Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 386 Reunion with Orochimaru

impossible!

Someone had sneaked into the house silently, and it took him so long to realize it.

Wait, those eyes are...

Yakushi Kabuto looked closely and noticed three hooks near the pupils of the scarlet eyes.

Sharingan!

"Wow, that's a fast reaction time..."

As the sounds of praise gradually faded, the silhouette of the figure slowly came into view.

"Who are you……"

Upon seeing the white-haired boy before him, Kabuto Yakushi exclaimed in disbelief, "Uchiha Aokiji..."

"Wow, you know me?"

Aokiji glanced at him, his scarlet eyes revealing a faint, mocking smile.

Kabuto smiled, easing the stiffness on his face: "Lord Aokiji, you're too kind. You're quite a celebrity in our village."

Aokiji took a breath and slowly closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Kabuto Yakushi is a seemingly harmless, mediocre genin.

In reality, he was an undercover agent sent by Orochimaru to Konoha, and his strength was even at the level of a Jonin.

Mediocrity and kindness are merely disguises to avoid attracting attention.

Aokiji is currently focused on finding Orochimaru and improving his strength, so he doesn't have time for any roundabout games. He cuts to the chase: "Where is Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru?" Kabuto Yakushi was taken aback. "What are you talking about? How could an ordinary genin like me possibly know anything about him?"

"And why are you in my room?"

Kabuto appeared completely bewildered, but his mind was in turmoil.

he knows!

He knows Lord Orochimaru!

They even know I'm Orochimaru's spy!

How could this be? He was hiding it so well. When did he slip up?

"Are you going to tell me voluntarily, or should I ask you?"

Aokiji's blood-red eyes exuded a cold chill.

Before these eyes, any elaborate lie is meaningless once I've made up my mind. These bloodshot eyes exude a chilling aura and silently tell their story.

Kabuto Yakushi gave up resisting, shrugged, and tried to ease the tension: "What a terrifying guy."

His words were, in effect, an admission.

"How did you find me?" Kabuto Yakushi asked curiously, though he considered himself to have been quite discreet.

He wasn't exaggerating; he was very talented in espionage, and it was because of this talent that Orochimaru took a liking to him.

You know, without some special skills, you can't stay by Orochimaru's side for long.

Aokiji slightly raised his chin, glancing sideways at the person: "Are you investigating me?"

Maintaining an air of mystery and instilling fear is a very effective tactic of power politics.

"No, I'm just curious."

Kabuto Yakushi dared not look directly at him, lowering his gaze and saying, "It is said that you and Orochimaru are good friends. Now that I think about it, you truly are a man worthy of his approval."

Aokiji, with a poker face, coldly said, "You're wrong."

Kabuto looked puzzled.

"Orochimaru truly lives up to his reputation as a man I admire."

Aokiji corrected him, speaking in the tone of a domineering CEO.

Yakushi Kabuto was taken aback.

Although they only switched places to speak, the hierarchy between the two suddenly became clear.

After a long pause, he spoke, tentatively asking, "Is Lord Aokiji acting on behalf of the village to arrest Lord Orochimaru, who is a rogue ninja?"

Aokiji said indifferently, "I just wanted to catch up with him..."

A simple reminiscing session would be fine...

Kabuto thought to himself.

Aokiji's attitude is still unclear. To be honest, Kabuto Yakushi doesn't really want to take Aokiji to see Lord Orochimaru.

However, he did want to...

"Contact Orochimaru and arrange a place." Aokiji didn't care about the other party's attitude, domineeringly imposing his will on him without room for argument: "And don't mention anything about me."

"I understand." Kabuto Yakushi had no power to refuse.

◎

The Hokage's office.

Looking at the resignation letter that had been handed in, Yuan Fei frowned deeply: "Fugaku, are you serious?"

That bastard Aokiji is actually serious.

Fugaku, who was standing in front of him, nodded, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Fugaku: "Why isn't Aokiji, the clan head, here for something this important?"

