Recaps

Hyuga Xiao encouraged Mitaraishi Anko to make her own choice as Orochimaru prepared to defect, and the system reported that she had reached Initial Trust. With Orochimaru's departure only 48 hours away, Xiao continued advancing his plans against the Main House barrier while Konoha's leaders watched Anko and suspected Xiao.

• Hyuga Xiao met Mitaraishi Anko in the library and learned that Orochimaru was leaving, then urged her to define herself apart from labels and choose her own path.
• Mitaraishi Anko fled the library, and the system raised her bond with Xiao to Initial Trust while warning that Orochimaru would defect in 48 hours.
• The Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō discussed letting Orochimaru escape and keeping Mitaraishi Anko under watch as a potential danger.
• Hyuga Hiashi and a Main House elder discussed Xiao's library visits and agreed to let him act freely while the Caged Bird Seal remained in place.
• Hyuga Xiao inspected the flaw he had planted in the Main House Treasury barrier and continued refining his chakra as his Byakugan and seal-removal progress increased.

After Orochimaru defected, Hyuga Xiao secretly reached the imprisoned Mitaraishi Anko and gave her a reason to resist despair. He planned to wait until circumstances weakened ANBU’s watch before offering her a chance to leave Leaf Village and confront Orochimaru.

• Tokuma Hyuga told Xiao that Orochimaru had defected and that ANBU had detained Anko after she broke down during interrogation.
• Xiao used a logistics assignment to enter the Interrogation Division and secretly sent Anko the message, “Live for yourself.”
• Anko calmed down and described her Curse Mark as incomplete, leading the interrogators to classify her as a low-threat subject for observation.
• Xiao told Tokuma he would wait for Orochimaru to establish himself in the Land of Rice Paddies and for ANBU surveillance of Anko to loosen before offering her a choice.
• Tokuma reported that Hiashi had visited the Hokage Office repeatedly and that guards at the Main House Treasury had been tripled.
• Anko resolved to live in her own way and prove Orochimaru wrong.

Hyuga Xiao rescued Mitaraishi Anko from ANBU as her Curse Mark began to rampage, then persuaded her to share what she knew about Orochimaru in exchange for help suppressing the mark. Anko hid in a safe house while Leaf Village declared her a rogue ninja and began investigating her abductor; Xiao prepared for their meeting three days later.

• When ANBU arrived to seal Anko away, Xiao sabotaged the lights, released poisonous mist, and escaped with her through a cut in the wall.
• Xiao brought Anko to an abandoned warehouse and gave her an inhibitor that could suppress her Curse Mark for about three days.
• Anko told Xiao about Orochimaru’s underground laboratory in the Land of Rice Paddies, his research into Living Corpse Reincarnation and the Curse Mark system, and her role as an experimental vessel.
• Xiao gave Anko directions to a safe house and instructed her to take the inhibitor daily until he returned on the third night.
• Hiruzen ordered Anko declared a B-rank rogue ninja and increased security, while Danzo suspected Hyuga Xiao was involved in her abduction.
• Xiao moved through Leaf Village unnoticed and planned a gift for his meeting with Anko three days later.

Hyuga Xiao visited Yamashiro Aoba in Konoha Hospital and secretly investigated Mitaraishi Anko’s worsening Curse Mark, then planned to make an inhibitor and rescue her. He decided to seek medicinal materials and records through the Hyuga Clan herb storehouse before attempting the hospital escape within the next day.

• Hyuga Xiao visited Yamashiro Aoba and used his Byakugan to learn that Mitaraishi Anko’s Curse Mark was draining her chakra and that she had at most three days to live.
• Hyuga Xiao marked Anko’s barrier during a Root shift change and learned from his system that he had twenty-four hours to begin his intervention.
• Hyuga Xiao decided to return to the Hyuga Clan Grounds and arrange to help inventory the herb storehouse so he could find medicinal ingredients and forbidden-technique records.
• Hyuga Xiao drafted a plan to prepare an inhibitor, infiltrate the hospital through old underground pipes, and escort Anko to a safe house.
• Hyuga Xiao burned his plan and refined chakra, while his system showed his Byakugan purity at 41.2% and Caged Bird Seal release progress at 18.7%.

Xiao learned that the Hyuga Main House planned to send him and other Branch House members on a deadly mission near Orochimaru’s base, and he began organizing a plan to turn the trap to his advantage. He prepared to infiltrate the medicine vault and reach Anko at Konoha Hospital before the mission in three days.

