The Island

Hui saw Mitarashi Anko, the girl who loved sweets.

Anko got excited as soon as she saw Hui Youling. As if she'd found a kindred spirit, she hurried up to her and said, "You're Hui Youling, right? It's nice to meet you. From now on, you're my junior!"

As she spoke, Anko burst out laughing. She was probably excited to be a senior sister. Hui Youling stood quietly beside Orochimaru, watching her.

Seeing Anko's excitement, Orochimaru chuckled in his low, husky voice. "Anko, she'll be staying with you to study for a while."

Anko finally stopped scrutinizing Hui and looked up at her teacher. "Yes, Orochimaru-sensei! I'll make sure she trains well."

Hui looked at Orochimaru in confusion. Why had he brought her to meet Anko now? From the sound of it, was he going somewhere again?

"Sensei, what do you need me to do here?" Hui Youling asked, looking into his clear, snake-like eyes.

Orochimaru turned to look at the short Hui Youling and said slowly, "For now, follow Anko and learn from her. I don't have anything for you to do at the moment."

"Also, from now on, the two of you will be in charge of this island."

Anko froze at Orochimaru's words, then turned to look at Hui, who seemed equally stunned. Only then did she realize just how young this child looked. She seemed delicate and frail, but the light in her eyes was strangely like their teacher's.

Hui Youling was the first to ask, bewildered, "Manage this island?"

Hui Youling remembered clearly that the people who managed the bases were all powerful. She didn't know how strong Anko was, but she knew she was nowhere near that level. More importantly, she was still so young; she doubted many people would be willing to listen to her.

Orochimaru laughed softly, seeing that Hui didn't believe it. He repeated, "That's right, Hui. You and Anko will be responsible for this island from now on."

Hui Youling's eyes widened in surprise. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She could hardly believe it. Orochimaru definitely wasn't joking, but did she really have the ability to do it?

She didn't know the first thing about managing anything, let alone what she was supposed to do. Before this, she'd only been sent to do odd jobs, like capturing people. Now she was truly in charge of an entire island.

Hui furrowed her brows and thought for a while before deciding to give it a try. She'd never done anything like this before, but it was an opportunity Orochimaru had given her, and with Anko there, she'd have someone to ask for guidance.

After thinking it over, Hui finally replied, "I understand, Orochimaru-sensei."

Orochimaru chuckled and said calmly, "I knew you'd accept, Hui. You're a special child."

After saying this, Orochimaru turned to Anko. "I'll leave her in your hands for now. Teach her what she needs to do."

Anko nodded and said to Hui Youling, "Then let's go."

Hui turned to Anko. "Okay."

"Then we'll be off, Orochimaru-sensei." Anko said goodbye to Orochimaru and led Hui Youling away.

Hui quietly followed behind Anko. Her eyes had grown calm again, but she still couldn't understand Orochimaru's reasoning.

Orochimaru watched his two students leave and smiled faintly. It seemed he could start grooming a successor. She was a clever, obedient child. Heh heh heh...

Training began again. Orochimaru started teaching Anko and Hui together, though Anko had already learned a lot and mastered most of it. Hui still had to ask her for help, and Anko was happy to teach her Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu.

Hui also made great progress with Wind Release Ninjutsu. Aside from learning forbidden jutsu, Anko most enjoyed watching her train in Wind Release.

She loved the explosive force of it. Sometimes, itching to join in, she'd run over and spar with Hui. The two got along quite well.

Aside from that, Hui helped Anko manage the island. Like an older sister, Anko showed her around and explained how things worked.

Hui followed Anko through one laboratory after another, listening as she explained what each one was for. Hui realized that Orochimaru had been hiding things from Anko. It seemed Anko didn't know many of the truths.

She didn't know what happened to the test subjects, where the failed experiments were taken, or that people were secretly sent to deal with escapees.

Orochimaru hadn't hidden any of this from Hui. He'd even shown her quite a lot. Tianzhi, one of the researchers there, had conducted many experiments she'd seen, including human experimentation and experiments that fused human and animal genes.

Orochimaru didn't care that she knew the truth. Perhaps he trusted her; perhaps he was testing her. It was also because she possessed the Mind's Eye of the Kagura. Several times, she'd been assigned to capture escapees.

Though Orochimaru had never told her to keep it secret, Hui wouldn't say anything. Perhaps it was selfishness—she didn't want Anko to know the truth. Maybe she was simply numb to it all and no longer cared as much.

Today, she'd been called in again to catch an escapee. Hui searched for a long time before finally tracking down the last failed experiment, who'd escaped underwater.

Hui grabbed him by the collar and swam toward the surface. He struggled desperately, but after gulping down several mouthfuls of water, he stopped trying to resist.

Hui thought he'd finally calmed down. She climbed out of the water and slowly got to her feet, but just then, the escapee suddenly lunged at her.

