Mū was the first to notice Kurama's smile. He glanced at Chōmei and saw that the Seven-Tails was lying motionless nearby, its head buried into its shell, leaving only a single massive horn exposed.
Recalling what he himself had gone through not long ago, a flicker of satisfaction passed through Mū's eyes. He stepped forward, lowered his head slightly, and said,
"Naruto, during the recent data upgrade, we saw that Yakushi Kabuto has already noticed the person the Third Hokage sent to tail him."
"Oh?"
Naruto summoned a data panel and opened the Third Hokage's latest synchronized records. Before long, a smile spread across his face.
Sure enough—Gekkō Hayate had been dispatched.
In truth, the Third Hokage had already begun to suspect Yakushi Kabuto during the preliminaries. However, at the time, Naruto's suicidal Shadow Clone tactic—strapping explosive tags to himself and taking his opponent down with him—had drawn the Hokage's attention away. His focus shifted instead to discussing with Jiraiya how to remove the Five Elements Seal placed on Naruto.
Earlier that morning, when Naruto encountered Jiraiya, he had deliberately mentioned the incident from years ago, when Danzō had someone impersonate ANBU to approach him. Once Yamato—hidden in the shadows—relayed that conversation back to the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage immediately sent Hayate out.
Because upon reviewing Kabuto's file more carefully, something felt wrong.
Kabuto had participated in the Chūnin Exams repeatedly—and every single time, he withdrew voluntarily halfway through.
That alone proved nothing.
But this time, during the written exam, Kabuto had 主动 revealed himself and offered intelligence to Naruto's group.
That was highly abnormal.
Over the years, many rookies had taken the exams, yet Kabuto had never once displayed such "care for juniors."
After all—who would be foolish enough to provide intelligence to someone who might later become their direct competitor?
Moreover, Kabuto had grown up in Konoha's orphanage—a place heavily tied to Root, Danzō's organization, which specialized in cultivating spies. Root's promotion system was completely independent of the standard shinobi ranks; its members never needed to take the Chūnin Exams.
At that point, the Third Hokage concluded that Kabuto's participation in the exams was never about promotion—it was espionage, conducted under someone's orders.
But espionage… for what purpose?
The more the Third Hokage thought about it, the more disturbed he became.
He still hadn't fully rooted out the infiltrators within ANBU. If Kabuto alone had taken the exams so many times, how many current chūnin and jōnin in the village were actually acting according to that person's will?
And then there was Orochimaru.
Why had Orochimaru chosen this moment—during a Chūnin Exam when Konoha was under maximum alert—to return and target Sasuke?
And why, coincidentally, was that person away at the borders right now?
With those thoughts in mind, the Third Hokage immediately summoned Nara Shikaku.
After reviewing Kabuto's background—and learning that it was Danzō who had first proposed holding this Chūnin Exam—Shikaku quickly reached a conclusion.
Someone had been planning something around the Chūnin Exams from the very beginning.
And that person was almost certainly colluding with Orochimaru—the one who had targeted Sasuke.
Shikaku advised the Hokage to immediately dispatch ANBU to cooperate with Hayate and arrest Kabuto.
The Third Hokage agreed without hesitation. With that person currently out of the village, he ordered Yamato to lead the operation at once.
The footage ended there.
Naruto immediately tapped Kabuto's icon—data updating.
Then Orochimaru's—also updating.
Was the so-called "Dream Fulfillment Master" about to capsize?
"At present, Kabuto is roughly on Kakashi's level at best," Naruto mused. "But Yamato is stronger—and he has multiple ANBU with him…"
He then tapped Yamato's icon.
This time, there was no update notice. Instead, the screen jumped directly to Yamato and several ANBU entering Konoha's Intelligence Division.
Yamato immediately contacted members of the Yamanaka clan, requesting that they use their mind techniques to coordinate with Hayate.
But no matter how hard they tried—
They couldn't sense Hayate at all.
Kikyo Castle
A shinobi wearing a Sunagakure forehead protector stood silently in the corridor.
Moments later, crisp footsteps echoed from the shadows at the other end.
