A New Snake In The Shinobi World

From Orochimaru's cooperation with Obito to the birth of his two daughters, and now his appearance in Tsunade's house, another three years had passed before anyone realized it.

During these years, Orochimaru had been busy consolidating political control over small countries and changing their leadership structures.

Of course, whenever he passed through the Land of Fire, he would sneak into Konoha to see Tsunade.

These visits were nothing special, just brief meetings, spending the night together, and enjoying the life of being with the Hokage.

But this time...

"You're saying you want to start a war?"

Tsunade couldn't believe her ears.

Konoha was a peace-loving village, and she herself was a pacifist. How could Orochimaru even think about initiating a war?

Orochimaru replied calmly, "That's essentially what I'm saying."

"War comes with death, Orochimaru. We've been together for so long, you should know me well by now. I can listen to you about many things, but starting a war is something I absolutely cannot agree to."

Tsunade's tone was firm. She had no intention of supporting Orochimaru's proposal.

Konoha had suffered immeasurable losses during the three Great Ninja Wars. Even after years of recovery, the village had not yet regained its former strength. How could she possibly agree to initiate a war now?

"Don't worry," Orochimaru said with a faint smile. "I'm not suggesting we do it immediately. Besides, this isn't about starting a war for the sake of aggression."

"Not for aggression?" Tsunade frowned, clearly confused.

"Exactly," Orochimaru nodded and continued. "Do you remember when you were a child, you asked me how to end this era? Do you recall my answer?"

"As a child?"

Tsunade was momentarily stunned before shaking her head. "I don't remember. It was so long ago, how could I possibly remember something like that?"

Orochimaru didn't seem bothered by her response. He recounted the memory for her.

"You asked me, and my answer was: 'Unification.' Only through unification can the era of war truly end."

"Right now, in the entire ninja world, aside from the neutral Land of Iron and a few slightly stronger nations, more than 70% of the small countries are already under my influence."

"Your village, combined with my village, plus the military strength of these smaller countries, it wouldn't be difficult to conquer two major nations in a short period of time."

"But... war involves countless sacrifices..."

"Tsunade," Orochimaru interrupted her, his tone more serious now. "As Hokage, you need to think long-term. The peace you see now is nothing more than a façade."

"When the other four major nations recover, another war will inevitably break out. And when that happens, even more people will die.

"You're a medical ninja, wouldn't you agree that short-term pain is better than long-term suffering? I don't think I need to explain that to you."

"But..."

Tsunade opened her mouth to refute him but couldn't find the words.

Orochimaru was right. A war to unify the ninja world would undoubtedly be bloody.

But the benefits of unification were undeniable.

The problem was that Tsunade couldn't reconcile this with her personal beliefs.

"Alright," Orochimaru said as he stood up and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "There's no rush. Take your time to think about it. For now, I'll go take a bath."

With that, he walked toward the bathroom in Tsunade's house as if it were his own home.

Tsunade's bathroom was equipped with a modern shower heater, a product of advancing technology.

Orochimaru casually tossed his robe aside and began washing up as though no one was watching.

Splash!

The hot water flowed over his well-toned body, instantly refreshing him.

"Orochimaru, even if I don't agree to this, there's no way I can stop you, is there?"

Tsunade's voice suddenly came from the bathroom doorway.

Her tone carried a trace of helplessness.

She knew Orochimaru all too well. If he had reached this point, it meant he had been planning this for a long time.

The arrow was already nocked, and there was no turning back. There was no way she, as Tsunade, could stop him.

"Correct," Orochimaru replied without looking back, letting the hot water cascade over him. "Even without your help, I'm more than 70% certain I can accomplish this plan."

"It's just that more people will die."

"More people will die?"

"Of course. But if you join me..." Orochimaru finally turned his head to look at Tsunade. "I should be able to minimize the number of casualties."

"After all, the more people who die, the greater the security risks will be in the future. I'm not a butcher, I have no interest in senseless slaughter."

"Is that so..." Tsunade murmured.

Orochimaru shrugged slightly and smirked. "Want to join me in the shower?"

"I do."

"..." Orochimaru was speechless. "I was joking."

"I wasn't."

Steam quickly filled the bathroom, and the hot water soaked Tsunade's clothes as it trickled down their faces.

---

A few days later, in the jungle of the Land of Taki.

Two figures walked side by side, their black cloaks adorned with red clouds.

From their exposed faces, one had orange hair and lavender ripple-patterned eyes, while the other had a face split into yin and yang, with a pitcher plant-like structure growing from his head.

They were Pain and Zetsu.

"Zetsu, are you sure this is the location?" Pain asked calmly.

"Yes," Zetsu's soft voice replied. "Kakuzu from the Land of Taki and Sasori of the Red Sand from the Land of Wind, both have been located. It took me quite some time to track them down."

"Kakuzu?"

"Yes. He's a ninja who takes on black-market bounty missions to earn money. He's extremely powerful."

"As powerful as Lord Orochimaru?"

"..." White Zetsu paused, his tone flat. "Pain, that joke isn't funny at all."

"Haha, fine. Tell me about the Red Sand Scorpion."

"Heh, I know what you're worried about. Don't worry, Konan is perfectly suited to counter Sasori. She won't have any issues defeating him."

"Is that so?" Pain nodded slightly. "Good."

As they spoke, they reached a dense valley filled with trees.

Looking down at the fierce battle unfolding below, Pain's lips curled upward slightly.

In the woods, corpses were scattered everywhere.

Kunai and swords lay strewn across the ground, while smoke from exploding tags and smoke bombs created a hazy atmosphere.

Eventually, the smoke began to clear.

Amidst the carnage stood a masked ninja with a body stitched together like a patchwork quilt. Four ANBU masks were strapped to his back.

****

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