• Tokuma brought Xiao a hidden recording showing that the Main House had selected him and other young Branch House members for a dangerous S-rank reconnaissance mission near the Land of Rice Paddies.
• Xiao concluded that the Main House intended to use the mission to eliminate troublesome Branch House members and told Tokuma to warn selected allies through the Caged Bird Mutual Aid Society.
• Xiao asked Tokuma to distract the medicine vault guards at eight the following night and bring him the vault’s barrier layout before dawn.
• Xiao and Tokuma discussed the mission’s proximity to Orochimaru’s secret base, and Tokuma agreed to help Xiao resist the Main House’s plan.
• Xiao reviewed his route through Konoha’s underground pipelines to the hospital isolation ward and planned to exploit a brief barrier fluctuation to reach Anko.

Xiao prepared to save Anko from her rampaging Curse Mark while facing a Main House plan to send him and thirty Branch House elites on a likely fatal mission. After secretly obtaining Evening Primrose and making a suppressant, he left at dawn with a plan to reach Anko and turn the Land of Rice Paddies mission against the Main House.

• Xiao learned that the Main House planned to send him and thirty Branch House elites on a possibly deadly mission, while Anko had less than seventy-two hours before her Curse Mark rampaged.
• Xiao used a Shadowveil Pill and the guard shift change to sneak into the forbidden White-Eye Spring courtyard and collect Evening Primrose.
• Xiao spotted an ancient tablet bearing an original Caged Bird Seal design beneath the spring, but chose not to retrieve it.
• Xiao returned to his dormitory and brewed a suppressant that would temporarily stabilize Anko's Curse Mark for seventy-two hours.
• Xiao planned to disguise himself as a medical corps member to deliver the medicine to Anko, then leave for the Land of Rice Paddies and turn the mission against the Main House.

Hyuga Xiao infiltrated Konoha Hospital and stabilized Mitaraishi Anko’s curse mark, then learned about Orochimaru’s underground laboratory and its research on the Caged Bird Seal. He left with a password and a new lead tied to his S-rank mission in the Land of Rice Paddies.

• Hyuga Xiao used his knowledge of the hospital barriers to enter Isolation Room Number Seven without triggering an alarm.
• Xiao gave Mitaraishi Anko medicine and used Gentle Fist strikes to suppress her curse mark until she regained consciousness.
• Anko told Xiao that Orochimaru had a laboratory beneath the largest casino in Hidden Sound Village, containing research records and documents about the Caged Bird Seal.
• Anko revealed that Orochimaru had infiltrated the Hyuga Clan’s forbidden grounds three years earlier and stolen a stone tablet, then whispered the laboratory’s password to Xiao.
• Xiao left Anko with three days of suppressants and a warning to play dumb, escaped the hospital, and connected his new lead to his S-rank mission at the Land of Rice Paddies border.

Hyuga Xiao traded a temporary Curse Mark inhibitor for Anko's intelligence about Orochimaru's research and plans to help her escape the isolation ward. He left to prepare for the next night, intent on surviving the Main House's S-rank mission and breaking the Caged Bird Seal.

• Hyuga Xiao gave Anko an inhibitor and learned that Orochimaru's Hidden Sound Village concealed an underground laboratory researching mass-produced Curse Marks, Kekkei Genkai transplantation, and the God Tree.
• Anko taught Xiao a chakra frequency code that could suppress her Curse Mark for ten minutes on three occasions, and he promised to find a way to remove it.
• Xiao told Anko to pretend to remain unconscious and said he would take her out of the hospital the following night, warning her to avoid Danzo's Root.
• Xiao left the hospital, marked a signal for Tokuma Hyuga, and resolved to turn the Main House's plan against them while pursuing a way to break the Caged Bird Seal.
• Anko regained consciousness after Xiao left and wondered what he intended to do.

Hyuga Xiao analyzed Orochimaru's Curse Mark frequencies, brewed a suppressant for Anko, and prepared for his S-rank mission while learning that emotional bonds could resist Divine Erosion. Before departing, he received an anonymous map pointing to a safe house near the mission area and set out determined to uncover the truth of the Caged Bird Seal.

