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After leaving the base, Tayuya thought carefully for a moment and decided to head to Otogakure first.
Otogakure was the village founded by Orochimaru, and she was very familiar with it. On the other hand, having stayed with Kimimaro for so long, she felt both physically and mentally exhausted.
Chatting with familiar people to relax, and finally posting the request for a medical-nin, would at least mean she had tried her best.
The base wasn't located within Otogakure itself, but it wasn't too far either. After two or three hours, Tayuya arrived back at Otogakure. By then, the sky had already darkened.
Her first stop was the mission assignment guild, where she posted a request for a medical-nin, with a reward starting at one million ryo—although written this way, not just anyone would have the chance to earn this money.
What if a medical-nin was unconvinced?
Just eliminate them.
After all, few medical-nin were any good in a fight.
After handing the mission form to the staff and instructing them to post this request in the Five Great Shinobi Villages as well, Tayuya finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
She also knew that relying on posting a mission to find a highly skilled medical-nin was pretty much hopeless, but she still had to try her luck. What if she "got lucky against all odds"?
Tayuya turned to leave the guild when suddenly a voice came from behind her. "Got a moment?"
"Who's there?" Tayuya tightened her grip on her flute.
Someone had been watching her, and she was completely unaware.
'Who... who is this person!?'
"Don't be nervous, I'm not an enemy." The person dropped the disguise in their voice.
Tayuya remained silent for six or seven seconds before recalling the identity of the voice's owner—Yakushi Kabuto!
"What are you doing here!? Where is Lord Orochimaru?" Tayuya asked in a hushed tone.
"This isn't a suitable place to talk. Can you find a quiet spot?" Kabuto asked.
Tayuya took a deep breath and asked the guild manager for a private room.
The guild manager served tea and snacks, and Tayuya instructed him that no one was to approach the room.
"Alright, what is it you want to say?" Tayuya took a small sip of tea.
Once the manager left, she got straight to the point.
"Please brace yourself," Kabuto adjusted his glasses.
Seeing Kabuto's grave expression, Tayuya placed her teacup on the table. "Go on."
"Lord Orochimaru and Lord Danzō... are likely dead," Kabuto said flatly.
Tayuya's eyes widened, and every muscle in her body seemed to twitch.
"It's true," Kabuto added.
"You—you're full of shit!" Tayuya lunged forward, grabbing Kabuto by the collar. Her bloodshot eyes bored into him. "Tell me why you're saying this! Money? Orochimaru's research!? I'm telling you, no chance!"
"I'm telling the truth!" Kabuto pried Tayuya's hand off. "I advise you to keep your voice down. If others in Otogakure hear, the village might fall into chaos."
Tayuya snorted coldly and sat back down, but her gaze never left Kabuto.
In her understanding, Orochimaru might be defeated, but he would never die.
"What exactly do you mean? Do you find it amusing to deceive me?" Tayuya asked.
"I'll say it again, I'm not deceiving you."
"Not deceiving me!? Hah... then tell me, who could possibly kill Lord Orochimaru?"
"Have you heard of 'Akatsuki'? It's the organization Lord Orochimaru has been serving. Lord Danzō also became a member during his lifetime. You must be wondering, since both Lord Orochimaru and Lord Danzō belonged to Akatsuki, why would they fight Akatsuki to the death? All I can say is, I don't know either. I'm just relaying what I know to you," Kabuto said.
Tayuya clenched her fists, struggling to control her emotions, and gave a stiff nod.
"As a spy, what I excel at is gathering intelligence and disguise. For a period before, I was monitoring Amegakure. Although I didn't enter the village directly, I still knew about major events happening there. After all, just being near Amegakure made it too hard not to know about that incident—Orochimaru used the 'Eight Branches Technique.' The form of the great white serpent was visible even from outside the village. However, the white serpent fell. I disguised myself as a construction worker and entered Amegakure to help rebuild the destroyed houses. The intelligence I obtained was that both Lord Orochimaru and Lord Danzō are dead."
When Kabuto reached this point, his voice choked up slightly, and tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
Seeing Kabuto cry, Tayuya was momentarily at a loss for how to comfort him, even though her own mind was in turmoil.
If Kimimaro found out Orochimaru was dead, he would probably follow him in death.
Thinking of this, an inexplicable sadness also welled up in her heart, and her nose felt sore. "I never knew you and Danzō were so close. Even after all this time, you still can't move past the shadow of his death."
Kabuto, who had been crying, suddenly stopped his tears, looking astonished. "Who told you my relationship with Danzō was good?"
"Huh?" Tayuya was confused by Kabuto's question. "If your relationship with him wasn't good, then why are you crying?"
"A person very dear to me was sent on a mission by Danzō. Only Danzō knew her whereabouts. Tell me, what should I do now that Danzō is dead?" Kabuto said resentfully.
"..."
Tayuya never expected this to be the reason. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.
Kabuto's responses had completely thrown her off.
The two of them stayed in the room for a full ten minutes without a word. Finally, Kabuto stood up from his seat and said, "Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?" Tayuya asked, puzzled.
"You know, this matter has been buried in my heart for over a month, with no one to 'share' it with. Now that I've told you, I feel much better." Kabuto let out a long breath, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"..." Tayuya gave Kabuto the middle finger. "I've never met anyone as disgusting as you."
"Well, as a spy, some of the things I've done even disgust myself," Kabuto said, narrowing his eyes.
Tayuya didn't know how to retort.
Any sharp tongue seemed ineffective against Kabuto. Fuming, she slammed the door on her way out.
The guild hall now had only a few people, either standing in front of the bulletin board looking for suitable missions or at the counter, commissioning or submitting missions.
Seeing Tayuya, a staff member quickly raised his hand and said, "Miss Tayuya, someone has accepted your mission."
"So quickly?" Tayuya found it hard to believe.
She would be furious if just any random person had taken the mission.
"It's this gentleman here," the staff member pointed to the man in front of him.
The man appeared to be around thirty years old, with an average appearance, nothing particularly striking about him.
"So it's you?" Tayuya asked suspiciously.
"That's right," the young man smiled slightly, touching the ring on his index finger. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Yoshida Shin."
Seeing the ring, Tayuya's face instantly turned cold.
She remembered Orochimaru had a ring like that too.
*****
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