Orochimaru continued, "Chiyo from Sunagakure has been quiet these past few days. After her last poison duel with Hanzo the Salamander, it seems she got the worse of it. She's been staying put, not making any moves."
At the mention of the Sand Village, Tsunade reached into her pouch and took out three bloodstained forehead protectors, placing them on the table.
"I ran into three Suna scouts on my way back from the rear lines. They've been dealt with."
"Well done," Orochimaru nodded in approval. "So, what's our next move? Continue the standoff… or strike first?"
"I recommend we hold our ground," said a silver-haired shinobi, raising his hand. Once he had everyone's attention, he began to explain.
"In our current situation, whoever makes the first move risks falling into a pincer attack by the other two factions. As Lady Tsunade mentioned earlier, Amegakure is the most desperate party here. If we stall long enough, they'll be the ones to break first. If we can then work with Sunagakure to crush Amegakure, the rest of the war will be much easier."
The others nodded in agreement.
This was the safest approach. As the strongest village, Konoha had a far superior supply line compared to Suna. The longer the standoff, the more the disparity would show—and the more likely the enemy would collapse from within.
But then, unexpectedly, Tsunade herself objected.
"Objection," she said, biting her lip. A standoff might be the safest plan… but she only had seven days.
Damn that Lord God. Damn that S-rank solo mission.
"Dan's analysis is sound. But if we can think this far ahead, don't you think the enemy can too? The Suna scouts I killed earlier are evidence—they're already thinking about targeting our supply lines."
"Amegakure knows that time isn't on their side. If they drag this out, they'll lose everything. Which means they're likely to go all-in. If they pair that desperation with a sneak attack using Hanzo's new poison mist, we could suffer massive losses. And don't rule out a possible alliance between Amegakure and Sunagakure, with both targeting us at once."
She sighed.
"Developing antidotes takes time… and on a battlefield, that time can be deadly."
The room fell silent.
As the strongest medical ninja among them, if Tsunade was worried, then this threat was all too real.
The name Hanzo the Salamander alone made several Jōnin visibly uneasy.
Why was he called the Demi-God of the Shinobi World? It wasn't just his personal strength—it was that terrifying poisonous salamander summon of his. On a battlefield like this, its destructive potential was nearly unmatched.
Anyone fighting him, without proper antidotes, would be crippled before the real battle even began.
Chiyo's puppets were immune to poison, which was why she could face Hanzo several times and escape with only tactical defeats.
Orochimaru scanned the quiet tent, then nodded.
"Tsunade and Dan's proposals are both valid. Let's open this up for discussion—then we'll vote."
The Jōnin began to speak up, each offering their opinion as a lively debate broke out.
Tsunade lowered her eyes and massaged her temples, quietly grinding her teeth.
Damn that Lord God, making her lie to everyone just to push forward the mission…
In truth, poisons as potent as Hanzo's weren't easy to manufacture. Even with a poisonous salamander, producing such a gas wasn't trivial.
Tsunade had only made that up, knowing the others wouldn't be able to refute her. She used their ignorance about toxicology to bluff her way through.
But… one person in this room did understand poison.
"Tsunade… you're acting strange today," Orochimaru's sharp eyes narrowed.
He understood Tsunade—and he understood poisons. A shadowy smile crept onto his lips.
"You and Dan usually agree on most matters. But today, you're on opposite sides. Did the two of you have a fight?"
"Hm?" Tsunade looked up, just as Dan glanced over. She responded with a calm smile.
"There are always differences in opinion during war. Dan and I are fine. You're overthinking it."
Technically, she wasn't lying.
At this point in time, Tsunade and Kato Dan weren't lovers yet. They merely got along well, having worked together often and shared similar views. At most, there was a hint of mutual fondness.
In another timeline, it wasn't until Nawaki's death on the battlefield left Tsunade emotionally broken that Dan—gentle and dependable like the older boy next door—won her heart. She then gave him her heirloom necklace as a token of affection.
But in this timeline, nothing of the sort had happened yet.
And knowing Tsunade, if she had developed feelings, she wouldn't hide them. She'd be direct and honest.
"Heh… so that's the future love rival, huh?"
Nawaki clenched his fingers, cracking his knuckles as a cruel smile twisted his face.
Having inherited Nawaki's original memories and vague sister complex, that childhood attachment had now blossomed into full-blown sister obsession.
Now that he'd seen Tsunade's "canon" love interest from the original timeline, Nawaki's inner monologue turned pitch-black.
"Big Sis belongs to her little brother. That's the law of the universe.
Anyone who tries to take her from me… will meet the edge of my blade."
Then there was Orochimaru—he had picked up on Tsunade's odd behavior, but hadn't yet discovered the cause. He was merely probing as a habit.
"Good… this is the perfect opportunity. Become my loyal minion, Orochimaru."
Nawaki focused his gaze on Orochimaru and silently gave the command:
[Set as Reincarnator]
[Binding complete. Target status updated to Reincarnator.
All previous Lord God-linked missions canceled.
You may now view their profile.]
---
[Reincarnator Status Panel]
[Name: Orochimaru
Age: 22
Overall Strength: A– (Kage-level)
Skills: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, Twin Snakes Mutual Death, Fierce Snake Step, Summoning: Manda...
Potential: A+
Evaluation: Risk of attempting to break free from Lord God's control. Monitor and guide carefully.]
---
Orochimaru's stats were similar to Tsunade's. As expected of one of the Legendary Sannin, their power levels were comparable—each had their strengths and weaknesses depending on the enemy.
Only when the three worked together did they truly become formidable.
Nawaki's thoughts turned once more.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Orochimaru's ear:
[Do you desire immortality?]
[Do you wish to live forever?]
[YES? NO?]
Orochimaru froze mid-sentence.
He had been gauging Tsunade when the voice suddenly rang out in his head. Startled, he barely managed to hide his reaction. His training in restraint and deception saved him from exposing anything.
Tsunade noticed the flicker in his expression. His eyes darted around briefly, and she asked curiously, "Orochimaru, what's wrong?"
"…Nothing." Orochimaru regained composure quickly, a faint smile—more like a venomous sneer—on his lips. "Did you hear… anything strange just now?"
"Strange?" Tsunade immediately thought of the Lord God and stared intently at him. "I didn't hear anything. Did you?"
Orochimaru was still processing the experience and hadn't noticed Tsunade's sudden shift in demeanor. He replied smoothly, "Probably nothing. I thought I heard some faint movement. Thought someone might be eavesdropping on our meeting… guess I was mistaken."