Inside the Jōnin Station, Minato sat behind a desk while reviewing a stack of requests from the two standing opposite from him: Alex and Jada.
Their plan to him was to hunt down Orochimaru's primary henchman. Yet Minato did not look like he wanted to let them go alone.
"Kabuto Yakushi is an s-rank threat," he stated. "Taking him on requires a full squad. You two understand, don't you?"
Alex argued with logic by assuring the former Hokage that they would be fine. How he did this was by outlining their tracking methods, their countermeasures for snake summons, and the tactical advantage of having a space-time user and a Byakugan user on the same team.
Minato looked between the two of them. They were undeniably talented, having already survived encounters that would have killed veteran shinobi. He had to reconsider.
"I guess if there's anyone qualified to do the job, it would be you two," he said. He then reached for a blank mission scroll, stamped it with a seal, and slid it across the desk. "You're approved to capture Kabuto. Dead or alive."
Jada beamed. "Thanks, Minato-sensei!"
A few minutes later, Alex led Jada away from the administrative district and down into the hidden, subterranean levels of the village.
They were now in the winding tunnels of Root. Quite the contrast to the peaceful village above.
Jada looked around, feeling impressed by the layout. Thankfully, it was Alex running the show here.
When they made it to the center chamber on a circular platform, two figures dropped silently from the ceiling. Both wore their standard cat-like porcelain masks.
Jada didn't need to see their faces or activate her Sharingan to tell who they were. The posture, the shape of their forms without cloaks on—it was Sai and Yamato.
She smiled warmly, knowing that they were faring significantly better than what their original story would have been under Danzo's thumb.
"Here's the details," Sai said, handing Alex a scroll.
His voice lacked the manufactured cheerfulness she remembered from the lore. He handed Alex a sealed scroll. But she knew he wasn't the same broken tool.
Alex soon broke the seal and verified the intelligence. "Looks like we're traveling to the Land of Waves. Based on the supply chain disruptions, Kabuto's likely scouting near the eastern ports."
Jada was fine with heading to that location. Before she could say anything to him, she planned to talk to Sai and Yamato. But the two operatives turned and vanished into the shadows.
"Wait!" she tried. Needless to say, they were strictly on the clock and had no time to converse with her. So Jada dropped her hand and smirked at Alex. "You better take care of those two."
"No need to tell me twice," he chuckled.
While the two were prepping to leave, Alex had explained that Sai was still struggling with the emotional aspects of Alex's new leadership. But this was good news because now Sai wouldn't have to be a burden on Team 7 again.
Later that afternoon, Jada placed a hand on Alex's shoulder and activated her Flying raijin. They would quickly arrive to the fog-choked air of the Land of Waves.
This was possible for her to travel here since she had once stamped a formula during her first visit, back when she came to spectate Arthur's taijutsu tournament.
The coastal town was loud, filled with the sounds of merchants haggling and boats knocking against wooden docks.
"I think it's best we split up to cover ground," Alex suggested. "If either of us finds something, you'll use your fr, mkay?"
"Got it!"
They soon went their separate ways as Jada was eventually spotted leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
A whole hour was spent scanning the alleyways and the crowds below. When she couldn't find any clues, she dropped down into the market squares and asked various citizens if anyone matched the description of Kabuto.
Every local shook their heads before heading back to their business.
Jada grew frustrated. Surely Kabuto couldn't have been far. The reports explicitly stated that he was last spotted in this country not long ago. He had to be gathering supplies or something.
Suddenly, her senses alerted her to Alex's location.
'Flying raijin!'
The market vanished as she reappeared on jagged stone. She almost stumbled, caught off guard by the altitude. Alex and her were currently standing atop the highest mountain peak overlooking the coastal borders.
"How did you get here so fast?!" she said, amazed at how high up they were.
The climb alone would have taken hours.
"I know you didn't forget I could fly."
"I actually almost did," she admitted, catching her breath. "So, what'd you find?"
Alex pointed out toward the east, where the fog began to thin near the forest. "He's walking over there toward the borders."
Jada squinted, trying to follow the line of his finger. She looked hard, but the distance was simply too great. The trees were just blurry green shapes where the naked eye couldn't see anyone.
"You must always feel cool since you have the Byakugan," she knew.
"Hey, I try."
"Show off," she chuckled.
It was both impressive and a little disheartening to her. What she had failed to do through months of legwork and questioning, he had managed in just moments thanks to being the leader of Root.
The two soon dropped down the mountainside before cutting an angle to intercept the target. A moment later, they dropped out of the foliage and landed squarely on the dirt trail, completely blocking Kabuto's route.
Kabuto was wearing a crimson cloak with a hood pulled over his head, trying to blend in as a traveler. When he saw them, he just smirked.
"Well, well," he began in a smooth tone, "I didn't think I'd be seeing you two this early. The Leaf's tracking division must have improved."
Neither Jada nor Alex was affrighted because when they looked at him, his skin was still its natural, pale shape. No reptilian slits. This meant he hadn't yet unlocked Snake Sage Mode.
Alex also noticed the heavy bulk under the man's cloak. Kabuto was merely collecting DNA right now, based on how many thick sealing scrolls were strapped to his person.
