Kabuto really couldn't figure it out.
What on earth had that boy Yukimaru gone through? After a moment of confusion, he actually tried to commit suicide!!
That kid had special chakra, able to control the Three-Tails to a certain extent.
That was the very reason Orochimaru-sama had ordered Kabuto to bring him along with Guren to capture the Three-Tails.
If he died now, before the plan had even begun, then their mission was already doomed to fail...
"Guren!!"
In his panic, Kabuto shouted loudly!
Guren also understood the importance of the green-haired boy.
The moment she noticed his abnormal state, she rushed forward, using her own body to block the tree in front of him and stop Yukimaru from crashing headlong.
Bang!
Yukimaru's head slammed straight into Guren's chest!
"Hiss—!"
Guren sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.
That hit... she might actually end up smaller from it...
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Kabuto rushed forward, grabbing Yukimaru and scolding him.
The boy just lowered his head, saying nothing.
After this sudden incident, to be safe, Kabuto and Guren tied Yukimaru up tightly, binding him five ways and carrying him along.
On the road, Guren shot a disdainful look at Kabuto.
"I'm asking you, are you even a man? Making a woman carry him... (ー_ー)!!"
Kabuto, completely unfazed, replied,
"Because you're Orochimaru-sama's most trusted person. So I'll trouble you a little. (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ"
Those words hit Guren right in her weak spot. She turned her head, kept moving forward, and didn't say another word.
After traveling a few more kilometers, a vast lake suddenly appeared ahead.
At that moment, rustling noises came from the forest nearby!
Guren instantly formed a crystal blade along her arm and turned her sharp gaze toward the sound.
"Who's there?!"
The rustling continued.
A few seconds later, a burly, hideous-looking man walked out of the forest.
"You?!" Guren's pupils shrank.
She was in charge of Orochimaru's fortress prison base.
And this man was one of the test subjects once imprisoned there!!
"You escaped from the fortress prison?!"
Guren swung her crystal blade.
Allowing an experiment subject to escape was her failure!
But the big man showed no sign of resisting. He lowered his head, acting submissive.
"Someone broke into the fortress prison."
Guren's heart skipped a beat. She quickly asked, "Who was it?"
"Tell me, Gyū!"
The burly man answered, "Two boys. One with red hair, the other with blond hair. I heard the others say the red-haired one was called Shinju."
At those words, Kabuto's face immediately contorted with shock!!
ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
"Shinju?! Wasn't that guy supposed to be in the Land of Lightning? How the hell did he get to the Land of Water so fast?!"
Guren frowned as well. She had heard the name of that Shinju kid before.
That guy was no ordinary opponent!
Kabuto quickly ran the situation through his head, then asked doubtfully,
"But what was he even doing breaking into the fortress prison? There shouldn't be anything there he'd want."
"It looked like he was researching a way to remove Cursed Seals. After entering, he spent several hours studying some of the test subjects with Cursed Seals and completely removed them from their bodies!"
Gyū said after a brief pause to think.
Kabuto: ⊙▽⊙!!
"What?!!"
"He spent just a few hours studying test subjects, and then completely removed them?!"
"That's Orochimaru-sama's research! From his first studies to applying it on test subjects, it took him months!"
"And that kid managed to rip them out in just hours?! Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"
Gyū nodded earnestly.
"Yes. During his experiments, there were times he failed, and those test subjects nearly died. But then he revealed unparalleled medical ninjutsu, pulling them back from the brink of death!! ... Reviving the dead, regrowing flesh and bone, it was like a miracle!"
Kabuto: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴
They were both medical-nin.
Kabuto spent his days helping Orochimaru with cruel human experiments.
But Shinju? He just turned into a divine healer!
The gap was far too great!!!
"All this time, you still haven't explained how you managed to escape."
Guren flicked the crystal blade on her wrist, her eyes sharp.
"After Shinju succeeded, he released the people freed from their Cursed Seals. I slipped away in the chaos."
As Gyū said this, his eyes softened as he looked at Guren.
(⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)
In truth, he was hiding the reality.
Where Shinju was present, there was no such thing as "slipping away in the chaos."
After Shinju left, he had relied on his own strength to leave the fortress prison, all for the sake of taking a shortcut to deliver news to Guren...
"When Shinju left, he headed toward this lake."
Gyū quickly added.
Kabuto's pupils suddenly contracted! He whipped his head around, scanning the surroundings in fear!
Finally, once he was sure Shinju wasn't here, he grabbed Yukimaru and bolted...
Behind him, Guren was speechless. "Do you have to be this dramatic? ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ"
As Orochimaru-sama's right-hand man, acting like this was utterly shameful!!
"You have no idea how terrifying that guy is!" Kabuto protested!
"He won't just drain your life—he'll drain your wallet too!!"
"And then he'll attack you on every level—mentally, physically, every way possible—until you're left completely broken!凸(｀0´)凸"
The truth was, Kabuto's actual encounters with Shinju were very few.
Most of what he knew came from hearsay about Shinju's feats. He had barely seen them firsthand.
But that didn't stop him from fearing Shinju.
After all, this was the "other people's perfect child" that Orochimaru-sama never stopped talking about.
And the words Shinju had once thrown at him—"Dragging people along without even having money"—had left a deep scar in his heart...
"Is it really that exaggerated? ┑(￣Д ￣)┍" Guren curled her lip.
"Either way, the mission Orochimaru-sama gave me, I'll complete it perfectly."
"If you want to run, fine. But leave the boy to me! ꐦ≖ ≖"
Seeing Guren so determined, Kabuto couldn't be bothered to argue further. He let go of Yukimaru.
After all, Shinju would teach her a lesson himself!
With that, Kabuto left.
Guren dragged Yukimaru along, continuing the mission.
"What a coward!! ╮(￣▽￣)╭"
"When this mission is over, I'll make sure Orochimaru-sama hears all about Kabuto's behavior."
"That way, Orochimaru-sama will definitely abandon him and value me again."
After saying this, Guren pointed ahead and commanded Gyū,
"Gyū! Go find me a boat. I need to take Yukimaru to the center of the lake!"
Gyū accepted the order. After giving Guren one last complicated look, he obediently went to find a boat...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Kakashi's team discovered the fortress prison...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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