Curse Mark Rampage

The air in the temporary detention cell on the third underground level of the Interrogation Division carried a mixture of disinfectant and rust.

Mitaraishi Anko curled up in the corner, both arms wrapped tightly around her knees. The ANBU's cold interrogation still echoed in her ears, their questions cutting at her like knives again and again—"What did Orochimaru leave inside you?" "When was the last time you saw him?" "Has the Curse Mark ever gone out of control?"

She bit down on her lower lip and tasted blood.

Just moments ago, the message delivered in code by that Hyuga Branch House boy had been like a faint match, striking a tiny spark in her nearly extinguished heart. Live for herself... easy for him to say.

But the ugly Curse Mark on her neck was heating up.

Anko suddenly clutched the back of her neck, her body trembling uncontrollably. Black patterns spread from the center of the Curse Mark, crawling up her cheeks like living creatures. Her vision began to blur, and Orochimaru's hoarse laughter rang in her ears—

"You will always belong to me."

"No..."

She struggled to stand, only to slam headfirst into the wall. Hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor outside the cell, followed by the turn of a key.

The door opened.

Two ANBU in animal masks stood at the entrance. One of them held a sealing scroll.

"Mitaraishi Anko," the voice said without emotion. "The Curse Mark inside you is displaying abnormal fluctuations. By order of the Hokage, you will now undergo mandatory sealing isolation."

Anko's pupils contracted.

Mandatory sealing isolation—that meant she would be locked in the deepest dungeon of Leaf Village, covered in talismans that suppressed chakra, studied like a specimen until the Curse Mark was fully deciphered or she died in that sunless place.

"I... I'm not out of control..." she said with difficulty, but her voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like her own.

The ANBU did not respond. He simply took a step forward.

At that very instant—

The ventilation grate at the end of the corridor silently slid open by a narrow crack.

Hyuga Xiao pressed himself against the cold metal wall inside the duct, his Byakugan's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision taking in the entire third underground level.

He saw Anko curled in the corner, the black markings of her Curse Mark already covering half her face. He saw the two ANBU closing in, holding sealing tools specifically designed for forbidden techniques. Farther away, he saw three more ANBU guarding the stairwell. The entire third underground level had been completely sealed off.

Plans could not keep up with change.

Ten minutes ago, the system had issued an emergency alert: [Detected that the "Curse Mark of Heaven" inside Mitaraishi Anko has entered a pre-rampage state due to intense emotional fluctuations. If she is forcibly sealed by Leaf Village ANBU, the Fate Node "Fall into Darkness" will trigger early, and the possibility of interception will drop to zero.]

Xiao lightly tapped his fingertips against the duct wall, his rhythm steady.

His original plan had been to wait until Anko was released, then approach her as someone who "understood" her when she was at her most vulnerable. But the Leaf Village higher-ups had reacted more cruelly than he expected—they had no intention of giving Orochimaru's disciple any chance at all.

Fine.

The corner of Xiao's mouth curled into the faintest arc. A crisis often meant greater room to maneuver.

He closed his eyes, rapidly running through the situation in his mind.

Two ANBU, Chunin level, proficient in sealing techniques. Three at the stairwell, led by an Elite Ninja, responsible for containment. The detention cell had a simple structure, with only one exit: the door. The ventilation duct led to the surface, but it was impossible to silently escape while carrying someone with a rampaging Curse Mark.

Then...

Xiao opened his eyes, and a faint azure glimmer flashed in the depths of his pupils.

He needed chaos.

"Don't touch me!"

Anko suddenly recoiled, but the ANBU's hand had already seized her arm. Cold chakra invaded through the point of contact, attempting to suppress the rampaging Curse Mark energy within her.

At that very moment—

The emergency light in the corner of the cell ceiling exploded without warning.

The instant glass shards flew everywhere, the entire room plunged into darkness. The two ANBU reacted swiftly, leaping backward almost simultaneously as they formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Illumination Bullet!"

But faster than the firelight was a slender black shadow shooting from the ventilation duct.

It was a pitch-black snake, no thicker than a finger, yet the moment it appeared, it spewed out a massive cloud of purple smoke. The smoke carried a pungent, sickly-sweet stench and rapidly filled the room.

"Poison mist! Hold your breath!"

The ANBU shouted sharply, but it was already too late. The instant they inhaled the first breath of smoke, they felt their chakra flow turn sluggish and their limbs begin to go numb.

Meanwhile, Anko, curled in the corner, raised her head.

The black markings on her neck stopped spreading within the poisonous mist. A colder, purer power seeped into her body from deep within the smoke, like an invisible hand forcibly pinning down the rampaging Curse Mark.

"Go."

A voice sounded beside her ear, so soft it seemed like an illusion.

