The early morning light had just begun to filter through the thick forest canopy when Naruto pushed open the sliding paper door to his room. Inside the hallway, the rest of Team Kakashi was already gathered. Yamato stood with a rigid, professional posture, his flak jacket secured. Kakashi leaned against the wall, reading his familiar orange book. Sai was silently tightening the straps on his ink scrolls.
"What about Sakura?" Naruto asked, his voice sharp and business-like, his gaze fixed on Kakashi.
"Haven't checked on her since yesterday," Kakashi replied without looking up from the page. "But she'll be ready."
Naruto closed his eyes. His sensory net expanded, reaching through the thin walls of the inn. He felt the steady, determined hum of Sakura's chakra as she packed her medical supplies. "Yeah. She's ready," he confirmed, opening his eyes. "We move out in ten minutes."
He turned his attention to the Anbu captain. "Yamato, your disguise is prepared, right?"
"Yes," Yamato replied, his expression serious. "But I need to know which form we are utilizing. Should I present as the main body of Sasori, or the initial puppet armor he used to conceal himself?"
"We go with the Hiruko puppet—the one with the scorpion tail," Naruto decided immediately. "It's bulkier, hides your actual movements better, and fits the profile of how he usually traveled."
"Understood. I will be ready." Yamato nodded, though there was a lingering tension in his shoulders.
Naruto's gaze shifted to Kakashi, and the older Jonin caught the subtle change in his former student's demeanor. "Kakashi," Naruto said softly, his tone dropping an octave. "I have a specific responsibility for you today."
"What's that, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, finally snapping his book shut and slipping it away.
"If things go sideways—and I mean completely off the rails—I want you to keep our loose links in line," Naruto instructed. His blue eyes, hard as sapphires, flicked deliberately toward Sai's back, then toward the closed door of Sakura's room. "All right?"
Kakashi's lone eye narrowed slightly, recognizing the unspoken warning. He knew about Danzo's Root. He knew about Sakura's emotional volatility regarding Sasuke. Kakashi gave a slow, silent nod. "Don't worry. I've got it covered."
"Good," Naruto said. He looked at the pale boy organizing his gear. "Sai. Ten minutes. Meet us outside, and pass the word to Sakura."
"Understood, Captain," Sai replied, his fake smile returning as he gave a shallow bow.
The Bridge of Heaven and Earth
Ten minutes later, the team vanished from the hot spring town, moving like shadows through the dense foliage. Half an hour of grueling, silent travel brought them to a dense ridge overlooking a massive gorge. Spanning the terrifying drop was the Tenchi Bridge, a creaking structure of wood and thick rope.
They huddled in the brush, the midday sun beginning to bake the forest floor, as Naruto outlined the tactical flow.
"The plan is simple," Naruto began, drawing a rough map in the dirt with a kunai. "Yamato will approach the center of the bridge disguised as Sasori. If things go smoothly, Yamato will attempt to lure the spy back toward our side of the gorge. When he does, we form a triangle perimeter: I take the left flank, Kakashi takes the right, and Sai and Sakura hold the rear to cut off retreat. We capture the spy, extract the intel, and immediately withdraw."
He paused, stabbing the kunai into the center of the drawing. "But... if complications arise, and I am almost certain they will, we execute an immediate full-squad assault. We ensure Yamato survives, and we eliminate the spy."
"Wait!" Sakura hissed, her eyes wide with shock. "But don't we need the spy alive for information on Sasuke-kun? If we kill him—"
Naruto let out a heavy sigh, looking at Sakura with a gaze devoid of pity. "Your convention is flawed, Sakura. Think logically. If this spy has broken free of Sasori's control, it means Orochimaru is aware of this meeting and is likely standing right behind him. If Orochimaru broke the spy's conditioning, he values the asset. And we all know Orochimaru protects his investments. If we hesitate to capture him, we die. We kill the spy as fast as possible to eliminate an enemy combatant. If Orochimaru isn't there and we have time, we secure the body and retreat. End of discussion."
