Data Scramble

The laboratory alarm blared sharply enough to pierce eardrums.

Hyuga Xiao carried the unconscious Shisui on his back as he moved swiftly through the ventilation ducts. His Byakugan vision penetrated the metal walls, and he could see Kakashi leading two ANBU in pursuit from this direction—they were clearly familiar with the laboratory's layout as well and knew which vents offered the best escape routes.

"Troublesome."

Xiao muttered under his breath, gathering chakra beneath his feet and leaving faint footprints along the inner wall of the duct. He could not move at full speed, or the chakra fluctuations would be too obvious and Kakashi's Sharingan would catch them. But he could not go too slowly either. The laboratory's self-destruct sequence had already begun; muffled explosions echoed in the distance, making the entire structure tremble.

At a bend in the duct, Xiao stopped.

He gently set Shisui down in the corner and took out the data chip he had cut from the laboratory table. The chip was only the size of a fingernail, its surface glowing with a faint blue sheen. It might contain all of Orochimaru's research data on Curse Marks, the Sharingan, and even Wood Release.

Its value outweighed ten Shisuis.

But carrying it made its chakra fluctuations stand out like a torch in the night.

Xiao took a deep breath and formed hand seals. Chakra seeped from his fingertips, weaving a complicated sealing formula across the chip's surface—this was the Breath-Concealing Seal he had memorized from a forbidden scroll he had secretly studied in the Hyuga Clan archive. It could suppress an object's chakra fluctuations to nearly zero.

The price was that he had to continuously supply chakra to maintain the seal.

The explosions drew closer.

Xiao tucked the sealed chip into a specially made hidden pocket inside his left sleeve, then hoisted Shisui onto his back again. Just as he was about to continue, a figure burst through the bottom of the duct from below at astonishing speed, at the edge of his Byakugan vision!

Amid the shriek of tearing metal, a silver-haired figure in an ANBU mask leaped into the duct.

"So you really are here."

Kakashi's voice was calm, but the Triple-Tomoe Sharingan in his exposed right eye slowly spun. His gaze swept over Shisui on Xiao's back, then settled on Xiao's face—though he wore a mask, those pure white eyes were far too distinctive.

"A member of the Hyuga Branch House?" There was a trace of confusion in Kakashi's voice. "Why are you here? And why are you taking away the test subject?"

Xiao did not answer.

He slowly put Shisui down and assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist. Chakra circulated within him, deliberately restrained to the level of an ordinary Chunin—he could not reveal too much, especially with an Active Curse Mark Seed still hidden in his body. If its fluctuations were caught by the Sharingan, it would mean trouble.

"Not going to speak?" Kakashi sighed. "Then I'll have to ask you to stay."

Before his words had even faded, his figure vanished from sight.

So fast!

Xiao drove his Byakugan to its limit and barely caught that afterimage. Kakashi did not use ninjutsu, only a pure taijutsu charge—his right hand clawed toward Xiao's throat, while a kunai hidden in his left hand sealed off any route of lateral movement.

A standard ANBU capture technique.

Xiao bent backward, his left hand shooting out from beneath his ribs at an unbelievable angle. His index and middle fingers came together, precisely striking at the chakra point on Kakashi's wrist.

"Gentle Fist Art: Two-Finger Piercing Hand."

Kakashi's pupils contracted slightly. His attack halted abruptly, and he brought his kunai up to block. The instant Xiao's fingers collided with metal, chakra erupted from his fingertips—not to pierce, but to vibrate!

Clang!

The kunai was jolted from Kakashi's grip. Kakashi used the force to retreat, landing on the wall of the duct three meters away. He shook his numb wrist, his Sharingan fixed on Xiao's fingers.

"That isn't ordinary Gentle Fist... Have you improved the technique?"

Xiao remained silent.

He could not speak. His voice would expose his identity. There were many members of the Hyuga Branch House, and Kakashi might not recognize exactly who he was, but if he opened his mouth, that Copy Ninja's memory would make things troublesome later.

The duct shook once more, and the overhead lights flickered. The roar of collapsing structures came from afar—the self-destruct sequence had entered its second stage.

Kakashi glanced at Shisui, then at Xiao.

"Is he your target, or is it the laboratory's data?" he suddenly asked. "Someone cut away the storage chip from the laboratory table just now. That was you, wasn't it?"

Xiao's heart tightened.

So it had been noticed after all.

But his expression did not change. He merely adjusted his breathing slowly. Shisui's breathing on his back was weak, and the Curse Mark within him was devouring his life force. He could not delay any longer.

He had to end this quickly.

Xiao took the initiative.

Chakra burst beneath his feet, launching him forward like an arrow. His palms whirled, the palm shadows of the Gentle Fist weaving a net through the cramped duct. Every strike targeted chakra points, every blow intended to seal the meridians.

