Chapter 137: Yakushi Kabuto’s Gift

Kurotsuchi stared in shock at the young man who had grabbed her ankle and taken advantage of her.

Her first reaction was that he was so handsome, she had the sudden urge to bring him home and have his children.

Then she was deeply shaken.

She had secretly cast the Light Weight Rock Technique on her legs, greatly boosting her attack power. Even a kick at a wall would leave a crater.

Yet this man had caught her leg effortlessly with one hand, didn't even budge, and was still taking advantage of her.

He's definitely strong. Kurotsuchi struggled, but found her leg couldn't move. Embarrassed, she shouted angrily, "Let go of me!"

"Is Konoha Village only good at bullying the weak? If you've got guts, let me fight that yellow-haired dwarf!"

Yellow-haired dwarf?

Naruto froze, looked around, then finally pointed at Temari, who had already unfolded her fan.

"Are you talking about her?"

Temari had a vein bulging on her forehead. She stormed over to Naruto.

"Idiot! You're half a head shorter than me! Who are you calling a yellow-haired dwarf?!"

"Damn it! So she meant me?!" Naruto finally caught on. He pointed at Kurotsuchi, shouting angrily, "Yami-nii, let her go! I'll teach this woman a lesson!"

"Shut up." Yami smiled as he glanced back at Naruto. Naruto immediately hid behind Sasuke, shivering.

Too scary… That smile's terrifying.

Yami let go of Kurotsuchi's leg, and she quickly pulled it back.

"This long-legged Iwa Genin, you should be thankful the Third Hokage just ordered me not to kill shinobi from other villages."

Yami smiled and looked up at a nearby tree.

"And you, little raccoon cat. Are you glaring at me?"

"This is Konoha. Even if the Kazekage or Tsuchikage were here, they'd have to lower their heads and behave."

Gaara's eyes were filled with killing intent. Yellow sand gathered under his feet.

But just as he prepared to send the sand toward Yami, an overwhelming killing aura swept through the area, dispersing the sand and dropping it powerlessly to the ground.

Others didn't sense anything, but Kurotsuchi, being the closest, felt it clearly.

It only lasted a moment, but her back was already drenched in cold sweat.

"Who… are you?"

Kurotsuchi's expression turned serious as she subtly stepped back, positioning herself between her teammates and Yami.

"Yami. Konoha Jōnin. The sensei of these two dwarfs."

"So it's you."

Kurotsuchi's eyes immediately turned hostile. Yami looked puzzled.

"I don't think we've met before. All the Iwa shinobi I've seen are already dead."

He wasn't in the habit of leaving anyone alive on missions.

"It's because the old man used you as a comparison for Deidara every day that he got so annoyed he defected!" Kurotsuchi shouted, revealing the reason.

Ever since the war with Kumo, Ōnoki had used Yami—who was the same age as Deidara—as an example to lecture him. On top of that, he wouldn't let Deidara study Explosion Release. Eventually, Deidara left Iwa in anger.

"That so?"

Realizing the reason, Yami smiled.

"Deidara, huh? If I run into him in the future, I'll kill him. Ōnoki doesn't need to thank me for eliminating a rogue ninja. Just count it as me doing a good deed."

"You…!"

Kurotsuchi gritted her teeth, but after confirming Yami's identity, she didn't dare say anything else. She glared at him and left with her teammates.

"Little raccoon cat."

Yami looked up again at the still-shocked Gaara and warned, "If you want to kill someone, wait until the exam. Cause trouble again, and I'll kick all the Suna candidates out of the village."

When he saw Gaara, Yami couldn't help but think of Masanobu and his own innate talent.

In that regard, the two were quite similar.

But that was it. Gaara was still a problematic child. Even if he would be redeemed in three years, they were not the same type of person.

Unless he became Yami's brother-in-law.

"Gaara." Temari hurried over to calm her brother, worried he'd lose control.

Gaara said nothing. He stared deeply at Yami, then turned and walked away alone.

Temari and Kankurō didn't dare follow. They looked awkwardly at the broken puppet under Sasuke's foot. Kankurō was heartbroken, almost in tears, but he didn't dare retrieve it.

"Take your broken junk with you."

Yami kicked the puppet over, then took Naruto and Sasuke away. Only after they left did Kankurō finally dare to run over and retrieve it.

"Yami-nii, are they the shinobi taking the Chūnin Exam?" Naruto asked curiously.

Before handing them over to Maruboshi Kosuke, Yami had explained the exam to them, so Naruto wasn't clueless.

"Yeah. They're from Suna and Iwa. They're part of the Five Great Nations and will be your biggest competition going forward. If you lose…"

Although Yami smiled while speaking, both Naruto and Sasuke shivered and quickly promised not to lose.

"So, confident in your training this month?"

"Of course!" Naruto puffed out his chest. "Grandpa Kosuke is amazing! I couldn't learn his jutsu, but I did learn a lot of taijutsu from him."

Sasuke also reluctantly admitted, "I judged him by his appearance. That old man is a real shinobi."

The first day Yami handed them over to Kosuke, the old man beat them both without a word.

After that, Sasuke got serious and followed orders without complaint.

Over the month, they completed three C-rank and two B-rank missions with Kosuke.

Not only did they gain experience, but Kosuke also shared all his battle knowledge and techniques without holding back.

And most importantly... the food on missions was really good.

Even though they were camping in the wild, Naruto and Sasuke had visibly gained weight. Naruto's face even looked rounder.

