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"Oh, is everyone waiting for me?", Orochimaru said with a faint smile on his face, though inwardly he felt quite surprised. He didn't know how his whereabouts had been discovered.
And, why are those two Uzumaki here as well?
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly. The moment he saw Wujie and Karin, his mood immediately soured.
Because the huge scene those two Uzumaki caused during the Konoha Crush had practically stolen all the limelight.
Although Orochimaru didn't particularly care about this, the feeling of having his achievement usurped still made him somewhat unhappy. Especially since some brainless people believed the mastermind behind the Konoha Crush wasn't him, Orochimaru, but those two Uzumaki brats!
But what worried Orochimaru the most was actually seeing the Uzumaki, who had attacked Konoha twice, peacefully interacting with Tsunade right now!
Orochimaru didn't know if they had already reached some agreement. This feeling of the situation gradually slipping out of control made him very uncomfortable.
Tsunade's gaze towards Orochimaru turned cold, just like when she first met Wujie and Karin. She then sneered, "So it's Orochimaru. It really has been a long time. Your complexion doesn't look too good. Is it because you lost something important?"
Orochimaru didn't pay attention to Tsunade's sarcasm. After all, he had already fulfilled his long-standing wish, successfully killing his teacher. It was just that the price was somewhat hard for him to accept. "Heheh, truly worthy of the person standing at the pinnacle of medical ninjutsu. Since you've already seen it, then surely you have a way to treat it, right?"
Tsunade waved her hand in refusal without even thinking. "No. And I don't meddle in these kinds of things anymore. All disputes in the ninja world have nothing to do with me. I've been retired for so many years; why still come looking for me now?"
Kabuto Yakushi immediately stepped forward to persuade, "Lady Tsunade, please don't be modest. We've already had many people look at this injury, but everyone was helpless. Only you, famed throughout the world for your medical ninjutsu, possess the ability to heal Lord Orochimaru. Please, for the sake of being fellow Legendary Sannin, you must help us."
Tsunade sized up Kabuto Yakushi, finding she had no impression of him. She asked, "And who might you be?"
Kabuto said humbly, "I am merely a medical ninja serving Lord Orochimaru. Not someone worth mentioning."
After Kabuto finished speaking, Wujie interjected with a smile, "He is Kabuto Yakushi. One of the orphans adopted by the traveling shrine maiden Yakushi Nonō after her retirement. Previously threatened by Danzo, served as an ace spy in Root for a period. Later followed Orochimaru and caused quite a bit of trouble. You absolutely must not underestimate him. He is Orochimaru's right-hand man, possessing biotechnology skills among the most cutting-edge in the entire ninja world. And whether in terms of skill or intellect, he wouldn't lose to that Hatake Kakashi. If you're not careful, you could suffer a great loss at his hands."
After Wujie finished speaking, everyone looked at him.
Shizune felt impressed but didn't fully understand. Tsunade wondered, 'How do you know everything?' Orochimaru had a playful look, his thoughts unknown. And Kabuto Yakushi...
His brow was furrowed tightly together. Just as Wujie said, he was once an ace spy.
And as an ace, he had naturally long since erased all traces of his existence cleanly. Besides those personally involved back then, no one could possibly obtain this information from other sources.
But among those personally involved back then, besides Orochimaru, only Danzo remained. Could Danzo have spread this?
But why would he do that?
Orochimaru took over the conversation, deciding to probe, "Heheh, the last Uzumaki, hmm? I heard you caused quite a bit more trouble in Konoha later. Abducting the One-Tail Jinchuriki, blowing up the Hokage Rock. And not just Nara Shikaku, even his son died at your hands. The bloody deeds you committed within this one month, even I have to admit inferiority."
Wujie replied with a smile, "Mister Orochimaru praises too much. This was all thanks to you. Without your Konoha Crush plan, our actions couldn't possibly have gone so smoothly."
This remark made Orochimaru somewhat unhappy, but he noticed that when Tsunade heard these things, although she showed a degree of disgust, that was about it.
Sure enough, the Uzumaki have already reached some unknown agreement with Tsunade!
Things seem to have become complicated.
"Heheh," Orochimaru gave a dry laugh, then said, "If you truly want to thank me, then why not help me persuade Tsunade?"
Wujie spread his hands, indicating he couldn't do it. "No one can sway Lady Tsunade's will. Since you feel the reward is generous, why not state it first for us to hear? Wouldn't you agree, Lady Tsunade?"
"There's no room for children to speak here," Tsunade glanced sideways at Wujie. Wujie immediately made a zipping motion across his lips.
Subsequently, she looked towards Orochimaru again, saying impatiently, "I've already said it, I stopped meddling in these matters long ago. No matter how generous your reward, it has nothing to do with me. Orochimaru, please leave. I'm not in the mood to reminisce with you right now."
