The Oriole Lurks Behind

The sealed container traced a silver arc through the air.

The Hidden Cloud captain's fingers were only three inches away from it. His fingertips could even feel the icy chill of the metal shell—but at that very instant, a blurry white figure shot out from the cave shadows.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Air Palm!"

No hand seals. No warning.

A chakra shockwave compressed to the extreme struck the Hidden Cloud captain's wrist with perfect accuracy. The crack of bone exploding in the sealed space was so sharp it made their scalps tingle. The captain let out a muffled groan, his entire right arm falling limp as the container flew from his grasp.

The white figure caught the container in midair and landed without raising even a speck of dust.

Hyuga Xiao stood in the center of the cave, his pale eyes gleaming coldly in the dim light. He held the sealed container in his left hand while his right remained in the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. His wide Hyuga robes, stirred by that burst of speed, slowly settled around him.

"You..." The Hidden Cloud captain clutched his broken wrist, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "The Hyuga Clan?!"

Behind him, the female ninja Yumi had already drawn a kunai, but she was clearly hesitant—that strike had been too fast. So fast that she had not even seen how he appeared.

More frighteningly, this Hyuga ninja emitted almost no chakra fluctuations.

Like a stone. Like stagnant water.

"Give that back!" the captain growled through gritted teeth, forming seals with one hand. "Lightning Release: Lightning Serpent!"

Three lightning pythons shot from his palm, lunging at Xiao in a triangular formation. Their radiance illuminated the cave walls—and Xiao's expressionless face.

Xiao did not dodge.

He did not even fully open his Byakugan. He merely turned slightly, spread the fingers of his right hand, and lightly swept them toward the three Lightning Serpents.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven: Minor Rotation."

It was not a complete Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, only chakra spinning within three inches of his palm. Yet that small rotation precisely cut into the energy nodes of the three Lightning Serpents—the most unstable points of Lightning Release chakra, the most fragile "joints" in the structure of the jutsu.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

The three Lightning Serpents disintegrated in midair, dissolving into scattered sparks.

The Hidden Cloud captain's pupils shrank abruptly.

This was no ordinary Hyuga ninja. The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist could indeed damage chakra pathways, but that required close contact. Breaking down a jutsu from a distance? And seeing through the structural weakness of Lightning Release in an instant?

"Captain, watch out!" Yumi suddenly screamed.

Too late.

Xiao vanished from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was already standing to the Hidden Cloud captain's left. His movements were not fast. They could even be called leisurely—like taking a stroll through his own courtyard before casually brushing a fallen leaf from his shoulder.

His right index and middle fingers came together and lightly tapped the spot beneath the captain's third left rib.

"Ugh—!"

The captain doubled over like a shrimp, spraying blood across his mask. He felt the chakra inside him instantly fall into chaos, like a pot of boiling water crashing wildly through his meridians. Worse still, that location... was one of the core chakra nodes of the Lightning Release Body Technique.

This guy even knew the chakra circulation route of Hidden Cloud's secret techniques?

"Who exactly are you?!" the captain rasped, dropping to his knees.

Xiao did not answer.

His gaze passed over the captain and landed on the mutated Takuya, who was still convulsing in the depths of the cave. Takuya's skin had completely turned dark purple. Curse Mark patterns writhed over his body like living creatures, while inhuman growls came from his throat.

"The Curse Mark's erosion has reached his brain," Xiao said softly, as if speaking to himself. "Within three minutes, he'll completely lose his mind and become a monster that knows only slaughter."

"So what?!" Yumi stood in front of the captain, gripping a kunai in each hand. "Give us back the container. That belongs to Hidden Cloud—"

"Belongs to Hidden Cloud?" Xiao interrupted, finally turning his gaze back to her. "Can stolen property be called 'yours'?"

Yumi was speechless.

Xiao weighed the sealed container in his hand. Complex sealing formulas were engraved on its metal shell. Through the observation window on its side, he could see a thumb-sized black seed floating within. Fine patterns covered its surface, slowly pulsing and writhing as if it were a living embryo.

