Most of the powerful ninja at the top tier have mastered chakra manipulation to an extraordinary level. While saying they can do anything might be an exaggeration, replacing certain organs like changing clothes is certainly within their capabilities. The most impressive example would be Naruto Uzumaki's Yang Technique, which directly created a brand-new eye for Kakashi Hatake from nothing at all.
Unfortunately for Kabuto Yakushi, he had not yet reached that advanced stage where he could use Sage Arts to suppress both Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha together. With his current body and mediocre abilities, he couldn't effectively utilize the pair of Sharingan eyes in his possession.
Kabuto had no intention of betraying Lord Orochimaru. Unlike other subordinates of Orochimaru who followed him out of blind devotion, Kabuto felt mostly fear toward him. In his heart, however, what truly remained was his recognition and respect for Orochimaru's goals and ambitions—at least, this was how Kabuto saw himself. Many of his independent actions were simply attempts to follow in Orochimaru's footsteps. He would never admit them as acts of betrayal.
"There's no way I can seek Lord Orochimaru's help right now, nor do I have enough resources or time to advance my research. But I must accelerate progress—the time is limited. In three years, Lord Orochimaru will obtain Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan, and by then, I'll probably no longer be useful…"
Kabuto was fully aware of his position—as just a useful tool in Orochimaru's hands. Once he lost his usefulness, his situation would become precarious. His urge to do something meaningful about this state of affairs grew stronger every day. Of course, in Kabuto's mind, there was absolutely no possibility of Sasuke escaping from Orochimaru's grasp. As for the idea of Sasuke turning against Orochimaru, even in his dreams such absurdity had never crossed his thoughts.
After glancing through the intelligence report he had just placed down, Kabuto made up his mind. For his own future, if he wished to increase his value in Orochimaru's eyes and avoid ending up like those discarded pawns one after another, some necessary compromises would indeed be required.
"The Cursed Seal Technique and the Flying Thunder God Technique? Now that's a bold request! If he dared to make such a request months ago, who knows what unreasonable suggestion will come next this time?"
Many of Orochimaru's secret techniques originated from Konoha's forbidden jutsu, most of which came from the legacy of the Second Hokage. Kabuto, who participated in numerous forbidden experiments and development alongside Orochimaru, held many hidden cards in his sleeve. Impure World Reincarnation alone was unthinkable—an abhorrent technique that defied morality and human dignity; meddling with the dead was condemned in any age. The Flying Thunder God Technique demanded incredible skill from its user—if you lacked innate talent in Space–Time Ninjutsu, you wouldn't even understand the basics. The Cursed Seal Technique was even more complicated. Mimicking its general form wasn't difficult, but producing high-grade versions like the Cursed Seal of Heaven and the Cursed Seal of Earth set the bar extremely high.
Giving up two techniques he could never use anyway in exchange for something useful didn't bother Kabuto at all. The only issue was deciding precisely what to exchange for—it definitely needed careful calculation.
Inside a simple wooden inn, Mizuki leaned against the windowsill, watching the market below. This small town would be his resting place for the night—his pursuit of Utakata, the Six-Tails jinchuriki, had already lasted most of the day. Locating Utakata hadn't been difficult; unaware that his movements had been completely exposed, Utakata made no effort to hide his trail. Considering himself a rogue ninja with rich escape experience, he had done fairly well—unfortunately, he failed to realize just how valuable he was as a jinchuriki.
Utakata had only arrived in this town today, and Mizuki had been tailing him for some time before that. While moving through remote wilderness, Utakata had shown decent vigilance, but compared to Mizuki, it simply wasn't enough. The Breath-Sealing Art, which Mizuki primarily mastered to gather massive chakra for activating Sage Mode, also served as an extremely powerful aid in stealth and reconnaissance. By suppressing his presence effectively, Mizuki became a blind spot for sensors relying on chakra detection. Although Utakata's strength was no joke—Mizuki wouldn't confidently claim victory while still dealing with unstable physical conditions—Utakata was far inferior when it came to sensing and surveillance.
After arriving in the town, Utakata appeared to settle on a temporary stay. Even as ninjas, they were still human at the end of the day—food, drink, and rest were all unavoidable necessities, ones that could quickly drain a rogue ninja's funds. Out in the wilderness, every expense added up quickly. Without income, even rogue ninjas had to worry about feeding themselves. Of course, some turned to banditry, but such cases were rare. Most remained active within the ninja world as mercenaries. Bounty hunting was a common path taken by many rogue ninjas—earning rewards by collecting heads, or eventually having their own collected. That was the usual fate of most rogue ninjas.
Judging from how things looked now, Utakata, the Six-Tails jinchuriki, also seemed intent on gathering some resources here in this town. Mizuki, however, had no intention of getting too close or making any move. Utakata was currently in an emotionally unstable state, convinced that his mentor had betrayed him and consumed by paranoid thoughts of being targeted. Dealing with him would gain nothing but trouble. In the end, Mizuki merely chose a small inn located at a distance away from Utakata's residence. After all, the tailed beast chakra inside Utakata burned like a torchlight in darkness—it would be nearly impossible to lose track of him. Following him while enduring wind and exposure accomplished little. To Mizuki, this mission wasn't complicated at all. Fully aware of Utakata's abilities and inevitable outcome, Mizuki only needed to pretend to perform, wait patiently for Kirigakure's Anbu to arrive, engage Utakata in battle, then return and report completion.
Still, purely out of caution, Mizuki wanted to observe exactly how much Utakata deviated from what he remembered. Making additional confirmations could only help. Previously aboard the ship, Mizuki hadn't worried much about [ambushers]. What truly worried him was whether there were deviations between his memories and reality. For instance, just a few days ago at sea, those ambushers weren't of major concern—but back then, Mizuki's biggest fear had been the possible appearance of Guren, Orochimaru's underling.
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