A squad of figures darted through the night, their shadows flickering like specters under the cold moonlight.
Swish swish swish. With the sound of rushing wind, the squad landed on a ravaged battlefield.
"What!?"
"What happened here? A trap?"
"Spread out! Check for survivors!"
No doubt, this was the reinforcement team sent to aid Asuma and the first group pursuing Orochimaru. Leading them was none other than Kakashi, who had just quelled the prison riot and hurried over.
The sight of Hidden Leaf shinobi strewn across the ground, dead or wounded, shocked the newly arrived reinforcements.
Clearly, a fierce battle had just taken place. Yet, the ground was littered only with Hidden Leaf's casualties—not a single enemy was in sight.
The battle traces were minimal, as if the fight hadn't lasted long.
As the team spread out to inspect the battlefield, Kakashi found Asuma, leaning against a tree, gravely injured but still conscious. Kakashi urgently asked, "Asuma, what happened? Were you ambushed?"
Asuma swallowed blood, his voice weak. "It was Yakushi Kabuto… Our intel was wrong. That guy… he's strong!"
Kakashi froze. "Just Yakushi Kabuto alone?"
Asuma nodded, then collapsed, sliding down the tree trunk, unconscious.
"Medical team!"
Kakashi shouted immediately.
In truth, he didn't need to call—the medical shinobi were already tending to the fallen comrades scattered across the ground.
After confirming Asuma was in no immediate danger, Kakashi examined Kurenai, who lay nearby in a pool of blood, also heavily injured. His expression grew grim.
Both Asuma and Kurenai's wounds were caused by sharp weapons like shuriken and kunai, with no signs of ninjutsu damage.
The other fallen shinobi were much the same, almost all bearing injuries from edged weapons.
Asuma was among the village's top Jonin, and with Kurenai, another Jonin, plus over a dozen Chunin and Genin assisting, they had been utterly defeated by Kabuto alone. This was hard for Kakashi to comprehend.
Moreover, considering he had rushed over immediately after handling the prison riot without stopping, the battle here couldn't have lasted long—perhaps not even ten minutes.
"Intel was wrong…" Kakashi mulled over Asuma's words, frowning deeply. "How could Kabuto defeat so many of us in under ten minutes? What went wrong with the intel?"
His thoughts turned to Shinji, as most of the latest intel on Kabuto came from Shinji's Takamagahara.
But he quickly dismissed any suspicion of Shinji.
Before Shinji used Takamagahara to simulate a fake Kabuto, the village had even less information on him and underestimated his threat level.
It was precisely because of Takamagahara that Hidden Leaf learned Kabuto possessed Jonin-level strength, prompting them to take Orochimaru's spy seriously.
"Their wounds are all from ninja tools. Did Kabuto defeat them with taijutsu alone?" Kakashi's brow furrowed as he recalled Shinji's explanation of Takamagahara's capabilities. "Could Kabuto's strength have skyrocketed since his last encounter with Shinji?"
The thought crossed his mind, but Kakashi shook his head.
According to Shinji, Kabuto's last meeting with him was just two days before Shinji, provoked by Kabuto's report, attacked Danzo—only a few weeks ago.
For someone already at Jonin level like Kabuto, such a massive leap in strength in so short a time seemed unlikely.
At that moment, an Anbu approached Kakashi. "According to the Hidden Leaf Police Force, Uchiha Sasuke was also part of the pursuit, but we haven't found him here!"
"What!?"
Kakashi's expression shifted dramatically.
He knew Asuma and Kurenai had been among the first to pursue Orochimaru but hadn't known Sasuke was also in the initial group. Now, with Sasuke missing, Kakashi grew tense, fearing Sasuke had been captured by Orochimaru.
After all, Orochimaru's desire for the Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan was no secret.
Steadying himself, Kakashi issued clear orders. "Send someone back to inform Lady Hokage that our intel on Kabuto is incorrect and to arrange further reinforcements quickly. Medical shinobi, stay and treat the wounded. Everyone else, follow me to continue the pursuit!"
"Yes, sir!"
The team responded in unison.
…
Sasuke glanced back, his expression shifting from initial shock and confusion to grim determination.
Undoubtedly, the figure now behind him was someone who, by all accounts, shouldn't be there—Yakushi Kabuto!
"How is this possible!?"
A flurry of theories raced through Sasuke's mind.
Kabuto, surrounded by Asuma, Kurenai, and over a dozen Hidden Leaf shinobi, couldn't have caught up so quickly. Even if he had defeated Asuma's group, the battle couldn't have ended so fast!
Kabuto smiled. "Sasuke-kun, your opponent is me!"
Sasuke's brow furrowed. As Kabuto drew closer, he noticed changes in Kabuto's appearance—especially the horns sprouting from his head, which stirred a faint unease.
"Looks like I'll have to deal with him first!"
Resolved, Sasuke halted, spun around, and without a word, swiftly formed seals, unleashing Chidori as he charged at Kimimaro.
[Note: The text mentions "Kimimaro" here, which appears to be an inconsistency or typo, as the context clearly refers to Kabuto. For consistency, I'll treat this as Kabuto.]
"Heh."
Seeing Sasuke shift his focus, Kabuto gave a slight smile.
…
At the Forefront.
Orochimaru also stopped, gazing back at the distant figures of Sasuke and Kabuto, his eyes settling on Kabuto.
When Kabuto infiltrated the secret prison to rescue him, Orochimaru had already sensed something unusual about him but hadn't had time to inquire due to the urgency.
Now, seeing Kabuto's appearance, Orochimaru, familiar with the Dragon Cave, instantly recognized Kabuto's state as likely the Sage Mode spoken of by the White Snake Sage.
"Kabuto has mastered Sage Arts…"
A flicker of jealousy passed through Orochimaru's eyes, but it quickly faded, replaced by a spark of investigative fervor.
To him, if someone close could master Sage Arts, it greatly increased his own chances of unlocking their secrets through study.