The replacement
It doesn’t take long to realise that Naruto Uzumaki is an annoying idiot and that it will be a struggle in itself to survive hanging out with him. But the Uchiha kid, the one his master has told him to look out for, he is supposedly worth the hassle.
At least that’s what they are counting on. If not, the least they can cause is some mayhem while preparing for the upcoming attack on Konoha.
What he personally is most interested in is not the brats though but the person running the second exam this year.
As he has also managed to find out that Orochimaru himself is going to participate this time around, he knows that it is bound to get exciting.
It is Anko herself, the one that got away, if that is the way to call it, that will act as proctor for the more exciting part of the exams and he can’t wait to meet her up close and suss out why his master once deemed her worthy of his time and attention.
The fact that Orochimaru will be there as well, despite having already arranged for Kabuto to participate, along with three members from Otogakure, means that he is putting high hopes into this event and the talent he is about to see.
That he didn’t inform Kabuto in advance that Dosu and his teammates were going to be there doesn’t sit well with him. It makes him suspect that Orochimaru doesn’t completely trust him with all the information, and in the instance with Dosu it turned out to be a painful reminder that his master is quite unreliable when he wants to be and has his own agenda for doing what he does.
It makes him wonder if there are other unknown reasons for Orochimaru being here, factors he has omitted to mention.
Whatever the reason for his presence, it doesn’t mean that Kabuto can rule out the chance that Orochimaru might also be interested to find out whatever became of his former student.
As far as Kabuto has been able to tell, Anko and Orochimaru were quite close once.
He recalls the photo he saw in the office of the third hokage and just by looking at it he could tell that there must have been a special bond between them.
She is bound to have seen sides of him that even Kabuto himself has never witnessed and he feels the strong need to see what kind of person it is who managed to surpass him as the ultimate subordinate to his master.
He does not mention this ulterior motive to Orochimaru of course.
He is well aware that he would be mocked, perhaps even berated if he allowed his curiosity to show.
But while his master talks to him about the hope he holds for Itachi’s younger brother to be as talented as his origin would suggest, Anko is the only person Kabuto can think about.
Logically he knows that if the Uchiha brat lives up to the high expectations, there will soon be another Kimimaro he needs to fight with for Orochimaru’s attention.
There is no doubt that his master will want the boy if he is what he craves regarding talent and skill, the promise of his Sharingan makes Sasuke a very tempting candidate as a future vessel for Orochimaru now that Kimimaro can no longer be of service.
But for now, with Sasuke Uchiha being such a wild card until proven otherwise, Kabuto’s attention will be focused on Anko.
He and Orochimaru part ways two weeks before the exams, with Kabuto taking his time to practice the role he is going to play in order to infiltrate the village as well as forming a bond with his teammates.
Meanwhile Orochimaru remains in one of his hideouts, not too far away from Konoha, with Guren keeping him company, much to Kabuto’s annoyance.
Unfortunately, there is nothing for him to do about it except swallow his anger and pretend that it doesn’t bother him that such a vile woman is allowed to reside in his master’s presence.
She is gifted enough he supposes, but not so gifted as to deserve the place she has been permitted in Orochimaru’s presence. She is far too keen for her master’s attention and isn’t above trying to gain advantages while Kabuto is away.
He comforts himself with the thought that Orochimaru is only keeping her around as long as she is of use to him, while pointedly ignoring the voice inside his head that tells him that he is being used in very much the same manner.
While he prepares his role as the student who is about to take the chunin exams for the seventh time in four years, as a way of explaining why he knows so much about the procedure, his thoughts as always keep returning to his master.
He has no idea in what shape or form Orochimaru is going to participate in the exams himself, but he assumes it is going to be as one of the characters operating in the background, perhaps as one of those who supervises.
Observing in the background goes against Orochimaru’s usual tendency to take centre stage, but with so many underlings doing his bidding, there is really no need for him to risk anything by taking on a more prominent role.
