"Tsunade, the curse mark on your face?!"
The corner of Tsunade's mouth lifted slightly, forming a faint curve.
"It's something Kairen gave me, allowing me to possess the power of a sage."
In the Sage state, Tsunade was more than twice as strong as before.
She could even sense the vast life force within her body. If guided properly, it might even be possible to synthesize Wood Release.
Orochimaru said coldly, "That brat!"
He had studied science his entire life, yet still couldn't comprehend the miracle surrounding Kairen.
The heavens truly favored him too much.
So much so that Orochimaru was consumed by jealousy and desperately wanted to obtain his body.
Thinking of the twists in the battle situation, Orochimaru had to speed things up.
He said coldly, "Tsunade, you're not the only one making rapid progress!"
"Now, I'll let you see—"
"Roar—"
A massive roar thundered forth, deafening the ears, like thunder from the nine heavens.
Orochimaru and Tsunade both turned toward the source of the roar. A gigantic orange-yellow fox threw its head back and howled, as if proclaiming the resentment it had harbored through years of sealing.
Orochimaru's pupils shrank. "The Nine-Tails!! Wasn't it sealed?!"
Tsunade clenched her fists, bones cracking audibly.
"Orochimaru, you're preparing to deal with Kairen, and we're preparing to deal with you!"
"Who will have the last laugh is still unclear!"
Orochimaru gritted his teeth. "Tsunade, I'll completely eliminate you!"
A loud, clear voice rang out.
"Orochimaru, Tsunade, stop fighting! If there's something going on, we can all sit down and talk!"
Jiraiya's voice descended from the sky, accompanied by Gamahiro.
Tsunade shot Jiraiya a cold look.
"Jiraiya, from today onward, the Sannin are officially split."
Jiraiya tried to dissuade her. "Tsunade! Don't say things so absolutely!"
Tsunade let out a cold laugh. "Do you know Sarutobi's secret? Back then…"
"My second grandfather signed a treaty with Kumogakure. On the way back, he was ambushed by the Gold and Silver Brothers' unit. At that time, someone had to stay behind to cover the retreat."
"My second grandfather was the Hokage. Of course he couldn't cling to life ignobly. But even so, how could the Gold and Silver Brothers' unit possibly kill someone who possessed the Flying Thunder God?"
Jiraiya was confused. "What are you trying to say?"
Tsunade spat out a few cold words.
"Because he was betrayed. Sarutobi—and Danzo—poisoned my second grandfather together, making him unable to refine chakra, and in the end he died in battle."
Jiraiya shook his head vigorously.
"Impossible. Sarutobi-sensei isn't that kind of person. Besides, Sarutobi-sensei had no basis to frame the Second Hokage!"
"Haha…" Tsunade laughed twice.
"Basis?!"
"Isn't power the best proof? After my second grandfather died, he became the Hokage. The entire village's direction was decided by those four people."
Jiraiya continued to argue. "That's just your one-sided claim. There's no evidence!"
Orochimaru remained silent, occasionally letting out a cold chuckle.
It seemed Jiraiya was still as naïve as he had been in childhood.
Tsunade pulled a notebook from her pocket and tossed it to Jiraiya.
"This is an important secret found in Root, written personally by Danzo. Read it before you say anything else!"
Jiraiya caught it and hurriedly flipped open the aged pages.
What came into view was the distant past.
Jiraiya's pupils shrank tighter and tighter. The further he read, the more he understood the darkness within the village.
At the top were not only secrets about plotting the murder of the Second Hokage, but also the deaths of Nawaki, Kato Dan, the castration of the Senju family, the death of White Fang…
And finally, plans concerning the future handling of the Uchiha clan.
The village did not intend to heavily employ them, instead preparing to wait for an opportunity to eliminate them all.
And also… also…
Jiraiya's face grew increasingly pale. His illness hadn't fully healed, and now his breathing became somewhat labored.
Jiraiya did not suspect the notebook was forged.
All the secrets had clear beginnings and ends. Combined with those half-finished incidents, nine times out of ten, it was all true.
"Sarutobi-sensei?!"
The once kind elder in Jiraiya's heart had completely collapsed.
Jiraiya turned to look at Orochimaru, who wore a gloomy smile.
"Orochimaru, is Sarutobi-sensei really that kind of person?"
Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh. "So what if he is? So what if he isn't?"
Jiraiya fell silent, then suddenly asked Orochimaru,
"Orochimaru, is this face of yours also a disguise?"
Orochimaru once again played the philosopher.
"Doesn't everyone living in this world wear a mask?"
The Sannin had seemingly split, and Orochimaru stopped pretending.
"I'll tell you the truth! My heart… has long since ceased to be human. I want to learn more Nin techniques. I want immortality. For that… I can use any means necessary!"
Jiraiya stared at Orochimaru, who had laid bare his true self.
"Orochimaru, you—!"
Orochimaru leapt backward, landing atop Manda's head, widening the distance between himself and Jiraiya.
Snake, toad, slug.
Standing in three different directions, as if fate had long since decreed it.
"Tsunade is right. We Sannin may seem like a single group, but from the very beginning, there was a deep rift running through the middle."
"Snakes eat toads, toads eat slugs, and slugs dissolve snakes."
"What was meant to come will come eventually—only a bit earlier."
"To borrow Tsunade's words, from today onward, we are no longer the Sannin."
"After obtaining Kairen's body, I will leave the village and find a place to research the secret of immortality."
Orochimaru was talking more than usual—this wasn't his normal style.
But since Tsunade had laid everything bare, he might as well shed his own snake skin and let Jiraiya, this naïve fellow, see clearly!
"The Sannin are split!"
A wave of sharp pain surged from Jiraiya's chest—his injuries acting up. Physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in his heart.
"Has everyone been deceiving me?"
Seeing how pitiful Jiraiya looked, Tsunade said, "Jiraiya, perhaps you should wander the ninja world. Your personality isn't suited to accepting this kind of dark struggle for power."
Jiraiya fell silent. Suddenly, a sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
"I'm going to find Sarutobi-sensei. I want to ask him… is power really that important?!"
...
At the central street of Konoha Village, Kairen's Shadow Clones acted as firefighters, evacuating all the villagers.
Wherever the royal army passed, the people greeted them with baskets of food and jugs of drink.
"Sarutobi really is trash—going to war and not telling me a damn thing. You rebel guys have real loyalty; I'm defecting!"
...
The big-hearted Kushina ordered five hundred axe-wielding Kairens.
"Come with me! Take down Konoha's core—Iciraku Ramen!"
"Follow Kushina, and you'll never worry about food or drink!"
"That's right, follow Kushina for zero-cost shopping!"
Kushina charged ahead, sweeping through the streets, relying on superior numbers to grab everything she'd always wanted.
Mikoto watched from behind, her face twitching.
"Kushina, you're ruining Minato's reputation!"
"What's there to worry about? The owner already ran off."
"Besides, after today, the banners on the city walls will change. I'll be one of the most influential people, and Minato will have to look at me with new respect!"