Orochimaru — rogue ninja from Konoha.
Once one of the legendary Sannin, and even a strong contender to become the Fourth Hokage.
But after Minato Namikaze was chosen, Orochimaru's twisted experiments were exposed, and the former hero of Konoha became one of its most notorious traitors.
With Jiraiya setting off in pursuit and never returning, the legend of the Sannin essentially crumbled—now little more than a tattered excuse for a title.
About as useful as a pair of fanservice panties—looks good in name, but practically worthless.
Among diehard fans of the series, the Sannin were sometimes jokingly labeled Konoha's Yellow, Gambling, and Drugs trio.
Still, Orochimaru's name carried weight.
Just a rumor of his involvement was enough to warrant ANBU deployment—proof of how dangerous he remained.
"What do we do if we actually run into Orochimaru?" Kazuki asked, casually tossing another clone into his training rotation.
His Great Fireball Technique had changed color—sign the flames were burning hotter. Stronger.
To Fox, though, this rookie codenamed Red Stag clearly had a few screws loose.
"Simple. We run," Fox said, utterly matter-of-fact. "But honestly, the odds are low. The missing mistress is, according to intel, just an ordinary civilian."
Kazuki nodded. If that were true, Orochimaru probably wouldn't be interested.
He remembered: after defecting, Orochimaru dove headfirst into forbidden experiments and eventually created the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique—a body-hopping immortality jutsu.
Later, after joining the Akatsuki, he encountered Itachi's Sharingan and became obsessed with finding a suitable Uchiha host.
Thus began the boy's tragic spiral.
Kakashi had been quiet the entire time. But when he heard Orochimaru's name, his brow furrowed slightly.
Fighting one of the Sannin wasn't something you did lightly.
Hopefully, they wouldn't have to.
As they traveled, Kazuki occasionally sent out shadow clones to grind proficiency. Neither Fox nor Kakashi objected. As long as it didn't hinder mission progress, they didn't care.
When they finally arrived in the Capital of the Land of Fire, Kazuki found himself... unimpressed.
It was called a "capital," but to him, it looked no different from a regular village.
The only real differences were denser buildings, a bigger population, and a painfully visible wealth gap.
Noblewomen in rich silks shared the streets with ragged children in patched-up clothes. Nobody batted an eye.
He didn't have the strength yet to change anything. Speaking now would be the arrogant bluster of a powerless man.
When the day came that his strength was enough... just a single cough would silence the world and make it listen.
So for now, he trained.
"This is where the Daimyō's mistress lived," Fox said, stopping in front of a lavish building in a high-end district.
"According to the Daimyō, she disappeared four days ago."
The estate was clearly expensive. Ornate. Rich.
"The guards searched the property top to bottom and came up empty. But they did find the mistress's clothes inside... and a few shed snake scales."
Fox relayed the intel quickly.
Kazuki's eye twitched.
All that from a few scales?
So if he, Kazuki, disappeared while eating frog stew and left behind some frog bones, would that make Jiraiya the prime suspect?
Even Kogoro Mouri wouldn't make a deduction that wild.
"Let's head inside," Fox said, clearly aware of how flimsy the evidence was. "The Daimyō's paying, so we do the job."
This mission probably wouldn't have warranted ANBU attention if not for the possible Orochimaru link—and the massive fee involved.
"This whole thing feels like a waste of time," Kazuki whispered to Kakashi, who only shrugged.
A mission was a mission. And if it turned out to be a false alarm, even better. Easy pay for minimal work.
Inside, the room was messy—overturned furniture, scattered belongings, utter chaos. Tracks on the floor were useless—probably made by the Daimyō's people during their frantic search.
Kazuki glanced at Kakashi and Fox, curious how they'd approach the investigation.
Kakashi opened the fridge.
Fox went into the bathroom.
What was this, a culinary analysis of Old Eight's Secret Burger?
Kazuki rubbed his temples behind his mask.
Clearly, he was on his own.
He scanned the room. Cabinets flipped. Drawers emptied. Boxes dumped. Even the ceiling had been pried open.
What were they expecting? That the mistress was playing Hide-and-Seek in the ceiling tiles?
Kazuki narrowed his eyes.
"It's like they weren't even looking for her... more like they were trying to find something else."
The scene didn't scream "missing person." It screamed cover-up. And if the goal was just to recover a mistress, why call in elite ANBU?
Kazuki stepped out onto the balcony—
—and found four or five pairs of well-used black lace underwear hanging to dry.
Guess the Daimyō had some... particular tastes. No wonder the man always looked like he needed tonics for kidney deficiency.
Kazuki scanned further. Not much else stood out—except the fact that everything was black lace.
Dude really had a type.
Then his eyes locked on something.
More precisely, the seam between the cabinet and the wall. There were tiny fragments, some black marks...
"...Detonation tag residue. And traces of chakra use."
The intel made no mention of a fight. Yet here were clear signs of ninjutsu usage.
A chaotic crime scene. A vanished mistress. A suspiciously high-paying mission.
"...I know what this is!"
Kazuki stood up dramatically.