"Stop laughing."
Orochimaru shot Tsunade a cold glare, though the corners of her mouth only lifted higher. She was laughing openly, completely unrestrained, her shoulders shaking as if she had just seen the funniest thing in the entire shinobi world. Orochimaru removed his forehead protector, double-checked that it wasn't upside down this time, and put it back on with stiff movements.
When Tsunade saw his seriousness, she burst into even louder laughter.
Orochimaru's face darkened. "I've never worn a forehead protector before. It's completely normal to put it on wrong the first time, isn't it?"
The humiliation of his very first experience wearing it backward wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.
---
Author's Commentary (Rewritten Clean Version)
I truly can't bring myself to write the Blood Prison storyline. The idea that the Sage of Six Paths—one of the greatest figures in shinobi history—would create something as absurd as the Box of Ultimate Bliss is completely nonsensical. Are we supposed to believe the Sage suddenly went senile in old age and created a world-destroying wish-granting box for… fun? Absolutely not.
This box doesn't grant wishes.
It brings ruin.
Except for the fight scenes, the entire Blood Prison movie contradicts established lore. My original plan involved writing an arc about Ghost Lantern Castle; earlier chapters even referenced it. But the more I thought about it, the more illogical it felt.
Kusagakure supposedly existed before the shinobi village system? Then does that mean the founders of the system—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara—were just copying the Grass Village? Completely ridiculous.
Even more absurd is the ending, where Killer Bee, fully transformed into the Eight-Tails, simply throws the Box of Ultimate Bliss into the sea. If something is sealed, is throwing it into the ocean really a valid solution?
Garbage writing, full of contradictions.
---
Back to the Story
"Ahead is the border of the Land of Fire. Once we cross, we'll be in the Land of Grass."
Perched on a large tree branch, Tsunade scanned the horizon. Orochimaru, standing beside her, suddenly narrowed his eyes. She immediately sensed something was off.
"Orochimaru? What is it?"
"There's an ambush," he answered calmly. "Fifteen in total—positions at twelve, nine, and one o'clock."
Tsunade immediately tensed. She opened her mouth to volunteer to take them down herself, but Orochimaru looked at her with a warning gaze. She shrank her neck like a scolded child and wisely shut her mouth.
"If there's an ambush waiting specifically for us… it means someone leaked our route," Tsunade muttered, frowning. "There's no way the leak came from Konoha. Which means it had to be Kusagakure."
"Use Shadow Clones to flush them out and check what kind of traps they've set."
Orochimaru wasn't fond of using Shadow Clones. He already had many performing research tasks, meaning using more would deplete his chakra faster.
"Okay, my love," Tsunade replied with a grin.
"Earth Style: Tremor—Shatter!"
Their clones stepped across the border—and immediately the trap was sprung. The ground violently convulsed, cracking open like the surface of a splitting glacier. Sharp pillars of earth shot upward from below, laced with exploding tags hidden between the stone spikes.
So they had predicted their route and set traps in advance.
Meaning the information about their trip to Kusagakure definitely came from a leak within the Grass Village.
Orochimaru leapt skyward, swiftly pulling Tsunade with a wire after throwing a kunai to anchor his movement. The hail of kunai and shuriken came from every direction, followed by massive boulders created by Earth Release: Rock Bullet Jutsu.
"Dispel the Shadow Clones," Orochimaru said quietly. No point wasting chakra on them now.
Tsunade nodded and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What?! Shadow Clones?!" the Hidden Stone shinobi exclaimed, alarmed.
They instantly understood—they had been discovered.
"İyi değil, ifşa olduk! Geri çekilin!"
"We've been exposed! Retreat!"
Their intel had indicated that a Medical Ninja from Konoha would be traveling to the Land of Grass, accompanied only by minimal protection. They hadn't expected a highly skilled sensory ninja with her. Since their mission wasn't to kill the medical-nin at all costs, they could only retreat after their ambush failed.
"Water Release: Four-Sided Water Wall!"
Four rising walls of spinning water formed a rotating cube-like barrier.
"You Hidden Stone bastards think we'll let you go so easily?!" Tsunade snarled. They had tried to take her life—she had no intention of showing mercy.
"Lightning Style!"
