Swish! Swish! Swish!
Night had descended. Rain fell gently on the rooftops, big drops in a curved trajectory, splashing hard when they reached the ground. Konoha's lights glowed with a dull light, as if a mirage.
Black figures, like owls, bounded over the rooftops. They donned light gray tactical vests, each having a sheathed short blade or straight sword strapped to their back.
Most of them still smelled faintly of blood. Underneath their white masks, their eyes and brows exuded cold discipline and seriousness, so that any villagers on the streets would instinctively move aside.
They walked through the crowded streets and reached the village borders, where very few people went.
They halted before a building where a symbol "An" was posted — the ANBU headquarters of Konoha.
Nearly all ANBU personnel had been called in suddenly from home. The atmosphere was densely populated but organized, deathly still, thick with tension.
One of them was Kakashi Hatake.
His forehead was bandaged, his brows drawn tightly together, and one eye was dead and blank with confusion.
Who had placed those explosive tags? The Third Hokage?
Kakashi had not noticed the odd black cat. He just noticed Orochimaru burst out of the ground, then get blown off into the air by the blasts below.
Although Kakashi was close enough to be hurt, the harm he experienced was nothing in comparison to what Orochimaru endured. Even unsealing his jutsu to help him stand up against the blast, one of his arms was broken by the sheer power.
But… the Third Hokage hadn't arranged this beforehand, had he?
Creak!
The front doors of the ANBU building creaked open with a cacophonous screech, shattering the spooky silence.
Kakashi brushed aside his reservations, donned his mask, and gazed up. Two figures stepped out, one after the other.
One was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in his red-and-white kimono and straw hat. The second was an older gentleman in a black kimono, with bandages covering his right eye and arm. Long eyes and a scarred chin rendered him grim and frigid-looking.
This was the ANBU founder and leader, lord of Konoha's shadows — Danzo Shimura.
"This emergency gathering is to apprehend Orochimaru, who fled from the previous operation."
Hiruzen moved forward, looking around at the ANBU before him. Unflappable and to the point, he ordered:
"Reportedly, Orochimaru is seriously wounded. Given his state, evacuating the Land of Fire in a hurry is not going to be simple."
"Orochimaru's expertise, intellect, and technology are invaluable assets to Konoha. Return him alive if at all possible."
"If he defies the Land of Fire, it will deal Konoha a fatal blow. We have to sprint against time and prevent him from escaping beyond the border."
"Everyone, search with all your might!"
Hiruzen raised his head, face stern, and said no more."Scatter!"
Swish! Swish!
The ANBU dissolved into darkness, the village's undercover operatives prepared to stalk the sly snake, over land, air, and sea.
Once they had all cleared out, Hiruzen made his way towards the ANBU complex.
As he passed by Danzo, a contemptuous voice whispered in his ear:"You do care for your precious student, don't you?"
Hiruzen stopped, cocking his head a little, the hat eclipsing his face.
"You… actually made a mistake," Danzo went on. "I hear you saved a boy from the Hyuga clan from Orochimaru?"
They were friends for over three decades. Hiruzen saw the significance of Danzo's words right away and released a soft, tired sigh in his head.
"That was just a helpless boy," Hiruzen explained. "He is a member of the Hyuga branch family."
Don't hold out hope.
Whatever Orochimaru did to him, a branch family Hyuga could never be of actual value to him.
Even though Nael possessed sturdy willpower, Hiruzen might have attempted to lead him, even though he was not talented. A commoner can be a teacher at a ninja school.
But he wasn't a commoner…
Nael, as a branch Hyuga, could only serve the main family. He had no use for Konoha's ends.
Since the Hyuga main clan is in control of the "secret seal," a branch member can have his brain easily destroyed. Danzo's "Seal of Tongue" was comparatively kind — paralyzing the subject only, so it won't be able to talk or move.
Danzo gazed at night, eyes shut, as if releasing some scheme. Calmly, he spoke:"Regardless of what, I will provide complete support. For Konoha, I will do my best."
"Apolologies, then," Hiruzen said serenely, looking at him.
Without further ado, Hiruzen went into the ANBU building.
While Danzo's words gave an implication of criticism — that Hiruzen did what he felt personally, and not for Konoha's interests, even conspiring with Orochimaru before — upon Orochimaru's escape, Hiruzen would know his friend would do whatever to destroy any danger to Konoha.
Or perhaps the blast that injured Orochimaru was Danzo's secret plan all along, devised in the background.
Just like the Hyuga branch boy explained: for Konoha's "Great Tree" to prosper, it requires the invisible "roots."
But merely the invisible roots.
Once Hiruzen departed, Danzo regained consciousness.
Caw caw.
A crow perched upon his shoulder, placing a small scroll onto his palm.
Danzo rolled it out, scanning the tightly packed code — ANBU's second set of orders to clean up the experiment facility. Unfortunately, the explosions had destroyed most of Orochimaru's equipment and files.
The tags exploded from the entire underground system, wiping out the facility entirely.
Those devices had cost Danzo an extortionate amount, some acquired by means even the ANBU didn't possess.
"Did Orochimaru do this? Even destroying it, he wouldn't leave me anything?"
Danzo's lengthy eyes clouded over, then he pushed the thought aside. Orochimaru had lost an arm due to the blast; with his changed body, he could possibly heal. But in his low chakra levels, there was no reason for him to jeopardize his already hurt body.
Besides, Hiruzen would never be so extreme, regardless of his guilt over Orochimaru. Danzo knew that Hiruzen would likely still assume it was him behind the scenes.
"So… who else?"
Danzo's eyebrows furrowed. He sensed an unseen hand pulling strings in the background.
He considered the only surviving boy — Nael — but logic instructed him it couldn't be done.
No adolescent boy would carry out such cold-blooded, calculated, covert strategies, even to the extent of manipulating Orochimaru and Hiruzen.
Impossible for a shy branch-family Hyuga to accomplish.
"Damn it! Who?!"
Danzo crushed the scroll in his fist, disliking this unknown menace lurking in the shadows, but not being able to do anything about it.
This opponent was wickedly dangerous, a threat to Konoha even more than Orochimaru.
Danzo, the master of Konoha's shadows, would never let such an individual live.
Better to slay the wrong one than it to live.
Considering the branch-family boy, Danzo narrowed his eyes, took another scroll, inscribed on it the secret codes, and released a crow with it.
It was nothing but a branch-family Hyuga "useless" one. Nobody would mind if he got killed in an accident.