"Orochimaru!" X2
Jiraiya and Tsunade saw Orochimaru, and with a tacit understanding, they both stepped forward, shielding Naruto and Karin behind them. Their gazes were wary as they stared at Orochimaru. Then Tsunade spoke first, asking in a cold voice, "What are you doing here—wait, Orochimaru, what's with your clothes?!"
Tsunade's words were cut short as she suddenly noticed that the clothes Orochimaru was wearing were the same as those of the ninja who had just attacked them!
"Orochimaru, you bastard!"
Jiraiya also reacted, glaring at Orochimaru and demanding, "Was that attack just now your doing?!"
"Well, if you put it that way, you're not wrong."
Orochimaru did not deny it, nodding with a chuckle.
Although the Akatsuki Organization's attack on Naruto this time was a mission issued by Iwagakure, it was inextricably linked to him. In fact, it could be said that he was the one pulling the strings behind it.
As for the purpose, of course, he wanted to create some trouble for Jiraiya and, incidentally, let Jiraiya see the strength of the organization he had joined, to make him interested in it—it just seemed that the outcome did not achieve his expected effect.
However, while the expected effect was not achieved, there were unexpected pleasant surprises!
If Tsunade's joining was an accident, then Naruto's strength was an unexpected surprise.
"The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki is indeed extraordinary."
Orochimaru's vertical pupils stared at Naruto, and he said with a smile, "You have more talent in controlling Tailed Beasts than your mother. No wonder Sasuke has been relentlessly pursuing you."
Hmm, saying "relentlessly pursuing" might be a bit of an exaggeration, because Uchiha Sasuke had never truly seen Naruto's back. What was he even pursuing?
"Shut up, you bastard!"
Jiraiya's anger flared when he heard Orochimaru's words, and he continued to demand.
"Orochimaru, what exactly do you want to do? And what's with this organization you've joined? If you don't explain yourself properly, I will absolutely not let you escape easily today!"
Compared to Orochimaru's objective, Jiraiya wanted to know more about the intelligence of the organization he had joined, because the ninja who had fought him and Naruto earlier were clearly not ordinary ninja.
Especially Biwa Jūzō, who was killed by Naruto; he was a genuine S-rank wanted criminal. An organization that could take in such people would definitely not be a good place.
"Escape?"
Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Jiraiya's words, and he asked.
"Jiraiya, you're still as naive as ever—but never mind, I didn't come here today to fight you. Instead, I brought him to meet the classmate he wants to catch up with."
Orochimaru glanced at Uchiha Sasuke beside him, then looked at Naruto behind Jiraiya and Tsunade, then raised a hand and pointed to the side, saying to the two.
"How about we talk over there and give these two little ones some space to talk?"
"If you agree, I might accidentally reveal some information that could be very important!~"
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged glances, their eyes flickering with hesitation. Clearly, they did not trust Orochimaru much.
Moreover, in their opinion, Naruto's safety was far more important than obtaining information from Orochimaru's mouth.
"Jiraiya-sensei, Granny Tsunade, it's fine."
Naruto stepped forward, coming between the two, and looked up at them with a smile. "You don't have to worry about me, and I also want to talk to Sasuke alone."
"This—alright."
Jiraiya and Tsunade heard Naruto's words and agreed to his suggestion without much hesitation. Then they followed Orochimaru and walked to the side.
Tsunade also brought Karin along. If anything unexpected happened, Karin would be better off by her side.
Karin also understood her current position, so she quietly followed Tsunade.
"Naruto!"
Sasuke's gaze had been fixed on Naruto from beginning to end. After Orochimaru and the others left, he immediately asked him, "What was that? That power you used when you fought the ninja with the large sword—what was that?"
Sasuke had watched the entire fight between Naruto and Biwa Jūzō with Orochimaru, and he was incredibly surprised, even despairing, at the power Naruto displayed.
He simply couldn't believe that Naruto had already mastered such a level of power. How was he supposed to catch up?
"You saw it all?"
