Chapter 6

  +Sasuke Uchiha+

  Waking up from another painful experience didn't really make me happy. Especially when you consider the fact that I woke up as Sasuke Uchiha with the pain of the Curse Seal. And then even before the night was over, I had to go through the pain of getting the Curse Seal, getting sealed…

  Safe to say I have a newfound hate for Orochimaru. I vowed to myself that the snake wouldn't be able to get away this time. Not again.

  The smell of antiseptic hit me first, followed by the steady beep-beep-beep of a heart monitor somewhere close to my ear. When I finally forced my eyes open, things became even clearer. Just like the canon timeline, I was in a hospital ward.

  White walls, pale green curtains half-drawn around the bed, sunlight snting in through tall windows. The only thing I wasn't sure about was how long I'd been out cold. There was a good chance I'd missed the prelims entirely, which meant I lost the chance to fight in the finals of the Chūnin Exams.

  'My chakra seems to be in far better shape. In fact, it seems the amount of chakra I have increased… Good thing, I guess.' I checked my body by channelling chakra throughout my whole system in a slow, even flow. It was a basic and crude way to test, but it was the only method I really knew, without being able to see it properly or touch it with my hands.

  The refreshing feeling of the Curse Seal not trying to cw its way up my thoughts anymore was nice, but it didn't mean it was gone. A solid portion of my chakra was still busy keeping the damn thing caged. I could feel the seal sitting there on the back of my neck like a cold weight, quiet for now but definitely not dead.

  '...It's 7 in the morning.' I calcuted the time from the way the sunlight was coming in low through the front gss window of the hospital, soft gold light catching on the metal bed frame. The wall clock above the door confirmed it, 7:02. Not bad for someone who'd been unconscious for who-knows-how-long.

  "So, you're finally awake." The door to the room slid open with a soft hiss, and Kakashi's calm voice drifted in before he did. He stepped inside, hands in his pockets, with that usual slouch in his posture. "And here I thought you were going to miss the preliminary."

  "What preliminary?" I asked with a frown, keeping my tone confused because I wasn't supposed to know about them yet. "And how long was I out cold?"

  "Hmmm, quite impatient like always." Kakashi tilted his head, the visible part of his eye crinkling in that familiar eye-smile. "But to answer your question, today is the st day of the second part of the Chūnin Exam." He paused, letting that sink in.

  "As for what and why there would be a preliminary, you'll find out yourself. All the genin who passed the second part have to gather in the tower by 12… Which means you have less than five hours to get yourself together and continue the Chūnin Exam… if you want to continue that, is?"

  He made the st part sound like a question, casual, almost zy. But I knew better. Things had already gotten as bad as they could get with Orochimaru involved, and even if there was only a small chance that Kakashi wouldn't teach me Chidori if I couldn't make it into the finals, I wasn't willing to take the risk.

  That jutsu was just too important, too perfect for me.

  "So, I have to get ready to continue the Chūnin Exam? That's what you're saying." I sat up slowly, ignoring the faint ache in my muscles, and pulled the IV needle out of my wrist with a quick tug. Blood welled up immediately, but I pressed a small square of gauze from the bedside tray over it and wrapped a bandage around it with the same calm movements.

  "...Why must you always be in such a hurry?" Kakashi sighed, stepping closer. His hand started to glow with soft green medical chakra, and he pressed it gently over the bandage for a few seconds. The sting faded almost instantly, the skin knitting back together under the cool pressure. "The more I see you, the more I realise instead of you influencing Naruto, he seems to have influenced you to become more reckless."

  I ignored the compint and peeled back the bandage once he lifted his hand. The puncture was gone—smooth skin, not even a scar. For a brief moment, it hit me again: yeah, I hadn't been thinking clearly. Fuinjutsu wasn't the only great ninja art that could help me. Medical ninjutsu was right there too, and Kakashi clearly had more in his arsenal than just battle jutsu; he'd recovered and treated me after the bridge fight in the Land of Waves without breaking a sweat.

  Another reminder that the Copy Ninja was a lot deeper than he let on.

  "Ignoring the fact that I'm in this state because of your lousy skills in fuinjutsu," I said, meeting his eye directly, "where can I get some food? And after that, I want to know if there's a pce where I can spar with you to shake off this rusty feeling I've got."

  As for why I didn't mention learning medical jutsu right then? I was already getting a lot from Kakashi, fuuinjutsu lessons, and probably Chidori soon. I didn't want him thinking I was turning into some power-hungry kid who'd grab at everything. Medical ninjutsu wasn't hard to get access to ter anyway; I could push for that when the time was right.

  "Already?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow under the headband. "Why not. Follow me." He turned toward the door as he'd already anticipated the answer. "Also, I should remind you, even if I'm not the best fuinjutsu user in the vilge, I can still be considered one of the top ten. So don't have too high expectations on the fuinjutsu."

