Kabuto Yakushi

The next day.

When school started that morning, everyone in the class knew Uchiha Sasuke would not be coming. In the past few days, many girls had gone to the hospital to visit the unconscious Sasuke.

When Iruka called attendance, he skipped Sasuke's name outright. Old Sarutobi had taken leave for Sasuke, after all. But when he reached Lin Chuan's name, he called it several times without getting a response.

Only then did Iruka realize that Lin Chuan had not come to class either. He had only skipped afternoon classes before, but now he was even skipping morning classes. This was utterly outrageous.

But the lesson still had to continue. After finishing the morning classes, Iruka took the time during lunch to visit Lin Chuan's home.

When he knocked open the wooden door and saw Lin Chuan's mother with two tear streaks on her cheeks, he asked in confusion, "Mrs. Lin Chuan, Lin Chuan didn't come to class this morning. Is he sick...?"

"Oh, Teacher Iruka? Lin Chuan isn't sick. Lord Danzo took him away..."

"What? Danzo took him away?" The news struck Iruka like lightning. He had thought Lin Chuan was merely skipping school, but this was even worse than that—Danzo had taken him away.

Who was Danzo? What kind of place was the place Danzo stayed in? It was Konoha's darkest place. Even Chunin like them had heard of it. That was no place for people.

No, he had to find the Third Hokage. How could he let Lin Chuan go to an ANBU training camp? That child was only seven!

Before Lin Chuan's mother could say anything else, Iruka turned and left, heading straight for the Hokage Tower to find Hiruzen Sarutobi and tell him what had happened.

But the answer Iruka received was the same one Lin Chuan's father had gotten: go back and wait for news.

After returning to the Ninja Academy, Iruka remained dazed. He did not even know how he had walked back. Of his two best students, one was hospitalized after suffering the blow of his clan's massacre, while the other had been taken by Danzo to an ANBU training camp.

Why had things turned out like this? He did not understand. What had happened to the village? It felt so unfamiliar to him. He did not understand...

Root—

Lin Chuan had arrived at Root the previous night. The dormitories here housed two people per room, and there were two others who had arrived as well. Both were older than him, and both had appeared in the anime: Kabuto Yakushi and Fū Yamanaka.

Unfortunately, he had been assigned to the same dormitory as Kabuto Yakushi. He wondered whether Kabuto had already killed Yakushi Nonō at this point. He could not exactly go and ask him, either. Kabuto Yakushi was a deranged man with an extreme lack of security, and he had even lost himself later on.

Whether Kabuto Yakushi and Yakushi Nonō had killed each other or not did not affect the fact that he could still be here in Root.

If Kabuto had not killed her, then he was originally Danzo's subordinate—a good child who loved the orphanage and only wanted to help Director Yakushi Nonō lighten her burden.

If Kabuto had already killed her, then there was only one possibility for him to be here: Danzo and Orochimaru had made some shady deal. As a double agent, Kabuto traveled between Orochimaru's Otogakure and Konoha's Root.

Later, Orochimaru would even arrange for Kabuto to enter the Ninja Academy, infiltrate Konoha to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams, gather intelligence on outstanding graduates from every village, and provide Orochimaru with experimental materials.

The moment he entered the dormitory and saw this senior spy, Lin Chuan stood ramrod straight and called out, "Senior, I'm a new recruit. My name is Chuan. Just call me Chuan. Please take care of me from now on..."

He had brought nothing with him when he arrived. Seeing daily necessities laid out on the bed as soon as he entered, he finally relaxed. Root even prepared daily supplies in advance. It was rather humane!

"Chuan?" Kabuto Yakushi did not even raise his head. Pointing at the neighboring bed with the pencil in his hand, he said quietly, "That's your bed. Make it yourself. If you're hungry, go to the cafeteria. If you want to train, go to the training ground. Loud noises aren't allowed here..."

"Understood, Senior." Lin Chuan walked straight to his bed and began making it. He knew suspicious Kabuto Yakushi must be watching him, so he made no other moves.

After making the bed, he changed into Root's standard black shirt and black pants. They were similar to the uniforms of the Hokage's direct ANBU, and there were two sets for changing.

He definitely could not wear his own clothes here, so he tossed them straight into the trash can. Then he sat quietly on the bed, watching Kabuto Yakushi work.

He waited for a full three hours, though he could not tell the time. There was no clock here, nor any window through which to watch the sunset. Only the desk lamp on Kabuto Yakushi's table and the lights in the hallway outside the door were on.

"Whew, finally done." Kabuto Yakushi stretched, then turned around and looked somewhat surprised to see Lin Chuan still sitting on the bed.

In truth, he had been watching Lin Chuan the whole time. Seeing that Lin Chuan had made no movements, he had focused on his own work. Yet Lin Chuan had remained seated so properly. He was a patient child.

"Hungry? I'll take you to the cafeteria and have a look around." Kabuto Yakushi smiled as he called Lin Chuan up and headed outside. Catching sight of Lin Chuan following him from the corner of his eye, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Yes, Senior." Lin Chuan hurriedly agreed. He had not even eaten dinner before leaving home, and after the afternoon's training, his stomach had long been growling with hunger.

"You don't need to call me Senior. My name is Kabuto. Just call me Kabuto." Kabuto Yakushi appeared somewhat lazy, but his muscles could summon force at any moment, ready to pick up a kunai and stab someone. It was merely an act to deceive others.

"Understood, Senior Kabuto." Lin Chuan knew none of this. Seeing Kabuto act somewhat lazy, he did not dare imitate him. In just a few short hours, he had already encountered several major bosses. For a beginner like him, he had to be careful, careful, and even more careful around these major bosses.

"Don't be so serious. We'll be companions from now on." Seeing Lin Chuan's solemn expression, Kabuto Yakushi suddenly found things a little dull. He had wanted to tease this new recruit.

Who knew where this kid had heard such rumors? Root was not serious all the time. When Danzo was not around, everyone was quite casual. Only the missions and training quotas had to be completed on time and in full.

"Yes, Senior." Lin Chuan knew Kabuto Yakushi's smile was fake. Right now, the enemy was in the open while he was in the dark. He did not dare become Kabuto's companion. Aside from his absolute, unwavering loyalty to Orochimaru, the man had no trust in anyone else. There was no telling when he might stab someone in the back.

Thus, the two walked the rest of the way in silence and arrived at Root's main cafeteria. Besides them, many Root ninja who had finished training were eating a late-night meal there.

After a simple dinner, the two returned to the dormitory. Kabuto Yakushi even told him that training here was very difficult, but that he would help him and so on, comforting him as a newcomer.

Lin Chuan responded to every word Kabuto Yakushi said. No matter what Kabuto said, he only answered yes or no. If Kabuto asked other questions, Lin Chuan would tell him whatever he could. Kabuto did not trust him, and likewise, he did not trust Kabuto. The two returned to the dormitory, lay down on their beds, and fell asleep.

But Lin Chuan could not sleep at all. Lying beside him was Kabuto Yakushi—the jack-of-all-trades, genius, master of disguise, dream-maker of the ninja world, and many-faced spy...

[Kabuto Yakushi]