"Get moving, we need to get out of here as soon as possible."
"What about the scroll? We'll be needing it to…" another man asked; however, he was interrupted before he could even complete his sentence.
"…the exam doesn't matter. Remember why we are here."
"Did the Leaf find out about our plan?" another man asked cautiously.
"You don't need to know something like that. Just do what you're tasked to do."
"What about Orochi—"
"Auff…."
Before the man could complete his words, he was backhanded by the man earlier, a solid strike to his midsection that made the earlier man almost stumble over.
"Don't forget your place, Yoroi. Do only what you're told to do," said the white-haired boy with a sneer on his face, adjusting his glasses.
This was Kabuto Yakushi with his two temporary teammates, Yoroi Akado and Misumi Tsurugi. The entire team were spies placed by Orochimaru in Konoha. Traitors to the village. Their mission was unknown to either Yoroi or Misumi. Only Kabuto seemed to be aware of the reason why they had to team up and participate in the Chunin Exams. They didn't mind — it was just the Chunin Exams after all — however, that dismissal changed with the recent events.
The fire rising from further away at the far-off section of the Forest of Death was dreadful. Their hearts trembled at the terrible destruction that could be sensed even from kilometers away up to their location.
Questions were inevitable in this case. Staying in the Forest of Death or in this exam wasn't just about orders anymore; they could lose their lives in this mission.
Of course, Kabuto refused to say anything. In fact, he himself wasn't certain what was happening on the other side of the forest. An inkling of doubt formed even in his mind, wondering what Orochimaru-sama planned to do. His lord's plan, even he wasn't aware of. Unlike the canon where Orochimaru was clear about taking over Sasuke's body, here he made that decision only later when he met the boy.
So for Kabuto, it was a toss-up. He would spy on Sasuke Uchiha if Orochimaru were to provide his mark on the boy; if not, then he would play along.
Without a clear motive, he had only one option — follow the rules of the Chunin Exams, find out where Team 7 was, and come in contact with Sasuke Uchiha.
At least that was the plan. Apparently, plans couldn't keep up. The reason why both Yoroi and Misumi hesitated to move further was partly where they were moving toward.
Kabuto made sure to know which entrance of the Forest of Death Team 7 had accessed. Unfortunately, both of their teams were further away, but that didn't stop Kabuto from following up on Team 7 — until the place they were going ended up becoming a war zone.
No wonder both Yoroi and Misumi hesitated to move further. Nevertheless, Kabuto still didn't plan to settle down. He was a spy, a double agent even. But he was loyal to Orochimaru. Always was, till the very end.
As for his team, again, he didn't care. Either they would come, or they would die sooner than planned.
"Move, we are already delayed," Kabuto chided and marched forward. However, no answer came.
Annoyed, he felt like just killing them and later feigning innocence. At least that would save him from their idiocy.
"If neither of you two move in the next second, I'll personally make sure you never reach the center…" Kabuto was saying and turned around, only to pause midway. His breath hitched and his body stiffened when he found both of his teammates beheaded, clearly cut open like a blade had run through them.
Before he knew it, their bodies slammed down to the ground with a thud, making him jolt out of his stunned state and immediately turn around to run — only to find a figure standing right behind him the entire time.
He instantly recognized him. There were few people who didn't know Sukuna Haruno recently; he was a rising star in the medical field in Konoha.
"Kabuto Yakushi, I believe we have business to discuss."
Swoosh Swoosh.
Before Sukuna was even done talking, Kabuto was already throwing kunai at him. The moment Sukuna moved to dodge the kunai, he planned to move and clash with him head-on. The fact that his teammates were killed immediately meant there was no reason to talk with the boy. Either they were found out, or the boy was here to kill off the competition. Either way, he was an enemy.
However, it didn't happen how Kabuto expected. Sukuna didn't dodge away. Instead, he just let the kunai hit his shoulders and abdomen with a thud — and then they fell down. It was as if the kunai were not made of iron, or the boy was iron-proof.
Kabuto halted at the scene, his cue to attack forgotten at the strange outcome. Did he throw the kunai wrong? Definitely not. He gave everything he had in that throw. If not dodged, then any normal shinobi would have found a sizable wound on them — nothing life-threatening but still inconvenient.
Sukuna just ignored the strange look he got from the white-haired boy. He usually would have dodged, most likely using Kamui to confuse the enemy. However, nowadays he was training his reinforcement. He couldn't even be bothered to dodge it.
"Quite rude to attack someone who wishes to talk with you. Perhaps you need a bit of convincing," Sukuna snorted.
Kabuto didn't halt to listen. He was already moving to attack Sukuna. He wasn't a ninjutsu type; however, his medical jutsu was quite advanced. He already had a chakra scalpel in his hand, rushing at Sukuna, ready to cut off his tendons or nerves if he got the chance.
As soon as he was in front of him, he swung his arm right at Sukuna's neck. To his surprise, the boy still didn't move. Kabuto for a second even thought the boy had given up, only to find his attack never connected. Only blood splashed against the boy's neck, which too didn't seem to connect — it dissolved into him, like it had never touched the pink-haired boy.
He blinked in confusion, and only a second later, when the pain hit, did he realize that his hand was cut off.
The entire limb was missing, fallen a bit further back.
"What! B-but how?" His eyes trembled. Fear gripped him like a venomous snake's hold.
"Ready to talk yet?" Sukuna yawned at the boy, looking extremely bored, making Kabuto's heart race. That indifferent attitude and his earlier show of power explained enough for the white-haired boy.
This wasn't a genin. This wasn't even a chunin he was dealing with. High jonin or Kage-level shinobi. Someone he couldn't go against. Absolutely not.
The decision was made in a split second. Kabuto turned around and, with all his strength, jumped back, using his top speed to make distance between them. He was near a tree branch, ready to hop on it and then run, when he felt a strange lightness in his body that was hard to explain. It wasn't the loss of balance due to losing a limb.
As soon as he was ready to step on the branch, he realized what it was — his legs…
They were gone.
Both of his legs were gone, cut off before he even knew it. His body hit the branch with a sickening thud, and then with blood pouring from all three lost limbs, he plummeted down to the ground.
'What! What happened?'
Kabuto's mind couldn't register this. Everything happened so fast. He couldn't even see any attacks coming. The boy didn't even move. His eyes darted aimlessly to find whether there was a third person hidden, but he didn't see a single soul.
Lying almost lifelessly on the ground, his body tried to move, using a single limb to hitch himself away, but there was no such luck.
"Ready to talk now?" Sukuna still asked in a bored manner.
"Answer carefully. I'm no longer interested in going for another limb. Next shall be your neck."
That finally stopped the hopeless struggle of the boy with glasses. He helplessly slumped down and just stared at Sukuna.
"What do you want?" he grunted.
Sukuna just gave a cocky smirk at the display. "So, now we're talking, huh? Good."
Kabuto completely ignored the cocky behavior. Surviving mattered right now. The fact he wasn't killed meant the boy needed something from him. He might survive this.
"Tell me, do you know what Binding Vows are?" Sukuna asked with a grin.
"Binding Vows?" Kabuto asked, confused.
Sukuna's grin just widened at that. "Oh, don't worry. You're gonna love them."
xXx
A/N : Hey hey hey… did you guys saw this coming. Well I'm certain most did by how MC operates. If usable control, if not, the kill.
Hmm, almost sound like I have seen that somewhere huh…
Maybe some stones to the head could help me remember. Hit me guys.
And oh, almost forgot. Remember I'm currently travelling so can't check all the chapters I write now. If you find any mistakes then tell me, I'll fix them ASAP !
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