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Swish! Swish!
Pitter-patter…
Night fell as raindrops struck rooftops, tracing parabolic arcs before shattering into mist. Konoha's lantern lights flickered like mirages in the storm.
Dark silhouettes leaped across rooftops like owls in flight. They wore light gray tactical vests and carried short swords or straight blades on their backs.
Many still carried traces of blood, their white masks concealing grim expressions that sent civilians scurrying away in fear.
They passed through bustling streets until reaching the village's quiet outskirts.
Before a building marked with the kanji for "暗" (shadow), they stopped—the headquarters of Konoha's Anbu Black Ops.
Nearly all Anbu had been urgently summoned from their homes. Though crowded, the scene was orderly and silent, the atmosphere as heavy as if attending a funeral.
Among them stood Kakashi Hatake.
His forehead wrapped in bandages, his brow furrowed deeply, those lifeless eyes filled with confusion.
Who had placed those explosive tags? Had it been the Third?
Kakashi hadn't seen the strange black cat. He only saw Orochimaru erupting from the ground—only to be blown skyward by an explosion beneath his feet.
Though slightly injured himself, Kakashi's wounds paled in comparison to what Orochimaru endured. Even with a last-minute jutsu to reduce the blast impact, one of Kakashi's arms was torn clean off.
Yet earlier, the Third hadn't seemed to have laid any traps…
Creak!
The heavy doors of the Anbu HQ creaked open, breaking the silence.
Pushing aside his doubts, Kakashi donned his mask and looked up, watching two figures step out—one behind the other.
One was Sarutobi Hiruzen, clad in his signature red-and-white Hokage robes and hat.
The other was an elderly man in black kimono, his right eye and arm wrapped in bandages. His narrow eyes and scarred jaw gave him a sinister air.
Founder and leader of Root, master of Konoha's shadows—the most powerful man under the Hokage.
—Danzō Shimura.
"This emergency gathering is to swiftly capture Orochimaru, who slipped through our grasp during the previous operation."
Sarutobi stepped forward, scanning the gathered Anbu with calm yet firm words.
"According to reports, Orochimaru has sustained severe injuries. Judging by his condition, leaving Fire Country quickly will not be easy."
"The knowledge, information, and techniques he possesses are invaluable treasures to Konoha. I urge you to bring him back alive if possible."
"If he escapes the country, it will be a fatal blow to us. Therefore…"
He paused briefly before continuing, "We must race against time before he crosses the border."
"All of you, give your utmost effort!"
With that, Sarutobi lifted his head, expression cold and wordless.
"Scatter!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Anbu vanished into the night like shadows, hounds unleashed to hunt the cunning serpent—across sky, land, and sea.
Once all the Anbu were gone, Sarutobi turned to walk back into the building.
But as he passed Danzō, a mocking voice reached his ears.
"How kind of you to cherish your beloved apprentice so much."
Sarutobi halted, lowering his head slightly. The shadow cast by his hat concealed his face.
"You, of all people, would make such a mistake," Danzō continued. "I heard you rescued a Hyūga child from Orochimaru?"
Decades of friendship allowed Sarutobi to hear the unspoken meaning in Danzō's tone. With a weary sigh inside, he replied:
"He was just a pitiful child." He added, "A Branch House member of the Hyūga clan."
In other words—Forget it already.
No matter what experiments Orochimaru may have conducted on that boy, a Caged Bird Seal ensured the Branch House could never serve Danzō's interests.
Otherwise, even if the boy was a talentless "failure," Sarutobi would've already tried to recruit him, inspired by the Will of Fire Unsen had shown.
Even if he were a civilian, he could've been assigned as a teacher at the Ninja Academy.
Unfortunately… he wasn't.
Branch House members existed solely to serve the Main House. No value remained when a Main House member activated the Cursed Seal, instantly damaging the brain nerves of a caged bird bearer.
Danzō's Tongue-Sealing Root Destruction Seal merely paralyzed speech and movement—a comparatively merciful method.
"…"
Hearing this, Danzō simply faced the dark night, eyes closed. It seemed he had abandoned his hidden intentions, his voice returning to its usual cold neutrality.
"In any case, I will do everything I can to assist."
"For Konoha, I will give my all."
"…That's truly unfortunate," Sarutobi glanced at him, voice calm. "Thank you for your efforts."
Without another word, he walked into the Anbu headquarters.
Though Danzō's words dripped with mockery over his emotional attachments, though Danzō may have once shared interests with Orochimaru…
From the moment Orochimaru defected,
Sarutobi knew his old friend would spare no effort to eliminate the threat Orochimaru posed to Konoha.
Perhaps even that deadly explosion had been secretly prepared by Danzō as a final contingency.
This was why he repeatedly ignored Danzō's covert actions—because ultimately, Danzō still acted for Konoha's sake.
Just as that Hyūga child said: For Konoha's great tree to grow, there must be unseen roots.
But only unseen roots.
After Sarutobi left, Danzō opened his eyes.
Caw!
A crow circled above, landing on Danzō's shoulder. It dropped a small scroll into his waiting hand.
Danzō lowered his gaze and unfurled the parchment. Rows of tiny, encrypted text met his eyes—standard Root cipher.
It detailed the cleanup after the lab incident. Unfortunately, most of Orochimaru's equipment and research notes were destroyed in the explosion.
Judging from the blast patterns, explosive tags had been planted along the entire underground tunnel—effectively obliterating the entire base.
Those machines had cost Danzō dearly, acquired through special channels. Some were even rare items Root didn't possess.
"Did Orochimaru destroy them himself, unwilling to leave anything for me?"
Danzō raised his head, his long eyes darkened with suspicion—but soon dismissed the idea.
Orochimaru himself had lost an arm in the blast. While his specially modified body might recover, doing so while nearly drained of chakra made little sense.
