"Aaaaahhh—!"
After a shrill scream, Yakushi Kabuto slowly opened his eyes. The moment he clearly saw the person standing before him, disbelief instantly filled his face.
"…You?!"
"Yes."
Naruto nodded lightly, studying Kabuto with genuine interest before chuckling softly.
"Interesting. When you were brought here earlier, you weren't wearing glasses—and this outfit is wrong too. Looks like the core of the technique truly lies in the soul."
Kabuto's pupils shrank. A deep sense of dread surged up instinctively. He tried to move—only to realize his body wouldn't respond at all.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a stone platform a few steps away.
A familiar figure lay atop it, face up.
Fear flooded Kabuto's eyes.
"Th-This is… Edo Tensei?"
When he saw that the person on the platform looked exactly like himself, despair was the only emotion left on his face.
"Don't look so miserable, Senior Kabuto."
Naruto stepped closer. As he stopped, his body subtly shifted—becoming the same height as Kabuto.
"Make do for now. Once the Konoha Crush Plan is over, I'll give you a chance at rebirth."
With that, Naruto raised his hand and pressed it down toward Kabuto's head.
Kabuto's eyes widened. He opened his mouth, trying to say something—but the instant Naruto's palm touched his head, his pupils went slack and his gaze lost all focus.
Congratulations!
Successfully harvested a soul from another world: Yakushi Kabuto. Data analysis in progress…
Analysis complete! This soul possesses a specialized vessel capable of sustaining consciousness. Convert to World Subordinate? Please choose.
Inside the Mirror World, Naruto selected Subordinate Conversion, then stepped through the Gate of Imprisoned Souls.
A few breaths later, Naruto withdrew his hand from Kabuto's head.
"So—are you planning to peel off your own face and use the Disappearing Face Technique, or would you prefer to grab a pair of colored contacts from the lab upstairs?"
"…!"
Kabuto's expression stiffened. He immediately stepped back and dropped to one knee, his posture respectful.
"I await your orders, my lord."
Naruto smiled faintly and bent down, patting Kabuto's shoulder.
"Relax. I'm joking. I'm quite satisfied with how quickly you adapted to your new role."
"But I'm not Orochimaru or Danzō, so you'd better drop those spy habits of yours."
"Go collect your body. I'll send you back to Konoha to continue your mission."
Poof!
Naruto created a shadow clone.
Kabuto tried to speak, but his body moved on its own. Remembering what he had witnessed in that other space, reverence deepened in his expression.
Standing before the stone platform, he stared at the corpse dressed in ANBU gear—his own body, a fist-sized hole blasted through its chest.
He didn't know what he was supposed to feel.
Still, Kabuto was no ordinary man. Calmly, he pulled out a scroll and sealed his body away, then returned to the shadow clone.
The clone handed him a small box.
The three figures vanished simultaneously.
The Next Morning
Sunlight pierced through thin clouds, dazzling to the eyes.
On the rooftop of the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya leaned against the wall in the shade, gazing up at the Hokage Monument, lost in thought.
After a while, the Third Hokage climbed up, a pipe clenched between his teeth.
"I just saw the advisors return," Jiraiya said calmly.
The Third Hokage sighed and shook his head.
"After tomorrow's Chūnin Exam finals, I'll give you an explanation."
"How is Naruto doing?" Jiraiya asked, his gaze never leaving the stone faces.
"After the seal was loosened, I made some additions on top of Kakashi's instruction. He's now mastered things he couldn't learn before."
The Third Hokage frowned and removed his pipe.
"You didn't teach him ninjutsu?"
"What exactly do you want me to teach him?" Jiraiya asked with a self-mocking smile.
"Fūinjutsu? The Rasengan?"
"…Naruto will understand one day," the Third Hokage said darkly.
"He is Konoha's jinchūriki."
"Yes. Naruto is Konoha's jinchūriki," Jiraiya nodded slowly.
"And I can tell you don't plan to tell him the truth about his origins—nor allow anyone else to."
Jiraiya stepped out into the sunlight.
"So I want to know—what exactly are your plans for Naruto?"
"You had me remove the Five Elements Seal to awaken his jinchūriki power. You also know that even if we say nothing, one day he'll learn everything from the Nine-Tails himself."
"And if Konoha wants to completely control the Nine-Tails' power, relying on an Uchiha's Sharingan and Yamato's Wood Release won't be enough."
The Third Hokage fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally said,
"When the time comes, there will be a solution."
"What solution?" Jiraiya pressed, staring directly into his eyes.
"This is the village's highest secret," the Third Hokage said solemnly.
"If you're willing to succeed me as the next Hokage—"
"Forget it."
Jiraiya turned and walked toward the stairway.
Much later, the Third Hokage stepped up to the railing. Yamato appeared behind him in a blur.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Any results?" the Third Hokage asked.
Yamato pressed a finger to his earpiece.
"After the meeting, Advisor Danzō returned directly to the Root base. No abnormalities detected."
"…Is that so."
The Third Hokage's gaze darkened.
"Continue surveillance."
Snow Country
Naruto and Sasuke stood beside a round table. Above it hovered a three-dimensional sand-table projection—the entire layout of Konoha Village.
"You want me to go all out tomorrow?" Sasuke asked gravely, already gauging Gaara's true strength.
"Yes," Naruto replied calmly.
"If possible, I want you to capture him alive."
"But only after he leaves the arena."
"…What?"
Sasuke frowned.
"Isn't Sunagakure working with Orochimaru to destroy Konoha? If Gaara leaves the arena, why fight him at all?"
"And what are you planning to do?"
"I have other matters to handle," Naruto said, tapping a spot on the projection.
"Now listen carefully."
