Hokage Building, ANBU Base.
Kakashi, his silver hair messy and his mask removed, stood silently among a crowd of ANBU ninjas wearing various animal masks. He wordlessly pressed a medicinal patch over a fresh wound on his forehead.
In the immediate aftermath of Orochimaru's flight, Kakashi had been the first to give chase, intercepting the Sannin just outside the village's sensory barrier. However, the current Kakashi was still trapped in the long shadow of Rin's death. His mind was prone to dissociation, and the heavy drain of his transplanted Sharingan had significantly dampened his combat effectiveness.
He had been no match for Orochimaru and had failed to detain him.
Fortunately, the explosive tags left behind by the Third Hokage had managed to wound Orochimaru. Because Kakashi's three-tomoe Sharingan was a transplant rather than a natural birthright, the injured Orochimaru hadn't seen enough value in it to risk a prolonged struggle for the eye. He had spared Kakashi, passing him by with a cold, dismissive gaze.
Stunned by the weight of those serpent-like eyes, Kakashi hadn't resumed the pursuit. Instead, he had returned to the village to report.
Creak—
The heavy doors of the ANBU headquarters slowly swung open.
As the Third Hokage and Danzo stepped out one after the other, Kakashi lowered his hand and donned his white cat mask. Under the moonlight, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward, addressing the elite ninja gathered below the stairs in a stern, resonance-filled voice.
"This emergency mobilization is for the immediate capture of Orochimaru, who evaded our previous operation."
"According to our intel, Orochimaru is wounded. We must intercept him before he crosses the border of the Land of Fire!"
"Listen well! The intelligence, knowledge, and technology Orochimaru possesses are invaluable treasures to Konoha! I expect you to bring him back alive if at all possible!"
"Should he successfully leave our borders, it will be a devastating blow to the village! Therefore, he must be stopped! Everyone—spare no effort in your search!"
"Dismissed!"
With the Third Hokage's speech concluded, dozens of elite ANBU vanished into the night! Hiruzen turned and began walking back into the building.
"Even a man of your caliber can slip up," Danzo's voice rang out behind him.
Hiruzen stopped but didn't offer a reply.
"I will provide full assistance in the capture operation," Danzo added, his tone sharpening. "For the sake of Konoha."
Hiruzen closed his eyes. "That is very considerate of you." With that, he opened his eyes and walked back into the darkness of the ANBU headquarters.
Danzo remained standing there like a vulture, his lone eye staring out at the flickering lights of the tranquil village.
Outside the Village.
Twenty ANBU operatives fanned out. Including the Root division, the ANBU consisted of over seventy elite ninja, but it was impossible to deploy everyone at once. For this mission, Hiruzen had primarily called upon squad leaders and division commanders—none with a rank lower than Special Jōnin. He knew better than anyone that his former student was not an opponent an ordinary ninja could handle.
The operatives moved in pairs, carrying signal flares. The protocol was simple: upon sighting Orochimaru, they were to fire a signal immediately to summon reinforcements from the surrounding squads. Only with Orochimaru in a weakened, wounded state did they stand a realistic chance of a live capture.
Based on the direction of flight provided by the Barrier Corps, the twenty ninja began their pursuit. Some leapt through the canopy, others scouted the riverbanks, and some even dove beneath the water's surface, searching for any trace of the Snake Sannin.
Kakashi, moving alone, found his mind wandering as he blurred through the forest.
He didn't even look at me... He recalled the encounter. Even injured by an explosion, Orochimaru had looked at him with nothing but indifference before walking past. And Kakashi... Kakashi had been so paralyzed by that icy gaze that he couldn't even move. He had only felt relief once the man had vanished.
Next time! I will...
Kakashi landed, his fingers weaving signs with mechanical precision before slamming his right palm against the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke cleared to reveal eight Ninken, led by Pakkun.
"Yo, what's the deal, Kakashi?" Pakkun asked, sitting atop a large dark-brown dog's head with his usual bored, disgruntled expression.
"I need you to track Orochimaru's scent!" Kakashi said, standing up.
Pakkun's brow furrowed even further, his tone turning complainingly. "Snakes are hard to track, kid. They don't sweat."
"Orochimaru is wounded. He's lost a lot of blood," Kakashi said, remembering the explosive tag.
"In that case, we might have a lead." Pakkun was the first to leap away. The other seven ninja dogs followed suit, fanning out into the forest to catch the metallic tang of blood and the scent of the traitor.
Outer Perimeter of Konoha.
A spatial vortex swirled atop a massive tree branch as Obito's silhouette materialized. From this vantage point, he could see the Hokage Building in the distance.
"My, my... with so many ANBU on the move, an outsider would think the village was under attack again."
"It seems Orochimaru has defected," Zetsu said, his Venus-flytrap-like form emerging from the wood. He chuckled. "Looks like Kakashi got himself hurt, too."
"That man... he'd better not die," Obito said, casting a sideways glance at Zetsu. Then he asked, "Did you find anything out?"
The pale White Zetsu on the left side of the plant exaggeratedly shrugged. "We lost four clones. The trail seems to lead from the vicinity of the Root base to the orphanage, and then toward the main gate."
"Root..." Hearing the path, Obito immediately suspected Danzo. Could Danzo and Orochimaru have been running an experiment that went sideways? Did a powerful test subject escape? Root was shrouded in secrecy, so even Obito's intelligence was limited.
"And the boy from the orphanage?" he asked.
"Oh! I almost forgot," Zetsu muttered, tapping his head. "Word is he was adopted. We don't have the specific location yet."
"You're saying the Zetsu clones lost him?" The voice behind Obito's mask carried a hint of growing anger. To think a Zetsu could lose a target.
"We didn't expect a sudden variable like that. I've notified the other clones. As long as the brat is still in Konoha, we'll find him," Zetsu chirped. "Though, if Danzo snatched him for experiments, it's anyone's guess."
"Hmph. Then that's his bad luck." Obito didn't truly care for the child's life; he only wanted to see the drama of brothers killing one another. The boy was only three years old. Surely he couldn't interfere with his plans for revenge against the Leaf, or the Eye of the Moon plan.
"Keep monitoring the village. I have other matters to attend to." With that, Obito's body began to spiral away into the Kamui vortex.
"My, he really knows how to boss people around," Zetsu said with a meaningful smile.
Konoha Cemetery.
Using the cover of night, Obito appeared before Rin's headstone and laid down a bouquet of flowers. This was a place he visited every single time he returned to the village.
Looking at the girl's smiling face in the black-and-white photo, the Sharingan beneath the spiral mask trembled slightly.
"Wait for me... Rin... just wait..."
As his Kamui activated to pull him back into his dimension, a single tear fell onto the cold stone of the epitaph.