"Stay in the village and wait for news?"
Tsunade froze, her mind struggling to process Orochimaru's words. She didn't have time to think deeply about it now, though—Orochimaru was leaving.
"Do you… really have to go?" she asked softly, her voice tinged with reluctance.
"Yes," Orochimaru replied firmly.
"And you won't take me with you?"
"It's not that I don't want to," Orochimaru said calmly. "It's that I can't. However, don't be too upset. You know where I'm going, and you can always contact me if necessary."
"That's easy for you to say, but…"
"Enough, Tsunade," Orochimaru interrupted. He reached out and gently ruffled her hair, a rare display of tenderness. "If you want answers, you'll have to wait until dawn. Now, goodbye, Tsunade."
Whoosh!
Before she could say another word, Orochimaru vanished, leaving the room eerily quiet.
Tsunade stood frozen in place, staring at the empty space where Orochimaru had just been.
The suddenness of it all left her stunned. She hadn't been given enough time to ask the questions burning in her mind or to process what had just happened.
Her thoughts spiraled as she tried to piece everything together.
Why had Orochimaru left so abruptly?
Could Dan's accusations be true?
No, she shook her head. Orochimaru was too important to Konoha. Even if he were conducting experiments on children, the Third Hokage wouldn't drive him out of the village over it. There was no reason for Orochimaru to leave for something like that.
But if it wasn't because of the experiments, then why? What was the real reason?
As she wrestled with these thoughts, Tsunade's instincts urged her to go straight to the Hokage's office to demand answers.
She took a few steps toward the door, but then stopped, remembering Orochimaru's words: "If you want answers, wait until dawn."
"Damn it," Tsunade muttered under her breath. "Why couldn't he just explain everything before he left?"
---
The night was quiet and still, with only the chirping of insects and the bright moon overhead to accompany Orochimaru as he walked through the forest surrounding Konoha.
His mind wandered back to Dan's words.
"So, the live experiments have been exposed?" he murmured to himself.
"It seems Hiruzen thought this through carefully before giving up on me."
Orochimaru knew better than anyone how much he had contributed to Konoha—countless missions, inventions, and battlefield victories.
Yet, despite all of that, the Third Hokage had chosen to sacrifice him.
Why?
It wasn't just fear of the three allied ninja villages threatening to attack Konoha. It was also because Orochimaru had aligned himself with Danzo.
In Hiruzen's eyes, Orochimaru no longer belonged to him. His allegiance had shifted. Add to that the experiments on living subjects, and it was enough for Hiruzen to make the decision to let him go.
As for why he had killed Dan…
In truth, there wasn't any grand reason behind it.
When Orochimaru encountered Dan meeting Tsunade in secret, he had been in a foul mood. Normally, he might have just given Dan a warning or roughened him up a bit. Even the discovery of his experiments wouldn't have warranted such drastic action, Orochimaru had long been prepared for that eventuality.
But when he thought of Dan's connection to Tsunade in another timeline, and then of Konoha abandoning him, he decided to act decisively.
He couldn't stomach the idea of Dan potentially becoming a future threat.
"An outcast, huh?" Orochimaru whispered to himself, his voice low and bitter.
"I thought I was prepared for this, but when the moment finally came… it still stings a little."
That night, Orochimaru left Konoha.
That same night Dan died.
And Tsunade, left alone with her unanswered questions, couldn't sleep.
Yet despite all this, Konoha remained quiet and peaceful, as though nothing had changed.
---
The next morning.
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, his hands clasped behind his back. He gazed out at the village with a heavy heart.
Sacrificing a ninja for the sake of peace, especially a disciple was never easy.
Even though Orochimaru had distanced himself from him and aligned with Danzo, it didn't change the fact that he was one of his proudest students.
But the weight of Konoha's survival ultimately took precedence over personal attachments.
Boom, boom, boom!
A sharp knock on the door broke his train of thought.
"Come in," he called out.
The door creaked open, and an ANBU agent entered, kneeling on one knee before the Hokage.
"Report, Hokage-sama!"
"Speak."
"The user of the laboratory has been confirmed—it was indeed Lord Orochimaru."
"Do you have evidence?" Hiruzen asked, his expression darkening.
"Yes," the ANBU replied, hesitating briefly before continuing. "Several of the children who were experimented on managed to escape. According to their accounts, no one but Lord Orochimaru could have performed such experiments…"
The Third Hokage's eyes widened slightly. "What? Wood Release? And multiple users of it?"
Before the ANBU could respond, a voice rang out from the hallway.
"Hokage-sama!"
Tsunade stormed into the office, her expression frantic.
Sarutobi turned to her, already expecting her arrival. "Tsunade. You're here."
"Why did Orochimaru leave the village?" she demanded, skipping all formalities. "I want to know the truth!"
Hiruzen sighed, motioning for the ANBU to leave. Once they were alone, he began explaining the full story.
Ten minutes later, Tsunade stood in stunned silence.
"What…? A siege? By three villages?"
"Yes," Hiruzen said heavily. "We failed to keep Orochimaru's research confidential, and this is the result."
"And your solution is to hand Orochimaru over to die?" Tsunade's voice rose sharply as she slammed her hand on the desk.
"He has done so much for this village, he's made so many sacrifices! And this is how you repay him?"
Her anger was palpable, but beneath it, there was also a deep sense of disappointment.
Was this truly the kind of village worth dedicating their lives to?
"What else could I have done?" Hiruzen shot back, his tone firm. "Do you think I wanted this?"
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay composed. "Konoha cannot withstand an attack from three villages right now. If we didn't hand Orochimaru over—"
"Then you fight!" Tsunade interrupted, her voice trembling. "You don't just throw him to the wolves!"
"He agreed to this, Tsunade," Hiruzen said suddenly, his voice softer.
"What?"
"Orochimaru made this decision himself."
Tsunade froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. "What… are you saying?"
"I said," Hiruzen repeated, "this was Orochimaru's choice."
***
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