Kabuto, with a smile on his face, watched Kyo's figure disappear into the crowd.
Then, he involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.
"Haah..."
For him,
Talking face to face with Kyo always seemed to carry that faint, elusive sense of pressure.
After all, this man had, in front of him and Orochimaru, easily slain a soul back then. It was simply unfair.
Therefore, towards him, Kabuto dared not show the slightest offense or disrespect.
But now,
After hearing Kyo's words just now, his heart finally relaxed.
Earlier, he had worried that Kyo might go back on his word and break the forbidden technique agreement with Orochimaru. Now, it seemed there was no need to worry at all.
"Hehe..."
"As expected, powerful figures of this level all have their own principles to uphold..."
Kabuto murmured with a light chuckle,
Then he reached out, lightly pushed his glasses, and departed.
...
As night fell.
Kabuto once again quietly arrived at the Sunagakure's headquarters.
Since the Sunagakure's Shinobi had already met these "allies" once before,
They naturally knew that this glasses-wearing guy was a collaborator in the plan to attack Konoha.
Therefore, they didn't obstruct him and let him enter.
A faint smile was on Kabuto's face.
Ally,
That was indeed the term used when Orochimaru met with the Fourth Kazekage back then.
But in fact,
This group of Sunagakure's Shinobi were still completely unaware,
That their Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had been ambushed and killed by Orochimaru on the way to Konoha.
The current Fourth Kazekage was nothing but a disguised facade.
However, such matters naturally didn't need to be disclosed.
...
Kabuto walked forward, carefully observing his surroundings.
As an old intelligence spy, he naturally had a very high level of professionalism.
However,
Unexpectedly for him,
He had just arrived when he saw Temari and Kankuro slowly leaving the Kazekage's living quarters ahead.
'Hmm?'
'They came too...?'
Seeing this, Kabuto naturally stopped and quietly waited for them to leave.
He could only faintly hear them discussing something about the Chunin Exams and the Amegakure's Shinobi...
Only after they had completely left did Kabuto cautiously approach the Kazekage's living quarters.
After confirming no one was listening or peeking nearby,
He confidently entered.
However,
The moment he entered, before he could speak,
Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage ahead, suddenly spoke towards him.
"I already know, you know... Kabuto."
"...Huh?"
Hearing this sudden remark, Kabuto was momentarily stunned,
Then, his expression shifted,
Connecting it with the two who had just left, he immediately lowered his voice and said:
"Orochimaru-sama, did Temari and Kankuro bring you the intelligence...?"
"That's right."
Orochimaru slightly raised his eyes to look over, his gaze flickering, unexpectedly very calm as he said:
"Hehe..."
"Luckily, I was already mentally prepared."
"When I heard those two kids say it, I knew... this time, the plan would need a slight adjustment."
Having said this, Orochimaru paused briefly and then said solemnly:
"I have informed them both,"
"In the upcoming Chunin Exams, the Sunagakure's side must avoid antagonizing the participants from Amegakure as much as possible... otherwise, it could easily lead to unnecessary trouble."
"The same goes for the Otogakure's side. We must absolutely not interfere with the normal progress of our plan."
"..."
Having said this, Orochimaru finally brought the topic back, looking at Kabuto, and said:
"So then-"
"Regarding your probe of Kyo-kun this time, is there any favorable intelligence for us?"
"Let's hear it for now."
He naturally knew Kabuto had gained something, otherwise, he wouldn't have come in the dead of night.
And at this moment, Kabuto lightly pushed his glasses and said with a light smile:
"Good news, Orochimaru-sama."
"Kyo-sama doesn't seem to intend to interfere with our plans. He just said we should proceed with our own arrangements."
"Furthermore, he also reaffirmed his promise to us..."
"By offering the fifteen forbidden techniques, we can join Las Noches and, when necessary, receive their assistance."
"In other words..."
"Orochimaru-sama, we can begin preparing to steal the Scroll of Seals tonight."
Towards the end, a trademark smile appeared on Kabuto's face.
And Orochimaru, who had just been indifferent, now couldn't help but show joy, chuckling lightly:
"Tsk tsk,"
"Truly good news..."
"It seems this Kyo-kun is indeed very interested in forbidden techniques~"
"Well then, let's take action."
Saying this,
Orochimaru suddenly stood up from his cushion, then slightly grinned and chuckled lightly:
"I will use the identity of the Fourth Kazekage, under the pretext of discussing the Chunin Exams, to keep Sarutobi Hiruzen occupied."
