Chapter 12: Tanzaku Quarters
"Lady Tsunade, I am Kabuto Yakushi."
Kabuto followed Shizune, his eyes filled with a mix of excitement and admiration. He looked at Tsunade as if he were staring at his greatest idol; the expression was so convincing it didn't seem like acting at all.
Tsunade had to admit, this spy of Orochimaru's was a terrifyingly good actor.
If she hadn't already read the manga, she would never have suspected this friendly-looking youth was a mole. But his performance only proved just how successful of a spy he really was.
"Kabuto Yakushi, right?"
Tsunade stood up, retrieved a sealing scroll from her room, and handed it to him.
"Give this to Orochimaru," she said calmly. "Tell him that in two days, I'll be waiting for him at Tanzaku Quarters. I have a very important matter to discuss with him."
Kabuto looked genuinely shocked, even anxious. "Lady Tsunade, I—"
"Save the excuses."
Tsunade cut him off without hesitation. "Since I came looking for you, I obviously know exactly who you are. There's no need to put on a show for me."
The anxious look on Kabuto's face slowly faded away.
"You're free to look at the contents yourself. If you're interested, you can come to Tanzaku Quarters in three days as well. Now go. Leave Konoha. If anyone asks, just say you're on a top-secret mission I assigned to you."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. He realized he wasn't in a position to refuse.
He nodded decisively. "I understand, Lady Tsunade. I will deliver your message to Lord Orochimaru. However, as to whether he will actually agree to meet you at Tanzaku Quarters... that isn't for me to decide."
Tsunade spoke with absolute confidence. "He'll come."
Kabuto accepted the sealing scroll and turned to leave.
He knew perfectly well that the source of Tsunade's confidence had to be the scroll in his hand. There must be something inside that Lord Orochimaru simply could not turn down.
Even though Tsunade said he could look at it, Kabuto decided to take it straight back to let Lord Orochimaru see it first.
Once Kabuto was gone, Yumesaki asked curiously, "What was in that scroll? Don't tell me it was the Naruto manga."
Tsunade shook her head with a smile. "Of course not. But with what's in there, he won't be able to say no."
This only made Yumesaki more curious, but he didn't press further. The truth would reveal itself in two days anyway.
Meanwhile, after Kabuto left Konoha, he found a secluded spot. He slammed his palm against the ground, chanting the Summoning Technique. With a puff of smoke, a red snake about a meter long appeared.
"Deliver this scroll to Lord Orochimaru. Tell him it's from Tsunade and that she wants to meet him at Tanzaku Quarters in three days."
He handed the scroll to the red snake, which swallowed it whole in one gulp. With a sharp poof, the snake vanished into a cloud of smoke.
Kabuto stood up and departed. When night fell, he found an inn to stay the night.
Later that night, as Kabuto was preparing for bed, the red snake reappeared, carrying a small slip of paper.
Kabuto took the paper. On it were a few bold characters:
"Meet at Tanzaku Quarters."
Kabuto's heart hammered against his ribs. It seemed there really was something irresistible in that scroll. Otherwise, Orochimaru wouldn't be in such a hurry.
The next morning, Kabuto raced toward Tanzaku Quarters at top speed. He arrived by nightfall and checked into a local inn.
The following morning.
While Kabuto was having breakfast, a white snake suddenly slithered in through the window. It flicked its tongue at him, letting out a low hiss.
Kabuto understood immediately. He followed the white snake, leaving the town silently.
In a nearby forest, Kabuto finally met the man he was looking for.
Thud.
He dropped to one knee before the figure, bowing his head in deep respect. "Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru looked down at the kneeling Kabuto. "Tsunade sent that scroll to you personally?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"And she invited me to meet at Tanzaku Quarters?"
"That is correct," Kabuto answered.
Orochimaru was silent for a moment before asking, "How did she know you were one of mine?"
At the mention of this, Kabuto looked genuinely perplexed. "I honestly don't know, My Lord. Not long ago, Lady Tsunade suddenly brought a man named Kazuma Yumesaki back to Konoha and let him stay at the Senju compound."
"She told the public he was just a friend, but I noticed that even Shizune treats this Yumesaki with immense respect."
"To avoid unnecessary suspicion, I didn't try to gather intel on him immediately. But then, two days ago, Shizune suddenly found me and said Tsunade wanted to see me."
"When I met her, she handed me the scroll. She was completely certain of my identity. She told me to give it to you and meet her here."
Orochimaru listened to the report in silence, his eyes narrowed as he processed the information.
Kabuto looked up, asking cautiously, "Lord Orochimaru... what exactly was in that scroll? What could be worth traveling thousands of miles to meet Tsunade?"
"Something very new... and very interesting to me," Orochimaru said slowly. "But the items themselves aren't what matters. What matters is what their existence represents."
"If I'm not mistaken, the things Tsunade gave me were likely given to her by that man, Yumesaki."
"That man is not simple. His origin involves a secret so massive that if it were to get out, the entire shinobi world would be turned upside down."
Kabuto hesitated. Could that ordinary-looking man really be hiding such a world-shattering secret?
But he would never doubt Lord Orochimaru. Perhaps the man was just hiding it so well that Kabuto hadn't noticed.
"Lord Orochimaru, are we going to the meeting?"
"We're going. We have to."
Orochimaru's voice was firm. "Tsunade threw out a bait I cannot refuse just to get me there. I have a feeling... this meeting might just change the entire world."
...
One day later, the appointed time arrived.
Tsunade, Yumesaki, and Shizune reached Tanzaku Quarters after their long journey.
Tanzaku Quarters sounded like a single street, but it was actually a sizable town. It was just as bustling as Konoha, filled with inns, bars—the kind Jiraiya loved—and the casinos that Tsunade couldn't stay away from.
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