Inside the Konoha headquarters, Orochimaru watched the familiar form of Katsuyu before him, a weight finally lifting from his chest.
Tsunade was alive.
His strategy of raiding the Suna main camp while Parashia and his elite Jonin were occupied with ambushing Tsunade had yielded a massive victory, but it had inherently left her in grave danger. He had been genuinely worried that his tactical gamble might have cost him a teammate.
At this point, Orochimaru was still in his twenties—a close companion and loyal teammate to both Tsunade and Jiraiya. He had not yet endured the trauma of his student Nawaki's gruesome death, nor had he descended step-by-step into the irredeemable, cold-blooded scientist who would one day use his own village's shinobi as lab rats.
"Oh? Tsunade is with Jiraiya now?"
Upon hearing that Tsunade had reached Jiraiya's location, his last shred of anxiety vanished. With the two of them together, they were more than capable of breaking any siege, even against a dozen Jonin. Furthermore, reports indicated that the Suna Jonin who had ambushed her were already fleeing toward the Land of Rivers. Only their commander, Parashia, remained missing.
"What? Tsunade ran into Nawaki? And they killed Parashia?"
When he heard the report—that Tsunade had encountered Nawaki while being hunted by Parashia and had managed to kill the Suna commander with the help of the boy and another child—Orochimaru's expression shifted from the relief of a mentor to one of sheer astonishment.
Even a summary of the events sounded like something bordering on the impossible.
However, just as a rare spark of curiosity prompted him to ask for details, Katsuyu asked about a matter Tsunade was deeply concerned with: the status of Gekko Kyofu, who had risked everything to break through the lines and seek help.
Of the three ninja who had left the camp with Tsunade, Kyofu was the only one whose fate remained unknown to her.
"Gekko Kyofu is dead," Orochimaru said, his voice instantly reverting to its habitual coldness. "However, he took the Suna puppet master Masahito with him. I will ensure his merit is recorded."
His tone was as flat as if he were discussing the weather. To those he didn't know well, he already possessed the aura of the mad scientist who viewed human life as a mere statistic. Once that same cold-bloodedness extended to those he held dear, he would truly become the Orochimaru who sought immortality through forbidden jutsu, eventually betraying his village and murdering his master.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Just as Orochimaru hoped to learn more through Katsuyu about the reunion and Parashia's death, a medical ninja in a white lab coat burst into the tent, his face alight with excitement. He froze the moment he saw the familiar slug.
"Has something happened?" Orochimaru asked. His brow knit into a slight frown, his voice laced with annoyance at the subordinate who had charged in without reporting first and was now standing there like a statue.
"Ah! Lord Orochimaru, we... well, Lady Katsuyu, Lady Tsunade..."
The medic, whether too excited at the sight of Katsuyu or simply lacking in communication skills, stammered and pointed, unable to form a coherent sentence.
"Yes, Tsunade is safe and will return shortly," Orochimaru said, rubbing his temples. Knowing the medic's hang-up, he delivered the news before asking with growing impatience, "So, what exactly did you come here to report?"
"That's wonderful!" The medic didn't answer immediately; instead, he let out a joyful cheer.
A cold, piercing look from Orochimaru quickly brought him back to reality. He scrambled to organize his thoughts. "Lord Orochimaru, Lady Katsuyu... we've rescued a war orphan from the Land of Rain. He claims he was sent by Nawaki for reinforcements. He says he knows where Nawaki and another child are hiding!"
"Oh."
To the medic's utter confusion, both Orochimaru and Katsuyu remained perfectly still. Their reactions were as mundane as if he'd just told them dinner was stir-fried potatoes rather than a strategic breakthrough.
"Lady Katsuyu?" The medic looked between the man and the slug, his mind full of question marks. Eventually, he chose to address the summon.
"Is the boy's name Akiren?"
Katsuyu didn't bother explaining; she simply posed a question of her own.
"How... how did you know, Lady Katsuyu?"
The medic's eyes widened to saucers. He watched in a daze as Katsuyu picked up a cup of tea and took a very human-like sip, and he instinctively clutched his chest.
Can Lady Katsuyu read my mind?!
"Take good care of the boy."
Katsuyu didn't feel like explaining. She placed the teacup back on the table in front of Orochimaru and vanished in a poof of white smoke.
In truth, she would have liked to stay and gossip with Orochimaru a bit longer, but Tsunade clearly didn't want to share too much with him right now—especially concerning Namikaze Hatani and his original jutsu, Wind Style: Powershot.
It wasn't that Tsunade completely distrusted Orochimaru, but his ties to the Root operatives made her uncomfortable. Furthermore, the fact that he had used her as live bait to draw out Parashia so he could raid the Suna camp left a bitter taste in her mouth, even if her rational mind knew it was the optimal solution for winning the war.
As he watched Katsuyu disappear, a shadow flickered in the depths of Orochimaru's golden eyes.
Even the most sudden of breaks in a relationship often stem from cracks that were buried long ago, cracks that eventually become impossible to mend.
The news spread through the camp like wildfire: Princess Tsunade had survived the Suna ambush, killed their commander Parashia, and successfully found her missing brother, Nawaki. The medic's loose tongue ensured that the details—or at least the broad strokes—reached every ear, triggering a second wave of jubilation throughout the base.
Everyone was talking about it. The Sannin were truly legendary.
Lord Orochimaru had defied the odds, leading a total strike to crush the Suna base and return in glory.
Lady Tsunade had braved the darkness as bait to find her brother, surviving an ambush by dozens of Jonin and taking the enemy general's head in the process.
With such powerful leaders, Konoha wouldn't just win this war; they would win it so decisively that no one would ever dare bare their fangs at the Land of Fire again!
But amidst this feverish celebration, in a quiet tent in a corner of the camp where few dared to wander, there were those whose attention remained fixed on the boy who had just become old news: Akiren.
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