"Orochimaru?"
At the entrance of Whirlpool Tide Village, the air suddenly stilled as the two sides met.
Jiraiya stood frozen in place, his trembling pupils reflecting the familiar yet foreign figure of the young man.
Although many years had passed in a flash, his former comrade had long since grown up, no longer resembling the boy he once was.
However, based solely on the unique aura emanating from the other party, and the unchanging look in his eyes, he recognized him immediately.
"You are... Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru's expression was calm. Compared to Jiraiya's astonished and complex expression, he appeared much more composed, simply raising his head slightly and nodding faintly at the two:
"Oh, it's me."
A breeze rustled the leaves, creating a rustling sound.
Tsunade suddenly took a step forward, her dress fluttering, and her hair moving without wind.
Sensing the aura suddenly emanating from Tsunade, Nawaki trembled slightly, somewhat worried, "Um... Sister..."
He reached out, trying to grab his sister's sleeve, but Jiraiya stopped him.
Nawaki raised his head in confusion, only to see his Master shaking his head at him, his face serious.
"You..." Tsunade continued forward, her lowered eyes shrouded in shadow, like dark clouds obscuring the sky, gloomy enough to drip water.
"This..."
With a *"BOOM,"* she shattered the ground with one foot, veins popping out on her fair forehead, her eyes wide open, foreshadowing soaring rage.
In the next instant, she shot up like a Human Tyrannosaurus, raising her fist and attacking Orochimaru.
The gust of wind stirred, slightly ruffling Orochimaru's long hair, but his expression remained indifferent.
"*BOOM!*"
Another loud noise erupted, the ground suddenly bursting apart, kicking up billowing dust!
"Wah wah wah!" A group of Uzumaki clansmen were blasted away by the force. Amidst the red hair flying everywhere, the Corpse of a sea beast was thrown out, landing heavily.
As the dust dissipated with the wind, a large pit with a diameter of more than ten meters appeared in the original spot, the edge of the pit covered with dense cracks.
Tsunade stood in the center of the pit, but there was no one around, not to mention Orochimaru, even the figures of the Uzumaki clansmen were gone.
"Is this supposed to be a long-lost reunion hug?" A low, hoarse voice came from ahead.
Tsunade suddenly raised her head, only to see Orochimaru standing leisurely dozens of meters away, his right hand raised high, dozens of huge vipers gushed out from his wide sleeves, wrapping around the waists of the Uzumaki clansmen, pulling them back behind him.
"This…"
Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly, not shocked by Orochimaru's speed, but with lingering fear.
This punch of hers was completely out of anger, without any regard for the consequences. If she had really injured the Uzumaki clansmen, it was estimated that the mission would have been directly ruined.
"Fortunately..." Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. Past painful experiences proved that he had no way to stop the out-of-control Tsunade except by risking his life.
One afternoon a few years ago, he had peeked at Tsunade's Hot Spring bath, and as a result, he was accidentally noticed by the other party, and Tsunade's Super Strength punch hit his abdomen in anger.
That punch carried a naked, undisguised killing intent, and nothing he said or did could stop it.
The result was broken ribs, the displacement of his internal organs, and he fainted on the spot, only to wake up three months later.
He had been lying in a bed at Hidden Leaf Hospital for a full three months!
Since that time, he never dared to peek at Tsunade taking a bath again, nor did he ever try to stop an angry Tsunade.
"Tsunade, you really are still the same, I don't know if that's fortunate or unfortunate."
Orochimaru licked his lips, his amber vertical pupils flowing with an excited glimmer.
"Shut up, you traitor!"
After he said that, Tsunade immediately leaped out of the pit, the little bit of reason she had recovered vanished, replaced by a bellyful of anger.
Orochimaru scanned her up and down, "Looking at you, even if I were skinned and had my bones crushed, it would be difficult to quell your anger?"
"Skinning and crushing bones, that's not my method." Tsunade pressed her palms together, making a dull collision sound, "I prefer to break your hands and feet, and then tie you back to Hidden Leaf Village!"
"Hahahaha." Orochimaru suddenly laughed loudly, tilting his head, "I'm actually a little curious, why do you hate me so much?"
Tsunade clenched her fists, cracking, "Isn't it because you betrayed us!"
At this time, Jiraiya slowly stepped forward, his tone low, "Orochimaru, you took advantage of the village riots that year, and defected from the village with Hiruko, taking away valuable experimental materials and documents, I remember these accounts clearly."
Orochimaru shook his head and chuckled, "Don't get me wrong, I did betray Hidden Leaf Village, but I didn't betray... you."
"What?"
"Still don't understand what I mean? I mean, you are you, not the appendages of that thing called a village."
As he spoke, Orochimaru's sleeves billowed, and vipers quickly retracted, shrinking into his sleeves and disappearing.
Tsunade looked stunned, then snorted coldly, "Orochimaru, do you know what you're saying?"
"Of course, I know." Orochimaru's eyes were calm, "Leaving Hidden Leaf Village was the most correct choice I ever made."
"You... you..." Jiraiya widened his eyes, such outrageous words made his heart feel stuffy, "Aren't you afraid of failing Master's teachings by doing this? Isn't this betraying the trust of your comrades?"
"Teachings?" Orochimaru's lips curled up, forming a disdainful arc, "To be honest, three years of training with him is not as good as one month of training with that person."
"That person?" Tsunade frowned slightly.
"This has nothing to do with you, and similarly, my leaving Hidden Leaf Village has nothing to do with you."
"Orochimaru, wake up, we are comrades who fought side by side!" Jiraiya's face twisted slightly, "Do you really... really want to sever all ties to the past?"
Orochimaru shook his head, "I don't want to sever ties, nor is it necessary, you ask yourselves, after I left Hidden Leaf Village, have I ever done anything to let you down?"
"This..."
"From the moment you decided to leave the village, you had already let us down, you bastard!" Tsunade's face was gloomy, "You're like this, Nawaki is like this, all of you... have you all been given some kind of bewitching potion!"
"If you really care about this..." Orochimaru's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but think of the scenes of the Ryuchi Cave trial, slowly raising his palm, as if to hold someone's hand.
"...Why don't you come over too."
This time, in front of him was not Tagorihime's illusion, but the genuine, former comrades.
Jiraiya was stunned, stiffening inch by inch like a clay sculpture, while Tsunade trembled with anger.
"Bastard, do you know what you're saying!" As soon as the words fell, her figure disappeared again.
A gust of wind enveloped his head, and Orochimaru raised his head slightly, his snake-like pupils reflecting the graceful figure of a long leg raised high.
"Painful Sky Foot!"
At this moment, the Uzumaki clansmen behind him had already evacuated and retreated to a safe distance, so Tsunade had no scruples.
"Very well, let me see what your so-called village has taught you all these years!"
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