The Assault Begins

The darkness before dawn was at its deepest.

Hyuga Xiao stood at the edge of the forest outside Hidden Sound Village, his Byakugan gleaming with a faint pale-blue light in the night. Behind him, two other Branch House members—Takuya Hyuga and Hikō Hyuga—silently sorted through their ninja tool pouches. Both wore forehead protectors, but beneath them lay the Caged Bird Seal, a mark that could never be erased.

"Fifteen minutes left." Ko Hyuga's voice came from the shadows of the trees.

The Main House elder was not standing at the front line. Instead, he remained hidden on high ground thirty meters behind them. His Byakugan was activated as well, coldly surveying Hidden Sound Village's frontal defenses—three wooden barricades, the vague outlines of watchtowers behind them, and more patrolling Sound ninja than expected.

Xiao could sense Takuya's breathing growing hurried.

This man had nearly died yesterday in the laboratory as the Curse Mark eroded him, yet now he was being sent back to the front lines. Hikō was comparatively calm, merely checking the edge of his kunai over and over, his movements mechanical and numb.

"Lord Ko." Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice gentle. "If we launch a frontal assault, the three of us may not be able to..."

"May not be able to what?" Ko Hyuga cut him off, his tone carrying unquestionable authority. "The Branch House exists to clear obstacles for the Main House. Your task is to create enough of a disturbance to draw the main force of the Sound ninja over. As for whether you can survive—"

He paused, and his voice turned colder.

"That depends on your own abilities."

Xiao lowered his head, the shadow of his forehead protector concealing the flash of coldness in his eyes.

Just as expected.

They were using the Branch House as bait, trading their lives for an opportunity for Leaf Village's ANBU to infiltrate. He knew this tactic all too well—on the Hyuga Clan training grounds, Branch House members were always placed in the first row during ninjutsu sparring, using their bodies to test their opponents' killing moves while the Main House stood behind them, observing, analyzing, and devising countermeasures.

Tools.

Expendables.

"I understand." Xiao spoke softly, with just the right hint of trembling in his voice. "We'll do our best."

Ko Hyuga glanced at him and said nothing more.

Time passed second by second.

The eastern horizon began to pale, and birdsong in the forest gradually grew denser. The guards on Hidden Sound Village's watchtowers changed shifts. The incoming Sound ninja yawned, clearly not fully awake yet.

Now.

"Move." Ko Hyuga's order was transmitted directly into the minds of the three through the Caged Bird Seal.

It was a forced neural stimulus, as though red-hot iron needles had pierced their temples. Takuya let out a muffled groan and charged out first. Hikō followed close behind.

Xiao moved as well.

However, he was half a beat slower than the other two, and his charge deliberately angled toward the relatively weak flank. Through his Byakugan, he could clearly see the chakra signatures of the Sound ninja—seven behind the front barricade, two in each of the left and right watchtowers, and at least three patrol squads rushing over from deeper within the village.

"Enemy attack—!"

The Sound ninja's alarm tore through the morning silence.

Kunai and shuriken rained down from behind the barricades. Takuya roared and unleashed Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven. A blue chakra vortex deflected the first wave of attacks, but its range was limited. Three shuriken still grazed his shoulders, drawing sprays of blood.

Hikō had already reached the barricade, assuming the opening stance of Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. His palm strikes were precise and vicious, instantly disrupting the chakra points of two Sound ninja. Yet as those two fell, more Sound ninja surged forward from behind them.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Several fireballs burst from the mouths of the Sound ninja, sealing off Hikō's retreat. He had no choice but to abandon his pursuit and roll away awkwardly. The sleeve on his left arm had already been scorched black by the flames.

Xiao moved along the flank.

He deliberately made his movements look clumsy—one kunai throw missed its mark, and he nearly stumbled while evading a Fire Release attack. Yet his Byakugan vision was like the most precise radar, bringing every detail of the battlefield under his control.

At the front, Takuya and Hikō had already fallen into a bitter struggle.

