Orochimaru gazed at his former teammate unconscious on the ground and his face was devoid of expression. 'So after all these years, it has come to this. Sorry Tsunade. But to further my goals, your sacrifice is needed.'
He then turned his attention to his guards. He looked at Kimimaro, Jirobo and Kidomaru and spoke. He saw the blood flowing from the corner of Kimimaro's mouth and frowned. 'Even after all the preparations, Tsunade was still able to inflict significant internal damage to Kimimaro.'
"You three. Head back to the base and secure it. This is a delicate time. I don't want any unexpected incidents." The Snake sannin gave the order.
Kimimaro stepped forward and bowed. "Yes my Lord. We'll make sure nothing happens till you return."
"Make sure to heal your injuries. Shizune's poison jutsu isn't something you can simply shrug off."
"Understood my Lord."
The Snake Sannin then turned to the remaining members of the Sound Five. "Sakon, Tayuya. We need to move quickly. You know what to do."
The two guards nodded and went to the two sleeping bodies on the ground. Tayuya picked up Shizune while Sakon carried Tsunade. Orochimaru looked around and noticed that their pet was missing.
He inwardly smiled as he couldn't sense Tonton anywhere nearby. 'It must be on its way to the village. This battle was bound to draw attention. Even if they sent their entire force to search, they wouldn't find me.'
"Let's go." On Orochimaru's orders the group split up and went in two directions. Sakon and Tayuya followed Orochimaru, carrying their captives while Kimimaro and his team went to the main base in the Land of Sound.
Shortly after all parties left the area, a strange figure appeared out of the tree several meters away. A figure with the body of a plant and wearing the Akatsuki robes. Zetsu looked at the scene and was confused.
"Well, that was unexpected. You think she did something to make Orochimaru mad?" The white half asked his partner.
"No. Tsunade had been wasting her time getting drunk and gambling this last year. I doubt she had crossed paths with Orochimaru at the time. That snake must have something planned." Black Zetsu replied.
"I see. You're probably right. Still, I didn't think she'd put up such a fight. Even outnumbered she was holding her own."
Unlike his other half Black Zetsu knew that they weren't battling with anywhere near their full power. "No. It only looked like that because Orochimaru and the others didn't go for any killing blows. For some reason they want her and her student alive."
"What do you think Orochimaru's plan is?"
At the white half's question, Black Zetsu became silent for a few moments. "I have a few ideas but I can't make any solid conclusions. Let's see if we can follow them."
The two disappeared into the ground and tried to pursue their target. As they neared Orochimaru the Snake Sannin suddenly stopped while his subordinates kept going.
"Kuku… Is that you Zetsu." Orochimaru spoke as he kept looking forward.
Zetsu, who was hidden in the ground several meters away, was annoyed. 'He knows.'
"If you're going to keep following me I'll see for myself just how durable you really are. Or we can part ways and you can go spy on someone else." With those words Orochimaru vanished from Zetsu's sight.
The Akatsuki spy was hiding underground and decided not to pursue the Snake Sannin. "His sensing skills are sharper than I thought." The white half remarked.
"He must have some method to detect us. Still it's expected that he's a lot more vigilant than usual. He just attacked and kidnapped Tsunade Senju. This incident will definitely cause an uproar once it gets out." The black half spoke.
"So what do we do now? Should we tell him?"
"Yes. This is a big incident. Let's go find Madara." With the final say from Black Zetsu, the spy began to move in a different direction. Towards the Mountain Graveyard where Obito was.
Leaf Village.
It was shortly an hour past midnight. Hiruzen was still in his office going through several documents. As he was working, two Anbu suddenly appeared in front of him. "You summoned us, Lord Hokage?"
Hiruzen looked up from his document and saw the Anbus Bear and Snow standing in attention in front of him. He had tasked Bear with infiltrating the Root forces and Snow with investigating his own ninjas. An assignment that was given years ago.
"Yes. First, Bear, I have a task for you." Hiruzen gave Bear the scroll Danzo had given him earlier and spoke. "I'm sure you made a copy of every mission report of the last decade from the Root Archive when you first infiltrated the organization. I need a copy of the reports of the missions mentioned in that scroll."
"What is this about sir?" Bear asked the old leader.
