Seeing Tsunade in front of him, Shanter could tell she was serious. He decided to drop his usual playful demeanor and pay attention. After all, Tsunade was one of the legendary Sannin, and the fact that she was using such a serious expression to ask for his help piqued his curiosity.
"Go ahead, speak. Let me hear what it is first, then I'll decide if I'll help or not."
"This isn't an unreasonable request, right?" Tsunade asked, her voice a bit softer.
Tsunade understood the gravity of what she wanted to do, so she didn't mind Shanter's approach. On the contrary, she was grateful that he was taking her request seriously.
"I accidentally overheard your conversation with Sasuke earlier. What are you planning to do about Orochimaru?"
Great, another person trying to drag him into some troublesome task...
Shanter hadn't planned on getting involved with Orochimaru's issues. His earlier outburst towards Sasuke had been a spur-of-the-moment thing. If it came down to it, the best way to deal with Orochimaru was to just kill him. However, Orochimaru's cloning techniques were incredibly bothersome. Even if Shanter killed him, another Orochimaru would inevitably appear sometime later.
With a sigh, Shanter spread his hands, "I really can't tame this snake. Unless there's a way to completely eradicate him, otherwise, no matter how much we discuss it, it's just a waste of effort."
Shanter's words were blunt, but they highlighted the issue that had been troubling them all along. Previously, the Third Hokage had believed that sealing Orochimaru with the Reaper Death Seal would put an end to him, but here they were, with a near-new version of Orochimaru appearing once again.
In Shanter's old world, this would definitely be the kind of thing that would lead to accusations of someone intentionally throwing away their life.
"So what should we do about Orochimaru? While there are still a few who think leaving him be isn't a big deal, now that he's started attacking people within our village, we can't just leave him to his own devices…" Tsunade's tone was serious, frustration clear in her voice.
"Hmm… what if I told you there's another person besides Sasuke who's been cursed by Orochimaru's Heavenly Curse Mark? What would you do then?"
Shanter suddenly remembered that Orochimaru's first disciple, Mitarashi Anko, was the one who had originally been cursed by Orochimaru with the Heavenly Curse Mark, only for it to be sealed by the Third Hokage.
But despite being Orochimaru's disciple, Anko didn't go easy on him during their fight, even going as far as contemplating a mutual destruction.
"I know who you're talking about. That female ninja was treated by me, after all," Tsunade said, looking at Shanter with an odd expression.
"Are you suggesting that Orochimaru has some feelings for his female disciple? The rumors say he's cold-hearted and ruthless, yet…"
She raised an eyebrow. "In that one-on-one battle, he clearly went easy on her. No, he didn't just go easy—he practically let her off the hook entirely."
"Otherwise, why would he only incapacitate her, knowing she wanted to die with him in that battle?"
"If he had no interest in Anko, why would he let her off so many times?" Tsunade stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Shanter as if she had uncovered Orochimaru's true nature.
"So what? How does this tie into us figuring out how to deal with Orochimaru?" Shanter raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical.
"You're not planning to use his disciple to lure him out, are you?" Tsunade's tone had an almost triumphant air to it as she awaited Shanter's reaction.
Shanter looked at Tsunade as if she were some rare animal, his gaze filled with disbelief. If it were that easy to exploit Orochimaru's weakness, then why was he still running rampant in the village, unchecked?
"Eh? Isn't this idea feasible?"
Shanter sighed deeply, completely drained of energy to argue with Tsunade. Without a word, he turned and headed toward his apartment.
"Hey! You still haven't said if this plan will work!" Tsunade chased after him, grabbing his collar. Without warning, Shanter's rear end collided with the ground.
Thud!
The sound of Shanter's fall made Tsunade realize just how solid his backside was... the impact was loud enough to make her notice.
"Ouch!" Shanter winced in pain, glaring up at Tsunade with a resentful look.
"Big Sis, I don't think I've ever offended you, right?" he groaned.
"In fact, I think I've helped you before. So why are you treating me like this?"
"Even if you want to stop me, there's no need to grab me that hard," Shanter gestured to his collar, which had torn slightly from Tsunade's forceful grip.
Had Tsunade not used so much force, he was sure his collar would have been torn off entirely. And with the way she had grabbed him, it wouldn't have been surprising if another late-night rumor about a man without clothes had started circulating in the village.
"Oh… sorry, sorry. I didn't think it through when I grabbed you like that. I'll be more careful next time," Tsunade smiled awkwardly before getting back to the real reason she'd come to find Shanter.
"Do you remember the two little girls we met at the gambling hall earlier today?"
"Of course, how could I forget?" Shanter replied, grinning. After all, those two little "devils" were part of the reason he had developed a fondness for Japanese Mahjong. If he encountered little He again in the future, his life would be complete.
Thinking about how unexpectedly skilled little He was, Shanter compared her to Tsunade. Who was truly stronger?
As he mulled over this in his mind, Shanter absentmindedly rubbed his chin.
However, comparing them in his head alone was a bit difficult...
Tsunade, perhaps sensing his thoughts, suddenly flicked his forehead with a small amount of force.
"Ow! Who the hell hit me?" Shanter's startled cry rang out as he snapped back to reality.
Looking up, he saw Tsunade smiling at him, which only made him offer an awkward yet polite grin.
"How about we head to the gambling hall again tomorrow? After all, we made an appointment with the two little girls."
---
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