i am kimimaro

Sound Village.

"Kabuto-sama, you're back!"

Otoha looked at the boy wearing round glasses in front of him, clearly surprised.

"Otoha-senpai, long time no see."

The boy with glasses adjusted his frames slightly, a faint smile appearing on his face.

But that smile seemed somewhat forced.

"Kabuto-sama, this mission took you quite a while, didn't it?"

"Ah, there were some complications, which delayed things a bit. Where's Orochimaru-sama?"

"In the lab, but he's meeting with Kimimaro and a new experimental subject right now."

"Kimimaro?"

Hearing this unfamiliar name, Kabuto Yakushi was a bit surprised.

"He's an exceptionally talented newcomer from the past two years. You'll admire him once you meet him, Kabuto-sama."

"I see, thanks for the information, Otoha-senpai. I'll go find Orochimaru-sama now."

"Of course, Kabuto-sama."

Kabuto headed toward the lab. As he pushed the door open, he saw the familiar figure of Orochimaru, and his face immediately showed respect.

But what surprised him was the presence of two other young boys in front of Orochimaru.

He didn't recognize them.

These must be the newcomers and the experimental subject Otoha mentioned.

Orochimaru seemed to be giving them significant attention; otherwise, he wouldn't be meeting them here personally.

As a professional spy, Kabuto had keen observation skills and could assess many things in a single glance.

The heavyset boy with orange hair seemed to trust the elegant white-haired boy deeply.

That thought passed briefly through Kabuto's mind.

Kimimaro, too, was surprised to see Kabuto.

This spy master had finally returned to the Sound Village.

He wondered what kind of mission kept him away for two whole years.

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto called out.

"So it's you, Kabuto. After two years of infiltrating Sasori of the Red Sand, I was beginning to think you wouldn't return."

Orochimaru turned around and looked at Kabuto, then chuckled lightly.

Hearing this, cold sweat ran down Kabuto's back, and he immediately knelt on one knee before Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama, Sasori of the Red Sand isn't an ordinary man. Gaining his trust took a lot of time. Please forgive me."

"Hehe, it's fine. I know how tricky Sasori is. It's okay as long as it's useful."

"Thank you for your understanding, Orochimaru-sama."

Kimimaro, hearing this, suddenly understood that Kabuto had been acting as a spy under Sasori, which explained his long absence.

"You may leave for now. Report the intelligence later; I have other matters to attend to at the moment."

Orochimaru was eager to study Jūgo, whom he had just obtained.

Even if Kabuto carried vital information about Sasori and the Akatsuki organization, it wasn't as urgent as this.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

As Kabuto turned to leave, Kimimaro suddenly spoke up.

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

Kabuto stopped, puzzled, and turned back.

In a flash, Kimimaro made a move, pulling out a bone chain and binding Kabuto tightly.

Kabuto, facing Orochimaru, hadn't been on guard.

Caught off-guard by Kimimaro's sudden attack, Kabuto couldn't react in time.

Though bound, Kimimaro didn't proceed with further aggression.

Still, Kabuto, completely confused, looked at Orochimaru, thinking this was his command, so he didn't resist.

"Orochimaru-sama, what's going on?"

Even Orochimaru was surprised by Kimimaro's sudden move, let alone Kabuto.

"Kimimaro, what are you doing?"

"Orochimaru-sama, this person is a spy—one being controlled by someone else."

"Hmm?"

Orochimaru was even more taken aback, while Kabuto remained in confusion.

"There's a chakra needle sealed in the back of his head, positioned at the memory center. It blocks part of his memory and allows someone to control him."

Kimimaro calmly explained the reason.

He had spent the last two years focusing mostly on medical ninjutsu and had become quite knowledgeable in that field.

When Kabuto turned earlier, he immediately sensed something was off, which is why he made a move to bind him.

Of course, it was easier said than done, as noticing such a subtle issue required advanced medical skills.

There were probably fewer than five medical ninjas in the entire shinobi world capable of detecting such an anomaly.

Kabuto, being the controlled party, naturally hadn't noticed anything wrong.

Kimimaro's progress over the last two years was evident.

Sakura could push her medical ninjutsu skills to the second-best in the shinobi world in three years; Kimimaro wasn't far behind.

Hearing this, Orochimaru walked over to Kabuto, placing his right hand on the back of Kabuto's head.

A moment later, Orochimaru let out a cold smile.

"As expected. Sasori of the Red Sand is quite clever. Not only did he uncover your identity as a spy, but he also tried to turn the tables on me."

"Orochimaru-sama, I don't know what's happening."

Kabuto was feeling anxious.

Without saying anything more, Orochimaru quickly formed a series of hand seals.

"Release!"

Chakra surged, and Orochimaru's right index finger pressed against Kabuto's forehead while his left hand pulled a thin needle from the back of Kabuto's head.

As soon as the needle was extracted, it dissolved into nothing.

Kabuto felt a sharp pain in his head and let out a cry.

"Ah!"

Sealed memories came flooding back immediately.

In a dark room, his identity had been exposed by Sasori.

He had no chance against Sasori and was swiftly subdued.

But Sasori hadn't killed him. Instead, he used a secret technique—Brain Control Sand!

Using chakra threads, normally used to control puppets, Sasori had condensed them into a fine needle and inserted it into Kabuto's memory center, sealing part of his memory.

This allowed Sasori to manipulate him, using him as a spy without Kabuto even knowing it.

It was one of Sasori's signature techniques.

He had spies in the Hidden Sand Village implanted with the same secret technique.

This kind of technique would be impossible for the average person to detect.

But Kimimaro had seen through it in an instant.

For Orochimaru, a master of secret techniques, undoing this jutsu wasn't difficult.

In fact, even without Kimimaro's help, Orochimaru would have noticed something off about Kabuto eventually.

Today, he was simply too excited about acquiring Jūgo to have thoroughly observed Kabuto.

Sasori of the Red Sand had underestimated Orochimaru.

This attempted counter-spy tactic had failed just as it began.

As Kabuto's memories returned, he quickly understood everything that had happened.

"Thank you, Orochimaru-sama. I was foolish to be outwitted by Sasori of the Red Sand."

"It's not your fault. Sasori is indeed formidable. But now that he thinks he has a pawn, we can use it to our advantage."

Orochimaru let out a cold laugh. The original plan would proceed as intended.

Using Kabuto to approach Sasori would allow Orochimaru to gather intel on the Akatsuki organization. Even though Orochimaru had left Akatsuki, he still wanted to monitor their activities.

He could see that Akatsuki had grand ambitions.

With members capable of awakening the Rinnegan, they might cause upheaval in the entire shinobi world in the future.

Such a grand spectacle was something Orochimaru certainly wanted to be a part of.

"Kimimaro, release Kabuto."

Seeing that the secret technique had been undone, Kimimaro loosened the bone chain.

"Thank you, young brother."

Kimimaro nodded slightly without saying anything.

"You've worked hard. Go rest for now."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

The secret technique had just been undone, and Kabuto needed time to recover.

(End of Chapter)