As Orochimaru's words faded,
Kabuto was momentarily stunned, wondering why he was confirming this.
But he still nodded honestly and said:
"That's right."
"It's that novel by Jiraiya."
Thump!
As his words faded, Orochimaru felt his heart skip a beat.
He couldn't help but recall a terrifying detail...
Back then,
When he was investigating Akatsuki's intelligence, he was defeated by Kyo, who had been sent by Akatsuki,
And afterwards, Kyo disappeared for a while, and when he returned, he simultaneously pitched a book to both him and that masked man...
It was precisely Jiraiya's The Tale of the Gutsy Shinobi!
Therefore,
Just now, upon hearing Kabuto mention this book, he subconsciously sensed something was wrong.
Coupled with the fact that this person came from Amegakure, everything seemed so strange!
"Tsk,"
"Could it really be such a coincidence?"
"That man, could it be... he's come to join the fun again this time?"
Orochimaru couldn't help but narrow his eyes, his brow deeply furrowed.
Hearing this,
Kabuto beside him shifted his expression slightly and said in surprise:
"Orochimaru-sama,"
"That 'man' you speak of, do you mean..."
Hearing this, Orochimaru slowly turned his gaze back, his look piercing, and said faintly:
"That Dojutsu user from Las Noches... Kyo!"
"-?!"
As his words faded, Kabuto's breath caught in his throat, and he was stunned.
'The Dojutsu user... Kyo?!'
'That guy who possesses the power to sever souls...?!'
'This...'
Kabuto's expression became complex.
He certainly hadn't forgotten the scene of Kyo using his blade to slay the reanimated Third Kazekage...
But at this moment, his expression was somewhat strange as he said:
"However, Orochimaru-sama, this person's aura is completely different from the Kyo I saw back then."
"Whether in behavior or voice, they are completely two different people, and furthermore..."
"Tch."
Kabuto was only halfway through his sentence when Orochimaru interrupted him.
Orochimaru's eyes showed a trace of cold light. He narrowed his eyes and said slowly:
"This Kyo-kun has always been an unfathomable person."
"Even if he possessed a method, like us, to completely change his aura and identity, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised."
"-?!"
Hearing this, Kabuto's heart trembled slightly, his pupils contracting, and he said:
"Orochimaru-sama, you mean... he, like us, has chosen to disguise his identity to participate in the Chunin Exams?"
"...That's right."
Orochimaru slowly stood up, looked out the window, and narrowed his eyes, saying:
"However,"
"It's still unknown what his intentions are this time."
"Let's just hope... he doesn't interfere with our subsequent plan to overthrow Konoha..."
"..."
Hearing this, Kabuto's eyes flickered slightly.
He lowered his eyes, seeming to ponder something.
A moment later, he suddenly raised his head again, looked at Orochimaru, and lowered his voice, saying:
"Orochimaru-sama, how about this-"
"Let me, in my capacity as a Konoha's Shinobi, try to test them out during the upcoming exams?"
"If we find out that person isn't Kyo, then you can proceed with the subsequent plan without worry."
"And if we confirm it is him..."
"We might also take this opportunity to find Konoha's Scroll of Seals, gather the fifteen forbidden techniques as conditions, and hand them over to him."
"Perhaps we could even gain his assistance."
"What do you think...?"
Kabuto's eyes flickered as he looked at Orochimaru.
Hearing this,
Orochimaru's mind stirred slightly, then he nodded and said:
"Hmm... then I'll leave it to you."
"But before confirming, absolutely do not antagonize the four from Amegakure, and certainly do not expose our intelligence, understand?"
"...Understood."
Kabuto lowered his head slightly, then leaped out of the room.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Kyo and his group followed Hayate to a special complex of buildings.
The moment they arrived, Kyo immediately noticed.
Most of the people here were Shinobi of various attires and appearances. Besides Sunagakure, there were even people from Kusagakure and Takigakure.
Clearly,
This seemed to be the accommodation arranged by Konoha for Shinobi from other villages.
At this moment,
Hayate, who was leading the way ahead, stopped and turned around, saying:
"The Amegakure's accommodation is at the very end of this street. Shinobi there will be responsible for receiving you."
"I still have to arrange for tomorrow's exam, so I'll be going now cough cough..."
As he spoke,
He coughed and walked away.
As for the information on the participants, he had already recorded it all on the way here.
