When Inuzuka Kaze spoke, Seiryu took it seriously—this was the first time a ninja clan had actively shown goodwill to the Uchiha.
It seemed that, after the once-powerful Senju clan had been so thoroughly sidelined in the village, the Inuzuka—who mainly worked as veterinarians in Konoha and had difficulty entering the core of village power—were starting to have thoughts of their own. Still, they remained cautious and weren't ready to pick a side just yet.
Still, the fact that Inuzuka Kaze, a jōnin, would bring this up with Seiryu spoke volumes about their intentions. Unlike the Uchiha, who had dozens of jōnin and could fill several rows at a clan meeting, Inuzuka Kaze's standing in his clan was probably second only to the clan head.
"Kaze, this news solves our police force's urgent needs right now," Seiryu said. "The new ninja we recruited still haven't grown into their strength. If we had the help of the Inuzuka clan's ninja dogs, that would be perfect."
Seiryu gladly accepted the Inuzuka's offer of goodwill. The Uchiha hadn't yet officially stepped into the spotlight, so the Inuzuka's attitude was already a pleasant surprise.
Their gesture represented a good beginning.
"Honestly, the police force's benefits are enviable," said Yugao suddenly. "After I learned about them, I even thought about quitting ANBU and joining the police force myself."
"Yugao, you shouldn't think like that!" Seiryu said seriously. "No matter where you work, it's all for Konoha. If the Third Hokage heard you say that, he might think I'm forming my faction."
"Oh, I was just kidding." Yugao stuck out her tongue. "I worked hard to get promoted to special jōnin in ANBU; there's no way I'd quit now."
"All right, enough about that. Come on, everyone, cheers!" Seiryu raised his glass, clinking with everyone before downing his drink.
Throughout the entire meal, Kakashi, who sat beside Seiryu, didn't say a word, but his eyes never left the table—he was deep in thought.
After the feast, everyone returned to the inn.
…
The next morning, the group set out again.
This time, though, no one even bothered to make basic conversation with Koharu Taki and Mitokado Hayato.
Around noon, they reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields.
Before reaching the spot indicated by their clues, Kakashi began to carry out his duties as the leader of this mission.
"Kaze, you and Kuromaru search by scent. Hyūga Ken and Hyūga Kihito, you two keep an eye on the surroundings—make sure one of you always keeps your Byakugan active. Everyone else, prepare for battle."
"Understood." Everyone, including Seiryu, nodded in acknowledgment. Even the two who had already fallen out with the group— Koharu Taki and Mitokado Hayato —had no objections.
…
In Orochimaru's laboratory in the Land of Rice Fields—
Orochimaru suddenly seemed to sense something and put down his test tube.
Currently still working for Akatsuki, Orochimaru hadn't yet thought of founding the Sound Village, but he had set up a research base here. These small countries between the great nations—without their ninja villages—were lawless zones for powerful ninjas like him.
Even though Orochimaru had defected from the village, he still left himself some backdoors in Konoha. He knew all about the recent changes in the village, especially Danzo's death (with whom he'd once cooperated), and Uchiha Seiryu's recent moves.
As soon as the capture team left the village, his spies in Konoha relayed the news back to him.
Not wanting trouble, his first thought was to run as soon as he heard about the pursuit.
But when he learned the team included Uchiha Seiryu, a Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, Orochimaru grew curious and wanted to test him.
Although Orochimaru didn't (yet) have his later obsession with Uchiha bloodlines, the Mangekyō Sharingan was, after all, the eye of the legendary Uchiha Madara. As a scientist, Orochimaru couldn't help but be intrigued.
…
As the team searched the area, Kuromaru suddenly tensed up, growling low.
Hyūga Kihito, on alert, noticed something too and shouted, "There's chakra reaction underground! Also, something huge is approaching rapidly from the west—it's a snake!"
"Prepare for battle!" Kakashi barked, taking a combat stance.
"Watch below!" Hyūga Kihito yelled, pulling Hyūga Ken with him as they leaped to safety.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook, and several giant white snakes burst out, their gaping red mouths snapping upward.
Targeted, the group dodged at the last second, each using their techniques. Inuzuka Kaze instantly combined with Kuromaru, transforming into a giant two-headed dog to dodge the attack. Uchiha Inaho and Uchiha Zaito shot kunai attached to wires at distant trees, using them to change direction midair, then formed hand signs and launched a massive Fire Dragon Jutsu down at the attacking snakes.
Nagi Seiichi, though looking a bit battered, also narrowly escaped death by using a Water Clone technique.
However, a few of the special jōnin—slower to react—fell into grave danger.
Luckily, just as they were about to be swallowed, a blue flash of lightning streaked by. Seiryu, in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, appeared like a phantom, whisking them to safety in the blink of an eye.
But Koharu Taki and Mitokado Hayato —who had distanced themselves from the group due to internal conflict—weren't so lucky.
The attackers had planned to pick off stragglers first; four giant snakes attacked them from underground. Because they were farther away, Hyūga Kihito's warning took longer to reach them. With all these factors combined, this ambush proved disastrous.
Koharu Taki, the stronger of the two, barely survived but lost his entire right arm. Mitokado Hayato, only a special jōnin, was swallowed whole by a snake.
There was no time to process what happened. In the direction Hyūga Kihito had warned about, a huge dust cloud rose as trees crashed down, revealing the massive outline of a snake, dozens of meters tall.