"Orochimaru's 'Active Curse Mark Seed,'" Xiao said. "What does Hidden Cloud intend to do with it? Mass-produce Curse Mark soldiers? Or... crack some similar Curse Mark control technique?"

The captain's body visibly stiffened.

Xiao caught that subtle reaction.

Just as expected. Hidden Cloud Village's interest in Curse Mark techniques was probably not simply about strengthening its forces. Did the Land of Lightning have something similar to the Caged Bird Seal as well?

"None of your business!" The captain struggled to stand, pulling a signal flare from his ninja pouch with his left hand. "Hand it over, or I'll send the signal immediately. There are two more Hidden Cloud squads nearby. You can't escape."

Xiao smiled.

It was a faint smile, the corner of his mouth lifting into an almost invisible curve, but there was no amusement in those Byakugan eyes.

"You won't be sending any signal."

The moment the words fell, Xiao moved.

He did not charge at the captain. Instead, he stepped three paces to the side and precisely planted his right foot on a raised stone in the ground. The instant it sank beneath his foot, dense Curse Mark patterns lit up across the cave walls—defensive traps laid by Orochimaru. The Hidden Cloud squad had violently damaged part of them earlier, but the core structure remained intact.

While watching the battle just now, Xiao had already used his Byakugan to see every chakra flow within the traps clearly.

"Cursed Seal: Binding!"

The patterns on the stone walls came alive like vines, instantly shooting out dozens of dark-purple chakra chains. Their targets were not Xiao, but the Hidden Cloud captain and Yumi.

"What?!" The captain tried to dodge, but his broken right hand and chaotic chakra made him half a beat too slow.

Three chains wrapped around his left leg.

Yumi reacted faster, flipping backward to evade the first wave of chains. But when she landed, she stepped onto a chakra thread Xiao had drawn beforehand with his toe—an application of the Gentle Fist, laying chakra like spider silk in specific locations. It was fragile, but enough to disrupt balance.

Yumi staggered.

That single opening was enough for five chains to coil around her waist and arms.

"Bastard!" the captain roared, forming one-handed seals to break free with Lightning Release. But the Curse Mark patterns on the chains began to glow, and a chill chakra flowed through them into his body.

It was a chakra suppressant specially made by Orochimaru, specifically for those who tried to forcefully break through the traps.

The speed of the captain's chakra circulation visibly slowed.

Xiao stood outside the trap's range, quietly watching the two struggle. His expression was calm, as though he were observing an experiment unrelated to him.

"These traps were originally used to protect the laboratory," Xiao said. "You damaged the outer barrier and triggered the self-destruct mechanism, but the core binding trap remained. I merely... helped reactivate it."

"You planned this all along..." the captain snarled. "Since when?"

"Since you entered this cave," Xiao answered honestly. "I arrived five minutes before you. Five minutes was enough for my Byakugan to memorize every trap structure here."

Yumi suddenly stopped struggling.

She lifted her head and stared at Xiao. "You deliberately waited for us and Orochimaru's guards to wear each other out, then came in to reap the rewards?"

"To be precise, I waited for you to obtain what I wanted, saving me the trouble of doing it myself." Xiao's tone was entirely matter-of-fact. "After all, breaking Orochimaru's barrier would have taken time. You saved it for me."

"You..." The captain trembled with rage, but the chains only tightened further. The Curse Mark's suppressive effect had brought his chakra nearly to a standstill.

Xiao no longer looked at them.

He turned and walked toward the mutated Takuya in the depths of the cave. Takuya had now completely lost his human form. He was on all fours, his spine curved into a grotesque arc, saliva streaked with blood dripping from his mouth.

When Takuya saw Xiao approach, he let out a beastlike roar and pounced.

Xiao did not even assume a Gentle Fist stance.

He merely raised his left hand, spread his fingers, and lightly pressed toward the charging Takuya.

"Quiet."

His palm touched the Curse Mark core on Takuya's forehead.

