'Chojuro, strong?'
A tried to recall the Water Ninja who guarded Terumi Mei.
Since he had seen him at the Five Kage Summit, he more or less had some impression.
But the impression really wasn't much.
For a moment, A relaxed. If it was someone he had no impression of, then that Water Ninja was just so-so.
With this, Black Zetsu's earlier words, under the contrast of Chojuro, seemed a bit more believable.
A clenched his fist, "That'll do. If Uchiha Madara stood still and let me hit him, I'm confident I could kill him. No matter how strong Obito is, in a rigid state, he shouldn't be able to block my attacks."
The Tsuchikage also nodded and said, "My Dust Release, even Madara only dared to absorb it with the Rinnegan, not take it head-on."
Black Zetsu sneered, "Since that's the case, I will make sure you few wake up."
Onoki merely said, "I hope that day never comes, but if the worst should happen, please don't forget the agreement."
Seeing everything had been discussed, Black Zetsu didn't want to linger any longer, lest its existence be discovered by either of the Obitos. Its body slowly sank into the ground.
"Well then, I'll be waiting for your news," As the words fell, Black Zetsu's figure had already disappeared.
A turned to Onoki and asked, "Can we trust what Zetsu said?"
Onoki shook his head, "Not a single word."
But after speaking, he added, "However, if the worst outcome happens, just as he said, whether we trust him or not, we will still need his help."
"Facing a world-ending crisis, we can only unite all the forces we can…"
———
Not long after Black Zetsu left, Big Obito once again activated the God Tree's roots to absorb the power of the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Even though not everyone was caught up in it, just under the shockwave of the God Tree's disturbance, there were still tragic casualties.
At this moment, Tsunade had just arrived at the place where Orochimaru was, and before she had a chance to explain the situation, she had to activate the Yin Seal and summon Katsuyu to save people.
Though most people were once again protected by her, facing tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi, Tsunade's just-recovered face once again aged rapidly.
Tsunade, looking at Orochimaru standing nearby and not helping, said, "That girl from the Uzumaki clan, let me bite her again."
Orochimaru only chuckled and said, "I'm afraid not. She's with Sasuke now. Calling her here now would be tantamount to killing her."
Tsunade showed a bit of regret. In truth, she was only joking. Back at the battlefield where the Five Kage fought Madara, it was Karin who let her bite once, which restored her.
If she bit again now, even with the strong constitution of the Uzumaki clan, Tsunade wasn't confident Karin could survive it.
Compared to Karin, Tsunade was more concerned about Orochimaru's stance.
"Orochimaru, since you're willing to stand on the Allied side now, why did you attack Konoha before?"
Orochimaru's eyes shimmered with an unreadable expression, gazing into the distance where the fierce battle was ongoing.
"Tsunade, people change…", Saying this, Orochimaru paused.
He had originally wanted to tell Tsunade he had changed. But suddenly, he recalled the words spoken by the masked man claiming to be Uchiha Shisui in that mysterious chamber in Uchiha Naka Shrine.
He then thought, perhaps he had never changed at all. Rather than saying he changed, it would be more accurate to say it's the current shinobi world that has changed.
Orochimaru corrected himself and said, "Tsunade, what if I told you the Konoha Crush Plan back then was just to show off in front of Hiruzen-sensei, would you believe it?"
Tsunade almost laughed, not because Orochimaru was lying to her. As Orochimaru's former teammate, she knew in her heart that on such a matter, Orochimaru had no reason to lie.
Tsunade only laughed because such a childish reason led to so much harm to Konoha.
She questioned him, "So, in your eyes, everything is expendable, is that it?"
Orochimaru's eyes flickered, "You could say that. For the sake of my dream, many things can be abandoned."
"But, I do still have a sliver of emotion, at least regarding Hiruzen-sensei, I think I even gave him some dignity."
Suddenly, Orochimaru looked toward Tsunade, "What do you think? After what Konoha went through, has it become better, or worse?"
Tsunade fell silent. If Orochimaru hadn't brought it up, she wouldn't have realized this point.
On the surface, Orochimaru did all kinds of evil. But why did she feel Konoha had actually changed for the better?
Suddenly, Tsunade didn't quite understand Orochimaru anymore.
"What exactly did you do?"
Orochimaru thought for a moment and said, "Using Konoha's favorite way of saying things. If a healthy big tree is full of old, decayed roots, then those roots should be cleared away, right?"
Tsunade's gaze flickered, she understood this time. Honestly, there were some old roots in Konoha that even she disliked and wanted to get rid of.
Seeing Tsunade could understand him from a certain angle, Orochimaru smiled and said, "Well then, our positions are ultimately different. You are Konoha's Hokage, and I'm just…"
At this point, Orochimaru suddenly felt like he'd heard this line somewhere before, so he didn't continue, and instead asked, "So, why did you come to me?"
Tsunade was silent for a moment before saying, "The Edo Tensei technique, can you still use it?"
This time, Orochimaru was surprised, "Isn't this technique considered blasphemous by the Hokage? When Hiruzen-sensei saw it, he became furious."
Tsunade smiled bitterly and said, "Maybe Grandpa Hashirama would think that way, but if Grandpa Tobirama thought the same, why would he even create the technique in the first place?"
"The current situation is different now. The Edo Tensei, in your hands, has already proven it also has a good side, not all side effects, right?"
Orochimaru chuckled, "So now I've become somewhat useful. What a pity that back then, no one thought so."
"Indeed, when the wind of the shinobi world first begins to blow, it won't immediately gain everyone's approval."
"So let the wind blow a while longer."
Tsunade grew a bit annoyed, "Orochimaru, stop being so cryptic. Just tell me, can you use Edo Tensei or not!"
Orochimaru slowly said, "Of course I can. But, if you want to summon someone like your grandfather, that will take time. As for ordinary people, that's not difficult."
Tsunade thought for a moment and said, "I don't need the person summoned to be very powerful, just need her to appear."
This time, Orochimaru became curious.
"Who is it?"
Tsunade's eyes carried a trace of guilt, "An ordinary Chunin of Konoha. I heard her medical skills were good, and she once admired me a lot."
"This time, I let her down. If I could do it over, I would have taken her as a student, taught her everything I know." [T/N: Pathetic hypocrites.]
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