However, a confident smile appeared on Orochimaru's face. As fellow Legendary Sannin, he naturally knew what Tsunade valued most. "Heheh, then, even if I could revive your most beloved younger brother and lover, does this... also have nothing to do with you?"
Tsunade abruptly lifted her head. She hadn't specifically inquired about news from Konoha, so she didn't know the details of the battle between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, and naturally didn't know Orochimaru already possessed the ability to pull the dead back from the Pure Land.
"Well now, does it concern you this time? Don't you want to make up for your regrets? After all, those two people were killed by you yourself."
Actually, the deaths of those two had nothing to do with Tsunade. It was just that before they went onto the battlefield, Tsunade had given the ancestral necklace to both of them, hoping the necklace could protect them.
But as a result, everyone who received the necklace died consecutively in battle. Tsunade blamed herself, believing she had caused their deaths.
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Tsunade's brow furrowed tightly.
Whether painful or beautiful, those memories had never appeared so vividly in her mind before. She...
Could she really see those two people again?
Dan, Nawaki...
Her eyes began to struggle.
Seeing Tsunade's state, Shizune immediately became anxious. She certainly knew how important those two people were to Tsunade, but she absolutely didn't believe Orochimaru would keep his promise!
"Lady Tsunade! Please calm down! Orochimaru's purpose is definitely not pure! Besides, bringing the dead back to the world of the living, that kind of thing is unheard of!"
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Never heard of it only proves your ignorance. Lord Orochimaru used precisely this jutsu to kill the Third Hokage."
Tsunade pursed her lips. She asked Orochimaru with some difficulty, "If your hands are healed, what do you plan to do?"
She was already hesitating!
However, Wujie wasn't concerned about this. What Orochimaru lost was his soul²², unrelated to his physical body. No medical ninjutsu could heal him. Only the Reaper Death Seal: Release²³ in Wujie's hands was the sole method capable of healing him.
Orochimaru let out a sinister laugh. "I hate lying, so let me be honest. I will use them to seize what I desire most. And incidentally... destroy Konoha again."
Wujie silently raised his hand at this moment, waving it before Tsunade's face.
Tsunade, already extremely conflicted, now felt as if choked. She expended great effort to bite out a single word from her throat, "Speak!"
Receiving permission, Wujie smiled and said, "Presumably everyone already knows our objective. Therefore, until a certain number of ninja have died, I will not allow Konoha to be destroyed. Lady Tsunade can rest assured on this point. If Mister Orochimaru makes a move against Konoha, I will go stop him."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. He somewhat couldn't figure out what these two Uzumaki really wanted to do. The words the other party just spoke were clearly helping him dispel Tsunade's concerns.
He had originally thought the two brats were here to stop him, but now it didn't seem quite like that.
Wujie's objective was actually very simple. He just wanted to sell those hands to Orochimaru at the highest price when Orochimaru felt most desperate.
"Lady Tsunade...", Shizune looked at her worriedly. Tsunade remained silent for a long while without replying.
Orochimaru sensed the situation might not be favorable and preemptively said, "Heheh, no need to rush the answer first. We still have some time. I will come again in a week to hear your answer."
Shizune watched Orochimaru and Kabuto leave warily. She was just about to say something when Tsunade shook her head. "Shizune, let's go back first. Let me think carefully."
"Lady Tsunade," Shizune looked at Tsunade's lonely back and could only follow.
Wujie and Karin didn't leave but continued cultivating until evening. Since Orochimaru had appeared, it meant Jiraiya certainly wasn't far away either.
Whether Tsunade could be prevented from returning to Konoha depended entirely on the developments in the next few days. So they also had to quickly obtain strength sufficient for self-preservation.
By the time Wujie and Karin returned to Tanzaku Quarters, the sky had already almost completely darkened. The two were walking down the street when an angry voice suddenly came from behind them.
"It's you!!!! I absolutely cannot forgive you!!!!"
Wujie turned his head to look. Naruto²⁵, still carrying a large backpack, suddenly rushed out. He leaped abruptly, his fist smashing towards Wujie's face!
Karin didn't hesitate, meeting his fist with her own!
BANG!!!
The two fists collided fiercely! Subsequently, Naruto, carried by a fierce wind, flew even faster swoosh towards the end of the street.
Karin said apologetically, "Sorry, Brother Wujie. I was focused on cultivating and forgot to activate Kagura Mind's Eye."
Wujie shook his head. "Activating Kagura Mind's Eye is also very mentally taxing. You've been very tired these past few days. However, since Orochimaru and Jiraiya have both appeared now, you can rest for a period."