At Kikyo Pass, where he was preparing a counteroffensive against the Suna shinobi, Orochimaru suddenly received an urgent intelligence report from the village.
After reviewing its contents, he immediately summoned Tsunade and Shikaku to the command post. He also ordered Minato and Veigar to join them.
Tsunade and Shikaku were summoned to discuss military operations, while Minato and Veigar were named specifically in the message from the village, they were to return immediately.
"Orochimaru, calling me out in such a hurry, what's the emergency?"
Tsunade had just settled in for a rare moment of beauty sleep, and now her irritation was palpable.
It was one of the few breaks she'd had in recent days, utterly ruined by Orochimaru.
"Hehe~~"
"Tsunade, save your anger for after you've read what the old man sent us."
Orochimaru, for his part, wasn't in the best mood either. Just as he was ready to launch a full-scale offensive, Hiruzen had blindsided him with a proverbial gut punch.
His plans to strike the Sand had just been thrown into disarray.
Tsunade stood at the entrance of the command center, brows lightly furrowed. From Orochimaru's tone, she could tell something serious had happened.
Having known him since their Academy days, she could immediately detect the irritation simmering beneath his words.
Without saying a word, she met his pale gaze and walked over to her place at the table.
Behind her, Minato, Shikaku, and Veigar entered one after the other. Upon seeing Orochimaru, they bowed respectfully.
"Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru nodded, his voice gravelly as he spoke:
"Everyone's here. Take your seats."
Once they were seated, Orochimaru handed a scroll to Tsunade, then slowly began:
"Minato, Veigar, Hiruzen's orders: you two are to return to the village immediately."
Minato met his gaze and asked softly:
"Has something happened?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"Yes. And what I'm about to say is also the reason I summoned Tsunade and Shikaku here."
"The Third Great Ninja War has officially begun."
"Iwagakure has declared war. Kumogakure has amassed troops at our borders. As for Kirigakure..."
"They've dispatched the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. They'll be landing on the Fire Nation's coast any day now."
Orochimaru laid out the intelligence piece by piece. Shikaku looked up and asked cautiously:
"Orochimaru-sama, is that everything the report said?"
Before Orochimaru could respond, Tsunade frowned and cut in:
"The old man's orders include mobilizing 1,500 shinobi to support Jiraiya."
"Iwagakure has stationed more than 5,000 troops in the Land of Grass. Kusagakure has already sided with the Third Tsuchikage."
Tsunade's words struck like a depth charge.
Pulling 1,500 shinobi from Kikyo Pass would effectively nullify Orochimaru's carefully prepared counteroffensive. Worse still, such a withdrawal would dangerously weaken the pass's defenses, an almost fatal vulnerability.
"This... this is bad..."
Shikaku fell silent, his mind racing through the possibilities.
"Don't get hung up on it. The old man must have his reasons. Since it's the village's decision, we just follow through."
"What we need to figure out now... is who should lead the support team to assist Jiraiya."
Orochimaru gave a dark chuckle as he watched Shikaku's internal struggle.
He, too, had been reluctant when he first read the order to divert 1,500 troops, it had completely upended his strategic layout. The timing of the intel couldn't have been worse.
But the more he thought about it, the more it suited his needs.
His experiments had now reached the stage of human testing. Crushing the Sand Shinobi too quickly would actually be a waste. It was far more beneficial to remain here and keep drawing out minor skirmishes. That way, he could acquire more "materials" without drawing too much attention.
Besides, performing his research here, far from the watchful eyes of the village, was safer and more efficient.
So Orochimaru had resolved to fully embrace Hiruzen's orders. If his next experiments didn't succeed, he had no intention of returning to the village at all.
Why go back when the supply of fresh test subjects was right here?
Shikaku's brows finally relaxed. He could see now that Orochimaru must have come up with a new course of action.
With a knowing look, he turned to Orochimaru and said:
"In that case, we'll defer to your judgment, Orochimaru-sama."
There was no more hesitation in his tone, he no longer questioned what Orochimaru's true objective might be.
"Then, Orochimaru-sama, who do you intend to put in charge of the 1,500 ninja being redeployed?"
Orochimaru turned toward Tsunade, his expression almost innocent:
"No need to overthink it, the answer is right in front of us."
"Tsunade will lead the unit. In fact, the old man specified her by name in the message: she's to head to a different front line."
Shikaku was caught off guard. He hadn't expected Tsunade to leave as well, but thinking it through, it made perfect sense.
"Very well, then."
"Unexpected, but not unreasonable."
Orochimaru was thrilled. Tsunade, however, was visibly fuming.
"Hmph! I don't care what the old man's planning!"
"I'm not going. No one can make me. I'm just fine here!"
She was clearly defying a direct order, a serious offense for a shinobi, but Orochimaru was biting back another kind of frustration.
If Tsunade stayed, it was only a matter of time before she discovered his human experimentation.
"So, have you figured out what you're going to tell the old man?"
Knowing she was still venting, Orochimaru didn't press her to leave just yet. But from the look on her face, it was obvious, she hadn't thought that far ahead.
Before she could respond, he added:
"If you insist on staying, then I'll send Hiashi to lead the unit. Along with the entire Hyūga contingent."
"Let's just hope that idiot Jiraiya makes it out in one piece."
He emphasized the last line, clearly baiting Tsunade's emotions.
Jiraiya = Idiot.
Coming from Orochimaru, that was hardly controversial. As kids, Jiraiya had been the class dunce, while Orochimaru was top of the class.
"I object, Orochimaru-sama."
Before Tsunade could respond, Shikaku cut in.
"If we pull all of the Hyūga Clan away to support Jiraiya-sama, our defenses here will be stretched even thinner."
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]