Kakashi's Sharingan spun, seeing through every trajectory.

But he did not block head-on.

The Copy Ninja chose the most effortless method—evasion. Under the Sharingan's dynamic vision, every one of Xiao's moves was predicted, every attack missing by a hair. The two raced through the duct at high speed, sparks from palm wind and kunai collisions flickering through the darkness.

Ten moves.

Twenty moves.

A thin sheen of sweat appeared on Xiao's forehead.

Not from exhaustion, but as an act. He had to look like a Chunin fighting with everything he had, controlling his chakra just right—enough to pressure Kakashi, but not enough to arouse suspicion.

On the thirty-seventh move, an opportunity came.

After one evasive maneuver, Kakashi landed on a section of duct wall weakened by the earlier explosions. Xiao seized the moment and struck the sidewall with his palm. Chakra vibrations coursed through it, and the entire section of duct began to collapse!

Amid the thunderous shriek of twisting metal, Kakashi's movement slowed for an instant.

Now.

Xiao closed in, his right palm driving straight for Kakashi's chest. He used seventy percent of his strength in that strike, the palm wind fierce, but it still had an opening in the Sharingan's sight—Kakashi twisted aside, his left-hand kunai counterthrusting toward Xiao's ribs.

Everything was calculated.

Xiao did not dodge.

He let the kunai stab into his left ribs—shallow, only halfway into the flesh, avoiding anything vital. At the same time, his right palm changed form, becoming fingers. In the instant Kakashi turned aside, his fingertips brushed over the ninja tool pouch at Kakashi's waist.

Rip.

A gash opened in the ninja tool pouch, and several shuriken and scrolls fell out.

Kakashi frowned and kicked Xiao in the abdomen.

The force was not heavy, but it was enough to send Xiao flying.

Xiao grunted, crashing into the collapsed duct wall behind him before rolling to the floor. He curled up, coughing, his left hand covering the wound in his ribs as blood seeped between his fingers.

That was convincing enough.

Kakashi did not pursue. He glanced at the fallen ninja tools, then at the badly injured Xiao, his Sharingan turning faintly.

"You are no match for me," he said. "Put down the test subject and hand over the data chip. I can let you leave alive."

Xiao struggled to his feet, slung Shisui over his back, and turned to run.

He staggered away in a sorry state, looking every bit like a severely wounded man fleeing for his life.

Kakashi watched his retreating back and did not chase.

The mission's priority was to destroy the laboratory and ensure Orochimaru's research did not leak out. Pursuing an unidentified member of the Hyuga Branch House could delay more important matters. Besides, the man was already badly wounded and carrying dead weight; his odds of surviving in a self-destructing laboratory were low.

He bent down to pick up the ninja tools, then suddenly froze.

Within his Sharingan's vision, deep in a crack in the duct wall where that man had fallen earlier, something seemed to glint.

Kakashi walked over and reached into the crack.

Empty.

There was only twisted metal and dust.

He frowned and swept his Sharingan over the surroundings again. No lingering chakra. No hidden technique. That glint from a moment ago had perhaps been an illusion.

"Captain Kakashi!" An ANBU's voice called from beneath the duct. "The core area is about to collapse!"

"...Coming."

Kakashi gave one final look in the direction Xiao had fled, then turned and jumped down from the duct.

Fifty meters away, inside another ventilation duct.

Xiao stopped and released the hand covering his wound. The injury to his ribs was shallow, and the bleeding had already stopped. He took the data chip from the hidden pocket in his left sleeve. The seal remained intact, and its chakra fluctuations were perfectly suppressed.

When he had been kicked away, he had deliberately slammed into that cracked section of duct wall, creating the illusion that he had hidden something there. Kakashi's Sharingan would certainly notice details, and that flash of reflected light had been a subtle refraction Xiao created on the metal surface with chakra.

Lure the tiger from the mountain; make noise in the east, strike in the west.

A simple strategy, but most effective against suspicious people.

Xiao put the chip away again, hoisted Shisui onto his back, and continued forward. In his Byakugan vision, the laboratory's structure was rapidly collapsing, passage after passage blocked by flames and debris. But he had already memorized every safe route—he had planned three escape routes when entering.

Five minutes later, Xiao crawled out through a hidden vent and landed in the forest behind the laboratory.

The night was deep, moonlight shattered into fragments by the tree canopy.

Xiao leaned Shisui against a tree and checked his condition. His vital signs were weak, and the Curse Mark's corrosion was more severe than expected. Orochimaru had carried out too many dangerous modifications on this test subject.

"System," Xiao silently called in his mind.

