Swish, swish! Swish!
Night had fallen. Rain pattered steadily on rooftops, the falling water tracing faint parabolas before large droplets shattered against the tiles. Konoha's lights shimmered in the downpour like a hazy mirage.
Owl-like shadows leapt across the rooftops. They wore lightweight grey tactical vests, with sheathed short swords or straight blades strapped to their backs.
Many among them still carried the faint, lingering scent of blood. Beneath their white masks, their eyes held a solemn, chilling intensity that made villagers on the streets below shrink back and avoid their gaze.
They passed through bustling, lively districts and arrived at the remote edges of the village.
They halted before a building marked with the character for "An". This was the headquarters of Konoha's ANBU.
Nearly every ANBU operative had been urgently summoned from their homes. Though the scene was crowded, it was orderly and eerily silent. The atmosphere was as somber and oppressive as a funeral.
Among those ANBU stood Hatake Kakashi.
A bandage was wrapped around his forehead, his brow deeply furrowed. His lone visible eye, dull and listless, was filled with confusion.
'Who placed those explosive tags? Was it Lord Third?'
Naturally, Kakashi hadn't seen the strange black cat. He had only witnessed Orochimaru burst from the ground, only to be blasted away by the explosion that erupted right beneath him.
Kakashi, caught close to the blast, had suffered some injuries, but nothing compared to the direct hit Orochimaru took. Even though the Sannin had attempted to counter the blast with a jutsu, one of his arms had been horrifically mangled by the sheer force.
But… Lord Third hadn't seemed to have laid any traps beforehand…
CREAK!
The large door of the ANBU building swung open, its sharp groan shattering the dead silence.
Kakashi pushed his doubts aside, donned his mask, and looked up. Two figures emerged, one after the other.
Besides Sarutobi Hiruzen, clad in his red-and-white Hokage robes and hat, there was an elderly man in a black kimono, his right arm and right eye heavily bandaged. His narrow eyes and the scar on his chin gave him a grim, severe appearance.
The founder and leader of "Root," the man who held Konoha's "darkness," the individual with the greatest authority beneath the Hokage himself.
—Shimura Danzō.
"This emergency summons is to expedite the capture of Orochimaru, who escaped during the previous operation."
Hiruzen took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the assembled ANBU. His tone was calm and direct. "According to reports, Orochimaru is severely wounded. Given his injuries, it will not be easy for him to leave the Land of Fire in a short time."
"The knowledge, intelligence, and techniques Orochimaru possesses are invaluable assets to Konoha. I expect you to bring him back alive if at all possible."
"Once he defects from the Land of Fire, it will deal a critical blow to Konoha. At that point…"
He paused briefly before continuing, "We must race against time to intercept Orochimaru before he crosses the border."
"Everyone, conduct a thorough search!"
With that, Hiruzen lifted his head, his expression cold. Offering no further words, he commanded, "Disperse!"
Swish! Swish!
The ANBU operatives dissolved into shadows and scattered. These hounds and talons would pursue the cunning serpent with all their might, through sky, land, and water.
After all the ANBU had departed, Hiruzen turned and walked back towards the ANBU building.
As he passed Shimura Danzō, a voice laced with mockery reached his ears.
"Still so tender-hearted towards your beloved disciple."
Hiruzen stopped. He lowered his head slightly, his face shadowed by the brim of his hat, his expression unreadable.
"For someone like you… to have 'slipped up'," Danzō continued. "I heard you rescued a boy from the Hyūga clan from Orochimaru's clutches?"
Having been friends for decades, Hiruzen understood the implication perfectly. He sighed wearily in his heart.
"He is merely a pitiable youth," Hiruzen explained, adding, "He is a member of the Hyūga branch family."
The meaning was clear: Drop the idea.
Regardless of any experimental results Orochimaru might have achieved with that boy, someone branded with the "Caged Bird" seal could never be of use to Danzō.
Otherwise, based solely on the "Will of Fire" Hyūga Kumokawa had displayed, Hiruzen would have already tried to recruit him, even if he was a talentless "failure."
Even if he were just an ordinary civilian, he could have been placed as a teacher at the Ninja Academy.
But he wasn't…
A member of the Hyūga branch family could only be a servant to the main family. They held no exploitable value.
The main family need only activate the "secret seal" to easily destroy the brain nerves of anyone bearing the Caged Bird.
Compared to that, the "Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal" Danzō used—which only paralyzed a person, preventing them from speaking or moving—made him seem almost merciful.
"..."
