Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

Hiashi Hyuga growled, "Just last night, their children went missing!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, both Minato Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha's pupils contracted, their faces filled with shock.

"Even you Hyuga..." Fugaku Uchiha said in a deep voice, "No, if I remember correctly, Hyuga Haru and Hyuga Yasuke should both be from the branch family. If there is a bloodline loss, you should just activate the Caged Bird Seal!"

"It's true that the Qing and Kangjia families have separated, but their children are only one and a half years old and the other is just two years old."

"They haven't reached the age to plant the Caged Bird Seal yet, so..." The Hyuga clan member suddenly paused, looking at Fugaku Uchiha with some surprise: "Clan Head Fugaku, what do you mean by 'even you Hyuga clan members'? Does that mean your Uchiha clan members also..."

"Ah, it was also last night. Shota and Yuuka's children went missing, both children under three years old."

The simultaneous disappearance of the children of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, two of Konoha's most prestigious and powerful families, is a truly shocking event even in the entire ninja world.

The Uchiha clan is Konoha's security force, and the Hyuga clan goes without saying. It's almost impossible for outsiders to snatch someone right under the noses of a group of Byakugan users!

Moreover, the two children went missing almost simultaneously...

"I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly..."

Before Minato Namikaze could even utter his guarantee, he, along with Hiashi Hyuga and Fugaku Uchiha, froze on the spot.

Not only him, but all the Jonin in the entire Hidden Leaf Village stood frozen in place, their faces filled with disbelief.

Using the Mind Transfer Technique of the Yamanaka clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi relayed the news to all the Jonin-level ninjas in the village that Orochimaru had conducted unauthorized forbidden experiments, attacked and killed Konoha's Anbu, and defected.

"how come……"

"Lord Orochimaru actually!"

"Forbidden experiments, harming the people in the village—how could Lord Orochimaru do such a thing!"

Incredulous sounds echoed throughout the village.

Orochimaru...has defected?!

The three people in the Hokage's office all wore expressions of shock and disbelief.

Yesterday, the Third Hokage confidently told him that he would handle everything and resolve Orochimaru's matter.

Unexpectedly, in just one day, with the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi personally taking charge of resolving the issue, Orochimaru was forced to the point of defection!

That's Orochimaru!

Orochimaru, the only remaining Sannin of Konoha, the Third Hokage's personal disciple, the supreme commander of the front-line battles, and the Jonin who completed the most difficult missions in the village!

Was it because he and the Third Hokage pushed Orochimaru too far, or...?

and many more!

Could it be...

Minato Namikaze's gaze fell on Hiashi Hyuga and Fugaku Uchiha, and a very bad thought surfaced in his mind.

"Fugaku, immediately organize the guards to seal off all exits from Konoha, and put the entire village under lockdown!"

"Hiashi, get the Hyuga people moving! We must pinpoint Orochimaru's location!"

"Yes!"

Minato Namikaze immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique to disappear from the spot, while Fugaku and Hiashi also realized the seriousness of the matter and even guessed that the loss of their clan's children was very likely related to Orochimaru. They also immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the Hokage's office and began to gather the Jonin who could be mobilized in their respective clan territories.

Aburame, Inuzuka, Ino-Shika-Cho...

While almost the entire Hidden Leaf Village was in an uproar over the earth-shattering news of Orochimaru's defection, Orochimaru himself was leisurely wandering around his various laboratories in the village, collecting all his research results and data.

Orochimaru was not worried at all about being trapped and dying in Konoha.

Having served as a high-ranking official in Konoha for so many years, Orochimaru possessed a secret passage that allowed him to leave Konoha. This couldn't be dealt with simply by the Hokage ordering a "village-wide lockdown."

Even if all the random reconnaissance ninja clans in the village were to attack, Orochimaru would still be confident enough to escape Konoha!

He was just wondering whether he should listen to Mizuki Yoru's advice and head towards the Land of Waves... now the Castle of Waves, as soon as he left Konoha.

