Snake Shadow

"Shisui, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Konoha, rooftop of the Hokage Office Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his back to Kage Rock, gazing out over the entire village, while Uchiha Shisui knelt on one knee behind him.

After completing his mission, Uchiha Shisui had hurried back to Konoha and reported on the operation.

To be honest, even Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat surprised after hearing it.

"That kid Makoto was actually that capable?"

Ao was an elite ninja of Kirigakure, and he possessed the Byakugan. Who knew how many losses he had caused Konoha!

Who would have thought that after agreeing to let Kakashi take Hyuga Makoto out to avoid the Main Branch's attention, they would run into him like this?

And Hyuga Makoto had even taken him down!

"Hizashi, you really raised a fine youngster..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help sighing inwardly. He already knew about the abilities Hyuga Makoto had used.

In his eyes, all of it had been taught by Hizashi Hyuga!

And he was quite pleased now. Hyuga Makoto might truly be able to accomplish what Hizashi Hyuga had hoped to achieve...

"Hokage-sama, I am deeply saddened by the distrust between the Uchiha and the village."

Just as he was feeling pleased, Uchiha Shisui spoke up, immediately dampening his mood.

"So am I..."

"I want to rebuild the relationship of trust between the Uchiha and the village."

Shisui had no idea what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking. He lowered his head and spoke softly.

"Hokage-sama, could you assign this task to me?"

"Do you want to stop taking ordinary missions?"

Though somewhat frustrated, Hiruzen Sarutobi still asked patiently.

The Uchiha were indeed a major problem for Konoha at the moment!

"Yes."

Shisui nodded and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi seriously.

"And could you grant me a certain degree of authority, so that..."

"I understand. I will announce to the outside world that I have sent you on a classified investigation mission."

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood what Shisui meant and agreed without hesitation.

"If anything happens, use my name. I will bear all responsibility."

"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama!"

Shisui froze for a moment before speaking excitedly. Even he had not expected things to go so smoothly, but Hiruzen Sarutobi merely smiled nonchalantly.

"When I look at you, I am reminded of an old friend—Kagami Uchiha."

"You flatter me..."

Shisui lowered his head, and his gaze became resolute.

"Hokage-sama, I will never again make the mistake of being irresponsible toward the village and my comrades!"

"Hmm?"

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the one left stunned. He was rather baffled.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It was the criticism from that Hyuga Anbu member..."

Shisui did not hide anything. He carefully recounted the entire incident before lowering his head and continuing.

"I have been thinking about it these past few days. It truly was my mistake. I did not mention it at first because I was worried I would not receive this mission. Please forgive me, Hokage-sama!"

"You..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had not expected this twist.

However, he did not care about Uchiha Shisui's little scheme. What he found interesting was Hyuga Makoto!

"To care so much about the village and the comrades within it..."

He could now be completely certain that Hyuga Makoto was a child who possessed the Will of Fire!

"And perhaps this child can do even more..."

"Ah-choo!"

Inside the Land of Whirlpools, within an underground laboratory.

Hyuga Makoto could not help sneezing, drawing a curious glance from Tenzo beside him.

"What is it? Can't you stand a place like this?"

"A little."

Hyuga Makoto nodded. He had to admit that Orochimaru's Laboratory was truly eerie.

Though all that remained were vessels piled everywhere and all kinds of discarded experimental equipment, the sight still made his skin crawl.

He did not dare imagine what this laboratory had been like before it was abandoned!

"But why do I keep feeling like someone is cursing me?"

Hyuga Makoto silently complained to himself, but Tenzo suddenly leaned closer, his voice turning sinister.

"This place is actually not too bad."

"?"

"Because I have seen places far more terrifying than this..."

Hyuga Makoto silently looked at Tenzo, already wondering what expression he should make next.

When Tenzo saw that Hyuga Makoto had no reaction, he could not help scratching his head.

"Hey, why weren't you scared?"

Hyuga Makoto was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He had thought Tenzo was about to talk about his past!

Instead, he was just messing with him like Naruto?

And he still wanted to scare people in a place like this. Did he have that relaxed feeling of coming home...

"Senior, you should get a flashlight and shine it upward from below. That would be even scarier."

Hyuga Makoto spoke weakly, but Tenzo's eyes lit up at his words.

"Like that? Sounds like it might be worth trying!"

Seeing Tenzo practically itching to try it, Hyuga Makoto felt his eyelids twitch.

"Enough chatting."

Fortunately, Kakashi walked in just then with a stack of documents.

"The sooner we finish the mission, the sooner we can go back."

"Yes."

Hyuga Makoto and Tenzo immediately behaved themselves. But after glancing at the documents that had been sorted and stacked nearby, Hyuga Makoto could not help asking.

"Captain, these materials should be enough to figure out what Orochimaru was doing, right?"

"They are, but Orochimaru is too dangerous."

Kakashi nodded, though his expression had turned serious.

"Besides figuring out what he was doing here, we should also see if we can find any other information. That will make it easier to track him down."

"I understand..."

Hyuga Makoto pressed his lips together. He actually wanted to say that if they wanted to find Orochimaru, they could try looking for Danzo!

Even though Orochimaru had defected long ago, the connection between them had never been severed.

"Maybe Danzo is even funding Orochimaru's research..."

But he could not say something that foolish, and it would be difficult to make the Third Hokage investigate Danzo.

After all, Danzo's intelligence network was first-rate, with informants spread throughout the Shinobi World.

Otherwise, the Third Hokage would not have spared him even after Danzo had tried to assassinate him.

Besides, Danzo's relationship with the Third Hokage had always been unusual. Perhaps that was friendship...

"All right, we're almost done."

Kakashi patted Hyuga Makoto on the shoulder and spoke softly.

"Use your Byakugan to check once more and see if we missed anything."

"No problem."

Though Hyuga Makoto had already checked several times, he had no reason to object.

The main reason he wanted to finish early was that he wanted to see what this mission would reward him with.

I hope I get what I want...

As he pondered, his Byakugan suddenly opened, and everything around him came into view!

Within the underground laboratory, only a few rats were scurrying around, and there was nothing strange or monstrous inside the experimental vessels.

The entire laboratory contained only scattered, fragmented records.

"Hmm?"

However, a moment later, Hyuga Makoto suddenly frowned and asked in a low voice.

"Captain, are there any other ninja squads near us?"

"What is it?"

Kakashi and Tenzo were both puzzled, but they immediately realized something was wrong.

"Did someone come?"

"Yes."

Hyuga Makoto nodded. He sighed and looked toward Kakashi.

"And they are not simple opponents!"

"Could it be..."

Kakashi's mouth twitched slightly, while Hyuga Makoto answered honestly.

"Orochimaru has arrived."

"..."

"Not just him. Others came with him as well."

There were helpers?

At that moment, Kakashi truly fell silent.

All the misfortunes of the past seemed to rise before his eyes once more...