After leaving Hizashi, the head of the Branch Family, at his home, Hyuga Lan began exploring Konoha.
He had lived in this familiar village for over a decade, but returning now felt completely different.
Before, he had always felt suffocated, as if bound. Every moment, he had been thinking about how to grow stronger and escape the Caged Bird Seal.
Now that he had finally gotten his wish, he could at last set his worries aside and take in the sights of Konoha.
As the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages in the Ninja World, Konoha was naturally the most prosperous.
But when Hyuga Lan returned home, he didn't open the door right away. Instead, he turned and said,
"You've been following me all this way. Do you want to come in for a visit?"
Following Hyuga Lan's gaze, a young woman with purple hair stepped out of the shadows.
It was none other than the woman who had noticed him on the street earlier: Mitaraishi Anko.
Unlike Hyuga Lan, who had joined Orochimaru as one of his subordinates, Anko, who had followed him here, was Orochimaru's true direct disciple.
After Orochimaru defected, everyone connected to him had been dealt with. Even Hyuga Lan had nearly been taken away by Root. Yet here was Orochimaru's direct disciple, standing unharmed before him. There was a lot more to this than met the eye.
But none of that mattered to Hyuga Lan. He wasn't going to think more highly of her just because she had once been Orochimaru's disciple.
As for why she had followed him, he had a vague idea.
"Are you really going to make me stand outside and talk to you?
I've come all the way to your house. Why not invite me in?"
Anko was very outspoken. Whether or not Hyuga Lan agreed, she walked right over and made to enter his house.
Hyuga Lan could only smile helplessly.
"I just got back, so I haven't had time to clean up. If you don't mind, come on in."
Hyuga Lan's house wasn't very large, and its furnishings were simple. His parents had died early in this life, and he had grown up alone. With so many expenses, including his scientific experiments, he hadn't spent much on personal comforts.
This was Anko's first time at Hyuga Lan's house. After looking around briefly, she got straight to the point.
"Did you know I actually asked around about you? I thought Root had taken you away and that I'd never see you again. But it looks like they didn't take you—you must have been placed elsewhere. I have to say, the power of a great clan is impressive."
Anko clearly thought that Hyuga Lan had survived the turmoil caused by Orochimaru's defection thanks to his clan's influence.
"You're not entirely wrong. If nothing unexpected had happened, I really would have ended up in Root, and you wouldn't have seen me again. I was just lucky enough to survive.
"You didn't come here today just to find out what I've been doing all this time, did you?
"I'm sorry, but that's classified. I can't tell you."
The mission the village had assigned him—to disrupt the negotiations between Kirigakure and Sunagakure—was top secret. Besides the Konoha High Command, only Hiashi, the head of the Main Family, and Hizashi, the head of the Branch Family, knew about it.
After all, Sunagakure was still Konoha's ally. This was the sort of thing that could be done but not discussed, let alone allowed to become known. When he returned to the village, he had been told to keep the matter strictly secret. So if Anko wanted to know where he'd been or what his mission was, he couldn't tell her.
Anko waved a hand.
"I'm not interested in how you managed to survive. But I imagine you must have gone through a tremendous crisis.
"And Orochimaru brought that crisis down on you. Now I want to ask you one thing: after everything he did to you, don't you want revenge?"
Take revenge on Orochimaru?
Honestly, Hyuga Lan had no such intention. At their core, he and Orochimaru had simply used each other.
Orochimaru had learned more about the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai through him, while Hyuga Lan had taken the opportunity to learn as much as he could about genetics. By creating the Bio-Armor, he had awakened the Tenseigan.
In a way, without Orochimaru, he would never have had the chance to change his fate so dramatically.
So although Orochimaru's actions had dragged him into danger, nearly getting him killed, Hyuga Lan didn't regret it or blame him.
Perhaps the two of them had shared the substance of a teacher and student, even without the title. Hyuga Lan had always respected his teachers, and he still held a measure of respect for Orochimaru.
By now, Anko's reason for coming to see him was obvious: she wanted them to join forces against Orochimaru.
It seemed that Orochimaru's direct disciple had been through some terrible experiences during this turmoil.
That made sense. Orochimaru was no ordinary person. As one of the Sannin, he had once competed with Minato Namikaze for the position of Fourth Hokage.
Orochimaru had once held a very high standing in the village, and he must have known countless secrets about Konoha.
When someone like that defected, Konoha had to conduct a rigorous screening to make sure he couldn't cause trouble.
No matter how powerful Anko's background was, there was no way her interrogation could have been a mere formality. Given the Anbu's methods, it was easy to imagine that she had narrowly escaped death this time.
"Is that really what you want, or has the village assigned you some kind of mission?"
Hyuga Lan couldn't be blamed for asking. Anko's idea was so naive that he couldn't help wondering whether the village had sent her to test him.
Anko immediately explained,
"Of course it's my own idea. We're in the same boat—we've both been wronged by Orochimaru. If we team up, we might be able to kill that bastard."
Watching Anko grit her teeth as she spoke Orochimaru's name, her hatred plain to see, Hyuga Lan remained unmoved.
Was this woman out of her mind? Who had given her the nerve to go after Orochimaru?
Did she even understand what she'd just said?
Did she have any idea how strong she was?
"Heh..."
At the thought, Hyuga Lan couldn't help chuckling.
Naturally, Anko took offense.
"What? Are you looking down on me?"
Hyuga Lan spread his hands.
"If you insist on putting it that way, there's nothing I can do.
"With your skill, you wouldn't last ten exchanges against Orochimaru. So put that childish idea out of your head and go train."
Anko didn't seem the least bit grateful for Hyuga Lan's well-intentioned advice.
Instead, she seemed angered by his contempt. She walked right up to him, planted her hands on her hips, and looked up at him.
"It's been a long time since we last fought. We've got time today, so how about another spar?"