Hearing the name "Nawaki," Orochimaru's pupils suddenly contracted.
Nawaki was Tsunade's younger brother and also Orochimaru's first disciple.
Unfortunately, he died during the Second Great Ninja War. Orochimaru had never forgotten Nawaki's death.
It was from that point on that Orochimaru began to feel how fragile humans really were.
Though the name didn't affect Orochimaru much, it was a different story for Tsunade.
Orochimaru looked slightly surprised at the unusually calm Tsunade in front of him.
After all, since that day, the name "Nawaki" had been like a nightmare for Tsunade. After what happened with Dan Katō, she completely spiraled and developed hemophobia, becoming unable to recover since then.
And now she had actually spoken this name herself—had she finally moved on?
Seeing the shock and confusion in Orochimaru's eyes, Tsunade took a sip of sake and said calmly:
"I'm surprised too. I never thought I'd be able to walk out from under that shadow... sigh..."
"Let's not talk about that. That brat Gekko Chizan sent a letter using a black snake, and then there was no news after that."
"You don't have to worry, though. That disciple of yours might not be great at a lot of things, but when it comes to running away, he's unmatched—even I have to admit his talent."
Orochimaru fell into deep thought at Tsunade's words.
He really went to the Land of Lightning? But what's that brat doing there?
From the current situation, the Land of Lightning didn't seem to have the strength to launch another war.
"But Orochimaru, aren't you supposed to be on the battlefield in the Land of Rivers?"
"Why are you still hanging around the village?"
Faced with Tsunade's question, Orochimaru simply gave a slight smile.
"Shirakumo volunteered last year to lead the team there."
"So I haven't been assigned to the front for now—but probably not for much longer."
"From the intel, Iwagakure has deployed more than ten thousand troops in the Land of Fields, and they've already attacked our outposts there."
"The situation is still far from optimistic."
"I wanted to take advantage of this rare break to look for my disciple."
As he finished speaking, Orochimaru slowly sat across from Tsunade and poured himself a cup of sake.
"Tsk, tsk, what a rare sight—Orochimaru drinking? I haven't seen that in a long time."
Orochimaru downed the sake in one gulp. The burn of the alcohol brought him a brief moment of numbness.
"I don't like drinking. Alcohol numbs the nerves."
Tsunade scoffed at that. To her, sake was a wonderful thing. Hmph...
"Tsunade, what do you think Chizan-kun is doing now? Gathering intel in the Land of Lightning?"
Intelligence ninjas held a critical position in the village. After all, more information about enemy villages meant more chances of victory during wartime.
"That brat is collecting intel, but I doubt that's all he's doing."
"I haven't known him long, but I've got a good grasp of his character."
Bad news travels fast, and she knew exactly what Gekko Chizan was like.
As for what Chizan was doing at the moment—he and Yugito Nii were standing in front of a waterfall.
The most mysterious place on Island Turtle—the Falls of Truth.
"This is the Falls of Truth. They say it reflects the darkest side of your heart."
"Defeat it, and your mind will be purified. It greatly strengthens your will—this is the first step to becoming a perfect Jinchūriki."
"If someone can't even overcome themselves, how can they hope to claim the Tailed Beast's power as their own?"
Listening to Chizan's explanation, Yugito was surprised. Without thinking, she blurted out:
"This Island Turtle belongs to Kumogakure, right?"
"Then how do you know all this so clearly?"
Her question made Chizan laugh.
Sure, Island Turtle was a Kumogakure specialty—but who was Gekko Chizan?
"I'm an intelligence ninja. Gathering intel is second nature to me."
"Island Turtle is nothing. Even you, a Jinchūriki, was found by me without much effort."
"That's why I say Kumogakure is full of muscleheads with tiny brains. They probably still haven't realized their Jinchūriki and this critical island have vanished."
Yugito frowned at Chizan's mocking.
She wanted to refute him, but didn't know how. It had already been several days since her abduction.
She was a Jinchūriki, for heaven's sake. She'd been fantasizing about Kumogakure's ninja swooping in to rescue her—but as of today, no one had come.
Doubt began to form in her heart about her village's strength.
Little did she know, Kumogakure was currently in utter chaos from top to bottom.
...
"Why!"
"I gave you such a simple task—just guard Yugito Nii! How could she disappear right under your noses!"
"Speak! Where is she!!!"
That roar came from Dodai.
When he arrived at the mountain where Yugito Nii had been staying, he was shocked to find no trace of her anywhere.
Realizing something was wrong, he immediately summoned sensory ninja to thoroughly scan the entire mountain.
Eventually, they discovered that Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki of Kumogakure—was gone!!!
Furious, Dodai gathered all the ninja stationed on the mountain and unleashed an unprecedented roar of rage, while also having someone rush to inform the acting Fourth Raikage, A.
After all, the one who had gone missing wasn't just anyone—it was a Jinchūriki!
"Dodai! What's going on?"
"Where's Yugito? Where did she go!"
Having rushed over after hearing the news, A was so furious smoke practically poured from his ears—he was about to explode.
"No idea. Judging by the situation, she was probably kidnapped."
Dodai had barely said a word when a Kumogakure jōnin suddenly arrived at their side, adding even more fuel to their fury.
"A-sama! Dodai-sama! We've lost contact with Island Turtle!"
"The ninja in charge of Island Turtle tried every means to send signals, but there's no response."
One blow after another—A's vision went dark.
Thud!
"A!"
"A-sama!"
Yes, the acting Fourth Raikage A was so overwhelmed with rage that he fainted again.
And it wasn't just him—Dodai himself was seeing stars. If A hadn't collapsed first with that loud thud, it might have been Dodai hitting the ground.
"Set Island Turtle aside for now. Issue a red alert! Have all ninja search the area around the village for any trace of Yugito Nii!"
"Now!"
Pfft!
With that final shout, Dodai coughed up a mouthful of blood from sheer rage.
If he couldn't faint—then let the blood fly instead!