Deep in the Forest of Death, Hyuga Xiao leaned against a tree trunk and panted heavily.
Cold sweat soaked his clothes, sticking them clammily to his skin. The Caged Bird Seal burned on his forehead, feeling like a hot iron repeatedly pressing against his nerves. Every heartbeat brought a sharp, stinging pain, reminding him that his countdown to death had begun—forty-seven hours and thirty-two minutes, the precise time he had sensed moments ago inside the tree hollow through the flow of chakra.
He tore off the bandage on his left shoulder; the wound had already festered, and yellowish-white pus oozed from the edges of the dark red blood scab. A snapped root had pierced the old injury while he was crawling underground earlier. The pain only kept him clearer.
Snake Den...
Xiao took the crumpled map from his tunic. It was the one Gekko Hayate had left behind, marking three of Orochimaru's secret hideouts in the Forest of Death. The nearest one was in an underground karst cave two kilometers ahead.
He needed three things: medical supplies, chakra supplements, and any research materials regarding the curse mark.
Byakugan activated.
His vision pierced through layers of trees and soil, locking onto the target. It was an entrance disguised as a natural rock fissure, its interior artificially excavated into three levels. The topmost level was a supply warehouse, the middle level a makeshift laboratory, and the bottom level... held three test subjects with weak vital signs.
There were only five guards.
Two sound ninja were organizing experimental records on the middle level, while three were on rotation at the entrance. Strength assessment: chunin level, but all carried unstable chakra fluctuations—curse mark bearers.
Xiao put away the map, took the last three soldier provision pills from his ninja tool pouch, and shoved them