Inside the Hokage Building, ANBU Headquarters.
Silver-haired Kakashi—mask removed—stood silently among numerous ANBU members wearing various animal masks. He pressed a medicinal patch onto the wound on his forehead.
After Orochimaru's escape, Kakashi had pursued him immediately, encountering him beyond the village barrier.
But even now, Kakashi had not fully emerged from the shadow of Rin's death. His mind was unsettled, and the transplanted Sharingan drained his chakra heavily, leaving his combat ability greatly diminished.
As a result, he was no match for Orochimaru and failed to stop him.
Still, the explosive tags left behind by the Third Hokage had managed to injure Orochimaru.
Because Kakashi's three-tomoe Sharingan was transplanted rather than innate, the wounded Orochimaru showed no interest in stealing it and simply spared Kakashi's life.
After being glared at by those cold serpent-like eyes, Kakashi didn't dare continue the pursuit. Instead, he returned to the village.
Creeeak—
The heavy doors of the ANBU hall slowly opened.
As the Third Hokage and Danzo stepped out one after the other, Kakashi lowered his hand and put on his white cat mask.
Under the moonlight, Sarutobi Hiruzen walked forward two steps and addressed the assembled ANBU ninja in a solemn voice:
"This emergency summons is to ensure the swift capture of Orochimaru, who escaped during the previous operation."
"According to intelligence, Orochimaru is already injured. He must be captured before leaving the borders of the Land of Fire!"
"Listen carefully! The information, knowledge, and techniques Orochimaru possesses are invaluable assets to Konoha!"
"I hope you will do everything possible to bring him back alive!"
"Once he escapes the Land of Fire, the consequences for Konoha will be severe!"
"Therefore, he must be captured before crossing the border! All of you—search with everything you have!"
"Dismissed!"
With the Third Hokage's speech concluded, dozens of elite ANBU operatives dispersed into the night.
Hiruzen turned and walked back toward the interior of ANBU headquarters.
"For someone like you… to actually fail," Danzo's voice echoed from behind.
Hiruzen stopped, but offered no reply.
"I will assist fully in the capture operation," Danzo added after a pause. "For the sake of Konoha."
Hiruzen closed his eyes. "How thoughtful of you."
Without another word, he reopened his eyes and proceeded inside.
Danzo remained standing like a vulture behind him, his single eye gazing over the flickering lights of Konoha at night.
Outside the village.
Twenty ANBU operatives spread out in all directions.
Although ANBU—including Root—consisted of more than seventy elite ninja, it was impossible to deploy all of them.
This time, Hiruzen dispatched primarily squad leaders and division commanders, each at least Special Jonin level.
He knew better than anyone that his former student was no ordinary opponent.
Even so, the ANBU moved in pairs, each carrying signal flares. If anyone discovered Orochimaru's trail, they were to fire a signal immediately and call reinforcements.
Given Orochimaru's current wounded state, there was at least a chance to capture him alive.
Soon, all twenty operatives began tracking Orochimaru in the direction indicated by the barrier sensing unit.
Some dashed through trees, others searched along rivers, and some even dove into the water, trying to locate any trace of him.
Meanwhile, Kakashi—moving alone through the forest—seemed distracted.
'He didn't even consider me a threat…'
He recalled the encounter. Even after being wounded by explosive tags, Orochimaru had ignored him completely, walking past with cold indifference.
And Kakashi, paralyzed by fear beneath that serpent gaze, had been unable to move.
Only after Orochimaru vanished did he feel relief.
'Next time… I swear…'
Kakashi landed on the ground, forming hand seals rapidly before slamming his palm down.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
In a cloud of smoke, eight ninja hounds appeared, led by Pakkun.
"Yo, what's up, Kakashi?" Pakkun asked flatly, sitting atop a large brown dog's head with his usual deadpan expression.
"I need your help tracking Orochimaru's scent," Kakashi replied.
Hearing this, Pakkun frowned even deeper.
"Tracking snakes is tough. They don't sweat."
"Orochimaru is injured. He lost a lot of blood," Kakashi explained.
"In that case, we might be able to find something."
Pakkun leapt forward, followed by the other hounds, fanning out through the forest in search of scent trails.
On the outskirts of Konoha, atop a tree branch.
Space twisted into a spiraling vortex as Obito appeared.
From here, the Hokage Building was visible in the distance.
"Well well… with this many ANBU running around, you'd think another mysterious ninja attacked the village," White Zetsu chuckled, emerging from the tree trunk.
"Looks like Orochimaru defected."
"Call me 'Madara' when we're outside," Obito replied coldly.
"Sure thing, Obito-sama," Zetsu teased.
Ignoring him, Obito asked, "Any information from the White Zetsu stationed at the orphanage?"
"Oh right! Almost forgot," Zetsu scratched his head. "Apparently that one went silent."
Obito's expression darkened.
"You're telling me it lost the target?"
"Didn't expect something like this to happen," Zetsu shrugged. "I've already informed the others. As long as the kid is still in Konoha, we'll find him."
"But if Danzo grabbed him for experiments, then who knows."
"Hmph. Then he's simply unlucky."
Obito didn't care about the child's survival—only the role he played in his future plans.
"You keep monitoring Konoha. I've got other matters to handle."
With that, Obito vanished into the Kamui vortex.
"Ahh… he really loves giving orders," Zetsu muttered with a knowing grin.
Konoha Cemetery.
Under the cover of night, Obito stood before Rin's gravestone, placing a bouquet of flowers down.
It was a ritual he never skipped whenever he returned.
Looking at the black-and-white photo of her gentle smile, the Sharingan beneath his mask trembled.
"Just wait a little longer… Rin… just a little longer…"
As Kamui activated once more, a single tear fell onto the engraved stone.
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