Having been around Xin long enough, she was one of the few who understood him well. Just from his tone, she could guess what he was thinking. She teased him:
"You think Orochimaru won't choose you?"
"Unless the situation becomes very intense, I doubt it," Xin replied casually.
There was no need to hide it-after all, he wasn't badmouthing Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru made me think about a lot of things today," Xin added.
"What about him seemed off?" Tsunade asked. She hadn't noticed anything. To her, Orochimaru seemed like the same old Orochimaru.
It's just that the aura around him-the one she disliked-was growing heavier.
If anything was off, only Orochimaru would know for sure. Perhaps Danzo knew something too.
Just as Xin suspected, Orochimaru chose several members from the various clans, including some elite civilian ninjas.
But Xin's team wasn't among those selected.
"Why didn't Teacher Orochimaru choose us?" Nawaki asked.
Their squad hadn't been selected, and Nawaki went out of his way to confront Orochimaru about it.
"Teacher, you've selected a lot of people from various clans. Why wasn't Xin's squad included?" Nawaki spoke confidently. In Konoha, he was sure that Xin's team was one of the strongest.
Yet despite that, Orochimaru still hadn't chosen them.
Facing Nawaki's questioning, Orochimaru simply smiled, patting his head before explaining:
"Nawaki, you need to understand that right now we're just preparing. The war hasn't actually broken out yet. For this round of selection, only a few hundred shinobi were chosen. Once war officially begins, Xin's squad will definitely be sent to the frontlines."
"But if the war hasn't started and it's just precaution, why are both you and Jiraiya being sent to the border?" Nawaki pressed further.
"That's the decision of the old man," Orochimaru said, tossing the blame onto Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage.
Currently, Danzo was keeping a low profile, so pinning it on him didn't make sense. If Danzo couldn't take the heat, then it was better to lay it on the Third Hokage.
After all, Nawaki was not about to march into the Hokage's office and confront Sarutobi directly.
"..."
Nawaki was left speechless and had no choice but to leave feeling frustrated.
March into the Hokage's office to question the Third Hokage?
Nawaki thought that if he dared to do that, Tsunade would most definitely punish him.
Just the thought of his sister's iron fists made Nawaki abandon any such notion.
Better to just wait and see how the situation developed.
After Nawaki left, the smile on Orochimaru's face slowly faded.
"I don't recall you having a habit of eavesdropping," Orochimaru said, his voice growing cold.
Danzo slowly stepped out from the shadows, his expression impassive.
"I wasn't eavesdropping, Orochimaru. I merely happened to pass by," Danzo replied.
Danzo, eavesdropping? Impossible.
He didn't need to eavesdrop; he could simply send subordinates to do it for him.
You wouldn't do it yourself, but you would send others to spy.
Orochimaru sneered coldly, his slit-like pupils filled with disdain, clearly unimpressed by Danzo's blatant lie.