Chapter 546: An Absurd Thought

Chapter 546: Chapter 546: An Absurd Thought

Sitting cross-legged atop Garaga’s head, Kabuto wore a stiff expression, his gaze still somewhat vacant.

Just moments ago, he had witnessed the entire process of Naruto persuading Garaga and signing a summoning contract with him. Even now, he remained in a daze.

Beside him, Naruto declared loudly, "Garaga, you have to promise me that you won’t eat people anymore!"

Garaga replied in his deep, muffled voice, "Naruto, are you an idiot? Where am I supposed to find people to eat in a place like this?"

Naruto scratched his head. "So when you told me you ate people every day, you were just lying to me!"

"Hmph!"

Garaga snorted disdainfully.

Listening to Naruto and Garaga casually chatting back and forth, the corners of Kabuto’s mouth twitched.

As far as he knew, even someone as powerful as Orochimaru could never get along so harmoniously with Manda.

"I must be under a genjutsu!"

Kabuto shook his head, utterly convinced.

However, after trying several hand seals capable of dispelling genjutsu, nothing happened. At the same time, he discovered that he could still perform ninjutsu freely, and there was no sign whatsoever of interference with the flow of chakra inside his body.

"Could it be... that all of this is actually real...?"

Before long, under Garaga’s guidance, the group returned to the temple where the White Snake Sage resided.

Looking at Naruto sitting atop Garaga’s head, the White Snake Sage narrowed her eyes and smiled.

"It seems you’ve defeated Garaga and passed the trial."

Naruto hurriedly replied, "Granny, you’ve misunderstood! We didn’t defeat Garaga. We just became friends!"

"Hmph!"

Garaga snorted again and turned his enormous head to the side.

"Hehehe..."

After letting out a strange chuckle, the White Snake Sage swept her gaze over Naruto and said, "That also counts as passing the trial. Now then, which of you wishes to learn senjutsu?"

"Me! Me! Me!"

Naruto eagerly raised his hand. Kabuto had already piqued his interest in senjutsu long ago.

Hinata, meanwhile, lowered her head.

Although she wasn’t particularly interested in senjutsu, she very much wanted to train alongside Naruto. However, as the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family, there were strict clan regulations governing what she could train in and how she could train. She couldn’t simply do whatever she pleased.

Kabuto pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes before he quickly concealed it.

This time, he had indeed entered Ryuchi Cave under the pretext of escaping powerful enemies, partly because he wanted to glimpse the mysteries of senjutsu.

However, unlike his counterpart in the original timeline, who had lost his purpose in life after Orochimaru’s death, the current Kabuto naturally lacked the courage and determination to stake everything on such a gamble.

Moreover, before entering Ryuchi Cave, he had already secretly decided to use the carefree Naruto as a test subject to probe the depths of senjutsu.

Thus, Kabuto politely bowed to the White Snake Sage and said, "My apologies. I haven’t made up my mind yet."

The White Snake Sage waved her hand dismissively, not caring in the slightest. She then focused all her attention on Naruto and said with a beaming smile, "Ichikishimahime will be the one to guide you in learning the senjutsu of our Ryuchi Cave."

Whoosh...

No sooner had the White Snake Sage finished speaking than a figure appeared beside Naruto and led him toward the depths of the temple.

Watching Naruto being led away by Ichikishimahime, Kabuto suddenly felt, for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, that something about this trip to Ryuchi Cave was amiss.

He had the vague impression that, rather than them begging the White Snake Sage to teach them senjutsu, it was actually the White Snake Sage who was actively trying to pass down Ryuchi Cave’s senjutsu to Naruto.

"Maybe I’m just too nervous."

Kabuto quickly shook his head, dismissing the absurd thought.

...

Inside the Akatsuki base.

"Not bad. Keep up that rhythm..."

"Use your Sharingan to carefully observe the changes in my muscles..."

"Idiot! In this situation, using the Great Fireball Technique is nothing more than a waste of chakra..."

"The execution of ninjutsu needs to be coordinated with an appropriate battle strategy. Hastily unleashing ninjutsu without first formulating a proper strategy will only expose your openings to the enemy..."

On the training ground, Shinichi parried Sasuke’s attacks while instructing him in a stern voice.

Sasuke, meanwhile, didn’t argue in the slightest. He followed Shinichi’s instructions to the letter. Even though sweat poured from his entire body, and even though he had been beaten black and blue, he didn’t utter a single word of complaint.

Ever since his previous combat sparring session with Shinichi, Sasuke had realized that all the sparring sessions he had previously undergone at home with his elder brother Itachi and Shisui had been nothing more than childish ninja games.

Realizing this, Sasuke’s face burned with embarrassment.

Countless times, he had bragged to Naruto and Neji about how formidable he was during combat training, and how exceptionally he had performed against his powerful elder brother and Shisui.

But only now did he understand that Itachi and Shisui had been going easy on him from beginning to end. They had never taken their sparring sessions seriously, treating him entirely like a little child.

"Damn it!"

At the thought of this, Sasuke gritted his teeth. He was determined to prove to Itachi and Shisui that he was no longer a child, but a genuine shinobi!

At the edge of the training ground.

Neji watched Sasuke receiving Shinichi’s instruction with a complicated expression.

He couldn’t tell whether Sasuke was simply extraordinarily talented or Shinichi’s guidance was exceptionally effective. Whatever the reason, Sasuke’s progress over the past few days had been astonishing.

Previously, when he sparred with Sasuke, most of their matches ended in draws, and sometimes he could even gain a slight advantage. After all, the combination of the Byakugan and Gentle Fist offered undeniable advantages at the genin and chunin levels.

But over the past day or two, sparring with Sasuke had become increasingly difficult. Forget gaining the upper hand—even maintaining a draw had become extremely challenging.

Back when he was still with his clan, Neji had always believed that his talent was inferior to no one’s. It was the Caged Bird Cursed Seal on his forehead that restrained him, the fate of the branch family that held him back.

But after witnessing Sasuke’s rapid growth firsthand, he began to have doubts.

Obito was also watching from the sidelines, quite surprised by Sasuke’s growth.

Previously, when Obito heard that Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan at the age of eight, he had been surprised, but hadn’t paid it much attention. After all, at his level, ordinary geniuses were no longer worth his particular attention.

However, after witnessing Sasuke’s growth under Shinichi’s guidance, Obito suddenly felt that this child was indeed worth cultivating.

At that moment, Shinichi said indifferently, "That’s enough for today."

Sasuke nodded, panting heavily. "Thank you, Brother Shinichi!"

Sasuke’s gratitude was entirely sincere.

No one understood the improvement in his own strength better than he did. Thus, he felt that Uchiha Shinichi, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, was actually more suited to being his sensei than either his elder brother Itachi or Shisui.

After all, Itachi and Shisui simply spoiled him far too much.

Upon realizing this, Sasuke suddenly thought:

"Huh? That’s strange. Why do I actually like being treated strictly and scolded? Is there something wrong with me...?"