And Sarutobi, burdened by guilt and indecision, would never go this far.
In fact, Danzō suspected Sarutobi probably thought he was responsible.
"So then… who else?"
Danzō's brows knitted tighter, a vague feeling that an invisible hand was manipulating events from the shadows.
He thought of the only surviving child—but logic told him it was impossible.
Such clean, flawless, ruthless, and insidious methods without leaving a trace, even tricking both Orochimaru and Sarutobi… couldn't possibly come from a fifteen-year-old.
Let alone a timid, orphaned Branch House member of the Hyūga clan.
"Damn it! Who is it?!"
Danzō crushed the scroll in his fist, furious at the lurking unknown threat he could do nothing about.
This person must be extremely dangerous—an enemy whose threat to Konoha surpassed even Orochimaru's.
Known as the "Shadow of Shinobi," Danzō would allow no such threat to remain.
Better to kill ten innocents than let one guilty slip away.
Thinking thus, recalling that Hyūga Branch House "waste," Danzō narrowed his eyes. From his sleeve, he pulled out a scroll, writing coded messages before handing it to the crow.
Just a useless Branch House member. If he died in some "accident," no one would care.
Meanwhile, deep within Fire Country, hundreds of kilometers from Konoha—
Crack!
A dry branch snapped in the forest depths, startling birds sheltering beneath trees. A figure staggered out of the shadows.
"Heh... hehehe!"
Orochimaru leaned heavily against a tree, coughing blood—his throat burned with iron-rich bubbles bursting in his mouth.
His left arm ended mid-forearm, raw muscle and bone exposed. Half his clothes were soaked in blood.
This was likely the worst injury he'd suffered since modifying his own body.
He had always expected this day, and prepared contingencies within Fire Country—a clan known as the Iburi.
They possessed the Kekkei Genkai of "Smoke Release," allowing them to transform into smoke and infiltrate others' bodies to control their movements. However, wind exposure scattered them permanently.
Due to instability, many Iburi died until Orochimaru helped stabilize their abilities and extend their lifespans.
Their blood could heal injuries, making them ideal "blood packs."
If not for the final explosion, even if wounded by the old man, he could have limped his way to safety.
"Damn it! Damn it!! All because of that brat!!" His voice rasped with fury.
He patted the scroll tucked into his chest.
At least this ancient secret scroll remained intact.
If he could continue deciphering its seals, more secrets of the Ōtsutsuki would be revealed.
Additionally, he had taken a piece of flesh from the Ōtsutsuki corpse. If he perfected the Impure World Reincarnation technique…
Now, his only hope was for Manda to use the Reverse Summoning Technique to escape Fire Country.
But given Manda's temperament, seeing Orochimaru so weakened would prompt him to swallow him whole.
And the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave—and her subordinates, Tachibana, Ichikishima, and Tachigane—weren't exactly kind-hearted either…
"Cough! Cough!"
Orochimaru spat blood, his thoughts abruptly shattered.
Blurred vision, ringing ears, uncontrollable senses.
Twisted tree shadows became clawing hands, vines transformed into snares—he realized his bodily functions were collapsing.
Death loomed, but he clawed his fingers into the bark, grinding moss into green pulp between his palms.
He still needed to take revenge on that brat. He still needed to uncover all truths of the world!
No matter what—it couldn't end here. Not now!
As Orochimaru resolved to perform the Summoning Technique—
POOF!
A burst of white smoke erupted, and he vanished.
Seconds later, a tall figure appeared where he once stood—long white hair flowing down his back.
Jiraiya had arrived.
"Reverse Summoning Technique?" Jiraiya frowned. "Orochimaru… what have you done…"
At the same time, in a vast cavern converted into a chamber, stalactites hung like fangs from the ceiling.
Snake-shaped carvings adorned the blue stone floor. Ghostly green phosphorescent flames flickered in alcoves, while glowing blue-violet minerals pulsed faintly in the walls.
"Where am I…?"
Orochimaru opened his eyes, stunned at the familiar scenery.
"Ryūchi Cave?"
He hadn't even summoned Manda yet—how did he get reverse-summoned here?
"Orochimaru."
Before he could understand what happened, an ancient, ethereal voice echoed. Instinctively, he looked up.
Coiled atop a stone throne was a massive white-scaled serpent.
The White Snake Sage—the revered ancestor of Ryūchi Cave, a thousand-year-old white-scaled serpent whose power was beyond Orochimaru's comprehension.
Normally, the White Snake Sage appeared as an elderly woman in white robes.
But now, for the first time, Orochimaru saw her true form—her serene demeanor replaced by a foul, reptilian stench.
"How is this possible?"
The giant snake fixed Orochimaru with golden, snake-like eyes, its expression shifting between shock and disbelief.
"Your fate…" it hissed slowly, "has been rewritten?"
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, in a rundown house at the edge of the Hyūga compound—
Meow.
A soft mewl mixed with cricket chirps reached the ears of the boy lying in bed.
Hyūga Unkawa slowly opened his eyes.
"He's finally gone."
He sat upright, gazing out the window at the peaceful night, touching the bandages around his neck with a faint smile.
For such a critical wound, recovering most of it in just one day was incredible.
While not quite rivaling Hashirama cells in regeneration, this level of healing was enough to free him from the fragility typical of ninja.
And this was merely one of the benefits of his new body.
Reflecting on this, Unkawa turned his gaze to the interface appearing before him.
[Name: Hyūga Unkawa]
[Age: 15]
[Bloodline: Hyūga Clan → Ōtsutsuki Clan (5%)]
[Chakra Capacity: D-Rank → S-Rank]
[Chakra Natures: Wind → Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, Yin, Yang]
[Ninjutsu: …]
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