Chapter 22: Lady Orochi
"Right... Jiraiya."
The words hit Jiraiya's heart like a tidal wave.
"What kind of joke is that? I'm just an ordinary ninja, not 'Jiraiya,'" he tried to argue.
But the girl's hand suddenly clamped down on the Oto-nin's shoulder. "Give it up, Jiraiya. I can smell that toad-stink on you from a hundred meters away."
As soon as she spoke, the air in the room froze.
"I knew you were here from the first step you took in Otogakure." The girl slowly drew a kunai from her sleeve, licking the flat of the blade. "Did you really think you could fool me with your Toad Flat-Shadow Control Jutsu?"
Hearing her call out his secret technique, Jiraiya made an instant decision. He broke the jutsu, and a paper-thin version of himself peeled out of the shadow.
The moment he solidified, he slammed one hand to the ground. "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"
The solid floor instantly liquefied into a sucking mud pit. Everything in the office began to sink.
"Same old tricks after all these years." The girl sneered.
She released the captured Oto-nin, leaped upward, and a small snake shot from her sleeve, wrapping tightly around the ceiling's light fixture.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A howling gale erupted from the girl's mouth, blasting directly into the sinking swamp.
The mud was violently thrown back, and the all-consuming swamp was instantly torn open, leaving a clear patch of solid ground. Muddy water streamed down the walls.
Jiraiya hadn't expected her to break his Earth Style so easily. That level of mastery over Wind Style was far beyond any normal shinobi.
That, combined with her calling out his jutsu and her use of snake techniques...
A name surfaced in his mind.
"You're... Orochimaru?"
"Correct. But there's no prize."
Orochimaru dropped lightly from the light fixture, the snake uncoiling and slithering back into her sleeve.
The instant her feet touched the ground, dozens of venomous snakes burst from her cuffs, lunging at Jiraiya.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Jiraiya didn't have time to process why Orochimaru was a girl. He leaped backward, dodging the first wave of the attack.
But the snakes didn't stop. They twisted in mid-air, redirecting their attack.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!"
Jiraiya's white hair instantly hardened and shot outwards, encasing him in a protective, spiky shell, like a porcupine.
The attacking snakes slammed into the hair and were impaled.
"After all these years, your welcoming party is as enthusiastic as ever, Orochimaru." He peered through the gaps in his hair, his eyes locked on her. "But what I really want to know is... what did you do to yourself?"
That question seemed to touch a nerve. A fanatical smile spread across the young woman's face. "What did I do? Why, I'm pursuing a more perfect 'vessel,' of course."
"Look at this body. Isn't it wonderful? Young, full of vitality, and it can perfectly contain my chakra. It's so much stronger than those previous, decaying husks."
"'Vessel'... You're still conducting human experiments!" He instantly understood the truth behind Orochimaru's female form.
Orochimaru had been driven from Konoha for his experiments, and now he—she—was using this method to extend her life. How many more people had become her test subjects?
"Experiments?" Orochimaru's voice dripped with disdain. "Jiraiya, you're still so naive. This isn't an experiment. It's evolution. Only by constantly changing vessels can one escape the shackles of age and death. Only then can one truly touch the secret of eternal life."
"Evolution?" Jiraiya sneered. "Using other people's lives to extend your own, and you have the nerve to call it evolution?"
"Don't make it sound so ugly, Jiraiya." Orochimaru's smile stretched wider. "They were willing. To be of use to me was their greatest desire."
"You just saw Kimimaro, didn't you?"
"Orochimaru, you've fallen so low. Now you're even using a child."
"Fallen?" Orochimaru's smile vanished. "Jiraiya, you just don't get it. For Kimimaro, offering his entire being to me is the honor of his lifetime. Unlike some people, who possess great power but are constantly held back by 'justice,' only to watch as everyone around them dies, one by one."
"Jiraiya, you don't understand the truth of this world."
"You think we are high and mighty shinobi?"
"In reality, we're nothing but livestock, raised in a pen. And... the harvest is coming. Don't you know?"
"Harvest? What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?"
Orochimaru studied Jiraiya's reaction. He didn't seem to be one of those who knew about the future. And yet, he had found this place. It was puzzling.
In her memory, this Otogakure base wasn't exposed until after the Konoha Crush plan.
Before then, no one should have known it existed.
But Jiraiya was here, and his objective was clear: to find her.
There was only one explanation. Someone had told him her location.
And based on their brief fight, Jiraiya had been entirely on the defensive. The few jutsu he'd used were all meant to restrain, not harm.
In that case... "Spit it out, Jiraiya," Orochimaru said. "Who sent you to find me? A fool like you could never have found me on your own."
Jiraiya hadn't expected Orochimaru to deduce his motive after just a few exchanges.
He shrugged, feigning casualness. "Hey, hey, Orochimaru, that's hurtful. Can't I just have been 'passing by' and decided to look up an old friend?"
"Passing by? Jiraiya, your lying is as clumsy as ever. You look like a clown on a stage."
Jiraiya's face froze. Him, the Great Toad Sage, being called a clown performing for laughs.
"Ah, well. I guess I can't fool you." He held up his hands. "But... why don't you guess who sent me?"
Orochimaru said, "The only person who could make you, a wandering lecher, abandon the girls at the bar and come all the way to Otogakure to find me... who else could it be but Tsunade?"
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You seem to know her pretty well."
"Hmph," Orochimaru snorted. "The only people in this world I truly understand are you and Tsunade."
"So, what does she want? If you don't have a very good reason, you're not leaving here today."
Jiraiya gave an awkward laugh. "I don't know. But she sent this letter. Take a look."
He took out the secret letter from Tsunade and tossed it over.
"I see." Orochimaru glanced at the letter and slipped it into her robe.
In an instant, a thousand thoughts raced through her mind.
Why did Tsunade return to Konoha early? Why did she know my location? Why does she want to bring me... back to Konoha?
Because Tsunade... also has her memories of the future.