"Danzo came to see me a few hours ago. He gave me this scroll and it was his justification for disobeying my orders and continuing with his operations. The missions on that scroll goes all the way back to the time of the Uchiha massacre. Based on the mission's details, it suggests that if it wasn't for Root the village would have been embroiled in several major fights with other nations. The actions the Root took, mainly assassination and subterfuge missions on certain targets around the world, reduced the tensions between the great nations and smaller villages."
"So essentially Danzo is saying he's the reason we have peace right now." Snow couldn't help but remark.
Hiruzen nodded. "Yes. Some of the incidents took place near our border and I've had some Jonins investigate it at the time. On the surface of most of these events there wasn't much. It looked like a straightforward assassination by people who had a grudge against them. But now with this… The scroll gives a detailed account of what the targets were up to and what their intentions were… If it's true then Danzo's actions could be somewhat justified but…"
Bear suddenly understood why the Hokage wanted the report copies he made. "You want to make sure the information on that scroll is accurate."
Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "Yes. I need to know the authenticity of this information. They have figured out that they have a spy in their midst. So the reports in their archive might have been edited now to match what Danzo gave me. But that won't be the case for the copies you made. I need those documents by tomorrow morning."
"Yes sir."
The Hokage then turned his attention to Snow. "Have you completed the investigation?"
"Yes sir. It'll take me a few hours to compile the report though."
The old kage nodded. "That's fine. Make sure to get it to me by morning… So how is it? Is it as bad as we feared?"
Snow was silent for a few seconds before he replied. "No sir. Danzo was paranoid and limited the number of agents he had within the ranks so they wouldn't be found out. But some of them are in key positions in certain squads."
Hiruzen sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Get me that list by early morning."
"Understood sir."
Just then Bear spoke. "Lord Hokage. Can I ask you something?"
"What is it, Bear?"
"If the information on my reports corresponds to the reports in Danzo's scroll, are you going to show him leniency?" He asked the question that's been on his mind.
Hiruzen was silent as he thought about the question. "No. I gave him an order and he disobeyed. It doesn't matter what Danzo says. I'm not going to let Root operate for much longer. Under Danzo, the Foundation is an uncontrollable, unpredictable element."
'I need to talk to sensei when he returns and update him on everything that happened. If Danzo has proved himself loyal then… No. He's crossed far too many lines for me to back down now. Still, I need to talk to him alongside sensei. After that I will decide whether I have to kill him or not.'
Mountain Graveyard.
It wasn't long before Zetsu reached the hidden location. He saw a masked ninja meditating on the center of the layer and got closer.
"~Big News. We have big news Madaraa…~" White Zetsu spoke in a sing-song voice.
"Would you be serious!? This is important." The Black half reprimanded his counterpart.
Obito sensed their presence the moment they arrived near the base. He turned in their direction and spoke. "What is it, Zetsu?"
"It's Orochimaru. He attacked Tsunade and captured her along with Shizune."
Obito was curious and was slightly concerned with this new development. "Orochimaru attacked and captured Tsunade? This is certainly unexpected. What could he be after?" The man rubbed his chin and muttered to himself. He then looked to his subordinate.
"Zetsu, did you manage to track his location after he captured them?"
"I'm sorry, Madara. But he managed to notice me. He made a threat that I have no doubt he would have followed through if I kept going after him. I lost track of him after, so I came to inform you." Black half replied with a calm voice.
"It's not surprising that he picked up on you. He's been studying all the Akatsuki members since he joined. He's developed measures to evade your surveillance after all. So losing track of him isn't surprising... That snake is skilled at disappearing when he wants to. Zetsu, did you notice anything peculiar about his actions or any hint of his intention?" The masked Obito asked his spy.
"Hmm... Orochimaru seemed determined and focused. Based on the way he and his team fought, there was a sense of urgency in their actions. He didn't waste any time subduing Tsunade and her student. Orochimaru and his team took them down before Tsunade could use her summons."
"Did you watch the whole fight?"
"Yep. We recorded the whole thing for you." White Zetsu replied.
"Show me."
At Obito's command Zetsu showed him the battle that took place between the Sannin and their subordinates. Obito watched the fight and noticed something.
"He didn't use any lethal attacks. He wasn't trying to kill them or even seriously injure Tsunade. The same goes for Shizune. He needs them for something."
