Yakushi Kabuto once again pushed up the glasses on his nose, a gesture that made him seem gentle and gave him some time to think.
He agreed.
What else could he do but agree? This blond kid in front of him had stripped him bare, leaving him with nothing. Moreover, this proposal accurately scratched at the itch deepest in his heart.
Danzo.
The moment that name came to mind, a dark current, a mix of hatred and fear, surged through Kabuto's blood. His life wasn't supposed to be this twisted.
"I'm very curious," Kabuto's voice returned to a steady tone, "How do you plan to 'test' him?"
Naruto didn't answer.
He merely turned, presenting his back to the top spy.
"Three days before the finals, in the evening."
"I will give you the location."
...Three days before the Chunin Exams finals, at dusk.
The lingering glow of the setting sun cast a lazy golden hue over the entire Konoha Village.
Using his identity, Yakushi Kabuto successfully requested a secret meeting with the Root organization, citing the irrefutable reason of "synchronizing Lord Orochimaru's latest experimental data."
Danzo, the old man hiding in Konoha's shadows, agreed, driven by his apprehension of Orochimaru and his thirst for information.
He never believed that he would be bitten by a snake's dog.
The location was carefully chosen by Naruto through Zero's intelligence network.
An abandoned, nameless small bridge on the outskirts of the Village.
The terrain here was open, with few inhabitants, making it an excellent spot for secret transactions.
Meanwhile, three kilometers away, an abandoned water tower stood like a rusted giant, solitary.
This was the command center for the entire operation.
It was also the sniper's nest.
At the top of the water tower, the wind was strong, biting at one's skin.
Naruto stood at the edge, overlooking the small, ant-sized bridge in the distance.
He bit his finger again, the taste of blood filling his mouth.
His palm pressed against the cold, rusted iron plate.
"Summoning Technique."
As with many times before, there was no white smoke.
A twisted, black battlefield mist, emanating a strong scent of rust and gunpowder, silently surged forth.
Karsten, clad in dark green power armor, appeared behind Naruto, kneeling on one knee.
He looked even more formidable than last time, the scratches on his armor a badge of honor.
This time, he did not carry the menacing Bolter.
Instead, he held a long, slender Imperial sniper rifle, its body covered in intricate circuitry, exuding a cold, technological feel.
"Political Commissar."
"Stand up, soldier." Naruto didn't turn around, pointing towards the distant bridge.
"Do you see that?"
Karsten stood up, looking in the direction Naruto was pointing.
"Target, the old man with bandages wrapped around his face."
Naruto's voice was colder than the wind at the top of the water tower.
"With your most precise shot, aim for his head."
He paused, then added.
"Remember, this is not just an assassination."
"This is data collection."
"I want you to record everything that happens after he is hit, every detail, every energy reaction, do not miss anything."
Karsten didn't ask why.
He simply lay down skillfully, resting the slender sniper rifle on the water tower's railing, his movements as fluid as breathing.
The high-magnification optical sight lit up, and the distant scene was instantly brought closer, becoming incredibly clear.
"Understood, Political Commissar."
His tone was that of a soldier's absolute obedience to a command.
"For the Emperor, I will put a bullet in his damned forehead."
On the nameless small bridge.
Danzo Shimura stood in the middle of the bridge, leaning on his cane.
Behind him stood two Root confidants wearing animal masks, their presence steady, like two lifeless stone statues.
"No Chakra signatures in the vicinity, sir."
"No other life signs within two kilometers."
One of the Root Ninja reported in a low voice; his sensory abilities were top-notch within Root.
Danzo nodded, his exposed single eye glinting with scrutiny and impatience.
Yakushi Kabuto's figure approached slowly from the other end of the bridge, unhurriedly.
He still maintained that gentle, harmless appearance.
"Speak," Danzo tapped his cane on the bridge surface, producing a dull thud, "What new tricks is Orochimaru playing?"
Yakushi Kabuto stopped three steps away, bowing slightly.
"Lord Danzo, Lord Orochimaru is very satisfied with the experimental subjects you provided last time."
He began to throw out some half-truths about Otogakure's troop deployment and experimental progress, following the script Naruto had given him beforehand.
...Currently, we have successfully reduced the risk of the Cursed Seal going berserk by seventeen percent, but the rejection reaction is still very strong, requiring more 'vessels' for screening."
"Hmph, he certainly knows how to make use of waste." Danzo snorted, noncommittal about the statement.
Yakushi Kabuto was extremely nervous internally, also considering the consequences if things went awry.
But on the surface, he remained the gentle and calculating spy, every word, every pause, perfectly timed.
As time slowly passed, his back was unknowingly drenched in cold sweat.
Where was Naruto?
Where was that kid?
He wouldn't have sold me out, would he? Leaving me alone to face this old fox?
The thought sent a chill through his limbs.
He even began to suspect that this was all a trap. A conspiracy for Naruto to use Danzo's hand to get rid of him.
Danzo also began to show impatience with Yakushi Kabuto's rambling and slammed his cane heavily on the ground.
"If it's just this, there's no need for me to come personally."
"Don't rush, Lord Danzo, I need to take my time explaining important matters." Yakushi Kabuto's heart beat faster and faster; the methods he had prepared to buy time were almost exhausted.
Danzo narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss. He re-examined his surroundings. According to his subordinate's report, there was no risk within two kilometers, but had anything been missed?
For example... Danzo unconsciously looked towards the tall tower to the side. It was very far away; could someone really attack from there? But the atmosphere on site already made him feel very uncomfortable.
He signaled to his subordinate beside him.
"Investigate."
The Root Ninja whistled, and a pre-prepared Summoning Hawk flew into the sky.
A hawk's vision extends much farther.
At the top of the water tower, three kilometers away.
Karsten's breathing and heartbeat had dropped to their lowest point.
He became one with the sniper rifle in his hands.
The crosshairs of the optical sight steadily framed Danzo's bandaged head.
"Target locked."
"Correcting for windage..."
"Ballistic calculation complete..."
On the bridge, Danzo grew increasingly annoyed by Yakushi Kabuto's circular talk, letting out a cold snort, preparing to reprimand him.
Suddenly, the piercing shriek of the Summoning Hawk startled him, and he completed three hand signs almost instantly: Hare, Boar, Ram.
"Fire."
Karsten gently squeezed the trigger.
There was no loud bang or muzzle flash.
There wasn't even the sound of a bullet leaving the barrel.
Only a nearly invisible energy beam, silently and at supersonic speed, cut through three kilometers of sky.
Yakushi Kabuto was still racking his brain for an escape plan.
Then, he witnessed a sight he would never forget in his life.
"Pfft."
A soft sound.
Like a ripe watermelon being dropped on the ground.
Across from him, Danzo's head completely exploded.
Red blood, white jelly-like matter, mixed with shattered skull fragments, sprayed backward in a fan shape.
That face, always bearing a cold and calculating expression, vanished instantly.
Only a neck cavity, continuously gushing liquid, remained.
Warm, heavily blood-scented liquid splattered all over Yakushi Kabuto's face.
He froze.
His entire body stiffened in place.
His mind was blank.
The two Ninja, touted as Root elites, were also completely stunned.
They hadn't even had time to react to what had happened.
Their master, the man they regarded as a god, was just... gone?
Time, at this moment, stretched infinitely.
The entire world became slow motion.
Yakushi Kabuto could clearly see Danzo's headless corpse first sway, then fall straight backward.
"Thud."
The corpse hit the bridge surface with a dull thud.
It also jolted the two dazed Root Ninja awake.
"Enemy attack!!!"
A shrill roar finally broke the eerie silence.
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