An Unexpected Ending

Yang Xing furrowed his brow and glanced at the ground near the distant cave entrance. Then he headed toward Anko.

"D-did he die?" Anko stared at the body ahead, unable to believe her eyes. This was her teacher, Orochimaru—the most talented of the legendary Sannin of Konoha.

"He didn't. At the last second, he shed his skin, burrowed underground, and escaped. In this situation, I can't chase him either." As he untied Anko, Yang Xing spoke lightly. "He's alive, but he must be badly injured. He shouldn't be a threat to us for now."

Anko swallowed, wondering if she'd heard him wrong.

The idea of Orochimaru being seriously injured was unthinkable. Konoha had deployed countless Anbu to track him down and investigate for years, yet no one had ever found him.

And no one had been able to hurt him. But now Yang Xing—a kid younger than her—had managed to seriously injure Orochimaru. Just how strong would he become?

Anko looked at Yang Xing's face, her heart racing with the flutter of a young girl's first crush.

Beneath the cover of night, among the trees,

a black-haired man with a face pale as paper braced himself against the ground, panting heavily.

His whole body was soaked as if he'd been caught in the rain, and his face was frighteningly pale.

"Hah...!" Orochimaru gasped for breath, his expression complicated. "I was this close to getting seriously hurt by that brat. I never expected the little punk to use Water Release Ninjutsu so skillfully. I've never seen a technique like that before. Hahaha! Such power... This is so exciting!"

Orochimaru smirked, then laughed.

Just as he was laughing, some bushes nearby rustled. A figure appeared, wearing a conspicuous cat-faced mask.

"Orochimaru?"

Seeing the newcomer, Orochimaru showed no fear. Instead, he stood up and calmly met the figure's gaze.

It was an Anbu Ninja from Konoha.

"Lord Orochimaru, what happened to you?" Seeing Orochimaru in such a sorry state, the Anbu Ninja was visibly shocked.

Orochimaru waved a hand to indicate that he was fine, then said in his hoarse voice, "I've been discovered. I probably won't be able to continue the plan for a while. Tell the important person in your household that I'll resume it later."

"But..." The Anbu Ninja hesitated. He looked at Orochimaru's exhausted face and stood there, stunned.

"Go tell your big shot that I'll contact you again when the time is right. Then I'll come get what I want myself." Orochimaru repeated, his brow creasing slightly.

Only then did the Anbu Ninja nod and bow respectfully. "Yes, sir!"

Orochimaru turned and vanished with astonishing speed.

Watching him disappear, the Anbu Ninja was clearly unsettled.

"From the looks of it, Lord Orochimaru seems to be injured." The Anbu Ninja murmured, his voice trembling slightly. "N-no, that's impossible. There shouldn't be anyone in Konoha who could hurt Orochimaru. The Fourth Hokage and Third Hokage are both on other missions, and the other two Sannin aren't here either. No one should be able to defeat Orochimaru and injure him."

"Who on earth was that?" The Anbu Ninja stared into the dark forest. After a brief hesitation, he turned and leaped into the trees, swiftly disappearing into the distance. "No, I have to tell that important person right away. There's someone this powerful in Konoha. We have to investigate immediately."

The journey back to the inn was peaceful.

But Yang Xing felt uneasy. He wondered whether he should teach Anko a lesson and make her keep quiet.

After all, he wasn't sure whether Anko had heard Orochimaru mention the Sharingan. He gave it some thought, then saw that she seemed perfectly normal. Convinced she hadn't heard what happened that night, he abandoned the idea of teaching her a lesson.

At least, she'd leaned on him all the way back without acting strangely. That meant she probably hadn't heard it clearly.

Still, the girl had real potential. She wasn't even fifteen, yet she was already so well-endowed, and so firm and bouncy. Every now and then, she bumped into him, making the beast inside Yang Xing roar.

Should he sneak a feel?

Well, he might get hit. But that would be better than keeping it bottled up. Even a quick touch would probably give him away.

Just as Yang Xing made up his mind, Anko—who had been silent for a while—spoke up.

"Um..." Compared to how she'd acted before, Anko was clearly different now. Her voice was much gentler, nothing like her earlier shouting. "Why do you think Orochimaru was here?"

She looked at Yang Xing seriously, clearly asking for his opinion.

He hadn't expected the girl to change so much. Seeing that Anko seemed different, Yang Xing quietly drew back his left hand, which he'd been reaching out with.

He cleared his throat and looked ahead. "There's probably a spy in Konoha."

Well, that was only to be expected. Orochimaru had lived in Konoha for so many years, so he must have known plenty of people among the village's higher-ups. He was bound to have connections with some of them. It was only natural that he'd been able to sneak in so easily.

Besides, when Orochimaru attacked Konoha in the future, people on the inside would surely help him. It was impossible for Konoha not to have spies.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Anko lowered her head, looking dejected for a few seconds. Then she lifted it again, clenched one fist, and looked fired up. "All right, I've decided. I'm going to join the Anbu! I'll make Konoha a more peaceful place, and one day, I'll catch that guy and finish him off with my own hands."

"Sure, sure. You talk a big game, though I hate to remind you." Yang Xing glanced at her and cut in, unimpressed. "Your legs were shaking so badly earlier. Once you join the Anbu, you'll run into plenty of enemies even stronger than Orochimaru. Don't end up unable to walk at all. No one will be there to help you then."

The Anbu put the mission first and human life second. That was the harsh reality of the Warring States era.

Anko understood what Yang Xing meant, but she wasn't about to back down. She glared at him and retorted, "My legs weren't shaking! I was just under a genjutsu."

"Then why can't you walk now?" Yang Xing gave the girl, who could barely stand without his support, a scornful look.

"I told you, the genjutsu hasn't worn off yet. You're such an unlikable little brat." Anko's face turned slightly red. She puffed out her cheeks like a little girl and glared at Yang Xing. "And I'm telling you, I'll become a really powerful Anbu Ninja. One day, I—I'll be way stronger than you. Yeah, that's right."

"Haha... Is that so? Well, maybe you'll be stronger than I am right now." Yang Xing laughed, nearly bursting out loud.

No wonder she'd changed so much. It seemed that her assessment of her own strength had shifted.

People in wartime really did have different standards.