"Orochimaru-sama," the man said calmly. "I've been exposed."
"Is that so?"
The Sand ninja slowly turned around, a faint smile curving his lips.
"Kabuto… you exposed yourself on purpose, didn't you?"
"You joke, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto replied, adjusting his glasses. "I see no reason to do that."
"Reason?"
Mockery surfaced in Orochimaru's eyes.
"I think you're still confused about your own identity. I can tell—you still harbor special feelings toward this place."
He paused.
"Are you trying to stop me?"
"Why would I do something so thankless?" Kabuto answered calmly.
"On the contrary, Orochimaru-sama, I think you are hesitating."
"In your original plan, you never mentioned personally targeting that child during the Chūnin Exams."
"If anyone is trying to stop you… it would be yourself."
Kabuto's tone grew sharper.
"The shinobi world is in a delicate state of peace. Every major village is secretly preparing for war."
"By personally revealing yourself, planting a curse mark on that child, and using Anko to warn Konoha—you're deliberately choosing to break the balance."
"You want to become the fuse that ignites the war."
"Hehehe…"
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with approval.
"As expected of my right-hand man. But having my thoughts seen through so easily… does irritate me just a little."
"Then," Kabuto said, turning away, "I'll return to Sunagakure and await your next orders."
"Tell me," Orochimaru suddenly asked, watching Kabuto's back, "what do you think of that child?"
"Like Kimimaro," Kabuto replied after turning back. "He's exceptional."
"To endure that curse mark without your guidance—and even wipe out Dosu's team… he's the ideal vessel."
"But I'm puzzled," Kabuto added. "Since you've already told Konoha you're targeting him, why not take him immediately?"
"Given the situation, even if Sasuke vanished, Konoha wouldn't cancel the Chūnin Exams."
"That child was born for revenge."
Orochimaru extended his tongue and licked his lips, excitement flashing across his face.
"He's already accepted my gift. A seeker of vengeance will come to me on his own."
Konoha — Northern Border Watchtower
Danzō sat reviewing intelligence reports when a black crow landed on his desk.
He seized it, removed a scroll as thick as a finger, and unrolled it.
Surprise flickered in his eyes.
"Jiraiya returned to Konoha at a time like this…"
After a moment's thought, Danzō tapped his cane against the floor.
Whoosh.
A Root operative knelt before him reminds.
"Sir."
"Notify Squads B and C," Danzō ordered coldly. "From today onward—double the frequency of border assaults."
Land of Snow
Kushina had stopped fighting the puppets. She now sat beside Naruto, discussing the sealing of the Ten-Tails a thousand years ago together with the other four tailed beasts.
After a while, Naruto suddenly asked,
"Did the Sage of Six Paths ever teach you how he practiced senjutsu?"
"No," the four beasts replied in unison.
"What about Yin–Yang Release?"
"No."
"Sealing techniques?"
"Only Shukaku understands fuinjutsu."
"Hmph! That stupid tanuki's sealing techniques were given to him by the old man!" Kurama scoffed. "How could he possibly learn fuinjutsu on his own?"
"But doesn't he also use Wind Release?" someone asked.
"His Wind Release is just inhaling and exhaling really hard. Anyone can do that."
"And Magnet Release?"
"Tch. Just like Mū's Boil Release—what's the big deal? Our strongest attack is still the Tailed Beast Bomb!"
"Kurama… didn't Chōmei see you use Naruto's Massive Rasengan Wheel against Uchiha Shisui the other day?"
"You dare spy on my battle records?!"
At Kurama's furious roar, Chōmei dissolved into light and vanished. Isobu and Mū sensed danger and followed suit.
Kurama glanced at Naruto and Kushina—then pricked up his ears and dove straight into Chōmei's battlefield.
Naruto shook his head.
Since the seal was released, Kurama had become… a bit too arrogant.
He opened two miniature panels—Jiraiya and Orochimaru—and dragged both to the memories of their earliest senjutsu training.
Kushina watched for a while, then placed Naruto's hand into hers.
"Do you think there's something wrong with how they learned senjutsu?"
