Up on the platform, the Third Hokage was explaining how the Chūnin Exam worked.
The so-called Chūnin Exam was, in essence, a contest between allied nations—a chance to flex a little muscle.
The kids, who'd never heard of anything like it, listened in a daze.
And before the third exam could formally begin, there were simply too many candidates, so a preliminary round had to be held first—half of them had to be cut.
"Right. That girl has completely locked onto me."
Orochimaru, meanwhile, had sensed something was off.
It was that girl from the Hyuga Clan.
Thinking back on it now, she had probably recognized him from the very start.
A mask hid the rest of her face, but the corner of her mouth left exposed was curved in a smile.
"So by not using her eyes, she can see what ordinary people can't… hmm, wait."
A genjutsu prodigy who didn't rely on her eyes?
And on top of that, an absurdly sharp sensory ability?
An ability like that—could it be… a natural counter to the Uchiha?
Tsukuyomi was a genjutsu that required eye contact to activate. And she herself was a genjutsu prodigy, which meant she'd have at least some resistance to other genjutsu.
Against a genjutsu-type ninja, the advantage was simply enormous.
"When you get down to it… is she actually blind at all?"
The odds of that weren't high.
But a genjutsu prodigy… could she be faking it to some degree?
How interesting.
Quite interesting.
After all, if you traced the Uchiha bloodline back far enough, you'd find the Byakugan too—so was there really any difference between the two sides?
"Is this a provocation?"
That presence had locked onto him and never once drifted away.
"In that case, let's probe a little…"
Orochimaru looked over at Kabuto.
Kabuto pushed up his glasses.
Kabuto Yakushi—on the surface, a Konoha ninja, but in truth Orochimaru's spy. Or in a certain sense, a multi-layered one.
"You want me to use a sliver of my strength? Looks like this spy job has run its course. Ah well—who told me to fail Orochimaru's orders from the start… to gather intel from Sasuke~"
After exchanging a few glances with Orochimaru, Kabuto more or less grasped what he meant.
Then his gaze drifted toward the display screen.
On the surface, at least, this preliminary round was "random."
But machines were the kind of thing where rigging them was actually pretty easy—and far harder to catch. Especially for a spy.
After the Third Hokage's explanation, the examiner Hayate Gekko stepped forward. "The twenty-one of you will be split into ten groups, with one lucky soul drawing a bye… cough cough…"
"Now then, let's announce the two fighters for the first match…"
Names began flickering and tumbling across the screen.
Then they settled into two.
"Hyuga Hanabi VS Kabuto Yakushi."
Hanabi nearly laughed out loud.
She'd guessed Orochimaru might use the three Sound ninja to test her—but she hadn't expected it would be Kabuto Yakushi.
What, was the spectacle not big enough for him?
But this was a perfect opportunity.
And Hanabi was getting bored of the usual predictable developments anyway.
As for what came next… let the storm rage a little harder.
So funny. Scripts and all that—just toss them out.
"Hanabi, you got this!"
Naruto called over to her.
"Aside from the two fighters posted on the board, all remaining candidates and their team leaders, please move to the second floor to watch… cough cough cough… First match: Hyuga Hanabi against Kabuto Yakushi."
"We meet again. We really do have a connection, little lady."
Kabuto smiled.
For reasons he couldn't quite name, this woman was forever working against him—she didn't seem to be doing it on purpose, yet somehow she caught him at exactly the wrong moment every single time.
"This isn't just chance. It's destiny," Hanabi said, smiling.
"Is Hanabi going to be okay? Wearing clothes like that, totally unsuited for fighting."
Lee looked a little worried.
"Just watch and you'll see."
Neji stood beside him, his gaze fixed on that Kabuto Yakushi.
There was something strange about that man.
He was supposedly a Genin, yet ever since the first exam he'd been far too suspicious.
"You really intend to fight me like that?"
Kabuto felt he was being looked down on.
"Ah, well, I can't bully a senpai too hard," Hanabi said, smiling.
She rested both hands in front of her.
She didn't look like she was here to fight at all.
"Are you really sure about this?" Hayate Gekko found it preposterous too, but… could this actually be a genjutsu? Or some kind of misdirection?
"Then… begin."
Hayate Gekko declared the first match underway.
[Here it comes, here it comes]
[Had a feeling these two would face off, and now they actually did]
[That look Kabuto and the Sound ninja traded is so sketchy]
[Isn't that Sound ninja just Orochimaru? This disguise is way too ridiculous, anyone should see right through it]
[Just standing there behind the Hokage like that, absurd]
[No killing intent though, right?]
[To the guy above: Orochimaru switched bodies, so it's normal the Hokage can't tell]
"So then—how do you plan to fight?"
Since it was Orochimaru's request, he'd let just a little show.
"…Is that you, Kabuto?"
"—!!!!"
Kabuto Yakushi went rigid from head to toe.
"Hm…? What's going on? A Transformation Technique? Who is that woman?" Sasuke knit his brows.
"No way—don't tell me it's—" Kakashi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
[Old Kaka's PTSD is flaring up]
[Don't tell me she turned into some weird person again]
[Show us the front, why won't they show the front!]
[Old Kaka: I smell something familiar]
[Old Kaka, oh Old Kaka!]
Ever since that Baye dropped his video, Kakashi's reputation had taken collateral damage, and plenty of people had started calling him "Old Kaka."
"It's a mere Transformation Technique. You think I'd fall for something like that?" He said it—but inwardly Kabuto's heart sank.
This woman knew that much about him?!
The woman who had appeared before Kabuto was none other than Nonō Yakushi—the Wandering Maiden who had once taken Kabuto in.
And yet, because of Danzo's scheming, because the two of them were never allowed to meet, Kabuto's photograph had been swapped out for someone else's. In Nonō Yakushi's mind, "Kabuto Yakushi" wore another person's face entirely.
Then Danzo had arranged for the two of them to kill each other—and to her dying breath, Nonō Yakushi never knew that the person before her was the real Kabuto.
It counted as a degree of PTSD, sure, but that was nothing.
"You're the one who's Kabuto… aren't you?"
Kabuto: ???
How—how could she possibly know something like this?!
The woman charged at him without the slightest guard.
"—!!!"
The next instant, by the time Kabuto came back to himself, he had already driven a kunai clean through her chest. Warm blood spattered across his face.
And yet she went on smiling at him—tenderly.
"Kabuto… so… this is what you look like…"