Night.
It was only around eight or nine in the evening, hardly bedtime yet. Lights still blazed, and plenty of people remained awake. The streets bustled with not only pedestrians but guards as well.
The Chunin Ninja Exams were underway.
But things were never as peaceful as they appeared.
Not far outside Konoha.
Beneath a large tree.
A burly man with short orange hair appeared near Konoha, dressed in prison clothes.
The village was clearly visible from where he stood.
He was Jūgo, one of Orochimaru's most important test specimens.
"Phew..."
He exhaled a stale breath, looked at the two guards outside Konoha's gates, and muttered under his breath.
"Lord Orochimaru wanted me to draw their attention, I think."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
While Jūgo was still thinking, footsteps suddenly approached, followed by a very weak, timid voice.
"S-sir!"
"What is it?"
Jūgo turned to look, his expression cold.
The speaker was not only weak and timid in his delivery, but also wore the same prison clothes, though his were clearly more tattered.
A faint stench even wafted from them.
Indeed, these people were test subjects captured by Orochimaru.
People, plural, because there were others behind the man, some listless, others standing there wiping away tears as they mourned their futures.
They were ordinary people. Some might have committed crimes, while others might have been innocent, but what awaited them was likely death on an experiment table.
Now that they had been offered a chance to escape, they cherished it dearly.
"About what Lord Orochimaru said..."
"That's right. Lord Orochimaru said you'd be released once night fell. You can go to Konoha and beg them to take you in."
Jūgo nodded in confirmation.
"You can go now. Whether they take you in or not is none of my concern."
At those