"Maybe," Naruto replied thoughtfully. "Or maybe not."
"What troubles me is this—why is the Sage of Six Paths' senjutsu different from theirs?"
"Different?" Kushina blinked. "How so?"
"Look," Naruto said, pointing.
"When Orochimaru sought senjutsu, the White Snake Sage insisted on personally injecting natural energy into him through her fangs. Orochimaru suspected malicious intent—but he had contingency plans, so he wasn't afraid."
"In the end, his new body simply couldn't withstand senjutsu, and the attempt failed."
"Now look at Mount Myōboku. Jiraiya 'accidentally' arrived there, and the Great Toad Sage generously had Fukasaku teach him senjutsu."
"But think about it—there's no such thing as a free lunch. That excuse of being 'chosen by destiny' only worked because Jiraiya was young and naïve."
"Father also said that even though he could sense the immense natural energy at Mount Myōboku, he couldn't absorb it without applying toad oil."
"And although both Father and Jiraiya mastered senjutsu with its help, they both showed physical mutations—most notably, frog-like eyes."
"But what did Kurama say? The Sage of Six Paths didn't use toad oil at all."
"After mastering senjutsu, he showed no mutations—and from that moment on, he no longer needed to gather natural energy. He was permanently in Sage Mode."
"That's exactly how the toads themselves exist."
"But Jiraiya and Father had to actively condense senjutsu chakra to enter Sage Mode."
"That's because your father and Jiraiya were ordinary humans," Kushina said gently, resting a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "The Sage of Six Paths was the progenitor of shinobi."
Naruto shook his head slightly.
To him, that explanation implied later generations were doomed to never surpass their predecessors.
Yet Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode showed no physical mutation either.
And thinking of Hashirama led Naruto to Asura.
When he released the seal, he had expected to sense Asura's chakra—but aside from a suspicious new layer to the seal, there was nothing.
No Asura.
Did he need to meet the Sage of Six Paths himself to drag Asura out?
But what kind of existence was the Sage of Six Paths?
He defeated the Ten-Tails, reshaped the world, created the Pure Land, and even secretly empowered Naruto and Sasuke in the original timeline so they could seal Kaguya.
A figure like that—if he discovered Asura attached to Naruto—might very well attempt reincarnation.
Naruto didn't believe in Asura's so-called "power of love."
In Naruto's view, destiny, prophecy, even Black Zetsu's thousand-year scheme to revive Kaguya—all of it lay within the Sage's grasp.
In the real world, who would entrust the fate of the world to two minors under seventeen?
And what kind of people were these "chosen ones"?
One was so forgiving he could excuse the man who slaughtered his entire clan—as long as his dream was to become Hokage.
The other was only marginally better—a broken soul twisted by cruel reality.
At least they defeated Kaguya.
Had it been Uchiha Madara instead, he would have died with grievances unfulfilled.
Without the Sage's Six Paths power and the Rinnegan, even a resurrected Naruto and Sasuke would never have beaten Ten-Tails Madara.
The Sage of Six Paths was definitely not dead.
His sons' chakra had reincarnated for a thousand years—why would he leave?
And if he were gone, what exactly was the Pure Land?
Every reincarnation of his sons before Naruto and Sasuke met a grim end.
If that wasn't suspicious, nothing was.
"Based on Mother's data, I'm now a Level Seven World Lord. Soul Descent is unlocked. Once I cultivate Chiyo's clone, I can obtain Self-Rebirth. And I still need to go back to Mount Myōboku one more time…"
"Naruto—look!" Kushina suddenly grabbed his shoulder. "They found Hayate's body!"
Naruto focused. Kushina had opened Kakashi's newly synchronized memories.
In the image, the Third Hokage was holding a meeting—discussing the discovery of Gekkō Hayate's corpse somewhere in Konoha.
The meeting didn't last long.
But at the moment the Third Hokage announced that the Chūnin Exams would continue and Hayate's death would be handled discreetly—
Naruto and Kushina were both stunned.
They saw Kakashi's inner monologue.
Or rather… his doubt.
In the Third Hokage's heart…
what truly matters more—
the village, or his comrades?
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