Meanwhile, in the Rain Village, Tsunade had just received the latest reports from Konoha. Her eyes narrowed as she read through the details.
She had been hoping her little stunt would force the Hokage to send someone else for the negotiations with Hanzo. But to her surprise, the Third Hokage had gone ahead with her plan.
Not only had Xin passed the jonin exam, but he had already left the village with his mission scroll. He'd arrive at the camp in two days.
"That old man..." Tsunade muttered, slamming the scroll down on the table. She let out a frustrated laugh, her anger rising.
After a few moments, she managed to calm herself down enough to avoid cursing out the Hokage. Sighing, she grabbed the scroll and went to find Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
She tossed the scroll to Orochimaru.
"The old man wants you both back in the village. They need manpower on the Land of Rivers front. Looks like your plans for a break are out the window," She said with a smirk.
Orochimaru's lips curled into a slight, mocking smile. He casually handed the scroll over to Jiraiya.
Taking orders?
That wasn't really his thing. He'd take a break whenever he felt like it. If he didn't want to move, even someone holding a knife to his throat wouldn't change that. Jiraiya, on the other hand, was the Hokage's loyal lapdog.
The thought of the "Legendary Sannin" title made Orochimaru's temper flare again.
"I'm not going anywhere," he declared, rising from his seat. "I've recently made a breakthrough in my research, and I need time to focus. I'll return to the village when I'm good and ready."
With that, Orochimaru strolled out of the tent without another word.
Orochimaru was leaving the camp, but he hadn't quite decided where to go yet. One thing was for sure he wasn't heading back to Konoha anytime soon.
As for the higher-ups... well, they could think what they wanted.
He didn't believe the village would label him a rogue ninja just because he didn't return on time. But if they did... well, running off wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
Tsunade frowned slightly but just crossed her arms and watched Orochimaru walk away. She didn't feel like stopping him.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, rushed forward, blocking Orochimaru's path.
"Orochimaru, what the hell are you doing? The old man wants us back in Konoha. We need to head to the Land of Rivers to help with the battle."
"I need rest. If you want to go, then go yourself. But if you follow me, I'll kill you."
Orochimaru was never someone easy to persuade, and when it came to Jiraiya's attempts, they were doomed to fail. If Tsunade had tried, maybe there would have been a better chance, but she couldn't be bothered.