Before Anko could react, her body suddenly felt light—someone wrapped an arm around her waist from behind and carried her like a shadow toward the other side of the room. There, a gap just large enough for one person to pass through had somehow appeared in the once-flat wall, its edges as neat as if cut by a blade.

"Pursue them!"

The ANBU Elite Ninja at the stairwell noticed the disturbance and charged into the corridor with two subordinates. But the poisonous mist had already spread through the whole area, completely obscuring their vision. By the time they used Wind Release to disperse the smoke, only two ANBU lay limp on the floor of the detention cell, along with that strange opening in the wall.

"Report to the Hokage," the Elite Ninja said, his face beneath the mask livid. "The target has been taken. The enemy... is proficient in Earth Release and poison techniques, and is suspected to be an accomplice of Orochimaru."

He crouched to inspect the gap in the wall, and his fingertips trembled slightly when they touched its edge.

The cut was unimaginably smooth, unlike the mark any ninja tool could leave. It was more like... some kind of incomparably sharp chakra had sliced through the reinforced concrete wall as easily as tofu.

The Elite Ninja rose to his feet and looked into the depths of the dark corridor.

Leaf Village was about to become unsettled.

Above ground, behind Konoha Hospital, inside an abandoned supply warehouse.

Hyuga Xiao placed Anko atop a pile of old bedsheets, his movements far from gentle. He stepped back two paces, keeping his Byakugan active as his vision covered a five-hundred-meter radius.

There were no pursuers.

They were safe for now.

Anko curled up amid the sheets, coughing violently. The black markings of the Curse Mark had receded below her neck, but a burning pain still lingered on her skin. She raised her head and, by the moonlight filtering through cracks in the warehouse, finally saw the person who had saved her.

The Hyuga Branch House boy stood three meters away, his back to the moonlight and his face hidden in shadow. Only those pure white eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.

"Why..." Anko's voice was hoarse. "Why did you save me?"

Xiao did not answer immediately.

He walked to the faucet in the corner of the warehouse and turned it on. The rusted pipe gave a piercing groan, and rusty-colored water flowed out. Xiao scooped up a handful, returned, and held it out to Anko.

"Rinse your mouth first. The residue from the poison mist irritates the throat."

Anko stared blankly at him before taking the water. The cool liquid slid down her throat, indeed easing the burning sensation. After rinsing her mouth, she splashed the remaining water onto her face, forcing herself awake.

"Answer me." She stared at Xiao. "You're from the Hyuga Branch House. Why risk being hunted by ANBU to save one of Orochimaru's disciples?"

Xiao sat down two meters away from her, a distance that neither felt detached nor invaded her space.

"Two reasons," he said, his voice as calm as if discussing the weather. "First, I dislike how the Leaf Village higher-ups handle problems. The Curse Mark rampaging isn't your fault, but they chose the simplest and crudest solution—lock you up, study you, until you no longer have any value."

Anko's fingers tightened, wrinkling the sheets in her grip.

"Second," Xiao continued, "I need an ally. Someone who understands Orochimaru, understands forbidden techniques, and is equally dissatisfied with the Leaf Village higher-ups."

"An ally?" Anko tugged at the corner of her mouth, her smile bitter. "I'm a future rogue ninja with a Curse Mark inside me that could go berserk at any time. You want me as an ally?"

"That is precisely why you are valuable."

Xiao took a small glass bottle from his clothes. It contained a pale blue liquid. He set it on the floor and gently pushed it toward Anko.

"This is an inhibitor I formulated myself. It can temporarily suppress the Curse Mark's activity. The effect should last around three days."

Anko stared at the bottle without taking it.

"What do you want?"

"Information." Xiao looked directly into her eyes. "The location of Orochimaru's base in the Land of Rice Paddies, the list of forbidden techniques he has been researching, and... why he planted the Curse Mark on you."

The warehouse fell silent for a moment.

The moonlight shifted, illuminating half of Xiao's face. Only then did Anko notice that this Hyuga Branch House boy was actually very young, perhaps one or two years younger than her. Yet what lay in those eyes was terrifyingly deep.

"What if I refuse?" she asked tentatively.

"Then I will leave, and the inhibitor stays with you. After that, whether ANBU catches you again or your Curse Mark completely ramps up and turns you into a monster will have nothing to do with me."

Xiao stood and dusted off his pants.

"The choice is yours."

He turned toward the warehouse entrance, his steps neither hurried nor slow. One step, two steps, three—

"Wait."

Anko's voice came from behind him, carrying the resolve of someone with nothing left to lose.

Xiao stopped, but did not turn around.

"Orochimaru has an underground laboratory in the southeastern Land of Rice Paddies. The entrance is disguised as an abandoned mine." Anko spoke quickly, as if afraid she would regret it. "The forbidden techniques he researches are mainly Living Corpse Reincarnation and the Curse Mark system. His goal is immortality. As for why he chose me..."