Naruto looked at Sasuke in surprise, then replied, "That's the power of the Tailed Beast—the Nine-Tailed Fox that has always been rumored in the Village.
You must have heard of it, right? It's sealed inside my body, and I was using its power just now."
"Nine-Tailed Fox? Sealed? I see!"
Sasuke's expression suddenly became agitated when he heard Naruto's reply, and he continued to ask, "So something like that is sealed inside your body, which is why those people call you a 'Jinchūriki'? Is this the real reason for your strength?!"
Naruto's words made Sasuke feel like he had grasped a lifeline, and he attributed the reason for Naruto's immense strength entirely to the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within his body.
If that were the case, then he could tell himself that it wasn't Naruto himself who was truly strong, but the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within his body. Then he could naturally assume that Naruto himself was not stronger than him!
"Hmm—…"
Naruto was first stunned when he heard Sasuke's words, then he thought carefully for a moment before replying, "If you put it that way, I guess so."
Naruto thought about it carefully. Although he could easily defeat a novice like Sasuke even without the Nine-Tails' power, his strongest state currently was indeed when he used Nine-Tails chakra. At least, without the Nine-Tails' power, his own strength would definitely not be able to contend with ninja of Jiraiya's and Tsunade's level. He might even find it difficult to win against an opponent like Biwa Jūzō, so there didn't seem to be any problem with Sasuke thinking that way.
"Indeed, I knew it!"
Sasuke's emotions immediately became even more agitated when he heard Naruto's reply. He even danced with excitement, then stared at Naruto and shouted,
"I knew it! If there were no external factors, there would definitely not be such a huge gap between us!"
"..."
Naruto wanted to tell Sasuke that he was overthinking it, but after a moment's thought, he decided not to provoke him. After all, it wasn't hard to tell from Orochimaru's words just now that this guy had decided to leave Konoha with someone like Orochimaru in order to catch up to him. If he provoked him further, who knew what else he would do?
However, Naruto felt it was still necessary to confirm it himself, so he asked,
"Sasuke, did you decide to leave Konoha with Orochimaru on your own?"
"That's right." Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then nodded and admitted, "I decided to leave Konoha with Orochimaru on my own."
"Why?" Naruto asked, puzzled. "I mean, why Orochimaru?"
Originally, according to the intelligence Jiraiya had received, Sasuke was abducted from Konoha by Orochimaru, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. And Naruto was very curious why Sasuke chose to leave with Orochimaru. If he just wanted to become stronger, there should be better teachers in the Village, right?
"Because your teacher is Jiraiya!"
Sasuke replied without hesitation, "Since your teacher is one of the 'Three Sannin,' if I want to catch up to you, I must also find a teacher of equal standing!"
In fact, the biggest reason Sasuke left Konoha with Orochimaru was his parents' indifference and his brother's sudden neglect, and then the reasons mentioned above.
However, after witnessing the strength Naruto displayed during his fight with Biwa Jūzō, his resolve to train with Orochimaru became even stronger!
"This—alright."
Naruto felt unable to refute Sasuke's reason, and he directly abandoned the idea he had originally considered of "rescuing" him from Orochimaru and sending him back to Konoha.
Since leaving with Orochimaru was Sasuke's own decision, he didn't need to interfere. Anyway, they weren't that close… it was just a pity about the thirty million ryō bounty.
On the other side.
"Orochimaru, now explain yourself properly!"
Tsunade and Jiraiya stood on either side of Orochimaru, their gazes sharp as they stared at him and asked, "If you can't give us a satisfactory answer, we will absolutely not let you escape easily today!"
"Escape?!~"
Orochimaru chuckled when he heard Jiraiya's words, then spread his hands and asked, "So, what do you want to know?"
Tsunade: "Why did you attack us?"
Jiraiya: "Tell us the intelligence about the organization you joined!"
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
Orochimaru first looked at Tsunade and replied,
"Although it's the same organization, the attack on you has nothing to do with me. It's because the organization accepted a mission to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, which is why they sent people to find Jiraiya. After all, the intelligence about him leaving the Village with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki is no longer a secret."
