"Goodbye, Director. I'll come visit again."
Kabuto Yakushi waved goodbye to Yakushi Nonō, his face full of smiles.
Yakushi Nonō waved back.
After leaving the Konoha Orphanage, Kabuto Yakushi stopped in the Forest of Death, his smile fading.
"Damn it!"
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it..."
He kept pounding the huge tree beside him with his fist, using neither jutsu nor chakra to protect himself.
Only when his right hand was a bloody mess did he finally stop.
"Danzo..."
He snarled his enemy's name from deep in his throat, his teeth clenched.
What followed, however, was a sense of helplessness that spread through his limbs.
No one understood Danzo's strength better than he did. Even the ninjas of Root alone were beyond his ability to handle.
And Danzo himself possessed Kage-level strength!
He merely had some talent for espionage and was only a medical ninja without any powerful jutsu. How could he possibly kill him?
How could he take revenge?!
Kabuto Yakushi fell into confusion.
"Megumi Fushiguro..."
For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly thought of the person he had met yesterday, the one who had told him the whole truth.
He was not particularly strong, but he was extremely mysterious.
Kabuto Yakushi had a feeling that if he wanted revenge, he would have to rely on that man's strength!
But how was he supposed to contact him?
"Who's calling me?"
Suddenly, a voice came from beneath his feet.
Startled, Kabuto Yakushi looked down, only to see the shadow beneath his feet writhe before taking human form.
Dressed in black, with spiky hair and an impassive expression, the man looked at him.
"It's you?!"
Kabuto Yakushi was utterly astonished.
What kind of jutsu was this, using shadows as a medium to hide and appear? Even Konoha's Nara Clan could not do that!
"Oh? From the look of you, you must have already visited the orphanage."
Yecheng chuckled. "Well? Being forgotten doesn't feel good, does it?"
"Who are you? What exactly do you want?!"
With salt rubbed into his wound, Kabuto Yakushi grew visibly agitated.
"Who I am doesn't matter, and neither does what I want."
Yecheng looked at him, a smile curling his lips.
"What matters is, what do you want?"
"I... What do I want?"
Hearing this, Kabuto Yakushi fell into confusion once more.
He had lost his childhood memories at a young age. Only after meeting Yakushi Nonō had he gained a brand-new life, a second chance at living.
I'm a child of the orphanage, Yakushi Nonō's child. That's my only bond...
The only anchor that makes me who I am!
But now, the director has mistaken someone else for me.
Am I still myself now?
I am Kabuto Yakushi.
Am I... Kabuto Yakushi?
Seeing him sink into philosophical nihilism over his own identity, Yecheng sighed softly and pulled him back to reality.
"Overthinking is a bad habit of yours.
If you want revenge on Danzo, just find a way to accomplish that goal.
If you want Yakushi Nonō to recognize you, tell her the truth.
Rather than daydreaming, start doing something."
Kabuto Yakushi slowly raised his head and looked at Yecheng, speaking each word distinctly.
"...I want Danzo dead! I want to kill him with my own hands!"
Actually, Kabuto Yakushi really did have a chance of killing Danzo himself.
"Good."
Yecheng nodded. "Danzo holds immense power right now. If you leave Root outright, you'll only find yourself being hunted, and Yakushi Nonō won't be safe either."
"Then what should I do?"
It was not that Kabuto Yakushi had never considered this problem. He desperately wanted an answer.
"It's simple."
Yecheng chuckled. "Danzo acted so brazenly before because he had no rivals among the Konoha High Command. He believed he would be the next Hokage.
But now that Princess Tsunade has returned to the village, continuing to act so perversely will only bring about his own destruction.
You need to secretly gather evidence of Danzo's misdeeds. There will come a time to use it."
The logic was simple. Even if you lacked the ability to face him in the ring yourself, as long as you started the fight, someone evenly matched with him would naturally join the match.
Kabuto Yakushi was intelligent. He immediately understood what Yecheng meant.
He only needed to gather more dirt on Danzo and hand it over to his political enemies.
"All right. That's my specialty.
I have one more question. Why me?"
Kabuto Yakushi did not understand. This man's origins were mysterious, so why would he take an interest in an ordinary person like him?
"You have no idea how talented you are. We need your strength."
Yecheng thought about his strength in the middle and later parts of the original story: perfect Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode, and the ability to fight two opponents at once with the terrain in his favor, holding his own against both a healthy Itachi and Sasuke with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!
That kind of strength was truly enviable!
"We? Then what's the organization called? And how should I contact you?"
As for this supposed talent, Kabuto Yakushi paid it no mind, treating it as nothing more than an empty promise.
Why was he suddenly asking for an organization name...?
Yecheng had not thought that far ahead, but since he had asked, his own Cursed Technique, the truth of the Shinobi World, and those pulling strings behind the scenes came to mind. An idea immediately struck him.
"Shadow. We are called Shadow. We lurk in the shadows and hunt the shadows!"
Yecheng looked at him. "One day, you will understand what the true darkness of the Shinobi World is."
Then he slowly sank into the shadow on the ground.
"If you need anything, call upon the shadows."
He disappeared!
Just like last night, he had emerged from a shadow, then vanished into one.
Although he had already witnessed it before, Kabuto Yakushi was still deeply shaken.
Could such a mysterious and powerful jutsu be an S-rank ninjutsu?
"Shadow. Lurk in the shadows and hunt the shadows...
And what is the true darkness of the Shinobi World?"
Kabuto Yakushi murmured to himself.
Then his gaze gradually grew resolute.
Whatever the case, at least when it came to dealing with Danzo, the man was indeed on his side.
That was enough.
He collected himself and headed back.
[Recruited Kabuto Yakushi as a subordinate. Favorability increased. Fate Points +16] [Current Fate Points: 110] [Current lifespan: 17]
Seeing the notifications suddenly appear before his eyes, Yecheng's interest stirred.
It seemed the shadow clone he had left in Kabuto Yakushi's shadow had succeeded.
Sixteen Fate Points. With that, he had finally saved up enough Fate Points for another ten-pull!
A ten-pull guaranteed a purple card. His last ten-pull had given him [Ten Shadows Technique]. He wondered what he would get this time.
Yecheng looked forward to it with great anticipation.
Besides, he had also recruited Kabuto Yakushi as a subordinate this time. That truly was an unexpected bonus.
When he thought of the formidable combat strength Kabuto had gained after mastering perfect Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode in the original story, and how that formidable strength was now at his disposal...
Yecheng could not help feeling secretly delighted.
With this, there was also a good chance he could take the opportunity to change Yakushi Nonō's tragic fate!
Excellent!
The reason Yecheng had gone to so much trouble was to protect his bonds and allow the people he cared about to live better lives.
With matters concerning Kabuto Yakushi settled for the time being, it was time to speed things up with the Hyuga Clan.
Before you continue