The Land of Iron borders the Land of Fire, the Land of Waterfall, and the Land of Rice Fields, and is relatively close to the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Hyuga Mio of the Hyuga Clan to form a three-person squad to escort confidential documents to the Land of Iron.
"Sorry, Hokage-sama, I'm late."
Hyuga Mio walked into the Hokage Office, her white Byakugan and black hair, characteristic of the Hyuga Clan, and her beautiful face showing a hint of aloofness.
A member of the Hyuga Branch Family?
Orochimaru's gaze swept over the headband on Hyuga Mio's forehead, guessing that this Hyuga Clan girl was from the Branch Family.
"Orochimaru, you will be the captain of this squad, escorting confidential documents to Crane Castle in the Land of Iron."
Hiruzen Sarutobi handed Orochimaru the mission-related documents, as well as the confidential documents to be escorted.
"I understand."
Orochimaru nodded. This mission was a C-rank mission, so the documents they were escorting were probably not extremely important, otherwise, the mission rank wouldn't be C-rank.
"Another C-rank mission, huh?"
Tsunade said, unenthusiastically. She had done quite a few D-rank and C-rank missions recently.
"Tsunade, don't underestimate C-rank missions!"
A vein popped on Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead.
"Hai hai hai, I know, I know. With Orochimaru around, there won't be any problems."
Tsunade waved her hand casually, her dismissive attitude towards C-rank missions making Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression twist slightly with anger.
As expected of the Hokage's disciples...
Hyuga Mio looked at Tsunade and Orochimaru with a hint of envy in her eyes. As a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, from the moment she turned three and the Caged Bird Curse Mark was carved onto her, her fate was already decided: a guardian of the Main Family, an existence that could be sacrificed at will to protect the Main Family.
Orochimaru flipped through the documents, not missing the fleeting envy in Hyuga Mio's eyes.
She envied Tsunade... It makes sense, who would want to be a bird trapped in a cage? Even Hyuga Neji couldn't escape the Caged Bird until his death, and he died so casually, completely forgetting that he could still use Rotation.
Orochimaru closed the documents in her hand and said to Tsunade and Hyuga Mio, "Tsunade, Hyuga Mio, go prepare. We'll depart immediately."
"Captain Orochimaru, so authoritative!"
Tsunade winked and made a face, patted Orochimaru's shoulder, and quickly walked out.
Hyuga Mio also walked out to pack her luggage and the items and Ninja tools she would need on the journey.
Orochimaru thought of how she hadn't seen Danzo Shimura for a week. After Tsunade and Hyuga Mio left, she asked curiously, "Hiruzen-sensei, I haven't seen Danzo-sama these past few days. Is he out on a mission?"
"As the Assistant Hokage, Danzo is very busy, Orochimaru."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, thinking to himself that it was right to keep Danzo Shimura too busy to contact Orochimaru. He should give him more things to do. Staying in the dark for too long had twisted his heart.
And the Shimura Clan, there are many matters waiting for Danzo Shimura, their clan head, to handle.
(Danzo Shimura: Amen!)
Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile and had a feeling that someone was about to have a bad time.
Orochimaru returned home, quickly packed, and after meeting Tsunade and Hyuga Mio at the village gate with her backpack, they left Konoha and headed for the Land of Iron.
In the dense forest, three figures swiftly moved between the trees.
Tsunade looked at Orochimaru in front, her bright eyes filled with a hint of anticipation as she said, "I hear the Land of Iron is a country of samurai. I've never seen a samurai before!"
"I hear the samurai of the Land of Iron can focus Chakra on their swords to attack enemies."
Orochimaru looked around and said to Hyuga Mio, "Mio, scout the surroundings."
"Yes, Captain Orochimaru."
Hyuga Mio nodded, activated her Byakugan, veins bulging around her eyes, instantly seeing everything within about a one-kilometer radius, and also seeing the people ambushing them, hiding behind trees ahead.
"Ten o'clock and three o'clock ahead, five people in total. From their attire, they don't look like Ninja."
Hyuga Mio quickly reported what she saw.
"Are they after what we're escorting?"
Tsunade prepared for battle.
"Tch! What is this? Does Konoha have no one left? To send three children on a mission."
Behind a tree, a person holding a kusarigama watched the three approaching, licked the blade of the scythe, and swung the chain hammer at the other end of the kusarigama.
"It seems Konoha is nothing special."
"Capture them! We might even get information about Konoha from them."