"So, why don't you guess where our organization received such a mission from?" Orochimaru suddenly asked them back, and then, before they could speak, he directly stated the answer: "It was from Iwagakure!~"
"Our organization received the mission to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki from Ōnoki of Iwagakure. The reward was very generous!" Orochimaru said with a playful look.
"That bastard Ōnoki of Iwagakure is too blatant!"
Tsunade couldn't help but clench her fists in anger when she heard Orochimaru's answer, then she glared at Jiraiya in annoyance and reprimanded, "And you—you shouldn't have taken Naruto out of the Village!"
In Tsunade's opinion, a Jinchūriki should stay obediently in the Village to grow up safely.
"Hehe!~"
Facing Tsunade's misplaced anger, Jiraiya could only scratch his head with a foolish smile. He couldn't directly tell Tsunade that the reason he decided to take Naruto out of the Village was because the old geezers in the Village, in their struggle for power, were not only unable to protect Naruto properly anymore but had even begun to threaten his personal safety. Leaving him in the Village would only make him more dangerous.
Saying such things would only cause more trouble and even make Tsunade dislike the Village more, so it was better not to say them.
But Tsunade refused to let it go and said again, annoyed, "Jiraiya, you'd better send Naruto back to the Village quickly and not take him wandering around outside anymore!"
Although Tsunade disliked the current Konoha very much, it was, after all, the Village her grandfather had personally founded, and Naruto, as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, was of undeniable importance to the Village. She certainly didn't want to see anything happen to Naruto.
"This…" Jiraiya immediately showed a troubled expression when he heard this.
He really wanted to tell Tsunade that the current Konoha was no longer the Konoha they knew, but he didn't know how to begin.
"Jiraiya probably anticipated this situation long ago. The reason he still took that child out of the Village is probably to use the threats from other Villages to temper that child's strength." Orochimaru suddenly spoke, explaining for Jiraiya, then looked at him with a smile and asked, "Am I right, Jiraiya?"
"Yes, exactly—that's what I thought."
Jiraiya was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he looked at Tsunade and said with a serious expression, "I'm doing all this for Naruto's growth. As for the effect—you've seen it."
"——" Tsunade's face darkened when she heard Jiraiya's words. She wanted to say something more, but then she heard Orochimaru speak again.
"Jiraiya, you just asked me about the intelligence of the organization I've joined."
Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya and asked meaningfully,
"If I told you that the existence of this organization has a lot to do with you, and it could even be said that this organization was born because of you, what would you associate that with?"
"Related to me?"
Jiraiya was stunned for a moment when he heard Orochimaru's words, then he frowned and began to ponder deeply, but he couldn't figure out the connection between himself and the organization Orochimaru had joined. Then he couldn't help but say to Orochimaru,
"Orochimaru, stop beating around the bush. I can't figure out what connection I have to the organization you've joined. Why don't you speak more clearly?"
"!~"
Orochimaru, however, smiled and shook his head when he heard this, saying, "The only information I can reveal to you at the moment is this much. If you want to know more, go investigate it yourselves."
In fact, the only intelligence Orochimaru currently had about the Akatsuki Organization was what he had just said. And the connection between the Akatsuki Organization and Jiraiya was merely a guess he made after seeing the eyes of the Akatsuki Organization's leader; it had not been confirmed.
However, the information he just revealed, plus the other Villages' interest in the Jinchūriki, should keep Jiraiya busy for a long time, preventing him from meddling in Konoha Village's affairs. And given his understanding of Jiraiya, Jiraiya would definitely fully investigate the Akatsuki Organization's intelligence afterward. Maybe he could even use Jiraiya to dig up some information about the Akatsuki Organization that even he didn't know.
Killing two birds with one stone!
Orochimaru thought this to himself, then clasped his hands in a seal and said to the two,
"Well then, our conversation for today ends here. Farewell."
After speaking, Orochimaru's figure vanished in a puff of white smoke.
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