That’s why Kabuto is slightly taken aback when it doesn’t take long for him to not only spot his master but also catch the interaction taking place between him and his former student.
From behind, Orochimaru has the audacity of not hiding himself at all.
Apart from the hat he is wearing, he looks exactly like himself from the back.
He is wearing clothes almost identical to the ones he tends to prefer when in fighting mode. The hair does also look very much like his own, apart from the strands that usually fall across his eyes and cheekbones when he moves.
Even the purple obi around his waist is the one he and all his followers except for Kabuto himself usually wear.
Kabuto is mainly considered a healer and a spy instead of a fighter, and such an eye-catching obi would be a mistake to wear when he works as an infiltrator. Thereby he has not been granted the same type of belt as the rest, but at least he has been allowed to wear purple clothes to indicate his connection to his master and the colour of his chakra.
It is pretty daring to be dressed the way Orochimaru currently is, in a place where enemies are gathered left and right.
But in accordance to the way Orochimaru’s bold personality works, Kabuto shouldn’t be surprised that he has decided to look so much like himself.
Luckily, those that might remember him from Konoha will not be familiar with this latest particular outfit, not even the third hokage, should he for some reason decide to show up.
They are used to seeing Orochimaru in his silky yukatas or the flak jacket from his past, so there is not really any need to worry.
Besides, he has taken good care to alter his appearance from the front.
He has stolen the facial features of some poor young member from Kusagakure that is bound to be found dead and discarded somewhere, when it will be too late to do anything about it.
Kabuto takes great care no to focus too much on his master when he spots him, but just like everyone else he watches the exchange between Naruto, Anko and Orochimaru from a distance, with a mix of fascination and the urge to roll his eyes at the need to show off that all three of them exhibits.
He wonders if it is the smell of blood from Naruto’s cheek that attracts Orochimaru’s attention or if it is the opportunity to sneak up undetected behind Anko that tempts him to roll out his tongue in that spectacular manner.
Whatever the reason, Kabuto narrows his eyes at the sight, fighting against the urge to openly show his annoyance at their closeness.
It is futile to be envious of a relationship that fell apart long ago.
And yet...
As Orochimaru walks away, back to his two companions, Kabuto searches the place to catch sight of the Uchiha kid.
He is easy to spot as he is the one Naruto returns to after his little impasse with Anko.
They did meet earlier, before the written exam when Kabuto made his fist move to form a connection, and he managed to get a first assessment of the boy’s character, but this is the real opportunity to suss out if he is worthy of the Uchiha name that must hang heavy around his neck considering who his brother is.
The kid looks like a grumpier version of Itachi, there is a clear family resemblance between them.
But family ties don’t always guarantee that talent runs in the blood.
The Uchiha clan were always famous for bringing up shinobi with extraordinary talent, but there is a varying degree when it comes to brilliance compared to actual genius, and even someone who is above average won’t be considered worthy in his master’s eyes.
Kabuto himself is a good example of that.
Although not a fighter first and foremost, he does know how to fend for himself in battle as well as draw blood when necessary. He is considered to be a very formidable opponent even if his meek appearance would suggest otherwise at first glance.
His specialty primarily lies with espionage, infiltration, medicine and his healing abilities, but he has learned to hold his ground physically over the years by working for all kinds of shady organisations.
Yet, Orochimaru would never even contemplate the possibility of making Kabuto his vessel.
He doesn’t even pretend to dangle the offer in front of his face like an incentive, the way he does with Guren to make her do his bidding more willingly.
Kabuto is for some reason not even worthy to tell those kinds of lies to, because the notion of taking his body is so unthinkable that it has never even crossed Orochimaru’s mind that Kabuto would willingly give it if necessary.
He likes to think that the reason is that Orochimaru wants to continue having him around, but he isn’t foolish enough to fall for his own lies.
The initial reason for infiltrating the Chunin exams was to prepare for the upcoming attack against Konoha, but the reason why Orochimaru himself has decided to attend, despite already having subordinates to do his dirty work, is not so much about the infiltration or the opportunity of reuniting with Anko, even if she might be a motive as well.
