Chapter 268: A Confusing Stalemate of Mutual Hostility
When Orochimaru walked out, Haruno Sakura's eyes widened.
Sakura almost thought that Orochimaru had been watching in secret while she and Sasori were fighting.
"That's impossible..." She quickly realized that she had been thinking too much. No one could hide so close to a battle for so long without her noticing...
No, there was one exception... She thought of that mysterious figure. Sakura had watched him submerge into the ground, but she couldn't sense his presence at all.
Presumably, that strange person is also lurking somewhere on this battlefield right now?
Thinking of it this way, it was just as Orochimaru had said. This place was really lively!
She looked around, her gaze sweeping over Orochimaru, who had sauntered into the field of vision of the four.
On Orochimaru's side, there was himself and Kabuto. One was a ninja who was considered very strong even among the "Kage" level, and the other was an elite Jonin-level figure comparable to Kakashi.
On the Akatsuki's side, there was Sasori and an unknown person hidden underground. Sasori's puppets had been largely depleted, and he was currently in a period of depleted combat strength, but he still had a secret technique scroll, so he couldn't be ignored. The other mysterious person was also very intimidating.
As for her side... Jiraiya and Naruto's combat strength was basically intact. She could be considered a patient, but she still had some combat strength when necessary. Shino's side would be able to rush over soon.
The strength of the three sides was not much different.
"What's even more wonderful," Sakura complained in her heart, "is that we're all mutually hostile!"
The Akatsuki and Orochimaru. The Akatsuki and Konoha. Orochimaru and Konoha.
All were mortal enemies!
In this delicate situation, any action anyone wanted to take could be met with a simultaneous attack from the other two parties!
The wind whistled across the battlefield, rolling up sand, stones, and withered branches, and blowing through everyone's hair.
The three people standing at the very front, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sasori, silently looked at each other.
"Kabuto, I never thought you would actually betray me..." Sasori said indifferently, glancing at the young man who was following behind Orochimaru with little presence.
The white-haired youth pushed up his glasses. The reflection on his lenses made his expression unreadable.
He sneered, "My loyalty to you only existed within the restraint you placed in my mind... After Lord Orochimaru removed the restraint for me, that loyalty of mine was naturally also removed!"
"However, I've been your subordinate for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen your true face. To think it's this..." Kabuto took a step forward, sized up Sasori's pretty face, and added in surprise.
"You can reminisce about old times later, Kabuto," Orochimaru said, interrupting Kabuto with a wave of his hand. He turned to Jiraiya and said with a sneer, "Sasori is at his weakest right now... Isn't your Konoha opposing the Akatsuki? It just so happens that I also have a private grudge against the Akatsuki! How about we take him out together?"
"You think we would trust you, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya said with a grim face, rejecting his proposal without hesitation.
Sasori frowned slightly. That was what Jiraiya said, but he didn't think he could take the opportunity to retreat while these two were on guard against each other. If he did, he was afraid the two of them would unhesitatingly attack.
He suddenly smiled faintly. "Orochimaru, hunting you down is an order from the leader, not a private grudge between us... I think it's better for us to team up and deal with the Konoha people!"
"Hmph... that's not what you said when you were hunting me down back then," Orochimaru said, glancing at him with a sneer.
Hearing this, Sakura felt that the serious confrontation had suddenly become very comical. If Jiraiya were to add another sentence, "Orochimaru is our common traitor, why don't we take him out first," that would be fun!
Orochimaru wants to team up with Jiraiya to deal with Sasori; Sasori wants to team up with Orochimaru to deal with Jiraiya; and then Jiraiya will propose to team up with Sasori to deal with Orochimaru...
Eek, this tongue-twister is so hard to say!
With Jiraiya and Naruto in front, Sakura could finally relax a bit. Stepping back from her combat state, Sakura's mind immediately switched from calm and focused to lively and active.
Her imagination began to run wild, and she couldn't stop complaining in her head.
Sakura stood on her toes and quietly told Jiraiya the information she knew.
Jiraiya nodded seriously. Of course, he wouldn't speak as she had imagined. Jiraiya didn't have that kind of bad taste. Jiraiya, who was in a state of high alert, just stared intently at the two people opposite him, not saying a word.
