Mei Terumī: "Clearly, this Yakushi Kabuto has major issues."
Kurotsuchi: "He's definitely one of Orochimaru's people."
Ōnoki: "Naturally, that much is beyond doubt, otherwise Sunagakure wouldn't be so indifferent."
Fourth Raikage: "Otogakure belongs to Orochimaru, but now... it seems Yakushi Kabuto also has some connection with that rat Danzo..."
Fourth Raikage: "Hmph, a double agent? It seems we need to keep a close eye on this Yakushi Kabuto; someone like him... is not simple."
Ōnoki: "Look at those three little fellows, they seem unable to restrain themselves... Are they going to strike directly in public?"
["Rookies should act like rookies!"]
[Dosu suddenly accelerated.]
["What a drag... becoming everyone's target right from the start..." Shikamaru said, his face full of helplessness.]
["It's fine. Even if that Yakushi Kabuto hadn't shown up, it would've been about the same. If you don't believe me, look." Choji said, eating potato chips and lifting his chin.]
[Shikamaru rolled his eyes at him, then held his forehead and looked at Sasuke with a helpless expression.]
[That look of 'everyone here is trash'... was likely the real culprit.]
[Just then.]
[The Sound Ninja Trio made their move.]
[Swoosh—]
[Dosu charged in with extreme speed.]
[Zaku did the same.]
[Kin, from the rear, threw out several shuriken.]
[The three acted simultaneously.]
[Their target was none other than Sasuke.]
[Without anyone noticing, the corner of Sasuke's mouth curled up slightly.]
[He had sensed the three of them long ago.]
[He had also deduced that they were the rats hiding in the shadows earlier.]
[Seeing them dare to strike first, Sasuke was instantly amused.]
[The Rookie 9 also turned their heads to look.]
[It seemed that regarding the trio's sudden attack, they were more surprised by their audacity.]
[There was no panic whatsoever.]
[After all, the strength of these three... to The Rookie 9, who had been training intensely alongside Naruto since childhood...]
[...was truly not up to par.]
[Moreover, they had been undergoing special training recently.]
[The Sound Ninja Trio moved extremely fast.]
[Those Genin with fierce eyes were completely unable to react to the Sound Ninja Trio's sudden movement.]
[If Dosu and the others had malicious intent toward them, they would likely have been killed... only realizing it at the moment of death.]
[Naruto glanced sideways.]
[He glanced at Dosu's arm.]
['Otogakure... Sound Release?']
['A special Ninja Tool.']
['Creating opposing sounds to mask the sound of movement... this kind of Ninja Tool is quite good.']
[Naruto nodded inwardly.]
[He never looked down on external power, such as Ninja Tools.]
[Used well, a Genin could even kill a Jonin.]
[While the Sound Ninja Trio was moving.]
[Yakushi Kabuto lowered his head slightly, an imperceptible flash of anger crossing his eyes.]
[He slowly lowered the Ninja Info Cards in his hand.]
[The angle at which he lowered his head happened to cause a reflection on his glasses in The Rookie 9's line of sight, obscuring his gaze.]
[However, such subtle movements naturally could not escape the current Rookie 9.]
[Sasuke gave a cold laugh and was about to act.]
[Suddenly, everyone looked at Yakushi Kabuto with some confusion.]
[They saw Yakushi Kabuto suddenly appear on the path Dosu and Zaku were taking to attack Sasuke.]
[Yakushi Kabuto's face was full of disbelief.]
[Buzz—]
[In the next instant.]
[Dosu attacked directly.]
[The shuriken Kin threw with a backhand were also coincidentally blocked by Yakushi Kabuto.]
[Clang clang clang—]
[In his panic, Yakushi Kabuto barely managed to block the shuriken.]
[At this moment, Yakushi Kabuto seemed to finally snap out of it.]
[He immediately chose to retreat.]
[But the position he retreated to was exactly the path Dosu and Zaku had adjusted to for their second attack on Sasuke.]
[Seeing this.]
[Dosu and Zaku needed no words.]
[Deal with this nuisance first!]
["Otogakure?"]
["Why?!"]
[Yakushi Kabuto's acting was indeed excellent.]
[The look of astonishment on his face was just right.]
["Get lost!"]
[Dosu swung a punch across.]
[Yakushi Kabuto hurriedly raised his arm to block.]
[He was doing his best to restrain his instincts.]
[Pretending to be weak is sometimes a very difficult thing.]
[Like right now.]
[Yakushi Kabuto had to completely let down his guard.]
[Buzz—]
[Dosu's attack was not simple.]
[The Sound Ninja Tool on his arm was impossible to guard against.]
[Naruto's eyes lit up upon seeing this.]
[It shared similarities with the Fire Release ninja blade... no, 'Sound Release' seemed even harder to defend against.]
[He silently made a note of it in his mind.]
[Then he proactively shared his analysis and perception with the Great Fox.]
[The Great Fox was startled.]
[Seeing that Naruto hadn't discovered her little secret.]
[While breathing a sigh of relief, she also noticed Dosu's special attack.]
[She showed a look of interest.]
[In an instant, as if thinking of something, her large eyes darted around.]
[Meanwhile, beneath Yakushi Kabuto's 'terrified' exterior, his heart was incredibly calm.]
[It was just a bit of a pity.]
[He sighed inwardly that The Rookie 9's vigilance was too strong.]
[At the same time, he was helpless against the stupidity of the Sound Ninja Trio.]
[He could still succeed, otherwise this whole scene would just be a self-injury ruse.]
[However, Yakushi Kabuto was already somewhat puzzled; why were these three so impatient?]
[He hadn't even said any provocative words yet—like how Otogakure was actually just a small, recently established village whose strength wasn't particularly prominent compared to others—to give them a reason to attack.]
[Forget it.]
[Since he couldn't figure it out, Yakushi Kabuto stopped thinking about it.]
[It was just a probe anyway; taking a bit of a hit to avoid exposure was fine.]
[Although he hadn't managed to get close to Konoha's new generation, he had successfully gained the 'injured' buff.]
[Clang—]
[Although Yakushi Kabuto blocked Dosu's attack.]
[He still stumbled back several steps.]
[Then, a crisp sound rang out.]
[Immediately following that, the lenses of Yakushi Kabuto's glasses shattered across the ground.]
[Seeing this, The Rookie 9 was also slightly surprised.]
[An invisible second-stage attack?]
[Thump—]
[Yakushi Kabuto held one of his bleeding ears and knelt on one knee.]
[The trail of blood flowing from his ear was extremely prominent.]
[At this time, the Genin present all turned to look.]
[In an instant, their hearts grew much heavier.]
[The way they looked at the Sound Ninja Trio also became more wary.]
[That strange-looking fellow's attack method was a bit bizarre.]
["Hmph!"]
["Nuisance."]
[Dosu gave a cold laugh.]
[He was quite satisfied with his attack.]
[With this delay, Zaku had no choice but to give up the attack and come to Dosu's side.]
["No wonder you haven't become a Chunin despite taking the Chunin Exams six times."]
["Weren't you just acting like a veteran, wanting to pass on your experience?"]
["Why aren't you talking now?"]
["Are you naturally disinclined to speak?"]
[Facing the mockery from Dosu and Zaku.]
[Yakushi Kabuto just hung his head, making no movement at all.]
[The two didn't know yet that Yakushi Kabuto had already developed killing intent.]
[Seeing this, Kin did not step forward; with this delay, a sneak attack was no longer meaningful.]
[Just then.]
[BOOM—!!!]
["You bastards, all of you shut up!"]