Minutes later, Sasuke returned to his lab and replaced one of his Sharingan.
Chūnin Exam Finals — The Day Arrives
Konoha's gates were wide open, welcoming nobles and dignitaries from surrounding nations.
Jiraiya stood atop a nearby building. By coincidence, the Third Hokage and two guards stood on the opposite rooftop.
"Jiraiya-senpai, this is your position today," Naruto said calmly.
"Trust me—you're needed here."
"Naruto… the village owes you, but—"
"Owes me?" Naruto interrupted with a smile.
"They give me full living expenses every month. I have food, clothes, a mortgage-free two-story house."
"I went to school, learned useful skills. The Hokage even arranged excellent friends and teachers for me."
"And my teammates after graduation? Hardly ordinary."
He grinned.
"If I keep going, I might cry from gratitude."
Jiraiya tried to speak again—
—but in the Mirror World, a gate of light opened and swallowed him whole.
Naruto turned to the four tailed beasts.
Isobu, Mū, and Chōmei looked visibly excited. Kurama's tails were practically wagging.
No wonder.
Before dawn, the beasts had woken Naruto to tell him that Chiyo's clone had successfully matured. Naruto immediately returned to Snow Country and used Puppet Rebirth, finally obtaining the forbidden technique—
Self-Resurrection (Kisei Tensei).
Mū was already trying to contact Son Gokū.
Chōmei planned to speak with Fū once everything ended.
Isobu, however, wanted Naruto to resurrect Yagura.
Kurama suddenly let out a strange laugh.
"Your Mirror World is really troublesome. You can only obtain ninjutsu experience through combat."
"Clearly you can peek into the deepest memories of every puppet clone, yet you can't see the process of how they developed their techniques."
Naruto laughed helplessly.
"I don't know why either—but I think it's fine. After all, battle gives more than just techniques."
Isobu suddenly grabbed Kabuto and pulled up a massive data window, scowling.
"Why hasn't that bastard Orochimaru arrived yet?!"
Kabuto forced a polite smile while dangling in Isobu's claws.
"He'll be here very soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kushina appeared—radiating fury.
"It hasn't started yet?"
Since controlling Jiraiya to question the Third Hokage, she'd been brutally beating puppet versions of both the Third Hokage and Danzō.
She already knew the so-called "highest secret"—she just wanted to see whether the Third Hokage would make a different choice when faced with Jiraiya.
He didn't.
She was disappointed.
"So was Jiraiya."
"Change perspective," Naruto said calmly.
A gate opened. Yamanaka Fū stumbled out, and the view instantly switched to the main spectator stand.
The Fourth Kazekage—Orochimaru in disguise—had arrived.
The Arena
As cheers erupted, Shiranui Genma, now serving as referee in place of the late Hayate Gekkō, placed a senbon in his mouth.
"The rules are the same as the preliminaries—no restrictions. Victory is decided by death or surrender."
"I will intervene if I deem the match decided. Understood?"
Silence.
"First match—Uchiha Sasuke vs. Gaara of the Sand. Everyone else, return to the waiting room."
As the contestants departed—
"Um… Naruto-kun," Hinata said shyly, blushing.
"My father would like to meet you."
"Of course," Naruto smiled.
"I was hoping to speak with Hiashi-senpai as well."
Shikamaru edged closer, lowering his voice.
"Hey… you planned to forfeit from the start, didn't you?"
"Forfeit?" Naruto smiled even wider.
"Then who do you think will win this exam?"
Shikamaru's heart skipped.
Before he could respond, Naruto and Hinata entered the waiting area.
Moments later, Shikamaru froze.
They had followed a Hyūga elder straight into Neji's waiting room.
Down below, Sasuke was being relentlessly pursued by Gaara. Aside from the occasional shuriken throw, the fight was completely one-sided.
The crowd murmured uneasily.
Sasuke remained calm—waiting for Naruto's signal.
In the left stands, Kakashi watched intently. Soon, Might Guy and Rock Lee joined him.
"Why is Sasuke only defending?" Guy asked.
"Are you the only reinforcement here?" Kakashi countered, scanning the arena.
"Such a large venue—only two squads?"
Guy frowned.
"We don't know the enemy's exact plan. Forces are deployed across the village."
Kakashi glanced right.
Naruto had taken a seat beside Shikamaru. An ANBU wearing a flower-patterned mask sat next to him.
"…Is that also the Hokage's arrangement?" Kakashi asked.
Guy nodded. "Probably."
Kakashi frowned.
Didn't the Third Hokage assign Naruto to that person?
As he pondered, the ANBU beside Naruto formed a hand seal.
Below—
Sasuke suddenly leapt back. A piercing screech rang out as lightning burst from his left hand.
"Chidori!"
Guy stared at Kakashi in shock.
"You taught him your signature technique?"
Kakashi nodded grimly.
Then—
BOOM!
Sasuke's speed exploded. Gaara's sand defenses scattered.
Gasps erupted.
Sasuke's Chidori pierced straight through Gaara's shoulder from behind.
Gaara screamed in agony.
Sand surged wildly. A monstrous face formed at the back of Gaara's head.
ROAR!
A violent wind sphere blasted toward Sasuke.
He barely dodged, kicked off Gaara's back, and tore his arm free, rolling away.
Gaara's body was now encased in thick sand—bloated and barely human.
Multiple gigantic mouths split open across the sand armor.
"Wind Release: Sand Shot!"
A storm of sand bullets erupted outward.
"Damn it!"
Sasuke dove underground with Earth Release.
He didn't care about exposure anymore.
Because the stands had already erupted into chaos.
"Let me out! Let me out!!"
"Shut up! I don't need you!"
"I'll kill that fox—let me out!!"
"…Shut up!!"
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