After seeing off Uzuki Yugao and the others, Haruto returned to his shop and resumed basking lazily in the sun.
The Chūnin Exams were fast approaching, and all of Konoha was thriving with activity.
Not only were the Genin participants training rigorously, but the Chūnin instructors and even the Anbu were busy as well.
Only Haruto lay on a recliner like a true salted fish, enjoying the sun.
"This doesn't make sense..." Haruto muttered as he changed positions. "The Chūnin Exams are right around the corner. Shouldn't everyone be coming to smash more eggs and power up? Why hasn't anyone shown up?!"
He scratched his head in confusion.
Still, if no one came, there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't about to chase customers down the street.
Just as the sun began to set and Haruto prepared to close shop, a figure wearing a large cloak stepped out from the street corner and approached the shop briskly.
"So this is the legendary Golden Egg Shop that the Hokage mentioned?" the cloaked figure muttered, glancing up at the signboard above the door.
"Here to smash some eggs?" Haruto greeted him with a smile. Business arriving at sunset was rare—often suspicious, but still welcome.
He was used to all sorts by now. If someone came skulking in this late, they were probably trying to avoid certain eyes—or worse, they were like Danzo, hoping to steal from the shop after dark.
But Haruto didn't mind.
Inside this shop, he was invincible.
Even if Ōtsutsuki Kaguya herself showed up, she'd have to sit quietly and follow his rules.
"Haha, I heard a magical golden egg shop appeared in Konoha, so I came to see for myself," the figure said with a smile, pulling down his hood.
That voice... Haruto's expression sharpened.
When he saw the man's face, realization struck.
"Yakushi Kabuto...!"
This guy was a major figure in the original Naruto story—Haruto remembered that well.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kabuto played a huge role. While Obito's 100,000 White Zetsu forces served as cannon fodder, Kabuto had brought back countless powerful shinobi using his perfected version of the Impure World Reincarnation.
It wasn't until Uchiha Itachi used Izanami that Kabuto was forced to undo the jutsu.
But that was all in the future. Right now, Kabuto was just a Jonin with one foot in Anbu and the other in Orochimaru's shadow.
"If I recall correctly," Haruto thought, "Kabuto's serving under Orochimaru right now, disguised as an Anbu. What's he doing here? Has Orochimaru discovered my presence?"
Haruto shivered at the thought.
Orochimaru was one of the few people in the world who truly gave him the creeps.
He could handle a fight. But if Orochimaru ever started whispering with that creepy voice and asking to 'research' his body, Haruto might die of secondhand embarrassment before anything else.
While Haruto analyzed Kabuto, Kabuto himself was sizing up the shop.
He had been hiding in Konoha for a while now, biding his time for Orochimaru's plan to destroy the village.
One day, while running some covert errands, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind—Ino's voice—using the World Horn.
The shock had been immense.
Upon digging deeper, Kabuto discovered the existence of this so-called "Golden Egg Shop." Supposedly, it could produce miraculous items from golden eggs. Ino had even mentioned getting a voice amplifier from there.
At first, Kabuto had scoffed.
A toy shop? Causing him that kind of panic?
But then something unexpected happened.
Root disappeared.
Not just a few members—Danzo and the entire Root faction simply vanished overnight.
When Kabuto tried investigating, the Root base was empty. When he attempted to contact Danzo through his secret channels, there was no response.
Kabuto's first thought was that the Hokage had discovered their cooperation with Orochimaru and wiped them out.
But that didn't make sense.
The Root was strong, and Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't exactly known for swift or ruthless decisions.
Then he heard whispers—Danzo and the Root operatives were seen entering the Golden Egg Shop on the night they vanished.
What's more, every Anbu operative who visited that shop later carried the tongue-eradication seal.
That told Kabuto everything he needed to know.
Something had gone down at the shop, and the Hokage didn't want anyone talking about it.
The next morning, Sarutobi had visited the shop personally with Asuma, and the entire block had been locked down tighter than the Hokage's vault.
Kabuto's instincts screamed danger.
He began monitoring Haruto in secret, expecting to uncover some grand plot. But all he saw was a lazy shopkeeper lying on a recliner, selling eggs and basking in the sun like a man on vacation.
Still, the steady stream of visitors—many of them high-ranking Anbu—told him something deeper was happening.
With the Chūnin Exams around the corner, Kabuto knew he couldn't wait any longer.
He needed to know what was really going on in this place.
End of the Chapter.
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