A New Snake In The Shinobi World

Tsunade's timing was remarkably fortunate. During this period, Orochimaru happened to be staying in the Sound Ninja Village to focus on some of his research.

This coincidence led her straight to him. However… save the village?

Hearing her request, Orochimaru paused for a moment before smirking. "Haven't I already been trying to save you? This Land of Forests… who knows what they were thinking, coming to attack my village?"

"If it weren't for wanting to conserve resources, I wouldn't even have bothered with a small country like theirs, with less than a thousand ninjas…"

The Land of Forests had a mere few hundred ninjas in total, hardly a threat to the Sound Ninja Village. If Chana hadn't been cautious and avoided acting without orders, the Land of Forests would likely have already been annihilated by now.

"Orochimaru, what are you talking about?" Tsunade asked, her confusion evident.

"What's wrong?" Orochimaru replied, feigning ignorance.

"I'm asking you to save Konoha! Save Konoha! The village is—"

"Tsunade."

"How Konoha is doing right now has nothing to do with me," Orochimaru interrupted her, his tone calm and detached.

As he spoke, he began walking slowly toward Sound Ninja Village. Tsunade hurried to follow, her emotions still in turmoil.

"Right now, as long as you're fine, nothing else matters in Konoha," Orochimaru continued casually. "Oh, and maybe if Jiraiya gets himself into trouble, I might save him, if I feel like it. But as for everyone else? Honestly, they're not worth mentioning."

"But… what about—"

"Don't bring him up," Orochimaru said sharply, raising a hand to cut her off. "Whatever I owed him, I've already paid back in full."

"Orochimaru! Don't you feel anything for the village at all?" Tsunade's voice trembled, her frustration spilling over.

She had prepared herself to be rejected, but hearing it so bluntly still stung deeply.

"Feelings for the village?" Orochimaru repeated mockingly, glancing at her. "You must be joking. I've already told you, aside from you, nothing in Konoha matters to me."

"If you're worried about your little brother, Nawaki, because you think you're not strong enough, I can help with that. After all, we've been husband and wife for so many years." His smirk widened slightly. "But if you're asking me to save Konoha? Sorry, I'm not interested."

"Help me?" Tsunade froze, confusion flickering across her face.

She knew Orochimaru had the ability to merge with and replicate others' bloodline limits, it was one of his most closely guarded secrets. But she had no idea he could grant those powers to someone else.

"What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly.

Orochimaru's smile remained unchanged. "What, you really thought you awakened your Wood Release naturally?"

"You mean…" Tsunade's voice faltered, disbelief written all over her face.

Back then, Orochimaru had given her a potion, explaining that her Senju bloodline had dormant potential he could awaken. She had trusted him, believing it was merely a matter of unlocking her latent abilities.

But now… was the power she'd been using all this time actually Hashirama's? Orochimaru's experiments?

This man…

"Enough about that for now," Orochimaru said, waving a hand dismissively. "The point is, if there's an ability you want, just let me know. Do you want Magnet Release? The Sharingan? Oh, and I recently found a girl in the Land of Sound with Crystal Release in her genes. I can give you a dose of that, too, if you like."

"What? I don't want any of your powers!" Tsunade snapped, her frustration boiling over.

She realized he was deliberately trying to change the subject and wasn't about to let him get away with it.

Now wasn't the time to marvel at Orochimaru's abilities. Strengthening one or two individuals wouldn't change the fact that Konoha was under siege by four major ninja villages.

Even if she and one or two others became as powerful as Orochimaru, it would only affect a handful of battles. It couldn't turn the tide of a war of this scale.

"Don't want my power? Fine," Orochimaru said with a faint chuckle. "Honestly, with your current strength, even if Konoha is destroyed, you'll survive just fine."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Orochimaru, stop dodging the question!" Tsunade's voice cracked, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "I'm begging you. My grandfather built that village, I can't just stand by and watch it fall!"

"Now the four major ninja villages are closing in on Konoha. For the sake of our relationship… can't you—"

"Enough, Tsunade!" Orochimaru's expression hardened. "Don't try to manipulate me with yourself as a bargaining chip. If you do, I'll lose all respect for you."

Tsunade froze at his words.

"Besides," Orochimaru continued, his tone cold, "this isn't about you. The decisions that led to this were made by them. You shouldn't bear the consequences of their mistakes."

"Can't I at least apologize to you on behalf of the Third Hokage?"

"Apologies don't fix anything," Orochimaru said, his voice sharp.

Tsunade stood silent for a moment, then straightened herself. "Fine. If that's how it is, I'll ask the Third Hokage to come speak to you himself."

Without waiting for his reply, she turned and sprinted toward Konoha.

"Hey, Tsunade, wait—" Orochimaru called after her, but she was already gone.

---

One-third of the Land of Sound had become a battlefield between Kumo ninjas and Konoha forces. It didn't take long for Tsunade to locate Konoha personnel and send a message back to the village.

Within a single day, she had completed a round trip and returned to the Sound Ninja Village, visibly exhausted.

---

In Orochimaru's residence within the Sound Ninja Village, he handed her a cup of tea as she sat down.

"It's already cooled a bit, but it's still warm. Drink."

Tsunade didn't hesitate, taking the cup and draining it in one gulp.

Clink!

She slammed the cup down on the table. "Another."

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow but refilled the cup without complaint.

After finishing the second cup, Tsunade finally spoke. "I rushed back to Konoha from the Iwa defense line, then ran back to the Sound Ninja Village after sending the message… and now I'm back again. I've been running nonstop for days."

"You've certainly been busy," Orochimaru remarked, his tone calm and indifferent. "But you do know that making decisions on your own like this comes with risks, don't you?"

"I know," Tsunade admitted, panting slightly. "But at least you didn't stop me, right?"

"I didn't stop you because I didn't want to dampen your enthusiasm," Orochimaru replied, swirling his tea. "But you should know that for something like this, an apology isn't enough."

He paused, taking a sip before continuing.

"A village like Konoha… it's simply not worth my time."

***

For every 300 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 70+ advanced chapters: /Blownleaves.