Anko

After leaving the home of the branch family head, Hizashi, Hyuga Lan began to wander through Konoha Village.

Having lived in this familiar village for over a decade, his feelings upon returning this time were vastly different.

In the past, he had always felt a suffocating sense of restraint, constantly pondering ways to grow stronger and break free from the Caged Bird Seal.

Now that he had finally achieved his wish, he truly had the time to set his mind at ease and observe the sights of Konoha.

As the head of the five great ninja villages in the Ninja World, Konoha Village was naturally the most prosperous.

However, when Hyuga Lan returned to his own home, he did not immediately unlock the door to enter; instead, he turned around and said, "You've been following me the whole way. Do you want to come in and sit for a while?"

Following Hyuga Lan's gaze, a young woman with purple hair emerged from the shadows.

The person was none other than the woman who had noticed him on the street earlier: Anko Mitarashi.

Unlike Hyuga Lan, who had defected to serve under Orochimaru, this Anko who had followed him was Orochimaru's true, direct disciple.

After Orochimaru's defection, everyone associated with him had been dealt with; even Hyuga Lan had nearly been taken away by Root. Yet, this direct disciple of Orochimaru stood before him unscathed—the depths of this situation were truly unfathomable.

However, to Hyuga Lan, these things held little meaning. He would not hold her in higher regard simply because she had once been Orochimaru's student.

As for her purpose in following him, he had already vaguely guessed it.

"Are you just going to let me stand out here and talk to you?

Since we're already at your house, why don't you invite me in for a seat?"

Anko's personality was very forthright. Regardless of whether Hyuga Lan agreed, she walked over on her own accord, preparing to enter his home.

Hyuga Lan could only offer a helpless smile in response.

"I just got back, and I haven't had time to clean the place yet. If you don't mind, feel free to come in."

Hyuga Lan's house was not large, and the decorations were quite simple. After all, in this life, his parents had passed away early, and he had grown up alone while also conducting scientific experiments; there were too many places to spend money, so he hadn't paid much attention to personal comfort.

This was Anko's first time visiting Hyuga Lan's home. After a brief observation, she did not beat around the bush and spoke directly to him.

"You know, I actually asked around about you. I thought that after you were taken by Root, I would never see you again. It seems you weren't taken by Root after all, but were given other arrangements. I suppose that's the influence of a great clan for you."

Clearly, Anko believed that Hyuga Lan's survival during the aftermath of Orochimaru's defection was due to his family's influence.

"Your guess isn't entirely wrong. If not for an accident, I should have indeed ended up in Root, and you wouldn't have had the chance to see me again. I can only say my luck was decent enough to save my life.

You didn't come to find me today just to ask what I've been doing these past few days, did you?

I'm sorry, but that is classified information; I cannot tell you."

The mission he had been assigned by the village—to attempt to sabotage the peace talks between Kirigakure and the Sand Village—was a top-secret operation. Aside from the upper echelons of Konoha, only the main family head, Hiashi, and the branch family head, Hizashi, knew of it.

After all, the Sand Village was still an ally of Konoha; such things could be done but not spoken of, and certainly not known by others. Upon returning to the village, he had been told to strictly guard this secret. If Anko wanted to know his whereabouts and mission during that time, he certainly could not reveal it.

Anko waved her hand at this.

"I have no interest in knowing how you survived, though I imagine you must have experienced a great crisis.

And that crisis was brought upon you by Orochimaru. Now, I just want to ask you one question: Orochimaru has harmed you so deeply, don't you want revenge?"

Revenge against Orochimaru?

To be honest, Hyuga Lan really didn't have such thoughts, because fundamentally, he and Orochimaru were in a relationship of mutual utilization.

Orochimaru used him to better understand the Byakugan bloodline limit, while he took the opportunity to learn enough genetic knowledge and, through the creation of biological armor, awakened the Tenseigan.

It could be said that without Orochimaru, he would have had almost no chance to defy his fate like this.

Therefore, even though he had been implicated by Orochimaru and nearly faced a crisis, he felt no regret or resentment toward the man.

Perhaps it was because, although they lacked the formal title of master and disciple, they had the reality of it. Having always respected teachers and the path of learning, he still held a trace of respect for Orochimaru.

At this point, Anko's intention in coming to find him was clear: she wanted to join forces with him to deal with Orochimaru.

Looking at it this way, it seemed that Anko, as Orochimaru's direct disciple, had experienced some very unpleasant memories during this turmoil.

It was understandable; Orochimaru's status was different from others. As one of the Sannin, he had once competed with Minato Namikaze for the position of Fourth Hokage.

It could be said that the former Orochimaru held a very high status in the village and knew countless classified secrets of Konoha.

With such a person defecting, Konoha naturally had to screen everyone strictly to avoid any disasters.

Even with Anko's background, her interrogation would not have been something easily brushed off. Thinking of the Anbu's interrogation methods, it was clear that Anko must have had a near-death experience.

"Is this your own genuine thought, or did the village assign you a mission?"

It was no wonder Hyuga Lan asked this; Anko's idea was so naive that he couldn't help but suspect she had been sent by the village to test him.

Facing Hyuga Lan's question, Anko immediately explained.

"This is naturally my own idea. We are both in the same boat, both victims of Orochimaru. If we join forces, it's not impossible for us to kill that bastard Orochimaru."

Watching Anko grit her teeth as she spoke that name, looking as if she hated him to the bone, Hyuga Lan remained unmoved.

Had this woman lost her mind? Who gave her the courage to actively seek out Orochimaru to settle scores?

Did she even realize the absurdity of what she had just said?

Did she have no sense of her own strength?

"Heh..."

Thinking of this, Hyuga Lan couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

Such an action naturally drew Anko's dissatisfaction.

"What, are you looking down on me?"

Facing Anko's challenge, Hyuga Lan spread his hands.

"If you insist on putting it that way, then there's nothing I can do. Because with your current strength, I'm afraid you wouldn't last ten rounds against Orochimaru, so put away these naive thoughts and go focus on your training."

Faced with Hyuga Lan's well-intentioned advice, Anko showed no sign of appreciating it.

Instead, seemingly provoked by Hyuga Lan's dismissive attitude, she stepped forward until she was right in front of him. With her hands on her hips, she tilted her head back to glare at him.

"Come to think of it, it's been a long time since we last sparred. Since we have some time today, how about we go another round?"