• Hyuga Xiao decoded Orochimaru's chakra frequencies, corrected dangerous values, and completed a formula for a Curse Mark suppressant.
• Hyuga Xiao earned increased Byakugan Purity and Curse Mark resistance, then discovered that bonds with women of great fortune strengthened his Divine Erosion Resistance.
• Hyuga Xiao prepared weapons, medicine, disguises, and a stolen rubbing of the Original Caged Bird Seal for his S-rank mission.
• Hyuga Xiao found an anonymous map marking a safe house near Orochimaru's Hidden Sound Village base and hid it in his ninja tool pouch.
• Hyuga Xiao left for the assembly, intending to investigate the Caged Bird Seal and take control of his fate.

Hyuga Xiao joined a Branch House squad on an S-rank mission and discovered that the Main House had implanted three teammates with lethal Curse Marks and intended for Xiao to die as well. When Orochimaru’s Curse Mark test subjects approached the camp, Elder Xiao positioned the marked teammates at the front, leaving Xiao facing a deadly confrontation.

• Elder Xiao led Xiao and five Branch House members toward the Land of Rice Paddies, while two Main House Elite Ninja observed them.
• Xiao used his Byakugan to discover that Tetsu, Aoba, and Shu carried Curse Marks that drained their vitality and could be triggered to overcharge their chakra.
• During the journey, Xiao learned that Tetsu had a young daughter and urged him to return safely, while noticing that the Curse Mark around Tetsu’s heart was growing.
• Elder Xiao assigned Xiao to the vanguard for the next day’s reconnaissance, and Xiao overheard the Main House observers discuss triggering the Curse Marks and confirming his death.
• Shu spotted at least twenty approaching chakra signatures, and Xiao recognized the figures as Orochimaru’s Curse Mark test subjects as Elder Xiao sent Tetsu, Shu, and Aoba to block them from the front.

Hyuga Xiao witnessed Ko Hyuga sacrifice Branch House members in a battle with an Amegakure scouting team, ending with Shu Hyuga’s death and the team badly shaken. As they continued toward the Land of Rice Paddies, Ko ordered Xiao to investigate the location marked on his map, where Xiao hoped to find answers about the Caged Bird Seal and the Hyuga Clan’s secrets.

• Hyuga Xiao detected six Amegakure ninja, and Ko Hyuga ordered Tetsu, Ryo, and Shu to engage while Xiao provided flank cover.
• The Amegakure team used mist and poisoned senbon to wear down the Branch House fighters, and Shu was poisoned as his Temporary Enhancement Curse Seal destabilized.
• Shu’s berserk power killed one Amegakure ninja, but Ko declared him unsalvageable and ordered him to end his own life.
• Shu defied Ko and detonated his chakra, destroying himself and seriously injuring Tetsu and Ryo as the Amegakure team escaped.
• Xiao told Tetsu that the Main House treated them as expendable because they were Branch House, then urged him to survive and seek a chance to change things.
• Ko tested Xiao about the map and ordered him to investigate its marked location after the mission, while Xiao resolved to uncover what awaited in the valley.

Xiao discovered an ancient scroll explaining that the Caged Bird Seal was derived from the Ōtsutsuki Karma Seal and that its true control core might be on the moon. He resolved to follow the clues to Moonview Marsh during the coming full moon, where he hoped to break the seal despite the possibility of a trap.

• Ko Hyuga sent Xiao, Tetsu, and two Branch House members to scout an abandoned shrine marked on the anonymous map.
• Xiao found a concealed basement beneath the shrine and recovered a scroll describing the Caged Bird Seal's origins, its Ancestral Shrine Barrier control hub, and a possible control core on the moon.
• Xiao concealed the scroll and reported that the shrine was safe, then signaled Ko Hyuga's group to enter and rest there.
• While patrolling, Xiao read that removing the original Curse Seal required sufficient bloodline purity, a bloodline key or control core, and a full-moon ritual using natural energy.
• Xiao connected the full moon in three days with the mission near Moonview Marsh and decided to pursue the chance to break the Caged Bird Seal.

Hyuga Xiao infiltrated Orochimaru’s underground laboratory to investigate its God Tree research and found signs that a skilled Kumogakure assassin had entered ahead of him. After an explosion triggered the laboratory’s defenses, Xiao pressed deeper and discovered a silver-haired girl with Byakugan-like eyes, who silently begged him to save her.

