**Chapter 18: Uzuki Yugao**
Still shaken by Anko's crazed outburst, Naruto remained on edge.
*If I had to sleep with that woman at night... I'd probably die without even knowing how.*
Shivering, Naruto hastily fled the eerie place, unable to endure another moment there.
"Haku, open the door!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
The moment Haku opened the door, Naruto burst inside and scooped her up in his arms.
"Naruto-nii, what's wrong?" Haku asked sweetly, curling up in his embrace like a docile kitten.
"Haku, just stay still and let me hold you," Naruto said, desperately needing her to soothe his agitated heart.
"Okay..." Haku murmured softly, clutching Naruto's shirt and pressing her head against his chest. She cherished this feeling.
"Haku, have you had dinner yet?" Naruto asked, still holding her close.
"No... but Naruto-nii, I've already made dinner! Let's go eat together." Haku smiled radiantly from within his arms, her heart brimming with joy.
Being able to do something for Naruto, anything at all, made Haku incredibly happy.
"Oh? Haku, you can cook?"
Naruto was inwardly skeptical. *How could Haku, who can't even hold chopsticks properly, possibly cook?*
"Mm-hmm. I just learned these past few days," Haku replied, her delicate cheeks flushing slightly as she smiled at Naruto.
"Oh, Haku, you're such a good girl," Naruto said, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart.
"Hehe..." Haku giggled softly, lowering her head with bashful delight, her reaction as natural and innocent as a little girl being praised.
"Alright, then let's see how good my Haku's cooking really is!" Naruto grinned widely, scooping Haku into his arms and carrying her to the dining table.
As night quietly descended, Naruto held the already sleeping Haku in his arms, feeling an overwhelming sense of peace.
"This is what life is..." he murmured contentedly.
"Hmm?" Naruto frowned, sensing a faint flow of Chakra in the air drifting in from the wide-open window beside him. He immediately realized a ninja had just passed by.
Gently laying Haku aside and tucking her in, Naruto flipped out the window, closing it halfway behind him.
*Whoosh!*
Following the dissipating Chakra trail, Naruto's body transformed into a streak of light under the moonlight, shooting straight toward the source.
*Clang! Swish!*
The crisp, ringing sound cut through the tranquil moonlit night with startling clarity.
Hidden against the wall, Naruto peered toward the source of the noise.
Two figures wearing Anbu masks stood facing each other.
One was a woman with long purple hair and a graceful figure.
"Who are you? Why have you infiltrated the Anbu?" the purple-haired woman demanded, her voice sharp and clear. Naruto, eavesdropping nearby, froze. The voice sounded strangely familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before.
"Heh heh, none of your business. Besides, the Anbu's security is laughably lax. I slipped in without breaking a sweat."
A sinister chuckle echoed through the night, sending a jolt of recognition through Naruto. "Yakushi Kabuto?"
"You bastard! Still running your mouth even when death is staring you in the face?"
The purple-haired woman hurled a kunai at Yakushi Kabuto and swiftly formed a hand seal. "Ninjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!"
*Clang!*
Yakushi Kabuto casually deflected the kunai with a flick of his hand, a smug smile playing on his lips. But in the next instant, his body stiffened, frozen in place.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
*Boom!*
In the next instant, the Purple-Haired Woman formed a hand seal and unleashed a straight-line blast of fire at Yakushi Kabuto. The scorching heat and the cloud of dust that erupted when it struck the ground confirmed the Fire Release technique's exceptional speed and destructive power.
"Oh my, that was close," Yakushi Kabuto's eerie voice echoed, startling the Purple-Haired Woman.
*Whoosh! Bang!*
Under the moonlight, a blue light and a red light collided in a flash. The source of the blue light was instantly hurled back like a cannonball, crashing through the opposite wall.
"Who's there?" Yakushi Kabuto crawled out of the rubble, retracting his Chakra Scalpel. His masked face was visibly shocked. "Such immense power..."
"Who are you?" the Purple-Haired Woman asked, her voice filled with astonishment as she gazed at the boy who had shielded her.
"Are you alright?" Naruto turned, his fox-like eyes fixed on the Purple-Haired Woman.
"Naruto?..." The Purple-Haired Woman gasped involuntarily at the sight of those fox-like eyes. When had the Nine-Tailed Jinchūriki grown so strong?
"It's me."
Naruto nodded, not at all surprised that the purple-haired woman knew his name, given her Anbu affiliation.
"Ahem, you're that brat from the Chūnin Exams?" Yakushi Kabuto exclaimed, startled to see Naruto facing him.
Before the first round of the Chūnin Exams began, Kabuto had already recorded Naruto's information using his identity tags, making him well-aware of Naruto's background.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha Genin, one C-Rank (pending) mission completed, strength unknown..."
The sparse information flashed through Kabuto's mind, his expression turning grave. "This brat... he's dangerous."
"Yakushi Kabuto, right?" Naruto sneered, looking down at Kabuto. "Feeling pretty smug, huh?"
"What?" Kabuto's pupils constricted, inwardly alarmed. *When did this kid learn my name?*
"Now you're in trouble!" Naruto grinned, rapidly forming a hand seal. "Wood Release: Seat!"
*Snap! Snap! Snap!*
Vines erupted from the ground, ensnaring Kabuto and instantly dragging him to the surface, binding him tightly.
*Glug!*
In the next moment, Kabuto's body dissolved into a puddle of mud.
"Earth Release: Earth Prison Technique!"
*Boom!*
Naruto swiftly erected a hollow sphere of earth and pressed his hands against its surface.
"Damn it!" Yakushi Kabuto's furious roar echoed from within the earthen prison.
Unlike Jirobo's Earth Prison Technique, Naruto's version trapped Kabuto in a perfectly sealed sphere of earth.
*Gurgle...*
Chakra flowed continuously from Kabuto within the sphere into Naruto's body.
"Summoning Technique!" Kabuto roared from inside the sphere, but only his echo remained.
"Tch, he escaped?" Naruto dispelled the ninjutsu. "Well, at least he suffered enough."
"Naruto, thank you," the purple-haired woman said softly as she approached.
"No problem, sis. This guy's name is Yakushi Kabuto, and he's one of Orochimaru's subordinates. He probably came here to steal information." Naruto shared as much information as he could without raising suspicion.
"Mm, thank you, Naruto," the woman nodded gently in understanding.
"Ah... I know who you are! You're Uzuki Yugao!" Naruto exclaimed, slapping his forehead in realization.
.........
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(End of Chapter)