Chapter 181: Orochimaru's Gambit - I've Become an Evil Uchiha?
In the conference room, the faint, maniacal laughter of the Uchiha delegation could be heard outside.
Tsunade, clenching her fists, stood silently, trembling with rage!
Everyone present, staring at the large hole in the floor before her and the shattered conference table, couldn't help but shrink back in silence.
After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, awkwardly pulled out his pipe, took a puff, and used the smoke to mask his embarrassment. He advised:
"Tsunade, this is for the village after all. You... shouldn't you go?"
"Didn't the Uchiha clan provide compensation?"
"Alright, alright, alright."
Tsunade took a deep breath, her face darkening. She gritted her teeth and forced out:
"Then I'll go and properly 'treat' this brat!"
Hearing Tsunade's agreement, Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Orochimaru, sitting to the side, suddenly changed his expression.
How could those Uchiha fools let Tsunade, who was skilled in medical ninjutsu, treat Tsukasa?
With that kid's self-healing speed, wasn't this redundant?
Tsunade would understand everything just by examining him!
Thinking of Tsukasa's robust and resilient physique, seemingly indestructible no matter what—
Coupled with his selfless 'Will of Fire' even purer than his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself—
Orochimaru couldn't help but see Tsunade's deceased lover, Dan Katō, and her younger brother, Nawaki, reflected in this kid!
An immortal Nawaki—wasn't he a perfect 'Tsunade trap'?!
If this troublesome woman came into contact with Tsukasa, his subsequent experiments—'Grandpa Tsunade's' cell transplantation, Cursed Seal experiments, and Sage Mode training—all these dangerous procedures would be thrown into chaos!
Damn it! Orochimaru never expected that even after playing dead, this boomerang would still hit him!
Suddenly, Orochimaru could no longer sit still. He jumped to his feet and said in a deep, hoarse voice:
"Tsunade, I'll go with you!"
He absolutely couldn't let Tsunade discover that his disciple was actually a hot-blooded idealist!
Uchiha Tsukasa must remain a greedy, arrogant, conceited, and disdainful evil Uchiha brat!
"Hmm? Orochimaru?"
Tsunade raised a thin eyebrow, somewhat surprised to see Orochimaru following her, but didn't pay much attention. She turned and left the meeting room, heading toward Konoha Hospital.
Watching the two leave, Hiruzen's eyes flickered slightly. He felt a sense of relief at witnessing this bond with his disciple, and murmured:
"Orochimaru seems quite concerned about this disciple?"
"What kind of child is this Uchiha Tsukasa?"
"It seems I should make time to meet him."
These words were overheard by Shimura Danzō, who sat to his left. Danzō's expression instantly sharpened, and he glanced warily at Hiruzen as if looking at a chicken thief.
That damned monkey, trying to steal my people again?!
I will absolutely not let you succeed!
On the other side, while the high-level meeting regarding Tsukasa continued—
At Konoha Hospital—
After Tsukasa collapsed from exhaustion, Yashiro hadn't done as instructed.
After all, Yashiro didn't know that Tsukasa could actually heal himself.
When he saw those terrible burns, he immediately called on Uchiha clan members to take Tsukasa to Konoha Hospital and summoned the best doctors in Konoha to treat him.
At this moment, Tsukasa had just regained some consciousness when he felt his eyelids being pried open.
Opening his eyes, he immediately saw a slender white hand with rose-red nail polish lifting his eyelid.
Behind this hand was the face of a mature woman with golden hair, a violet diamond mark on her forehead, short light-yellow eyebrows, bright brown eyes, and light-red lips.
Tsukasa immediately recognized her as one of the Legendary Sannin—Tsunade!
At this moment, Tsunade frowned, shaking her head after examining him through chakra contact.
Her demeanor and gaze were like a doctor looking at a terminally ill patient, causing Tsukasa to feel a surge of hope.
He wondered if something had gone wrong—if his body, crammed with a jumble of forbidden techniques, was finally about to collapse? Could he commit insurance fraud again?
This prompted Tsukasa to ask:
"Doctor, how am I?!"
Tsunade pursed her lips, sat up, and frowned, saying:
"Tsk tsk."
Tsukasa's eyes widened slightly, awaiting further news—
While Tsunade expressionlessly finished her sentence:
"If you'd come any later, the wounds would have healed on their own."
