That night, the bright moon hung in the sky. After several leaps, Kabuto Yakushi arrived at a courtyard.
Kabuto looked around and noticed a figure standing deep in the corridor of the courtyard. It seemed that the person had been hiding in the dark corner for quite some time.
Kabuto walked over and knelt on one knee, saying, "Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru always had a sinister charm on his face, especially when he stared directly at someone.
Kabuto sensed that Orochimaru's gaze was unusual and wondered why Orochimaru was observing him like this.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru finally spoke after a long while. "How long have I arranged for you to enter Konoha and assumed the identity of Kabuto Yakushi?"
"About seven years."
"Have you had any dealings with Tanzo in these seven years?" At this moment, a murderous look appeared in Orochimaru's eyes.
Kabuto was greatly shocked. He didn't know why Orochimaru would ask such a question. Did Orochimaru suspect his loyalty?
"Lord Orochimaru, don't you trust me?"
"Not like that," Orochimaru said calmly with a confident and sinister smile on his face. "You are my trusted assistant, and I trust you very much."
"Why did you mention Tanzo?" Kabuto hated this name.
"Isn't the purpose of you becoming my trusted assistant, helping me destroy Konoha, and beheading the Third Hokage to get revenge on Tanzo?" Orochimaru continued. "If you want to get rid of Tanzo, you must first destroy Konoha and the Third Hokage."
Hearing this, Kabuto finally felt relieved. So that was the case. Then he said, "Yes, this is also the reason why I've always followed you, Lord Orochimaru."
A long time ago, Kabuto was just an orphan. He was taken in by Konoha Village and then placed in the Konoha Orphanage.
The time in the orphanage was the happiest time for Kabuto. The name "Kabuto" was given by Nonou Yakushi, the dean of the orphanage, who was regarded by Kabuto as the most beloved person in his life, just like his own "mother."
Later, Kabuto was trained by Konoha to be a spy ninja. He risked his life to gather intelligence outside all year round and made great meritorious services to Konoha.
Since Kabuto had access to various confidential information for a long time and knew too many secrets of Konoha, Tanzo Shimura, one of the high - level officials in Konoha, regarded Kabuto as an unstable factor and decided to eliminate him.
From then on, Kabuto had a sworn and irreconcilable hatred with Tanzo Shimura.
That year, Tanzo Shimura sent Orochimaru to kill Kabuto. However, Orochimaru disobeyed Tanzo Shimura's order and privately took Kabuto in.
Orochimaru deceived Tanzo Shimura, claiming that Kabuto was already dead. Tanzo Shimura believed it and didn't pay attention to this matter anymore.
Unexpectedly, the bold and skillful Orochimaru brought the "dead" Kabuto back to Konoha. He made Kabuto inherit Nonou Yakushi's surname and change his name to Kabuto Yakushi. Under the new identity as a ninja in Konoha Village, Kabuto was actually a spy planted by Orochimaru in Konoha Village.
Recalling these past events, Orochimaru stared at Kabuto Yakushi for a long time. Orochimaru thought to himself: Kabuto is an excellent spy. There were actually loopholes in the new identity I arranged for him in Konoha. He managed to mingle in Konoha for many years without being detected by the Anbu...
It's hard not to suspect that there might be someone behind Kabuto. After all, the best spies are often double agents. Is Kabuto still working for Tanzo Shimura?
Especially when he recalled what the fair - skinned young man said in the Death Forest when Orochimaru took Karin to exchange Sasuke with others: The spy you placed in Konoha is actually the one we placed beside you.
No matter how he thought about it, this sentence pointed to Kabuto Yakushi being Tanzo Shimura's man, but Orochimaru couldn't be sure.
"Kabuto," Orochimaru said. "What brings you to me?"
"The Sand Ninjas in Sand Village have learned about the death of the Fourth Kazekage."
Orochimaru was shocked. Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, did die at his hands, and Orochimaru even posed as the Fourth Kazekage in Konoha Village. But this matter was exposed much too early.