  As if I would believe that. I knew full well how far you could go with fuinjutsu. It was tricky, sure, but overpowered enough to take down even the strongest people and aliens in the right hands. I wasn't about to look down on a ninja art like that.

  "Sure, sure," I muttered, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and standing up. My hospital gown felt ridiculous, but I'd change soon enough. The floor was cool under my bare feet as I followed him out into the corridor, already feeling the restless energy building in my limbs.

  I needed to move. I needed to fight. And most of all, I needed to make sure Orochimaru regretted ever putting that Curse seal on me.

  +Kabuto Yakushi+

  Kabuto felt his hair stand on end, his spine stiffening like a steel rod, and cold sweat prickling at the back of his neck despite the cool underground air. Standing in front of the monster who wore a human face, he knew with absolute certainty that his life was no longer his own. His next breath, his next heartbeat, everything hung on the whim of the creature in front of him.

  He tried to keep his usual calm mask in pce, the polite smile that never quite reached his eyes, but the subtle killing intent rolling off Orochimaru in waves made his pulse hammer against his ribs. He didn't know how long he could hold the act before something cracked.

  "It's good to see you doing well," Orochimaru said, his voice smooth and oily, that chilling smile stretching across his pale face. The greeting felt less like courtesy and more like a veiled threat, the kind that promised pain if the answer wasn't satisfactory. "Hope you are having fun pying the part of a weak genin."

  "Nothing of the sort. I was just doing my job," Kabuto replied, keeping his tone even and professional as he extended the small stack of cards, neatly written profiles on the genin he'd observed, their strengths, weaknesses, hidden affinities.

  One moment, the cards were resting in his palm; the next, they were gone, now held lightly between Orochimaru's long, pale fingers.

  Kabuto hadn't seen the movement. Not a blur, not a whisper of dispced air. Orochimaru had made it look effortless, almost zy, like snatching a leaf out of the wind. For a split second, Kabuto wondered why the snake was bothering to demonstrate the gap between them again; he already knew how vast it was, how hopeless any resistance would be.

  But then the next words came, and he understood. Of course. The snake was pying with its food.

  "It must have been quite easy for you. No… should I say most of it was quite easy, except…" Orochimaru's golden, slitted eyes slid over to him, pinning Kabuto in pce like a specimen under gss. Kabuto had to fight every instinct not to flinch, not to reach for a hidden scalpel or kunai. Attacking would be suicide; he wouldn't even register the moment he died.

  "You seem to have failed the mission you took on independently. Old Sarutobi-sensei seems to have made it so hard for you that you gave up on making it on the st day for young Sasuke Uchiha. Kukukuku."

  The ugh started low, almost a hiss, then built into something wet and echoing that bounced off the bare stone walls of the empty room.

  Kabuto stood perfectly still, hands loose at his sides, face bnk, while inside his mind raced. Yes, he had pnned to eliminate Sasuke Uchiha. A pn to let Sasuke Uchiha sleep permanently as he was lying on the Hospital bed. But he'd aborted the idea before it even properly formed.

  Two full ANBU teams are guarding the Uchiha. Kakashi Hatake himself is never far away. Kabuto wasn't foolish enough to test those odds. The mission had been dead on arrival, and he'd accepted that without hesitation.

  And yet here Orochimaru stood, casually revealing that every thought, every cautious step Kabuto had taken, had been watched. As a spy, as someone who lived in shadows and secrets, the realisation sent a deeper chill through him than any killing intent ever could. Nothing had been private. Nothing had been his.

  The ughter cut off abruptly, like a bde slicing through silk. Orochimaru's gaze locked onto his again, unblinking, pupils narrowed to thin vertical lines.

  "Stop with those foolish pns," he said softly, the amusement gone from his voice, repced by something colder and more final. "And continue with the mission. I don't want to see you get killed so early."

  "Yes, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto answered without hesitation, bowing his head just enough to show deference.

  In the next instant, Orochimaru was gone, vanished as though he had never been there at all. No sound, no flicker of chakra, no lingering scent. Just empty air where the snake had stood.

  Kabuto remained motionless for several long seconds, letting his heart rate slow, forcing his breathing back to normal. Only when the st echo of tension left his shoulders did he reach up and adjust his gsses with one steady finger.

  A faint, unknown glint passed behind the lenses, sharp, calcuting, completely free of the fear that had gripped him moments earlier.

  The trembling in his legs? Gone. The cold sweat? Dried. The wide-eyed terror he'd allowed to show? Wiped clean, as it had never existed.

  He straightened his dress, smoothed a stray lock of silver hair, and turned toward the corridor leading deeper into the hideout. A small, polite smile curved his lips once more.

  ............

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