The main reason is that he wants to personally explore and test Sasuke’s talent by challenging him.
If not worthy, the kid will probably die in the Forest of Death.
But if he turns out to be promising enough, Orochimaru will grant him a similar curse mark that many of his henchmen already have, and then he will try to steal him into his care when the opportunity to do so presents itself.
Perhaps in the middle of the planned mayhem targeted against his old village.
Orochimaru has never suffered the weakness of nostalgia and despite the fact that Konoha, as well as the hokage, are bound to pose as sentimental memories inside his head even if his hate for them has grown over the years, there is nothing that would be able to dissuade him from going through with his plans for the village.
Even for someone as cold as Kabuto, it sends a shiver of apprehension when he contemplates what they are about to do, mostly on account of the scale of the attack and the many factors than need to click into place, but also because he isn’t sure he would be able to come up with something as devious himself. War is not something to be trifled with.
His master has done a lot of terrible things in his life, and Kabuto has never so much as batted an eyelid to show that he is affected by any of it.
On the contrary, he admires the greatness of his master’s visions and the way his genius works, but this time he silently wonders if they will actually be able to pull it off.
On the other hand, it is not his place to question his master’s decisions, and for now he has other things to focus on, so there is no use contemplating what the future will bring.
Time will tell who ends up on top and if Orochimaru fails, Kabuto will still stand by him as loyally as always, obedient and dutiful, helping him pick up the pieces, putting them back together and encourage him to plot a new and improved plan.
It is his duty after all, the only thing he wants.
****
Things don’t get really interesting until nightfall when he finally manages to locate his master just in time for a confrontation he has been looking forward to ever since he realised that both key players would be present in the same place.
Knowing that Orochimaru was going to participate did almost guarantee that the proctor of the exams would need to intervene at one point or another.
Even if killing your opponent is actually allowed in this part of the exams, Orochimaru has a tendency to go far and beyond when sufficiently motivated, and even if Kabuto has managed to miss all the action Orochimaru has no doubt caused so far, on account of having to stay with his own teammates to keep up appearances, he has certainly heard noises indicating that his master has been testing out his potential new toy.
That Kabuto manages to stumble onto a scene that he is actually more invested in than the showdown between Orochimaru and Sasuke makes him thank the deities he doesn’t really believe in and he blends into the woodwork, diminishing the flow of his chakra enough to not be noticed and then he catches the pair just as Anko has botched a lethal attack on her former sensei.
“That’s quite the cold welcoming after such a long time,” Orochimaru tuts and Kabuto can recognise the silky yet condescending tone in is voice, the one he uses when he plays with someone’s feelings, the tone he knows will make any word he uses draw blood without even bothering to raise his voice.
And sure enough, the conversation that takes place tells Kabuto everything he needs to know about the current status between them, and if he wasn’t as covetous as he is regarding Orochimaru’s attention being directed towards him, he would feel sorry for her.
He can’t even begin to imagine the pain of losing his place next to his master. He wouldn’t have the faintest idea of what to do with himself.
Judging by her words, it seems Anko has bee equally lost since Orochimaru left. There is hurt and betrayal in her voice, she is still smarting from the experience even after all this time.
When Orochimaru asks if she is jealous of his interest in Sasuke, there is more truth to that question than she would probably like to admit. And she doesn’t deny the accusation either, she just laments the fact that he has managed to replace her with a new unfortunate victim that he will no doubt end up harming, or even killing, in the end.
The way Orochimaru admits that there is a possibility that Sasuke will die from the curse mark he has given him and the casual tone he uses when he says this, puts hope in Kabuto’s heart that the boy might not after all become the one who will steal Orochimaru away from him.
He has no idea how Orochimaru talked about Kimimaro in the beginning, but he suspects he used a far more tender tone than the one he uses now when talking about Sasuke.
