"They are here."
Orochimaru murmured as he sensed two chakras coming in his direction. He had reached the meeting point not long ago, and it was good that he didn't have to wait for a long time to meet them.
'I am curious about the results and what Tsunade and Akane have prepared for me. Especially the report and the actual results.'
Thinking of the mission they were given and how they finished the mission in four days instead of seven days.
'Though the most difficult part of the mission is finding Iwa ninja's camp. If the camp is found early, the rest of the mission wouldn't be difficult.'
'Considering Tsunade's strength, she alone is enough for this type of mission, and remembering what Commander Nara told me, the report will be the base of Akane's image in Konoha, besides the secret information Commander Nara would share with Teacher.'
'Above all, the secret mission to the Land of Rain, I wonder if their location will be exposed by Danzo. Even if he did share the location, I am sure there will be a condition for the safety of Tsunade. As for Akane, I don't think Danzo feels he is that important, but he still doesn't want unexpected variables, so he must have thought of something.'
While Orochimaru was making various situations and was thinking from different perspectives, Akane and Tsunade moved swiftly, barely disturbing the undergrowth beneath them as they approached the designated meeting point: a quiet, half-collapsed shrine deep in the forest between the Land of Fire and the Rain Country.
The ancient structure was overgrown with ivy and moss, with broken stone statues guarding its entrance. Yet the location was perfect, isolated, quiet, and far from prying eyes.
"How did the mission go?"
Akane and Tsunade had already sensed the slight chakra Orochimaru leaked at the meeting place, and when they reached there, they heard Orochimaru's voice from behind the tree.
Hearing his words and looking at him coming out from behind the tree, Tsunade rolled her eyes and asked, "Don't you have anything else to say besides the mission?"
"Give me the report first. Only then will I decide what needs to be done."
Even though Orochimaru had made up his mind about going with Tsunade and Akane for the mission, he didn't speak as he wanted to know more about Akane and his abilities besides the ones that would be mentioned in the report.
"Here,"
He caught the scroll tossed by Tsunade and opened the scroll without wasting any time. From the side, Akane looked at the scene with a thoughtful face, and he was wondering how much truth Orochimaru's words held about going only after checking the report.
'As expected, he is sure that I must be hiding ever more things and he wants to know more. Hehe, unfortunately for him, he didn't have to do anything since I planned on showing more abilities.'
'But since he had spoken, I can use this as a pretext to show my abilities, but then it would show that we need him with us. Well, at least, I will be showing abilities because he asked, not because I wanted to show.'
'Tsk Tsk Tsk! Trust issues in the Ninja world are too much. Well, it's not like I am any different since I am thinking too much and complicating a simple topic.'
Akane internally laughed at his thoughts, and he had to say that his thoughts and thinking process had changed a lot since he left the Land of Waves, which was his comfort space.
'Now, I can't just depend on Zetsu and dream manipulation. I have to think a lot before making a move and even saying anything. After all, even if I have a lot of extra knowledge that others don't have, the thinking and thought process of geniuses of the Ninja world isn't to be underestimated.'
"Hmm, this report. What is missing from this? You have prepared another report, don't you?"
After Orochimaru was done reading the report, it wouldn't be wrong to say that he was surprised by what was written in it. Finding a base of Iwagakure this close to the border was something he wasn't expecting, but he didn't think they would be able to make a base this close to the border with just three Jonin, a few Chunin and genins.
Also, it wouldn't make sense for them to make a base just to keep an eye around and cause small chaos in different parts for fights to start.
"If you didn't say this, I would have thought that you were an imposter."
Tsunade wasn't surprised by Orochimaru's words. She was sure that even Commander Nara would say the same thing after reading the report, not only because the reason she wrote didn't make sense, but also because it wouldn't be easy for an Elite Jonin and another ninja, just below Jonin, to take care of a base with three Jonins, Chunins and Genins.
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade with no change in his expression, and he didn't care about the little joke Tsunade made. What he was more curious about was the actual reason for Iwagakure, and he wondered if the other report had something more about Akane.
'This report portrays that Akane played the side role, and most of it feels like a series of coincidences happening, but too many coincidences together are not coincidences.'
'I don't think Commander Nara will accept this report. This means the other report Tsunade has written must have something greater to divert attention from Akane to something else. Now, I am more curious about what information she has found from Iwa Ninjas.'
Looking at Orochimaru, who had no change in his expression, Tsunade clicked her tongue. A thought came into her mind, and she asked, "Did you gather information from Commander Nara?"
Orochimaru understood what Tsunade was talking about without mentioning everything. He waved his hand, and the scroll was thrown towards Tsunade. At the same time, Tsunade also threw the scroll, which contained information that she had obtained from Iwa ninjas.
"Let's see," Murmuring the words, Tsunade asked Akane to read the information with him. The scroll contained information that Orochimaru obtained on his own from the missions before, and other information available in the base camp.
While Tsunade and Akane read information about the Land of Rain and bases there, Orochimaru read the report Tsunade had given to her. After he was done reading the report, a chuckle escaped his lips, and he murmured, "Interesting, this is very interesting."
"The information has been leaked, and it seems Iwagakure is quite confident in their strength."
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