"Exploring the mysteries of the soul and supplementing the Reincarnation Technique is quite urgent, but without sufficient resources, wouldn't we just become a mere appendage of that guy, Mizuki Yoru?"

"If I could use those kids as the core and create a village of my own..."

Having already made up his mind, Orochimaru formed hand seals, and a roaring giant snake devoured everything in the laboratory, making sure it wouldn't leave a trace.

But before he could leave the laboratory, a figure already sobbing uncontrollably appeared at the laboratory door.

"teacher……"

Hongdou looked at her teacher with tears streaming down her face.

"The whole village is talking about you, teacher. They're all saying you've defected and betrayed the village..."

"But I don't believe it. You're one of the Legendary Sannin, how could you defect, right, teacher? I..."

“Red Bean, those people outside weren’t wrong. I’m leaving the village to find something that belongs to me.”

Orochimaru gazed at his only disciple, his golden vertical pupils utterly indifferent: "Things in this world are never entirely as one wishes; nothing can remain perfect forever. Cracks will always appear somewhere. You came here not just to hear me say goodbye to you in person, did you?"

"No, no!"

Mitarashi Anko shook her head vigorously, looking extremely disheveled with tears streaming down her face: "I... I just didn't want to leave my teacher, I just..."

"Do you think you have any value or meaning in being taken away by me?"

"I……"

Hongdou seemed a little lost, her eyes filled with confusion.

She knew she was stupid and had very mediocre talent. Despite being a disciple of the Legendary Sannin, she was far from being able to compare with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. In fact, the only ninjutsu she knew was a few pythons.

Since the teacher has defected from Konoha, she will inevitably be pursued by Konoha. Under such circumstances, her useless disciple can do nothing but hold them back!

“You know that yourself, don’t you, Red Bean, but…”

Orochimaru's neck suddenly stretched out, and before Mitarashi Anko could react, he landed a bite on Anko's neck.

Chakra gathered at the wound, instantly forming a blazing brand in the shape of a three-tomoe jade.

"Teacher... Lord Orochimaru... It's so hot... It hurts so much..."

The intense pain caused Hongdou to clutch her wound tightly, fall to the ground, and convulse uncontrollably.

Orochimaru's gaze remained calm, but soon, a hint of surprise appeared within that calmness.

The curse seal, with a failure rate of over 90%, was actually successfully planted on Hongdou at this moment. Was it that even the heavens wanted to take her away?

"teacher……"

"It seems you do indeed have the value to continue following in my footsteps."

Orochimaru leaned down, lifted Anko's chin with his hand, and said softly, "If you really want to continue to follow me and be loyal to me, then you should complete a mission first."

"I will take you away from the village and conceal your presence to prevent the villagers from discovering you. All you have to do is keep heading east to what was once the Land of Waves, now the Castle of Waves, to find my future business partner."

"As long as you can meet that guy and be accepted by him, you will still be my disciple."

"The Castle of Waves..."

Hongdou sniffed and nodded emphatically: "I understand, teacher. I will definitely do it!"

"Very good... Well then, take a nap first."

Orochimaru gently raised his hand, and Anko felt a sudden heat on her neck. Her eyes rolled back, and she immediately lost consciousness. Then a giant snake appeared and swallowed her whole.

After doing all this, Orochimaru glanced at the laboratory behind him one last time, then disappeared and left.

……

The complete lockdown of Konoha was meaningless to Orochimaru. Furthermore, without the persistent white-haired sage, Orochimaru easily left Konoha and headed towards the Land of Rice Fields, which he had already chosen.

But red beans weren't so lucky.

After being taken out of Konoha by Orochimaru, Anko slowly woke up and began heading towards Wave Castle.

However, Konoha is quite a distance from the Castle of Waves, which caused her considerable trouble on her journey.

Wandering ninja, mountain bandit.

Even as she was about to leave the Land of Fire, her figure was noticed by a patrolling Konoha squad!

