"Sensei, it's been a long time."
At the border between the Rain and Fire countries, the Ninja Corps of Konoha finally met with the Western Expedition Corps. Meanwhile, Tsunade and others who had been active on the battlefield also arrived at the main camp.
"Long time no see! Did you bring the cards? I haven't played in ages!"
Tsunade's mood was quite good because she had received orders from the village to engage in a decisive battle with the Land of Rain to end the war. Furthermore, she had been appointed as the supreme commander and was going to battle Hanzo.
Thinking about defeating Hanzo and proving that medical ninjas also have a place in combat, Tsunade couldn't be happier.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, was also smiling. As one of the most outstanding of his generation, it was his wish to confront veteran strongmen like Hanzo.
Only Orochimaru, at this moment, frowned and looked strangely at Tatsuma, who was being dragged around by Tsunade by his hair.
The village's orders were for him, Jiraiya, and Tsunade to serve as the main commanders for this operation, to defeat Hanzo.
Such a task sounded exhilarating. Jiraiya and Tsunade had even begun discussing what Ninjutsu to use to defeat Hanzo.
But Orochimaru felt that Hanzo was not someone the three of them could deal with, not out of self-doubt, but because he knew how powerful Hanzo was.
In the past few months, he had been active between the four countries and had witnessed Mifune's strength. Honestly, Orochimaru didn't have much confidence. His most adept Ninjutsu was too difficult to use against Mifune's speed and Kenjutsu.
Yet, even with Mifune leading a group of elite warriors, he was easily defeated by Hanzo.
According to the post-war dejected Mifune, they couldn't even inflict any damage on Hanzo. They were completely overwhelmed by Hanzo in a single battle.
Because Orochimaru wasn't as optimistic as his two teammates about whether they could defeat Hanzo, he even felt that there were problems with the arrangement of this mission.
So he repeatedly reviewed the village's plan until he finally felt a sense of familiarity from the plan.
The style of seeking the greatest victory with the fewest sacrifices reminded him of the boy who had been begging for mercy repeatedly just now.
With Orochimaru's talent, he quickly deduced the reasons behind the village's or perhaps Tatsuma's scheming, but he was still very unhappy!
He had always been the one calculating others, but suddenly, one day, he found himself being calculated against. This kind of disparity made Orochimaru very uncomfortable.
He even wanted to replace Tsunade and ruthlessly drag Tatsuma by his hair!
After Tsunade finished scolding this disciple who dared to go to the battlefield without cards, she finally let go. Jiraiya took the torch, put his arm around Tatsuma's shoulder, and lowered his voice, saying:
"Tatsuma, let's discuss. You teach me Rasengan, and I'll teach you a very powerful jutsu."
"How powerful? How strong is it?"
Running his fingers through his hair, Tatsuma asked with great interest. Jiraiya chuckled and replied, "You promise first. Once you agree, when I learn that jutsu, I'll show it to you."
Upon hearing this, Tatsuma had a general idea of what Jiraiya was talking about. His eyes instantly became alert, he distanced himself from Jiraiya, scrutinizing him.
Jiraiya was planning to play a trick. He would learn the Rasengan from Tatsuma, and then when Tatsuma wants to learn Sage Mode from Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya would probably regretfully say, "Oops! I just found out that only the contractors of Mount Myoboku can learn this jutsu."
Having known Jiraiya for several years, and even more intimately in a past life, Tatsuma understood Jiraiya's cunning nature very well.
Seeing Tatsuma's cautious demeanor, Jiraiya felt a pang of anxiety. He wondered if Tatsuma had seen through his plan. Nonetheless, he maintained his stern façade and pretended to be displeased.
"What's wrong? Do you think I'm deceiving you?"
At this moment, Orochimaru, who was slowly approaching, also became curious about the sudden change in attitude between the two. Tatsuma furrowed his brows and scrutinized Jiraiya before saying, "Can you guarantee that I can learn the jutsu you mentioned? If you can guarantee that, then I'll teach you Rasengan."
"That jutsu? Rasengan?" Orochimaru frowned, not understanding what Tatsuma was talking about. He probably knew about the jutsu Jiraiya mentioned, but Rasengan? What was that?
Was it a jutsu Tatsuma created? Could Tatsuma have developed a jutsu that even made Jiraiya envious?
Orochimaru found it somewhat unbelievable, but if it was something Jiraiya wanted to learn, it might not be a serious jutsu, right? Rasengan... the pronunciation and meaning kept shifting in Orochimaru's mind. His expression became increasingly strange as he looked at this young ninja who had already made a name for himself as the "Jewel Crusher." He wondered if Rasengan was some kind of jutsu that manipulated jewels.
A gust of wind blew at that moment, the early autumn breeze not yet cold but enough to send a shiver down Orochimaru's spine. His steps, originally headed towards the two, came to a halt.
He wondered if Tatsuma had developed a jutsu so tasteless that even Jiraiya was interested. What was his motive? To once again solidify his name as the "Jewel Crusher"?
