"Tatsuya-san!"
The next morning, as Tatsuya opened his door, he was greeted by Kyoko's sweet smile. After being cooped up in the laboratory for a month, Tatsuya was finally returning to his normal work life. Kyoko had arrived early and waited for him outside.
A warm smile spread across Tatsuya's face as he stepped forward and walked side-by-side with Kyoko.
"Kyoko, how's business at the pet shop?" Tatsuya asked as they walked.
"It's going well! We've been selling several pets every day for the past few days!" Talking about the pet shop clearly brightened Kyoko's mood. She lifted her chin slightly, a hint of pride in her expression.
"Kyoko, you're so capable! You truly are the shop owner I chose!" Tatsuya teased, unable to resist. He really liked this girl, and her optmistic personality.
"Stop it!" Kyoko blushed furiously. She chided him softly while glancing around, afraid that a passerby might have overheard their conversation.
This time, Kyoko didn't immediately run away! Her tolerance for his teasing had increased with repeated exposure.
"Let's go! We'll take a look together!" Seeing her reaction, Tatsuya stopped teasing her and changed the subject. Since he had some time in the morning, Tatsuya wanted to check on his little shop.
When they arrived at the pet shop, they were surprised to find the door already open. Upon closer inspection, they saw a pretty young girl busily working inside. The girl appeared to be around Kyoko's age, with a slender figure and a sweet, gentle appearance.
"Tsubaki, you're here so early!" Seeing the busy girl, Kyoko greeted her happily.
"Kyoko!" The young girl, Tsubaki, also looked delighted. She immediately stopped what she was doing and gave Kyoko a hug. The two seemed to be very close.
After the hug, Kyoko turned to introduce them. "Tatsuya-san, this is Tsubaki, our shop's first employee. Tsubaki, this is Tatsuya, the owner of the pet shop."
"Tatsuya-sama, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tsubaki, an employee here. Please treat me well!" As soon as Kyoko finished speaking, Tsubaki bowed respectfully to Tatsuya.
"Nice to meet you!" Tatsuya returned the polite greeting.
Looking at this sweet and gentle girl, Tatsuya felt a faint sense of familiarity. However, after searching his memory, he couldn't recall who she was. He decided not to dwell on it and began helping the two girls arrange items, preparing for the day's business.
While they worked, Tatsuya asked about the two girls' circumstances.
Kyoko and Tsubaki had met at the Konoha Hospital; they were both ninjas in Konoha's medical corps. However, Kyoko was a Chunin, while Tsubaki had always been a Genin.
Perhaps because she was tired of the ninja life, Tsubaki had recently retired from the medical corps. With the end of the war, the situation in the ninja world was no longer as tense as before. The village no longer strictly enforced restrictions on female ninjas like Tsubaki, who were low in strength and rarely went on missions.
Coincidentally, the pet shop needed to hire an employee, and Tsubaki had eagerly applied after hearing the news. After all, Kyoko still had to work part-time at the medical corps and couldn't spend all her time at the pet shop.
Soon after, Tatsuya and Kyoko left the pet shop together. One headed to the Konoha Military Police Force Headquarters, the other to the Konoha Hospital.
At the edge of the Death Forest.
Swish, swish, swish…
A series of whooshing sounds echoed through the forest as the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Danzo, escorted by two ANBU Black Ops squads, raced towards the eastern side of the Death Forest.
In a dense thicket on the eastern edge, the group stopped.
"Hiruzen, this is Orochimaru's secret laboratory," Danzo said, pointing to a secret entrance resembling a well below, from his perch on a large tree branch.
"Search!" Hiruzen's face was as dark as a stormy sky as he looked at the secret entrance below. He waved his hand at one of the ANBU squads beside him.
Receiving the order, two ANBU members immediately leaped towards the entrance.
Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!
Before the two could approach the entrance, a low voice rang out in the air. Four giant white snakes suddenly appeared, their massive, bloody mouths snapping towards the two ANBU members.
Not good!
One of the ANBU members quickly dodged, but the other was caught precisely, his body instantly coiled tightly by two of the giant snakes. The ANBU member's body was slowly lifted, the two snakes' massive jaws looming menacingly near his throat.
"Orochimaru!" On the tree branch, Hiruzen's eyes were filled with a deep killing intent.
"Sarutobi-sensei..."
Orochimaru's figure slowly emerged from the entrance. He walked out casually with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, on the tree branch, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Orochimaru, the matter of you kidnapping village ninjas and infants from surrounding villages for live human experimentation has been exposed. Surrender immediately!" Danzo, standing beside Hiruzen, spoke first.
"Danzo, you're quite quick!" Hearing this, Orochimaru's gaze swept towards Danzo, his expression tinged with disdain. Orochimaru had long grown weary of old men like Danzo, who only knew how to play dirty tricks in the shadows. If it weren't for the fact that many of his early experiments needed Root's financial support, Orochimaru wouldn't have bothered with Danzo at all.
"Orochimaru, is what Danzo said true?" Hiruzen's voice was heavy, filled with anger and disappointment.
More than two years ago, during the selection of the Fourth Hokage, Hiruzen had been unwilling to entrust the heavy responsibility of Hokage to Orochimaru because of his ambition and ruthless methods.
But Orochimaru was still Hiruzen's student! Hiruzen had held high hopes for him, considering him one of the future pillars of Konoha. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to ultimately stray down the wrong path.
According to recent intelligence gathered by the ANBU and Root, Orochimaru had been secretly abducting ninjas from the village and infants from nearby villages to conduct live human experiments. Such actions were strictly forbidden in the village! Such practices were also unacceptable to the world.
At this point, no matter how reluctant he was, Hiruzen had no choice but to punish Orochimaru.
"Yes, Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru admitted without hesitation, nodding.
"Seize him!" Seeing this, Hiruzen's face was filled with sorrow as he ordered the ANBU.
The two ANBU squads immediately leaped towards Orochimaru upon receiving the order.
"Sarutobi-sensei, you're all old, and the village, under the control of you old fellows, has grown old as well! There's nothing left here for me to cherish! Farewell! Sarutobi-sensei!" Facing the attacking ANBU, Orochimaru remained calm and composed. He stared at Hiruzen without dodging or evading.
Poof!
With that, Orochimaru's body dissolved into a cloud of white smoke under the combined attack of the ANBU members. It had only been a shadow clone.
"Issue a wanted poster! Hunt down Orochimaru!" After Orochimaru's shadow clone disappeared, Hiruzen stood silently for a long time, only speaking after the two ANBU members who had entered the secret laboratory returned and reported that the laboratory was empty.
"Yes!" An ANBU member immediately acknowledged the order and departed.
After issuing the order to hunt down Orochimaru, Hiruzen glanced at the silent Danzo beside him and led the team away.
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