“Excellent!”
“Run one thousand laps around Konoha upside down!”
“And as a reward, another thousand laps!”
Yugao Uzuki had her arm linked with ShihōinNaraku’s as the two strolled through the streets, enjoying a sweet little date.
Then they spotted someone approaching from the opposite direction.
A figure was running toward them upside down.
Might Guy!
He was still wearing his trademark green jumpsuit, making him impossible to miss.
By now, no one in Konoha found Guy’s strange appearance or bizarre training methods particularly unusual.
After all, scenes like this happened every so often.
The reason they only happened every so often was simple enough—Might Guy was also a Konoha Jonin, and he had plenty of missions to deal with.
Naturally, he couldn’t spend every day running around the village upside down.
Everyone was familiar with him.
But ShihōinNaraku really didn’t want to greet Might Guy right now.
It was embarrassing.
Especially when he was out shopping with Yugao.
Unfortunately, Guy didn’t care about that at all.
The moment he saw Naraku, he enthusiastically called out to him.
“Yo!
Naraku!”
“…Guy.”
Naraku helplessly raised a hand in greeting.
“How’s your body?
Lately…”
The upside-down Might Guy immediately came closer and gave Naraku a thumbs-up.
His brilliant white teeth seemed to flash in the sunlight.
“Excellent!”
“Naraku’s medicine is incredible!”
“Could you stand normally when you talk to me?”
Several black lines appeared on ShihōinNaraku’s forehead.
“I don’t want to be staring at your crotch while we talk.”
“No problem!”
Might Guy performed an exaggerated leap, struck a dramatic pose in midair, and landed neatly on his feet.
“Much better.
Looking at how energetic you are, I can tell you’re doing great.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Naraku!”
Might Guy tilted his head forty-five degrees toward the sky.
His eyes widened dramatically, tears streaming down his face as he gave Naraku another enthusiastic thumbs-up.
“All right, all right.
As long as you’re fine.”
“You keep training.
I’ve got things to do.”
Naraku really didn’t want to stand in the middle of a crowded street chatting with Might Guy.
“Understood!”
“I’ll always support you!”
Might Guy shook his body dramatically.
Then, somehow, a flag appeared in his hands, and he began waving it wildly.
Even Yugao Uzuki was speechless at the spectacle.
She quickly grabbed Naraku and dragged him away.
Only after they had put considerable distance between themselves and Guy did the two of them simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.
“Why is Guy-senpai so enthusiastic about you?”
That scene had been absurd.
Although Yugao wasn’t particularly close to Might Guy, she knew that Naraku must have done something for him.
“I just helped him out a little.”
Naraku didn’t elaborate, and Yugao naturally didn’t press him.
At this point, there was no one in the entire shinobi world who understood the power of the Eight Gates better than Naraku.
Naturally, Naraku had wanted to learn the Eight Gates from Might Guy from an early age.
Guy was an incredibly straightforward person.
If you wanted to learn, he was willing to teach.
Unfortunately, Naraku’s talent lay in spiritual energy rather than physical strength.
As a result, although he had learned the Eight Gates, he could only open the First Gate: the Gate of Opening.
After that, Naraku could only give up on his dream of experiencing the kind of battle where one kick nearly ended the entire story.
Still, as a friend and comrade, he hadn’t merely taken advantage of Guy.
Instead, he had done Guy a huge favor.
ShihōinNaraku had helped Might Guy improve the medicinal formula he used for his taijutsu training.
Why did Might Guy spend years performing such brutal physical training?
Because he needed to strengthen his body to withstand the terrifying strain caused by opening the Eight Gates.
If his body wasn’t trained to a sufficient level, there was no need to talk about unleashing overwhelming power.
Simply opening the Eight Gates could cause his body to collapse.
And because Guy had trained in taijutsu for so many years, he inevitably suffered from numerous internal injuries.
Fortunately, he possessed a family medicinal formula that helped his exhausted body recover.
