Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 211
🕑 Added 2025-03-03 18:07:57 +0000 UTCKabuto's life trajectory in this timeline hasn't changed much.
He still became a double agent.
Danzō died earlier than in the original timeline, but as Konoha's foreign intelligence specialists, Nonō and Kabuto had already been pulled into Root.
After all, as spies, these two were simply too exceptional, and his talents even surpassed Nonō's.
Kabuto's outstanding abilities made Danzō distrust both him and Nonō—especially Kabuto.
As a multi-identity spy, he appeared before others under different personas at all times. No one could fully grasp his true thoughts. While Danzō admired his remarkable talent, he also labeled him as untrustworthy.
He knew that Kabuto was someone who lacked a true sense of identity.
What came naturally to ordinary people was a luxury to Kabuto—something he would spend his entire life searching for.
A person can only have one true identity in their lifetime, and for him, this was a crucial question. He didn't know who he truly was. Nonō had given him an identity, but in Danzō's eyes, that recognition was fragile—and it did not include being a Konoha shinobi.
The longer he served Konoha in this state, the more dangerous he became.
So, when Danzō felt that he had become more of a threat than an asset, he did not hesitate to order his execution.
Although Danzō soon suffered a major setback within the village, the last command he issued before being placed under house arrest was to have Kabuto and Nonō eliminated, as originally planned.
In the original timeline, his distrust caused Konoha to lose two exceptional spies while Orochimaru gained a capable assistant.
The same happened in this timeline.
Orochimaru had a deep impression of Kabuto. During the Third Great Ninja War, he had seen the boy at a medical camp. As one of the Legendary Sannin and an experienced warrior, he found himself unable to read the child's thoughts.
That alone made Orochimaru remember him.
Kabuto was a textbook example of an introverted genius.
His performance after joining Root proved Orochimaru's instincts were correct.
After defecting from Konoha, the first thing he did was seek out Kabuto.
By then, Kabuto was already working under Sasori—of course, still as a spy.
This matter caused great tension between Sasori and Orochimaru.
The one who "resolved" this conflict was Kabuto himself. He convinced Sasori that he remained loyal to him. Sasori, realizing he could plant an informant beside his most hated enemy, was more than happy to reconcile with the Snake Sannin.
As for Nagato, he couldn't care less—so long as Sasori and Orochimaru didn't start fighting, everything was fine.
Masashi, on the other hand, had always believed that, even in a different timeline, Kabuto would still become Orochimaru's devoted subordinate.
It wasn't about strength—he had willingly joined Root from the start, for the sake of Nonō and his orphanage friends. They gave him meaning in the first phase of his life.
Becoming Orochimaru's subordinate was no different—Orochimaru provided him with meaning for the second phase of his life.
Who exactly was he? If he could gather all the knowledge and intelligence in the world, he should be able to find the answer.
Masashi had wanted to meet this spy extraordinaire for a long time, but unfortunately, Orochimaru guarded him like a precious treasure, refusing to let Masashi see him.
"I already know his name—what are you afraid of?"
Masashi found it utterly ridiculous.
Orochimaru led him further down.
"Your base keeps getting bigger," Masashi commented as he descended the stairs. "How many floors have you dug?"
"Not too many," Orochimaru replied. "Just one more level down, and that will be the last."
They descended the final staircase, entering the lowest level.
The lighting here was much dimmer, with fewer sources of illumination.
The sound of water drainage echoed through the walls.
Most of the equipment on this floor was for dehumidification, and the hum of machines reverberated in the hallway.
Orochimaru walked to the end of the corridor and stopped before a heavy iron door.
"I hope you'll keep this a secret. After all..." Orochimaru let out a sinister chuckle, his tone laced with satisfaction. "The people of Konoha won't be too happy about this."
With that, he opened the door.
Masashi stepped inside.
The room was vast, with rows of neatly arranged coffins lining both sides. All of them looked brand new.
In the center of the room, a young man put down what he was working on and looked at Masashi.
"Masashi-sama, hello. I am Kabuto."
"Hello," Masashi nodded at Kabuto.
To be fair, Kabuto had never really wronged Konoha. If anything, it was Konoha that had wronged him.
That said, Danzō's actions weren't necessarily wrong either. The real issue lay in how unconventional Kabuto and Nonō were.
Kabuto worked as a double agent yet never sought to reap benefits from both sides. Nonō became a spy solely to support the orphanage.
Neither of them cared much for the Will of Fire, but betraying Konoha? That had never crossed their minds.
Everything they did was for the orphanage.
At the time, Konoha was indeed facing financial difficulties and had cut funding in that area.
"Kabuto, haven't you always wanted to meet Masashi? I brought him here for you."
"Yes, I've always been curious about what kind of person he is," Kabuto replied with an innocent smile.
He had too many identities.
Being a genin of Konoha was just one of them.
But in the village, he never dared to approach Masashi.
Even though he knew from Orochimaru that Masashi was an ally.
After all, working with Orochimaru and killing someone like him on sight weren't necessarily contradictory actions.
But now that Masashi had been allowed into this place, Kabuto felt that he didn't need to worry about that anymore.
