Konoha, Year 56, Night.
Yakushi Kabuto moved through the dark, deep underground passages.
Born into the Root, he had undergone various trainings in similar environments since childhood, so he should have been accustomed to such surroundings by now.
However, at this very moment, a hint of gravity inadvertently showed on his still-young face.
The series of events surrounding Orochimaru-sama recently, even he, a young man, had sensed something abnormal.
If he thought about it carefully, the initial change should have occurred last year.
At that time, he had already been absorbed into Orochimaru-sama's ranks and was prepared to continue his infiltration of Konoha after Orochimaru-sama's departure. For some unknown reason, he suddenly received an order to halt the plan.
Not only were the ongoing plans to relocate various bases stopped, but even he, who had been designated as an Anbu mole, was transferred to another project to assist in the research for reactivating the Wood Release cell plan.
However, unlike the difficult and slow-moving research he had previously encountered,
This time, the Wood Release cell research progressed very quickly, almost as if the correct answers were known in advance, merely being replicated. It took only half a year to complete all relevant content.
If that could still be attributed to a flash of genius from Orochimaru-sama, then the events that began this year were completely inexplicable.
From the beginning of this year until now, he alone knew of at least three large-scale human experiments, one of which even involved multiple Konoha Jonin, reaching a level of radicalism that made even him feel a chilling fear.
However, the Anbu and Root seemed to have their eyes and ears sealed, completely unaware of their activities.
As Yakushi Kabuto, a former member of the Root, he knew all too well the extent of these two organizations' reconnaissance capabilities.
What happened then simply made no sense.
Clearly, Orochimaru-sama had also noticed this and felt some immense pressure from the shadows.
Thus, today's operation came to be.
"Clang."
As the steel door was pushed open, a faint rusty creak came from its hinges. Yakushi Kabuto stepped into the room.
Inside this secret room, located deep underground, with multiple sealing barriers outside and heavily protected, directly opposite was a huge multi-angle screen that almost covered the entire wall.
Beneath the screen were researchers in white coats, busy at their workstations.
"Monitoring Group One debugged."
"Group Two debugged."
"Site anti-reconnaissance barrier check initiated... Recording in progress."
As the reports from the research groups echoed in the secret room, Yakushi Kabuto took his seat and looked up at the screen on the wall.
Appearing in the center of the screen was Orochimaru.
After multiple preliminary probes yielded no results, this time, Orochimaru-sama chose to act personally, using himself as bait to lure out the big fish hidden beneath Konoha's shadows.
Yakushi Kabuto recalled the plan summary he had received before the operation began, and his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, gleamed with a faint fanaticism.
Whether it was this man's strength, status, countless victories, or his wisdom that always stayed one step ahead of everyone, Yakushi Kabuto almost unconditionally trusted him.
'If it's Orochimaru-sama, then there's definitely no problem.'
Yakushi Kabuto thought this subconsciously, issuing orders meticulously.
"Operation start."
"Yes."
The researchers below responded in unison.
At the same time, Orochimaru in the footage had already arrived at a Village located in a dense forest... under the moonlight.
A tall man with long, black hair stood atop the branches of a giant tree, looking down at the Village before him.
Orochimaru crossed his arms, his snake-like, cold pupils surveying the pre-determined operational site.
Located seventy kilometers southeast of Konoha, with a population of three to four hundred, it was one of the trade line nodes for Konoha to transmit messages and exchange goods with the outside world.
The distance and scale were just right.
At this moment, this entire Village was enveloped under his heavy surveillance.
According to the predetermined plan, a batch of bloodline limit experimental subjects he had acquired from the Land of Grass was hidden beneath this Village. During transport, some clues were inadvertently discovered by Kumogakure Anbu units.
At the same time, the movement trajectory of the Kumogakure Ninja was revealed by him to Konoha's border defense forces and the Root.
With multiple forces mixed and intertwined, tonight's unrest was inevitable.
Naturally, this was also the best time to fish in troubled waters.
To catch this big fish that had been silently guiding him from the shadows, Orochimaru had truly gone to great lengths.
"Let me see..."
His slick, dark blue tongue tip licked his lips, quietly sniffing out information hidden in the air.
Whether it was insects, Ninja dogs, birds, or other summoning animals, or even any traces of spatial and Chakra reconnaissance, nothing could escape the net he had cast.