[Fate-Breaking System activated]

[High-luck individual detected: Shisui Uchiha (near-death state)]

[Fate Node interference completion: 72%]

[Warning: Target's remaining lifespan is less than 3 hours]

[Available options: 1. Spend 500 Destiny Points for emergency life support; 2. Spend 1000 Destiny Points to attempt Curse Mark Extraction; 3. Abandon]

Xiao looked at his Destiny Points balance: 1430 points.

The reserves he had accumulated by intercepting Hinata, Kurenai Yuhi, and the chain reactions triggered by this laboratory operation. He was silent for two seconds before choosing the second option.

[Confirm expenditure of 1000 Destiny Points. Executing "Curse Mark Extraction."]

[Executing...]

An invisible force surged from Xiao's body and seeped into Shisui's. The black Curse Mark patterns began to writhe like living creatures, struggling as the system's power forcibly peeled them away at the cellular level, crushed them, and erased them.

Shisui's body convulsed violently, black blood seeping from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Xiao held down his shoulder, his Byakugan fixed on the meridian system. The Curse Mark's roots had sunk deep, almost merging with the nerves and chakra meridians. The agony of forcibly removing it was no less than being cut to pieces alive.

But Shisui did not wake.

This Uchiha genius was now like a broken puppet, left to the whims of fate.

Three minutes later, the system prompt sounded:

[Extraction complete]

[Target's vital signs stabilized, but both eyes are missing and chakra meridians are severely damaged. Strength has permanently fallen below 30% of original level]

[Destiny Points balance: 430]

Xiao withdrew his hand and looked at Shisui's pale face.

Was it worth it?

A thousand Destiny Points in exchange for a half-crippled Shisui Uchiha. From a utilitarian standpoint, it was a loss. Shisui's most valuable asset had been Kotoamatsukami, but those eyes had already been taken. Now he was only a severely wounded ordinary Elite Ninja, perhaps not even capable of that level anymore.

But Xiao remembered the image from the original story of this man leaping into the Naka River.

He remembered how Shisui had believed in Leaf Village and his companions until his death, only to be betrayed by Danzo, misunderstood by his clan, and even have his corpse used by Orochimaru as experimental material.

"At least," Xiao said softly, "you won't have to die again."

He hoisted Shisui onto his back and prepared to leave.

Just then, an unusual sound came from deep within the forest.

Not pursuers.

The sound of some kind of... container breaking.

Xiao's Byakugan instantly turned toward the source—three hundred meters away, at an exit on the other side of the laboratory, a cultivation tank rolled out from the collapsed ruins. The tank cracked open, nutrient fluid gushing out.

A person crawled out of the tank.

No, a boy.

White hair, skin so pale it was nearly translucent, with only a tattered restraint garment hanging from his body. He sat blankly on the ground, staring at the forest around him, then lowering his gaze to his own hands. His eyes were empty, like those of a newborn infant.

But Xiao's Byakugan saw more clearly.

The boy's bone density was abnormal. The structure of his chakra meridians was completely unlike that of ordinary people, and a familiar fluctuation emanated from within him—

The Kaguya Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Shikotsumyaku.

And faint Curse Mark patterns covered his neck.

"Kimimaro..."

Xiao murmured.

In the original story, he had been Orochimaru's most loyal vessel and the final survivor of the Kaguya Clan. At this point in time, he should still have been undergoing modifications deep within the laboratory. Why was he here?

The boy seemed to sense his gaze.

He lifted his head. Those pure white eyes—not Byakugan, but the unfocused blankness of confusion—looked in Xiao's direction. The two stared at each other through the trees, moonlight spilling over the boy and making him look like a lost ghost.

In Xiao's mind, the system prompt suddenly rang out:

[Interferable Fate Node detected: Kaguya Kimimaro (early-stage test subject)]

[Current state: Memory blank, cognition confused, early-stage Curse Mark corrosion]

[Interference recommendation: Take in]

Xiao silently watched the boy.

Take him in?

That meant carrying another burden. Shisui was troublesome enough already; adding Kimimaro would double the difficulty of escape. And the Curse Mark inside Kimimaro was unstable, capable of going berserk at any moment.

But...

Xiao remembered how Kimimaro had called out "Lord Orochimaru" until the moment he died in the original story.

He remembered that this boy's brief life had never included a single day lived for himself.

"Troublesome."

Xiao sighed, carrying Shisui as he walked toward Kimimaro.

In the forest, moonlight stretched the shadows of the three figures long. In the distance came the laboratory's final explosion, flames staining half the sky red.

Leaf Village's ANBU searched through the ruins, while Kakashi stood atop the rubble, his Sharingan sweeping over the surroundings.

He could not shake the feeling that he had missed something.

Something important.

But he could not remember what it was.