Kabuto was 13 years old, and almost four years had passed since the day he joined Root.
During these four years, he first passed Root's training with his outstanding talent.
In the following days, he constantly traveled from one country to another.
Kabuto became an excellent spy, one of the best in the entire Root.
Not long ago, Kabuto received another mission: to infiltrate Grass Country and gather intelligence.
His excellent disguise and espionage skills allowed him to successfully infiltrate Grass Country without much effort.
It was the familiar work: stealing intelligence and transmitting it.
Until about three months ago, the Ninja he was supposed to meet never appeared again.
Deeply understanding the spy's code, he went into deeper hiding.
Waiting for the next contact to appear.
However, the situation was not as he had imagined.
About two months ago, Kabuto discovered that the 'Tongue-Tied Curse Seal' on him had disappeared.
The intelligent Kabuto immediately understood what had happened.
Lord Danzo is dead!
Kabuto fell into a state of confusion.
What about the mission?
Who should I give the intelligence to?
Where should I go?
Kabuto spent day after day in confusion.
Until over a month later.
No one came to receive the intelligence!
No one came to contact him!
He had been forgotten by the world!
Kabuto understood that Root Ninja would never come again.
At this point, Kabuto fell into an even deeper confusion.
Where should I go?
Kabuto remembered his companions at the orphanage!
He remembered Yakushi Nonou, who had given him his name!
Kabuto wanted to return to Konoha to find his companions, but years of being a spy made him hesitate.
Kabuto didn't know if his former companions would still accept him.
At this moment, Kabuto thought of Director Yakushi Nonou, and gently touched the glasses on his nose bridge.
Kabuto knew that Yakushi Nonou was on a long-term mission, and Kabuto planned to find her.
But how to find her? Only Lord Danzo knew where the Director was.
No, that's not right!
At this moment, a figure appeared in Kabuto's mind.
The first contact was when Kabuto learned medical Ninjutsu and treated that Lord's wounds.
The second contact was when Lord Danzo brought Root to the orphanage.
Should I go find Lord Orochimaru?
Lord Orochimaru seemed very close to Lord Danzo, and perhaps he would know where the Director was.
Kabuto still remembered the look of appreciation in Lord Orochimaru's eyes when he first saw him!
But where was Lord Orochimaru?
Lord Orochimaru had already left Konoha!
Finally, Kabuto decided to return to Konoha first to ascertain the situation, and then act according to circumstances.
Kabuto carefully erased all traces of himself and then headed towards Konoha.
On the third day after Kabuto left, Orochimaru arrived at the place where Kabuto had been staying.
Looking at the empty room.
Orochimaru muttered to himself softly.
"Has he already left? Kabuto, it seems the final payment won't be collected!"
Orochimaru evidently already knew about Danzo's death; his dealings with Danzo naturally could not continue.
Orochimaru's eyes held a faint hint of regret; he took one last look and then disappeared from the room.
The confused Yakushi Kabuto hid his tracks all the way, arriving at Konoha Village unhurriedly.
Just as he was about to use his expertise to steal information, Kabuto accidentally glimpsed a newspaper.
It stated that war was about to begin!
Very curious, Kabuto bought a copy and quickly discovered that the newspaper contained a lot of important information.
Kabuto didn't understand why such important information was openly displayed throughout the streets and alleys of Konoha.
Weren't they afraid of causing panic among the people?
When did Konoha become so unfamiliar?
What exactly happened during the time I was on my mission?
After learning that the newspaper had been published continuously for over a month, Kabuto decisively found someone to buy him old newspapers.
He even spent a large sum to buy collector's edition, out-of-print newspapers, every issue of the Konoha Daily!
The meticulous Kabuto naturally found many inaccuracies in the newspaper.
But one piece of information was definitely correct: Lord Danzo died at the hands of Uchiha Tomoki!
And after analyzing all the combined information, Kabuto understood the person responsible for such a huge change in Konoha.
It was the new clan head of the Uchiha Clan, the new Chief of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Tomoki!
Kabuto began his plan, a plan to get close to Uchiha Tomoki.
However, before Kabuto had even finished his preparations, Kabuto saw in the newspaper that Uchiha Tomoki would become a commander and go to the Hidden Mist Battlefield.
Kabuto abandoned his plan at this point; he knew that once the war started, it wouldn't end quickly.
He intended to reveal his identity as a Root Ninja, just wanting to meet that Chief.
But Kabuto went directly to the Military Police Force, even revealing his identity as a Root Ninja, yet he ultimately did not meet Yuuki.
Only the newspaper three days later revealed the mystery: Chief Yuuki had already departed.
At this time, Kabuto conceived the idea of leaving Konoha to find Orochimaru outside.
However, the subsequent rapid changes in the situation completely refreshed his understanding.
Lord Yuuki won the war with astonishing speed and was about to return to the village.
When Yuuki returned to the village, Kabuto also watched this strongest Ninja of Konoha from the crowd.
That youthful face, that confident demeanor, and that brilliant smile were all things he had never possessed.
Huh, no, why do I feel that Lord's smile is somewhat familiar?
Where exactly is it familiar? I always feel like I've seen it somewhere.
After the crowd dispersed, Kabuto looked at a recruitment notice posted on a civilian house.
Without any hesitation, Kabuto walked directly towards the Military Police Force.
The Military Police Force's assessment was very simple; whether it was the written test or practical ability, to Kabuto, it was ridiculously easy.
Kabuto easily achieved a perfect score.
But then another assessment was arranged, and this time the assessment finally seemed somewhat reasonable.
Kabuto also put in a considerable effort to complete the assessment, again achieving perfect scores across the board.
Subsequently, Kabuto was taken to fill out the application form for employment.
Kabuto then asked if he could meet Lord Yuuki.
The person in charge of recruitment clearly understood Yuuki's intentions, and looking at the exceptionally talented Kabuto before him.
That person nodded and said.
"No problem."
So Kabuto began diligently filling out the form.
In the name column, Kabuto first filled in 'Kabuto' for the given name.
After a moment of consideration, he finally wrote 'Yakushi' in the surname field.
In his past experience, Kabuto did not adhere to Root's confidentiality regulations.
He honestly wrote 'Root' and his mission experiences.
After filling it out, he handed it to the staff member.
The Uchiha Clan staff member picked up Kabuto's form and glanced at it briefly.
"Hmm, Yakushi Kabuto, a good name!"
Then, as he scanned the information further down, his eyes widened slightly.
"Wait, you're a member of Root?!"
Kabuto nodded calmly.
"Yes."
The Uchiha staff member, who had originally intended to take Kabuto to the Chief's office, no longer paid attention to Kabuto.
"You wait here."
He then took Kabuto's score record and application information and began to report it.
Leaving Kabuto alone where he stood.
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