"Orochimaru never regarded other people's lives as precious; he only values his own. My memory was tampered with; many of his secret techniques I simply cannot recall. I can only vaguely remember that he possessed many life-preserving jutsu."
Inside a Konoha dessert shop, Mitarashi Anko ate three-colored dango with a grave expression. "In other words, killing him is extremely difficult. You never know how many life-safeguarding contingencies he has."
"Back then, wasn't he able to leave Konoha safely even when surrounded by the Third Hokage, the Anbu, and others?" Izumi asked curiously.
Anko nodded more heavily; the dango that had once tasted overly sweet now seemed dull and bland. "I didn't even know about that at the time. By the time I realized Orochimaru had defected, it was already too late."
"For a while afterward I underwent severe interrogation by the Anbu. They discovered I had indeed been 'abandoned' by Orochimaru, and so the interrogation ended. But I was still watched in secret—every move of mine monitored."
"Even when I bathed… there was probably a female Anbu ninja hidden in a corner watching me without my knowledge."
Anko's expression grew shadowed. "Only within the last year or two did the Hokage relieve that surveillance."
She gave a wry smile. "Perhaps the Anbu were short-handed. After all, Keizumi has killed quite a few rogue Anbu who committed evil and obstructed absolute justice lately."
Izumi pondered and asked, "Did you feel some unwillingness at being abandoned by Orochimaru? Felt like he looked down on you?"
Mitarashi Anko was silent for half a beat, then nodded and admitted frankly, "I did think that once, and for several years. There was some unwillingness, some resentment toward him. But after choosing to follow Keizumi's absolute justice, many things became clear."
"There's no need to be puzzled or resentful for being left by Orochimaru. Rather, I should be grateful he didn't take me with him. Otherwise I would have fallen into an abyss I could never climb out of."
Izumi said earnestly, "Keizumi-senpai will not betray your faith in absolute justice!"
"Mm." Anko smiled. "It's precisely because I trust Keizumi's absolute justice that I chose to follow him!"
"Orochimaru is a villain like that—" Anko snapped the stick of dango in two; a murderous glint flashed in her eyes. "He must be cut down!!!"
...
"…Sounds like something critical was heard." In an inconspicuous corner of the dessert shop, an Anbu ninja on leave ate his sweets without expression.
He recognized Mitarashi Anko and Uchiha Izumi—both now publicly acknowledged followers of Uchiha Keizumi. Many guilty-minded people treated them like harbingers of doom when they appeared.
Though they weren't as frenzied as Keizumi himself, in this short span they had already thrown many people into Konoha Prison. Even spitting on the street, if witnessed by them, would force the offender to clean it up and pay a painful fine!
Suppressing his shock, the Anbu ninja paid and, pretending to be an ordinary Konoha civilian, left the dessert shop—then vanished in an instant, evidently running to inform the Third Hokage.
…
"Hu… hu…" Hinata, holding little Hanabi's hand, panted as she hurried after Keizuka; a few women and children of the main family followed behind them.
"We've arrived at Ichiraku Ramen." Keizuka looked up at the ramen shop sign, swallowed, then took a deep breath and told the group behind him, "I'll go in first. If I can come back out, then you may follow. If I don't come out—" He hesitated, then continued, "then leave immediately."
To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie!
Keizuka mustered his courage and entered Ichiraku Ramen. The dreadfully feared Uchiha Keizumi was not there; only a few customers eating ramen and the busy hand-pulling shop owner.
He turned and called to the others, "Come in."
Hinata stepped inside cautiously, took little Hanabi to an empty seat, and quietly warned her, "If you see that man later, don't speak to him."
She was afraid that her still-young and ignorant little sister might anger Uchiha Keizumi.
Even though she herself wasn't much older.
Hanabi's big watery eyes blinked twice in confusion.
All the Hyūga main family members were restless, making the atmosphere inside Ichiraku Ramen turn very strange. The shopkeeper Teuchi's daughter, Ayame, wore a conflicted expression, looking as though she wanted to speak but couldn't.
In the end, it was Hyūga Keizuka who reacted.
They had occupied seats in Ichiraku Ramen without ordering anything—cough!—indeed, that wasn't quite right…
Hyūga Keizuka said to the others, "You can order ramen as you like, however much, however expensive, tonight I'll treat you."
"R-really?!" Hinata immediately lifted her head.
"Really." Hyūga Keizuka spoke with confidence.
A special jōnin's mission pay was still considerable.
