand could no longer hold together and all fell into a loose pile.

"Ah—" Gaara's eyes rolled back, his face filled with terror as though he had suffered an immense fright. Then he collapsed and did not get back up.

"What?!" Kankuro was horrified. His puppet had clearly taken away the Earth Scroll, so why had something still happened to Gaara?

Kankuro looked closely and discovered that the Earth Scroll his puppet had taken had become a blank scroll. All the black incantations drawn on it had vanished.

"The Earth Scroll wouldn't explode. It contained Genjutsu!" Temari understood at once. No wonder Gaara's sand could not defend against it. The moment the Earth Scroll was opened, the Genjutsu recorded on it had already activated, and Gaara, being closest, was the first to be affected.

"Damn it! Sickle Weasel!" Temari swung her enormous iron fan hard toward Naruto's group. A fierce gust rose from the ground and swept toward them.

Naruto picked up Hinata and ran, leaving Shino and Kiba Inuzuka behind. As a result, Shino and Kiba Inuzuka were blown away by the sudden gale.

Kankuro quickly appeared beside the unconscious Gaara, hoisted him over his shoulder, and fled.

Temari had no intention of fighting Naruto. She merely swung her iron fan wildly several times, forcing Naruto's group back so Kankuro could escape first with Gaara.

Seeing Temari and Kankuro flee with the unconscious Gaara, Naruto returned while carrying Hinata.

Naruto set Hinata down from his arms. Her face was burning red, and she stood to the side so shyly that she did not know what to say.

Kiba Inuzuka, who had been sent rolling across the ground by the fierce wind, climbed up and said, "Naruto, you could at least have said something before running away!"

Naruto wore an indifferent expression. "You two are tough as nails. A little wind like that couldn't hurt you. Consider it training."

Kiba Inuzuka asked angrily, "Then why did you only take Hinata with you?"

"..." Naruto gave him a look as if he were an idiot. "I can't be bothered explaining. Go ask Shino. He knows."

Shino glanced at the uneasy Hinata, then at the excited Naruto, and instantly guessed what kind of relationship the two had.

"Shino!" Kiba Inuzuka asked, "Naruto said you know. What do you know?"

Shino turned his face away. "Don't ask me. I don't want to say."

"What?" Kiba Inuzuka spoke to the little dog perched on his head. "Akamaru, do you know?"

Akamaru was only a puppy. He understood nothing, and the little dog wore a deeply troubled expression.

"Hehehe..." Kabuto Yakushi, hidden in the bushes, felt as though he had watched a fine show. He had gathered plenty of intelligence on Naruto, and he even felt a little delighted. After all, Kabuto Yakushi's greatest interest was collecting intelligence.

Having dealt with Gaara's three-man team, Naruto knew that an even bigger problem was still hiding in the shadows: Kabuto Yakushi.

Naruto asked Hinata with concern, "Have you collected both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll?"

"On the first day after entering the Forest of Death, we used an ambush to collect both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll," Hinata answered softly.

"Hinata, you're amazing. You finished on the first day." Naruto praised her, "My team still needs three more days. And Gaara's team too—judging by them, they probably still hadn't found both scrolls by today. Hahahaha."

"Not really..." Hinata said embarrassedly. "I actually didn't help at all."

Naruto said, "In my eyes, you're the best."

Kiba Inuzuka was unconvinced and cut in, "Shino did the most work. Shino knew the insects in the Forest of Death and used the bugs here to set traps. That was how we ambushed the enemy."

The smile vanished from Naruto's face. He turned and stared at Kiba Inuzuka as though looking at an idiot, his expression seeming to say: Can you stop interrupting us?

"Shut up." Shino walked over, grabbed Kiba Inuzuka by the collar, and dragged him away.

"Naruto, we're heading to the tower." Hinata asked, "When will you come over?"

"Soon." Naruto smiled. "Once I deal with the last little bit of trouble, I'll come find you. Hurry to the tower. It'll be safe there."

After watching Hinata, Shino, and Kiba Inuzuka leave, intense killing intent erupted from Naruto. It even startled Kabuto Yakushi, who was hiding in the shadows.

Naruto moved swiftly, racing through the forest. This time, Kabuto Yakushi followed behind him.

Kabuto Yakushi thought, Naruto is moving so fast. He's probably going to find Sasuke. Maybe if I follow Naruto, I'll find Sasuke.

Naruto suddenly stopped and hid in a patch of grass. Kabuto Yakushi was puzzled by Naruto's actions. From the way Naruto was acting, he seemed to be preparing to ambush someone.

Kabuto Yakushi quickly looked farther ahead and saw Temari and Kankuro. He also saw the unconscious Gaara.

Temari and Kankuro had brought the unconscious Gaara to a concealed spot and hidden there, while Naruto seemed to be preparing a sneak attack. Did Naruto want to kill the three of them? Naruto was simply insane.

Naruto took out a kunai. Just as he was about to rush out, Kabuto Yakushi flashed over and placed a hand on Naruto's kunai, seemingly stopping him from doing something reckless.

Kabuto Yakushi wore a Konoha forehead protector and black glasses, looking honest and dependable.

"Naruto, don't do anything foolish." Kabuto Yakushi advised, "Gaara may have lost his ability to fight, but the other two are not weak. You can't possibly defeat them alone." After speaking, Kabuto Yakushi gave him a friendly smile, making it clear that he was here to help.

Looking at Kabuto Yakushi, who seemed like a warm and welcoming senior from Konoha, Naruto asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Kabuto." Kabuto Yakushi said, "I've taken the Chunin Ninja Exams for several years now and failed midway every time. As someone with experience, I advise you not to stir up extra trouble. Defeating them has no meaning. Stop while you can."

"Thank you. You must be a good person." Naruto said with a grin.

Kabuto Yakushi inwardly sighed in relief. Naruto was surprisingly easy to fool. He really was innocent.

"The Fourth Kazekage, Lord Rasa, has been killed!" Temari suddenly revealed a shocking piece of news.

Hearing those words, Kabuto Yakushi's mind went completely blank. He wondered whether he had misheard. He simply could not believe it.