Hearing this, Danzō merely faced the distant night, his eyes closed, as if abandoning his earlier thoughts. His tone returned to its usual detached calm. "Regardless, I will offer my full assistance."
"For the sake of Konoha, I will exhaust every means."
"…My apologies, then." Hiruzen glanced at him, his tone flat. "For troubling you to 'exert yourself'."
With that, he ignored Danzō and walked into the ANBU building.
Though Danzō's words were laced with mockery for prioritizing personal sentiment over Konoha's interests, and though Danzō likely had clandestine dealings with Orochimaru…
The moment Orochimaru defected, Hiruzen knew this old friend of his, in order to eliminate the threat Orochimaru posed to Konoha, would indeed exert every effort, just as he claimed.
Perhaps that explosion which severely wounded Orochimaru was Danzō's contingency plan, prepared behind Orochimaru's back.
This was also why Hiruzen repeatedly turned a blind eye to Danzō's machinations. In his view, everything Danzō did was ultimately for Konoha.
Just as that Hyūga boy said, for Konoha's "tree" to grow, it indeed needed "roots" that never saw the light of day.
But it only needed roots that remained unseen.
After Hiruzen left, Shimura Danzō opened his eyes.
Caw, caw.
A crow circling above descended, alighting on Danzō's shoulder. It dropped a small scroll it carried in its beak into his waiting hand.
"..."
Danzō looked down and unrolled the small scroll. Dense, tiny characters—the unique cipher of Root—filled his vision.
The scroll detailed the cleanup of the laboratory site. Unfortunately, most of Orochimaru's experimental equipment and records had been destroyed in the blast from the explosive tags.
Based on analysis of the explosion traces, the tags had been laid along the entire length of the underground pipeline. It could be said the entire laboratory had been obliterated utterly and completely.
After all, that experimental equipment had cost Danzō a fortune, acquired through special channels. Some of it wasn't even available within Root itself.
"Did Orochimaru do this? He'd rather destroy it all than leave it for me?"
Shimura Danzō looked up, his narrow eyes shadowed with malice. But he quickly dismissed the idea.
Orochimaru himself had lost an arm in that explosion. While his specially modified body might recover, there was no reason for him, already critically wounded and nearly out of chakra, to stage such a devastating act.
Furthermore, given Hiruzen's guilt and indecisiveness towards Orochimaru, he would never resort to such a thorough, scorched-earth tactic.
In fact, based on Danzō's understanding of Hiruzen, the Hokage probably believed he was the one who had laid the trap.
"Then… who else?"
Danzō's brow furrowed deeply. He had a vague sense of an invisible hand manipulating these events from the shadows.
He thought of the sole surviving boy, but reason told him it was impossible.
Such clean, untraceable, ruthless methods—even ensnaring both Orochimaru and Hiruzen in the scheme—could not possibly be the work of a fifteen-year-old.
Especially not a timid, orphaned boy from the Hyūga branch family.
"Damn it! Who is it?!"
Danzō crushed the scroll in his hand, filled with loathing for this unknown threat lurking in the darkness, and his own powerlessness against it.
Whoever it was, they were extremely dangerous—a greater threat to Konoha than even Orochimaru.
Shimura Danzō, the "Darkness of the Shinobi," would never tolerate such an individual's continued existence.
Better to kill a hundred by mistake than let one go free.
With this thought, his mind turned to that Hyūga branch family boy. His eyes narrowed slightly. He took another scroll from his robe, inscribed a message in cipher, and let the crow carry it away.
He was just a worthless failure from the Hyūga branch family. No one would care if he died in some unfortunate accident.
Meanwhile, deep within the forests of the Land of Fire, hundreds of kilometers from Konoha.
Crack.
A brittle snap echoed in the depths of the woods, startling birds sheltering from the rain under the trees. A figure stumbled out from the shadows.
Hah… hah…
Orochimaru staggered, leaning against a tree for support. With each ragged breath, he tasted the metallic tang of blood—bursting bubbles from deep in his throat.
His left arm was severed below the elbow. Shredded, crimson flesh and jagged white bone were clearly visible. Half his clothing was soaked through with blood.
This was likely the most severe, life-threatening injury he had sustained since modifying his body.
Having long anticipated this day, he had prepared contingencies within the Land of Fire—a clan called the "Iburi."
They possessed a Kekkei Genkai called "Smoke Transformation," allowing them to turn their bodies into smoke, enter another's body in that form, and control their actions. However, they had a fatal weakness: if their smoke form was blown apart by wind, they would dissipate and die.