"Kabuto," Alex began, keeping his hands away from his weapons. "We didn't come here to fight."
"Yeah," Jada added, taking a slow step forward. "We just wanted to talk to you."
Hearing this, Kabuto's smirk vanished. He leaped backward, creating twenty yards of distance in a split second. Then he reached into his cloak and unfurled a large scroll, spreading it across the dirt with a snap of his wrists.
The tomoe spun in Jada's eyes, and the veins bulged around Alex's temples as they both activated their dōjutsus.
"And just what makes you think I'd be willing to talk to the people who destroyed the Sound Village?" Kabuto threatened.
"We didn't destroy the village," Jada quickly countered. "Jasper did that on his own. And in case you didn't know, he's joined the Akatsuki."
Kabuto scoffed, clearly not interested. As his palm hovered over the ink symbols, his gaze shifted toward Alex. Why he was agitated was solely because of Alex.
"A shame lord Orochimaru and I didn't live to dissect you when we had the chance."
Alex didn't rise to the bait. Instead, he pulled down the collar of his shirt, exposing his shoulder. "He did leave a parting gift, though. But I fixed it." Then the black, jagged lines of a curse mark briefly appeared on his skin.
Yet the pattern was completely inverted. The chakra was white and flowed backward, neutralizing itself before fading away entirely.
Kabuto narrowed his eyes even further. Orochimaru's cursed seals were meant to be permanent anchors, unbreakable by conventional sealing arts. For a teenager to actively reverse the polarity of the senjutsu chakra meant Alex possessed an understanding of cellular manipulation that rivaled Kabuto's own.
"We know what you are doing out here," Jada said. "Kabuto, please, you aren't Orochimaru; you're your own person."
Kabuto let out a hollow laugh. "You know nothing about me."
That's when Alex finally deactivated his Byakugan. "We know about Nonō Yakushi…"
Kabuto froze. The name hit him unexpectedly.
"We know about the orphanage," Alex continued, taking a slow step forward. "We know Danzo took you. And we know exactly what he did to her."
Kabuto's hand began to shake. "Shut up," he hissed, stepping back.
Alex didn't stop. He raised his hand and cast a specialized genjutsu to project the truth.
The forest faded as Kabuto found himself standing in a sterile room.
"Crap!" he said, having let his guard down.
He was going to dispel the illusion until he began to see what was in front of him: Root headquarters.
Alex's voice echoed, stating that he was now the leader of Root. It was a lie to get Kabuto to trust him with the foreknowledge.
In front of Kabuto appeared files that showed how he was being manipulated. When he refused to look, Alex forced Kabuto to watch a phantom projection of Danzo switching the photographs of a young Kabuto before handing Nonō pictures of a different boy.
Kabuto watched the illusionary Nonō stare at the fake photos. He watched Danzo orchestrate the assassination mission, intentionally sending them to kill each other in the Rain Village.
"She didn't forget you, Kabuto," Alex said in the void. "She just didn't know you because Danzo blinded her. Can't you see that they treated you like the tool you were never meant to be?"
"You're lying…!" Kabuto said in anger.
On the outside, he was standing still. So Alex pleaded to Jada to help enforce the genjutsu before it could be broken. Jada wasted no time activating her Mangekyō Sharingan.
Back in the genjutsu world, Kabuto dove down into an abyss. He continued to fall until a bright light flashed before him. When he opened his eyes, he was now outside his old home: the village orphanage.
An hour later, the illusion finally shattered.
Kabuto dropped to his knees as he gasped for air. The truth had broken his current worldview entirely. Now he believed he had been robbed, abandoned, unloved, and forgotten by the only mother he ever knew.
Tears slipped out from beneath his glasses as Jada walked over to him. "It's alright," she said, crouching to his side. "You're not alone anymore."
Kabuto stayed on his knees for a long time, staring at the scroll beneath his hand.
A minute later, after coping, he rolled the parchment up and tucked it away.
"Come with us," Jada softly said. "There's a home for you as a medical ninja in the Leaf. And I promise, we'll accept you."
"Alright," Kabuto whispered. "I'll go. There's nothing left for me out here anyway."
Jada let out a quiet breath. This actually warmed her heart.
For a tense second back there, she truly thought her and Alex were going to have to put up a physical fight and drag him back in chains. To think things went well in their favour through simple empathy and truth.
All of it had felt like a massive victory.
By no means was it solely the genjutsu that played the biggest role; it was Alex getting Kabuto to be humble and to stop trying to alter events in the latter's favour.
Kabuto, by stopping trying to make himself into something new and instead accepting who he's always been deep down, made him glad to have rediscovered his long-abandoned identity.
Now he felt indebted to the two for showing it to him. The only way he wanted to return the favour was by following them.
Kabuto pushed himself up from the dirt before brushing the dust from his cloak. Then he adjusted his glasses as the glare returned to the lenses. "I'd prefer you not mark me if we're going to teleport there."
Jada was a little surprised by the request. Sasuke or someone must have informed Kabuto of her specific abilities. But that didn't stop her from smiling.
"Deal!"