A new day, Wednesday.
At nine in the morning, Kitazawa arrived at Tsunade's place. He raised his hand to knock, but no one answered after a moment.
Had Shizune already left?
Since Tsunade, as Hokage, was heading with him to the Land of Fire's capital, the Hokage's secretaries would have to keep Konoha running in the meantime.
Thinking that, Kitazawa took out a key and opened the door.
Tsunade had put away quite a bit of alcohol last night; she was probably still asleep.
On the coffee table, Kitazawa found a small note from Shizune. Sure enough, she'd gone to the Hokage's office early and asked him to wake Tsunade and make breakfast. Uzumaki Rina had also gone to work—she was now head of Finance. Since Tsunade would be out, she'd taken Karin along to the Hokage building.
Kitazawa stopped at Tsunade's bedroom door, grabbed the handle, and opened it. One glance inside showed Tsunade sleeping soundly on her side. Her nightgown, pressed by her figure, traced a breathtaking silhouette.
He closed the door and went to the kitchen. Checking what was in the fridge, he decided to make her a bowl of char siu ramen. As for him, he'd already had breakfast with Kurenai.
Once the ramen was ready, Kitazawa went back to Tsunade's room and knocked.
"Which bastard—"
The door yanked open; a very displeased Tsunade appeared. The instant she saw it was Kitazawa, she froze.
"Were you about to curse me out?" Kitazawa blinked at her.
"What are you doing here?" Tsunade decisively skipped that question and changed the subject.
"Why do you think?" Kitazawa shot back.
"I…" Tsunade suddenly remembered she was the one who'd asked him to come. She glanced at the wall clock—nine-thirty.
"Give me a minute to change."
Feeling she was in the wrong, she didn't argue further. She closed the door and changed into her usual sleeveless top and deep-blue trousers.
"Let's go," she said, opening the door and heading out.
"Eat first." Kitazawa caught her wrist. "I already made you ramen."
"Thanks." Tsunade paused, then sat at the table. Kitazawa sat across from her.
After a few bites, she felt his gaze. For no clear reason she grew a bit self-conscious, and last night's kiss flashed through her mind. Drunk, she might have let some real feelings slip.
Tsunade bit her lip, words rising and falling unsaid. She wanted to explain, but found there was no explaining it.
"Not to your taste?" Kitazawa asked, looking at her lips—now glossed with broth and even more enticing.
"No." Tsunade's face steadied, and she kept eating.
After they finished, they headed out.
"It's been ages since I left the village. If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken the Hokage job." Once outside Konoha, Tsunade stretched into the wind, feeling refreshed.
"If you want a little fun, leave the work to Shizune and the others," Kitazawa said with a smile, taking in her curves.
"I'd love to, but I am the Hokage." Tsunade shook her head.
What a 'no' that meant 'yes.' Kitazawa couldn't help a wry smile. For all her lazy vibe, she hadn't missed a single thing that needed doing. In the original timeline, Konoha hadn't fallen apart under her, either. The village was built by Hashirama; Tsunade couldn't just be a hands-off leader.
They chatted as they made for the Land of Fire's capital. Normally, at their speed, they could arrive the same day. But Tsunade was out to unwind, and Kitazawa was on summer break with plenty of time, so neither hurried. By nightfall they'd only made it halfway.
"Let's camp here for the night." Tsunade had spotted a river not far off.
"Mm." Kitazawa unrolled a summoning storage scroll and started pitching a tent. After one was up, he paused.
"What do you want for dinner?" he asked. "I brought plenty of ingredients."
"Finish the tents first," Tsunade said, puzzled.
"They're finished. Sharing a tent is safer on missions." Kitazawa smiled. "And we're just using sleeping bags. What is there to worry about?"
"What would I have to worry about?" she huffed back on reflex—then realized she'd taken the bait.
"I'll start cooking. If you've got nothing to do, fetch a bucket of water from the river," Kitazawa said with a nod.
Tsunade shot him a glare, but went anyway.
Under normal circumstances, you don't cook over a fire on missions—it's too conspicuous, too easy for enemy shinobi to spot. But they were in the Land of Fire, and with their strength, even if Onoki and the Fourth Raikage showed up, they could fight.
Flames climbed, lighting the darkness around them. Tsunade sat on a picnic cloth and watched Kitazawa work. The longer she looked, the more distant her gaze became.
"Alright, let's eat." Kitazawa set the dishes on a small table and sat across from her.
"This is the first time I've eaten this well on a mission," Tsunade said, a smile tugging at her lips as she glanced over the spread. "Feels like we're actually on vacation."
