Third Interception: Mitaraishi Anko

Hyuga Xiao sat cross-legged on the tatami in the Branch House dormitory. Moonlight leaked through the cracks in the paper window, cutting a pale white line across the floor.

He had just finished sorting through the clues regarding the Main House Treasury, repeatedly piecing together those fragmented bits of information about the moon and the Ōtsutsuki Clan in his mind. Outside the window, Konoha slept beneath the night sky, while the distant outline of Hokage Rock looked hazy yet imposing in the moonlight.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and regulate his breathing—

[Ding!]

[Fluctuation in Fate Node detected.]

[Target: Mitaraishi Anko (9 years old).]

[Fate trajectory: One week from now, her mentor Orochimaru will defect from Konoha. Anko will lose her support, her personality will turn violent and withdrawn, and she will eventually willingly accept the Curse Mark left behind by Orochimaru, becoming a candidate vessel for him.]

[Interception condition: During Orochimaru's defection, alter Anko's fate.]

[Interception reward: Curse Mark resistance +10%, Destiny Points ×500.]

[Special notice: This node is linked to the defection of a Three Legendary Ninja-level powerhouse. The system's early warning function has been activated for the first time. The host may use this intelligence to make broader arrangements.]

Xiao's breathing stalled for half a beat.

It was not because of the interception reward.

It was because of that name in the system prompt—Orochimaru.

One of Konoha's Three Legendary Ninja. A legendary genius. A research fanatic who had mastered countless forbidden techniques. He was going to defect? In one week?

Xiao slowly opened his eyes, his pupils narrowing to pinpoints in the darkness. Moonlight fell across his face, revealing the faint bluish pattern of the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead, like a wound that could never heal.

His heart thudded heavily in his chest.

This was no ordinary interception mission.

This was the first time the system had forewarned him of a major historical event from the original story—and a full week before it happened. What did that mean? It meant he no longer had to passively wait for Fate Nodes to appear. He could plan ahead and even... actively interfere with the course of Shinobi World history.

"Intelligence..." Xiao murmured, his voice nearly inaudible in the silent room. "It's more valuable than the interception itself."

He rose and walked to the window, pushing open the paper screen. The night wind poured in, carrying the distinctive scent of Konoha's forests. Several lights were still burning in the distant Hokage Tower, like sleepless eyes in the darkness.

Orochimaru's defection.

In the original story, it had been a mystery. All he knew was that Orochimaru had been discovered by the Third Hokage while conducting human experiments, then fled Konoha. But the exact timing, the exact sequence of events, the reaction of Konoha's higher-ups, the intensity of the ANBU pursuit... Xiao had never examined such details closely when he read the manga in his previous life.

Now, those details had become intelligence he absolutely needed to grasp.

Because Orochimaru's defection was far more than the departure of a powerful ninja. It meant a tremor in Konoha's internal power structure. It meant damage to the Third Hokage's authority. It meant Danzo and Root might use this chance to expand their influence. It meant... Konoha's surveillance and suppression of the major ninja clans, of the Hyuga Clan, might enter a new phase.

Xiao lightly tapped the window frame with his fingers.

Once, twice, in a steady rhythm.

"Mitaraishi Anko..." He recalled what he knew about her.

Nine years old, an ANBU trainee, Orochimaru's disciple. In the original story, after Orochimaru defected, her personality changed drastically. She became irritable and violent, and later even willingly accepted Orochimaru's Curse Mark, becoming a half-human, half-snake monster. It was a self-destructive tendency born from despair—after losing the mentor she admired most and losing her foothold in Konoha, she could only use violence to conceal the emptiness in her heart.

And now, the system wanted him to intercept this Fate Node.

To change Anko's destiny.

A faint curve touched Xiao's lips.

This was not as simple as saving one person. Orochimaru's disciple. An ANBU trainee. Those two identities together meant that Anko possessed a great deal of intelligence about Konoha's ANBU system, Orochimaru's research, and perhaps even Root's operational methods.

If he could intervene when she was at her weakest...