Orochimaru's vertical pupils grew deeper and calmer.
"...Who exactly are you?"
However, after a long wait,
His tongue tip, which he often used to detect Chakra, still failed to detect the various forces that should have arrived and ambushed the surroundings.
Instead, he suddenly tasted a familiar, almost burning, stinging sensation.
Orochimaru was first puzzled, then his eyes widened instinctively, looking at the Village under the night sky with a hint of disbelief.
This taste is...?
The next moment, without the slightest hesitation, his figure shot straight forward.
"Thump!"
The half-open door was pushed open with great force, revealing the scene inside the house.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss--"
An endless stream of white viscous fluid secreted from the middle-aged farmer lying on the ground, almost gushing out.
His entire body was constantly spasming and twitching.
Following that, from the white viscous fluid, vibrant and energetic tree branches grew out, rapidly growing as if absorbing everything from the person.
The man on the ground's muscles were taut, his eyes rolled back, but his knuckles were still digging into the ground, trying to crawl in a certain direction.
However, the branches rooted into the ground had already fixed his body there, making him unable to move at all.
"This is... Wood Release cells?"
The expected result was confirmed, but Orochimaru's face showed no relief; instead, it grew heavier. He then quickly walked into the room the man was trying to crawl towards and pushed open the door again.
In the room, the man's wife and daughter, whose physical condition was far inferior to his, had most of their bodies already lignified. From their overall appearance, they didn't even look human anymore; more than half of their bodies had broken through the wall, turning into a huge, constantly growing, tumor-like mass of wood.
How is this possible?
The first thought that arose in Orochimaru's mind when he saw this scene was absurdity.
From three days ago, this entire Village had been under his surveillance. The activity records of every villager were quite complete, with no abnormalities whatsoever.
Who could have experimented on this family without him noticing?
No, that's not right.
As if realizing something, Orochimaru suddenly quickened his pace, running towards another room.
One room, two rooms, three rooms... The Village under the calm moonlight grew more and more silent, even the chirping of insects and birds gradually became faint.
Orochimaru's expression grew deeper, his pale complexion almost turning completely dark.
Walking down an entire street, all the villagers showed traces of Wood Release human experimentation. Several of those with stronger vitality had even broken through the rooftops, turning into giant trees standing beneath the eaves.
The originally peaceful and quiet Village had, unknowingly, transformed into a towering dense forest that tore through houses.
As for the heavy surveillance, Kumogakure, Root, Anbu, and experimental subjects from the original plan, not even a shadow was seen.
Not only that.
He hadn't even detected a single trace.
'What exactly happened?'
This completely unexpected situation made Orochimaru himself find it hard to believe.
With a final impulse to pursue the truth, he measured his steps, walking through the entire street, reaching the edge of the Village and the dense forest.
Until the very end.
At the junction of moonlight and forest shadows.
A young man, dressed in the same Konoha uniform as him, stood there at ease, as if oblivious to everything around him, holding a notebook and quietly recording something.
He had shoulder-length brown hair, wore thick black-rimmed glasses, had soft facial contours, and a faint smile played on his lips. His demeanor was scholarly, gentle, and warm.
If one ignored everything that was happening around them.
With his excellent memory, Orochimaru recognized the other person's identity at a glance.
That should be a young man of Kakashi's generation.
But precisely because of this, his hoarse voice carried a hint of uncertainty:
"--Aizen Sōsuke?"
"Good evening."
It wasn't until his voice sounded that the young man seemed to finally notice his arrival, looking up at him.
"Orochimaru-sama."
The moonlight, like gauze, pierced through the dense forest leaves, scattering like broken silver onto the fern thickets.
As the night wind swept by, the tree shadows danced like ink, with occasional fireflies flitting through the gaps of light, like stars falling to earth, adorning the man's surroundings.
Aizen Sōsuke said, silently stopping his pen, closing the notebook in his hand, and politely offered him a slight smile.
On that face, which was always calm and approachable, a hint of emotion seemed to inadvertently appear, but his gaze passed over Orochimaru and fell upon the distant night sky:
"What a beautiful moon."
"To bid you farewell amidst such scenery is indeed a fortunate event."
"Isn't it?"