"A little relaxation helps you work better," Kitazawa chuckled. "But since this is still a mission, let's skip the alcohol."
Tsunade nodded. In truth, she didn't dare drink—afraid of a repeat of last night.
After dinner they sat by the fire.
"Come here, I need to talk to you about something," Kitazawa said, patting the blanket beside him.
"What is it?" For no reason her heart gave a small start, but she sat next to him anyway.
"Business." He studied her face. "Tsunade-sensei, what's on your mind?"
Realizing she'd misunderstood, she propped an elbow on his arm and glared. "Cut the nonsense—talk."
"Anbu found Orochimaru's trail," Kitazawa said, voice low.
"What did you say?" Tsunade's expression flipped in an instant. She frowned. "Where is he?"
"You know Otogakure in the Land of Rice Fields?" Kitazawa asked.
"You mean he founded it?" Tsunade froze, then nodded slowly. "Timing does fit."
The founding of Otogakure couldn't escape the Five Great Villages. In truth, Orochimaru hadn't really hidden it. In the original timeline, Sound even took part in the joint Chūnin Exams hosted by Konoha and Sunagakure. That meant the village's existence was common knowledge.
Precisely because of that, Konoha hadn't considered that Sound was Orochimaru's creation. A defector founding a village in the open seemed too brazen—a classic case of "hidden in plain sight." And founding a village takes manpower and money; the idea that one man could do it sounded unbelievable.
"That damned snake is something else," Tsunade snorted. "He built a shinobi village right under our noses."
"Well, he was your teammate. The Sannin's strength is legendary," Kitazawa said with a smile. "I figure you could found a village yourself, no problem."
Orochimaru had used both carrot and stick—uniting the shinobi clans and ninja of the Land of Rice Fields, winning the daimyo's support, and aggressively poaching talent. In the original story, Sound's prodigies often fought internal battles—much like Root's 'poisonous' model. Among the Sound Five, aside from Kimimaro, the other four were geniuses who clawed their way up through killing.
As for Tsunade, with her reputation as the greatest medical-ninja, she could recruit and found a village easily.
"Tsunade-sensei, what's your take on Orochimaru?" Kitazawa asked.
"He's a Konoha defector. Now that we know where he is, we bring him back," Tsunade said, firm as a hammer. She, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya had grown up together; Orochimaru had even taught her younger brother, Nawaki—on her recommendation. Of all of them, his defection had wounded her most. But she'd been in a period of avoidance and wandering then, so she hadn't acted, and Jiraiya—out searching for the Child of Prophecy—hadn't stopped looking for Orochimaru either. In canon they'd crossed paths, but Orochimaru's escape tricks made him impossible to pin down.
"Then we plan this carefully," Kitazawa said, face serious. "Neither Orochimaru nor Sound is something you take in stride."
"Right. We get one shot," Tsunade nodded. "Spook him, and he'll be twice as hard to catch next time."
She knew him too well. His dream was to master all ninjutsu and gain eternal life. Because of that, he learned broadly; he knew a little of everything, especially escape and survival techniques.
"The good news is he's got a fixed location this time, and we can box him in," Kitazawa said with a small smile.
"Send Anbu to scout Sound," Tsunade said, then shook her head. "Not the regular ones—he'll sense them."
"I'll go myself," Kitazawa replied. "Even if I run into Orochimaru, I can get away."
Tsunade frowned. With his strength she wasn't afraid of Orochimaru, but she still worried.
"I've learned plenty of infiltration jutsu," Kitazawa said with confidence. "I won't let you down."
In truth, he didn't even need to step into Sound—he already knew a lot. In the original, most of the named fighters had been shown. Sound was too new; its 'elites' were just prodigies Orochimaru had collected. The archetypal group was the Sound Five: Kimimaro, Kidōmaru, Tayuya, Sakon/Ukon, and Jirōbō. Normally they were Chūnin-class; with the Earth Curse Mark they could reach Special Jōnin or an average Jōnin level.
The Heaven and Earth Seals were Orochimaru's crude, incomplete take on Sage Mode based on Jūgo's natural 'sage-ification.' Flawed as they were, they boosted power effectively. In the original, Sasuke defected after accepting the Heaven Seal. That same seal was also Orochimaru's revival medium—after death he could resurrect through a seal holder. At present, the only Heaven-seal holder in Konoha was Anko Mitarashi.
