That night, beneath a bright moon, Kabuto Yakushi leaped several times before arriving at a courtyard.
Kabuto looked around and spotted a figure standing deep within the corridor. The man seemed to have been hiding in a dark corner for quite some time.
Kabuto approached, dropped to one knee, and said, "Lord Orochimaru."
No matter the time, Orochimaru's face always carried a sinister charm, especially when he stared fixedly at someone.
Kabuto sensed something strange in Orochimaru's gaze and wondered why Orochimaru was examining him like this.
"Kabuto." After a long while, Orochimaru finally spoke. "How long has it been since I arranged for you to enter Konoha under the identity of Kabuto Yakushi?"
"About seven years."
"During these seven years, have you had any dealings with Danzo?" A killing intent appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
Kabuto was startled. He had no idea why Orochimaru would ask such a question. Was Orochimaru doubting his loyalty?
"Lord Orochimaru, do you not trust me?"
"Not at all." Orochimaru's sinister smile always carried an air of confidence as he calmly said, "You are my right-hand man. I trust you greatly."
"Why bring up Danzo?" Kabuto hated that name.
"You became my right-hand man, helped me destroy Konoha, and aided me in taking the Third Hokage's head. Wasn't your purpose to take revenge on Danzo?" Orochimaru continued, "To get rid of Danzo, Konoha and the Third must first be destroyed."
Hearing this, Kabuto finally relaxed. So that was what this was about. He said, "That's right. That has always been my reason for following you, Lord Orochimaru."
Long ago, Kabuto had merely been an orphan. He had been taken in by Konoha and later placed in the Konoha Orphanage.
His days at the orphanage had been the happiest of his life. The name "Kabuto" had been given to him by the orphanage director, Yakushi Nonō. Kabuto regarded Yakushi Nonō as the person he cherished most in his life, like his own biological "mother."
Later, Kabuto had been trained by Konoha as a spy ninja. He spent years risking his life outside the village to gather intelligence and had rendered great service to Konoha.
Because Kabuto had long been exposed to all kinds of classified intelligence and knew too many of Konoha's secrets, Shimura Danzō, one of Konoha's higher-ups, saw him as an unstable element and decided to erase him.
From then on, Kabuto and Shimura Danzō became mortal enemies.
Back then, Shimura Danzō had sent Orochimaru to silence Kabuto. However, Orochimaru defied Shimura Danzō's order and secretly took Kabuto in.
Orochimaru deceived Shimura Danzō, claiming that Kabuto was already dead. Shimura Danzō believed him and stopped paying attention to the matter.
Unexpectedly, the bold and skilled Orochimaru had brought the supposedly dead Kabuto back to Konoha, had him take Yakushi Nonō's surname, and renamed him Kabuto Yakushi. Using this new identity, he became a ninja of Konoha, though in truth he was a spy Orochimaru had planted there.
As he recalled these past events, Orochimaru stared at Kabuto for a long time. Kabuto is an excellent spy. The new identity I arranged for him in Konoha actually has flaws, yet he managed to blend into Konoha for years without being discovered by ANBU...
It was hard not to suspect that someone else might be behind Kabuto, because the finest spies were often double agents. Was Kabuto still working for Shimura Danzō?
Especially when Orochimaru recalled the words spoken by that fair-skinned youth in the Forest of Death, when Orochimaru had traded Sasuke away while accompanied by Karin: "The spy you planted in Konoha is actually the spy we planted at your side."
No matter how he considered it, those words pointed to Kabuto Yakushi being Shimura Danzō's man, but Orochimaru could not be certain.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru said. "What did you come to see me about?"
"The people of Sunagakure already know about the Fourth Kazekage's death."
Orochimaru was shocked. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had indeed died by his hand, and Orochimaru was still moving about Konoha disguised as the Fourth Kazekage. But this matter had been exposed far too soon.
"Earlier than I expected." Orochimaru said somewhat incredulously, "Those useless fools from Sunagakure discovered it so quickly? Leave this matter to me. Go keep an eye on Sasuke for me. Don't let Danzo's forces influence Sasuke, especially Naruto Uzumaki of the Nine-Tails. He is Danzo's man..."
"What?!" Kabuto was equally shocked. Naruto Uzumaki was actually Shimura Danzō's man? The news was so shocking that his jaw nearly dropped.
Kabuto could not believe it. "Naruto can't be Danzo's man."
I can't believe the Nine-Tails is Danzo's man either. I don't even want to believe that you, Kabuto, might have been sent by Danzo...
Orochimaru said, "I was able to get Sasuke from the Nine-Tails thanks to Danzo's tacit approval."
"..." Kabuto's pupils trembled. Naruto was Danzo's man, which meant Naruto was his enemy.
Kabuto turned and left, his mood unusually heavy.
Orochimaru did not forget to add, "Kabuto, you'll keep a close watch on Sasuke for me, right? You wouldn't want to kill Sasuke, would you?"
"..." Kabuto turned back and glanced at Orochimaru, unable to understand what Orochimaru meant by that.
"If you kill Sasuke, you'll stop my plan." Orochimaru made his meaning plain. If Kabuto was Danzo's man and wanted to betray him, then killing Sasuke would stop Orochimaru's plan in Konoha.
Kabuto did not answer. He did not know how he should answer, and simply left in silence.
Orochimaru watched Kabuto's departing figure with a sly gaze, then vanished into the darkness.
When Orochimaru emerged from the shadows again, he had already arrived at another stronghold in Konoha under cover of night.
This was where the Sunagakure ninja had gathered. As the host of the Chunin Ninja Exams, Konoha naturally had to arrange places for ninja from other countries to rest. These several houses had been assigned to Sunagakure's people for their temporary stay during the exams.
Orochimaru slipped into Sunagakure's stronghold through the darkness and easily captured several Sunagakure ninja. Yet even through interrogation, he failed to obtain the information he wanted.
After taking down several more Sunagakure ninja in succession, Orochimaru could not help but begin doubting Kabuto's words.
Kabuto had said that Sunagakure already knew the Fourth Kazekage had been assassinated, but after this round of interrogation, Orochimaru discovered that Sunagakure's people were still completely in the dark.
"Kabuto, have you truly betrayed me? Why would you tell me such a lie?" Orochimaru threw aside the corpse in his hand and left without interest.
On the other side of Konoha, Naruto was sleeping soundly while Jiraiya stood guard outside the window.
Jiraiya looked at the Konoha Village Peeping Map in his hand, a smile remaining on his face. Looking at the sleeping Naruto, Jiraiya thought of the disciples he had once taken in, of Nagato, and of Minato Namikaze. Memories of joy and pain intertwined in his heart.
At that moment, Jiraiya made a decision. He decided to take Naruto Uzumaki as his disciple.
Ebisu suddenly appeared before Jiraiya and respectfully said, "You must be the legendary Lord Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Three Legendary Ninja. I never expected you to return to Konoha. This is truly wonderful."
"What do you want with me?"
"Orochimaru has returned to Konoha. The Third Hokage is already advanced in age, and no one in all of Konoha can stand against Orochimaru. Only you, another of the Three Legendary Ninja, have the strength to fight him."
"I only returned to Konoha to gather material for my novels. Don't misunderstand. I don't want to get dragged into troublesome matters." Jiraiya continued, "My apologies for taking your student away."
"That isn't important," Ebisu said. "Konoha needs your strength now."
"Handle it yourselves. And don't reveal my return to the Third Hokage."
Before you continue