• Elder Xiao assigned Hyuga Xiao to scout the western route alone while sending the other Hyuga members along separate routes.
• Xiao found the hidden cave entrance to Orochimaru’s laboratory and discovered four dead guards and a damaged Curse Mark barrier left by an earlier intruder.
• Xiao entered the laboratory and identified separate areas for Curse Mark production and bloodline transplants, along with a heavily shielded chamber containing a dark-golden object.
• An explosion in the main passage triggered the laboratory’s alarm, activated its defenses, and drew Orochimaru’s guards toward Xiao.
• Xiao chose to push deeper into the laboratory and found a silver-haired girl suspended in a cultivation tank with root-like tendrils growing from her back.
• The girl opened her pupil-less white eyes and silently asked Xiao to save her.

Hyuga Xiao infiltrated Orochimaru’s laboratory, stole an Active Curse Mark Seed during a clash between Kumogakure ninja, and learned it could help him analyze the Caged Bird Seal. He headed toward a hidden chamber where a Hyuga captive bearing the seal remained in an operating incubation tank.

• Hyuga Xiao observed Takuya mutate after activating a Curse Mark trap, then watched Takuya fight Captain and Yumi.
• Takuya seized the silver container holding an Active Curse Mark Seed and tried to smash it, but Hyuga Xiao snatched it and escaped.
• Captain and Yumi recognized Hyuga Xiao’s Byakugan and retreated with the unconscious Takuya.
• Hyuga Xiao’s system identified the Seed’s connection to Orochimaru’s improved Curse Mark of Heaven and offered an in-depth analysis for 500 Destiny Points.
• Hyuga Xiao spotted scattered research documents and a hidden chamber containing an operating tank with a Hyuga person bearing a Caged Bird Seal, then approached the entrance.

Hyuga Xiao defeated the Hidden Cloud squad, claimed Orochimaru’s Active Curse Mark Seed, and used it to begin analyzing the Caged Bird Seal. He left the trapped survivors alive to report his warning to the Raikage, while Elder Ko Hyuga waited for Xiao’s scouting report.

• Hyuga Xiao seized the sealed container from the Hidden Cloud captain, disabled the captain with Gentle Fist techniques, and activated Orochimaru’s cave traps to bind him and Yumi.
• Xiao stopped Takuya’s Curse Mark rampage, but Takuya died; Xiao absorbed the residue and gained analysis progress for Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal Technique.
• Xiao identified the Hidden Cloud captain as ANBU under the Raikage, then marked him with a temporary chakra-disrupting injury and ordered him to report Xiao’s warning.
• Xiao left the cave and began using the Active Curse Mark Seed to reverse-analyze the Caged Bird Seal as he traveled through the forest.
• Elder Ko Hyuga waited with the remaining Branch House members for Xiao’s scouting report.

Hyuga Xiao deceived Ko Hyuga about his encounter with the Curse Mark and learned that Ko planned to sacrifice the Branch House members in a diversion against Hidden Sound Village. Xiao persuaded Hyuga Ken and Hyuga Rei to follow his own, more survivable plan, while Ko watched them and resolved to test Xiao in the coming assault.

• Hyuga Xiao reported finding a destroyed Hidden Sound laboratory and blamed his disrupted chakra on a Curse Mark trap, but Ko Hyuga remained suspicious of his polished account.
• Xiao claimed to have seen records mentioning the God Tree, prompting Ko to question how he knew of the forbidden subject.
• Ko ordered Xiao, Hyuga Ken, and Hyuga Rei to attack Hidden Sound Village's defenses at dawn as a diversion for the Leaf Village ANBU, despite the likely casualties.
• Xiao convinced Hyuga Ken and Hyuga Rei to create a diversion by striking a weak point and retreating instead of charging the defenses head-on.
• Ko secretly watched the trio plan and decided the assault would reveal whether Xiao was worth keeping under observation.

Hyuga Xiao infiltrated Orochimaru’s underground laboratory while Kakashi’s squad sought the God Tree Cell Cultivation Records. The laboratory’s fruit began ripening as its self-destruct countdown started, trapping Kakashi and his team amid the revived test subjects while Xiao watched from the shadows.

• Ko Hyuga ordered Xiao, Takuya, and Hikō to draw the Sound Ninja’s forces with a frontal assault, and Takuya and Hikō were badly wounded in the fight.
• Xiao used a Shadow Clone to fake his injury, then slipped into the laboratory through a concealed ventilation duct.
• Xiao found Kakashi and six ANBU members in the deepest chamber, where Orochimaru had been extracting chakra from captives and corpses to cultivate a God Tree fruit.
• The fruit resonated with Xiao’s Curse Mark Seed, and a stone slab revealed an image linking the Caged Bird Seal to the God Tree and warning of eternal slavery.
• The laboratory began a sixty-second self-destruct sequence as the fruit ripened, and the revived test subjects blocked Kakashi’s squad’s escape.