He looked around the circle. "Any questions?"
"None," the team replied in unison, though Sakura looked physically ill.
"Let's move."
The squad scattered into the canopy. Naruto took the high ground on the left side of the bridge, suppressing his chakra completely. He was the only one who knew the identity of the spy—Kabuto Yakushi. Kakashi and Yamato took positions on the right, establishing a visual signaling system. Sai and Sakura held the rear lines.
The noon sun beat down on the wooden planks. The wind howled through the gorge.
Then, Naruto felt it. A cold, clinical chakra signature approaching from the opposite side of the bridge. He flashed a hand sign to Kakashi. Kakashi relayed it to Yamato.
The plan was in motion.
Yamato, perfectly disguised inside a wood-style replica of the Hiruko puppet, lumbered onto the bridge. The wooden planks groaned under his simulated weight.
From the other side, a figure shrouded in a heavy brown cloak walked out of the tree line. The two met in the exact center of the bridge, the wind whipping the fabric of the stranger's cloak.
"Were you followed?" Yamato asked, his voice a perfect imitation of Sasori's raspy, artificial tone.
"No," the cloaked figure replied. "I was able to secure some free time today. I made sure my trail was clean."
"How is Orochimaru faring?" Yamato pressed. "What projects is he pursuing, and how are they progressing?"
"Orochimaru-sama is doing well. Sasuke Uchiha's training is proceeding exceptionally. By my current estimate, his combat prowess is nearing low-Jonin level. As for the other projects... I don't have clearance for those details."
Yamato remained silent for a moment, calculating. "I see. Let's relocate. It is too exposed out here. We can talk further."
"Yes, of course," the figure agreed.
Yamato turned his back, preparing to lead the spy into the kill zone. But as he took his first step, a voice whispered directly behind his ear.
"Oh, and I brought you a gift, Sasori. Something you'll really like."
Before Yamato could react, a hand wreathed in a vibrating, surgical-green chakra slashed through the air.
CRASH!
The Hiruko puppet exploded into a shower of splinters and wood chips. At the very last millisecond, Yamato substituted himself, reappearing a dozen yards back, gasping for breath.
"How did you know?" Yamato demanded, his Anbu mask slipping as he stared at his destroyed disguise.
The cloaked figure chuckled. He reached up, throwing the heavy brown fabric into the wind, letting it flutter down into the rushing river below.
Yamato, Sakura, and Kakashi's eyes widened in sheer shock.
"Kabuto!" Sakura gasped from the tree line.
Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his round glasses, a smug, arrogant smirk playing on his lips. "Did you honestly think, Sasori, that Orochimaru-sama wouldn't notice a crude hypnotic seal? I was freed from your control a long time ago. I've been playing you."
Yamato gritted his teeth, his hands blurring through hand seals to initiate a Wood Style jutsu.
But Kabuto took a single, confident step forward. "I wouldn't—"
Before Kabuto could finish, the perimeter collapsed.
Sakura and Sai dropped from the trees, landing beside Yamato. Sai immediately drew his tantō, while Sakura took a defensive stance. Kakashi materialized in front of them, his Sharingan blazing to life.
And then, with the sound of displaced air, Naruto landed on one of the thick suspension ropes on Kabuto's left flank. He didn't look surprised. He looked bored.
"Been a while, Kabuto," Naruto said coldly.
Kabuto's smirk vanished, replaced by genuine shock. In a blur of motion, Kabuto coated his hands in chakra scalpels and lunged at Naruto, aiming to sever his leg muscles.
Naruto didn't even flinch. He casually hopped backward, landing lightly on the opposite suspension rope. "What, no 'hello'?" Naruto mocked.
He held out his right hand. The air screamed as a sphere of white-hot chakra erupted into existence. "Let's see if your medical ninjutsu can heal this. Wind Style: Rasengan Drill!"
Naruto launched himself off the rope, bringing the grinding sphere down toward Kabuto's skull.
CLANG!
