Chapter 32: Ch.31. The Calm (pt.1)

By the outskirts of the Leaf village, a large tree stood in the corners of the nearby forest. 

Around the tree were many other dead,fallen trees that acted as fertilizer for the new sprouts growing from them.

On one of the trees, a strange marking appeared on the rotting bark.

*Ssssh*

Four figures suddenly appeared near the dead tree. They all looked up at the standing tree with high tension.

"Everyone. The mission is to scour the place for any survivors and information. We will talk to Orochimaru first before any actions will be permitted. Understood?"

""Yes, Hokage-sama!""

The three figures were all Anbu, while the fourth was Minato.

They approached the tree and found several bite marks alongside its base.

"This is the tree. Find the entrance and be careful."

The three nodded as they moved along the tree. They searched the base of the tree and quickly found a switch in the form of a branch.

*tsssssh*

A door formed on the tree and the four came in front of it. 

"Bear, take point. Monkey, follow behind Hokage-sama. I'll guard the center."

"'Yes, captain!""

The unit moved slowly into the tree and were shocked. Numerous amounts of test tubes, data, and corpses littered the hallways. The air was fresh with blood as screams could be heard further in. 

"Let's go!"

Minato yelled as he dashed towards the sounds. The other three followed as they made their way to the main lab. A group of people sat huddled in the corner in fear as a man slowly walked over to them with a long sword.

"Stop, Orochimaru!"

The man paused and turned slowly around. His long black hair revealed yellow,snake like eyes that held Minato in their gaze like a predator finding prey. 

Minato fought the shiver crawling up his back as he held his kunai firmly.

"Aaah. If it isn't Hokage-sama. What a pleasant surprise."

Orochimaru's tongue slowly licked his lips as he glanced at the group with no fear or remorse.

"What are you doing?!"

Minato had a clear idea of what  was happening, but he needed to hear it from Orochimaru's mouth.

Orochimaru chuckled devilishly as he wiped the blood off his blade.

"Why, I was in the middle of tying up loose ends. I couldn't just leave the place without doing that.This is the last group I need to clean up."

The group huddled in the corner shivered as Orochimaru's gaze was set back onto them.

Minato found it hard to not cut him down now!

He breathed in slowly,his anger kept at a set minimum. He couldn't act out at this time.There was more important things to do now and too much at stake.

"We'll deal with the rest here instead. Leave them be and get out of Konoha!"

Orochimaru was shocked at first, then chuckled sinisterly.

"You want to save the lives of these dregs?"

Minato nodded his head while fighting his anger. The three Anbu prepared themselves in case this was where the negotiation went south.

"Fine. They aren't of much use to me either way. Take them if you wish."

Orochimaru tossed his head back leisurely and swallowed his blade with relish as he walked towards the entrance.

The Anbu felt shivers down their spines as Orochimaru passed by them. His eyes watching all four of them with anticipation.

"Wait."

Orochimaru paused his steps, looking at Minato with increased curiosity.

"I need evidence of Danzo colluding with you. Give me that and I'll give you a head start before Sensei and I come for your head."

Orochimaru couldn't contain his laughter as he held his stomach.

"Ufufufufu! You think that fool can stop me? You're too naive if you think his presence will change anything, much less yours."

"That's quite naive of you, Orochimaru. You still think I'm the same as before?"

Minato's face curled with a confident smile.

"I have some new moves to try out. Some that might even catch you off guard."

Orochimaru stared at Minato with ever increasing fascination.

A smile curved on Orochimaru's face as he heaved a fake resigned sigh.

"I guess I'll take a free headstart then. You can find my experiment data and the participants given to me or "found" by a certain sponsor further inside. You might even find some....controversial evidence in some of the samples in the lab."

Orochimaru crossed his arms and stared at Minato.

"I'm surprised you knew I was leaving. You're more perceptive than I thought."

"I have my sources."

Orochimaru chuckled lightly as he turned back to the entrance.

"Once I have immortality, I'll be sure to look for your sources myself. They are...most intriguing."

