Chapter 92:
"It was Orochimaru. Orochimaru took me."
Mitsuki spoke slowly, his faint voice barely audible.
Upon hearing the name Orochimaru, both Sasuke and Naruto furrowed their brows.
To them, the true danger Orochimaru posed wasn't his strength, but his experimentation.
"Has Orochimaru already joined S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Sasuke continued asking.
Mitsuki recalled for a moment, then gently nodded. "Yeah, Orochimaru is now with S.H.I.E.L.D. His codename is Gray Wolf, and he's currently doing research with the Umbrella Organization."
"What did you say?!" Sasuke exclaimed in shock.
Not only had he joined S.H.I.E.L.D., but he was even working with Umbrella—this was the worst-case scenario.
"No wonder Orochimaru chose to join S.H.I.E.L.D.," Naruto murmured thoughtfully.
"Why did Orochimaru take you?"
Why would he risk exposing himself just to take Mitsuki?
Sasuke was curious.
"…Because I'm the only one among Orochimaru's clones who has mastered Sage Mode," Mitsuki answered.
Now it was Naruto's turn to be stunned.
"You've really mastered Sage Mode?"
"Yes." Mitsuki nodded.
That explained why Orochimaru was so eager to take him back. Sasuke speculated that Orochimaru intended to mass-produce Sage Mode clones for battle.
"In that case, how did you escape?"
Sasuke questioned again. If Mitsuki was that important to Orochimaru, there was no way he would've let him return to Konoha so easily. Could this be part of a larger plot against the village?
Sasuke suddenly thought of the Konoha Crush plan and glanced at Naruto.
Naruto met his gaze, equally puzzled.
"It seems Umbrella made a major breakthrough in their research. While Orochimaru was away visiting them, I seized the chance and escaped."
A feeble excuse.
Even if Orochimaru didn't bring any subordinates with him during his latest betrayal of Konoha, Sasuke found it hard to believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't assigned others to assist him.
The safest course of action would be to kill Mitsuki—no matter what Orochimaru was plotting by letting him return, it would be thwarted.
But Sasuke knew Naruto would never agree. Naruto's son wouldn't agree. Even his own daughter wouldn't agree.
Thinking this far, Sasuke realized something—Orochimaru's clones had already formed deep bonds with Konoha. It made him wonder: had Orochimaru planned Mitsuki's placement in Konoha all along, waiting for this moment?
If so, could it be that Orochimaru had been a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative from the very beginning?
Based on the accounts of Suigetsu and Jūgo, both Orochimaru and the werewolf had used the same snake-based ninjutsu techniques during that time.
The more Sasuke thought about it, the more wrong everything felt. It was as if S.H.I.E.L.D. had cast a wide net, slowly ensnaring Konoha.
"Alright, Mitsuki. Get some rest. We've asked everything we needed to know."
Naruto comforted him, then he and a grim-faced Sasuke left the hospital room.
"Naruto, let's head back to the Hokage Tower. I have some thoughts I need to share."
Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office
While Naruto wore a look of casual indifference, Shikamaru took Sasuke's speculations seriously and agreed with his conclusions.
"So you're saying that Orochimaru's early interest in human experimentation may have been influenced by S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Shikamaru stroked the small mustache on his chin as he pondered.
When Orochimaru defected from Konoha, today's leadership hadn't even been born yet. And almost everyone who knew about the experiments back then had since passed away, so Shikamaru could only piece things together with his limited knowledge.
"If that's the case, then S.H.I.E.L.D. has existed for quite some time. I wonder if they were involved behind the scenes in past conflicts as well…" Sasuke murmured.
Watching Shikamaru and Sasuke fall into deep thought, Naruto scratched his head—thinking wasn't really his strong suit.
Just then, someone knocked at the office door.
"Lord Hokage, there are two people outside requesting an audience," Konohamaru reported as he entered.
Normally, not just anyone could meet the Hokage—this wasn't a zoo exhibit with tickets for sale. But since Konohamaru made a point to inform Naruto, it meant these two visitors had a reason Naruto couldn't ignore.
"Let them in," Shikamaru decided instantly.
"Yes, sir."
The ones who entered were a burly man with a comedic, chubby hairstyle reminiscent of a stand-up comic, and a delicate-looking… boy.
Both wore white lab coats and carried white briefcases.
"What brings you two to Konoha?" Naruto asked.
The burly man, none other than Zabuza, calmly noted how the brat from back then had really become Hokage. Meanwhile, Haku leaned in close, scrutinizing Naruto—he felt as though he had seen him somewhere before.
"Juuzou, don't be rude in front of the Hokage," Zabuza said firmly.
At his words, Haku backed off and stood behind him. "Yes, Lord Shinohara."
"Sorry, Lord Hokage. My subordinate was disrespectful."
"It's fine, no problem," Naruto said with a friendly wave.
"We're with an organization called CCG. I'm Special-Class Investigator Kōsuke Hōji. He's my subordinate, Third-Class Investigator Juuzou Suzuya. We're currently tracking down a fugitive ghoul, and we hope to stay in Konoha temporarily during the pursuit. We ask for your cooperation."
"Ghoul?" Naruto echoed, confused.
At Zabuza's signal, Haku handed Shikamaru a file containing information on the ghouls.
"They like eating people…"
Everything seemed fine until he read that part—Shikamaru's expression finally shifted, subtly but noticeably. Zabuza and Sasuke didn't miss that change.
"What is it, Shikamaru?" Sasuke asked quietly as he stepped closer.
"Take a look."
"This is…" Sasuke also picked up on the abnormality.
Creatures that eat humans—when did such beings start appearing in the ninja world one after another? Something was clearly wrong.
As far as Sasuke knew, only the Umbrella Organization's zombies had a taste for human flesh. Based on that, it was highly likely these ghouls were creations of Umbrella as well—possibly even an evolved form of the zombies.
If that was true, things were about to get very bad.
Both Sasuke and Shikamaru understood perfectly what it meant for zombies to appear in the ninja world.
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