Back to back, they alternated between Revolving Heaven and Eight Trigrams Palm, barely holding off the assault of more than a dozen Sound ninja. But their chakra was draining too quickly. Takuya's breathing had become uneven, and Hikō's palm strikes had lost their initial precision.

Meanwhile, Ko Hyuga still stood in the rear.

That Main House elder showed no intention of joining the battle at all. He merely watched the situation coldly, as though observing a performance that had nothing to do with him.

The corner of Xiao's mouth curved into an almost imperceptible smile.

Just as expected.

He deliberately allowed a kunai thrown by a Sound ninja to graze his right shoulder. The sharp blade sliced through cloth and skin, and blood immediately seeped out. Xiao groaned and staggered backward, using the momentum to retreat behind a large tree at the edge of the battlefield.

"Xiao!" Hikō caught sight of this amid the battle and called out anxiously.

"I'm fine!" Xiao leaned against the trunk, his right hand covering the wound, pain in his voice. "Hold on, I'll be right—"

Before he could finish, he "weakly" slid down to sit on the ground.

He had chosen this position very cleverly—it remained within the battlefield's visible range, allowing Ko Hyuga to see through his Byakugan that he had been "injured and brought down," while also sitting in a blind spot beyond the Sound ninja's attacks. More importantly, from here, his Byakugan could penetrate every obstacle without hindrance and look toward the other side of Hidden Sound Village.

Then he saw them.

On the western side of Hidden Sound Village, roughly eight hundred meters from the front battlefield, seven chakra signatures were infiltrating at high speed. Their route was highly professional, perfectly avoiding every patrol route and alarm trap as they moved with a clear destination toward the entrance of the underground laboratory.

The chakra signature leading them...

Xiao's Byakugan pupils narrowed slightly.

Silver-white hair, a forehead protector covering his left eye, the shape of the short blade on his back, and that unique, pure lightning-nature chakra fluctuation.

Kakashi Hatake.

Leaf Village ANBU—or rather, Kakashi Hatake, now the Elite Ninja instructor of Team Six—was leading a six-man squad into Hidden Sound Village through its weakest flank.

And their target was undoubtedly Orochimaru's underground laboratory.

Xiao's heart beat steadily and powerfully.

Everything was proceeding as expected.

Leaf Village's upper ranks—whether the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi or Root leader Shimura Danzō—had never expected these three Hyuga Branch House members to truly break through Hidden Sound Village's frontal defenses. What they wanted was merely a loud enough "disturbance," bait capable of drawing the Sound ninja's main force to the front.

Once Kakashi's squad infiltrated the laboratory and obtained Orochimaru's research materials—or something even more important...

Whether these three Hyuga Branch House members lived or died was entirely irrelevant.

In fact, if all of them died here, it might even be better for the Main House—they would complete the mission, reduce the Branch House population, and afterward bring a certain tragic honor to the clan under the name of "heroic sacrifice."

What a perfect calculation.

Xiao leaned against the tree trunk, blood still seeping from his right shoulder, but his expression was terrifyingly calm. Through his Byakugan, he could see Ko Hyuga finally moving—the Main House elder slowly advanced toward the center of the battlefield, yet still showed no intention of directly joining the fight. He seemed more like he was assessing the situation, seeking the most suitable "time to withdraw."

Meanwhile, Takuya and Hikō on the front battlefield were nearly unable to hold on.

"Eight Trigrams Palm: Revolving Heaven!"

Takuya unleashed the Hyuga Clan's absolute defense once more, but this time, the range of his Revolving Heaven had clearly shrunk, and its rotation had slowed. Three Sound ninja seized the opportunity and charged in from three directions at once, their kunai stabbing straight at his vital points.

Hikō roared and rushed over to save him, knocking one Sound ninja away with a palm strike, but the attacks of the other two had already landed.

Squish—

The sound of kunai piercing flesh.

Takuya was struck in the left shoulder and right abdomen at the same time, blood spraying out. He staggered backward as Revolving Heaven completely dissipated.

"Takuya!" Hikō's eyes reddened.