Tsukasa blinked, a look of resentment immediately appearing on his face. He finally realized this woman was playing him!
Tsunade smiled.
"Luckily, I got here fast enough."
"So, kid, have you decided how to pay for the most expensive doctor in all of Konoha?"
"Card or cash—both are fine~!"
Hearing this, Tsukasa's eyes widened instantly.
"How much?!"
Seeing this expression, Tsunade couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile. Just as she was about to raise her slender finger to continue scaring this Uchiha brat—
A hoarse voice interrupted her.
"Alright, Tsunade, stop playing around."
"How is he?"
Upon hearing this voice, Tsukasa turned and saw his beloved teacher Orochimaru standing in the shadows in the corner of the ward, dressed in a black outfit with his arms folded, staring at them with his golden serpentine eyes.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade immediately turned around, her brows furrowed as she coldly stared at Orochimaru, her tone turning icy.
"Orochimaru, is this the kind of reckless teaching you're giving him?"
"Teaching him things beyond his capabilities—is that what you, as a teacher, should be doing?"
"Do you know this child is dying!"
Orochimaru calmly replied:
"I know."
"Just tell me how much longer he has."
Hearing these cold-blooded words, Tsunade's brows furrowed deeper, glaring at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, how did you become like this!"
"Practicing forbidden techniques, toying with human lives, and now creating these short-lived human weapons!"
"Your methods are becoming increasingly dark!"
"You—"
Tsunade tried to speak again, but Orochimaru coldly interrupted her:
"This is for Konoha!"
"Once Iwagakure finishes its protracted war with Kirigakure, Konoha will face a four-front conflict!"
"With the strength of a single village, fighting against the four great shinobi nations simultaneously!"
Orochimaru hid his face in the shadows, revealing only his golden serpentine eyes, staring intently at Tsunade.
His voice was hoarse and cold as he questioned:
"Without such power, what will Konoha rely on to survive? You, Tsunade? Can you even return to the battlefield? Or to put it another way—can you even enter the operating room now?"
"Now you're pitying this evil Uchiha brat?"
Tsukasa blinked, looking utterly bewildered at the argument between the two legendary shinobi before him.
How did this involve me again? What are you two even talking about?
Then Orochimaru let out a hoarse, cold laugh.
"Hmph."
He scoffed, pointing at the bewildered Tsukasa, and said coldly to Tsunade:
"All of this was his own choice."
"Tsunade, do you really think this brat is a good person?"
"Let me tell you—those battle reports are all fabrications!"
"This brat is cold-blooded, cruel, and even killed his own teammates."
"He's a greedy, arrogant, conceited, and wicked Uchiha brat!"
"He'd do anything for power, and he came to me."
"I granted his wish, giving him power beyond that of ordinary Uchiha, and he gave his life to fight for me—to fight for Konoha. It's a fair exchange."
"Isn't that right, Tsunade?"
"Anything else you want to ask?"
After saying this, Orochimaru stared coldly at Tsunade, then asked:
"Can you tell me the answer now, Tsunade?"
Tsukasa lay on the hospital bed, staring blankly at Orochimaru's performance, his mind still reeling.
When?
I've become an evil Uchiha?
Cold-blooded, cruel, betraying my teammates—
No, when did I ever do such things?
Orochimaru, don't slander me with baseless accusations!
At this moment, Tsunade fell silent under Orochimaru's barrage of lies.
War was cruel.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, had accidentally stepped on an explosive trap and was killed.
Shortly after, while on a mission with her team, Tsunade discovered her lover, Dan Katō, with his internal organs destroyed, barely alive. Despite her best efforts to save him, he died in her arms—
Which led to Tsunade's current hemophobia.
Orochimaru's questioning was like a knife cutting open her unwillingly confronted past!
It also exposed the fact that she could no longer return to the battlefield as a combat medic.
What Orochimaru said, though Tsunade was unwilling to admit it, represented the cruelest reality.
Faced with a potential four-front war, Orochimaru's actions were a genuine means to protect Konoha!
After a long silence, Tsunade turned away weakly, as if unwilling to face Tsukasa, and silently said:
"This child..."
"Has less than two years left to live."
End of Chapter 181
[500 Power Stones → +1 Bonus Chapter]
[10 Reviews → +1 Bonus Chapter]
Enjoyed the chapter? A review helps a lot.
P1treon: Soulforger (70+advance chapters)