Black Zetsu agreed with Obito's speculation. "Yes. That's what I think too. Since he went after her it may have something to do with her medical skills."
Obito had a slightly different theory in mind. 'Or her Senju bloodline. He always had a fascination with forbidden techniques and unique bloodlines. But why now? Why not sooner? Or is it something else?'
"What should we do? It won't be long before the Leaf village finds out what happened and they won't be happy." Black Zetsu looked at Obito for the next course of action.
The masked Obito nodded his head. "We're going to the Rain Village. We need to inform Pain of this incident."
"Got it." Zetsu nodded and disappeared into the ground while Obito vanished in a swirl.
Hidden Rain Village.
The masked Uchiha, Zetsu, Konan and Pain stood on the top floor of the tallest tower in the Rain Village. An orange haired man wearing the distinct Akatsuki cloak looked at the village and the people below through the window.
"So, Orochimaru is making moves again huh. This could complicate our plan." Pain spoke with a calm tone.
"He's always been a wild card. But his actions now have the potential to escalate tensions between the great nations." The masked 'Madara' spoke as he leaned on the wall.
"Agreed. We need to keep an eye on the situation. Orochimaru's actions could potentially disrupt the balance of power we've been working towards." Konan crossed her arms and gave her thoughts.
Pain slightly nodded his head and turned to Zetsu. "Continue monitoring the Leaf village and Orochimaru's movements. If anything significant happens, report it immediately."
"Pain, shouldn't we inform the other members of the situation?" Konan asked her friend.
The Orange haired man nodded. "Yes. But not now. We need to know more about his plans. Zetsu, gather intel on Orochimaru's movements for the last year. We'll call for a meeting tomorrow and inform them of the situation."
"Yes. I'll get it done." Zetsu disappeared into the ground moments later with his new task to complete.
"You should increase the patrol squads around the border. The Leaf will be sending teams to investigate the matter soon and they won't be some ordinary Chunins." Madara spoke with a grave tone.
"I'm aware." Pain gave a short reply and returned his gaze to the view outside.
"Don't engage unless absolutely necessary. We still need some more time. So for now it's best to stay in the shadows and observe." Madara spoke once again but he got no reply from Pain. Konan kept her impassive face as she looked at the masked Uchiha.
Madara didn't say anything more and disappeared moments later, leaving the two top members of the organization on their own.
"Nagato, what do you think Jiraiya sensei is going to do?" Now that it was only just the two of them, Konan used her friend's real name and spoke in a softer tone.
"We'll find out soon. One thing is for certain. Something drastic is going to happen in these next few days. I can feel it." Pain replied as he looked at the rain pouring down from the sky.
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Author's Note:
Things are about to heat up. I told you guys that canon will have an explosive start… I just pray that this arc comes out great by the time I'm done with it…
A few things to clarify about the previous chapter.
01.. Why Tsunade didn't summon Katsuyu.
Orochimaru wouldn't have given her the chance as a battle of such a large scale is not what he wants.(it's given in the chapter) It's why Orochimaru didn't use his summon as well.
02.. Why Tsunade didn't use her diamond seal?
It may not seem like it but the fight was fast paced. And Orochimaru knew that if she released the seal on her forehead it would take a long time to defeat her. He knew the seals she needed to make to release that jutsu so he would have stopped it. And even if she did use her seal, Orochimaru would have used Shizune and threatened her. Not only that, Tsunade noticed that Orochimaru and his team weren't trying to land lethal blows. So why would she release the seal and just waste her chakra?
03.. The gas poison used on Tsunade that made her go unconscious.
It's stated in the chapter. Orochimaru made this specifically for Tsunade. He knows just how strong her medical Ninjutsu is. So he would have created something to counter that strength.
04.. Did I over power sound five?
Not exactly. In the anime and manga, they've had a fight with Genma and his team before they met the Shikamaru squad. But that was glossed over. And Orochimaru has been training the team in preparation for this fight. And gave them all detailed reports of Tsunade and Shizune's fighting skills.
But that's not to say that the sound five came out unharmed. Tsunade was able to wound them but their teamwork and Orochimaru also made it possible to avoid deadly attacks from the female sannin.
I hope this answers any questions you may have.