"Don't worry about me!" Takuya gritted his teeth and shoved Hikō away. "Go! If one of us can get out, then get out!"

"Go?" A Sound ninja squad leader sneered and waved his hand. "None of you are leaving!"

More Sound ninja flooded in from behind, completely sealing off the two men's retreat.

Xiao remained seated behind the tree.

His Byakugan swept over Takuya and Hikō, over the Sound ninja closing in step by step, over Ko Hyuga in the distance who was "assessing the situation," and finally settled on Kakashi's squad, which had already infiltrated the underground laboratory entrance.

Those seven chakra signatures were rapidly descending. They had clearly entered the laboratory.

The time had come.

Xiao slowly stood up.

The wound on his right shoulder was still bleeding, but he seemed unable to feel the pain. He raised his left hand and formed a simple hand seal.

Shadow Clone Technique.

White smoke dispersed, and an identical clone appeared at his side. The clone took the bloodstained strip of cloth Xiao handed over, skillfully wrapped it around its right shoulder, then sat back beneath the tree in the pose of someone too severely injured to move.

Xiao's real body silently merged into the shadows of the trees.

One of the Byakugan's abilities—x-ray vision—allowed him to clearly see the structure of the underground laboratory. Kakashi's squad was rapidly moving downward, and their target was obvious: the laboratory's core area on the lowest level.

What was down there?

Xiao did not know.

However, the Active Curse Mark Seed Orochimaru had left behind was still tucked against his chest, and it was producing a faint resonance with something deep within the laboratory. It was like some kind of summons, or perhaps some kind of warning.

He needed to take a look.

Not to help Leaf Village, nor to save Kakashi.

Only for himself.

To uncover the true secret of the Caged Bird Seal, to find a way to completely lift this curse, and to one day personally crush the arrogance of those lofty Hyuga Main House members.

Xiao's figure darted swiftly through the forest.

He avoided the front battlefield and circled around to the southern side of Hidden Sound Village. Most of the defenses here had been redeployed because of the fighting at the front, leaving only a few scattered guard posts. Xiao's Byakugan easily located the gaps between patrols. Like a ghost, he passed through the defensive line and arrived at another entrance to the underground laboratory.

This was a backup route he had marked during reconnaissance yesterday—a ventilation shaft concealed beneath vines, just wide enough for a person to crawl through.

Xiao did not hesitate before slipping inside.

The inner walls of the shaft were damp and cold, reeking of mold and some pungent chemical agent. He slid downward like a snake, his Byakugan constantly active as he remained alert for possible traps.

Thirty meters down.

Fifty meters.

One hundred meters.

When his feet touched solid ground again, he had reached the second level of the underground laboratory. It was even colder than the upper floor. Fluorescent stones embedded in the walls emitted a sickly green glow, illuminating densely packed cultivation tanks along both sides of the corridor.

Various biological tissues floated inside the tanks—some still retained vaguely human forms, while others had twisted and mutated into indescribable monsters. Bubbles rose through the liquid from time to time, making soft gurgling sounds.

Xiao frowned.

Orochimaru's experiments were even more insane than he had imagined.

He suppressed his chakra and moved forward along the corridor. Through his Byakugan, he saw Kakashi's squad two hundred meters ahead. They had reached the lowest level of the laboratory and were confronting something.

Xiao quickened his pace.

As he rounded a corner, the scene before him stopped him in his tracks.

It was an enormous circular chamber more than fifty meters in diameter. The domed ceiling towered overhead, while an eerie "tree" stood in the center—not a real tree, but a columnar mass formed from countless layers of flesh and chakra. Its surface was covered in pulsing, vein-like patterns.

Dozens of translucent egg-shaped sacs hung from the top of the tree.

Inside every sac floated an unconscious human body. Tubes had been inserted into their foreheads, chests, and limbs, drawing pale golden fluid from their bodies and channeling it into the central "tree."

Kakashi's squad stood at the entrance to the chamber.

The six ANBU members spread out in a fan formation. Kakashi stood at the very front, his exposed right eye locked onto the central "tree." His Sharingan was activated, its three tomoe slowly rotating.

