In the depth of a forest in the Land of Rice Fields.
A mysterious figure in a black robe moved swiftly through the towering trees, resembling a flickering shadow in a fast-paced movie.
Soon, the mysterious figure came under a massive tree. The roots of the big tree were intricately intertwined and exposed, and deep in the roots, a hidden hole was faintly visible.
Unfortunately, the entrance had collapsed, burying the entire base under layers of soil.
The mysterious figure carefully examined the area and concluded that these events had transpired only within the last two days.
"Orochimaru sure acts very quickly." The mysterious figure sneered.
He is one of Kanpū's shadow clones. After receiving the images in Kimimaro's mind, he rushed to this location immediately, but unfortunately, even with his swift arrival, it was still a step too late.
Other than him, the shadow clones dispatched to Orochimaru's remaining bases had also returned empty-handed.
Fortunately, Ōmadara successfully swept through Orochimaru's northern island base, obtaining Jugo along with the Cursed Seal of Heaven and Earth, so in this matter, Kanpū's efforts were not in vain.
...
Land of Iron's Capital.
On the second floor of the Konoha Tavern.
As the day brightened, Jugo, who had been unconscious for most of the night, slowly opened his eyes. He stared blankly at the low ceiling, feeling unfamiliar with his surroundings. It took him a while to recall the events of the previous night!
'I… was taken captive?'
'How could this happen?!'
'Would I still be able to see Kimimaro in the future?'
Jugo felt a mixture of shock, anger, grievance and sadness, and tears rolled down his cheeks.
Although the Sage Transformation turned Jugo into a bloodthirsty and violent being, in normal times, he was a calm and honest guy!
In a daze, he left the room, descending to the first floor with a low spirit. Then, he saw a familiar figure sitting against the wall, eating dango.
"Kimimaro? Kimimaro! That's great." Jugo ran over towards him with excitement.
Kimimaro turned his head and looked towards Jugo with a silly expression, and asks: "Who are you?"
"Huh?"
The joy on Jugo's face froze momentarily. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Kimimaro, you… how… How could you not remember me?"
Kimimaro shook his head.
"I… I am Libra Jugo, your friend, we…" Jugo emphasizes what he wanted to say agitatedly.
"Don't bother."
A lazy voice came from the side, "Kimimaro's memory has been erased by Orochimaru."
"What?"
Jugo turned to see a tall, black-haired man with his back to them, eating something with his head down at this time.
"Who are you? What did you mean by that?" Jugo asked nervously.
Kanpū turned slightly, then said with a smile: "It means just as it sounds. You must be Libra Jugo. From now on, you'll be living here with Kimimaro."
"But, Kimimaro, he, I…" Jugo struggled to accept the fact that his friend had lost his memories.
After all, Kimimaro is Orochimaru's most valued subordinate. Why would he erase Kimimaro's memories? Also, who is the mysterious man who brought him here?
"If you're unwilling, I can arrange another place for you to stay."
With a fox-like smile, Kanpū said, "But in that case, you'll have to be separated from Kimimaro."
"No!"
Jugo decisively pushed away those messy thoughts and said with determination, "I am willing to stay here!"
'As long as I can be with Kimimaro, no matter where I am, no matter who I am with, it's the same!'
"Very well."
Kanpū nodded in satisfaction, "Jugo, from now on, you'll be in charge of taking care of Kimimaro, understand?"
"I-I understand." Jugo nodded repeatedly.
At this moment, the door of the tavern was opened from the outside, and Kabuto walked in with a big bag.
Kanpū glanced at it. The bag was filled with fresh ingredients, so he couldn't help but roll his eyes, and said: "Kabuto, it seems you really regard yourself as the boss of a tavern."
Kabuto chuckled and said: "It can't be helped. I have to make a living too."
'Living?'
'Didn't I give you research funding?'
'Cough!'
Kanpū calmly changed the topic and said: "Let's focus on removing the Cursed Seal."
"Understood." Kabuto acknowledged while simultaneously cleaning and storing the groceries. Then, he opened the door for business.
Konoha Tavern had been in operation for several years here, and attracted a group of regular customers. Shortly after, regular customers come to the door, sitting at the counter and ordering food while chatting with Kabuto.
Kanpū, feeling helpless, simply turned around to chat with Jugo and Kimimaro, while also taking the opportunity to defame Orochimaru.
It was busy until about ten o'clock in the morning, then there are no more customers.
Kabuto asked Kimimaro and Jugo to watch the store, and then entered the basement with Kanpū to start researching the Cursed Seal of Heaven and Earth.
For Kanpū, who knew nothing about seals, it was like the blind leading the blind. Therefore, he entrusted Kabuto with the task of enlightening him!
Although he can collect it, it still has a success rate. Moreover, compared with this kind of Cursed Seal, which can only improve the strength of his subordinates, Kanpū prefers to leave the Collection Technique to the ancestors of Toneri.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
On the fourth day, Kabuto successfully mastered the Cursed Seal of Heaven and Earth, and successfully removed the Cursed Seal of Earth on Kimimaro's chest!
At the moment the seal was removed, a strange white Chakra gushed out from Kimimaro's chest.
Kabuto squinted his eyes and asked: "Is this the cell that Orochimaru left inside Kimimaro's body?"
"Yes."
Kanpū smirked: 'Fortunately, I have great foresight!'
After that, he grabbed Kimimaro and activated Sage Mode, then instantly disappeared.
In the next moment, Kanpū and Kimimaro reappeared hundreds of kilometers away.
Goo, goo, goo...
The eerie white Chakra erupted from Kimimaro's chest like a spring, gradually transforming into a monstrous white-scaled snake. The face of the snake vaguely resembled Orochimaru.
"Gekko Kanpū!!!" The white scale snake roared with intense hatred, glaring at the person in front of him with undisguised anger.
Kanpū didn't bother to talk nonsense with it, pulled out the Kusanagi Sword and started slashing it!
"Konoha-Style - Thunder Dance!"
Crackle!
Lightning burst, and a dazzling blue sword light abruptly split the white-scaled snake in two.
Kanpū was always cautious. He continued to slash at both halves of the snake before finally chopping it into pieces and incinerating it with a burst of flames. Only then did he carry the still-unconscious Kimimaroback to the basement of the Konoha Tavern.
"Okay, the Cursed Seal is removed, so I should head back now."
With his concerns addressed, Kanpū planned to return home. However, to defame Orochimaru further and arrange for bandits to serve as test subjects for Kabuto, he decided to leave behind a shadow clone.
At the same time, in the Land of Fire.
In a dense forest about two hundred kilometers away from Konoha.
A group of Shinobi wearing Anbu's attire and masks is heading towards Konoha.
This group was none other than the sixth team of Anbu!
On that day, Kanpū left a shadow clone in the Land of Grass. Not long after he left, Shisui found information about Iwagakure's S-Rank Missing-nin, Deidara in the black market, and made a comparison to confirm that he was the culprit who attacked the small villages at the Land of Grass.
After telling the result to the leader of Kusagakure, Kanpū's shadow clone ignored the request of the leader of Kusagakure to jointly arrest Deidara and left the Land of Grass with Tenzo, Shisui, Itachi and the others.
They hurriedly made their way towards Konoha. As they approached, rain suddenly began to fall in the sky above the forest.
A shower of… paper rain!