Minato's face grew stern, but he replied confidently.

"You won't need to worry about my sources. You'll be dead before then."

"Hehehe. We'll see about that."

Orochimaru continued out of the room and into the darkness. Minato stared in the direction he went with a mixture of emotions on his face. He hoped his sensei would be able to handle this news well.

An Anbu with an eagle mask approached Minato, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Hokage-sama. Your orders, sir."

Minato looked around the room and gathered his thoughts.

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"Monkey, you help bring them out of here and gather information on who they are and where they're from. Eagle, go find the information needed and store it in a scroll."

Minato sighed as he saw the bodies laying cold near him.

"Bear, summon some Chuunin and Jounin to help clean up the bodies here and build a burial."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

The three got to work as Minato just stood their processing the information.

Minato pinched the bridge of his nose and started to walk to the startled people in the corner of the room with Monkey.

"Everyone! I'm sorry on behalf of the Leaf village for what you've been through! We'll bring you food, shelter, and a way back home if possible!"

Minato bowed his head towards the crowd with sincerity.

"Please follow this Anbu ninja with the monkey mask. He will lead you outside."

Monkey nodded his head.

"Please follow me."

The people were still scared, but the idea of leaving this place for good roused them to follow along.

Minato sighed and started to head further in to look at the information Orochimaru left.

There was one last surprise, however, he had to deal with. 

"Mister~?"

Minato looked over to see a little girl staring at him. 

His heart clenched as he saw how she was around the same age as Naruto, but was exposed to this situatiom so early.

It wasn't the first time he saw it, but how he wished it was the last.

"Yes, little girl? How can I help you?"

Minato crouched down on one knee as he came in front of the girl. Up close, he noticed her features clearly. Big, brown eyes, a cute oval face, and slightly pointed ears. Her brown hair came down to her back as she looked up at him with a determined, but naive gaze.

"Are you strong~?"

"Well, I think I'm pretty strong."

"Stronger than the snake man~?"

"Mm. I believe so."

"Can you make me stronger~? I have to kill the Snake man for my family."

Minato had a feeling, but he was still shocked. He could only sigh as the circle of hate brought itself around again.

"I can help find training for you in the village, but you'll have to work hard for your ambition to come true."

"Ok! I'll definitely kill him~!"

Minato couldn't wait to kill the snake man himself for contaminating a bright smile like hers with such intentions. 

He had to be patient though. They needed to deal with the snake under their bed before going after the one in their garden.

Minato brushed the little girl's hair with his hand as he was looking forward to the debut of his new Jutsu. Hopefully, Orochimaru would have a front row seat.

*******

Hiruzen looked out over the Leaf village from the Hokage building. He saw the dark clouds coming from the horizon and sighed.

'Forgive me, my disciple.'

Hiruzen looked over his shoulder and found Kaya walking towards him.

".....Stinky Old Geezer."

"Haaaah. Kushina calls me that all the time. I didn't expect you to do it as well."

"I thought I'd try it out. It's not really for me, it seems."

Hiruzen chuckled while Kaya shrugged her shoulders.

The two stared at the approaching storm, contemplating various things in silence. 

"....Is this truly necessary?"

"Absolutely."

"...The Leaf needs light and dark to keep it stable."

Kaya sighed and pulled out a small intel scroll.

"Pardon my tone, Lord 3rd, but I cannot let a man that can do such atrocities run a village my family resides in. I'd rather just have light."

She handed the scroll to Hiruzen, who looked at it, but slowly took it into his hands with a sigh.

"That man is no longer your friend. He no longer does things just for the village. He does it for His village in his mind. You should read that and see what I mean."

Kaya walked away as Hiruzen looked up at the sky. He looked down at the scroll and with a heavy heart, peeked at his contents. 

Time seemed to move slowly as Hiruzen continued to read the scroll. His face showed traces of fury as he meticulously scanned the scroll.

The sun was setting when he finished.

The last golden rays left his face as he looked at the setting sun.He looked down at ground and muttered under his breath.

"Danzo, what have you done?"

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