It had been some time since he left the Hyuga estate, but he could still faintly hear laughter coming from inside.
He didn't need to think twice to know that Hyuga Hiashi had probably believed it too.
"What a turn of events..."
Hyuga Qinglan couldn't help sighing again. In his previous life, he'd been far-sighted enough.
He had written that scroll while still living with the Otsutsuki Main Family, drawing on recorded information and adding some details of his own.
It was one of the pieces he'd set in motion as a precaution while accompanying the Main Family to observe the Shinobi World.
His aim was to use it one day to enter the Shinobi World and obtain the Hyuga Clan's pure Byakugan, then evolve it into the Tenseigan.
"It's a shame some of the arrangements on the moon probably won't be of any use now."
Hyuga Qinglan murmured silently to himself.
"The scroll should be in the secret vault, and the one guarding it will most likely be Hyuga Yumi's grandfather..."
Hyuga Tianyun.
That old bastard.
Remembering the miserable state he'd been in when the grandfather and granddaughter had punished him with the Caged Bird, Hyuga Qinglan couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
"The search for Otsutsuki remains will be a long and arduous one..."
"I should be able to take it easy for a while now..."
"Next..."
He was still thinking when he turned a street corner.
Bang!
"Ow!"
A small figure crashed squarely into him. The bag of herbs in her hand flew free, scattering its contents across the ground with a rustle.
"Ow, that hurts..."
Mitaraishi Anko clutched her head and crouched down. Then she looked at the herbs scattered everywhere, and a sudden flare of anger shot through her.
She jerked her head up, her brows knotted together.
"You... You made me drop my herbs..."
"Do you know who I am? I'm Lord Orochimaru's student..."
She stopped halfway through her sentence when she got a good look at the person in front of her.
"Captain Qinglan?"
Her anger seemed to freeze in place. She blinked, staring at the man before her in disbelief.
"Why is it you?"
"Anko?"
Hyuga Qinglan was also taken aback. He clearly hadn't expected the shadow rushing around the corner to be Anko.
Then he quickly understood. Seeing her puffed-up expression and remembering that the dango shop was at the end of this street, he knew what was going on.
"I was wondering who was in such a hurry."
Hyuga Qinglan smiled warmly, his gaze settling on the herbs scattered across the ground.
"What happened here...?"
"These are herbs I bought for Lord Orochimaru... It's all Captain Qinglan's fault."
Anko pouted, her tone holding a hint of playful reproach, as though she expected Hyuga Qinglan to make it up to her.
Orochimaru?
Hyuga Qinglan glanced at Anko in surprise.
He hadn't realized Anko had already become Orochimaru's student.
Back when he'd just been promoted to Chunin, he'd formed a squad on the Cloud Battlefield, and Anko had been one of its members. She'd been a reckless little girl then, always charging to the front on missions, making everyone worry and laugh at the same time.
Later, he'd been transferred from the Cloud Battlefield to the Mist Battlefield to guard the Main Branch, and the squad had disbanded.
In the blink of an eye, that little girl had become Orochimaru's student.
Perhaps... he could change his plans a little.
"It's fine. They're all dry herbs, so just picking them up will do."
Hyuga Qinglan gathered his thoughts and comforted her as gently as he used to when they were on the same team.
He crouched down and began picking up the herbs one by one. After gathering a few, he noticed that Anko was still standing there, looking a little sheepish but making no move to help.
Hyuga Qinglan looked up at her and immediately saw through her little scheme.
"Alright," he said with a helpless smile. "I'll treat you to dango later."
"That's more like it..."
Anko instantly dropped the act. The awkward look vanished from her face, replaced by a bright smile, as if nothing had happened.
Inside the dango shop.
Hyuga Qinglan sat across from Anko, quietly watching her devour the dango in front of her, lost in thought.
"By the way, Captain Qinglan, how come I ran into you out on the street today?"
Anko bit off a dango. A little syrup still clung to the corner of her mouth as she asked indistinctly, "Why are you out here today? Whenever I used to see you, you were either on the front lines or with that... that Hyuga Yumi."
"I couldn't even say hello..."
"..."
Hyuga Qinglan paused, not taking up that line of conversation. Instead, he asked her, "Aren't you the same? The last time I saw you was at the main gate, when you were heading out on a mission."
"Hehehe... I've been working on experiments with Lord Orochimaru lately."
"You do know, right? Teacher Orochimaru is about to become Hokage. Then I'll be the Hokage's student..."
Just thinking about it made Anko's eyes curve into crescents. She couldn't help giggling.
Her laughter was loud enough to draw sidelong glances from the other shinobi in the shop, their faces full of surprise.
Orochimaru becoming Hokage?
She must be dreaming...
Hyuga Qinglan glanced at the surprised shinobi and motioned for Anko to keep her voice down.
At this point in time, Namikaze Minato had already made a name for himself throughout the Shinobi World.
Whenever things grew most dire on the Cloud or Rock Battlefields, Minato would arrive to save the day.
His main opponents were also formidable: the newly risen AB Brothers of Cloud Village.
No, to be precise, they were the Fourth Raikage and a Perfect Jinchuriki.
And Orochimaru?
The Third Hokage had already put him on the sidelines, and he was becoming more and more marginalized by the day.
Ordinary villagers might have thought the Fourth Hokage would be chosen from between Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato.
But to Hyuga Qinglan, who had read the original Naruto story,
there was only one candidate for Fourth Hokage.
That was Namikaze Minato.
But now...
"Ahem..."
Anko seemed to notice the looks around them too. She gave an awkward chuckle and a sheepish smile in their direction, then lowered her voice. "Captain Qinglan, you still haven't told me why you're out alone today."
"Me..."
Hyuga Qinglan's eyes curved into a smile. He lifted his teacup for a sip and smoothly took control of the conversation.
"The clan leader ordered that I be given a few days off. There'll be a celebration in a few days."
"I heard something wonderful happened, but I'm not sure exactly what. I can tell, though... the clan leader is very excited."
He paused, then added, "Usually, aside from the Hyuga members on the battlefield, everyone else has to attend the clan celebration."
"Oh..."
Mitaraishi Anko nodded blankly, not quite understanding why the Hyuga Clan would be holding a celebration at a time like this.
She suddenly remembered something and asked, "If you're having a celebration, does that mean you won't be taking any missions?"
"The situation isn't looking good right now... A lot of spies have slipped into the village lately."
"If the Hyuga Clan holds a celebration at a time like this, what about Lord Hokage...?"
Hyuga Qinglan smiled, his expression calm.
"It's fine. Those who need to go on missions will still go."
"Besides, even the secret vault will be guarded by Elder Hyuga Tianyun."
"He's stronger than two of me... No, he's probably as strong as three or four of me."
"Oh..."
Anko nodded as if she understood. Her attention soon drifted back to the dango in front of her, and she picked up another skewer and dug in.
Hyuga Qinglan smiled without saying anything more. He lowered his eyes to the glistening tri-coloured dango on the table.
Three smooth, round dumplings lined the skewer: white, pink, and green, their colours bright against one another, the glaze gleaming faintly in the light.
Pfft!
The topmost white dumpling was pierced by the skewer and split into pieces.
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