`"Sensei, don't misunderstand—it wasn't anyone from our village trying to kill me. I fell into an explosive tag trap, and when they saw I was beyond saving, they removed my organs."
With Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki Senju's explanation, the situation became even more perplexing.
The one who removed his organs was a girl wearing glasses, accompanied by an Aburame clan shinobi. However, these Konoha ninja had initially come to rescue him—they were the ones who fended off the Iwa-nin, or else he would've died much sooner.
Unfortunately, during their escape, Nawaki ran into another group of Iwa-nin and triggered another explosive tag trap. By the time the Aburame shinobi reached him, it was too late. The bespectacled girl was highly skilled in medical ninjutsu, but the kunai shrapnel from the explosion had already pierced his organs beyond repair.
Faced with no other options, the Aburame shinobi ordered the removal of Nawaki's organs, claiming they would be used to suppress the Sharingan. What happened after that, Nawaki didn't know.
"Huh?" Yoru frowned, realizing things weren't aligning with his assumptions.
The ones who removed Nawaki's organs were likely operatives under Danzō Shimura—but contrary to expectations, Danzō hadn't wanted Nawaki dead. In fact, he had tried to protect him. Only after failing did he opt for the next best thing: maximizing the situation's value.
"Nawaki, rest well. Your sensei will get to the bottom of this."
Orochimaru's golden, serpentine eyes gleamed with an unreadable light.
As a candidate for Hokage, Orochimaru's influence in Konoha far surpassed Yoru's, with loyal subordinates embedded throughout the village's shinobi network. Without delay, Orochimaru summoned a small snake to relay orders to his most trusted operative, Shizune's uncle (OC: Mitarashi Shibuki), demanding a full investigation.
He even enlisted the help of his close friend, Dan Katō, whose Soul Possession Jutsu made him exceptionally well-informed about frontline defenses.
Only after arranging all this did Orochimaru take a moment to observe the lab's setup.
"Orochimaru, transplanted organs are only a temporary solution. You'll need to clone Nawaki's original organs and replace them as soon as possible."
Orochimaru nodded. "Yoru… this lab of yours must've cost a fortune."
His gaze swept over the cutting-edge equipment with palpable envy.
At this point in time, Orochimaru lacked Yoru's financial resources. Mission earnings paled in comparison to running a business—especially one like Yoru's, which included lucrative ventures like shipwreck salvage operations.
Backed by a steady flow of antiques and gold, Yoru had acquired the finest equipment from across the shinobi world. And after the mass production of Sanshōuo Toxin, even Gato and Kakuzu saw the lab's profit potential, actively helping to source more advanced tools.
Aside from the deeply concealed White Zetsu Lab, Wave Country housed four major research facilities. The current location was Prosthetics Lab No. 3, specializing in cultivating shinobi organs. However, since the technology wasn't yet perfected, they could only collaborate with Puppet Lab No. 2 to produce mechanical limbs—full organ replication remained out of reach.
But with Orochimaru's expertise, cloning functional shinobi organs was now within sight.
True to his reputation as the greatest scientific mind in the shinobi world, Orochimaru refined the existing genetic techniques within days, successfully cloning a miniature heart.
Just as he finalized the experimental data and awaited the full growth of Nawaki's cloned organs, a small white snake delivered an urgent intelligence report.
After reading it, Orochimaru's expression darkened. He immediately incinerated the scroll, denying Yoru even a glimpse.
"Yoru, I need to go to the Grass Country frontline immediately. Can you teleport me there?"
"Orochimaru, why the rush? The cloned organs are nearly ready—why not wait until after the transplant?"
"No time. With Tsunade there, Nawaki will be safe. This is urgent. I'll return for him once it's handled."
Seeing Orochimaru's insistence, Yoru didn't press further. Using a shadow clone-assisted Flying Thunder God Technique, he teleported Orochimaru straight to the Grass Country frontlines.
Still, curiosity got the better of him. Yoru dispatched multiple shadow clones to gather intel, using Spore Technique to uncover the truth.
Within hours, the clones' memories returned.
"No way… Hiruzen Sarutobi is involved?!"
Yoru's mind reeled.
No wonder Orochimaru later collaborated with Danzō—the mastermind behind this wasn't the scapegoat shadow after all.
According to the intel, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had played a role in Nawaki's near-death.
Of course, the information's validity was uncertain—it might've been solely Dan Katō's claim. But given Dan's integrity and his relationship with Orochimaru, he wouldn't have spoken without solid evidence.
To Orochimaru, Hiruzen wasn't just a teacher—he was a father figure.
Unless Dan had irrefutable proof, he would never have risked revealing this to Orochimaru.
Cross-referencing Dan's intel, Orochimaru pieced together the broader picture:
The Hidden Stone's plot to target Nawaki—grandson of Hashirama Senju—had been discovered early by Konoha's ANBU and reported directly to Hiruzen.
Yet, Hiruzen chose to do nothing.
Meanwhile, Danzō, through his spy Nonō Yakushi, intercepted intel from within Iwagakure and rushed to save Nawaki—but arrived too late.
Once it was clear Nawaki couldn't be saved, the Aburame shinobi ordered Nonō to extract his organs for "maximum utility."
After Root operatives left with the organs, an ANBU squad appeared—covering up Root's involvement and framing the entire incident on Iwa.
During this time, Dan, using his Soul Possession Jutsu (which allowed near-instantaneous long-range spiritual travel), arrived too late to save Nawaki but in time to witness ANBU erasing Root's tracks.
"So that's how it is."
Everything clicked into place for Yoru.
Hiruzen hadn't directly killed Nawaki—but he had allowed it to happen. He could've intervened, yet he chose inaction. Worse, he helped Danzō cover it up.
Otherwise, the scapegoat shadow would've taken the fall alone.
"Orochimaru… faced with a father-like mentor on one side and a beloved student on the other, what will you choose?"
Yoru couldn't help but wonder—would Orochimaru confront Hiruzen?