If, while she lost her mentor, he could give her a new "anchor"...

Then Anko would become a nail he could drive into Konoha's ANBU system, and one of his most important sources of intelligence when he faced Danzo and the Third Hokage in the future.

"One week." Xiao said softly.

Time was tight.

Anko was an ANBU trainee. Her whereabouts were unpredictable, and her training and missions were directly managed by the ANBU. For a Branch House member to approach her would be harder than reaching the heavens. Besides, Orochimaru was still one of Konoha's Three Legendary Ninja, a respected high-ranking combat asset. Naturally, his disciple would be under tight protection—or rather, tight surveillance.

Going directly to Anko would only draw the attention of the ANBU and Root.

He needed a more discreet method.

Xiao closed his eyes. The Byakugan's field of vision unfolded in his mind. He was not truly activating it, only simulating—simulating Konoha's map, the training grounds of the ANBU trainees, and the routes Anko might take.

The ANBU trainee training ground was in the northeastern corner of the village, near the Forest of Death. There were special barriers there that ordinary ninja could not enter. But the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could see through most barriers—as long as he stayed far enough away and did not trigger an alarm.

Anko's dormitory was in the ANBU trainees' exclusive area and was guarded as well.

Her daily training schedule...

Xiao suddenly opened his eyes.

"The Ninja Academy."

Right. Although Anko was already an ANBU trainee, she was only nine. Under Konoha's rules, she still had to return to the Ninja Academy regularly to receive lessons in general education and basic tactical theory. This was to ensure that ANBU members did not become mere killing tools.

And the Ninja Academy's class schedule was public.

Xiao turned and returned to the corner of the room. From a hidden compartment beneath the tatami, he pulled out a roll of parchment. Over the past few months, under the pretext of "gathering intelligence to report to the Main House," he had secretly recorded the daily routines of Konoha's various institutions and the children of its ninja clans.

His fingers slid across the parchment.

He found it.

"Every Wednesday and Friday afternoon, ANBU trainees return to school for theory classes. Location: Third Training Building on the east side of the Ninja Academy, second floor, special classroom."

Today was Monday.

There were two days until Wednesday.

Xiao rolled up the parchment and returned it to the hidden compartment. He moved slowly, every step as precise as if he were laying a trap.

Two days were enough for him to prepare.

But there was one problem—even if he could encounter Anko at the Ninja Academy, what reason would he have to approach her? An unremarkable boy from the Hyuga Branch House suddenly striking up a conversation with a genius girl from the ANBU trainees? That would be too abrupt. The ANBU would definitely keep an eye on him.

He had to create a "natural" encounter.

Several possibilities flashed through Xiao's mind.

Accidentally running into her? Too fake.

A shared mission? A Branch House member and an ANBU trainee could not possibly have any overlap.

Then...

"The library."

The Ninja Academy library was open to all current students and ANBU trainees who returned for further study. It held a large collection of books on ninjutsu theory, tactical analysis, and even the geography and history of various countries. Since Anko was returning for class, it would be perfectly natural for her to visit the library afterward to look up material.

And Hyuga Xiao could go to the library as well—under the pretext of "collecting ancient text materials for the Main House." It was a legitimate reason, an order Elder Ko Hyuga had personally given him.

As long as he timed it right...

Xiao sat back down on the tatami and began regulating his breathing. Chakra flowed slowly through his meridians. The Byakugan's vision opened and closed intermittently as he simulated the possible scenes in the library on Wednesday afternoon.

Which section would Anko sit in?

What books would she read?

Would there be ANBU watchers around her?

If the ANBU were watching, how could he have his first conversation with Anko without arousing suspicion?

The questions lined up in Xiao's mind like pieces on a chessboard as he calculated. He needed an opening line, an angle that would interest Anko without seeming deliberate.

Orochimaru.

The person Anko admired most was Orochimaru. But mentioning Orochimaru's name directly was too risky. Orochimaru was still one of Konoha's higher-ups. A Branch House child suddenly asking about one of the Three Legendary Ninja would be asking for trouble.