"Alright. I'll see how you perform. I already submitted your application. Get some rest these next few days. Be at the Academy by 9 AM for the shuttle."

After a few more words, Yami sent them off.

Yakushi Kabuto stepped out of the shadows, watching Naruto and Sasuke leave as he pushed his glasses up.

"So these are the disciples you took in, Yami-sama? They certainly have potential."

Yami shook his head. "Not just potential. They'll be powerhouses. Kabuto, when did you get back?"

"Three days ago."

Kabuto answered softly. "Lord Orochimaru sent me and two agents to participate in the Chūnin Exam. He's hoping to cultivate a few promising seeds in Konoha."

"Do as you like."

Yami waved casually. "Even spies need breaks. Stop by the orphanage or Root when you have free time."

"I visited Director Nonō yesterday. She and the orphanage are doing well."

Kabuto smiled warmly, his gaze toward Yami full of respect.

Nonō had left her days as a spy behind and become a full-time medical-nin. The orphanage had plenty of funding. Danzō no longer viewed it as a recruitment ground. Everyone there could grow up freely and choose their own paths.

All of this was something Kabuto had earned through his efforts.

People don't just seek identity and status. They also long for a sense of personal worth.

Kabuto cared more about the latter. Helping Nonō and the orphanage improve made him feel more fulfilled than learning any powerful jutsu.

But to remain valuable to Yami, Kabuto worked even harder.

"Sir, this is Orochimaru's latest research on the Curse Seal."

Kabuto handed Yami a gift from his return to the village.

As Orochimaru's right-hand man, he had access to everything except Impure World Reincarnation and Living Corpse Reincarnation. He could assist with all other experiments and retrieve valuable data.

"Curse Seal?"

Yami opened the scroll and examined it, nodding in approval.

"Good. This is just what I need. Well done."

"I'm glad you like it, Yami-sama," Kabuto said humbly.

The Curse Seal was a jutsu developed by Orochimaru.

Since Orochimaru lacked the qualifications to learn senjutsu, he found another path and developed the Curse Seal.

The core of the Curse Seal was natural energy extracted from Jūgo. Orochimaru would treat it and inject it into a shinobi, creating a pseudo-Sage Mode.

Though it didn't grant Sage Chakra, it could provide a power boost. With the Curse Seal Level Two, the user could even develop unique abilities.

Orochimaru couldn't use it himself, but it was a great tool for enhancing subordinates like Kurenai or Yugao.

That said, Yami wouldn't use it on any of his women until he solved the Curse Seal Level Two's mutation problem. It was too ugly.

As for the Curse Seal of Heaven and Earth, the only real difference was that Orochimaru embedded a piece of his soul in one.

Putting the scroll away, Yami said, "Keep an eye on Orochimaru's Impure World research for me. Guide him to improve his summoned bodies, and nothing else."

"Understood."

Kabuto smiled. "Lord Orochimaru is fully devoted to science these days."

"Oh, right."

While they were speaking, a team of tightly wrapped Kusagakure shinobi walked past not far away. Yami's smile instantly faded.

"If you run into Grass shinobi during the exam, just get rid of them. They annoy me."

"Yes, sir."

Although he didn't know what the Grass team did to anger Yami, Kabuto could only mourn for them and wish them good luck in their next life.

On the other side, Kurotsuchi and Temari had reported the conflict to their respective Jōnin leaders.

On the Iwa side, Monga frowned. "Takishi, do you realize how much trouble you've caused?"

"I told you many times before we came—keep a low profile. Don't let Konoha catch anything suspicious. What did you do?"

The blue-haired Genin subdued by Naruto lowered his head. "Sensei, I was reckless."

"Monga-senpai, Takishi didn't mean it."

Kurotsuchi stepped in to defend him. "You didn't see how arrogant the Suna Genin were. That clown-faced, yellow-haired girl started mocking us first."

"They were deliberately creating the illusion of discord between our two villages."

Monga sighed and explained, "Only if we appear to be in conflict will Konoha lower their guard."

"Who could've guessed you'd be so impulsive, taking action and provoking Yami…"

"…I see."

Kurotsuchi lowered her head, embarrassed. She had just been arguing with the yellow-haired girl, which had triggered everything.

"Forget it. Just be careful from now on."

Facing the granddaughter of the Third Tsuchikage, Monga didn't scold too harshly. "The plan doesn't start for another month. Until then, just act like normal Genin and don't do anything extra."

The three nodded. Remembering that handsome man from earlier, Kurotsuchi couldn't help but ask, "Monga-senpai, do we really have a way to deal with Yami?"

Monga smiled confidently. "With Lord Han here, even if Yami has Flying Thunder God, it won't change the outcome. This is the power of a Jinchūriki."

"Gaara, you did well just now. You didn't act rashly."

Baki praised Gaara, clearly relieved.

If this had been Suna, Gaara would've killed someone for speaking like that.

Even Temari looked at him strangely. He seemed completely different today.

Facing Baki's praise, Gaara shook his head calmly.

"I wanted to act, but... my sand was scared."

As his words fell, silence blanketed the room.

Baki's expression darkened. He now had a much deeper understanding of Yami's power.

"It's fine. Yami is a famous genius. Lord Kazekage and the others have a plan. We just follow it."

"I'll kill him."

Gaara walked to the door, ignoring Baki's words.

"Even if I can't, it can."

(To be continued.)

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