142 Continuous Motion

To be honest, Kurama’s feelings toward Kabuto Yakushi were rather complicated.

On one hand, whether due to the erratic developments in the After Birth arc or the original character design, Kabuto’s entire identity and background were saturated with an overwhelming sense of melodrama that was almost unbearable to witness—

As a child, he was forcibly separated from his adoptive mother, the orphanage director who raised him. Later, they each undertook missions that ultimately turned them into targets hunting each other. He recognized her, but she failed to recognize him. In a moment of carelessness, he ended up killing everyone. Only later did he learn from others that her failure to recognize him was the result of someone else’s manipulation...

—Post-apocalyptic cultivation system.

Isn’t this exactly the kind of over-the-top plotline that often appears in countless web novels? Honestly, After Birth, you must have been lurking on Chinese fanfiction sites for years, right?

Recalling his younger self, once green and innocent, chasing the Naruto storyline into its later chapters, after reading the complete background of Kabuto’s character in After Birth—so dense and continuous that there was no room even for punctuation—Kurama couldn’t help but shake his head silently.

And that was just one side of it.

On the other hand, from the middle of the story onward, Kabuto’s increasingly apparent twisted and perverse nature—one that Kurama felt was no less disturbing than Orochimaru’s—was something Kurama could hardly praise. Just consider the segment during the Fourth Great Ninja War, when Kabuto showed no hesitation or remorse in mercilessly beating Tsunade and Naruto alike during battle. Such one-sided cruelty was enough to extinguish any shred of goodwill the Nine-Tails might have had for him.

Though years spent in the demon realm had eroded many of Kurama’s once “law-abiding, good boy” traits, the Nine-Tails still held firmly to his own principles and boundaries.

A critical one among these was: if one must take a life without any way to avoid it, and if the opponent has not committed any grave offense against those Kurama holds dear, then Kurama insists on dealing a swift, clean strike—allowing the enemy to pass away before feeling the full chill and terror of death, sparing them prolonged pain and torment.

Kurama did not see this as hypocrisy.

Everyone has their preferences and ways of doing things, and this just happens to be Kurama’s style.

He could not judge the choices of others whose values differed from his own as right or wrong, but whether to accept or detest those differences was his personal freedom.

Unfortunately, Kabuto’s choices landed squarely within the “detest” category in Kurama’s mind.

Shrugging, Kurama lowered his eyes to glance once more at Kabuto, whose fate remained uncertain, then lifted his head again with an expression unchanged:

“Let him remain in this state for now.”

He paused thoughtfully before continuing.

“If we kill him outright, who knows if some twist might resurrect him again. It’s better this way—his consciousness under the control of Hypnos. As long as we don’t will it, he has no chance of waking up. That’s much more reassuring.”

—No matter how defiant Obito is, he can never truly reach the level of a “god.” Haven’t the Five Kage’s combined strength only managed to seal, not destroy, divine beings such as the Sea Emperor and the Underworld King?

This proves that a colossal barrier still exists between even the most powerful humans and true gods.

Moreover... in the Holy War, the one “playing” with Athena and her Saints wasn’t even the Underworld King’s true form...

Thinking this, even the mighty Nine-Tails, who could barely rival divine beings, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy and resentment toward His Majesty’s innate talent.

Hades, who shared Kurama’s sentiments, looked at him with a slightly plaintive gaze and helplessly pinched his cheek.

“Think about how much effort I put in to ‘be reborn’ smoothly.”

He slumped, his handsome face unbothered as he revealed this old wound.

Sure enough, the seemingly cold and ruthless Hades turned out to be a softie beneath it all.

“Are you certain, my lord?” His lover’s eyes softened immediately, giving him a mild but pointed glare before striding after their two youngsters without even a “keep up” reminder—triggering a massive uproar in the Jin Yong universe.

Seeing this, Hades smiled indulgently.

He signaled the Gemini twins, casually opened a small spatial rift, and slipped the fully subdued Kabuto inside. Then, the Underworld King strode after his beloved’s retreating figure.

Behind him, the two slumbering gods exchanged a helpless glance, silently confirming once again in their hearts that their lord had completely fallen into the vortex named Kurama... indeed, a fact not to be denied.

***

Without encountering Kabuto or Gaara’s squad on the road, although a reckless trio of Sound ninja attacked, Sasuke and Naruto swiftly dealt with them together. They stripped the three so thoroughly that only loincloths remained, which they tied to a nearby tree.

This ruthless treatment made the approaching Rock Lee, who had missed the chance to play hero and save the day, tremble in disbelief, and his gaze toward Sasuke and Naruto shifted uneasily.