"Information about Konoha sells for a lot in the black market!"
"They're here!"
Seeing the three approach, the five people in ambush threw smoke bombs. Deep purple smoke instantly enveloped the three. The three threw chain hammers, and the other two drew their samurai swords.
Dazzling Lightning Release flashed in the smoke. The electricity instantly transmitted through the chains to the three, who trembled violently, smoke rising from their bodies as they fell from the tree branches.
Tsunade and Hyuga Mio burst out of the smoke, rushing towards the two people holding samurai swords respectively.
Tsunade raised her right leg high and brought it down with a smash.
"Gentle Fist!"
Hyuga Mio shouted, striking the person's chest with her palm. "To dare attack us after seeing a member of the Hyuga Clan, you've made a foolish..."
Boom—!
Before Hyuga Mio could finish speaking, she heard a loud bang from the side, and the tree branch under her feet shook violently.
No, the entire large tree was shaking. Hyuga Mio looked down and saw the person deeply embedded in the ground, with only their feet exposed. Their shoulder was shattered, multiple bones in their upper body were fractured, and their internal organs were severely damaged. By the time she looked, the person was already dead.
No, as expected of the Hokage's disciples.
Hyuga Mio swallowed, very glad that she hadn't provoked Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's Lightning Release and Tsunade's astonishing monstrous strength exceeded her imagination.
"Are you hurt?"
The wind dispersed the smoke from the smoke bomb. Orochimaru dropped the chain in her hand, looked at Tsunade and Hyuga Mio, who seemed fine, and said, "Let's continue on our way."
At night, the forest was quiet, and the firelight in the darkness was very noticeable.
Orochimaru's squad rested by the campfire. At their speed, they would probably reach the Land of Iron by noon tomorrow.
"Captain Orochimaru, why do you keep staring at me?"
Hyuga Mio felt Orochimaru's gaze again and couldn't help but ask.
"I've heard that the Hyuga Clan is divided into Main Family and Branch Family, and that the Caged Bird Curse Mark is carved on the foreheads of the Branch Family."
Orochimaru stared at Hyuga Mio's forehead, very interested in the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
"Captain Orochimaru, please do not mention the Caged Bird in front of a Hyuga Branch Family member. This is my advice to you."
Hyuga Mio took a deep breath, suppressing the anger welling up in her heart, veins bulging around her eyes little by little. The Caged Bird Curse Mark was the pain of all Branch Family members, the root of their hatred for the Main Family. Orochimaru's behavior was poking at a wound in her heart that would never heal.
The Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family, I feel like I've heard of it somewhere.
Tsunade was sure she had heard something about the Hyuga Clan, but she couldn't remember. Perhaps she was too young then.
"Is that so? It's rare to be teammates, and I'm very curious why the Hyuga Clan is divided into Main Family and Branch Family."
Orochimaru didn't care about Hyuga Mio's attitude. She was very interested in the reason for the Hyuga Clan's division into Main Family and Branch Family. Even though she knew the reason, she wanted to hear Hyuga Mio say it herself.
Perhaps, she could use Hyuga Mio's hatred for the Main Family to win her over!
Orochimaru was very interested in the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Curse Mark. If she could decipher it, having a Hyuga Clan member assist her with certain experiments could achieve twice the results with half the effort.
"It's to protect the Bloodline Limit from being stolen. The Hyuga Main Family are the true inheritors of the Hyuga Clan, and the Branch Family are the guardians of the Hyuga Main Family, the servants and subordinates of the Main Family..."
Hyuga Mio clenched her fists and said through gritted teeth, her emotions so agitated that she unconsciously activated her Byakugan.
"If it's to protect the Bloodline Limit, why don't Main Family members get the Caged Bird Curse Mark? That way, they wouldn't have to worry about the Bloodline Limit being stolen, right? Even with Branch Family members protecting them, are Main Family members absolutely safe?"
The Hyuga Clan's division into Main Family and Branch Family, in Orochimaru's opinion, was purely a waste of effort. Unless Main Family members always stayed as shut-ins and never left Konoha, there was still a possibility of their Byakugan being stolen. Moreover, those who wanted to steal the Byakugan would target the Main Family and would never even glance at a Branch Family member.
For powerful Ninja, acquiring the Byakugan of the Hyuga Main Family doesn't seem difficult, but it's unnecessary.
Hyuga Mio looked at Orochimaru with a face full of shock, deeply rattled by her outrageous words, which also resonated deeply with her.