Seeing the wide-eyed little girl in his arms, Yuto couldn't help but chuckle.
He set her gently on the ground.
"Careful next time, little one."
"Hmph, I'm not little. My name's Haruna."
She puffed her cheeks, speaking in her best imitation of an adult's tone.
By then the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl had reached them, relief flooding her face at the sight of Haruna unharmed.
"Haruna, no more running off!" she scolded sternly.
Haruna pouted but stayed quiet.
"Thank you, sir, for helping just now."
The girl bowed deeply, gratitude plain in her voice.
"It's nothing," Yuto waved it off lightly.
"Ah! Sis, sis! I want that big brother's fish balls!"
Haruna's eyes shone as she pointed eagerly at the skewer in his hand.
Before her sister could speak, Yuto smiled and handed it over. The girl devoured them without hesitation.
Her sister flushed, bowing again. "Forgive her—she's too young to know better."
"Don't worry. I bought plenty. In fact, if you're free, could you show me around a bit? My treat."
He reached out, ruffling Haruna's hair.
At his words, Haruna's eyes lit up and she turned pleadingly to her sister.
But the older girl's gaze lingered on Yuto, wary. From the start, something about him had felt familiar, though she was sure she had never seen him in the village. More troubling was the faint danger radiating off him.
"If you're worried, rest easy," Yuto said with a soft laugh. "I'm no villain."
"Don't be fooled by her looks," Haruna piped up. "Sis is a genius! She's really strong!" Her voice brimmed with pride.
"I'm Ringo Ameyuri. I know this area well. If you don't mind, I'll be your guide."
She stepped forward, pulling Haruna protectively behind her.
Yuto arched a brow, amused at her suspicion, but let it go. The name Ringo Ameyuri tugged at his memory, though he couldn't quite place it.
Whether his guide was a shinobi or not made little difference—he only wanted to see how Kirigakure's people lived. With Haruna skipping alongside, the mood was far lighter than it might have been.
The only nuisance was that the girl seemed intent on eating him out of house and home.
—
In a shadowed underground chamber, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with rare excitement. He barely spared a glance at the scroll Mei had traded him.
Once, he might have studied it eagerly. Now, something far more valuable claimed his focus.
Hiss… hiss…
A snake as thin as a thumb slithered from his sleeve, coiling into his palm. It opened its jaws and spat out a small lump of flesh.
Orochimaru licked his lips, voice hot with hunger.
"The First Mizukage's secret of immortality… I must know it."
He had planned ahead. Before Yuto's revival, Orochimaru had stationed this snake beneath the ritual site. At the moment Hashirama's seal had broken, it had surfaced and torn free a scrap of Yuto's flesh.
Mei and Ao had been too fixated on Yuto himself to notice. The little snake bore no chakra signature. Even Yuto, bitten before his rebirth, would never sense the loss.
Knock, knock.
"Enter."
The Sound Four filed in, their faces etched with fear.
"So, you've woken. How does it feel, living without the curse mark?" Orochimaru's smile widened as his gaze fixed on them.
They dropped to one knee in unison.
"Orochimaru-sama, please grant us the power again!"
In Otogakure, power was everything. Even knowing the curse mark devoured their bodies, they could not let go of its strength.
Moments later, their screams echoed through the chamber.
"Send Kimimaro to me later," Orochimaru murmured, his voice low and cold. "It won't be long before he has to leave again."
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