Jiraiya was fighting an undead Sasuke.
What had happened to this world?
When had the ninja war turned into a battle against the undead?
Turning human armies into someone else's soldiers—armies clearly under Otogakure's control? The very idea was horrifying.
Team 8 seized the opportunity to continue their mission: tracking down the source and uncovering the hidden motives behind the Otogakure ninja attacks. They wouldn't waste the chance Jiraiya had fought so hard to provide.
After some time, they finally located the entrance to the hiding place they had been searching for.
They knew it because Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru both picked up the distinct scent they had been tracking, along with a particularly strong smell of snakes.
For any tracker from the Inuzuka clan, this was clearly a location that had either been connected to Orochimaru in the past or still was.
"We have to go inside," Kiba said, standing at the entrance with Hinata, Shino Aburame, and Akamaru. "Jiraiya is over there fighting a zombified Sasuke. So we need to figure out what's happening down here and get back before something really bad happens—something that could cost Konoha one of its legendary figures."
"Lord Jiraiya can take care of himself," Shino assured his teammate, adjusting his glasses. "If anyone can deal with supernatural threats, it's him. Hinata, have you mapped the layout of the base yet?"
"Yes," Hinata replied. Using her Byakugan, she could see most of the cave system forming part of the base. "No traps… and no guards either."
Huh. Strange.
"It seems like a temporary site. The only chakra signatures I can detect are definitely from prisoners."
That was all Kiba needed to hear—he made his decision right then to lead the way inside.
There were people inside who needed help. These were Konoha ninja captured by the Otogakure attack unit. While he hoped some of them were still alive—so he could let them know exactly what he thought about prisoners taken from the rear lines—he would settle for destroying the place where these prisoners were being held.
That would make his day complete, be the perfect end to his fights in the northeastern region of Konoha.
He'd worked hard enough already—maybe he'd even get an on-the-spot promotion for his actions?
As cool as that sounded, right now nothing mattered more than stopping the threat to Konoha's frontline troops.
The seemingly endless corridor eventually opened up into a large room with perimeter fencing around prison cells holding groups of captives.
Each prisoner was cuffed, usually in groups of three, and many looked injured from their capture due to lack of medical treatment. Within some of those locked trios, one or two members were already dead.
None of the imprisoned seemed to have undergone interrogation, but everyone looked terrified.
Kiba reached out to grasp the balcony-railing-style bars—but immediately got shocked violently.
"Ow! Dammit!" He cursed, shaking the hand that had taken the electric hit. "How do we get them out? It's not sealed."
"I think it's the generator."
"We need to find it, even if it takes some time," Shino said while analyzing the prison.
Although he outwardly appeared very calm, his insects buzzed with agitation, mirroring his inner turmoil. Seeing sentient beings deliberately subjected to such conditions, he desperately wanted the one responsible for this situation to pay a heavy price.
Something felt off to one of them. Although there were many people here—more than fifty—the reports indicated that even more had been taken away. Far more.
Kiba hadn't picked up a strong enough scent of blood while passing through, suggesting not everyone had been executed. It seemed wasteful to go through the trouble of capturing so many people only to kill them.
Hinata hadn't spotted any other prisoners anywhere else in the hideout. These were all of them. So where were the others? Clearly, death alone couldn't have emptied those cells entirely. What exactly had happened?
"Ah, so many Konoha ninja. You've chosen to volunteer as test subjects instead of waiting for my underlings to collect you? How thoughtful. I wonder if my jutsu will work on a dog."
The voice was extremely smooth—confident, arrogant, completely indifferent to the mockery within the words. For Kiba and Akamaru, he was clearly the source of the snake-like scent.
As his voice echoed, many prisoners instinctively pressed themselves against the walls of their cages, despite being trapped inside.
It was a pale-skinned man wearing a deep crimson hooded cloak that concealed his entire body.
His head was covered by a hood with snake-like eyes, but beneath the cloak, his skin seemed to have a scaly texture.
"Who are you?" Hinata asked, carefully observing him with her Byakugan before taking a cautious step back.
Beneath the cloak, two snakes coiled around his waist—clearly fused to his body. His body was a fusion of DNA from countless sources—it was nearly impossible to tell what was originally his.
"What kind of person would do this to their own body—and why?"
"Oh… I'm disappointed. Miss Hinata, as stunning as ever, I'd hoped you might at least remember our past encounters."
The bizarre young man theatrically feigned sadness. "Though, I suppose that's precisely the point. I never meant to leave a lasting impression before leaving your village."
Shino had been closely observing this man until he carefully examined the face beneath the hood and noticed a particularly distinctive pair of glasses.
The glasses themselves weren't remarkable, but something about this man made them unforgettable—as if they were a signature. In fact, they were a crucial detail to watch for when tracking him.
"Kabuto Yakushi."
Kiba turned toward Shino, then back at Kabuto, shocked.
"The same guy who infiltrated our village during the Chunin Exams, spying for Otogakure? What the hell? He's the one pulling the strings?"
Kabuto Yakushi gave an exaggerated bow before the trio and the Ninja Hounds.
"The term 'Puppeteer Behind the Curtain' sounds too crude and beneath me. Welcome to my working laboratory."
He straightened his spine, grinning from ear to ear.
"I see you've already met my trusted test subjects. If you'd rather be locked away with the rest of your Konoha comrades, I can accommodate that as well, though it's not quite as simple as it seems. You've probably realized that by now."
Shino merely pointed at Kabuto Yakushi, his gaze burning from behind his sunglasses.
"You were the one who controlled Sasuke Uchiha through Impure World Reincarnation, weren't you?"
Kabuto Yakushi's laughter was all the confirmation he needed.
"What are you doing? Is Otogakure affiliated with Akatsuki?"
"No, not quite," Kabuto Yakushi chuckled while shaking his hand dismissively. "The leader of Akatsuki isn't someone I'd ever respect. He always claims to be God, which irritates me greatly. Honestly, the only reason he managed to gather so many ninja to fight alongside him is because they all know the legend of the Rinnegan, and they were terrified when he destroyed Sunagakure."
For Kabuto Yakushi, Tobi was far more interesting. Though they weren't allies either, he wanted to see how far that man would go, how deep he'd sink to get what he wanted out of the chaos of war.
But he wouldn't interfere. Watching those events unfold from afar was far more entertaining.
First, though, he had to eliminate these intruders, and then watch Sasuke eliminate Jiraiya.
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