Time passed in the blink of an eye. It was still the same wooden hut, and the Third Hokage sat there with a pipe between his teeth, gazing at the empty room with a troubled expression.
Several Anbu were searching the place. A moment later, one of them appeared before the Third Hokage. Without saying a word, he bowed his head and held out something that looked like a scale in both hands.
The Third Hokage silently lowered his head and picked up the scale. A faint fishy smell rose from it, carrying a trace of familiarity.
"Snake scales from Ryūchi Cave, huh... So it really was the work of that student of mine?!"
The news that Yamato had disappeared only drew attention that morning, when he failed to report for his shift change with the Anbu.
The Third Hokage personally investigated the matter and quickly found Yamato's residence. In fact, the moment he stepped inside, he had already begun to suspect something.
That faint groove in the ground—who else would recognize it if not the Third Hokage? It was the trace known as the Snake Path, a trail left behind when giant snakes slithered through grass and soil.
Gazing at the snake scale before him, the Third Hokage seemed to see his student again, sneering as he said:
"Teacher Sarutobi, I've taken back my own creation—the Wood Release Ninja."
"I shouldn't have shown mercy back then... It looks like Orochimaru has become a menace!"
The Third Hokage felt a measure of regret. Orochimaru's defection had been one of the rare times this famed shinobi had let sentiment sway him. After all, the Third Hokage knew perfectly well that most of the blame pinned on Orochimaru had actually belonged to Shimura Danzō.
But at the time, the Third Hokage had had no choice. Orochimaru had directly experimented on shinobi from his own village, and the disappearances of Konoha Village shinobi had caused such an uproar that it was impossible to suppress.
Rather than saying Konoha had driven Orochimaru out, it would be more accurate to say that Orochimaru had defected from Konoha of his own accord!
But for various reasons, the Third Hokage ultimately hadn't been able to bring himself to act, allowing Orochimaru to escape Konoha Village.
Now, the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha was intensifying, the Third Hokage was growing old, and Jiraiya was off wandering elsewhere. Faced with the threat of Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi sadly realized that he was already struggling to cope.
"Enough. Let's leave it at that. Anbu, investigate Orochimaru's whereabouts. It seems my student left quite a few spies in Konoha; otherwise, he couldn't have found Yamato."
"Also, if you find any sign of Orochimaru, don't engage. Just notify me."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The Third Hokage sighed softly. He hadn't given the Anbu those orders because he still felt sorry for Orochimaru. He knew perfectly well that sending ordinary Anbu after Orochimaru would be little more than feeding them to him.
Even he, the Hokage, had little confidence that he could defeat his student now, not knowing how strong he had become.
"Looks like I'll have to bring Jiraiya back... He's been searching for Orochimaru all these years. Isn't this a lead?"
After Orochimaru defected from Konoha, Jiraiya had left as well. He claimed he was going to find Orochimaru, but the real reason was that he had grown disappointed in Konoha Village.
As for Jiraiya going to look for some Child of Prophecy, the Third Hokage didn't put much stock in that. Besides, even if such a child really existed, the odds of one appearing in Konoha were far greater than the odds of a genius shinobi turning up in the wilderness.
Konoha was in an increasingly dire situation. The Third Hokage was growing old, and although the Uchiha seemed to have quieted down after Uchiha Shisui's death, the clan's two remaining geniuses who had once sided with Konoha Village had become estranged from the village leadership.
The Third Hokage knew perfectly well what would come of allowing Danzō to kill Shisui. But Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was too great a threat. By comparison, the trust of Uchiha Shūichi and Uchiha Itachi was insignificant.
Speak of the devil, and he appears. Just as the Third Hokage thought of his old comrade, Shimura Danzō appeared outside the hut and slowly walked in.
At a glance, the Darkness of Konoha spotted the snake scale in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"A giant snake from Ryūchi Cave?! Hiruzen, was this Orochimaru's doing?"
"You don't need to tell me, Danzō! I have eyes. I can see for myself."
The Third Hokage snorted coldly. Shimura Danzō had fanned the flames behind Orochimaru's defection, and could even be said to have engineered the whole affair from beginning to end.
Although Orochimaru had willingly fallen into the trap, that was no excuse for Shimura Danzō. Now that Danzō had brought up Orochimaru again, it would have been strange if the Third Hokage had shown him any warmth.
Shimura Danzō paid no attention to the Third Hokage's tone. Or rather, he had long since grown used to it.
"Hiruzen, I told you back then that if the Wood Release Ninja trained in Root, he'd become Konoha's greatest trump card. You insisted on taking him away from Root. And how did that turn out?"
"Hmph. Orochimaru had been coveting Wood Release for a long time..."
The Third Hokage drew deeply on his pipe, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and looked coldly at Shimura Danzō. His voice turned slightly icy.
"Enough, Danzō. I only want to ask you one thing—is it you who leaked Yamato's information?"
"What are you talking about, Hiruzen? Are you suspecting me?"
"That's right! How many people in all of Konoha do you think know the details of Yamato's situation and have some connection to Orochimaru?"
Danzō was instantly at a loss for words. Yamato had originally been a member of Root, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had forcibly taken him away. Of course Danzō knew all kinds of things about Yamato.
As for his connection to Orochimaru, Danzō had kept it very well hidden, but he had never expected to keep it from Hiruzen Sarutobi. To put it bluntly, Root existed to handle dirty work like this. Orochimaru's talent for research was beyond question; failing to contact him would have been the real dereliction of duty.
"Hiruzen! What would I gain by giving Orochimaru information about Yamato?"
"Orochimaru would only take the Wood Release Ninja away. He wouldn't leave him for Root!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his eyelids slightly and spoke in a calm voice.
"That's why I haven't taken you into custody. I only have my suspicions."
Danzō drew a deep breath, suppressing his anger. Instead of dwelling on the blame being heaped on him, he spoke up:
"Let me go after Orochimaru! I'll bring Yamato back."
"Forget it. Orochimaru once served as Root's deputy and knows its operations inside and out. Root won't get involved in this."
Hiruzen Sarutobi flatly refused. Clearly, his suspicions of Shimura Danzō had not been laid to rest.
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