A massive, double-edged sword materialized out of thin air, intercepting the Rasengan. The sheer force of the impact created a shockwave that shattered the wooden planks beneath them. Naruto reacted instantly, violently dispersing the jutsu's energy to avoid the backlash, and executed a flawless backflip, landing safely on his side of the bridge.
The dust cleared.
Standing exactly where the sword had struck was a figure that made Sakura's blood run cold. He was pale as a corpse, with long black hair and eyes like a viper. He held the legendary sword Kusanagi in one hand, his long, serpentine tongue licking his lips.
"Well, well," Orochimaru hissed, his voice echoing over the gorge like a physical chill. "Naruto-kun... you have grown quite a bit. And I see Kakashi-kun is here as well. Along with one of Danzo's failed experiments."
The Sannin stood in all his terrible glory, the wind whipping his robes around him. The trap had been sprung, but the prey had brought a monster of their own.
"Plan C! Attack!" Naruto roared, his voice cutting through the wind. "Full engage! Nobody leaves alive! No retreat!"
Kakashi pulled his headband completely up, exposing the fully matured Sharingan. Yamato clapped his hands together, wood sprouting from his arms.
"My, my, Naruto-kun," Kabuto sneered, trying to regain his composure. "I never knew you had it in you to lead. But are you sure they'll follow you? After all, you're not exactly known for your intellect."
Kabuto was trying to play the psychological game, trying to bait the hot-headed Genin he remembered. But he was speaking to a ghost.
"Am I talking to you, traitor?" Naruto spat, pulling a standard kunai from his pouch. "Oh, wait. You were never a traitor. You're just a stray dog looking for scraps. You've never been loyal to anyone."
Naruto locked eyes with Kabuto. "Whether I am leading or not concerns my team. It doesn't concern you. So why don't you just die?"
Naruto threw the kunai directly at Kabuto's face. Kabuto scoffed, casually tilting his head to the side to let the blade pass. "Your aim is still off, Naruto-kun."
"I wasn't aiming for you."
TWANG!
The kunai slammed into the critical stress point of the primary suspension rope holding Kabuto's side of the bridge. The rope snapped with a sound like a cannon shot. The bridge instantly violently tilted, throwing Kabuto off balance.
Using the sudden shift in gravity, Naruto moved. He didn't use a jutsu; he used pure, raw physical speed. He crossed the distance before Orochimaru could even raise the Kusanagi.
Naruto's hands were coated in a dense, visibly vibrating blue chakra. He didn't just throw a punch; he threw his entire body weight behind it.
"Fist Bone Crush!" Naruto bellowed.
Orochimaru brought the flat of the Kusanagi up in a desperate block. Naruto's fist slammed into the legendary blade. The sheer kinetic force of the impact buckled the steel and launched Orochimaru backward like a cannonball. The Sannin flew entirely off the bridge, crashing violently into the dense forest canopy on the far side of the gorge.
Kabuto, having regained his footing on the swaying bridge, ignited his chakra scalpels and lunged at Naruto's exposed back.
CRACKLE!
A blinding flash of blue light illuminated the gorge.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Hound!"
Kakashi's voice rang out as a beast made of pure, screaming electricity detached from his hand and barreled directly into Kabuto's path, forcing the medic to abandon his attack and desperately dodge backward.
"Kakashi!" Naruto shouted over the howling wind, not even turning around. "You deal with Kabuto! No matter what happens, he does not leave this gorge alive! I will deal with Orochimaru!"
"Naruto, wait! It's too dangerous!" Yamato yelled, panic bleeding into his voice. "Orochimaru is a Sannin! You can't face him alone!"
Naruto stood on the edge of the splintered bridge, staring into the dark forest where the snake had landed. He didn't look like a teenager; he looked like a god of war.
"I have no time to waste!" Naruto yelled back, his chakra beginning to flare with a dangerous, golden heat. "That is a direct order!"
Without waiting for a response, Naruto launched himself off the broken bridge, descending like a meteor into the darkness of the forest, ready to rip the snake apart.