As Kimimaro’s days are numbered anyway and this Uchiha brat might still turn out to be a disappointment in the end, Kabuto will have less rivals to worry about in the future, if he's lucky.
As Orochimaru’s voice echoes among the trees, telling Anko to not ruin his fun by ending the exams in advance, Kabuto secretly wonders if his master has noticed his presence and is addressing him as well.
As he makes his way back to his teammates, satisfied with what he has witnessed between his master and the person that once used to hold his own special position, he swears to not let his master down the way she must have done in the past.
*****
As he the next day comes across Naruto and Sakura, the idiots are just about to open the forbidden scroll, and despite actually wanting to just let them go ahead with it and suffer the consequences, he knows that the rules of the game have changed now.
Orochimaru no longer wants to see Sasuke harmed, and that means keeping his useless teammates alive as well.
At least for now.
The wonder boy himself is not around but he is probably not far away and as Kabuto saves Naruto from making a huge mistake, he easily wins their gratitude with the kindness he knows how to portray when he really wants to.
He is no longer sure if it is an act he has perfected over the years to get by as an infiltrator or if the trait is a remnant that has survived from a time when he actually was a kind person.
There is no longer a sure way to find out the answer to that question, his memories are far too muddled to remember properly.
But he still knows how to whip out that characteristic when he needs it and by the time Sasuke comes running and challenges Kabuto to fight him for his scrolls, Sasuke’s teammates are more or less forcing their friend to back down.
Kabuto joins them for the remaining part of the journey to the tower, under the semblance that he is willing to teach them the proper tricks of this challenge, but he is later forced to admit to Sasuke that he’s just as scared as them.
He has presented himself as the student who has taken these exams seven times after all, there is obviously a reason why he has failed all those times and fear is as good an explanation as any.
It doesn’t exactly do wonders to his ego pretending to be so weak, but when working for Orochimaru, futile things such as ego will always be overshadowed by his master’s grandiose plotting, and it is a small price to pay to be allowed to remain in his presence, even if Kabuto is forced to hold back when he fights during the exam, thereby actually ending up with injuries and pain he would otherwise easily have avoided.
Internally he grits his teeth for having to confess to such weakness, everything that hides in this forest, apart for his own master, is well beneath his skill.
But these kids need to trust him, and they also need to stay in the game. So for now, playing the part and helping them out is what he does.
Or at least he tries to.
Naruto is a walking disaster, too loud, too clumsy and too unobservant to act like a proper ninja.
How he ever managed to qualify to these exams in the first place is a mystery and as he watches the kid get trapped in a pair of vines for the third time in less than an hour, he swears under his breath that Orochimaru needs to be damn right about that Sasuke kid for making all of this hassle worth it.
He looks at Sasuke through the corner of his eye as they keep jumping from branch to branch.
To him, he doesn’t look more than a bratty version of Itachi, minus the stress lines underneath the older Uchiha’s eyes.
There is seemingly nothing remarkable about him at all, a cute kid with a grumpy face, but according to Dosu, the curse mark given to Sasuke by Orochimaru, failed to kill him and instead spread out across his body and managed to give the scrawny little brat enormous fighting power when facing Dosu and his teammates.
Kabuto can already tell that Orochimaru’s interest is piqued.
He can still recall his master’s words to Anko earlier, and events after that only solidifies the proof that this raven-haired brat is going to become the new Kimimaro soon enough.
Kabuto silently grits his teeth at this notion, he is already resenting the kid with a passion.
But as he saves Naruto from stepping into yet another trap that the idiot fails to notice, the small smile on Kabuto’s lips and the kind look in his eyes tells the other three nothing about the bloodcurdling thoughts he entertains inside his head.
He can’t prevent Orochimaru from going after Sasuke, if that is what he wants. But just like Kimamaro turned out to be a failure in the end, there is nothing that doesn’t say that Sasuke Uchiha won’t turn out to be a disappointment eventually as well.
Comforted by that thought, Kabuto manages to keep his composure intact and the kindness in his voice unwavering as he guides the hapless trio to safety.