"Where are we going? Aren't we joining the battle?" Konan suddenly asked.
Lin Nan slowly shook his head, "Those are gods fighting. What's the point of joining? Right now, you just need to ensure your own safety!"
Konan said no more.
After leaving Kabuto's lair, the two of them headed in the opposite direction of the battlefield, their apparent destination being the Land of Rivers.
With the Edo Tensei and White Zetsu army mostly cleared out, and the Allied Shinobi Forces converging towards the main battlefield, Lin Nan and Konan saw very few people along the way, so their progress wasn't particularly fast.
At first, they could still see the devastation left by the war. As they moved further away, things gradually returned to normal.
The excitement belonged to others; Lin Nan was merely traveling.
There was a slight awkwardness between the two. After Konan's question, they didn't say much more on the road.
Lin Nan didn't mind; a peaceful journey was also fine. It wasn't necessary to chat enthusiastically.
"Someone is approaching us!" Konan suddenly said.
Lin Nan was startled. "What?"
Konan continued, "I said I sensed a very complex chakra approaching us. It seems like the person we saw in the cave earlier!"
"In the cave?" Lin Nan frowned slightly and stopped, looking back in the direction they had come from.
Kabuto?
Had this guy broken free from control so quickly?
Was his obsession not as deep as he imagined?
With a rustling in the trees, a figure shot out.
"Wait for me!"
As the shout faded, Lin Nan looked closely and saw it wasn't Kabuto at all.
The person wore a brown top, had a voluptuous figure, and rather messy, wild hair. It was Anko, who else could it be.
"So the person you said was in the cave, it was her?" Lin Nan looked at Konan with a strange expression.
Konan nodded, "Yes, is there a problem?"
Lin Nan pouted, "No problem!"
Anko arrived in front of Lin Nan, panting heavily. "Mr. Lin, are you going to the battlefield? Can you take me along?"
Did Anko recognize him?
Lin Nan thought back. He had indeed seen her during Pain's invasion, but they weren't close.
Anko hadn't had much interaction with the Akatsuki either, so naturally, she didn't recognize Konan.
Lin Nan didn't pay much attention. "We are not going to the battlefield!"
"Ah?"
Anko looked like a naturally clueless girl. "Then which direction is the battlefield..."
Lin Nan pointed into the distance. "The completely opposite direction!"
Anko slumped to the ground, seemingly having lost the energy to go back.
Anko was quite a decent girl, beautiful and with a good figure. It was just a pity that in the new era, Anko became "sweet potato," which was infuriating...
Lin Nan looked at Anko, but suddenly felt a nudge in his side from Konan.
What? Jealous?
Lin Nan quickly averted his gaze and looked at Konan.
Konan, however, clearly didn't care about such things and simply said, "Another person is coming!"
"Again? Who is it this time?"
Konan replied, "The person from the cave earlier!"
"Still the person from the cave? This time it won't be Yamato, will it?" Lin Nan said with annoyance.
"Yamato?" Anko's interest was piqued at the mention of a familiar name, and she also looked into the distance.
After another rustling in the trees, a pale figure appeared.
"How did Yamato become like this?" Anko asked, confused.
Lin Nan's expression was a mess. "That's not Yamato, that's Kabuto!"
"Kabuto?" Anko immediately stood up.
Lin Nan remembered that in the cave, Anko had been left unattended on the side. She was a typical tool. After reviving Orochimaru, she was cast aside. Kabuto had also stood like a statue, and after having some memories and energy absorbed by Orochimaru, he was also abandoned, another obvious tool.
Didn't Anko see Kabuto when she woke up?
That shouldn't be the case!
"Don't worry. Since Kabuto has awakened, it means he has let go of his obsession, completely bid farewell to the past, and has put down his butcher knife to become a Buddha!" Lin Nan explained.
Anko listened, utterly bewildered.
"Thank you, Mr. Lin, for explaining for me!"
Kabuto approached Lin Nan and bowed slightly.
Even so, Anko still looked at Kabuto warily, after all, she had been well in Konoha, and it was Kabuto who suddenly appeared and kidnapped her.
Kabuto didn't seem to care much about this. He simply said, "Mr. Lin, actually, I came here because there's a question I've always wanted to ask you. Please help me understand!"
Lin Nan was a little confused. Kabuto, the great Kabuto, who almost mastered all ninjutsu, what could he possibly explain?
Despite his thoughts, Lin Nan said, "Go ahead!"
Kabuto glanced at Konan and Anko.
Lin Nan immediately understood and walked further away with Kabuto.
"So mysterious!" Anko pouted at the sight and looked at Konan, who was covered in a black robe. "Which village are you from?"
...
"I apologize. This is a question I wanted to ask you the moment you broke free from my Edo Tensei's control, but unfortunately, you didn't give me the opportunity back then!"
Lin Nan was stunned. He thought about the events of the third chapter and suddenly realized, "So that's what you wanted to tell me back then? I thought..."
"Thought what?"
"Nothing, please continue!"
"It's like this, Mr. Lin. When did your consciousness recover? Can you tell me truthfully?" Kabuto asked with eyes full of inquiry.
Lin Nan found it quite strange. "Aren't you no longer researching this?"
"It's not research, but seeking clarification!"
"Well... it was when you made me and Itachi face 'Uchiha Obito' that my consciousness recovered a little!" Lin Nan replied truthfully.
"Uchiha Obito?"
"The one impersonating Madara!"
"I see!" Kabuto pondered for a moment and said, "Before that, you had no consciousness at all?"
"No, why? What do you want to ask?" Lin Nan asked.
Kabuto glanced at Konan and Anko behind him and lowered his voice. "To be frank, Mr. Lin, before this, the current you was the product of my second Edo Tensei. In fact, I had resurrected you once before..."
Lin Nan listened, completely bewildered. "What do you mean?"
"It's strange, the you I resurrected the first time had genes extracted from your blood sample left in the laboratory by Lord Orochimaru. But the resurrected you was like an ordinary person, with almost no abilities. I thought it was a failure, but it did look exactly like you!"
Kabuto appeared to be in deep thought.
"Can you explain in more detail?" Lin Nan asked, his head full of question marks.
Kabuto continued, "Actually, the you I resurrected the first time seemed to be a you with amnesia, but you recognized me and Lord Orochimaru, and that you kept saying you were from another world..."
"Holy crap..."
Lin Nan was dumbfounded.