Konoha's School Opens

Meanwhile, in Konoha.

The Ninja Academy had finally opened. The latest batch of students cheered with joy as they listened to the Third Hokage finish his speech. Sasuke stole a glance at his father, and seeing his expressionless face, felt a twinge of sadness. He scanned his surroundings, and sure enough, Hui Youling was nowhere to be seen.

He had asked his brother about her earlier, but he hadn't given him an answer, and he had been far too busy these past few days.

Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes as he spotted the Third Hokage and began walking toward him. As Sasuke turned to the other side, he saw that yellow-haired kid looking utterly dejected. He seemed to be Hui Youling's younger brother, so he walked over.

Naruto saw a shadow fall over him and looked up to see that Uchiha kid.

"What do you want?" he asked irritably.

"Tch, you must be that idiot brother Hui mentioned!" Sasuke provoked.

Naruto bristled instantly. "You're the idiot!"

"Hmph, I heard you were a moron, and it's true." Sasuke chuckled.

"You're so annoying!" Naruto retorted unhappily before running off.

Sasuke frowned, unsure of what he had said wrong; he hadn't expected him to be so fragile.

Naruto sniffled hard. Hui had once promised to attend the entrance ceremony with him; she was his only family. They had talked so happily back then, and he had thought he wouldn't be lonely anymore.

He looked up at the sky. "Hui, where are you?"

It had been over half a year since Hui left Konoha. He had gone to find the Third Hokage many times, but he never got an answer. He was terrified that this departure would last two or three years just like the last one.

Yet, he refused to believe it. He stayed up late every night, afraid that if Hui suddenly returned and he wasn't there, he would miss her.

But she hadn't appeared even by the time the Ninja Academy opened. Thinking of their promise, he couldn't help but feel a wave of disappointment. Still, Hui had left to become stronger, and he couldn't stop her; he just hoped he wouldn't be abandoned.

He had been training hard, but he was too slow and made no progress. He suddenly felt lost, unable to see what the future held.

Hui had also assumed she would continue training like that, until one day Orochimaru appeared and said, "Hui, it's time to go."

Hui, who was sparring with Anko, stopped and turned to look at Orochimaru in surprise. She noticed his smile was different from usual; she sensed he wasn't talking about training in Wind Style.

"Master Orochimaru? Where are we going?" Hui asked, knitting her brows.

Orochimaru only let out a low, eerie laugh and did not answer Hui Youling's question.

Anko looked at Orochimaru in confusion and asked, "Master, where are you taking Hui?"

Orochimaru chuckled, his raspy voice echoing, "Anko, it is time for Hui to go to a place that suits her better."

Hui's eyes flickered, and a self-deprecating sneer tugged at the corner of her mouth. She recalled the experiments she had participated in, and as she lowered her gaze, her lively emotions turned cold.

Noticing Anko turning to look at her, Hui said indifferently, "I understand, Master Orochimaru."

Anko frowned at Hui Youling, her eyes full of bewilderment. "What do you understand? Where on earth are you going?"

Hui looked up at Anko, raised her eyebrows without a word, and gave her a smug, triumphant smile.

Anko, already completely confused, saw Hui Youling's boastful expression and angrily reached out to pinch her cheeks, chiding, "Stop keeping me in suspense! Tell me, where are you going?"

"Ow, ow... Sister Anko... I'll tell you... I'll tell you..." Hui begged for mercy, her innocent eyes blinking at Anko.

Anko scoffed and released her grip on Hui Youling's face. "Speak!"

Hui giggled. "I'm going on a study tour. You forgot what I told you? I was traveling to different places to study before I came here."

Anko pondered for a moment, recalling that Hui had indeed mentioned traveling before, but this only made her more confused. She turned to Orochimaru. "But Master, you said you wanted Hui and me to be responsible for this island."

Orochimaru chuckled softly and said, "From now on, you will be responsible for everything on this island, Anko."

The words were light and airy, yet they hid a deeper meaning.

After hearing Orochimaru's words, Hui Youling's eyes widened, and she looked at Orochimaru with disapproval. "Master?!"

Orochimaru curled his lips, his cold, serpentine eyes shifting toward Hui Youling. His expression was unreadable—too dangerous, yet too brilliant.

Hui frowned, her mind racing. She turned to look at Anko, only to see her looking perfectly calm.

Tch...

Anko's eyes flickered, and she looked at Hui with a playful smirk. "Then go on your study tour! This island is all mine now!"

Hui's brow furrowed, though she didn't dare let Anko see it. She gave a helpless smile. "Fine... I'll go on my study tour, and the island is yours."

Orochimaru's gaze drifted between the two, and not wanting to waste any more time, he said coolly, "Let's go, Hui."

Hui nodded and followed in Orochimaru's footsteps, turning back to wave at Anko. "See you next time, Sister Anko!"

Anko raised her hand to wave back. "Come back soon!"

Hui smiled, her eyes curving, and turned to follow Orochimaru. She looked up at him once more, her dark eyes filled with gloom.

Anko didn't know where Hui Youling had gone, but she didn't feel envious; she had already learned many ninjutsu from Orochimaru. Hui was capable of even greater progress, and she had always felt that Hui's future would be anything but ordinary.

Yet, Anko never imagined that this parting would last for years, or that in the end, everything would change, and all her beliefs would be shattered and destroyed by their master.

Hui had long since guessed whether this was truly for "training." Orochimaru had actually been conducting experiments at other bases, likely involving the Cursed Seal. Her mission had once again become capturing people for his Cursed Seal experiments.

Seemingly to avoid exposing too much, he rotated one of the Sound Four to accompany her on missions. During this time, she never encountered Kimimaro. She suddenly realized she hadn't seen him in a long while and had no idea where he had gone.

Although the experiment for Kimimaro's Earth Cursed Seal had been a success, the Sound Four had yet to receive their seals. Fortunately, the targets they were tasked to capture were just ordinary people, so the two-person teams were quite efficient.

Hui Youling did not know what to feel; she had grown increasingly disinterested in these matters, essentially only responsible for sensing locations while leaving the actual captures to the Sound Four.

It was also because of this team-up for nefarious tasks that the members of the Sound Four were very dissatisfied with her, especially Tayuya, who looked as if she wanted to fight every time they met.

If not for Orochimaru suppressing them from the side, she did not doubt that the two of them would have already come to blows.

"What is the point of bringing this useless trash along? Isn't it us who do all the capturing every time!" Tayuya glared fiercely at Hui Youling not far away, looking as if she wanted to rush forward and kill her.

Hui looked at Tayuya with a cold expression, not wishing to say anything more.

Seeing Hui Youling's detached, indifferent attitude, Tayuya became even more enraged. "Hui Youling, you piece of trash, do you really think that just because you don't capture those people yourself, you can pretend you weren't involved!"

Hui Youling lowered her eyes to look at Tayuya, her dark pupils filled with ice, her low expression suggesting she held everything in disdain.

Tayuya could no longer hold back; she clenched her fist and swung at Hui Youling, but Jirobo hurriedly blocked her, his eyes grave as he said, "Tayuya, have you forgotten what I told you?!"

Sakon looked over at the situation and let out a mocking laugh. "You have to realize, she is different from us."

Kidomaru also sneered. "That's right, she is Lord Orochimaru's disciple, unlike us subordinates."

Hui's eyes swept over the group, and without a word, she turned and left, heading toward the mission site ahead of them.

"Damn it!" Tayuya cursed in frustration, protesting once again that she did not want to carry out missions with Hui Youling. Although Ukon was ostensibly trying to persuade her, he was actually fanning the flames.