Orochimaru gathered lightning chakra in his hand. The water walls became electrified, erupting into crackling arcs of lightning. Thunder roared, drowning out the agonized screams of the Hidden Stone shinobi trapped inside.
When the barrier finally dissolved, their corpses floated in the drenched earth.
Tsunade exhaled slowly. "Orochimaru… are we still going to Kusagakure? This leak is too dangerous."
"The leak came from a Hidden Stone intelligence agent stationed inside Kusagakure," Orochimaru said coldly. "At our current pace, we should arrive by nightfall. Once there, I'll claim to be your bodyguard—Masked Serpent. And you'll be Lady Xiao Gang, the medical-nin."
He produced a white mask, revealing only his golden eyes once he put it on. His white robe was replaced by a black trench coat, giving him the appearance of an ANBU operative.
"You're planning to find the spy, aren't you?" Tsunade said, instantly understanding.
"Correct. I won't ignore this." His voice was frosty. "Had Lord Sarutobi not assigned you to this mission, you know what would've happened to the real medical-nin. And if you hadn't noticed the ambush earlier, you might have been injured."
Tsunade clenched her fists. "Then let's finish this."
"Before we enter Kusagakure, remember to use Transformation Jutsu."
"Do I look like a child to you? I know!"
She glared at him indignantly. Orochimaru simply looked amused.
---
Night fell. A cool wind swept across the grassy plains, rustling the long blades as they swayed like waves in the moonlight.
Meanwhile, Kusagakure's hospital was in chaos.
Shinobi lay everywhere, groaning in pain, their skin pale and bodies trembling violently. Many had already succumbed, dying with faces twisted in agony.
"Has Konoha's medical support arrived yet?!"
Medical-nin frantically crushed herbs with mortars, desperately trying to craft antidotes. But the poison of Hanzō and his salamander, Ibuse, was too potent. Even those receiving treatment were collapsing, dying shortly after.
The Village Headman—Kusa Minoru—ran to the gates the moment Tsunade and Orochimaru arrived.
"I am Kusa Minoru, Village Headman of Kusagakure. You must be the medical-nin sent by Konoha?" he asked, though his eyes held clear doubt. Tsunade looked too young for someone with advanced medical experience.
"Are you questioning Lady Xiao Gang's competence?" Orochimaru snapped sharply, masking his voice to sound neutral and emotionless. "There is no one more skilled in medical-ninjutsu in all of Konoha! And this is how Kusagakure treats someone who came all this way to save your people?"
Tsunade added casually, "He said in Konoha. Not from Konoha. Since Orochimaru isn't currently in the village, I am the most skilled one there."
The Headman bowed hurriedly. "My apologies! Please, this way!"
He escorted them to the cramped, overflowing hospital. The smell of herbs and poison filled the air.
"So many poisoned… this is worse than I expected," Tsunade muttered. She approached a medical-nin. "Bring me the toxin analysis. Now."
The young medic scrambled to obey. "Y-yes!"
Tsunade scanned the data with swift, expert eyes. "Prepare the antidote immediately!"
Rolling up her sleeves, she entered full professional mode.
Orochimaru watched with surprise. He had never seen this side of her—confident, authoritative, completely focused. Until now, Tsunade had always acted childishly around him.
He hadn't realized she had grown up.
He smiled faintly. "Lady Xiao Gang, call if you need anything."
A Kusagakure shinobi frowned at him. "Aren't you going to assist?"
"I'm not a medical-nin," Orochimaru replied coolly. "I'm only her guard."
He had no interest in studying poisons he had long surpassed, nor was he motivated to save strangers who held no value to him.
Watching Tsunade command the room reminded him of Grandma Mito. The stern tone, the unwavering authority—it was the same.
"You! Why are you standing still? Fetch the medical supplies I asked for!" Tsunade roared. "Time is life. Move!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
The medics scrambled like frightened rabbits.
---
Later, at the inn arranged for them—the best in Kusagakure—Orochimaru laid on the tatami. Hundreds of kikaichū silently crawled from beneath his sleeves and flew out the window, dispersing through the village.
They carried one mission:
Locate the Hidden Stone intelligence agent.
And once Orochimaru found them…
They wouldn't live to report anything ever again.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)