With only this handful of main family members left, treating them was no big problem for him.
However—
An hour later, Hyūga Keizuka began to feel regret. The other main family members were fine, each eating at most two medium bowls of ramen before being full. But what was going on with Hinata?
How many bowls had she eaten already? And every bowl was a large ramen! The stack of bowls beside her had already reached eleven!
And Hinata was still eating her twelfth bowl of Ichiraku ramen!
"H-Hinata-sama?" Cold sweat broke out on Hyūga Keizuka's face. He was terrified that Hinata would harm herself from overeating, and then he'd have no way to answer to Hiashi.
"Are you full yet?" Hyūga Keizuka wiped the sweat from his brow.
"E-eighty percent full…" Hinata said shyly.
She felt this was the fullest meal she had ever eaten.
The key was that two different people had treated her to ramen today.
"Eighty percent…" Hyūga Keizuka froze. He very much wanted to ask—was Hiashi not allowing Hinata to eat normally every day? Otherwise why would she devour food like a starved ghost reborn?
Of course—
These words he dared not say aloud. Though Hyūga Hiashi was already imprisoned in Konoha, his prestige as clan head lingered, and Keizuka certainly didn't dare openly criticize him.
But now—
A new problem had arisen.
Hyūga Keizuka patted his money pouch. He felt like the amount of money he had brought might not quite be enough.
Not good.
…
"Orochimaru's whereabouts?" Sarutobi Hiruzen, after hearing this from the Anbu ninja, furrowed his brows. "Keizumi didn't tell me—seems he doesn't want me to interfere. Perhaps he thinks I would show Orochimaru mercy…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt he had guessed Keizumi's thinking.
He shook his head helplessly. "Keizumi always assumes my actions with malice. He thinks I would collude with Orochimaru. In the end, he doesn't trust me."
"Heh!"
The voice of Koharu entered Sarutobi Hiruzen's ears. "Uchiha Keizumi not only assumes malice of you—he even thinks you and Orochimaru are the same kind of person!"
Koharu also heard the Anbu's report. Narrowing her eyes, she said to Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Hiruzen, in Orochimaru's hands are research materials that even Danzō coveted while alive. Those are extremely valuable."
"But since Orochimaru conducted human experiments by extreme means, if Uchiha Keizumi really finds Orochimaru's hiding place, he will without hesitation destroy all of those research records."
"That is our Konoha's property, something that can be used for Konoha. I will never allow such precious property to turn to ash."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "You want to find Orochimaru before Keizumi does, and seize him along with all his research?"
Koharu replied: "Exactly."
"But… honorable elders," the Anbu interjected, "I have not learned Orochimaru's exact location from Mitarashi Anko or Uchiha Izumi."
Koharu said: "I will send someone to make it clear."
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and cautioned her: "Koharu, don't act recklessly, don't resort to extreme measures."
Koharu took a deep breath. "Rest assured, I know my limits."
…
Land of Rain, a hidden rendezvous point.
Biwa Jūzō shook the rainwater from his body. He stood at the edge of a cliff, boots sinking into the muddy ground.
After a brief hesitation, he gave a soft cough and said to Uchiha Keizumi's wood clone: "She said this was the meeting place. But… I'm not sure if that woman, after seeing you, will still come out to meet me. She seems very suspicious."
The implication being—your presence might ruin things.
Of course—
His survival instinct kept him from saying it outright, so he phrased it in this indirect way.
Even if what stood before him was only a wood clone of Uchiha Keizumi.
One second, five seconds, ten seconds… Seeing Uchiha Keizumi's wood clone unmoving, Biwa Jūzō began to wonder if his "hint" had been too vague.
Could it be the clone didn't understand?
"Um… maybe you could—"
"No need." The wood clone cut him off coldly, its expression already fixed on a spot atop the cliff opposite—here, two cliffs faced each other across empty air.
"She's already here," the wood clone said.
Biwa Jūzō started violently, immediately following the clone's gaze. Sure enough, on the far cliff stood a slender, proud figure, like a lone flower blooming on sheer rock. In those amber eyes was nothing but icy coldness.
"She hasn't left after seeing my true form exposed. That means either she is so confident in her own strength that she feels no fear, or she too has not come in person. As you said before, she is a very suspicious woman."
The wood clone spoke indifferently.
…
"Uchiha Keizumi…" Konan's eyes fixed on that unfamiliar figure.
She gazed deeply at his young, severe face.
"Biwa Jūzō… betrayed Akatsuki?"
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---