The next second, Takuya froze in midair. Xiao's chakra became the finest of scalpels, slipping along the gaps in the Curse Mark patterns and precisely severing the connection points between the Curse Mark and the nervous system—the structural weakness he had analyzed with his Byakugan while observing the battle.

The madness in Takuya's eyes rapidly faded, replaced by confusion, then pain. He regained a trace of clarity, but his body had already collapsed.

"Sorry..." Takuya's lips moved, forcing out his final words. "Captain... Yumi..."

Then his pupils dilated, and his breathing stopped.

Xiao withdrew his hand, and Takuya's corpse crumpled to the ground.

[Ding! High-concentration Curse Mark energy residue detected. Absorb and analyze?]

The system prompt sounded in Xiao's mind.

Xiao silently answered, "Absorb."

An invisible force extracted a strand of dark-purple energy from Takuya's corpse and merged it into Xiao's body. At the same time, the sealed container in his hand grew slightly warm. The black seed inside seemed to sense something, and the patterns on its surface began writhing faster.

[Absorption complete. Obtained analysis progress for "Incomplete Orochimaru's Cursed Seal Technique": 17%]

[Obtained key item "Active Curse Mark Seed." This item can be used for: 1. Reverse analysis of the Caged Bird Seal structure (estimated analysis efficiency increased by 300%); 2. Creating a one-use Curse Mark removal tool (requires specific sealing techniques); 3. Cultivating controllable Curse Mark organisms (high risk)]

Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly.

A 300% increase in Caged Bird Seal analysis efficiency... This meant that if it had previously taken three years to completely crack the seal, it might now take only one.

No, perhaps even less.

Because he had also obtained the ancient scroll concerning the origin of Curse Marks from the shrine's secret chamber. With the two combined, the speed of his breakthrough would grow exponentially.

"Looks like this trip wasn't wasted," Xiao murmured.

He turned and walked back to the two trapped Hidden Cloud ninjas. The captain had already given up struggling, only glaring at him with hatred. Yumi kept her head lowered, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"Are you going to kill us?" the captain asked hoarsely.

Xiao did not answer directly.

He crouched and used two fingers to pull back the sleeve on the captain's left arm. On the inside of his elbow was a pale-blue lightning tattoo, with a tiny character for "thunder" engraved at its center.

"The Raikage's direct ANBU," Xiao said. "No wonder you're fairly capable."

The captain's body tensed.

"Hidden Cloud has officially involved itself in Orochimaru's research," Xiao continued, as though stating a fact. "You didn't find this place by accident. You came under orders. The Raikage wants to know whether Curse Mark techniques can be used to crack 'that thing,' right?"

The captain's breathing clearly quickened.

Xiao knew he had guessed correctly.

Every one of the Shinobi World's five great nations had secrets they did not want outsiders to know. Hidden Cloud Village had always been known for its martial faction, but it also deeply despised certain "traditional methods of control." If the Caged Bird Seal existed in the Hyuga Clan, then might Hidden Cloud have something similar?

"I won't kill you," Xiao suddenly said.

The captain and Yumi both looked up, disbelief flashing in their eyes.

"Why?" the captain asked warily.

"Because if I kill you, Hidden Cloud will send stronger people to investigate." Xiao rose to his feet and brushed dust from his clan robes. "And I have no desire to confront the Raikage head-on yet. So you may return alive and report this."

He paused, then added, "But you'll have to leave behind a memento."

A pinpoint of blue-white chakra suddenly lit up on Xiao's right index finger. It was incredibly condensed, like a thin needle.

"What are you doing?!" The captain tried to retreat, but the chains held him firmly in place.

Xiao did not answer. He simply touched his finger lightly to the captain's chest. The chakra needle pierced through the skin and entered a tiny meridian node near his heart.

"This is the Hyuga Clan's 'Gentle Fist Mark,'" Xiao said, withdrawing his hand. "For three months, your total chakra reserves will decrease by thirty percent, and the power of your Lightning Release will be halved. After three months, the mark will automatically fade without leaving permanent damage."