Of course, someone like Kyo, who wasn't directly participating, didn't need to be recorded.
Kyo and the others walked forward,
And could hear conversations among many people along the way.
Most were discussing topics related to tomorrow's Chunin Exam, but some were also discussing intelligence about Shinobi from various villages.
Perhaps because Kyo's aura was too ordinary,
Their arrival didn't attract much attention from the other Shinobi.
Occasionally, someone would glance over.
However,
After they passed by, near the Sunagakure's accommodations,
Several Sunagakure's Shinobi immediately gathered together, their expressions somewhat strange, and discussed in low voices:
"Did you see clearly, that leader..."
"Well, I saw a bit... but I don't think it's him."
"Yeah, I don't think so either. Although the eyes seem to be the same color, everything else doesn't match up..."
"Could it be a relative of that guy?"
"Uh..."
They discussed and discussed, with no clue at all.
And just at that moment,
Suddenly, a young girl quietly walked up behind them and frowned, saying:
"What are you sneaking around and whispering about?"
"!!"
As soon as the words came out, the few were startled.
The Sunagakure's Shinobi immediately turned around to look, and the moment they saw clearly, they quickly said:
"Ah! Temari!"
That's right.
At this moment, the person appearing before them was one of the participants in this Chunin Exam,
The only daughter of the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's three children-
Temari.
Seeing the cold sweat on the faces of the Sunagakure's Shinobi before her, Temari frowned slightly.
"What were you just talking about? Tell me."
"Ah? This..."
The several Sunagakure's Shinobi looked at each other, all somewhat conflicted.
After a moment, the one on the left sighed and smiled helplessly:
"Temari, we were actually observing the Amegakure's participating team that just passed by on the road..."
"What... Amegakure?!"
Temari's expression froze sharply, and then she was almost instantly stunned.
If it were a long time ago,
As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure wouldn't have paid any attention to a tiny place like Amegakure.
Neither would Temari.
However,
That disaster a few years ago had completely shattered this status quo!
That's right, it was that incident that had an immense impact on Sunagakure back then... the [Amegakure Deterrence Incident]!
At the end of that incident,
Sunagakure had suffered an absolute crushing defeat!
The Fourth Kazekage was completely routed, his whole body injured and sick, taking over a month to recover.
And Sunagakure's ace combat force, the One-Tail Shukaku, had taken over Gaara's body and fled directly into the endless desert.
In the end, it was only through the simultaneous deployment of all the village's strong members, including Elder Chiyo, that they barely managed to find Shukaku and Gaara again in the desert a few days later.
Back then, Temari was still quite young.
Therefore, she wasn't qualified to be on the battlefield.
But she had heard from the Shinobi in the village about everything that happened that day.
And so, Temari was shocked.
She learned that what had invaded Sunagakure wasn't some army of Amegakure's Shinobi,
But... a single person.
A youth from Amegakure, standing high in the sky, with blazing golden eyes!
He possessed incredibly powerful blue Fire Release and golden Lightning Release, as well as an incredibly strong giant armored samurai summoning technique...
Neither Kazekage nor the One-Tail Shukaku was any match for him!
Therefore,
Even though in the end everyone in Sunagakure harbored deep hatred for Amegakure, no one dared to propose attacking the Land of Rain.
This gap in strength simply couldn't be bridged by the number of Shinobi.
And the deterrence of those golden eyes,
Had persisted from that time until today...
And this time,
For the Joint Chunin Exams,
Most of the smaller villages had been invited to participate by Konoha.
So Temari never imagined... that Konoha would actually invite that Amegakure to participate!
Thinking this, Temari's expression turned somewhat grim. She stared at the few before her and asked in a low voice:
"What did you just see...?"
"In the Amegakure's contingent, did that guy with the golden eyes... come this time?"
As her words faded,
The several Sunagakure's Shinobi exchanged glances and all showed wry smiles.
"Temari..."
"We did indeed see someone with golden eyes just now, but... he doesn't seem to match that person from back then."
"Both appearance and aura are completely different..."
"...?"
Hearing this, Temari's eyes flickered slightly.
Then, her expression very serious, she lowered her voice and said to the few before her:
"We can't just ignore such a dangerous presence."
"Now that they're here in Konoha."
"That guy probably won't cause trouble, so... let's go and test him out a little."
"-?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the several Sunagakure's Shinobi were dumbfounded.