He was silently analyzing the situation on the field in his heart.
Orochimaru was more inclined to strike at the Akatsuki because Konoha, with its large family and business, couldn't deal with him so unscrupulously. Destroying his base before was just a counterattack. On the contrary, it was the Akatsuki that gave him more of a headache. That organization was his real threat.
And what about Sasori? He was currently in a state of depleted combat strength. Although Sakura had mentioned that Sasori still had a scroll and that there was a strange person hidden underground, on the surface, his strength was the lowest of the three parties. Teaming up with Orochimaru to deal with Konoha was the most orthodox strategy of "allying with the weak against the strong."
So what should the Konoha side do?
Jiraiya's thoughts were very simple.
No matter how strong their combat power was here, unless it was absolutely necessary, Jiraiya would not take the risk and let Naruto and Sakura, who were still children, fight these top-level villains who killed without batting an eye! Since he was standing here, he would protect these two—this was his responsibility.
If he could stall them until support arrived, that would be for the best. But if they took the initiative to retreat...
After a moment of confrontation, Sasori was really getting a little anxious.
He suppressed the emotions in his heart, his face impassive. He took a step towards Orochimaru and said to him, "Whether we have a public feud or a private grudge, it's best for us to cooperate and deal with them right now..."
Seeing Orochimaru look over, Sasori continued, "The opponent is Jiraiya, who is also one of the Sannin, as well as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Haruno Sakura, who just instantly killed Deidara. And there are endless reinforcements rushing over soon... If we drag this on any longer, I'm afraid neither of us will be able to get away!"
From this perspective, it was true. Any "real threat" was false. If he couldn't deal with the threat in front of him, then he would never have to consider any threats in the future!
"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki can't fully use his power yet. Although Haruno Sakura is strong, she doesn't have much combat power left after fighting so far..." Orochimaru said, putting away his sneer, his voice deep. "Apart from that idiot Jiraiya, the others are not much of a threat. They're just a little troublesome!"
Although he said that, Orochimaru's hostility towards Sasori had lessened considerably, and he was watching the Konoha side more intently.
From Orochimaru's gaze and movements, Sasori also saw his true meaning.
"It seems that a battle between us is not going to happen," he said with a faint smile, looking at Jiraiya. His gaze then swept past him and landed on the girl behind him. "Thank you for the inspiration. I look forward to our next meeting... We will meet again!"
Jiraiya suddenly took a step forward.
"You think you can just leave as you please?" he said in a deep voice, his chakra beginning to surge.
Sasori suddenly pulled out a scroll.
"Don't be rash, Jiraiya..." he said with a sneer, holding up the scroll. "I still have one last secret technique scroll. It stores a deadly poison. Its toxicity is extremely strong, it spreads with the wind, and it's colorless, odorless, and silent. Don't force me. I don't want to waste it on you... If you want to die, then just come on!"
Sasori of the Red Sand, with the appearance of a delicate youth, slowly retreated.
"Also, a friendly reminder. According to the intelligence sent back by the spy I had planted by Orochimaru's side," as he said this, he glanced at Kabuto, "Orochimaru also has designs on that Ice Style girl by your side... I advise you to keep your eyes on Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya's steps suddenly faltered.
His pair of tiger-like eyes stared deadly at Sasori and the scroll in his hand, his heart undecided.
If it were anyone else saying this, Jiraiya would definitely have dismissed it with contempt. However, Sasori was a master of poison. It was not strange for him to have such a deadly poison. Tsunade had once shown Jiraiya the power of a paralysis poison that could knock him out without a sound... That was a time when he had been drinking and had said that Tsunade used to be a washboard, and then she had gotten her revenge.
Sasori saw Jiraiya's apprehension.
He retreated further and further away. Under Jiraiya's intense gaze, he slowly left the battlefield.
Finally, with a sneer, he and his puppets disappeared from in front of Jiraiya. The latter watched them leave solemnly, without making any move.
Then Jiraiya turned his gaze back to Orochimaru.
He was slightly stunned.
"That cunning bastard..."
He said with a low snort.
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