Right now, though, the Sound Five should be much weaker than their original-timeline selves; they were only seven or eight years old. It was possible that aside from Kimimaro, the other four hadn't even been chosen yet. Beyond the Five, the strongest would be Guren, with a Crystal Release kekkei genkai. Then there were other talents like Jūgo and Tos Tane. As for Kabuto and Karin, Kitazawa had already poached them.
"Alright—be careful in everything," Tsunade said at last, agreeing. It was a rare chance; they couldn't let him slip away. Besides Kitazawa, she didn't trust anyone with it.
"Once I've got Sound mapped out, we move," Kitazawa said with a nod.
"Orochimaru is very strong, and he knows plenty of escape techniques," Tsunade mused. "We'll have to think hard about who to bring."
"In the end, he can only run up or down," Kitazawa suggested. "Bring the Hyūga, the Uchiha, and the Sealing Corps."
The Byakugan offered full 360-degree vision. The Uchiha—especially Itachi—could counter Orochimaru with genjutsu. And the sealing unit could lock him down after he used the Yamata no Jutsu. In theory, Itachi alone could handle Orochimaru—but Kitazawa had his own system task to complete, and Itachi's Mangekyō hadn't been revealed.
"Mm." Tsunade's eyes flickered. "That lineup should do."
"Keep this quiet for now," Kitazawa reminded her. "Once I finish scouting Sound, we'll announce the op the day we move."
He was thinking of Danzō. When he'd been alive, Danzō had kept contact with Orochimaru. Though the man was dead, who knew if he'd left loyal subordinates behind? To catch Orochimaru, everything had to be airtight.
Tsunade agreed without overthinking it.
"Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa added, "are you going to inform the Third?"
He worried Hiruzen would steal his thunder.
"Tell him after we capture Orochimaru," Tsunade said after a moment's thought. "Their teacher-student bond is still there. I'm afraid the old man will go soft."
In fact, that had already happened once. When Orochimaru defected, Hiruzen had arrived first—and his hesitation had doomed the capture.
"The two of us—teacher and student—are more than enough," Kitazawa said, relaxing a little.
"Even so, when it comes to Orochimaru, keep your guard up to the max," Tsunade warned.
"Yes, Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa answered at once.
"I really didn't expect Anbu to find his trail," Tsunade murmured, eyes on the fire as memories rose.
"Just a lucky break—we happened to bump into him," Kitazawa improvised.
"Let's leave it at that," Tsunade sighed. Truthfully, she hadn't decided what to do with him once they had him. She suddenly understood how Hiruzen had felt facing Danzō—it was hard to resolve.
"Shall we turn in?" Kitazawa asked, blinking.
"Mm." Tsunade answered, then felt her face tighten for a beat. But at this point there was no room for fussing.
They ducked into the tent, pulled out their sleeping bags, and lay down. Tsunade closed her eyes, then after a moment glanced at Kitazawa—already asleep, breathing even. She paused, realizing she was less composed than he was. Soon she calmed, too, and closed her eyes.
The night passed without incident.
Morning of the second day. Tsunade woke, unzipped her sleeping bag, and sat up to find Kitazawa already gone. A waft of heat drifted in from outside the tent. Tsunade couldn't help smiling. Life like this was actually pretty nice.
She stepped out.
"Up early for once," Kitazawa said, glancing over.
"I only slept in yesterday because I was drunk," Tsunade retorted, taking the seat opposite him.
"Do you even believe that?" He handed her a rice ball.
"Verbose," Tsunade muttered, rolling her eyes.
After breakfast, they set out again. By afternoon they reached the Land of Fire's capital. Thanks to Tsunade's connections, they easily got an audience with the daimyo's wife.
"Tsunade, long time no see. What brings you today?" The lady greeted her warmly. Kitazawa listened quietly and didn't interject. After a bit of small talk, Tsunade got to the point.
"You're giving me a necklace?" the lady asked, surprised.
Tsunade didn't answer verbally—she took out the necklace Kitazawa had provided.
"This… this is gorgeous!" The lady's eyes went wide as she turned it over in her hands, instantly smitten. "I've never seen a necklace this beautiful!"
"Only something like this is worthy of you," Tsunade said with a light smile.
"You're really giving it to me?"
"I am," Tsunade said after a pause. "But I do have one small ask."
"Name it," the lady said, unconcerned.
"Here's the idea," Kitazawa explained. In short, two things. First, the lady should wear the necklace and make the rounds of the capital's high-society venues. Second, she would provide a venue to auction a companion piece and invite all the noblewomen to attend.
"No problem." After a brief thought, the daimyo's wife agreed. From her perspective, getting such a valuable necklace at the cost of so little was an absolute steal.
~~~
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