But the two young lords remained nonchalant.

“They had such foul mouths,” Naruto said, chin raised in a typical Sasuke-like manner.

“They said stuff like ‘I’ll kill your comrades and then you!’ Of course Sasuke couldn’t just let that slide!”

“Besides, I was kind enough to plead for their lives with just a loincloth left on them, or else...”

The little fox squinted, his gaze scanning the pale-faced Sound ninjas meaningfully.

The message was clear—otherwise, do you think they’d have left anything behind?

Hearing this, Lee’s expression froze.

He didn’t care if they could defeat Sasuke and Naruto, but trying to kill the girl he liked was just too much!

Though the Chūnin Exam was notoriously harsh and deadly, with candidates often losing their lives, Lee refused to see the girl he adored become one of those casualties.

Thinking this, the thick-browed boy turned his face away, choosing to ignore the nearly naked Sound ninjas—after all, Naruto hadn’t been exaggerating; this was already a mercy.

“What are your plans next?” Lee asked candidly, his gaze lingering on Sakura a few times.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged a glance and smiled slightly—clearly, they did not dislike Lee’s straightforwardness.

“We’ve already gathered two scrolls. Next, we plan to head to the tower at the center of the training ground,” Naruto answered openly, watching Lee’s expression carefully. Seeing him remain composed, Naruto’s smile grew warmer.

Lee, however, failed to notice this subtle shift in the little fox’s attitude.

He sighed regretfully. “Too bad our squad hasn’t gotten the other scroll yet. Otherwise, we could travel together.”

He then gave Sakura a meaningful look.

The girl felt her head nearly spin under those wide eyes!

She thought the boy’s character was decent! But... setting aside those thick eyebrows, what was with this awkward, spirited way of doing things? A unique boy like him was just too much for an ordinary girl like her to handle...

Watching her two mischievous companions—one quietly drinking water, the other oblivious to Lee’s obvious hints—standing there foolishly laughing, she silently covered her face, nearly despairing over the men of this world.

Eventually, because their goals diverged, Lee lingered a bit longer before reluctantly taking his leave, glancing back repeatedly.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, after a brief rest and replenishing water, resumed their journey, cautiously making their way to the central tower of the training ground.

Unlike the original story, this time the three encountered no further ambushes en route to the tower. Their smooth, easy progress surprised even Kurama, who followed behind. He thought their luck was too good—several times, they nearly crossed paths with other exam groups but somehow narrowly avoided them, passing safely every time.

Inside the tower, after unsealing the scrolls, they listened to Iruka’s explanations of the exam’s significance and the Chūnin’s role in the village. As one of the first groups to arrive, the three young ninjas happily caught some sleep, replenished their energy, and then, along with six other successful teams, attended the Third Hokage’s briefing.

Following the speech came the one-on-one matches.

This time, the personnel changes were significant compared to the original—Sound’s trio wiped out, replaced by an unknown group of grass ninja. Konoha lost a squad member—Kabuto, defeated by Hypnos. Even though two others managed to get scrolls and reach the tower, their mission was deemed a failure, and they did not qualify as the eighth team to pass. Instead, another Konoha squad, composed of graduates who had yet to pass the Chūnin Exam, took their place.

Moreover, since Sasuke was never bitten by Orochimaru this time, the cursed seal incident, Kakashi’s sealing help, and Orochimaru’s infiltration of the venue never occurred. So, while the final roster of candidates passing the preliminary round changed little, many details shifted considerably, giving Kurama and Hades, sitting leisurely watching, some unexpected anticipation for what was to come.

However, compared to their relaxed atmosphere, Orochimaru’s situation was far less favorable.

“Did you say... Kabuto is missing?” Orochimaru asked quietly, his pale, delicate face inscrutable as he stared down at a half-kneeling subordinate who dared not even breathe.

The subordinate, intimidated by Orochimaru’s calm tone, trembled slightly, bowing his head deeply toward his chest.

“Yes, sir,” he replied shakily, his face pale with terror. “Kabuto said he would go check on Sasuke’s situation, but he never returned. Even when we followed his trail, it abruptly ended without explanation, as if...”

Kabuto had simply vanished into thin air!

His lips trembled repeatedly, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to voice such an unbelievable notion before Orochimaru.

The black-haired youth gave no response.

He sat silently, fingers lightly stroking his lips, deep in thought, his mind unreadable.

Long after the subordinate’s hope had nearly died...

“Notify ‘that person.’ Tell him I accept his last proposal.”

“...Eh?!”