My older sister is Kushina

Inside the tavern, Uzumaki Hanamichi felt a little heavy-hearted. According to the tavern owner's description, he was still a step too late; Xiaoyuzi had already been sold a few hours earlier.

Whirlpool Flower Path pressed the tavern owner for information about the seller, but the tavern owner knew very little about the seller, not even what the person looked like. He only knew that Xiaoyuzi and the other children were picked up by a carriage, and that the other party was generous and took the children away without haggling.

Before this, the tavern owner had also made a deal with the other party, who seemed very careful, always wearing a mask and never revealing his true face.

After some coercion and enticement, and confirming that the tavern owner was not lying, Uzumaki Hanamichi did not hesitate and quickly led the tavern owner to the back door of the tavern, which was the place where the children had been loaded into a car and left.

Inuzuka He and Kuroga naturally followed along.

Black Fang quickly identified Jade's scent.

Inuzuka He: "Captain, the smell is a bit mixed, but it should be fine for Shadow Chaser."

Whirlpool Flower Path nodded.

However, he didn't rush to track them down. Instead, he locked the tavern owner and the burly men in the tavern's underground cell. These people were guilty of child trafficking, so he would keep them locked up for now and deal with them later.

Soon, Uzumaki Hanamichi, Inuzuka He, and Black Fang left the tavern to continue their pursuit.

The two people and the dog quickly left the town and headed out of town.

However, Black Fang suddenly stopped not far outside the town.

Whirlpool Flower Path: "What's wrong, He?"

Inuzuka He squatted down, communicated with Black Fang for a while, and then said, "Captain, the target's scent is very weak, almost imperceptible. If I'm not mistaken, they must have used some means to conceal their scent. It seems the other party is very professional."

Uzumaki Hanamichi's heart sank: "Can we still continue the tracking?"

Inuzuka said, "Although they conceal their scent, they are not without flaws. Our Inuzuka family has a special secret technique that can enhance the scent, making it more troublesome than the previous tracking."

Whirlpool Flower said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

Then, Inuzuka He did not hesitate and raised his hand to release the seal.

The next moment, he transformed into a black dog.

The black dog and the black teeth look almost identical.

Seeing this, Uzumaki Hanamichi was not surprised.

After Inuzuka Hei transformed into a black dog, he sniffed around the area and quickly locked his gaze in one direction: "Captain, over there!"

Whirlpool Flower Path nodded.

Immediately afterwards, Inuzuka He, in his black dog form, took the lead, with Black Fang close behind.

Whirlpool Flower Path followed behind the two, moving forward quickly.

Inuzuka He, transformed into a black dog, has his sensitivity to smell greatly enhanced, allowing him to make judgments more easily even from faint scents.

In the darkness, Inuzuka Hei led Kuroga and Uzumaki Hanamichi forward quickly.

Meanwhile, near a small island surrounded by lake water, a figure walked slowly across the water.

Under the bright moonlight, the lake surface looked as if it were covered with a silver screen.

By the moonlight, one could barely make out the figure. It was a person wearing a strange mask, with long, flowing hair and a pair of magatama earrings.

Soon, the figure arrived on the island.

Just as that figure stepped onto the island, two figures emerged from the shadows.

The two figures were dressed in black, tight-fitting combat suits, and both wore masks.

Upon confirming the visitors' identities, the two masked men immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Orochimaru!"

The long-haired masked figure nodded, then quickly removed the mask, revealing a somewhat bewitching face with long, golden pupils, purple eyeshadow extending to the sides of the nose, and pale skin.

It was Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin of Konoha.

Orochimaru quickly walked towards the center of the island.

The island is small, and apart from the dense vegetation, there are no buildings.

Orochimaru quickly arrived at the central area of ​​the island.

In the central area, there is an inconspicuous stone cave, with two masked men guarding the entrance. However, they did not stop Orochimaru at all.

Orochimaru walked into the stone cave at a leisurely pace.

The cave looks quite ordinary from the outside, but once you step inside, it's a completely different world.

Inside is a fairly large stone hall.

The stone hall has multiple stone doors.

Orochimaru walked towards one of the stone doors and then placed his hand on it.

Soon, the stone gate opened.

Beyond the stone gate is a downward stone path.

Lights are installed on the walls on both sides of the stone path, which can clearly illuminate the stone steps leading down.

Orochimaru walked down the stone steps.

The stone path is not long, less than twenty meters.

When Orochimaru walked down the stone path, he found himself in a huge stone hall.

Inside the stone hall were dozens of columnar glass containers. Some were empty, while others contained tiny figures inside, all naked children with various tubes inserted into their bodies and their bodies enveloped in different colored liquids, each one seemingly asleep.

Inside the hall, several staff members were observing their respective targets and making notes.

Upon seeing Orochimaru arrive, a silver-haired woman quickly stepped forward: "Lord Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru quickly asked in a hoarse voice, "Were there any abnormalities with Subject 16 and Subject 22 today?"

The silver-haired woman immediately replied, "It's basically normal; this is the recorded data."

After she finished speaking, she handed two notebooks containing data to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru took the data notebook, then carefully looked at it and memorized it.

After reviewing the documents, Orochimaru revealed a hint of satisfaction: "Very good. I heard that another batch of test subjects arrived tonight."

As he spoke, Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips.

The silver-haired woman nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru, but there aren't many test subjects in this batch, only six in total."

Orochimaru said, "Six is ​​indeed a bit few, but it should be enough for a new round of cell awakening experiments. Hehe, I'm looking forward to it."

The silver-haired woman said, "Lord Orochimaru, Lord Danzo said that Konoha seems to have started a secret investigation again, so the recent experiments may need to be suspended for a while."

Orochimaru: "What, is this the Fourth Hokage's side?"

Silver-haired woman: "I don't know either."

Orochimaru: "Never mind, take me to see those test subjects first."

The silver-haired woman nodded.

Orochimaru then followed the silver-haired woman out of the hall and into a dark room.

Six small figures were being held in the dark room. They were not very old, the youngest being only five or six years old, and the oldest only eleven or twelve.

Orochimaru stood outside the dark room, looking at the few trembling little figures inside. His golden pupils seemed to show a hint of surprise, and he stuck out his tongue again, licking his lips with interest.

……