"This is..." One ANBU member's voice trembled slightly.

"A chakra extraction device." Kakashi's voice was icy. "Orochimaru is using living people to cultivate something."

His gaze swept over the sacs before suddenly fixing on one of them.

Inside floated a red-haired woman who appeared to be in her twenties. She wore a forehead protector from Hidden Grass Village.

"That is..." Kakashi's pupils contracted.

Xiao saw her too.

It was not just that female ninja from Hidden Grass Village. In several sacs closer to the core of the "tree" floated ninja from Hidden Cloud, Hidden Rock, and even Hidden Sand. One corpse wore a Hidden Sound Village uniform, but that face...

Xiao recognized it.

It was the Hidden Cloud Elite Ninja who had been eroded and mutated by the Curse Mark in the laboratory yesterday—Takuya's teammate.

Orochimaru not only experimented on living people. He would not even spare dead test subjects, squeezing out every last drop of their chakra.

"Captain, what do we do?" an ANBU member asked quietly.

Kakashi remained silent for several seconds.

His Sharingan rapidly scanned the entire chamber, analyzing every possible trap and defense mechanism. At last, his gaze fell on the base of the central "tree"—there was a control console there, its screen flickering with complicated curse formulas and data.

"Our mission is to obtain the experimental data," Kakashi said. "Lord Shimura Danzō specifically emphasized that we must acquire the God Tree Cell Cultivation Records."

He paused, and his voice became colder.

"As for these people... the mission comes first."

The ANBU members fell silent.

But no one objected. That was the rule of the ANBU—missions came above all else, including the lives of innocents.

Kakashi began moving forward.

His movements were extremely cautious, each step landing where the chakra fluctuations were most stable. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun at high speed, analyzing every trace of abnormal energy flowing through the air.

Xiao hid in the shadows, taking everything in through his Byakugan.

His gaze fell upon the control console as well.

God Tree Cell Cultivation Records...

If Orochimaru was truly researching the God Tree, and if those records contained a connection between the Caged Bird Seal and the God Tree's power, then he had to obtain that information.

But Kakashi was here.

A direct confrontation would not be wise. Kakashi Hatake's strength was among the very best in all of Leaf Village, and he had six elite ANBU members with him.

Xiao needed to wait.

Wait for an opportunity.

Kakashi had reached the control console. He placed his hand on the operation panel, his Sharingan swiftly scanning the curse formulas on the screen as he began attempting to break through the access permissions.

Then—

The central "tree" suddenly began pulsing violently.

The vein-like patterns erupted with blinding golden light. The hanging sacs burst one after another, and the bodies floating inside fell to the ground like discarded rags. Yet strangely, they were not dead. Twitching, they crawled to their feet, their eyes hollow and vacant, violent chakra fluctuations radiating from their bodies.

"Stay alert!" Kakashi barked.

The ANBU instantly entered combat formation.

Yet those "revived" test subjects did not attack them. Instead, as though drawn by some kind of summons, they frantically lunged toward the central "tree," using their teeth, nails, and every possible means to tear at the trunk, trying to force their way into the pulsing veins.

Screams, tearing, and the sound of flesh being ripped apart blended together.

The entire chamber became a scene straight out of hell.

Kakashi's Sharingan widened sharply.

He saw it—at the instant the test subjects tore open the tree's outer layer, something even more bizarre was revealed inside: countless distorted human faces, like souls sealed alive within the tree, wailing in agony.

And deep within the trunk, a fist-sized "fruit" emitting a pale golden glow was slowly taking shape.

"That is..." For the first time, Kakashi's voice wavered.

Xiao's Byakugan was fixed firmly on that fruit as well.

His body trembled.

It was not fear, but a primal craving—the "Active Curse Mark Seed" in his arms was resonating wildly, as if it wanted to burst from his body and pounce on that fruit.