She paused, her voice lowering.

"He said my constitution was special, that I could withstand a higher concentration of natural energy. The Curse Mark was an experiment, and I was the culture vessel."

Xiao turned around.

Under the moonlight, Anko sat amid the pile of sheets with her arms around her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly. Not from fear, but anger—anger at being treated like an experiment, anger that Leaf Village had abandoned her, anger at this damned world.

"Good."

Xiao returned and took another small scroll from his clothes, placing it beside the inhibitor.

"The scroll contains the location of a safe house and how to enter it. For the next three days, stay there and do not show yourself. Take the inhibitor once a day. I will come for you on the night of the third day."

Anko raised her head. "And then?"

"Then," the corner of Xiao's mouth curved slightly, "we will discuss how to make Orochimaru pay, how to make the Leaf Village higher-ups unable to touch you ever again, and..."

He paused, and a faint dark-blue glimmer flashed in his pure white eyes.

"How to turn the Curse Mark inside you into power that truly belongs to you."

After saying that, Xiao's figure vanished as though melting into the shadows. Only Anko, the moonlight, and the pale blue bottle of inhibitor on the floor remained in the warehouse.

She stared at the bottle for a long time before finally reaching out to pick it up.

The glass bottle felt icy in her hand.

But for some reason, the tiny spark in her heart seemed to burn a little brighter.

At the same time, inside the Hokage Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the report submitted by the ANBU Elite Ninja, the ember in his pipe flickering unsteadily.

"The wall cut was smooth, likely caused by exceptionally sharp chakra... The poison mist could interfere with chakra flow, likely a neurotoxin developed by Orochimaru..." He slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "No chakra traces were left at the scene?"

"Yes." The ANBU Elite Ninja lowered his head. "The enemy was extremely cautious. Every action avoided the surveillance barrier. We believe the person who took Mitaraishi Anko is at least proficient in stealth, poison techniques, and Earth Release, and is very familiar with ANBU operational patterns."

Danzo stood by the window, his single eye fixed on Leaf Village beneath the night sky.

"Hiruzen, this is no simple prison break." His voice was dark. "The enemy took someone right under ANBU's noses. That means he has an intelligence source within Leaf Village, perhaps even..."

"Perhaps what?"

"Perhaps taking Anko away was part of Orochimaru's plan from the beginning." Danzo turned around. "Do not forget that the Curse Mark inside Anko is one of Orochimaru's proudest creations. He may never have intended to abandon this 'test subject' at all."

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for a long time.

The tobacco in his pipe finally burned out, and he lightly tapped out the ash.

"Issue a wanted notice. List Mitaraishi Anko as a B-rank rogue ninja, charged with aiding Orochimaru's defection and attacking ANBU." Weariness filled his voice. "Increase inspections at all Leaf Village entrances and exits, especially in the direction of the Land of Rice Paddies."

"And the person who took her...?"

"Investigate him as well." Hiruzen Sarutobi stood and walked to the window. "But place his priority below Orochimaru. Leaf Village cannot withstand any more unrest right now."

Danzo said nothing further, but a murky gleam flashed in the depths of his single eye.

Only after the ANBU Elite Ninja had withdrawn did Danzo slowly speak. "Hiruzen, you are too soft-hearted. That Hyuga Branch House boy has been making rather a lot of moves lately."

"Hyuga Xiao?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "What about him?"

"There is no conclusive evidence," Danzo said. "But my instincts tell me that boy is not as simple as he appears. A Branch House member branded with the Caged Bird Seal—how could he possibly feel no resentment?"

"Danzo, do not make baseless suspicions." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice turned stern. "The Hyuga Clan is an important pillar of Leaf Village. The Uchiha Clan problem is already troublesome enough. Do not create more complications."

"A pillar?" Danzo sneered. "The Hyuga Main House is obedient enough, certainly. But what about the Branch House? Those branded with the Curse Mark, whose lives and deaths are not their own—do you truly think they will be willing to live as dogs forever?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer.

He merely looked out the window at the village he had protected his entire life. Leaf Village was quiet beneath the night sky, but beneath that calm, hidden currents had already begun to surge.

Orochimaru's defection, the Uchiha Clan's unrest, and now Mitaraishi Anko's abduction, along with that mysterious kidnapper...

Troubled times indeed.

The old man sighed and relit his pipe.

And in the shadows beyond his sight, Hyuga Xiao moved through the streets of Leaf Village, blending into the crowd like a drop of water into the sea without stirring a single ripple.

He looked up toward Hokage Rock, his pure white eyes devoid of emotion.

The first step was complete.

Next, it was time to prepare a proper "gift" for their meeting three days later.