Hyuga Xiao rescued Shisui Uchiha from a Leaf Village operation to destroy Orochimaru’s laboratory, then recruited him as an ally. They headed toward a prototype God Tree Fruit as Kakashi chose to withdraw and report them dead.

• Hyuga Xiao infiltrated the laboratory and discovered Shisui Uchiha alive in a cultivation tank as Kakashi’s team prepared to destroy the test subjects and research.
• Hyuga Xiao drained the cultivation tanks, took the remaining records, and used Earth Release to escape with Shisui Uchiha.
• The system revealed that rescuing Shisui Uchiha had affected the fates of Izumi Uchiha, Kurenai Yuhi, and Tsunade, raising the potential Destiny Points reward.
• Hyuga Xiao persuaded Shisui Uchiha to join him, and Shisui agreed on the condition that Xiao would not kill Itachi Uchiha unless Itachi stood in his way.
• Hyuga Xiao and Shisui Uchiha found a pulsing prototype God Tree Fruit, and Xiao decided to devour it as the laboratory began collapsing.
• Kakashi caught the unnatural chakra from deeper in the passage, then ordered his team to withdraw and report Shisui Uchiha and the test subjects dead.

Hyuga Xiao rescued Shisui Uchiha from a classified laboratory and stole the data chip containing records of the experiments performed on him. With Konoha's pursuers closing in, Xiao carried Shisui underground and chose to continue interfering with his fate.

• Xiao discovered Shisui alive in a cultivation tank, with his eyes removed and his body sustained by life-support equipment.
• Xiao used a Shadow Clone to distract Kakashi and the ANBU while he stole Shisui's experimental data chip and released him from the tank.
• Xiao carried Shisui toward a ventilation duct, deflected an ANBU's explosive kunai, and escaped as his clone detonated and blocked the passage.
• Kakashi recognized the attacker’s modified Gentle Fist technique and ordered the mission continued while keeping the attacker's identity uncertain.
• Xiao read the system's warning about the consequences of changing Shisui's fate, accepted the risk, and began analyzing the stolen data.
• As Konoha's searchers approached, Xiao carried Shisui into the earth using Subterranean Passage Technique.

Hyuga Xiao escaped the collapsing laboratory with Shisui and used the system to remove Shisui’s Curse Mark, though the extraction left him severely weakened and without his eyes. Xiao then found Kimimaro emerging from a broken cultivation tank and chose to take him in as the laboratory exploded behind them.

• Xiao concealed the laboratory data chip, fought Kakashi in the ventilation ducts, and escaped with Shisui by misleading Kakashi about where the chip was hidden.
• Xiao spent 1000 Destiny Points to extract Shisui’s Curse Mark, stabilizing him but leaving his chakra meridians severely damaged and his strength below 30 percent of its original level.
• Xiao spotted Kimimaro emerging from a cultivation tank with a blank memory and early Curse Mark corrosion.
• Xiao decided to take Kimimaro with him as the laboratory’s final explosion lit the sky, while Kakashi searched the ruins, unable to remember what he had missed.

Hyuga Xiao rescued Kimimaro from Orochimaru’s collapsing laboratory, treated him and Shisui, and escaped with them as Kakashi began investigating. At an abandoned shrine, Xiao told Shisui what he knew about the Uchiha’s coming tragedy and offered Kimimaro a chance at treatment, then prepared to flee the Land of Fire with the two of them and the stolen data chip.

• Hyuga Xiao found the weakened Kimimaro in the ventilation shaft and carried him and the unconscious Shisui out of the laboratory before it collapsed.
• When Kimimaro’s Curse Mark went berserk, Xiao struck its core to suppress it, then spent 600 Destiny Points to stabilize Kimimaro and 900 to treat Shisui.
• Xiao erased the group’s traces and fled with Shisui and Kimimaro; Kakashi found the clearing, recognized traces of Hyuga medical ninjutsu, and ordered a report to the Hokage and a review of Xiao’s mission records.
• At an abandoned shrine, Shisui woke and Xiao revealed his knowledge of Danzo’s plans, the Uchiha massacre, and Itachi’s choice, while explaining that he had saved Shisui to gain an ally.
• Kimimaro woke, and Xiao promised to seek treatment for his Bloodline Disease in exchange for his Shikotsumyaku; Kimimaro asked for time to think.
• Xiao decided they needed to leave the Land of Fire, while the stolen chip revealed an encrypted file about God Tree cells and Byakugan purity.

