Who Was Behind It?

The box was tightly sealed. When Tsukimi opened the lid fully, it held neither a secret technique scroll nor hidden intelligence, as the three had imagined. Instead, a faint medicinal fragrance slowly drifted out.

A layer of exceptionally fine green powder lined the wooden box. It had a soft sheen, and even without testing it, all three could sense a faint vitality in it.

"What the hell... That's all that's in the box?"

Asuma stared, dumbfounded, and could not help complaining.

He had just experienced the cruelty of the Ninja world for the first time and killed someone with his own hands. He had barely managed to calm down, only to spend half the night fighting over a pile of medicinal powder.

Kurenai frowned too. She leaned in to examine the powder, her eyes full of confusion. "This powder has a lot of vitality. It isn't made from any ordinary herb, but in the end, it's still just medicine."

The two took turns examining it, studying it again and again, but found nothing.

None of the three specialized in medical Ninjutsu. Though the Nara family dealt in medicinal herbs, Tsukimi never got involved and was no good at identifying rare ones. The powder left all three baffled.

Something about the whole affair felt strange from beginning to end.

Tsukimi ran a hand over the wooden box, his doubts mounting.

They had sacrificed a Chunin willing to die for the mission and three trained elite Genin, launched an ambush in the middle of the night, and killed themselves the moment the mission failed—all to seize this powder?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

There had to be something he was missing.

The three of them could not identify it, but someone else had been watching unseen all night. Now was the perfect time to put him to work.

Tsukimi raised his head slightly and looked deep into the forest. His voice returned to its usual warmth. "You've watched long enough. Aren't you going to come out?"

"Teacher Orochimaru!"

Come on out, Orochimaru. I choose you!

As soon as Tsukimi spoke, even the wind among the trees seemed to stop. A low chuckle came from a patch of darkness that had appeared empty. The voice was cold and raspy, with a hint of amusement.

"Heh... You're sharp, Tsukimi."

A figure in white slowly emerged. Orochimaru's long hair fell over his shoulders, and his golden snake eyes glinted in the dim night. His narrow gaze swept across the three bodies before settling on the wooden box in Tsukimi's hands.

He had hidden nearby since the four enemies first approached, quietly watching the entire night assault. He had seen the team's hesitation, their killing, and their transformation.

Yet from beginning to end, he had remained a detached spectator, with no intention of intervening as the three young Ninja grew.

"You three did well tonight. You qualify as Ninja now." Orochimaru walked over slowly, his eyes fixed on the contents of the box. He bent to study the green powder.

He pinched up a trace of powder and held it beneath his nose. Understanding flashed through his eyes.

"This is powder ground from Green Velvet Grass."

Orochimaru's tone was matter-of-fact as he identified it.

"Green Velvet Grass is native to the Land of Fire. It grows in the southeastern mountains. It has strong vitality and can nourish the body's energy channels and balance the effects of other medicines."

Orochimaru looked up at the three of them, a hint of mockery in his voice. "Green Velvet Grass isn't especially abundant, but it isn't scarce either. Other herbs can serve the same purpose. Its properties make it extremely expensive on the market, though."

"Neither the Land of Fire nor Konoha treats Green Velvet Grass as a restricted substance."

His explanation left Asuma and Kurenai utterly bewildered. The whole thing felt absurd.

"You mean this powder is just an expensive medicinal herb?" Asuma's mouth twitched. "Someone sent a Chunin willing to die for the mission to ambush us over this?"

Kurenai nodded repeatedly, even more confused. "If they only wanted this herb, they could buy it openly. And if that didn't work, there are countless black-market, merchant, and smuggling routes. Sending someone to kill for it makes no sense."

The more they examined it, the stranger it seemed.

"Heh."

A soft laugh caught their attention. They turned toward Tsukimi, and Orochimaru watched him with interest as well.

Tsukimi rubbed a finger along the wooden box, the faintest smile on his face.

"This is interesting. It looks like we've stumbled onto something big."

"What's going on, Tsukimi? Have you figured it out?" Asuma asked impatiently.

Kurenai looked to him for an answer too.

"We've all checked the box. There's no hidden compartment, and what's inside really is Green Velvet Grass powder. Kurenai's right: if they only needed to obtain this powder, they had plenty of ways to do it, whether through legitimate channels or smuggling."

Tsukimi's agreement only confused Asuma further. "So you're saying they weren't after the powder?"

"No, the powder is exactly what they wanted." Tsukimi shook his head, then looked at Orochimaru. "Teacher said it isn't especially scarce, and other herbs can substitute for it."

"If they still had to steal this powder, that tells us two things."

"What things?"

Tsukimi turned to the two of them and held up two fingers. "First, they need a large amount of Green Velvet Grass. Second, they aren't using it normally."

"Normally, Green Velvet Grass nourishes the body's energy channels or balances other medicines. Neither use requires much, and substitutes exist. If that was all they wanted it for, they'd have plenty of ways to get it without an ambush."

Asuma and Kurenai's expressions hardened at once. If Tsukimi was right, what was the person behind this trying to do?

"What do you think they intend to do, Tsukimi?" Orochimaru smiled and ran his long tongue over his lips.

Tsukimi looked away, pretending he had not seen that. "Green Velvet Grass has strong vitality, and it already nourishes the body's energy channels. I'm afraid they're using it for experiments on living subjects!"

At that, Tsukimi could not help glancing at Orochimaru.

Fortunately, this was not the Orochimaru who would one day become obsessed with human experimentation, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had confined Danzo. Otherwise, Tsukimi felt he could have blamed the two of them outright.

No doubt about it!

"Experiments on living subjects!" Asuma and Kurenai's expressions changed dramatically. The answer was clearly beyond anything they had imagined.

"Yes. Given the effects of Green Velvet Grass, human experimentation is the most likely explanation."

Kurenai suppressed her shock. "Then who's behind it?"

"That's fairly easy to narrow down. Only the other four great nations could send an elite Chunin willing to die for a mission. We can rule out the Land of Water first, leaving the other three under suspicion."

"Why?" Asuma asked without thinking, earning three looks of pity for his stupidity.

Tsukimi felt a headache coming on. Had this guy spent so long with that fool that his own brain had stopped working?

Kurenai kindly supplied the answer. "Because the Land of Water is out at sea to the east. Why would they come all the way to the Land of Rivers in the west to steal the powder when they could buy it where it grows?"

"Ahem!" Realizing he had asked a stupid question, Asuma flushed and pretended to cough twice.

"As for the other three great nations..."

Tsukimi looked back at Kawata Genji. After handing over the wooden box, the old man seemed to have lost all strength and had slumped to the ground.

"We'll have to ask our client."