Naraku had further improved that formula, allowing Guy’s body to recover faster and more effectively after his intense training.
For Might Guy, this had been an enormous help.
That was why he had always been deeply grateful to Naraku.
…
“The group of people who returned to the ANBU from Root really has gathered together.”
“There’s Team Moon, led by ‘Moon,’ and Team Three, led by ‘Three.’ Every member of those two teams originally belonged to Root.”
“Everyone knows they’re still secretly following Danzō ‘s orders.”
“But as long as they complete the missions assigned by Lord Hokage, Kakashi-senpai has never said anything about it.”
Yugao told Naraku everything she knew about the ANBU.
Coincidentally, the two teams composed of former Root members had both been assigned under Naraku’s command.
“Kakashi and I aren’t the same…”
ShihōinNaraku looked at the scroll in his hand.
Learning the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal wasn’t going to be easy.
Sure enough, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had given Naraku the complete sealing technique.
But for now, Naraku had no need to master the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal itself.
All he needed was to learn how to remove it.
…
Konoha Medical Department.
ShihōinNaraku studied the documents in his hand thoughtfully.
“Elder Mitokado and Elder Utatane have already gone to the hospital.
They visited several nobles from the Land of Fire who are staying in the village for medical treatment.”
“Hachiya Ao only just returned to Medical Division.
He hasn’t made any unusual moves yet, but he’s paying close attention to the department’s finances.
For now, though, he hasn’t been able to interfere.”
“So, Lord Naraku, you mean…”
A medical ninja stood before Naraku, reporting on the changes that had taken place in the Medical Department recently.
He was already the fourth medical ninja to appear before Naraku.
Although Naraku’s managerial authority over Medical Division had been stripped away, he still had a firm grasp on everything happening inside it.
“All right.
You can leave for now.”
“Have Yakushi Kabuto keep a close eye on Hachiya Ao.”
“Yes!”
After watching the man leave, Naraku fell into thought.
“The two elders are mainly concerned with maintaining their connections to the Land of Fire.”
“As for Hachiya Ao, he’s probably planning to secure some funding for Danzō first so Root can rebuild itself.”
There shouldn’t be any major problems for now.
With Yakushi Kabuto keeping watch, nothing unexpected should happen.
That’s right.
Yakushi Kabuto was one of Naraku’s subordinates.
Or rather, in this version of the Naruto world, Yakushi Kabuto had been personally trained by Naraku.
All of Kabuto’s medical ninjutsu had been learned from him.
Kabuto himself possessed exceptional talent in medical ninjutsu.
So even though he also had connections to Danzō and Orochimaru, Naraku didn’t particularly care.
As long as Kabuto completed the tasks Naraku assigned to him, Naraku didn’t care who else he served.
And Kabuto had indeed lived up to his expectations.
During Naraku’s years of controlling Medical Division, Kabuto had helped him tremendously.
…
Land of Grass.
A forest.
Dense trees blocked out the sunlight, casting the surroundings into gloomy darkness.
Hidden somewhere within the forest was a concealed underground base.
“Thud!”
A muffled sound came from beneath the earth.
Before long, a man with pale skin, long hair, and snake-like pupils emerged from an extremely well-hidden entrance.
Orochimaru!
One of the legendary Sannin of the shinobi world, Orochimaru had appeared here.
He hurried away from the area.
But not long afterward, he returned and entered the base once more.
“Hehehe…”
“Excellent.
Very excellent!”
A cruel light flashed through Orochimaru’s snake-like pupils.
His pale face was filled with feverish excitement.
“The experimental subject’s condition has improved tremendously!”
He didn’t even glance at the experimental subject lying lifeless before him.
Instead, he repeatedly examined the experimental data in his hands.
Before long, Orochimaru’s subordinates cleaned up the somewhat chaotic laboratory.
The failed experimental subject was dragged away.
“What a shame.”
“I should have taken Naraku with me back then.”
“Tsunade has wasted that boy’s talent…”