Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 521 Clashes Outside the Battlefield

At the border of the Land of Fire, the Land of Fields, and the Land of Silk lies a river valley where several tributaries converge, forming numerous waterways. During the rainy season, the currents are swift and dangerous, but during the dry season, parts of the riverbed are exposed. This environment easily fosters the formation of underground caves, which, even during the dry season, are not completely submerged.

Even though this place was far from the battlefield and quite a distance from both sides of the battle line, two fully armed ninjas still flew through the treetops. They were shrouded in black, but left a clear red and white fan symbol on their backs, blatantly announcing their identities to the world.

Is this the place?

"Naruto said it's this place, so it should be."

The ninja with the neat little braid looked around and said, "There are indeed signs of an array being set up. The target is underground, right? How do you plan to get down?"

"That's easy, watch me." The slightly curly-haired ninja smiled with exceptional confidence. After years of honing his skills, he had mastered Susanoo to a high degree. His eyes, which had no side effects, were truly effective. Even when using the complete Susanoo form, he didn't have to worry about suddenly going blind.

A green giant rose from the ground, his colors blending perfectly with his surroundings, but unfortunately, he was destined to be a destroyer of nature. His drill-shaped giant sword slammed into the earth, sinking lightly into the soil and turning the land upside down. With its habitat destroyed, the underground snake was forced to abandon its lair and burrow into the mud with its prey in its mouth.

Ever since Naruto easily broke free of control, Kabuto knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. But he didn't expect the energy that had plunged into the ground to look so familiar. An ominous premonition made him instinctively want to escape, but he crashed headfirst into an invisible wall.

That was a barrier; he was trapped without being told what was happening.

"Why are you running, Mr. Kabuto? Don't you want to get up close and personal with the Sharingan?"

Once the barrier shielding perception is broken, Ms. Seyou, who helped set up the barrier on the outside, will be able to lock onto Kabuto. They didn't just blindly search for people; to ensure everything goes smoothly, in addition to the two main attackers, several Senju clan members and Ms. Seyou came to assist.

Strangely, Kabuto didn't notice the large group of people with abundant chakra approaching, as if his Sage Mode senses had completely disappeared. It wasn't until he crashed into the barrier that his perception gradually returned. This inescapable trap had left him no escape route. He had no choice but to fight.

"You are...Uchiha Itachi, and..." A name was on the tip of his tongue, but as an intelligence agent, Kabuto hesitated to say it because the possibility was simply too shocking.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Shisui, and as you can see, I am an Uchiha." The green Susanoo had just dissipated, but the windmill-like patterns in Shisui's pupils had not yet disappeared, and anyone could recognize his surname.

However, Uchiha Shisui was a dead man who had been gone for more than ten years in Konoha's history! But the Shisui in front of me doesn't look like he was when he died, and there are no traces of Edo Tensei. He looks like a living person no matter how you look at him!

Who saved him? And after saving a ninja with such a powerful eye technique, who then made that ninja disappear without a trace for ten years! Isn't "Kotoamatsukami" the best tool? Why didn't they make full use of it?

Kabuto was in the midst of a frantic brainstorming session, not forgetting to use the snake-like cornea to shield his eyes and avoid meeting the Sharingan's gaze. Fortunately, he was cautious enough not to look directly into those eyes that held the power of Kotoamatsukami. After integrating all the strange information, Kabuto formed an unbelievable conclusion in his mind.

All the anomalies seemed to point to the same answer: Naruto Uzumaki.

"I never expected that the famous Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique would still be alive. Are you now serving Konoha again?" Kabuto lowered his body. He had already used all his trump cards in the Impure World Reincarnation. To deal with the person in front of him, he had to take action himself.

Facing the Sharingan, one must never fight alone; this is common knowledge in the ninja world. Only Kabuto, with his unique methods, dared to be so arrogant. However, accumulating more power increases the chances of victory, and stalling for time and psychological warfare are common combat techniques. Kabuto felt there was nothing wrong with poking at the opponent's sore spots. This ninja, supposedly a suicide victim, likely had a more complex cause of death. He was a snake that had crawled through the darkest corners of Konoha; what hadn't he seen?

"That's not quite right. I wasn't on the first list. Sigh, I wish I could. Managing a hospital is much more tiring than being a ninja." Shisui didn't seem to mind Kabuto's sarcastic remarks at all; instead, he seemed particularly disappointed that he hadn't been selected. It makes sense, really. Aside from those who absolutely had to participate in the war and couldn't possibly hide their abilities, the most capable ninjas in "Radiance" were basically not selected because they already had multiple roles and were simply too busy.

If doubts could be visualized, Kabuto would definitely have a huge question mark hanging on his forehead. What connection, even the slightest, exists between the Uchiha clan and the hospital? Recruiting people only to have them do things completely unrelated to their primary duties... isn't that a bit of a waste?

"...Excuse me, you just said...the hospital?"

Shisui nodded firmly and said sincerely, "You heard me right, it's a hospital, but not a ninja hospital, it's the kind that treats illnesses in the same way as ordinary people."

"I heard from Naruto that your medical ninjutsu is superb, and you almost cut his pulmonary artery during a battle. Being able to accurately locate blood vessels without external force while in motion is truly impressive. As a doctor, you should be able to understand how frustrating it is to deal with uncooperative patients."

Zhi Shui's complaints were genuine. Hospitals are inherently places with a high level of negative emotions. Even the most mild-mannered person will inevitably become irritable when sick, let alone someone with a bad temper to begin with. Doctor-patient relationships have always been a huge problem. Once there are many patients, there will always be a few weirdos who want to vent their emotions on doctors because of their physical condition. Fortunately, their newly established hospital has many doctors who are both skilled and capable, and they can keep these oddballs in check.

For some reason, Kabuto unconsciously thought of the increasingly irritable Orochimaru, and the chairs that had been smashed and the medicine that had been spilled. He nodded in deep agreement, and only after he finished did he suddenly realize what he had done and immediately raised the alert level to the highest level.

They came here to undo the Impure World Reincarnation, didn't they? You think you can get close to him by pretending to be friendly? Don't even think about it! Isn't the legendary "Shisui of the Body Flickering" supposed to be a ruthless person who doesn't keep his word? How come he's become so talkative? And so skillfully at chatting, making it impossible to guard against him...

But if you insist on talking about medical ninjutsu, he inevitably unearthed the deepest memories buried in his past, the warm haven that once gave him, and at the same time, the darkest rules of the ninja world that were torn apart by death.

"Kabuto, if you lose your way again, why don't you go back to where you started?"

The voice echoed through the jungle once more, but the speaker was no longer there; instead, a cold, decaying body stood at the forefront of the war. Why, then, did someone already be so concerned with the fate of the world when they were already dead?

Kabuto couldn't understand it. Just like now, he didn't understand why he remembered that sentence, why he remembered the gentle look on the headmaster's face when he taught him medical ninjutsu.

That was a past he had long since abandoned.