Unable to control this ability stably, many Iburi clansmen had perished. It was only with Orochimaru's help that they stabilized their power and slightly extended their lifespans.
The blood of the Iburi clan could heal wounds, so he had kept them as a "blood reserve."
If not for the grievous wounds from that final explosive trap, even injured by the old man, he could have endured long enough to reach them.
"Damn it! Damn it all!! It's all because of that brat!!" Orochimaru's hoarse voice was thick with venom and fury.
He touched the scroll hidden against his chest.
At least this scroll, containing the ancient secrets, was still in his possession.
If he could find a way to break the remaining seals, he would surely uncover more of the Ōtsutsuki clan's mysteries.
He had also managed to take a piece of flesh from the Ōtsutsuki body. If the Impure World Reincarnation technique could be perfected…
Now, his only option was to have Manda use the "Reverse Summoning Jutsu" to safely extract him from the Land of Fire.
But given that beast Manda's temperament, seeing him so grievously wounded, its first instinct would be to swallow him whole.
And the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave, along with her attendants—the three great snakes, Ichikishima, Tagitsuhime, and Takirihime—were no easy allies to deal with either…
Cough! Cough!
Orochimaru suddenly hacked up a mouthful of blood, the violent fit shattering his train of thought.
His vision blurred. The ringing in his ears grew, and his sense of touch began to slip from his control.
The twisted tree shadows seemed to morph into claws; the vines turned into tripwires. He knew his bodily functions were gradually failing.
The fear of death drove his fingers to dig deep into the tree bark, grinding the moss on its surface into a fetid green pulp in his palm.
He still had to find that brat and make him pay. He still had to grasp all the truths of this world!
No matter what, he could not die. Not here!
Just as Orochimaru steeled himself to attempt the Summoning Jutsu...
POOF!
A cloud of white smoke erupted. Orochimaru vanished from the spot.
Seconds later, a tall figure with long white hair trailing to his waist appeared. It was Jiraiya, who had been in pursuit.
"Reverse Summoning?" Jiraiya frowned, scanning the area. "Orochimaru, what on earth have you..."
Simultaneously, within a space fashioned from a natural cavern.
Stalactites, sharp as inverted spikes, hung from the cavern's domed ceiling. The floor was paved with bluish stone tiles carved with serpentine reliefs. Eerie, dark-green phosphorescent flames flickered in wall niches, while veins of blue-purple ore pulsed with light within the rock walls.
"Where is this...?"
Orochimaru frowned as he opened his eyes, taking in the familiar yet unexpected surroundings. "Ryūchi Cave?"
He hadn't summoned Manda. How had he been reverse-summoned here?
"Orochimaru."
Before he could make sense of the situation, an ancient, ethereal voice reached his ears. Instinctively, he looked up towards its source.
A massive white-scaled serpent, coiled upon a stone throne, came into view.
The White Snake Sage. The founder of Ryūchi Cave. A great white-scaled serpent who had lived for over a thousand years. Her power was so immense Orochimaru couldn't even begin to estimate it.
Normally, the White Snake Sage appeared as an elderly woman in white robes.
But now, for the first time, Orochimaru beheld her true form. Her usual air of detached serenity was gone, replaced by the raw, fetid scent emanating from her serpentine maw.
"How is this possible?"
The great white serpent fixed her amber eyes intently on Orochimaru, her expression unnervingly human in its bewilderment.
"Your fate... it has been altered?"
Meanwhile, in Konoha Village, within the Hyūga clan district, in a dilapidated house on its outskirts.
"Meow."
A soft cat's meow, mingling with the chirping of crickets, reached his ears. Hyūga Kumokawa, lying on his bed, slowly opened his eyes.
"Finally gone."
He sat up in bed, turning to look at the tranquil night outside his window. His fingers brushed the bandages wrapped around his neck, and a faint smile touched his lips.
Such a grievous, mortal wound… and in just a single day, it had mostly healed.
This level of regenerative ability, while not yet matching the terrifying, extreme potency of Hashirama's cells, was more than enough to rid him of the typical shinobi's fragility.
And this was only one of the benefits this new vessel had brought him.
With this thought, Hyūga Kumokawa focused on the panel that appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Hyūga Kumokawa]
[Age: 15]
[Bloodline: Hyūga Clan → Ōtsutsuki Clan (5%)]
[Chakra Capacity: D-Rank → S-Rank]
[Chakra Affinities: Wind → Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, Yin, Yang]
[Jutsu: …]