"Sooner than I expected," Orochimaru said in disbelief. "Those wimps in Sand Village found it out so fast. Leave this to me. Go and keep an eye on Sasuke. Don't let Tanzo's forces influence Sasuke, especially Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine - Tailed Fox. He belongs to Tanzo."
"What!" Kabuto Yakushi was equally shocked. Naruto Uzumaki was actually Tanzo Shimura's man. Hearing this news, he was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.
Kabuto Yakushi couldn't believe it and said, "Naruto can't be Tanzo's man."
Orochimaru thought to himself: I can't believe that the Nine - Tailed Fox belongs to Tanzo either. In fact, I don't even want to believe that you, Kabuto, were sent by Tanzo...
Orochimaru said, "I managed to get Sasuke from the Nine - Tailed Fox, all because of Tanzo's approval."
Kabuto Yakushi's pupils trembled. Naruto was actually Tanzo's man, which meant Naruto was his enemy.
Kabuto Yakushi turned around and left, his heart unusually heavy at this moment.
Orochimaru didn't forget to remind him, "Kabuto, you'll keep a good eye on Sasuke for me, right? You wouldn't want to kill Sasuke, would you?"
Kabuto Yakushi looked back at Orochimaru, not quite understanding what he meant.
"If you kill Sasuke, you'll stop my plan," Orochimaru said straightforwardly. The implication was that if Kabuto was Tanzo's man and wanted to betray him, all he had to do was kill Sasuke to stop Orochimaru's plan in Konoha.
Kabuto Yakushi didn't reply and didn't know how to. He just silently left.
Orochimaru stared at Kabuto's back slyly and then disappeared into the darkness.
This section isn't over yet! More exciting stuff ahead!
When Orochimaru emerged from the darkness again, he had taken advantage of the night to reach another stronghold in Konoha Village.
This place is where the ninjas of Sunagakure gather. As the host of the Chunin Exams, Konoha naturally had to arrange accommodation for the ninjas of other countries to rest. These several houses were arranged by Konoha for the people of Sunagakure to stay in temporarily during the Chunin Exams.
Orochimaru sneaked into Sunagakure's stronghold under the cover of darkness and easily captured several Sunagakure ninjas. Through interrogation, he failed to obtain the information he wanted.
After knocking down several Sunagakure ninjas one after another, Orochimaru couldn't help but doubt Kabuto's words.
Kabuto said that the people of Sunagakure already knew about the assassination of the Fourth Kazekage. However, after this round of interrogation, he found that the people of Sunagakure were still kept in the dark.
"Kabuto, did you really betray me? Why did you tell me such a lie?" Orochimaru threw away the body in his hand and left boredly.
On the other side of Konoha Village, Naruto was fast asleep, while Jiraiya stood guard outside the window.
Jiraiya looked at The Peeping Map of Konoha Village in his hand, with a smile always on his face. Looking at the sleeping Naruto, Jiraiya remembered his former apprentices, remembered Nagato, and also remembered Minato Namikaze. His heart was filled with a mix of happy and painful memories.
At this moment, Jiraiya made a decision in his heart to take Naruto Uzumaki as his apprentice.
At this time, Ebisu suddenly appeared in front of Jiraiya and respectfully said, "You must be Lord Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha. I didn't expect you to return to Konoha. It's really great."
"What do you want from me?"
"Orochimaru has returned to Konoha. The Third Hokage is old. No one in the entire Konoha Village can fight against Orochimaru. Now only you, one of the Sannin, have the strength to fight against him."
"I just came back to Konoha to gather materials for my novel. Don't get it wrong. I don't want to get involved in any trouble." Jiraiya then said, "Sorry, I snatched your student away."
"That doesn't matter," Ebisu said. "Konoha really needs your strength now."
"You all figure it out by yourselves. Also, don't tell the Third Hokage about my return."
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