A few days later, outside the Hidden Cloud Village.
Dusk.
Hizashi Hyuga held the high ground, veins bulging around his eyes as the Byakugan flared to life.
The light was dying fast, visibility turning to garbage, but in his sight it didn't matter. Chakra inside enemy bodies burned like lanterns in the dark.
"Southwest. Seventeen on patrol," Hizashi reported quietly. "Lord Danzo, their rotation pattern hasn't changed."
He paused, eyes narrowing.
"But one of them has a much higher Chakra level. That should be a Head Ninja."
In the Hidden Cloud, "Head Ninja" was their own term, basically the elite among Jonin.
As he spoke, Hizashi marked routes on the tactical board in his hands, clean and precise lines showing patrol paths and timing.
"I'll take the Head Ninja," Danzo Shimura said, voice cold.
Even so, when he saw Hizashi's mapping, he gave a small nod of approval.
Talent.
The man had only been in Anbu for a few days, and yet his drive was almost frightening. He'd memorized every rule, every procedure, every skill they demanded like his life depended on it.
Danzo reached out and patted Hizashi's shoulder.
For a moment, an old habit rose up in him.
With that ability, with that darkness in his chest, Anbu was a waste. He should be in Root.
Then reality hit, and the thought tasted bitter.
There was no Root anymore.
And Hizashi was worse than "unavailable." He was a wedge Hiruzen had personally cut from the Hyuga Clan, a crack forced open on purpose. The man's loyalty to the Hokage was practically written on his face.
"What is it, Lord Danzo?" Hizashi asked, catching the pause.
"Nothing. Do your work." Danzo's answer came out flat, but inside, something knotted.
His first instinct was anger.
Hiruzen had promised him a fair competition for Hokage, sure, but without a private force, without the ability to build his own army, all these good seedlings could only be watched from afar.
Then, almost against his will, a strange, private spark of approval flickered.
If he were Hokage, would he allow someone under him to keep a Root?
Not a chance.
Ever since Hiruzen had started drilling him, forcing him to look at problems from the whole-board perspective, from the Hokage's seat…
After that show of authority at the training grounds, the retrieval of Root, the assembly of an assassination team targeting a Jinchuriki, the constant lectures wrapped around constant pressure…
And whatever else Hiruzen had been doing in the dark that Danzo still hadn't fully seen.
The more Danzo watched, the more he felt it.
This was what a Hokage was supposed to look like.
And that only made him want to defeat Hiruzen even more.
I'll do everything. I'll learn everything you know. I'll become the strongest Fourth Hokage…
The thought made Danzo's palm prickle, excitement buzzing beneath his skin like a live wire.
Inside the Hidden Cloud Village.
Disguised as a Kumogakure medic through Vanishing Facial Copy Jutsu, Orochimaru handed over a dose, a custom blend Tsunade had prepared, mixed with salamander toxins and other compounds.
"Today's portion," he said, voice gentle, almost kind. "It'll help. Hang in there."
Blue B gave a strained smile. "I hope so."
After he left, the "medic" turned slightly, eyes flashing with amusement.
"Come out."
A toad hopped out from the shadows and bounced to a stop in front of him. It opened its mouth wide.
An arm slid out first, unmistakably Jiraiya's.
A heartbeat later, Genma Kurama followed.
"How about that?" Jiraiya murmured, clearly pleased with himself. "My toads are useful for everything."
Genma's face twisted in pure disgust.
He'd heard rumors about Orochimaru having some nightmare technique, something like "snake spits me, I spit snake, snake spits me," and that alone was already plenty.
But crawling out of a toad's mouth wasn't exactly an upgrade.
The Third Hokage's students really were built different.
Genma could only regret, very sincerely, not choosing to sneak in with genjutsu instead.
"Adjusting the plan," Orochimaru said, all business now.
"I control the Jinchuriki. Genma controls the tailed beast. Jiraiya sets a barrier, then clears the area and guides our retreat so we can rendezvous with Danzo's group."
