"Are you... Naruto-kun?" Kabuto almost didn't recognize Naruto in his golden, radiant form, after all, they had only met once.
"It's me." Naruto temporarily suppressed his divine power, pointing to the Sound Ninja on the ground, he said, "Due to the war, some enemies or spies have taken advantage of the chaos to infiltrate the village. I'm catching these people."
"I see, then you can have this one." Kabuto's personality was very easygoing.
Naruto declined, "Wouldn't that be bad? Reporting a spy, after verification, comes with a reward of 500,000."
"500,000?" Kabuto's eyes flashed for a moment. Although the Fourth Hokage had always taken good care of the Konoha Orphanage, and the funding wasn't exactly tight, Kabuto's wish was for every child in the orphanage to live a happy life. Relying solely on the village's subsidies wasn't enough. If he could catch a few more spies...
"That's right, I suggest you hand him over to the Military Police Force yourself later."
"Thank you for letting me know, Naruto-kun."
Watching Naruto's departing figure, Kabuto made a decision in his heart. At this moment, he looked at the Sound Ninja on the ground as if he were looking at a delicious meal, a gift, and the smiling faces of the children.
The sunlight hit Kabuto's glasses, reflecting a dazzling light.
Yakushi Nono and Yakushi Kabuto, the current director and deputy director of the Konoha Orphanage, were both extremely talented in espionage. However, because Minato was different from Danzo and cared very much about individual wishes, he not only supported them in running the orphanage but also provided as much help as possible.
Now that Yakushi Kabuto learned that catching spies had a reward, which could make the orphanage's funding more sufficient, it became interesting. A person with top-notch espionage talent engaging in counter-espionage work, those scum who infiltrated Konoha with ulterior motives, were doomed.
...
On the battlefield outside the village, three giant snakes were beaten back repeatedly by three giant Toads, eventually turning into smoke and disappearing.
The Konoha ninjas' morale was high. Fugaku Uchiha personally led the Military Police Force to charge, beating back the invading Sand Ninja repeatedly. After Minato, Kushina, and Jiraiya joined the eastern, western, and northern battlefields respectively, the outcome was even less in doubt.
But what people didn't know was that a battle had also taken place on the southern side of Konoha.
Previously, because Naruto had sent Shadow Clones in all four directions to be responsible for communication, but only three reported attacks, Naruto naturally assumed that it was Izumo and Kotetsu's guardian deity aura that had activated.
But in reality, Orochimaru's plan was to launch attacks on all four sides simultaneously, to involve Konoha's forces as much as possible, to create an opportunity for him to assassinate his teacher. The summoned giant snakes should also have been four.
It was just that the attacking team at the south gate encountered a little accident.
If you ask why, it might be because of Youth.
That morning, a gray-haired youth, leading three green-clad Melon Heads, was carrying out a mission called morning exercise, but in reality, it was a patrol.
Coincidentally, as they faced the morning sun and sprinkled the blood of Youth, they unknowingly ran out of Konoha's alert range.
Then, coincidentally, they discovered a group of Sunagakure Village ninjas, who were carving a huge summoning formation on the ground, wanting to use the formation and Orochimaru's blood to summon a giant snake.
Kimimaro, the only one with brains in the Melon Heads quartet, remembered Minato's instructions and immediately realized that these people had ill intentions and were enemies who wanted to attack Konoha.
So he decided to lead his three Melon Head teammates to interrupt their plan.
But just four people facing dozens of Sunagakure Village elites was a bit difficult, so:
*"Eight Gates, Fifth Gate, the Fifth Gate of Closing, Open!" 4
The skin of the four turned red, and their bodies were surrounded by visible green Chakra, as they fiercely charged into the Sunagakure Village's team like tigers entering a flock of sheep.
Gan, Wen, and Cui opened their Sharingan, using their excellent dynamic vision, coupled with the huge speed and strength bonus of the Eight Gates, perfectly displaying Guy's Strong Fist Style taijutsu's heavy power and the Uchiha family's taijutsu's flexibility and changeability.
The three, who usually seemed very simple-minded, were indeed flowing and coordinated on the battlefield, able to flexibly avoid the enemy's attacks and keenly seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow, which was a great contrast to their usual silly appearance.
After years of Guy's teaching, Gan, Wen, and Cui created a brand new battlefield dance for the Uchiha group!
Kimimaro was another style altogether. Different from his usual calm and mature demeanor, Kimimaro was a reckless man on the battlefield. He didn't have any fancy Transformation techniques, just pure speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness.
Kimimaro didn't have the dynamic vision provided by the Sharingan, but he had an indestructible set of bones—using the power of Shikotsumyaku to directly strengthen his bones within his body. As long as it was within the strength range of his muscles, he could just charge straight ahead. At worst, he would break a few bones, but he could reattach them anyway, and if he couldn't, he would just grow new ones.
He was completely like a charging heavy armored vehicle. Anyone who couldn't run as fast as him would die!
Gan, Wen, and Cui were four years older than Rock Lee, and Kimimaro was two years older than Rock Lee. These four people were all physically stronger than Rock Lee, and they had also started learning the Eight Gates for much longer.
So, unlike Rock Lee, who couldn't handle it after opening the Fifth Gate and using a few moves, their bodies were strong enough to support them in using the Fifth Gate to complete a quick blitzkrieg. If they trained for a few more years, perhaps they could open the Sixth Gate and use the Morning Peacock.
So later, when the ninjas who came to support received the news and saw the tragic scene, they could only silently wish these Sand Ninja a good journey, hoping there were no Melon Heads in heaven.
...
While the ninjas of Konoha were busily carrying out the war's cleanup work, Danzo Shimura...
"Danzo-sama, this subordinate has learned that the Third Hokage was severely injured by Orochimaru, but Princess Tsunade saved his life. Subsequently, Orochimaru died in battle, and all of his subordinates were captured, including... Sai." Yamanaka Fu, with his orange, high ponytail, finished reporting and respectfully knelt on one knee.
When Danzo heard that the Third Hokage was severely injured, the hand holding his cane loosened, but he tightened it again upon hearing the subsequent news. After a moment of silence, he waved his hand to dismiss Yamanaka Fu and slightly raised his head, "Failed, huh..."
Orochimaru's death was just the loss of a chess piece that could be used, but Sai being captured... Despite the Curse of the Root: Tongue Severing, it was hard to guarantee that it wouldn't be broken with the sealing technique level of that couple. So, he had to find a way to eliminate this hidden danger. Should he use the poisonous insects of Root, or have Fu control a Guard?
While pondering, the door was suddenly opened, and Mitokado Homura and Torifu Koharu walked in.
"Danzo, you've gone too far!" Mitokado Homura questioned angrily.
Torifu Koharu also had anger on her face.
Danzo's expression remained unchanged, and he said blandly, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Still trying to deny it!" Mitokado Homura threw a file bag in front of Danzo, "Take a look at this!"
Danzo was silent for a moment before opening the bag. Inside were the evidence of his secret contact with Orochimaru, leaking information about Konoha's Barrier and the Military Police Force's strength.
"I see, so you all know..." Danzo raised his head, his sinister gaze fixed on his two old friends, and a bold idea suddenly came to his mind.
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