"You wanted to meet me?" Masashi thought for a moment, unable to figure out why Kabuto would be so eager.
"Yes, I wanted to thank you—for what you did for the orphanage."
"Oh..." Masashi suddenly understood.
Konoha's financial situation had improved significantly after he introduced funding channels through the Association. Welfare institutions like orphanages no longer suffered from budget cuts.
A major reason for this was that he participated in every budget meeting and made sure to secure orphanage funding as a fixed cost.
After all, orphanages had always been an important means for Konoha to recruit and integrate external human resources.
The orphanage once established by Nonō, which had fallen into disrepair, had also been restored.
Now, it was managed by the very orphans who had grown up there.
Thanks to Konoha's improved environment, many of the children Nonō had cared for were still alive and had returned to the orphanage.
"If you ever want to return as a Konoha ninja, I personally would welcome it," Masashi said, somewhat wistfully.
"That's not very nice," Orochimaru interjected. "How could you try to poach my most important assistant?"
Neither of them took it seriously.
Everyone knew Kabuto would never leave Orochimaru.
"Apologies, Masashi-sama," Kabuto said with a smile. "My dream can only be realized by staying by Orochimaru-sama's side."
"Hmm, well, I wish you success."
"Thank you for your encouragement."
After finishing their rather unimportant exchange, Masashi turned back to Orochimaru and asked, "Didn't you say you had something to show me? What is it?"
"Kabuto," Orochimaru nodded at him. Seeing this, Kabuto took an experimental report from a nearby cabinet and handed it to Masashi.
Masashi glanced at it.
"This... doesn't seem like the Second Hokage's technique."
"You noticed?"
Of course, he noticed. This was clearly his technique!
Damn it, Danzō, I taught you this for your own use, and you went and taught it to Orochimaru?
"Where did you get this jutsu from? Edo Tensei is recorded in the Scroll of Seals, and the Third Hokage would never allow anyone to learn it again."
"You are a ninja of the Uchiha clan, so you must know about Muzo," Orochimaru said with a sly smile. "As one of your clan's greatest enemies, I assume this technique was copied by your clan as well?"
"What if I said no? Would you believe me?"
Copying? Yeah, right. He had never once used it in front of the Uchiha memebers. He always prepared it in advance.
"I see... You were that cautious? What a pity," Orochimaru sighed, genuinely disappointed.
He truly regretted being born too late.
During the eras of Tobirama and Muzo, Konoha was at the peak of its ninja research. Unlike Hiruzen, those two had no taboos when it came to jutsu experimentation.
"So, is this all you wanted to show me?" Masashi handed the experiment notes back to Kabuto. "What, do you want the Uchiha clan to invest in this project?"
"That's one of the ideas. Would you invest?"
"To be honest, I can't. There's no way to keep it under wraps," Masashi replied.
Of course, he wouldn't invest.
Not only that, but he also needed to investigate whether Orochimaru had retained any bodily remains of those two men.
"I'll be direct. Let's set aside the Wood Release experiments for now, but helping you complete this technique goes against my principles," Masashi said. "Tell me honestly—do you still have the remains of the First and Second Hokage?"
"Danzō provided me with tissue samples from the First Hokage, but none from the Second," Orochimaru replied. He noticed that Masashi seemed particularly concerned about this.
He figured it was likely because those two had been the Uchiha clan's strongest adversaries.
But the one he wanted to resurrect wasn't the strongest Senju—it was the most evil.
"The First Hokage's samples were used up in previous experiments," Orochimaru continued. "Most of them were actually preserved by Konoha in the past. When I left the village in such a hurry, I certainly didn't have time to collect more."
Masashi stared at Orochimaru for a long while, but the latter remained completely unfazed, as relaxed as ever.
When it came to research, Orochimaru had no guilty conscience—he never feared being exposed.
He never lied. Sure, he often used extravagant presentations to persuade investors, but the content itself was always real.
"I hope you're telling the truth," Masashi said. "As long as you don't cross this line, we can talk about anything else."
"Rest assured, I lost interest in Wood Release a long time ago," Orochimaru replied. "More than the First and Second Hokage, I'm far more intrigued by Muzo. To be honest, I managed to obtain some of his preserved body tissue."
"Hmm?" Masashi's eyes widened.
The hell did you just say?
---
When a person had an explosive tag stuck to them and then gets hit with the Tandem Paper Bombs, it was undoubtedly the best method for obliterating all traces.
Not only is it quick, but it's also pollution-free. Probably the only thing surpassing it would be Deidara's self-destruction from the original timeline.
Masashi couldn't recall every tiny detail of his life as Muzo, but he sure as hell remembered how he died.
After all, he was the one who blew himself up. How could he possibly forget?
He was certain that his self-destruction was thorough, a full-range explosion with no dead angles, ensuring every spectator around him got their fair share. If anything remained, it would be downright ridiculous.
"Oh, Muzo? Where is he?"
Hurry up and tell me, and I'll use Majestic Destroyer Flame to destroy everything.
"You must be very interested, but not yet." Orochimaru declined, explaining his reason. "Because I haven't found a way to restore the usability of those tissues."
