Orochimaru had defected.
That was the official news Hyuga Sho received shortly afterward.
Shimura Danzō had failed to kill Orochimaru.
That was another piece of news he received privately from Kakashi.
"So that's what happened..."
Hyuga Sho looked at Anko.
After interrogating her for a while.
Hyuga Sho discovered something.
Part of Anko's memory seemed to have become hazy.
She could not remember where she had gone or what had happened over the past two weeks.
All she knew was that after returning, she had found a Curse Mark on her neck, apparently placed there by Orochimaru.
Combined with the cases of ninja disappearing from the village.
He could conclude...
"Orochimaru has finally become a complete sicko."
His madness had ultimately led him to betray the village.
Hyuga Sho had predicted this long ago.
Probably... ten years ago, when he first met Orochimaru.
Hyuga Sho had known that a mad scientist like him would sooner or later take this unethical path.
With that in mind.
Before leaving the Torture Department, Hyuga Sho dealt one final blow to Anko, who had refused to yield even under threat of death.
"Mitaraishi Anko... your teacher... Orochimaru has defected."
"!!"
Ignoring Anko's wide-eyed, disbelieving stare.
Hyuga Sho quickly left.
At the entrance to the Torture Department.
"Hyuga Sho, we have orders from above to pursue Orochimaru..."
Hatake Kakashi stood there with several ANBU beside him.
Orochimaru's defection was no small matter.
Before the official announcement, Orochimaru's former subordinates had already been secretly taken into custody and imprisoned.
They would be questioned to determine their attitudes toward Orochimaru and the village.
The Uchiha Police Force got busy.
They began making arrests.
Presumably, this operation would offend quite a few more people.
After all, dumping the dirty work on the Uchiha was always a safe