Hyuga Xiao escaped the destruction of Orochimaru's laboratory with Kaguya Kimimaro, temporarily suppressing his Curse Mark and promising to seek treatment for his Bloodline Disease. As they planned to return to Leaf Village for resources, Kakashi discovered that someone had removed a test subject from the laboratory before the ANBU arrived.

• Hyuga Xiao used the Active Curse Mark Seed and precise Gentle Fist Chakra to suppress Kimimaro's Curse Mark, then persuaded him to leave with him.
• Xiao and Kimimaro escaped Hidden Sound Village as Leaf Village's ANBU destroyed the laboratory; Xiao saw Kakashi carrying a scroll containing Shisui's Sharingan.
• Xiao took Kimimaro toward a safehouse and promised to attempt treatment using Orochimaru's research data, while they avoided a wounded Leaf Village ANBU.
• Xiao's analysis of the Curse Mark Seed revealed a possible Cursed Seal Simulation Technique that could amplify his combat power but accelerate Divine Erosion.
• Xiao decided to return to Leaf Village with Kimimaro to access resources and pursue his plans involving Hinata, the Main House, and Shisui.
• Kakashi learned that Cultivation Tank Number Three had been emptied before the ANBU arrived and suspected someone from the Hyuga Clan had taken its occupant.

Hyuga Xiao returned to the rendezvous cave with Kimimaro and the laboratory data, where Ko used the Caged Bird Seal to force Xiao to surrender the boy and the chip. After Ko revealed the Main House planned to brand Xiao with a Level-Two Caged Bird Seal, Xiao concealed his anger and secretly marked Kimimaro’s seal with a message to wait.

• Hyuga Xiao carried the unconscious Kimimaro to the cave and reported that he had destroyed Orochimaru’s laboratory and retrieved its data chip.
• Ko demanded Kimimaro and activated Xiao’s Caged Bird Seal when Xiao resisted, forcing him to bind and seal the boy’s chakra.
• Xiao handed Ko the data chip, and Ko announced that the Main House planned to impose a Level-Two Caged Bird Seal on Xiao after the mission.
• Xiao secretly connected a thread of chakra to Kimimaro’s sealing talisman and wrote a hidden message telling him to wait.

Hyuga Xiao temporarily stopped Anko's Curse Mark from consuming her and learned that Orochimaru was summoning her to a trap at midnight. He left the hospital facing Anko's need for Tsunade's treatment and his own looming Level-Two Caged Bird Seal judgment, determined to turn the danger against his enemies.

• Xiao entered Anko's ward and used her secret chakra frequency to restore her lucidity for ten minutes.
• Anko told Xiao that Orochimaru had programmed the Curse Mark to summon her to a cave downstream of the Naka River at midnight, and she asked Xiao to kill her rather than let her become his pawn.
• Xiao used three silver needles and Gentle Fist chakra to redirect the Curse Mark and place it in temporary dormancy for up to forty-eight hours.
• Xiao told the medical staff to prioritize Anko's care when Tsunade arrived that evening, then whispered something to Anko before she fell asleep.
• Xiao left the hospital aware that his own Level-Two Caged Bird Seal application was under the Third Hokage's consideration, with the final judgment less than three days away.

Hyuga Xiao forced Orochimaru’s consciousness fragment out of Anko and learned that Snakebone Gorge was a conversion site meant to turn her into a vessel. Anko survived with her Curse Mark weakened, while Xiao prepared for Orochimaru’s response and the threats awaiting him in Leaf Village.

• Anko told Xiao that Orochimaru had directed her to Snakebone Gorge as a possible way to remove her Curse Mark, and Xiao deduced that the site was meant to complete her transformation into Orochimaru’s vessel.
• Xiao used a Vitality Seed and silver needles to provoke Anko’s Curse Mark and draw out Orochimaru’s consciousness fragment.
• Xiao questioned the fragment and learned Snakebone Gorge was beneath an ancient shrine in the Forest of Death, and that Orochimaru’s Curse Mark experiments collected data on soul transfer.
• Xiao used a modified Evil-Sealing Method to strip the fragment from Anko and seal it in a scroll, leaving her unconscious with a weakened but still-present Curse Mark.
• Xiao anticipated Orochimaru’s retaliation and the Main House’s next move, while the Fate-Breaking System reported a fifteen-percent increase in Anko’s fate alteration degree.