"Then,"
"You will be the theft of the Scroll of Seals, understand?"
"...Please be at ease."
Kabuto slightly lowered his head, revealing a smile that said, "I'm very familiar with this line of work."
Then,
Under the moonlight, they set off.
...
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, it was late at night.
Inside a large reception room in Konoha,
The lights were still brightly lit.
Inside,
The Fourth Kazekage was discussing something with Hiruzen.
Meanwhile, the two guards outside had already started yawning, their expressions helpless.
One of them smiled wryly and said:
"Hey hey, what's going on..."
"This Fourth Kazekage, is he always this talkative? He hasn't stopped chatting with Hokage-sama."
As his words faded, the other shook his head and sighed:
"Ah..."
"After all, this Chunin Exam concerns both countries. He probably doesn't want to be too hasty."
"Try to understand. Let's keep guarding."
...
And at this moment,
Inside the meeting room,
Hiruzen was also listening to the Kazekage's recent words, occasionally pondering them carefully.
In fact,
He was naturally already somewhat impatient.
However, the Kazekage before him showed no sign of stopping, as if he wanted to thoroughly analyze every detail of the entire Chunin Exam.
Just as Hiruzen was finally about to reach his limit and tried to interrupt him,
Suddenly,
An unexpected change occurred.
A Konoha's Anbu suddenly burst through the door!
The moment he entered, he immediately knelt on one knee and hurriedly exclaimed loudly:
"H-Hokage-sama!!"
"S-Something terrible has happened! Your residence... has been invaded!!"
"The Scroll of Seals kept at your place... has been stolen by a mysterious Shinobi!!"
"-?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, instantly, the whole place fell dead silent!
Hiruzen's heart clenched tightly, his pupils contracted sharply, and his expression froze!
"What-?!"
"The Scroll of Seals has been... stolen!?"
"Y-Yes!"
This Anbu's member lowered his head, his expression complex, and said:
"The members guarding that area... have all been taken down!"
"The thief's whereabouts is currently unknown!"
"!?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Hiruzen's heart jolted with shock, and he immediately stood up!
'Wh-What's going on?!'
'Just when the Fourth Kazekage and I were meeting here, my place happens to get invaded???'
'Isn't this too much of a coincidence?!'
Hiruzen's expression immediately darkened, and his first instinct was to look at the Fourth Kazekage opposite him.
To be honest, in this situation, the most suspicious person... would naturally be the Kazekage, using a diversionary tactic!
However, the moment Hiruzen looked over, this Kazekage seemed to notice and immediately let out a deep voice, saying:
"Hmph, what's going on?! Sarutobi Hiruzen, are you suspecting us, Sunagakure!?"
"This is clearly some outsider with ulterior motives using our meeting as a cover... isn't it?!"
"...Hmm?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Hiruzen's gaze paused.
'Tsk,'
'Indeed.'
'Put that way, this possibility wasn't absent.'
'If Shinobi from some other village discovered the Kazekage and Hokage were meeting, they could indeed exploit this loophole...'
'The possibilities were too many.'
Thinking this, Hiruzen gave the Kazekage a long, hard look, then turned to the Anbu and said solemnly:
"Did that thief leave Konoha?"
As his words faded, the Anbu's member thought briefly and then cautiously answered:
"Uh, probably not. Currently, no member of the barrier team has observed anyone leaving Konoha."
Hearing this, Hiruzen let out a cold snort, his expression grim, and said:
"...Hmph!"
"It seems the person who took the Scroll of Seals is indeed still within Konoha..."
"This means he must be a Shinobi from one of the countries participating in this Chunin Exam... including, of course, Sunagakure!"
Having said this, Hiruzen once again looked sharply at the Fourth Kazekage and said solemnly:
"The Scroll of Seals is of utmost importance."
"Although we currently have no evidence,"
"I request that Sunagakure, like the other villages, cooperate with our subsequent investigation. How about it?"
"..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Kazekage merely snorted coldly and said:
"Hmph, investigate then."
"Our Sunagakure absolutely does not engage in such sneaky behavior!"
His tone was even somewhat righteous.
Hiruzen frowned deeply, his gaze towards the moonlight outside the window, the doubt in his heart growing deeper.
'Who on earth... could have evil intentions towards Konoha's Scroll of Seals...'