From within Orochimaru's sleeve, several thin snakes slid out soundlessly, slipping away toward Blue B's residence.
"Understood," Jiraiya said, the joking tone gone instantly.
"Understood." Genma drew a slow breath.
Konoha really didn't do things halfway. When the village moved, it moved like a blade.
Orochimaru's eyes sharpened. "My snakes confirm Blue B already took the medicine. Nobody followed him on the way."
His voice dropped.
"Operation begins."
Under the night sky, the three of them moved like ghosts.
In his bedroom, Blue B drank the day's dose, the one the medic had prescribed.
"It's kind of sweet and sour… actually not bad," he murmured, his brow easing.
A small warmth settled in his chest.
The village still cared about him. They'd even adjusted the taste now?
It wasn't as awful as before.
Blue B lay back and waited for the drug to kick in, staring at the ceiling while his mind wandered, unwilling.
Could he really succeed as the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki?
His father and his uncle had died in tailed beast rampages. He could communicate with the Eight-Tails a little, enough to feel its presence and push back, but it was still a tug-of-war.
The future ahead of him felt like fog.
"The beast's terror… the rampages… people don't want to get close to me."
"And the seal can't stop the beast's will when it goes feral…"
His voice fell to a mutter. "I really wish Konoha's Uzumaki Clan shinobi had been dragged here…"
It didn't matter whether the problem was his own hollowed-out mind, the weakness that came with it, or the seal itself not being complete.
If even one of those could be improved, it would be something.
Useful intel, Orochimaru thought, a flicker of interest cutting through him.
That would help Konoha's own Jinchuriki.
He brushed Genma lightly, just enough.
Genma understood immediately. His hands moved in a blur, seals snapping into place.
Blue B's body went heavy.
"Feels… relaxed… wait, no. Why am I numb?" He forced his eyes open.
Fog.
Nothing but fog. He couldn't see. He couldn't move.
A voice slid into his mind, dreamlike, neither clearly male nor female.
"You're tired. Let go… rest…"
Orochimaru crouched over Blue B's chest, eyes glinting with something ugly and delighted, and slammed his palm down onto the Steel Shell Seal.
Outside the room, Jiraiya finished setting the isolation barrier, then moved in the direction of their escape route, sweeping through and quietly erasing threats before they could become problems.
Slowly, methodically, Orochimaru began dismantling the Steel Shell Seal.
Tailed beast Chakra seeped out in thick pulses, gurgling like something alive.
From Orochimaru's mouth, the Kusanagi Sword slid out inch by inch, gleaming wetly in the dark.
He wasn't just here to kill.
He was going to take something with him, if he could. A sample. Cells from the Eight-Tails.
And with Jiraiya's barrier sealing the area off, the Hidden Cloud's sensory ninja didn't detect the tailed beast Chakra leaking out.
Genma drove his genjutsu to the limit, sweat beading along the bridge of his nose as his Chakra burned down to the edge.
This was part of the plan.
The moment the Eight-Tails tore free, it had to go straight into a full berserk state.
A simple loss of control wouldn't be enough. Not for what they wanted.
They needed fear. Mystery. A sense that some unseen hand could make the beast rampage whenever it pleased.
Genma's breathing turned tight, but his eyes stayed locked.
This is my chance. My chance to make the Hokage notice the clan. I can't waste it.
A moment later, he spoke through clenched teeth.
"Lord Orochimaru. It's ready."
"Good." Orochimaru's grin spread, sharp as a cut. "Go first, Genma."
Genma nodded and pulled back fast.
His constitution wasn't as strong. When the tailed beast Chakra erupted, staying too close could get him killed.
A short time later, Orochimaru fully dismantled the Steel Shell Seal.
Chakra exploded out like a tide.
A massive octopus-like shape surged up, roaring toward the sky, fury written into every line of it as it bellowed, voice shaking the air.
"Blood for blood, make the Hidden Cloud pay it back!"