Fugaku replied, "He seems to be busy seeking sponsorships."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression froze for a moment: "Sponsorship?"

Fugaku said with some helplessness, "Well, after all, the Uchiha clan has no source of income now."

Having lost a secure job, I have no choice but to find another one.

"Then why don't you work as a ninja in the village?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, adopting an air of selflessness.

Fugaku shut his mouth, as if he had something difficult to say.

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "What's wrong?"

Fugaku looked troubled: "I think it's best not to say anything."

"It's okay..."

Fugaku hesitated for a moment before speaking: "He said... such a small amount of money is just enough to appease a beggar."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's kind face twitched slightly.

Aokiji is clearly going to fight him.

Relying on their unknown strength, they acted lawlessly.

Fugaku silently lowered his head.

The words Aokiji just spoke were deliberately instructed by Fugaku.

In other words: I didn't want to say this, but you forced me to, and you also made a promise, so it would be wrong of you to go back on your word later...

Aokiji was certain of Hiruzen Sarutobi's identity and dared not do anything about it, because it would shatter his image of being upright and kind.

Qingzheng was certain that Hiruzen Sarutobi had this weakness, which is why he dared to act so recklessly.

Of course, the most important reason is that Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't understand his own strength. If they had really fought head-on, no one knew what would have happened to the village.

Aokiji's side is just a bunch of poor bastards, barefoot.

On the other hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a wealthy landowner with a large family business, so he had many concerns and naturally dared not start a war casually.

◎

In the dense forest, Kabuto led Aokiji through the thick jungle, easily finding an entrance with a snake-shaped statue carved at the door.

Kabuto Yakushi pointed towards the entrance and said, "Orochimaru is inside."

Aokiji looked at the snake-shaped statue and chuckled, "This really does have Orochimaru's style."

After teasing Orochimaru about his quirks, Aokiji followed Kabuto Yakushi into the tunnel. Inside was a long, narrow, and pitch-black tunnel with heat-sensing devices on both sides of the walls. As soon as someone entered, torches would spontaneously ignite on both sides of the walls to illuminate the passage for people to walk through.

This is a scientific device invented by Orochimaru based on the snake's tongue.

The entrance to the cave is so narrow, but inside it is a completely different world, with many interconnected passages and winding paths. If you don't know someone well, you'll definitely get lost.

In the deepest room, under the dim light, a man dressed in a black robe with red clouds sat on a chair carved from stone.

The flickering firelight illuminated his pale, effeminate face, highlighting the chilling aura emanating from his golden, vertical pupils, which resembled those of a venomous snake.

At that moment, a steady footstep broke the silence.

Its eyes, like those of a venomous snake, gazed at the owner of the footsteps.

The man—Kabuto Yakushi—approached, speaking respectfully: "Lord Orochimaru..."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes: "Speak, what is it that you need to meet with me alone?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Orochimaru..."

Kabuto Yakushi spoke in an apologetic voice.

Orochimaru seemed to understand something, and his inner canthus narrowed.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be another aura following behind the pharmacist.

It seems someone discovered Kabuto Yakushi's existence and then used threats to track him down here.

Orochimaru licked his lips like a snake, a hoarse, magnetic voice sliding out from his throat: "Hmph...pretty capable, huh."

Orochimaru at this moment is merely a shadow clone.

Therefore, he was not worried at all about what the people sent by the village could do to him.

The figure behind the door began to slowly enter the room. A short, dark figure condensed into a shadow. Under the candlelight, the black figure slowly emerged from top to bottom, revealing its true form.

Judging from his appearance, he was a white-haired boy of about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a loose white shirt and blue pants. The purification shinren rope was tied behind his back in front of his waist, which seemed to vaguely reveal his unwillingness to be purified.

At this moment, the handsome young man was silently casting his gaze upon them with eyes that emitted a deep red glow. After a long silence, he spoke:

"Long time no see, Orochimaru."

(End of this chapter)