the last student The Child Arc

chapter 68

Nighttime

In the village of Sound

*Orochimaru was a patient man, he was a calculated man, and he was a man who was currently in pain. Somebody was touching him with one of his curse mark techniques, and he could sense it. He needed to know who was dumb enough to attack a leader of a hidden village and a former member of the Akatsuki organization, and yet. Somebody either didn't know what they were touching or was stupid enough to know and touch it anyway. Either way, the results were going to be the same. Somebody was going to die. Orochimaru heard the footsteps approaching; he looked, and it was his right-hand man, Kabuto Yakushi.*

Orochimaru: Report.

Kabuto: Of course, Lord Orochimaru.

*Kabuto said with a bow to the man who had a role to play in the death of his caretaker, a woman by the name of Nonō Yakushi. But Kabuto blamed Konoha and Danzo more than Orochimaru, so he still followed like a loyal soldier who would make even Danzo a little jealous. Kabuto handed Orochimaru the files, and his lord opened them. There was the information that Kabuto managed to find on why Orochimaru was feeling a pain that was a warning that somebody was touching something that they shouldn't be touching.*

Kabuto: After doing some research, the source of the pain is coming from Konoha. Could they have gotten Mizuki?

Orochimaru: No. He has a minor curse seal; this pain wouldn't be caused by him. There... oh. I see kukukuku.

*Orochimaru chuckled, realizing what was going on. So the little snake finally decided to get rid of his gift? What an ungrateful thing to do, after all the hard work she put into making that curse mark especially for her. For Anko to throw it away like it meant nothing? It hurt. It was enough for it to almost bring a tear to Orochimaru's eye. Kabuto looked confused as to why his lord stopped talking before telling him who the culprit of this offense might be.*

Kabuto: Sir?

Orochimaru: Contact Mizuki; tell him I have an... assignment for him. I need him to keep his eyes on Anko Mitarashi.

*Orochimaru said with a dismissive wave as Kabuto nodded and walked away, leaving Orochimaru alone with his thoughts. Something was happening. Somebody was blowing the windmill and making their moves. Orochimaru needed to find out who and why so that he could prepare. But for now, he had no answers to be had. He needed to be patient.*

Orochimaru: After all these years you finally decided to get rid of your curse seal? Why? Why now? What changed while I was gone, little snake?

Back to Konoha

*In the main library of Konoha, we see somebody there in the restricted section for only shinobi, burning the midnight oil. Jiraiya rubbed his eyes as he kept studying a picture and using whatever scrolls and books he could to help him, but he got little to show for his hours of investigation. When those words came back to his mind.*

Hiruzen: Minato must be looking towards you from the afterlife with such pride, especially with how much you care for his son, 'What was his name.'

Flashback

* Jiraiya's dark frown left his face after that, replaced with a frown of utter shame.  He can try and justify his actions all he wants, but at the end of the day, he abandoned 1 child for the other two. He could say it was for a mission or his networks or because of the prophecy, but at the end of the day, he had to make a choice that night, and he did. He can't change it; all he can do is live with the consequences and hope for the best. Before he could say anything else, Hiruzen spoke up. *

Hiruzen: But to answer your question, 'Naruto' is doing fine. That's all you need to know, and I take it that's all you want to know. I could tell you more in detail, but you would forget about it the second this conversation ends, so why bother?