Orochimaru narrowed his golden eyes toward Tsunade, his voice calm yet sharp.
"You're saying there's no gold mine here at all?"
Tsunade's hands glowed softly with healing chakra as she continued tending to Hayashi's chest wound. Without even lifting her head, she replied flatly, "At least, I haven't found a single trace of that so-called mine."
Hayashi grimaced as the chakra worked into his injury, a dull ache pressing against his ribs. Remind me again why I agreed to this mission… he thought bitterly. He'd once sworn he'd rather starve to death or jump off a cliff than take on another A-rank mission after the last disaster.
But Orochimaru, ever the picture of confidence, had convinced him otherwise.
Tsunade had supposedly already found the gold mine, he'd said. All they had to do was bring the gold back.
Simple, clean, easy.
Yeah, right.
Never believe a single punctuation mark a Jōnin says, Hayashi thought darkly.
Tsunade continued speaking, her tone serious. "That letter was sent by you, Orochimaru. You know what it said. According to it, the mine had nearly been exhausted and the ninja stationed there were waiting for an escort from Rogue Town. There should have been at least one Jōnin, several Chūnin, and a full excavation team."
Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "A group like that would leave traces—food, supplies, campfire remains, anything. But so far, my team hasn't found a thing. That can only mean one thing: we've been deceived. There's no mine here at all."
The tent fell silent for a long moment. Her reasoning was sound, and the tension thickened as everyone processed it.
The letter's contents had always seemed suspicious, neither truth nor lie—just enough to bait them.
From the look in Tsunade's eyes, it was clear she agreed with Hayashi: the letter was fake.
But the mission wasn't up to them. Whether it was true or not depended entirely on what the Hokage believed.
Orders were orders. And when Konoha's higher-ups said go, you went.
After all, even a small gold mine meant massive profit.
Tsunade's team had been chosen because they were already nearby, with Orochimaru's squad assigned to assist. The idea was simple—confirm the mine's location, intercept any enemy from the Land of Rain, and bring everything back to Konoha.
A good plan on paper. But after so long searching, nothing.
Even with the Inuzuka and Hyūga clans in Tsunade's team—both unmatched in reconnaissance—they'd found not a single trace.
"By the way," Tsunade asked suddenly, glancing up, "where's that ninja you captured?"
Orochimaru's tone was indifferent. "He escaped."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Tsunade took a long, deep breath. Then—
"Useless!"
She slammed her hand on the table. "Go home and raise pigs, why don't you!? You let an important informant escape? What can I even trust you to handle?"
Before Hayashi could even blink, she turned her frustration toward him.
"Ah! That hurts!" he hissed as she pressed a bit too hard against his wound.
Tsunade snorted. "You haven't learned anything else, but you sure inherited Orochimaru's habit of whining. It's just a little pressure—don't act like I broke your ribs."
Hayashi bit back a reply, while Orochimaru quietly smirked from the corner.
For a moment, the only sound in the tent was Tsunade's relentless scolding.
Even Nawaki and Mikoto had gone silent, eyes wide, as if afraid to breathe too loudly.
Everyone knew—when Tsunade was in this kind of mood, it was best to stay still and pray for survival.
Eventually, Tsunade exhaled sharply, dropping into her chair again. Her anger had burned out—for now. Hayashi, being the only one within arm's reach, began massaging her shoulders carefully, while Nawaki hurried to pour her tea.
"This is troublesome," Tsunade muttered, half to herself. "Maybe that missing ninja used a summoning beast to warn the others ahead of time. They could've hidden everything before we got here."
Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully. "That's a reasonable assumption. Before now, your team lacked the manpower to search thoroughly, especially while monitoring key routes. This time, we'll conduct a full-scale sweep."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say. I've been eating terrible rations and sleeping in dirt for days. I'm out here breaking my back looking for a mine that doesn't exist, and Kushina and the others are still outside combing the forest."
Before she could finish complaining, cheerful laughter rang from outside the tent.
"Tsunade-neechan! We bought the shaved ice!"
That familiar, bubbly voice could only belong to Kushina Uzumaki.
Tsunade froze mid-sentence. Orochimaru and the others turned toward her at once.
Moments later, Kushina pushed aside the tent flap, grinning wide, a cup of colorful shaved ice in hand. "Tsunade-nee, the mixed rice you wanted was sold out!"
Behind her came a girl with face paint—Inuzuka Hana's older cousin—and another with pale white eyes, unmistakably from the Hyūga clan. All three girls entered carrying paper bags stuffed with food and drinks.
The sweet smell of fruit syrup and grilled rice filled the air.
Kushina's bright eyes landed on Hayashi, who was still standing beside Tsunade.
"Hayashi! You're here!" she cheered, hopping forward. "And Mikoto too! Oh—and Orochimaru-ojisan!"
Nawaki raised an expectant brow. "And me?"
Kushina tilted her head innocently. "…Oh, hi Nawaki-san!"
He deflated immediately.
Tsunade's brow twitched. "Kushina, really! How can you go shopping in the middle of a mission!?"
"But you said if we summoned Katsuyu, she'd handle the lookout!" Kushina countered brightly.
Tsunade froze, realizing her own words had come back to haunt her. "Ah… haha…" she laughed weakly, rubbing the back of her head.
It was easy to forget that the Third Hokage had personally entrusted Kushina to her care. And what had Tsunade done?
Sent her—and two Academy students—shopping in a nearby town.
Sure, each of them had a Katsuyu clone for protection, and with a Hyūga and Inuzuka present, they could sense danger from miles away. But still, Tsunade's confidence bordered on reckless.
Then again, this was Tsunade. Even if she'd known Kushina would become a future jinchūriki, she probably wouldn't have cared.
Now squatting in embarrassment at the corner of the tent, Tsunade muttered something about "poor leadership skills," while Orochimaru took over command with his usual composure.
Standing at the front of the group, he addressed everyone.
"My name is Orochimaru. I am the commander of this joint operation."
His deep, hoarse voice cut through the noise, calm and commanding.
"The objectives are simple," he continued. "First—secure all routes leading toward the Land of Rain. Second—conduct a full-scale search to locate the hidden mine and the Rain shinobi squad operating nearby."
He looked over everyone slowly, his piercing gaze firm.
"Now then," he said, lips curling faintly, "let the mission begin."
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