Chapter 267: Time Passes

 

Kabuto's gaze made Sasuke want to draw his sword.

The medic supplied the compounds that strengthened his body, supported the accumulation of mental energy, and kept Orochimaru's training from destroying him. Without that usefulness, Sasuke might already have tested Chidori through his chest.

More troubling than the gaze was the evidence inside the test tube.

Nerves. Tracking. Genjutsu. Physical control. Information theft.

Only one person fit every piece.

Tonbo.

Sasuke had first considered Itachi. His brother possessed terrifying talent and had been described as thinking like a Hokage while still a child, but nothing in Itachi's history suggested years of biological and Yin Release research.

Tonbo had pursued Itachi. Tonbo led Konoha's Analysis Team. Tonbo had smiled and played tricks around Sasuke since childhood, and once gave him an indestructible figurine of his brother. The man always appeared mischievous yet gentle.

Now Sasuke wondered what had lived beneath the smile.

"Why did he plant this inside me? To steal Uchiha power? Is he no different from Orochimaru?"

Perhaps Tonbo's pursuit of Itachi awakened an interest in the Sharingan. Perhaps Sasuke had become the easier specimen after his brother fled.

The suspicion spread. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi—could anyone in Konoha be trusted if one of its senior shinobi had hidden a living network inside his body?

He remembered Tonbo speaking gently at the hospital and wondered whether every word had been chosen to keep the specimen calm. He remembered Kakashi standing nearby and could not know whether his teacher had approved. Even Naruto's pursuit might have served a village order rather than friendship. Anger made each memory fit the darkest explanation.

Sasuke's Sharingan turned faster. Chakra gathered behind the three tomoe as if another change were trying to begin.

Orochimaru did not notice. His attention remained on the sample.

"Tonbo is formidable. He likely implanted the nerves to interfere with my reincarnation."

Sasuke's eyes stopped accelerating.

Konoha had learned that Orochimaru could change bodies only once every three years. A hidden control network capable of resisting the soul transfer would explain why Tonbo acted before Sasuke ever decided to leave.

The explanation did not make the violation smaller. Protection imposed without his knowledge was still control. Yet it separated Tonbo's purpose from Orochimaru's desire to steal the Sharingan, and that difference was enough to interrupt the transformation gathering in Sasuke's eyes.

"It is an exquisite secret technique," Orochimaru said. "I would gladly trade for it—or cooperate with its creator. The ability to steal information from living and nonliving subjects would transform my research."

Orochimaru sought immortality so he could learn every jutsu and uncover every truth. A technique that turned bodies, objects, and battlefields into sources of information touched the core of that ambition.

Kabuto looked thoughtful.

"Do you believe Captain Tonbo wants the same thing? Immortality, perhaps, or another goal?"

Orochimaru remembered every encounter with him. Tonbo had never behaved like an ordinary Konoha shinobi. His caution, hidden strength, and impossible techniques suggested an ambition concealed behind service to the village.

"Perhaps he is using Konoha's power to reach his own objective. Interesting. He is simply more patient than I was. I suspect our paths will cross again."

He ordered Kabuto to seal every sample. Allowing the nerves to remain active risked guiding Tonbo to the base.

Kabuto spread a scroll, placed the test tubes and cultivated material within its formula, and closed the seal.

He layered the containment so that no strand touched the outside of the scroll and no chakra from the base fed it through the paper. The sample remained valuable, but preserving it mattered less than preventing an unnoticed signal from escaping.

Orochimaru turned to Sasuke.

"Does that not interest you? A man with such ability has hidden inside Konoha for years. His ambition may exceed mine."

"I do not care about Konoha," Sasuke said. "I want strength, and then I will kill Itachi. If this is finished, return to training."

"Such clarity. If only Kabuto possessed half of it."

Orochimaru walked out. Sasuke followed.

His face remained indifferent, but his thoughts returned to Naruto and Sakura. If Tonbo's ambition threatened them, would they ever see it behind that familiar smile?

Kabuto watched the two disappear down the corridor and pushed his glasses into place.

"Goal... Orochimaru truly favors you, Sasuke."

In Konoha, Konohamaru filled a training ground with gray smoke.

"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"

A spark ignited the cloud. The explosion shook the posts and sent Ebisu away with a Body Flicker.

The instructor landed outside the blast, wiped sweat from his face, and stared at the crater.

"That was close."

"Sensei, do not get distracted," Moegi called.

Ebisu turned. A water dragon roared toward him.

He substituted with a log. The jutsu crashed down—and Ebisu's feet landed in a clear, sticky liquid.

Udon completed his seals with a triumphant grin.

"Sensei, behold my new technique: Snot Goo Solidification!"

The mucus dripping from his nose merged with moisture drawn from the air. The substance hardened around Ebisu's sandals, climbed his legs, and spread across his body.

He tried to move. The binding only tightened.

"Udon, release him!" Konohamaru shouted. "If Ebisu-sensei suffocates in snot on our first day as genin, we will become famous for the wrong reason!"

"Oh! Right!"

Udon broke the technique.

Ebisu emerged green-faced and gasping.

"Was that disgusting jutsu truly made from your snot?"

Udon bristled.

"It is the ninjutsu that defeated you. Do not call it disgusting. I worked extremely hard to create it."

He had refused to fall behind Moegi and Konohamaru. Months of Academy theory, experiments, and advice from Tonbo finally produced a technique of his own.

The principle was inelegant and effective. His chakra increased the volume and adhesion of the mucus, while a Water Release component pulled additional moisture from the air. Once the mixture surrounded a target, a final transformation hardened it faster than ordinary strength could tear free.

Ebisu wanted to curse. Secretly, he was proud. The last children he remembered developing original techniques this young were prodigies like Kakashi—and Naruto, in his own chaotic way. Somehow Ebisu had become responsible for three gifted students at once.

Konohamaru had learned a dangerous Fire Release. Moegi controlled enough water to shape a dragon. Udon had built a binding technique from an embarrassing weakness everyone else mocked. Their teamwork had forced Ebisu through Body Flicker and Substitution before catching him on the landing.

Clearly, only an elite teacher could handle such a burden.

Konohamaru folded his arms.

"Sensei, you have become weak. If you cannot defeat the three of us, how will you teach us?"

"Nonsense. I was testing your strength. I never used my full power. If I became serious, the three of you would fall in a few exchanges."

"Then let us fight again."

Ebisu's expression stiffened.

"No. Today is your first day as genin, and I am treating the team to a large meal."

All three children cheered.

"Then we can save the rematch for next time," Konohamaru said generously.

Ebisu adjusted his glasses and tried to recover his dignity while snot, ash, and water covered the training ground around him.