"Let's go! Next time, we'll—"
Before Rinjin could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a strange pulling force.
Huh?
A summoning jutsu?
Which bastard is summoning me?!
Time rewinds to half a month ago.
Orochimaru led his three disciples out of the village on a mission.
Although the large-scale ninja wars had ended, small-scale skirmishes continued unabated.
The four great nations of Wind, Earth, Fire, and Lightning were still secretly at each other's throats, showing no intention of negotiating peace.
This meant one thing: no one was willing to back down.
The Third Raikage declared, "You three had your fun fighting without inviting me? Not cool! You owe me compensation for emotional damages!"
Meanwhile, Ōnoki proclaimed, "Konoha is mine for the taking. Not even Jesus can stop me, I said what I said."
As for the Third Kazekage, he muttered nervously, "Lately, Chiyo's grandson has been giving me strange looks. I'm a bit uneasy. You guys go ahead and fight; I'll just... take it slow for now."
And then there was Hiruzen Sarutobi's stance: "Compensation? Over my dead body!"
Having already been swindled out of a fortune by that rascal Rinjin, there was no way Hiruzen would agree to peace talks and reparations now. "Dream on!" he thought. "I have my top general, Orochimaru, who can take Ōnoki's head!"
But just as Hiruzen was standing firm, his top general, Orochimaru, slipped up.
The grandson of the First Hokage, Senju Nawaki, younger brother of Tsunade, and heir to the dwindling Senju clan, met with an unfortunate accident.
A simple explosive tag trap.
And the once-cheerful, sun-kissed young boy with a healthy flush on his face... was turned into a hollow shell.
To put it plainly, the boy was blown to bits—his internal organs scattered everywhere.
Now, accidents during missions were not uncommon. After all, no one could guarantee their own survival.
But the problem lay in who the victim was.
Nawaki, the grandson of the legendary Hashirama Senju.
Though the Senju clan no longer existed in name, its scattered members within Konoha still held considerable influence.
And now, they had something to say.
"We Senjus fully supported you, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in becoming Hokage. And now, you've lost our young clan head. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Faced with this, Hiruzen felt a massive headache coming on.
And he wasn't alone—Orochimaru was equally troubled.
At this time, Orochimaru still had a relatively reserved personality, with feelings and emotions intact. Despite the trauma of losing his parents, watching his beloved disciple die before his eyes was a first for him.
Orochimaru fell silent.
Amid the external accusations, he chose to remain quiet.
But inwardly, he began to obsess over the fleeting nature of life: Life is so fragile, so fleeting... I must achieve immortality. I must ensure that no explosive tag can ever harm me again!
For a time, the situation in Konoha took a bizarre turn.
The Senju clan, having lost their young leader, showed signs of unrest but ultimately dispersed back to their individual families, losing their unity.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, meanwhile, found his position as Hokage subtly shaken by the incident.
As for Orochimaru, much of the merit he had accumulated during the war was overshadowed by this tragedy. After all, most of the village still sided with the Senju clan.
Against this backdrop, a high-level meeting was convened in Konoha.
In the Hokage's office conference room:
Present were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Hokage advisor Shikaku Nara.
Judging by the attendees, this was clearly an internal meeting of a small circle.
Seated at the head of the table, Hiruzen rested his elbows on the desk, his hands clenched into fists, his brow furrowed, and his expression grim.
Beside him, Shikaku stood with his hands behind his back, observing silently.
Danzo, wrapped in bandages, scanned the room with his single, suspicious eye.
Something felt off to him.
Breaking the silence, Koharu spoke in a serious tone.
"I'll start with my report. Lady Mito fainted upon hearing of Nawaki's death. She had already fallen gravely ill after the deaths of Nawaki's parents. Judging by her current condition, she may not have much time left."
At this, Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh, his dark eyes lifting slightly.
"Deploy the Anbu to recall Kushina Uzumaki from her mission immediately. Have the sealing team prepare to ensure the safe transfer of the Nine-Tails."
Hearing this, Koharu nodded as she jotted down notes, then asked, "Should we inform Princess Tsunade?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Danzo interjected.
"No!"
All eyes turned to Danzo.
Unperturbed, he met their gazes head-on. He had no fear of those present, but the mention of summoning Tsunade had made his eyelid twitch uncontrollably.
Summon Tsunade? That would mean summoning Rinjin too!
Given that troublemaker's suspicious and meddlesome nature, am I about to be scapegoated again?!
Oh, hell no! I haven't done anything lately except deal with the Uchiha! Why would I target some random Fourth Hokage candidate?!
No way! We absolutely cannot bring Tsunade back right now! Otherwise, I'll be in for a beating, and who knows what other schemes I'll be caught up in! That guy is notoriously unreasonable!
Breaking into a cold sweat, Danzo quickly shook his head.
"Hiruzen, recalling Tsunade now would disrupt her mission. Besides, you'd need a good reason to summon her. What would you tell her? If she learns the truth, won't she be devastated? Won't that affect her state of mind? Won't it increase the risk of enemy attacks? The village has already lost Nawaki. If something happens to Princess Tsunade, think about the consequences."
Having said his piece, Danzo marveled at how quickly his mind had worked.
No matter what, even if the Nine-Tails rampaged tomorrow, he wouldn't care. After all, it wasn't his problem—what did the Nine-Tails have to do with Root?
But this situation? It had to be delayed!
That troublemaker Rinjin always targeted him!
The others in the room exchanged glances, their suspicions growing.
Could Danzo have done it?
Why else would he be so nervous?
But wait, hasn't he been focused on the Uchiha lately?
At the head of the table, Hiruzen remained deep in thought, his expression heavy.
Glancing at Danzo, the Third Hokage nodded. "Danzo makes a good point. We'll proceed as he suggests."
Time passed, and half a month later, Tsunade returned to the village with her team after completing their mission.
From a distance, she spotted Orochimaru standing at the village gate, his face shadowed with gloom, his once-sleek black hair now dry and lifeless.
Seeing this, Tsunade felt a pang of unease.
Quickening her pace, she suppressed the worry on her face and gave Orochimaru a familiar pat on the shoulder, half-jokingly saying, "Orochimaru, here to congratulate me on a successful mission?"
Orochimaru looked up, his thin lips moving as if to speak, but no words came out.
Staring at his hesitant expression, Tsunade froze. Her smile slowly faded, replaced by growing apprehension.
Just as she was about to ask, Orochimaru raised his tightly clenched fist, opening his palm to reveal a green, prism-shaped necklace.
Tsunade froze.
This...
This necklace looks so familiar.
Why does it look exactly like the one I gave Nawaki?
When did Orochimaru get a fake necklace?
Fixing her gaze on the necklace, she stood there, motionless.
For a long time...
Her lips twitched into a stiff smile. Abruptly, she slapped Orochimaru's hand, sending the necklace flying.
"What... what are you doing... where did you get such a convincing... fake necklace..."
Looking at Tsunade's forced smile and increasingly hollow eyes, Orochimaru finally spoke, his voice hoarse and heavy.
"Tsunade, I'm sorry. Nawaki... Nawaki has... fallen."
Silence.
"Fallen." Two simple words carried the unbearable weight of a lost life.
Staring at Orochimaru's somber face, Tsunade's pupils gradually dimmed.
Nawaki, her little brother, was gone?
No, that can't be true!
It has to be a lie!
That mischievous brat who wouldn't behave, who even got a smutty book from Jiraiya...
It has to be a lie!
Orochimaru, tell me you're lying. Tell me Nawaki put you up to this!
Somebody!
Somebody tell me this is all just a cruel joke!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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