---
The impaled Sai dissolved into a pool of ink.
"Actually, I'm just repeating Lord Danzō's words to you. If it makes you unhappy..." Sai's head popped out from the underground, "Then please do it yourself."
Orochimaru stared silently for a moment. Why is this kid so sloppy...
"Hmph, what an impolite child," Orochimaru said with contempt. "It's a matter of etiquette to show your true face when speaking to your elders. Now then, tell me what you came for."
"Actually, Lord Danzō has been attempting to contact Orochimaru-sama since the Konoha Crush," Sai replied. "He wishes to collaborate with you... to destroy Konoha."
"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with interest. "And why should I believe a word you say?"
Without hesitation, Sai retrieved a scroll from the backpack on his back and held it out toward Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto intervened cautiously.
Orochimaru waved him off, took the file, and began to skim its contents.
"I see," Orochimaru let out a sinister chuckle. "Your name is Sai, is it? Then come with us."
"Hai!" Sai responded promptly.
"Kabuto, prepare for departure," Orochimaru ordered. "We're leaving immediately."
"Hai!" Kabuto nodded and vanished into the forest.
Soon after, the three began their journey again.
"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said suddenly.
"Hm?" Orochimaru glanced at him.
"Could you prepare a healthy male corpse for me when we return?" Kabuto asked bluntly.
Orochimaru frowned. "Don't you still have test subjects?"
"I do, but it's just... a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old male specimen," Kabuto said as he unsealed a scroll and displayed it to Orochimaru.
The scroll revealed neatly arranged sealing arrays, each labeled with age and gender. The male inscription in one of the arrays was missing.
"If they're not organized in order by age, I can't focus..." Kabuto gestured toward the blank space.
"..." Orochimaru was silent for a beat. "Kabuto, are you a Virgo?"
"No, I'm a Scorpio," Kabuto replied seriously.
"Really?" Orochimaru muttered, caught off guard. "What a surprise."
They soon arrived at a barren desert.
A rock shifted slowly, revealing a tunnel that led underground. Dim torchlight flickered along the corridor, casting elongated shadows.
At the tunnel's end, in the heart of the darkness, a figure slowly opened his eyes. A pair of crimson Sharingan lit up in the left socket.
"You're too slow..." the voice growled.
It was Uchiha Sasuke.
Kabuto scowled and walked to a wall, pressing a switch with a click. Suddenly, a flood of bright white lights flooded the corridor.
"I told you already—turn on the damn lights when you're home. It's irritating walking into the dark. It messes with your eyes when you go back out!" Kabuto grumbled.
---
At the same time...
"Sakura-chan was gently slapping Naruto's sleeping face. "Hey~ Naruto~ Wake up!"
"Mmm... Don't mess around, Izumi..." Naruto murmured, pushing her hand away lazily—only for his palm to land squarely on her chest.
"AHHHH~!!" A piercing shriek shattered the sky.
Naruto rubbed the lump forming on his head and groaned, "Come on, I didn't mean it. I didn't feel anything! I touched it completely by accident!"
"Huh?" Sakura stared him down. "What did you just say?!"
"No! Nothing!" Naruto said hastily, puffing out his cheeks in righteous defiance. "Totally accidental!"
"Hmph!" Sakura whipped her head away, storming off in a huff.
---
Back underground...
"You're late, Orochimaru!" Sasuke said coldly. "Didn't we agree to train in new jutsu this afternoon?"
"There it is again," Kabuto muttered, rubbing his temples. "That tone..."
"Now, now, no need to get upset," Orochimaru said with an amused grin. "I brought you a gift today—a Konoha ninja like yourself. Perhaps he'll remind you of the village."
Sai approached Sasuke with a practiced smile. "It's our first meeting. I look forward to working with you. My name is—"
"Get lost," Sasuke snapped.
Sai's smile faltered.
"Even when I try to be polite, I'm always annoying," Sai chuckled. "Naruto thinks I'm annoying too. But I feel like you and I would get along better than he and I ever did..."
Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life.
In a blink, Sai found himself standing in a warped, crimson space. Above him hovered an enormous, spinning Sharingan.
A moment later, he staggered backward and collapsed onto the ground.
"Sasuke!" Kabuto shouted in protest.
Orochimaru looked at Sai with a mocking smirk. "Best not to provoke Sasuke. He's far more dangerous than I am. Heh..."
"I don't have time for this nonsense," Sasuke growled, standing. "Come on. We're training—now. Enough delays."
"I've heard a lot about you from the village," Sai said quickly as he stood, brushing off his pants. "Naruto's been searching for you for three years. He sees you as his brother."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "My only brother is the man who's spent his life trying to kill me."
With that, Sasuke vanished in an instant.
Orochimaru handed the folder Sai brought to Kabuto. "Make a copy of this. I'm going after Sasuke."
"Hai." Kabuto opened the document and examined it. "This is... the personnel list of Konoha's Anbu Black Ops?!"
Flipping through it, he found the profile of Yamato—the man he had previously fought—and muttered to himself, "It looks legitimate..."
He glanced up at Sai and began walking toward a nearby room. "You, follow me."
"Actually..." Sai gave an awkward grin. "I'd like to introduce myself to the others in the base."
Kabuto stopped and gave a knowing smile. "That's not necessary."
"Huh?" Sai blinked in confusion. "Why not?"
Kabuto's voice turned cold. "Because that's impossible now. The only people left alive in this base... are Sasuke and me."
He continued walking without another word.
---
Meanwhile, aboveground...
"This should be it!" Yamato said, pointing at a narrow tunnel entrance carved into the Gobi Desert. "The seed I left behind hasn't moved in quite some time."
"But if we don't know where the door is, how do we get in?" Sakura asked, peering into the rocks.
Yamato lay down and pressed his ear to the ground. "There's no sign of movement inside. It seems like only a small number of enemies are present... but we can't let our guard down."
He stood and walked to a small clearing. "Our opponent is one of the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru. There's also a strong chance that Sai has defected. We'll need to infiltrate the base silently—"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted behind Yamato, creating a massive crater in the earth. The tunnel to the base was now wide open, exposed to the daylight.
Naruto grinned, resting his hand on the back of his head.
"If all the enemies are dead, doesn't that count as a perfect infiltration?"
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