His upper body had transformed into that of a fish. He bared his sharp teeth and lunged at Hui Youling, triumph in his eyes. He'd been lying in wait for so long just for this one strike!

Hui Youling glanced at him indifferently. The next moment, he bit through her neck. The escapee laughed excitedly, only to realize a moment later that he was biting a piece of wood.

Behind him, Hui Youling raised her foot. As he turned around in shock, she kicked him in the face.

The features on the escapee's face crumpled as if he'd been struck by tremendous force. He tumbled away in a sorry heap, skidding across the water for dozens of meters before reverting to human form and floating there, bruised and battered.

Hui lowered her foot and looked at him with a cold gaze. She stared down at him with contempt and indifference, her tightly pressed lips chilling to behold. A dark aura seemed to coil around her.

As Hui Youling slowly approached, each step seemed to fall on his heart like a reaper's footfall, one blow after another, like a heavy hammer. It felt as though his heart might shatter at any moment.

"You... You... monster... monster..." he stammered, eyes wide.

He'd thought his power was extraordinary. He could breathe underwater and even transform into a powerful beast-man to fight. He hadn't expected someone who looked so small and delicate to be this strong.

Hui walked over and slowly lifted him by the collar. Her dark eyes fixed on him, their chill bringing the temperature around them to freezing. A menacing darkness enveloped her.

The escapee stared at Hui Youling, who said nothing. She seemed like a cold snake, ready to swallow her prey whole. A suffocating feeling closed in around him, and he couldn't escape it.

"Hey, Hui, let's go have some fun in a nearby village. It's so boring here." Anko tossed a small pebble in the air, looking thoroughly fed up. She really was about to die of boredom.

Hui Youling had spent another day training here, and Anko was already getting impatient. She really couldn't understand why Hui was so eager to train all the time. More importantly, she'd been stuck on the island for so long that she was craving sweets.

Hui stopped what she was doing and turned to Anko with a faint smile. "Anko-nee, what do you want to do in the village? Are you craving sweets again?"

As she spoke, the light, cheerful mood around Hui was completely different from how she'd been that day.

Anko had already sneaked out once for this very reason, though Hui had been away dealing with escapees from the island at the time.

Anko tossed the pebble aside, like a child whose secret had been exposed, and said defensively, "Who said that? It's just too boring here."

As she spoke, Anko bounded over to Hui Youling, reached out, and pinched her cheek, kneading it. In the tone of an older sister, she admonished her, "Don't always act so world-weary. You should be more lively at your age, got it?"

Hui couldn't be bothered to argue with her. She pursed her lips helplessly and nodded in resignation. "Fine, fine. I'll go with you."

Anko looked at Hui Youling as if she were such a good girl. At last, she let go of Hui's cheek and patted her shoulder lightly. "I knew you'd listen. Come on, come on—I'll take you to get something delicious!"

Anko tugged Hui Youling along. Hui stumbled, then watched her back wordlessly and reminded her, "You've forgotten how unhappy Orochimaru-sensei was when you sneaked out last time."

Anko looked back at Hui Youling, narrowed her eyes, and smiled brightly, affection shining in her gaze. "He'd never do that. Sensei isn't that petty. Did you see me get punished?"

At the light in Anko's eyes and her words, Hui's whole body stiffened. Her brows slowly drew together, and a deep bitterness filled her heart, seeming to well up in her darkened eyes.

She quickly blinked, suppressing every trace of emotion until her eyes were clear and bright again. Forcing a smile, she said, "All right. Let's sneak out."

Anko lifted her chin, looking proud, as if to say that anyone who followed her would eat well and have fun. "I know a back path. We can leave that way."

Hui nodded too. "Okay."

Seeing how cooperative Hui was, Anko giggled and pulled her toward her secret path.

Hui ran along as Anko tugged her forward, but the brightness in her eyes had dimmed. Perhaps she was envious. She'd always known that the way Orochimaru taught her was unusual, even cruel. She'd thought it was simply because he was naturally cold and strict.

But... he had carefully taught and protected Anko. In the end, he even let Anko choose for herself—whether to return to Konoha or follow him. He would never treat her like one of his test subjects, killing her once she was no longer useful. But... he'd never given Hui a choice.

Should she resent him?

But she didn't feel that way. Anko-nee might be a little mischievous and seem ruthless, but she was a true inheritor of the Will of Fire, born and raised in Konoha. Perhaps that was why Orochimaru never told her the truth.

And Anko had followed Orochimaru from the very beginning, becoming a student he recognized. Hui had only squeezed her way in later.

Hui Youling looked up at Anko. Her face was full of longing for good food, and behind her radiant smile was a child's innocence. As Orochimaru's student, Hui found Anko's childish nature surprising. It seemed that compared to her, Orochimaru really did cherish this senior sister...