"You—"

"This is a warning," Xiao interrupted. "Tell the Raikage that I took Orochimaru's things. If he wants them, he can come to Leaf Village himself and find me—assuming he dares."

After saying that, Xiao looked at Yumi.

The female ninja instinctively shrank back.

But Xiao merely gave her one glance before turning toward the cave entrance.

"You're not giving me a mark too?" Yumi could not help asking.

"There's no need." Xiao did not look back. "You're not strong enough to be worth the effort."

That sentence hurt more than any insult. Yumi's face instantly flushed red, but as she watched Xiao's retreating figure, she ultimately said nothing.

When he reached the cave entrance, Xiao stopped.

"Oh, right." He turned his face slightly, half of it concealed by shadow. "If you want to live, you'd best stay where you are for an hour before breaking free of those chains. The Curse Mark trap has a delayed trigger mechanism. If you force your way out now..."

He smiled without finishing the sentence, but the meaning was obvious.

Then his figure melted into the darkness beyond the cave and disappeared.

Only the faint scrape of chains against stone remained in the cave, along with the heavy breathing of the two Hidden Cloud ninjas.

After a long time, Yumi finally asked softly, "Captain, are we... really just letting him go?"

The captain stared toward the cave entrance, complex emotions churning in his eyes—anger, humiliation, fear, and a trace of... wariness that was difficult to detect.

"What else can we do?" He gave a bitter laugh. "We can't even move right now. Besides..."

He paused, lowering his voice further. "That Hyuga ninja isn't right. Something is very wrong with him."

"What do you mean?"

"His fighting style, his eyes, and those techniques he used..." The captain took a deep breath. "Those aren't things an ordinary Hyuga Branch House member should possess. They aren't even... things someone his age should possess."

Yumi fell silent.

She recalled what had just happened: Xiao appearing from nowhere, breaking the captain's hand with one strike, dismantling Lightning Release from a distance, activating the trap as casually as breathing, and finally suppressing the Curse Mark mutant with one hand.

Every movement flowed seamlessly, without a hint of waste.

As though... all of it had been part of his plan from the beginning.

"After we return to the village, report everything to Lord Raikage truthfully," the captain said, closing his eyes. "Include every trait of that Hyuga ninja. I have a feeling that this guy... will become one of Hidden Cloud's greatest problems in the future."

Outside the cave, the night deepened.

Hyuga Xiao moved rapidly through the forest, his Byakugan maintaining its widest scouting range. After confirming there were no pursuers, he slowed down and took the sealed container from his robes.

The black seed rotated slowly inside the container, its patterns brightening and dimming like steady breaths.

[Active Curse Mark Seed acquired. Begin reverse analysis of the Caged Bird Seal?]

"Begin," Xiao answered in his mind.

A stream of information flooded into his mind. It was the system's preliminary analysis of the Curse Mark's structure: complex chakra circuits, precise neural junctions, and some kind of hidden "remote-control protocol" deep within...

Xiao absorbed the information as he leaped between treetops.

His expression remained calm, but a cold light flickered in his Byakugan.

The Caged Bird Seal's unraveling had finally shown a glimmer of dawn.

And Hidden Cloud's involvement, though unexpected, was not necessarily entirely bad. At the very least, it let him know that other forces in the Shinobi World were watching Curse Mark technology as well—perhaps they could "cooperate" in the future.

Of course, it would be cooperation under his control.

Xiao looked up at the night sky. The moon was half-concealed by clouds, casting down hazy light.

The moon... the true core of the ancestral shrine barrier was there.

Once he cracked the Caged Bird Seal, that would be his next target.

He sped up, his figure vanishing into the depths of the forest.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away in another direction, Elder Ko Hyuga was anxiously waiting with the remaining Branch House members for Xiao's scouting results.

What they did not know was that the "ordinary and gentle" Branch House youth in their eyes had just completed a plunder that could change the fate of the entire Hyuga Clan.

And this was only the beginning.