Fortunately, Naruto had enough sleep during the day, so he didn't feel sleepy even after staying up most of the night.
Hiding quietly in the dark, Naruto dared not make a sound. It was not until the middle of the night when he heard a quarrel from the neighboring inn that he suddenly opened his eyes.
Relying on his skills of climbing walls and climbing roofs that are more proficient than a peeper, Naruto slid down the slanted roof with ease.
As he approached the edge of the roof, he flattened himself against the wall like a puddle of water, using Chakra to minimize any sound.
After crossing the balcony between two buildings, Naruto leaped and hung onto the window of another inn.
Nothing in this world goes smoothly. It was all about careful planning. He had already mapped out the infiltration route a day earlier during his casual stroll.
Quietly opening the window, Naruto slipped into the room.
The lights were on in the room, but there was no sound. Tsunade's personal secretary, Shizune, fainted on the futon.
Kato Shizune is the niece of Kato Dan, who is known as cannon fodder version of Minato. Kato Dan pursued Tsunade but was not able to enjoy it before he died on the battlefield during the Second Shinobi World War.
Whether it was due to some Shinobi's dark humor or deliberate revenge...
The attack had been brutal and targeted, with Kato Dan's entire kidney removed.
It seemed to be another case of robbing beauty.
Fortunately, Shizune was a compliant person. Abducted by Tsunade since childhood, she had been shuffled through various casinos and kept as a maid. Years of hardship had made her exceptionally resilient to any situation.
Naruto shook Shizune's limp form but got no response.
As basin of cold water was poured on her face, Shizune jolted awake. She sat up straight from the futon and recognized Naruto at a glance.
She didn't care how Naruto got in, and quickly grabbed Naruto's hand and spoke anxiously, "Quick! Where's Jiraiya-sama? Tsunade-sama went to find Orochimaru alone!"
…
"He's here."
In a nearby tavern, Jiraiya was sprawled on a table, fast asleep.
Shizune and Naruto exchanged looks. Naruto went over and nudged the sleeping Jiraiya, while Shizune dipped a finger in Jiraiya's sake glass and smelled it.
"It looks like he won't wake up anytime soon." Naruto said.
"It's a sleeping drug Tsunade-sama used." Shizune frowned, "At this point, we can only do what we can do."
Naruto was horrified as he watched Shizune grit her teeth and pull out a scalpel.
"Shizune-san, this could be dangerous, right?"
"It's just to draw some blood to wake him up faster. There's no time to make an antidote." Shizune said anxiously, "Tsunade-sama is in danger. If we don't hurry…"
Naruto was convinced and stepped out of the way, then nodded, "Please increase the intensity."
After a while, Jiraiya woke up weakly, surveying his surroundings with a pale face.
"Shizune, is that you?"
"How did I end up here sleeping? I was just drinking with Tsunade…"
Naruto remained silent on the side.
After Tsunade had parted ways with him, she had gone to drug Jiraiya. It was still dark, and theoretically, if they rushed now, they might still make it in time.
Shizune didn't have time to explain further. She only urged, "We need to leave now. We'll discuss the rest on the way."
Jiraiya, weakened from the drug Tsunade had given him and the bloodletting performed by Shizune, looked pale and exhausted as they rushed to the battlefield.
"Hey, Pervy Sage, you're looking really pale?"
"Shut up, you brat."
"Pervy Sage, you are bleeding."
"It's just a minor injury." Jiraiya said, but he stopped mid-sentence, panting heavily and leaning against a tree, "You guys go first and leave a mark on the way." Jiraiya said while panting, "I don't have much Chakra in my body, and I won't be able to help if I go now."
"Hold on, and wait for me to come over."
Shizune frowned, hesitated for a while, and then gritted her teeth and agreed.
It wasn't long before Shizune, clutching the pig, Tonton, used her keen sense of smell to locate Tsunade's whereabouts.
"It's just ahead!"
A loud rumbling sound was heard not far away. Without needing further explanation from Shizune, Naruto could tell the direction from the numerous craters Tsunade's fight had created on the plain.
"Tsunade-sama!!"
Shizune rushed to the rescue, shooting poison needles from her wrist to drive away Kabuto, who was about to attack Tsunade. Tsunade's body was stained with blood, and at this moment, she was sitting on the ground, trembling with a terrified expression on her face.
'Hemophobia.'
'With such a troublesome condition, she still dare to come out and fight alone.'
While complaining in his heart, Naruto followed behind Shizune and pulled out the sword from the seal space. He wasn't used to kunai and preferred a sword. He's the holder of the belief, 'The longer the blade, the stronger it was.'
It is known that a Samurai from the Land of Iron could interrupt a Shinobi's hand seals if they were fast enough.
Naruto wasn't that fast yet, but he could still disrupt people's hand seals. So he drew his sword and without saying a word, he seamlessly followed the rhythm of the poison needles Shizune had fired.
Not giving Kabuto a chance to breathe, Naruto struck with his sword like a crescent moon. Kabuto barely managed to block the strike with his kunai.
Green Chakra was swirling in his other hand, which seemed to be the Chakra Scalpel Technique.
This is an advanced Medical Ninjutsu that uses Chakra to transform into a scalpel capable of cutting through muscle and blood vessels without causing visible injury. However, even the most skilled Medical-nin couldn't cut deeply in the middle of a battle.
The sharper the blade, the thinner it was, and the more prone it was to breaking, so the user need to be more careful and focused.
But Naruto wouldn't give Kabuto the chance. Strictly speaking, Kabuto is just using a blunt knife that can only cut the surface layers of muscle to incapacitate the target.
"Kyubi."
Through the gap in Naruto's raised arm, he saw Kabuto's mocking and sinister face. The round lenses of his glasses reflected light slightly.
During the Chunin Exams, Kabuto had tried to get close to Team 7, but was disrupted by Naruto. As a specialist in intelligence, Kabuto naturally knew about Naruto's past and deliberately called him Kyubi to provoke Naruto.
But Kabuto would never have expected that Naruto, a person from another world, is equally aware of Kabuto's background, and harbored ill intentions as well.
Kabuto was originally an orphan, and was later adopted by the Konoha Orphanage. However, due to his congenital nearsightedness, Konoha had no money for glasses to give an orphan.
The glasses on his face were given to him by the Orphanage's director and his most important guardian, Yakushi Nono. Later, that gentle woman died miserably at Kabuto's hands.
What's even more heartbreaking is that until the end, Nono didn't recognize Kabuto.
With nothing left to his name, the only thing Kabuto treasured was those glasses.
Naruto has no conscience, so he naturally will not let go of such a great opportunity. As they clashed, Naruto's expression grew increasingly mocking, and his sarcasm was higher than that of Kabuto Yakushi.
"Your glasses are so ugly, Nono."
Almost instantly, Kabuto's defenses were completely shattered, and the painful memories he wished to forget surged to the forefront of his mind.
"Die!"
The green Chakra Scalpel surged at this moment, and Kabuto almost went crazy.