"Long time no see, Tsunade."
Orochimaru greeted awkwardly, his expression stiff and uneasy.
Tsunade's face froze, still clearly shaken from the earlier shock.
After several long seconds, Tsunade's gaze swept past Orochimaru and landed on Shinju. She raised a hand and pointed at him, her expression turning fierce. (▼ヘ▼#)
"Who told you to sneak out on your own?!"
"What would you have done if something happened?"
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to act alone?!"
"Three days of confinement at home! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ) "
Shinju: "…"
He had thought that capturing Orochimaru and bringing him back would earn him great credit.
But instead of rewarding him, Tsunade-sensei's very first words were to send him home for three days of reflection…
Just as Shinju was about to ask about a reward, Tsunade suddenly spoke again, this time turning to him with a sharp look.
"By the way, since you caught Orochimaru, where's Sasuke?"
Shinju waved his hand. "Sasuke ran too fast, I couldn't catch him…"
Tsunade: (ー_ー)!!
Yeah, right! Who would believe that?!
You tied up the slipperiest snake in the world and dragged him back, and now you expect me to believe you couldn't catch a boy like Sasuke?!
Clearly, you let him go on purpose!
Tsunade rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
"Fine, fine, just get back to your confinement already…"
Shinju rubbed his hands together awkwardly, unwilling to give up. He tried again, hoping to bring up the matter of his reward.
"Sensei, I mean, since I brought Orochimaru back… maybe…"
But before he could finish, Tsunade cut him off sharply.
"We'll talk about it in three days!"
Shinju looked troubled.
"Come on, Sensei, look at me — I'm perfectly fine, and I've made such a big contribution to the village…"
Big mistake.
The moment he said that, Tsunade's face darkened even more.
"During confinement, you're going to copy the Konoha Ninja Regulations! Keep copying until you finally understand what you did wrong!! (▼皿▼#)"
Shinju: "…"
Without another word, Shinju used the Flying Thunder God and vanished back home.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's lips curved into a grin. (´つヮ⊂︎)
Watching a ridiculously overpowered brat like Shinju getting chewed out like this was just too satisfying!
Tsunade immediately turned her glare on Orochimaru.
"And what exactly are you laughing at, you rogue ninja?!"
Without waiting for a response, she waved her hand firmly.
"Anbu! Take Orochimaru straight to Konoha's Heaven-Class Prison. I'll interrogate him in two days!"
"If he escapes, none of you will be staying in Konoha!"
Orochimaru's grin froze on his face.
The Heaven-Class Prison… built under the personal supervision of the Second Hokage, layered with mechanisms and defenses so tight not even a mosquito could get through without being sliced in half.
Tch…
Shinju, you brat, you've ruined me this time!!
Following Tsunade's orders, ANBU immediately arrived and dragged Orochimaru away.
A few minutes later, the door to the Hokage's office was suddenly flung open with a loud bang!
The impact sent the door slamming against the wall, echoing sharply.
Tsunade looked up, eyes sharp as blades, locking onto Kakashi.
At that moment, Kakashi froze. Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
From Kakashi's perspective, Tsunade looked like this: (◣д◢)
Hokage-sama… why does she look like a demon today?!
Thinking about how Shinju had acted without permission and how serious the matter was, Kakashi braced himself and stepped forward to report.
"Hokage-sama, that brat Shinju went to Orochimaru's base alone using the Flying Thunder God, and he hasn't returned yet…"
Tsunade slammed her palm on the desk with a resounding thud!
She shot to her feet, anger blazing.
"Kakashi! You're the squad captain! How the hell are you managing your subordinates?! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ) "
"Shinju left last night, and you're only reporting it to me now?!"
"You're grounded for three days too! And you're copying ten thousand copies of the Ninja Squad Leader's Handbook!"
Kakashi's expression twisted into one of silent suffering.
He knew how important Shinju was to Konoha, and he had indeed been negligent, so punishment wasn't unexpected.
But if he was confined for three days, what would happen to their mission…
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said carefully, "please allow me to complete the mission first and accept punishment afterward… Shinju's whereabouts are still unknown, and I'm really worried…"
By now, Tsunade had calmed down from her earlier anger. She waved a hand dismissively.
"No need. That brat Shinju's already back."
Kakashi: "That guy came back and didn't even tell me?! ('⌒´メ)"
"So, do we still proceed with the Tenchi Bridge mission? We won't get many chances to track Orochimaru's movements…"
Tsunade massaged her temples, sighing.
"Shinju already brought Orochimaru back."
Kakashi: !!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
What?! He brought him back?!
He'd been racking his brain, strategizing on how to get Orochimaru's latest intel…
And that brat Shinju just spent one night and personally captured Orochimaru?!
Looks like the Tenchi Bridge mission is officially pointless now…
Kakashi let out a small laugh of relief.
"In that case, I'll head home for my confinement then…"
Thinking about three days without missions, Kakashi even felt a little pleased.
He'd been busy on missions nonstop lately, and the sequel to Icha Icha Paradise Shinju gave him was still sitting untouched.
Now, he could finally enjoy some quality reading time during confinement… (⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)
Afterward, Naruto ended up in trouble too, punished for hiding critical information from Tsunade. He and Shinju went home together for confinement…
...
Three days later.
Tsunade decided to interrogate Orochimaru that day.
Inside the interrogation room.
Tsunade and the Third Hokage sat at the front behind a desk.
Behind them, a row of interrogation shinobi stood in perfect formation.
On the side, Naruto and Shinju, both curious, had requested to observe the questioning.
Seeing Konoha deploy such a massive lineup just to interrogate him, Orochimaru seemed amused. He let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm just an ordinary researcher. There's no need to make such a big fuss…" Orochimaru said.
"Look at the sins you've committed over the years… how can you even say you're just a researcher?"
"Frankly, I'd love nothing more than to execute you right now!"
Hearing this, the Third Hokage's eyes widened in anger.
Regret welled up inside him — regret for letting Orochimaru escape back then.
If only he'd killed Orochimaru immediately back then, none of this would have happened. So many innocent lives wouldn't have been lost…
"Orochimaru," the Third Hokage said grimly, "all those years ago, I couldn't bring myself to kill you. But now that I'm older… do you really think I still lack the resolve?"
Orochimaru smirked slyly. "Sarutobi-sensei, you've made far too many mistakes in your life."
"You shouldn't have let me escape. You shouldn't have indulged Danzo…"
"And honestly, you really shouldn't have made the Fourth Hokage."
"Back then, you were already a senile old fool!"
"If you had chosen me as Hokage instead, maybe the Nine-Tails Incident wouldn't have happened at all…"
"Oh, that's right."
Orochimaru suddenly turned his head toward Naruto, as if remembering something.
"Naruto, you still don't know, do you? The Fourth Hokage is actually your father."
Naruto: "Nani?? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Orochimaru smiled faintly, elaborating.
"Your father and mother were both heroes. Back then, to save this rotten village, they sacrificed their lives to the Nine-Tails' claws…"
But before he could finish, Tsunade immediately sensed a violent surge of chakra from Naruto's direction. She barked sharply:
"Orochimaru! Shut your mouth!!!"