Gisei Shiraishi felt the mountain-like force radiating from that incoming fist and sneered.
"Using the acceleration method I taught you to deal with me? Naive!"
He suddenly erupted with chakra, his palm shrinking back rapidly. Then, he slapped forward to meet Tsunade's fist, lightly spitting out a single word:
"Collapse!" (Hōkai!)
Tsunade originally thought Gisei was pulling back because he was overwhelmed by her strength.
Who knew that when Gisei's palm slapped forward again, a strange force would travel directly along her fist, up her arm, until—with a soft crack at the shoulder—Tsunade was sent flying backward.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" (Sen'ei Jashu!)
Orochimaru extended his hand, and several thick snakes shot out from his sleeve, wrapping around Tsunade to catch her and gently place her on the ground.
As soon as she landed, Tsunade checked her shoulder. Discovering it was only dislocated, she gritted her teeth and applied a sharp force with her other hand.
Crack. The dislocated arm was reset to its original position.
Gritting her teeth, Tsunade prepared to charge again, but Orochimaru stopped her.
"Sensei didn't send us here to fight."
After holding Tsunade back, Orochimaru stared fixedly at Gisei and sneered. "Your strength has always been a mystery; even Sakumo Hatake couldn't see through it."
"A momentary contact made Tsunade suffer a loss in the very area she is most proud of—her strength."
"Can you tell me your true level? I'm really too curious."
"What kind of confidence allows you to commit such acts, stupid as a pig?"
Stupid as a pig?
Gisei stared at Orochimaru and took a step forward, tempted to make a move. But after thinking about it, he decided against it.
"How would a stinking snake crawling on the ground know the taste of flying into the sky?"
If it was a war of words, Gisei was more than happy to accompany him to the end.
Hearing the two start bickering, Tsunade huffed coldly and turned to leave directly.
Orochimaru's face was gloomy as he watched Tsunade walk away. Then he turned back to Gisei. "Do you really know what you are doing?"
"This is a matter within my clan. Even the Hokage cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a ninja clan."
"There should be a limit to stupidity. Even if you have an overwhelming advantage in strength, don't forget that the Hokage is the Hokage; he controls the economic lifeline of all ninja clans."
Gisei frowned.
All mission assignments in the village were decided by the Hokage, and even the financial appropriations from the Daimyo were controlled by him.
Gisei couldn't even touch these benefits unless he became the Hokage himself.
Should I contact the Daimyo?
Thoughts spun in Gisei's mind, but his mouth remained unyielding. "So what? I don't believe he dares to cut off a ninja clan's source of income."
"He can cut off your clan's source of income."
"Do you think over a dozen ninja clans can't support a mere two hundred or so people?"
"You expect other ninja clans to support you for a lifetime?"
Gisei curled his lips, roughly understanding the Third's strategy.
First, let Orochimaru threaten him. Then, when the two met later, the Third would offer him some benefits. As long as he accepted the benefits, he would have to agree to the conditions.
Maybe the Third even deliberately let Tsunade come along. He knew Tsunade's temper very well, and using her to test Gisei's strength was simply the best option.
It's really too boring.
Having figured it out, Gisei smacked his lips but didn't expose the game. Instead, he decided to use Orochimaru to probe the Third's intentions further.
"That is my business. What exactly does the Third mean by sending you here?"
Orochimaru held up two fingers. "Clan school. The Longevity Monument is not something a ninja clan should do."
"What if I insist on doing it?"
"I don't want to be your enemy."
The corner of Gisei's mouth twitched, and his gaze toward Orochimaru filled with playfulness.
"This doesn't sound like something a Hokage's disciple should say. Or is it that you care about me, your desk mate?"
Orochimaru's expression became very strange. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Before, I envied you for having a good background. Now, you have become very pitiful."
Gisei blinked and pointed at himself. "Envying me and pitying me? Orochimaru, you've become very strange."
"I investigated some things. I have a rough idea of the reason for your clan's decline. It was because of the Second Hokage, right?"
Gisei stopped talking.
"After the Ninja World War, your parents died in an ordinary mission. I'm not wrong, am I?"
Gisei stared deathly at Orochimaru. If it were anyone else daring to uncover his scars, he would definitely make that guy suffer.
But today's Orochimaru was very strange, so he actually wanted to hear what the snake had to say.
Seeing this expression on Gisei, Orochimaru became excited, sticking out his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth.
"Of course, your parents were able to survive the Ninja World War, so they must have been experts. Dying in an ordinary mission is absolutely unreasonable."
"I looked at that mission. Uchiha, right? Not just Uchiha, there must have been other people involved."
Orochimaru began to hiss like a snake, leaning into Gisei's ear and whispering softly, "I can tell you that Danzo was also involved."
"Orochimaru, do you think I couldn't guess something like that?"
Orochimaru's smile became even more brilliant.
"So you want revenge, right? Danzo has always rejected you because of this matter, and you also hold a grudge against him. This is the reason for the rupture in your relationship with the village."
"You don't trust the village's higher-ups, and the higher-ups don't trust you. If this situation continues, perhaps you can survive, but it's hard to say for those clansmen of yours."
Gisei's face turned unfriendly. "Are you threatening me?"
"This isn't a threat, it's the truth. Danzo has already started to act."
It wasn't strange that Danzo would do something; what was strange was why Orochimaru was telling him this news.
"Orochimaru, if you have something to say, just say it. No need to beat around the bush."
Orochimaru finally revealed his fangs. "I am very interested in you, and those ninja clans behind you."
Gisei's face turned weird. After a long while, he began to laugh maniacally.
"Orochimaru, are you trying to make me join you?"
"On what basis?! The status of 'Hokage's disciple' is far from enough! And your strength is also far too lacking!"
Gisei began to erupt with chakra frantically.
Almost instantly, Orochimaru's expression changed. He had never seen such an immense amount of chakra!
Seeing Orochimaru's expression change drastically, Gisei sneered and stopped the outburst.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he wore an arrogant expression.
Orochimaru's face was gloomy, almost dripping water.
"Indeed, you are currently ahead of me, but don't think I will always be behind you."
"I'm not asking you to join me; I think we can cooperate."
Gisei narrowed his eyes. "Cooperate how?"
"Support me to become Hokage, and I will give you everything you want."
"Even the lives of those few higher-ups?"
"Of course."
"Orochimaru, are you treating me like a child?"
"I will show my sincerity. How about I give you intelligence on Danzo? With your current strength, killing him should be easy, right?"
Intelligence on Danzo?
Gisei finally began to take Orochimaru seriously.