Then perhaps he could approach it through Orochimaru's field of research?

Forbidden techniques? Human experimentation? No, those subjects were too sensitive.

Summoning techniques? Snakes?

Xiao's thoughts abruptly halted.

Snakes.

Orochimaru's symbol was the snake. As his disciple, Anko must have come into contact with summoning techniques and snakes. And the Hyuga Clan... the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist, in theory, had similarities to a snake's method of attack—both struck acupoints with precision, both aimed to kill in a single blow.

What if he started from the common ground in combat techniques?

A glint flashed through Xiao's eyes.

He could pretend to be looking up books in the library on the "combination of flexible taijutsu and animal instinct," then "coincidentally" discover that Anko was reading similar material. Then, as a practitioner of the Hyuga Gentle Fist, he could discuss with her the "inspiration snake attack patterns offered to taijutsu."

It sounded like a boy obsessed with taijutsu seeking a breakthrough.

It was perfectly reasonable.

And if Anko truly was as she had been in the original story—a person who admired the strong and possessed a fanatical interest in combat techniques—then this topic would certainly catch her attention.

"First step: establish initial contact," Xiao murmured. "Second step: leave the impression in her mind that this Hyuga Branch House boy is interesting. Third step... when Orochimaru's defection erupts, only then will I be qualified to become the first person she thinks of asking for help."

The plan took shape in his mind.

But Xiao did not relax immediately. He continued calculating, considering all possible variables.

What if Anko ignored him?

What if an ANBU watcher intervened?

What if Orochimaru defected earlier than expected?

For every "what if," he came up with three to five possible responses. It was a habit he had developed over nine years in the Hyuga Branch House—living beneath the shadow of the Caged Bird Seal meant thinking everything through and leaving himself every possible escape route.

Outside, the moon gradually dipped westward.

Xiao finally finished his calculations and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. A faint sting came from the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead—an occasional remote sensing check from the Main House, used to confirm that Branch House members remained under control.

Xiao endured the sting without expression.

His fingers slowly clenched and loosened inside his sleeve.

One week from now.

Orochimaru would defect.

That would mark the beginning of Konoha's turmoil, and it would also be his first opportunity to officially step onto the stage of the Shinobi World. Mitaraishi Anko would be the first key he intended to hold in his hand.

"System," Xiao asked quietly in his mind, "after a successful interception, what exactly does Curse Mark resistance +10% do?"

[Answer: The host's resistance to all forms of Curse Marks, sealing techniques, and mind-control ninjutsu will increase by 10%. This includes, but is not limited to, the Caged Bird Seal, Orochimaru's Curse Mark, Sharingan genjutsu, Root's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, and so on.]

[Special notice: Resistance increases stack permanently. Once resistance reaches 100%, the host will become immune to all Curse Mark-type control.]

Xiao's pupils contracted slightly.

Immune to all Curse Marks.

What did that mean? It meant the Caged Bird Seal would completely lose its effect on him. It meant Danzo's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal could not control him. It meant that when he faced Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi, Orochimaru's Curse Mark of Heaven, or any enemy who tried to bind him with sealing techniques in the future—he would stand undefeated.

And all of it would begin with saving a nine-year-old girl.

"A very worthwhile trade," Xiao said softly.

Moonlight fell across his face. The visage of an unremarkable boy from the Hyuga Branch House was indistinct in the shadows. Only those eyes glittered in the darkness with a calmness that was almost inhuman.

He began looking forward to Wednesday.

No.

He began looking forward to the shocked, furious, panicked expressions on Konoha's higher-ups when Orochimaru defected one week later.

And he would stand in the shadows, watching it all unfold.

Then he would reach out and catch the girl falling from on high.

Catch her, and also catch every secret she carried about Konoha's dark side.

The wind outside grew stronger.

Xiao closed the paper window.

The room sank into complete darkness.

Only the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead continued to emit an extremely faint blue glow.

Like a shackle.

And like a seal... about to be broken.