Naruto Personally Staged a Show for Kabuto Yakushi

Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sand Village, was actually the father of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Yet because of their complicated relationship, outsiders saw no familial affection in this family.

"The old Kazekage is dead?" Kankuro said in shock. "Impossible. The Kazekage clearly entered Konoha Village. Could Konoha Village's people have killed him?"

"No." Temari said, "The Kazekage's body was found in the desert. It was probably the work of the Sound Ninja."

"This is bad." Kankuro said with a worried look. "If Gaara finds out, who knows what will happen."

Hearing Temari and Kankuro's conversation, Kabuto Yakushi's eyes filled with unease.

The timing was perfect. Naruto quickly asked in a low voice, "Who is the Kazekage?"

Kabuto Yakushi hurriedly covered Naruto's mouth, killing intent flashing in his eyes. What should I do? I never expected Lord Orochimaru's assassination of Rasa to be exposed so quickly. What am I supposed to do now...

A fierce gleam appeared in Kabuto Yakushi's eyes. Seeing the unconscious Gaara, an idea surfaced in his mind. He might as well go all the way and silence Temari and Kankuro here.

Naruto smiled faintly to himself. Kabuto Yakushi failed to notice it, only to see the unconscious Gaara suddenly wake up.

How could this be?! Gaara had woken up at far too convenient a time! Kabuto Yakushi clenched his teeth and continued watching from hiding.

Gaara woke up, slowly sat up, and rubbed his head. "What happened to me?"

"You were caught in the genjutsu of the Earth Scroll and were unconscious for a while," Temari explained.

Gaara said coldly, "Naruto did this to me. Sooner or later, I'll get revenge on him."

At that moment, Kankuro shot Temari a look. Its meaning was obvious: he was asking whether she had told Gaara that the Kazekage was dead.

Temari shook her head, refusing to tell Gaara about it.

Gaara noticed it. Temari and Kankuro seemed to be hiding something, so he asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"This..." Kankuro's expression changed. In the end, he said with a grim face, "No."

Temari replied, "Gaara, you were affected by the scroll's genjutsu. Get some proper rest first."

Meanwhile, Kabuto Yakushi, hidden nearby, still hesitated to make a move. If Gaara were not present, he was confident he could take down Temari and Kankuro. But Gaara had awakened at this moment. Kabuto Yakushi alone might not be able to defeat all three of them.

Seeing Kabuto Yakushi hesitate, Naruto urged him inwardly, Scared? Are you going to make a move or not?!

The killing intent around Kabuto Yakushi did not lessen in the slightest, leaving Naruto stunned. Does he really dare take on all three by himself?!

Just as Kabuto Yakushi was about to act, Naruto hurriedly said, "Do you know medical ninjutsu? Can you save Sasuke? Sasuke is dying."

Kabuto Yakushi was greatly shocked. He had searched everywhere for Sasuke without finding him, yet now he had received news of Sasuke from Naruto.

Kabuto Yakushi weighed the pros and cons. On one hand, he could save Sasuke; on the other, he could kill Gaara's three-person team to silence them. Since he was not completely certain he could eliminate all three, he could only give up on that plan and save Sasuke first.

Naruto then led Kabuto Yakushi away, rapidly heading toward Sasuke's hiding place. Along the way, Naruto and Kabuto talked quite a bit.

After Naruto and Kabuto Yakushi left, white smoke rose from Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro's bodies. They transformed into Naruto's appearance. All three had been Naruto's Shadow Clone Technique.

Naruto had personally staged a show for Kabuto Yakushi.

Naruto led Kabuto Yakushi back to the tree hollow from before. Kabuto Yakushi looked bewildered. He had passed through this place earlier, yet had not noticed that Sasuke was hiding here.

"Naruto!" Sakura poked her head out of the tree hollow. When she saw Naruto return with a stranger, she asked in surprise, "Who is he?"

"A great guy from Konoha Village," Naruto quickly said. "His name is Kabuto. He helped me before, and he said he specializes in medical ninjutsu, so I brought him here to treat Sasuke's injuries."

Sakura looked at Kabuto uneasily. He wore a Konoha forehead protector and black glasses. He looked refined, and his smile was rather pleasant. At any rate, he did not look like a bad person.

"Come in, then." Sakura could only agree.

Naruto and Kabuto climbed into the tree hollow together and found that the space inside was quite spacious. Sasuke lay at the very back.

Sakura explained, "Sasuke had a high fever earlier and was breathing rapidly. His condition has stabilized now, and his temperature has gone down."

Hearing Sakura's words, Kabuto Yakushi knew that Sasuke had pulled through. The Heaven's Curse Mark had been successfully implanted.

After giving Sasuke a simple examination, Kabuto Yakushi said, "He's not in any mortal danger."

"Heh." Naruto was ecstatic inside. As expected of Sasuke Uchiha. He really is the man I chose. Because of you, I won't have to fight alone in the future.

Kabuto asked, "Have you collected both the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll?"

Sakura immediately became wary and asked, "What are you trying to do?"

"Don't misunderstand." Kabuto took out his own Heaven Scroll and Earth Scroll. "I collected them long ago. I'm not going to take yours."

Naruto said, "We collected ours too."

"Sasuke's condition is very poor right now. I'll escort you to the tower," Kabuto proposed.

"Then thanks a lot. You really are a great guy from Konoha Village. You're so good to juniors like us."

Thus, under Kabuto's escort, Naruto's group successfully arrived at the tower. Sakura's impression of Kabuto also improved considerably.

After exchanging a few words, Naruto bid Kabuto farewell. Kabuto then hurried away.

After Kabuto left, Naruto carried the still-unconscious Sasuke into the tower. The tower had several floors, each with several rooms. These rooms had been prepared for Genin who passed the test.

"Which room should we choose?" Sakura asked.

"Every room has a seal on it." Naruto observed their surroundings. "Some of the seals have been torn, probably because other people have used those rooms. We just need to find one with an intact seal."

After finding a room with an intact seal, Naruto pushed the door open and placed Sasuke on the floor. Strange. Why has Sasuke been asleep for so long? The more I think about it, the stranger it feels. We're already at the tower, yet Sasuke still hasn't woken up...

Naruto then undid Sasuke's clothes, startling Sakura beside him.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura said, her eyes already wide as she stared straight at Sasuke's body. At the same time, she cried inwardly, Naruto, hurry up and get to it...

"There's something strange about Sasuke's condition," Naruto explained. "He's been unconscious for too long. It shouldn't be this long."

When Naruto completely pulled off Sasuke's shirt, he unexpectedly discovered another curse mark on Sasuke's chest.

"This is... the Earth Seal!" Naruto cried. "That bastard Orochimaru implanted both the Heaven's Curse Mark and the Earth Seal into Sasuke's body!"