"What are you all doing crowding around here?"
A hoarse, lazy voice cut cleanly through the suffocating tension. "Have you already accepted your missions?"
Orochimaru stepped into the Mission Hall as if he were strolling through a garden, hands tucked into his sleeves, golden pupils sweeping over the drawn blades and flaring chakra. His gaze lingered briefly on the cracked floor tiles and newly polished walls.
"If you insist on fighting," he added mildly, "do it outside. This hall was just completed. Damaging it would be wasteful."
His arrival was like a needle puncturing an overinflated bladder.
The Konoha ninja visibly steadied, their breathing easing despite the encirclement. In contrast, the expressions of the other villages shifted—subtle, wary, unmistakable.
Kitsuchi narrowed his eyes. "Since you've already left Konoha and joined the Sacrificial Shop, isn't it inappropriate for you to interfere?"
Four Longevity Pills.
Sixty years of life.
No one here wanted to let that go.
Orochimaru waved a hand dismissively. "You misunderstand. I'm not representing Konoha." He paused deliberately, then smiled faintly. "I represent the Merchant Association. Nothing more."
With that, he drifted toward Yagyito's side and began reading the bounty board with open interest, occasionally letting out a low hum of appreciation, as if admiring fine calligraphy rather than death warrants.
If you're not interfering, why are you here?
The unspoken question hung in the air.
No one answered it.
No one moved.
"So," Orochimaru said at last, breaking the silence himself, "are you planning to complete this mission together?" His tone was conversational. "Targeting them first seems… inefficient."
Kitsuchi frowned. "If we don't deal with Konoha's elites now, attacking Konoha later will be far more troublesome."
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly. "But you want him dead."
He tapped the bounty lightly.
"And so do they."
The hall went quiet.
"…Cooperate," he continued calmly. "Isn't that obvious?"
For a moment, Kitsuchi genuinely didn't know how to respond.
The target was the Hokage.
Tsunade's teacher.
Shikaku understood instantly—and remained silent. In Konoha as it stood, only two people could voice this idea and live. Orochimaru was one. Tsunade was the other.
"The Leaf must execute him themselves," Orochimaru said, voice lowering, shedding its laziness. "Only then can the damage be contained."
His lips curved, but his eyes were cold.
"Leaves dance, fire burns. The firelight endures, and new leaves grow."
"This is Konoha's will."
He let the words settle.
"Konoha has never relied on a single person. If someone becomes a burden—Hokage or not—then sacrificing him for the Village is only natural."
Yagura laughed softly, clapping once. "Well said. Then how do we divide the bounty?"
Orochimaru didn't answer. He simply turned, his gaze settling on the Konoha ninja.
The choice was theirs.
"Konoha wants nothing," Tsunade said, stepping forward. Her voice was steady, stripped of emotion. "In exchange, this ends with those four. No clan purges. No collateral."
Yagura tilted his head. "And the method?"
"We return to Konoha," Tsunade replied without hesitation.
"A jōnin assembly. Public charges. Removal of rank. Execution."
She didn't flinch.
"You take their heads, claim the bounty, and return the bodies."
Kisame's laughter was low and rough. "And you expect us to walk into Konoha and walk out again?"
"If you don't trust us," Tsunade said calmly, releasing her chakra and sitting down cross-legged on the stone floor, "I'll stay here."
The hall froze.
"I'll be the hostage."
Her gaze lifted, unwavering. "What he did endangered all of Konoha. Once the truth spreads, the clans will move faster than you ever could."
"And after it's done," she continued, voice firm, "I become Hokage."
No one doubted it.
Lightning crackled. "We could just kill you," Yagyito said flatly.
"You can't," Tsunade replied. "Minato can leave with me at any time."
"Flying Thunder God?" Kitsuchi's pupils shrank.
Tsunade smiled faintly. "If you doubt it, test him."
Yagyito didn't hesitate.
Lightning exploded outward as he vanished.
The strike was instantaneous—violent, decisive. His fist tore through Minato's head—
—only to pass through an afterimage.
The real Minato appeared beside the falling kunai, caught it, and moved in the same breath. Wind screamed.
The blade passed once.
Blood followed.
Yagyito staggered, armor split cleanly down his back.
Silence.
"…I lost," Yagyito said hoarsely at last. "Kumogakure agrees."
He met Minato's gaze. "One hundred days. We fight again."
"Good," Minato replied simply.
Around them, the other villages watched in grim silence.
The Flying Thunder God had changed.
And so had the balance of power.
[am writing a marvel gacha novel on my patreon please support]
_____________________
https://[email protected]/mrSOMEONE01234? [replace @ with a]
>>>>>I'm a student, and I'll try my best to keep uploading chapters regularly <<<<<
thanks for your support
[[[[Please at least visit my patreon so I can have some traffic]]]]]