Rebelling Against Konoha

Orochimaru led Hyuga Qinglan through the dim, winding underground corridors.

When they reached the end of the passage, Orochimaru suddenly stopped and took a tube of pale green glowing reagent from his robes.

"This is a potion I carefully concocted... Take it when you're dying or badly injured, and your cells will regenerate several times faster."

"Want to give it a try?"

"Thank you, but I don't think... I'm weak enough to need medicine yet."

Hyuga Qinglan politely declined.

Take a potion concocted by Orochimaru?

That was impossible.

Although Orochimaru's forbidden drugs were indeed potent, every one of them was essentially a poisoned apple that either drained the user's life or altered their genes.

In the original story, Sasuke took forbidden drugs for three years. He gained power in the short term, but nearly ended up as Orochimaru's vessel.

Power that didn't belong to you was ultimately just a fleeting illusion.

At this, Orochimaru merely smiled meaningfully. He didn't press the matter, instead turning to push open the laboratory's heavy door.

"Creak—"

The sound of the hinges turning was especially grating in the silence.

Beyond the door lay a spacious, meticulously clean laboratory.

Complex medical equipment filled the room, while ancient books, scrolls, manuscripts, and experiment records were piled up like mountains.

Hyuga Qinglan's gaze was drawn to the Branch Family Byakugan submerged in pale green nutrient fluid at the center of the laboratory.

Its formerly clear pupil was now riddled with fine blood vessels, a clear sign that Orochimaru had already put it through the wringer.

"Lord Qinglan, about that scroll... Are you sure there was only one original and one copy, just as you said?"

"And the secrets hidden in it... Aside from the part about the Caged Bird, there was nothing else?"

Orochimaru spoke without warning, his tone brimming with curiosity.

"It was already like that when I found the scroll,"

Hyuga Qinglan replied without giving anything away, then smoothly changed the subject.

"But perhaps if Lord Orochimaru investigates it, he might find something?"

"Lord Qinglan, you know I'm not joking."

Orochimaru leaned in abruptly, his narrow eyes fixed on those pale eyes as if he meant to peer straight into Hyuga Qinglan's soul.

"Lord Orochimaru, I'm not joking either."

Hyuga Qinglan met his gaze calmly, his eyes as still as a deep well.

He truly wasn't joking. There were indeed some messages hidden in the scroll.

They described a passage leading from the moon to the earth. He had prepared them specifically for the Hyuga Clan.

Only now, things had changed, and Orochimaru was the one looking into it...

If Orochimaru studied it carefully, he might really uncover something.

"..."

The tense silence stretched on for a moment, broken only by the instruments' faint ticking.

"Heh..."

After a while, Orochimaru chuckled and tossed him a sterile sample tube.

Hyuga Qinglan raised a hand and caught it steadily.

"Draw a tube of blood."

"Your body didn't collapse despite being caught in an attack of that magnitude. It's given me some very delightful ideas."

Orochimaru watched Qinglan's reaction.

In his eyes, the youth before him might officially be only a Chunin, but surviving an attack of that magnitude last night was itself the biggest giveaway.

More importantly...

He watched Hyuga Qinglan calmly roll up his sleeve and skillfully draw blood from his vein.

This young man had been hiding far too much from the very beginning.

And the mysterious man "Ao" who appeared last night only confirmed his suspicions.

Perhaps that scroll hadn't been found in some ancient tomb at all. It might have been stolen from somewhere or simply fabricated.

He had even entertained an absurd thought.

Could that "Ao" and Hyuga Qinglan be the same person?

But reason quickly dismissed the idea.

According to the description, the man named "Ao" had a pair of eyes as dreamily azure as the sea.

His abilities matched the Tenseigan described in the scroll perfectly.

But the Caged Bird mark on Hyuga Qinglan's forehead was still clearly visible.

As a Branch Family member, even if the Cursed Seal's power fluctuated, he could never possess that kind of power.

That was right: it was fluctuating, not being removed.

Orochimaru had keenly noticed that the mark on Qinglan's forehead was still fading, but unlike before, it was now growing increasingly intricate and profound.

"Lord Orochimaru, is this enough?"

Hyuga Qinglan's face had grown paler as he handed back the sample tube, now full of blood.

"Of course,"

Orochimaru said, satisfied, as he put the blood away. Then, out of nowhere, he tossed out a joke-like remark. "Get some rest. After all, the owner of the scroll has already shown up once. A second visit... surely can't be far off."

"Right now, you and I are allies in the same boat."

"Maybe Ao will come knocking one of these days~"

"..."

Hyuga Qinglan didn't reply. His steps unsteady, he headed for the door.

To make this act convincing, the wound in his abdomen and the chakra he'd lost were both very real.

"You're not considering my condition at all..."

He gave a self-mocking smile.

Just as he was about to step through the doorway, Orochimaru's cold, hoarse voice came from behind him again.

"By the way, I've recommended you to Teacher Sarutobi for promotion to Jonin. If nothing unexpected happens, your appointment should arrive in the next few days."

"Although I'd very much like to capture the madman who attacked the village myself..."

"But our top priority now is to pacify the bloody front over there."

"Good luck, Jonin Qinglan."

"Ao..."

"Who exactly is he?"

"Could it really be as the Great Elder's final message said—that he was the origin of the Hyuga Clan?"

"And Danzo, that bastard..."

Hyuga Hiashi's thoughts churned, and he couldn't help recalling the scene from the day before, when Aburame Ryoma had surrounded the Main Branch residence with Root shinobi.

They'd moved so quickly, and their timing had been so precise.

They'd even known exactly which route he would take to Qinglan Residence.

If the mysterious man hadn't attacked the Hyuga Clan Compound, Hyuga Hiashi might never have realized just how deeply Danzo had infiltrated the Hyuga Clan—or how closely he was watching them.

"If the Great Elder's dying message was correct... then that man named 'Ao' must have come for the scroll."

He slowly raised his eyes, surveying the Main Branch members before him, who were arguing incessantly under Danzo's pressure and in the wake of last night's tragedy.

"Three members of the Main Branch died in battle... even the Great Elder perished! But the Branch Family only suffered injuries, and not a single one of them died!"

"That lunatic is after the Main Branch's Byakugan, isn't he?"

"And that old thief Danzo! He clearly stole the scroll, yet he shamelessly uses it as an excuse to demand an explanation from the Hyuga Clan!"

"If you ask me, the village never considered us allies at all!"

A hotheaded young member of the Main Branch suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

"Clan Head! If Danzo can't tolerate us and the mysterious man wants the scroll back, then we might as well go all the way and rebel against Konoha!"