Unaware of Orochimaru's inner thoughts about Tatsuma, he merely looked at Jiraiya with a gaze that seemed to say, "I see through you."
Jiraiya, in turn, became increasingly flustered.
Jiraiya could now be certain that Tatsuma had indeed seen through his intentions. He hadn't explicitly discussed Sage Mode with anyone, so how did Tatsuma know?
Could it be?!
Jiraiya's wary gaze shifted towards his "legitimate" disciple. At that moment, Minato was smiling, looking at his sensei and his friend. Under Jiraiya's scrutinizing stare, Minato also became somewhat confused.
After much deliberation, Jiraiya could only come up with a somewhat reasonable explanation.
That is, after Minato summoned the toads, perhaps one of the toads from Mount Myoboku accidentally leaked information. However, the number of toads who knew about the Sage Mode training is very limited.
Could it be that Minato, without his knowledge, had gained the approval of the two toad sages, Shima and Fukasaku, and could now summon them?!
"Minato, have you mastered Rasengan?" Jiraiya suddenly asked. Minato instinctively nodded. In that moment, Jiraiya felt his heart ache. His own disciple had betrayed him!
Orochimaru, who had been listening to all of this, cast a peculiar gaze at Minato. This cheerful, sunny boy had actually learned such a distasteful ninjutsu?
Wait, why did he automatically assume Minato was a cheerful, sunny boy? Remembering how ruthless Minato could be in battle, even more so than himself, Orochimaru hesitated in his steps and began to retreat.
None of them were good guys after all!
Indeed, considering they were all taught by Jiraiya, what good could they possibly be?
Especially that Sakamoto Tatsuma, not only deceiving enemies but also his own allies!
"Sensei!" Just as Orochimaru was speculating with the utmost malice about Jiraiya and the others, a green figure suddenly crashed into his arms, startling Orochimaru so much that his face lost color, and he almost used the Body Flicker Jutsu to escape.
"What kind of monster?!" Although he had reluctantly accepted Nawaki's skewed sense of aesthetics, the sudden appearance of his disciple after such a long absence still shocked Orochimaru.
"Sensei! Are you okay? You're sweating a lot." Seeing Orochimaru's panicked expression and the sweat on his forehead, Nawaki suddenly asked with concern. He was worried that his sensei might be injured, and his collision might have aggravated his condition.
Before Orochimaru could respond, Tsunade rolled her eyes and said, "Ignore him. He's been acting weird these days for some reason."
As teammates and longtime friends, Tsunade naturally noticed Orochimaru's abnormal behavior in recent days. She just hadn't expected that his symptoms not only hadn't improved after seeing so many companions but seemed to have worsened.
If Tsunade didn't know Orochimaru well enough, she would have suspected that the Orochimaru before her was an imposter. But if it wasn't an imposter, then could Orochimaru be suffering from a psychological illness?
Tsunade's gaze also became serious. With the impending battle, if Orochimaru did indeed have a psychological illness that could affect the outcome of the battle...
Orochimaru also understood the scrutiny in Tsunade's eyes. His expression darkened as he pushed Nawaki aside and coldly said, "I'm fine."
With that, Orochimaru turned and walked away. Tsunade still harbored some doubts in her eyes, but psychological illnesses required the cooperation of the patient. If Orochimaru refused to cooperate, there wasn't much she could do, even as a medic.
The camp was quickly set up, and Orochimaru remained inside the command tent. After some discussion among Tsunade and the others, they also headed towards the command tent.
Since there weren't any confidential documents inside yet, Tatsuma, Nawaki, and the others didn't hesitate to follow inside. As they entered the command tent, they saw Orochimaru's serious expression.
"I believe that with the decisive battle approaching, we need to take it very seriously. At the same time, we need to equip ourselves with the best gear to reduce casualties. I propose that all ninjas participating in the decisive battle must wear Jonin battle armor!"
As he spoke, Orochimaru took out his own battle armor from a sealing scroll. The gray metal plates, black lining, and thick plates extending to the crotch satisfied Orochimaru greatly.
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya, who enjoyed going against Orochimaru, didn't refuse and nodded. The others followed suit, except for Nawaki, who pointed to himself and said somewhat helplessly, "Sensei, I'm still a Genin. I don't have this kind of battle armor."
"Ah." Watching Nawaki's conspicuous green outfit, Orochimaru's lips moved a few times before saying, "Take mine and alter it! Otherwise, you won't go to the battlefield!"
Originally thinking it wouldn't be a problem to wear his own clothes, Nawaki looked at Orochimaru's unmistakable expression and could only nod. Compared to briefly indulging in his green attire, serving the village on the battlefield was more important.
Satisfied, Orochimaru nodded and then took out a map of the Land of Rain and its surroundings, laying it out on the table. He said, "Next, let's discuss the attack route. The others can rest up. We depart the day after tomorrow and commence the decisive battle!"
"The day after tomorrow? Isn't that too soon?"
"Too soon? In my mind, the countdown to returning home has already begun!"
Orochimaru showed a firmness that was completely different from before. He didn't want to spend another minute with these people!
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