"It's the little turtle I used to raise."
Orochimaru and the others stared at Garp after hearing this, completely stunned.
The fact that Garp once kept all nine Tailed Beasts penned up was long known throughout the shinobi world.
But calling those terrifying creatures, beings that could level mountains and topple nations, "little turtles" still left everyone speechless.
Looking across the entire ninja world, only the man in front of them could treat those monsters as if they were pets he had casually raised.
"Clan Leader?"
Shisui asked quietly.
"Don't overthink it. I volunteered simply to ease the tension between you and the other shinobi.
As for the Three-Tails, I never had any intention of laying claim to it."
Fugaku shook his head, sighing in his heart.
Sure enough, other shinobi's prejudice against the Uchiha had already become a mountain.
Unmovable, unbreakable.
Even if he offered his help proactively, what he received was not trust or recognition, but even deeper suspicion.
"..."
Shisui didn't know what to say.
He had awakened the Mangekyo as well, so he naturally understood that Fugaku was telling the truth.
Not only was an ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan insufficient to control a Tailed Beast, but every use of the Mangekyo drained its power.
It was impossible to waste it entirely on controlling a beast.
But the Uchiha's reputation… was simply too poor.
While Fugaku and Shisui were weighed down by worry for their clan's future, Tsunade on the other hand had no such concerns at all.
The moment she saw Garp start walking off, she immediately chased after him.
"Weren't you two going to discuss strategy?"
Garp felt a dull headache the moment he saw a shadow following him again.
He had no choice, Tsunade had set a very bad example.
Once this golden hair came over, the other red-haired happily followed as well.
"Things like discussing strategy are better left to Orochimaru. Besides, he's the one who's a candidate for Fourth Hokage. I only have one job, and that's to guide you, Uncle Garp."
Tsunade said confidently.
"The village sent me to guard against the Three-Tails. If you're going after the Three-Tails, of course I'm coming."
Before Garp could speak, Kushina had already declared her stance.
"Ah… if you two girls enjoy following this old man, then do as you like. But you don't need to guide me anymore."
Garp smiled helplessly.
He wasn't like Madara and Hashirama, whose eyes could only see each other, but even he found the growing heat in these two girls' gazes a little overwhelming.
"Why?"
Tsunade blinked, startled.
She genuinely intended to guide him. After all, she was the one who gathered intelligence on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the Three-Tails.
"Because they've already come to find me."
Garp stood at the entrance of the Konoha camp, leaning against a large tree, his gaze calmly fixed on the thick fog in the distance.
"Kirigakure arrived this fast?"
Tsunade and Kushina exchanged looks.
And soon, they understood why Garp said that.
"Kirigakure… is here!"
Orochimaru, Fugaku, and the others who had been in the command tent moments ago all rushed out, and they brought news.
"How many?"
Tsunade and Kushina both knew this meant the nearby scouting unit had detected the Kirigakure forces.
"Three times our number."
Orochimaru raised three fingers.
The two women tensed immediately, until they looked at Garp.
The man, upon hearing that an army three times Konoha's size was marching toward them, didn't pale.
Instead, a faint smirk, one that looked down on the entire shinobi world, appeared on his face.
Their anxiety evaporated instantly.
Especially Tsunade.
Thinking of how Garp just subdued three great shinobi villages alone, she couldn't help but have a thought.
'An army three times Konoha's size? That's it?'
"Konoha shinobi… prepare for battle!"
Orochimaru wasn't as optimistic as she was.
Not because he doubted Garp's strength, but because as a Hokage candidate, as the supreme commander of this Konoha force, he had to prepare for the worst.
Such as fighting a war without Iron Fist Garp.
After all, he had heard enough of Danzo's failures.
Garp subduing three great villages hadn't been for Konoha's sake.
What if Garp simply took the Three-Tails and left? Or worse, what if he just greeted the Three-Tails and then stood aside to watch the show?
Orochimaru did not doubt for a second that Garp would do exactly that.
After studying the chronicles of the Warring States era, he understood that Iron Fist had always walked his own path.
Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure surrendering… they surrendered to Garp, not to Konoha.
Konoha receiving those surrender documents was merely because Garp happened to be residing here, making it convenient for him to sign.
Knowing all this, Orochimaru would never repeat Danzo's mistake.
Treating Garp as a Konoha shinobi, let alone a subordinate.
…
Just as Konoha's hundreds of shinobi, led by Orochimaru, formed ranks, a dense wave of footsteps suddenly sounded.
What began as faint murmurs grew into a thunderous march that shook the forest.
Even with the thick fog blocking their sight, every Konoha shinobi could clearly see them.
A formation of more than a thousand Kirigakure ninja, aligned in a straight line, surging out of the mist behind seven figures each carrying a massive blade on their backs.
They charged forward like a tidal wave.
"An honor to finally meet you, Iron Fist Garp!"