As a disciple of Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, Anko is somewhat of a celebrity in Konoha. Now that news of Orochimaru's defection has spread throughout Konoha, the ninja team immediately perked up after discovering Anko's whereabouts and began to chase after her!

They couldn't find a trace of Orochimaru at all, but if they could capture this elusive disciple, they might be able to extract some special information from her mind!

"Stop struggling, Mitarashi Anko, just surrender!"

"Hand over Orochimaru's information, and we can guarantee that we will not harm your life."

"Yes, you're still young. You've only been temporarily misled by Orochimaru. If you obediently come back to the village with us, the Fourth Hokage won't do anything to you!"

The ninja squad behind her kept urging her to surrender, but Anko gritted her teeth and kept running towards Wave Castle.

Her speed was considerable; in fact, when she unleashed her full power, the scorching cursed seal on her back would emanate bursts of energy that flowed into her body. This was why she was able to continuously escape from a ninja squad consisting of one Jonin and two Chunin.

"No, we can't let her keep running like this. Once she enters the territory of the Land of Water, we won't be able to act rashly."

"How can she have so much chakra? She's just a little girl, and I've never heard of her being a genius."

"After all, he's a disciple of the Three Legendary Sannin... Watch me, Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!"

A raging wind swept across the sea, splashing countless waves. As Hongdou rushed forward headfirst, she sensed the wind behind her, her expression changed slightly, and she suddenly swung her hands back, causing countless snakes to emerge from her sleeves.

The snakes were torn to shreds by the gale, but their momentum did not diminish as they continued their attack on Hongdou.

Left with no other choice, Hongdou could only dodge the raging wind, but in that very short time, the figures of the three ninjas were already within arm's reach.

The Konoha Jonin snorted coldly and instantly appeared behind Anko, grabbing her ankle and slamming her into the water. But the next moment, the water surface hissed and steamed, as if some intense heat was being released in the water.

"Latent Shadow Snake Hand!"

Several large snakes burst out of the water and attacked the Jonin.

But how could such an obvious chakra attack possibly hit that Jonin?

In the blink of an eye, the Jonin dodged the giant snake's fierce attack, his hands falling into the water. With a surge of chakra, he forced Anko to reveal herself from underwater.

"I won't give up like this!"

Red Bean stubbornly gritted her teeth.

"I want to gain my teacher's approval; I am his only student!"

"I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely will not let my teacher down!"

"Latent Shadow Snake Hands!"

Red Bean quickly formed hand seals, then lunged forward, unleashing a dozen or so snakes that surged forth from her hands and hurtled towards the three Konoha members!

however……

"It's about time Mitarashi Anko made enough of a scene."

"Wind Release: Wind Cut Technique!"

"Wind Escape·Luo Sheng!"

The sharp wind blades easily sliced ​​through the entire snake swarm, while the crisscrossing gales gathered in mid-air to form a net, aiming to capture Red Bean.

Before Hongdou could dodge, she was hit by a dense net of wind blades, and her body was immediately covered with countless fine wind-style cuts, her whole body stained with bright red blood.

"I can't just lie here like this, I can't!"

A sharp, piercing pain shot through her, but Hongdou kept murmuring to herself.

The curse mark on her neck kept flashing red light, and streams of curse mark chakra kept surging into her body.

However, the initial stage of the cursed seal was not enough to provide her with combat power comparable to a Jonin. After only a few exchanges, Anko had several wounds on her body and fell onto the water in a very sorry state.

The reddish curse mark gradually dimmed. It was already a miracle that the curse mark, which was still in the experimental stage, could sustain Red Bean to this extent.

Weakness surged over her like a tide, and Hongdou felt pain in every muscle of her body.

His eyes were as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Did it still fail...?

The city of Mingming is so close, and the task Teacher Mingming gave me... I was just a little bit away from completing it... just a little bit more...

Or... is it still impossible...?

No, I can't be taken back... Even if I die here... I can't be taken back...