At that moment, the system's prompt abruptly sounded:

[Detected a high-purity God Tree energy carrier]

[Fate-Breaking System analysis progress: 23% → 41%]

[Warning: This energy carrier is resonating with the Curse Mark Seed within the host. Contact carries an 80% chance of triggering an uncontrollable mutation.]

[Recommendation: Evacuate immediately.]

Xiao did not move.

His eyes remained fixed on the fruit, on the experimental subjects frantically gnawing at the tree trunk, and on Kakashi, who was rapidly cracking the console.

Then he saw something deeper—

At the core of the trunk, directly beneath the fruit, was an embedded stone tablet.

Ancient writing was carved into it—the writing of the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Xiao could not recognize the words, but his Byakugan could make out the image: a figure with a Rinnegan on its forehead and nine Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind it, pressing a hand against the head of someone kneeling on the ground, their forehead branded with the Caged Bird Seal.

There was another line of tiny text beneath the image.

Xiao pushed his Byakugan to its limit and finally made out the outline of the words—

It was the crest of the Hyuga Clan.

And beneath it was a warning written in blood:

"Whoever touches this shall suffer the backlash of the God Tree and remain a slave for eternity."

Kakashi saw the stone tablet as well.

The three tomoe of his Sharingan spun madly as he tried to decipher the meaning of the text. But the writing of the Ōtsutsuki Clan lay beyond the Sharingan's ability to interpret. He could only barely make out a few key words:

"God Tree... fruit... sacrifice... Caged Bird Seal..."

Just then, the console screen suddenly lit up with a blinding red glow.

A cold electronic voice echoed through the entire space:

"Self-destruct sequence activated."

"Countdown: 60 seconds."

Kakashi's expression changed.

"Retreat!" he barked.

The ANBU immediately began to fall back without hesitation. But the experimental subjects that had been madly gnawing at the trunk suddenly turned around and surged toward them like a tide, using their bodies to block the only exit.

Battle erupted in an instant.

Kunai, shuriken, and the flashes of ninjutsu exploded through the chamber. The ANBU were formidable, but there were simply too many experimental subjects, and they did not fear death at all. Even after their heads were cut off, their bodies still lunged forward to bite.

Kakashi already held Lightning Cutter in his hand. Brilliant blue electricity tore through the air, instantly clearing every experimental subject within five meters in front of him. But even more came flooding in from behind.

"Captain! The exit is blocked!" an ANBU shouted.

Kakashi's Sharingan rapidly swept over the surroundings.

There were no other exits.

This was a sealed chamber. The only passage was the corridor they had entered through, and it was now completely blocked by dozens of experimental subjects. Sixty seconds was nowhere near enough time to carve a path through them.

Unless...

His gaze fell upon the "tree" at the center.

The pale golden fruit was giving off increasingly violent energy fluctuations. The vein-like patterns on the trunk began to crack, and golden liquid burst out like blood.

Kakashi's pupils contracted.

He realized something—the self-destruct program Orochimaru had set was not meant to destroy this space.

It was meant to ripen that fruit.

It would use the lives and chakra of everyone here as the final nourishment.

"Everyone, gather around me!" Kakashi's voice had never been more solemn. "Prepare your strongest defensive ninjutsu!"

The ANBU quickly gathered, and the glow of various defensive ninjutsu lit up around them.

But Kakashi knew it would not be enough.

If that fruit truly exploded, the resulting energy shockwave would be enough to level the entire underground laboratory. Even if they survived the first wave, they would be buried a hundred meters underground.

Unless...

His Sharingan turned toward the console again.

Cracking progress: 87%.

Just a little more.

As long as he obtained the data, as long as he completed the mission Lord Danzo had assigned him...

Kakashi clenched his teeth, and the glow of Lightning Cutter flared even brighter. He was prepared to gamble with his life—to force his way through the experimental subjects' encirclement at the final moment before the fruit exploded and seize the data storage device inside the console.

And Xiao, hidden in the shadows, saw all of it.

His Byakugan swept over the frantically surging experimental subjects, over Kakashi's team preparing to risk their lives, and over the fruit on the verge of exploding.