Hearing this, Masashi felt relieved.
Couldn't have said that earlier?
He had thought Orochimaru was talking about the kind of "undamaged" body tissues that could be directly used for Edo Tensei. That would've been a serious oversight on his part.
But if it was just a bunch of charred remains, then no problem. Burned tissue couldn't extract chakra, and without chakra, there could be no Edo Tensei.
He wasn't Hashirama, after all.
Masashi had always had great faith in Orochimaru's professional abilities. But as for the idea of making something out of decades-old burnt scraps? Not so much.
Still, he had to be cautious—what if some tiny fragment of the remains had survived the blast?
"Alright, I do respect Muzo. If you manage to restore him, let me know. I'd like to witness it firsthand."
"I certainly will. I'd love to share that joy with you." Orochimaru smiled, but his gaze was unsettling.
Then again, his gaze was always unsettling, so Masashi didn't take it to heart.
At most, his attitude toward Muzo being different from that of the two Hokages might make Orochimaru think differently of him—but so what?
If anything, he could always just pull the "Uchiha clan history" card whenever things got complicated.
"Well, since there's nothing to see here, I'll be going now." Masashi said.
"You suddenly don't seem very interested in this project." Orochimaru observed his reaction. "Are you not interested in Edo Tensei? Or is it something else you're after? I believe we can have an open discussion."
"You don't even have any results yet. It's too early to talk about interest." Masashi wasn't keen on prolonging this conversation, but since Orochimaru brought it up, he might as well poke at him a little. "Edo Tensei isn't exactly great for reviving true experts—it's pretty lackluster."
"But if more power could be retained, it would become a truly formidable technique." Orochimaru licked his lips. "This kind of research is resource-intensive, but I'm open to collaborating with the Uchiha clan. A technique like this holds great value for your clan as well."
"Orochimaru, unlike the curse mark, Edo Tensei's nature is ambiguous—whether it's merely copying bodies or actually manipulating souls, there's no definitive answer. How do you know your research is heading in the right direction?"
"I'll first use the original technique to resurrect Muzo and draw inspiration from there."
Want me to hit you with the Totsuka Sword real quick?
"A genius like you still needs the wisdom of the dead?"
"He had already improved the technique himself. I believe reviving him is necessary."
"Alright then." Masashi didn't press further to avoid giving away too much. "If you manage to restore those tissues, let me know. I'll assess the situation and decide how to invest."
"Good. It's a deal." Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with excitement.
After the curse mark research, the Uchiha clan hadn't invested in any of his projects. There were still minor contributions here and there for goodwill, but they were barely enough to ease his financial strain.
He missed the days when resources and funds weren't a problem, when he could focus solely on research.
Muzo was the bait he was using.
If he could successfully secure funding, everything else would fall into place. There was no way the Uchiha clan wouldn't be interested.
Now, after a pleasant conversation, he played the role of a gracious host, personally escorting Masashi out of the base. Before he left, he even gifted him a small present—a specially prepared bottle of snake venom.
A paralytic toxin.
Since they both hailed from Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru figured there was no need to give Masashi an instruction manual for how to use it.
Masashi accepted the venom. If Orochimaru had brewed it, then it was definitely top-tier.
His mission was mostly complete.
Regarding the arrival of the military observation group in the Land of Rice Fields, Orochimaru wasn't exactly thrilled. But since his current base was located here, he had no choice but to go along with it. He agreed to cooperate, letting his puppet leader handle things.
After all, refusing wouldn't make a difference—his subordinates wouldn't be able to stop them anyway.
In return, Masashi gave Orochimaru a little goodwill—he promised that as long as Kabuto remained in Konoha as a quiet little genin and didn't stir up trouble, he would pretend not to know of his existence.
As if.
He had already assigned people to keep an eye on him. The excuse was simple—he thought Kabuto was a genius, so naturally, plenty of others would start paying attention to him too.
In that kind of environment, if Kabuto still managed to pull something off, he would be impressed.
Impressed enough to personally send him to the afterlife.
With a polite farewell to Orochimaru, he left the base.
Behind him, Orochimaru and Kabuto watched his figure vanish after a single step.
Silence returned to the underground base.
They remained in place, and the atmosphere grew somewhat eerie.
After a while, Kabuto adjusted his glasses.
"Orochimaru-sama, he seems to hold Muzo in very high regard."
"Be careful not to draw too much of his attention while you're in Konoha." Orochimaru glanced at his assistant. "Also, I've taught you this before—don't voice conclusions unless you're certain."
"Of course. Without sufficient intelligence, I wouldn't dare make a judgment."
"Good. Let's continue the experiment."
Orochimaru turned and headed back inside, and Kabuto quickly followed.
He would periodically return to the Sannin's side—partly to report on Konoha's situation, and partly to continue his learning.
Though he acted as an assistant, Orochimaru spared no effort in teaching him. If Kabuto had the guts to learn, he had the willingness to teach.
But the subject of their studies was not merely ninjutsu.
It was something Orochimaru considered far more valuable.
The two descended further and further into the depths of the base.
