Tanzaku Town, Underground Black Market.
Yakushi Kabuto wore unremarkable clothes, disguising himself as an ordinary person.
He pushed up his round-framed glasses, his gaze calmly sweeping over a loan shark office on the street with a sign that read "Financial Mutual Aid."
At that moment, intense arguing and the sound of things being smashed could be heard from inside.
"You idiot! How dare you lend money to that woman!"
"But on the promissory note—that woman wrote on the note—"
"Bastard! That woman has never repaid a loan!"
"The boss said we must find her! Otherwise, you'll have to atone for it yourself!"
Hearing those roars, a playful smile curled at the corners of Yakushi Kabuto's mouth.
"As expected, no matter where she goes, the Legendary Sucker is always so conspicuous."
There was no need for any complex, in-depth investigation.
By using a bit of simple genjutsu and following these debt-collecting mobsters, finding Tsunade would be easy.
The intel had been confirmed: Tsunade was currently in Tanzaku Town.
Kabuto pressed down the brim of his hat, turned to blend into the crowd, and prepared to head back to report to Naruto.
However, just as he was passing through a dark alleyway to leave...
Ding-ling.
A crisp sound of a bell rang out abruptly on the street.
Kabuto's footsteps paused; his instinct, honed by years as a spy walking the edge of life and death, made his hair stand on end.
He quickly concealed his presence and, using his peripheral vision, pretended to glance casually toward the source of the sound.
There were two figures wearing sedge hats and black cloaks with red clouds.
They stood quietly under the eaves of a dango shop, appearing completely out of place with their surroundings.
"Akatsuki—"
Kabuto's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat trickled down his temple.
"Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki—why are these two S-rank criminals here?"
"Is it for the Nine-Tails? But how could they know Lord Naruto would come here?"
Kabuto didn't linger.
He forcibly suppressed the unease in his heart, pretended as if nothing were wrong as he merged into the crowd, and quickly left the troubled area.
Land of Rice Fields, deep underground in Otogakure.
Under the pale surgical lights, Naruto and Orochimaru stood beside an operating table.
Lying on the table was none other than Kimimaro.
At this moment, Kimimaro was bare-chested, his body covered in dense black jutsu seals.
That was Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Earth.
But now, under Naruto's manipulation, these seals seemed to be undergoing a marvelous transformation.
"Wonderful—"
Orochimaru stared intently at the cell slices under the microscope, his golden vertical pupils filled with fanaticism and admiration.
"Simply incredible—"
"Originally, the Cursed Seal utilized Jugo's bodily fluids to introduce natural energy and erode the host's cells, thereby forcibly stimulating power."
"But this also accelerates Kimimaro's bloodline disease, leading to the collapse of his body."
Orochimaru looked up at the calm Naruto beside him, his tone carrying unconcealed reverence.
"But by utilizing the radiation of the Hōgyoku, you have actually rewritten the underlying logic of the Cursed Seal!"
"Inducing his genes to adapt to this power, and even allowing dying cells to regain their vitality!"
"Such a method—it's practically a miracle!"
Even Orochimaru, who prided himself on mastering core technology, had to admit that the methods of the youth before him had transcended his understanding of ninjutsu and medicine.
"Orochimaru, don't be misled by these superficialities."
Naruto pushed up his glasses; far from showing joy, his brow furrowed slightly.
"This is merely a semi-finished product in its early stages."
He reached out and pressed his hand against Kimimaro's chest.
"Wake up, Kimimaro. Feel the new power."
At Naruto's call, the sleeping Kimimaro snapped his eyes open.
Crack!
Sharp bone spurs instantly burst from his body.
A terrifying aura instantly swept through the entire laboratory, a power far beyond what he had before.
"The power... it's surging—"
Kimimaro looked at his hands, a flash of confusion and joy in his eyes.
"Lord Orochimaru, Lord Naruto—is my illness cured?"
However, before he could finish his sentence...
Accompanied by a tooth-gritting tearing sound.
Where Kimimaro's bone spurs had grown, his skin suddenly split open, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
Then his chest, his back—fine cracks like spiderwebs spread across his entire body.
"Ugh!"
Kimimaro let out a pained groan, his body convulsing violently.
"As expected."
Naruto seemed to have anticipated this scene.
He acted swiftly, using a sealing technique to forcibly suppress the turbulence within Kimimaro, causing him to fall back into unconsciousness.
"Did it fail?"
Orochimaru retracted his smile and immediately began medical treatment on Kimimaro while asking with a frown.
"It shouldn't be—the cells had clearly adapted."
"No, theoretically, it was a success."
Naruto took off his blood-stained gloves and tossed them into the disposal tank.
Looking at the blood-covered Kimimaro, he analyzed calmly.
"The evolution brought by the Hōgyoku is too overbearing. His cell division speed cannot keep up with the rate of bone growth, leading to a physical collapse."
"Using Senju Hashirama's cells might alleviate this problem, but I have other ideas—"
"As expected, we still need that woman."
Naruto turned his head and critiqued mercilessly.
"While your skills in modification and forbidden jutsu are decent, when it comes to maintaining life vitality and cell repair—you are still too crude."
Orochimaru licked his lips; though somewhat unwilling, he couldn't refute it.
"Indeed—to sustain such perfect evolution, we need even more powerful medical methods."
Just then, the laboratory door was pushed open.
A travel-worn Yakushi Kabuto walked in.
He glanced at the bloodied Kimimaro on the operating table, then at the two madmen calmly discussing the reasons for failure, and sighed inwardly.
"Lord Naruto, Lord Orochimaru."
A respectful expression returned to Kabuto's face.
"The intel has been confirmed."
"Tsunade just incurred a massive debt to the mob; she'll likely be gambling in Tanzaku Town for the next few days."
Hearing that name, a satisfied smile finally touched the corners of Naruto's mouth.
"Very good."
"It seems the time has come to complete our final puzzle piece."
Kabuto paused, his expression turning solemn as he continued his report.
"Additionally—while leaving Tanzaku Town, I discovered something interesting."
"Two individuals wearing black trench coats with red clouds were also active there."
"If I'm not mistaken, they should be Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki."
"Oh?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
"That Uchiha Itachi, the one who wiped out the Uchiha Clan? Why would he go to Tanzaku Town?"
Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh.
"Hehehe—Uchiha Itachi? It seems he's come for Uchiha Sasuke."
"How lively."
Naruto unbuttoned his white lab coat, hung it to the side, and picked up a scroll that had been prepared on the table.
"Let's go."
"Let's present Princess Tsunade with a grand gift she cannot refuse."
Naruto turned around, and the pressure radiating from him made both Kabuto and Orochimaru instinctively lower their heads.
"And while we're at it—let's test the mettle of the Akatsuki Organization."