Black Hawk, as the leader of this operation, was an outstanding choice both in strength and in wisdom.
He knew capturing an Elite Jonin alive wouldn't be easy, so he made meticulous preparations.
First, he gave the capture mission to himself and Shisui—the two most powerful members of the team. This way, if the mission was compromised, Murakumo Kurama wouldn't have a chance to flee at the first sign of trouble, while his subordinates could lie in wait for Danzo should he rush in for backup.
Seeing Danzo appear inside the gambling den with no subordinates behind him, Black Hawk's face broke into a calculating smile.
"There's no need to wait anymore—your men can't help you now!"
As soon as he spoke, several dark figures leapt down from around the perimeter of the gambling den.
They took positions at the four corners, formed rapid hand seals, and simultaneously slammed their palms onto the ground.
Danzo's subordinates finally arrived, but only three managed to squeeze through just in time and rushed into the building.
The rest could do nothing but watch helplessly as a semi-transparent purple barrier erupted into the sky.
The three Root Jonin stormed in and immediately moved to shield Danzo, one placing a glowing green hand on his back.
Meanwhile, Shisui fell back while Black Hawk and Shizune dropped down into formation. Together, they formed a protective circle around Tsunade.
Inside the gambling den, the situation instantly became a four-versus-four standoff.
Tsunade briefly glanced at the still-bleeding Shisui before quickly turning to Shizune. "Stop the bleeding."
Her voice remained calm and steady; no one noticed the faintest tremble in her body.
Upon hearing those words, Shizune reacted immediately. Her hands lit up with green chakra as she scanned Shisui's body for wounds.
Shisui said awkwardly, "It's just a minor wound—really!"
Indeed, the cuts weren't deep, and the bleeding stopped soon after. What made him blush was that Shizune took the extra step to wipe every drop of blood from his body.
He couldn't help but whisper softly, face flushed red, "Thank you."
Though Shizune couldn't see the expression behind Shisui's Cat Mask, she clearly heard the sincerity in his voice. Smiling, she replied, "It's all I'm supposed to do!"
After glancing once more at the now-blood-free Shisui, Tsunade let out a mental sigh of relief. Still, a slight unease lingered—just seeing a little blood had made her shiver slightly.
Looking at Black Hawk and Shisui, she gave a silent nod—these teammates had turned out to be unexpectedly strong.
Black Hawk had already recovered his fighting strength after treatment from both himself and Shizune. As for Shisui, his power exceeded even her expectations.
Tsunade thought to herself, *If I manage to seriously wound Danzo, these kids should be able to handle everything else!*
On the other side, Danzo's back wound had also healed. His cold, hawk-like eyes swept across Tsunade and her group. The deeply carved lines on his face showed not a trace of emotion.
"Just the four of you? It seems like Hiruzen really has run out of people."
Tsunade replied coolly, "You? This is more than enough!"
With that, she called everyone together and laid out their battle assignments, aiming to take down Danzo's three subordinates before launching a full assault on Danzo himself.
Watching the confident Tsunade and sword-wielding Shisui, Danzo's eyes flickered with caution before he spoke again.
"Orochimaru, isn't it time to come out and greet an old friend of Asahi?"
Hearing this, Tsunade and the others slightly narrowed their eyes, while Black Hawk and Shizune couldn't help but feel fear creeping into their hearts.
"Heh—heh—"
An eerie and arrogant laugh echoed through the room. From the ground near Danzō, Orochimaru emerged wearing his signature Akatsuki cloak.
Flicking his serpentine tongue, he slowly licked his lips before whispering hauntingly, "Tsunade, it's been a long time!"
He crossed his arms over his chest with no intention of attacking, yet clearly siding with Danzō.
"Orochimaru, you actually colluded with Danzō?" Tsunade's voice was filled with disappointment as she questioned him.
Orochimaru remained expressionless. "Isn't it reasonable for rogue ninja to ally with other rogue ninja?"
Standing beside her, Danzō slowly removed the sealing ninja tool on his right hand and said gravely to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, restrain Tsunade. I'll give you a satisfactory reward afterward."
Orochimaru looked at Danzō amusedly and asked, "Do you still have anything worth me going all out?"
Danzō calmly replied, "How about some partial records on the Ghost Luo Ya Technique? Interested?"
Orochimaru's narrow vertical pupils suddenly sharpened. After a brief pause, he said, "Deal."
Watching the two openly conduct their business as if nobody else existed, Tsunade coldly remarked, "Orochimaru, I never expected you to become someone completely devoid of humanity."
"Humans are fragile creatures, and humanity itself is utterly useless."
Orochimaru spoke in his raspy voice, sharing his philosophy on life. "What's the value in preserving humanity when you're chasing the forbidden depths of Ninjutsu itself?"
Meanwhile, Danzō had already ordered his three subordinates to charge forward, targeting Shisui, who had injured him previously.
With the seal on his right arm released, Danzō used Wood Release techniques to restrict Shisui's movements, quickly gaining the upper hand.
The three Jonin from Root weren't particularly strong, but since Shizune hadn't reached Jonin level and Black Hawk hadn't fully recovered, both were soon overwhelmed by the three attackers.
Seeing them struggling, Tsunade began gathering chakra onto her fists, preparing to intervene.
Seeing this, Orochimaru sinisterly remarked, "Tsunade, I'd advise against interfering. I know everything about you—including your greatest weakness."
Looking into the warning gleaming within Orochimaru's yellow snake-like eyes, Tsunade halted, her body trembling slightly.
She never expected that a former teammate would threaten her using secrets they once shared.
Without Tsunade's support, Shizune was soon caught off guard by one of Root's Jonin, receiving a powerful kick that sent her flying high into the air.
As two Jonin from Root prepared to strike the defenseless Shizune mid-air with ninjutsu attacks, suddenly the whistling sound of two kunai cutting through the air rang out.
Forced to abort their attack, the two Jonin quickly performed the Substitution Seal sequence.
Poof! Poof!
The kunai pierced through the Substitution Wood, continuing onward. Unfortunately, their targets had already vanished, leaving only the Gambling Den walls where the kunai ultimately embedded themselves.
Da-da-da... da-da-daa!
Wearing sunglasses, styled with slicked-back hair, a cigar between his lips, and hands casually in his pockets, Aozora stepped forward slowly from the shadows behind Tsunade inside the Gambling Den.
While walking, Aozora flashed a charming smile and greeted everyone present.
The battle on the scene temporarily ceased due to Aozora's sudden appearance.
Tsunade looked surprised and said, "You didn't leave just now?"
She immediately realized she'd said something dumb and cut in before Aozora could answer, "So what do you want?"
Although Aozora had helped Shizune earlier, Tsunade wasn't naïve enough to believe he was truly on her side.
Aozora smiled and glanced at Orochimaru. "Hello, Lord Orochimaru! As your junior, I just learned something new from you."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at this unfamiliar ninja who claimed to be his junior. He asked, "What'd you pick up?"
Aozora grinned, "I learned how to cash in at the perfect time!"
After saying that, he turned to Tsunade and asked, "How about putting out a bounty job? I'm pretty cheap!"
Then he acted like he had just recognized Tsunade, suddenly lighting up with realization.
"Little buddy... no, Busty Lady! For old times' sake, how about 20% off? Eight million ryo—that's about eight thousand gold pieces—and I'll hold off one Jonin for you! What do you think?"
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