"Naruto, I've gotten stronger now. Let's—"
Sasuke looked at Naruto, wanting to say that he wanted to fight him again, but before he could finish, Orochimaru's figure suddenly appeared beside him and reminded him, "Time's up, Sasuke. We should go."
"Damn it, so soon—"
Sasuke's face flashed with unwillingness upon hearing Orochimaru's words. Then he said to Naruto, "Naruto, the next time we meet, I will definitely catch up to you. Absolutely!"
Naruto didn't know how to respond to this, so he could only nod helplessly and say,
"I'll be waiting for you."
After the two finished speaking, Orochimaru suddenly smiled and said to Naruto,
"Uzumaki Naruto, I'm very interested in you too. I look forward to meeting you next time. Goodbye!"
With that, their figures turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
"Naruto!"
As soon as Orochimaru left, Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade returned. Seeing Naruto safe and sound, both let out a sigh of relief.
"Naruto, what did you talk about with that Uchiha kid?" Jiraiya came before Naruto and asked in a deep voice, "The intel I got was that he was abducted by Orochimaru, but from the situation just now, it doesn't seem to be the case."
He had intended to ask Orochimaru about Sasuke just now, but before he could open his mouth, Orochimaru had already fled.
"What Uchiha?"
Lady Tsunade suddenly interrupted upon hearing Jiraiya's words.
"You mean that kid Orochimaru brought with him just now is from the Uchiha Clan? That Orochimaru actually laid hands on the Uchiha Clan. What is that bastard trying to do?!"
When Lady Tsunade left the Village, the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's higher-ups was already very delicate. Later, she heard that after the Nine-Tails incident, the relationship between the Village and the Uchiha Clan became even more strained, almost to the point of breaking.
That bastard Orochimaru actually laid hands on someone from the Uchiha Clan at such a time. Was he trying to completely ignite the conflict between the Village and the Uchiha Clan?
If she had known this, she shouldn't have let him leave just now!
"Not exactly."
Jiraiya realized that Sasuke had not been forcibly taken away by Orochimaru. After hearing Lady Tsunade's words, he wanted to defend him, but then he thought of that guy's way of doing things. He must have had his own purpose for taking the Uchiha kid, so Jiraiya closed his mouth again.
Leaving aside whether Uchiha Sasuke left with Orochimaru voluntarily, the mere fact that Orochimaru appeared in Konoha already signified danger.
"Sasuke left Konoha with Orochimaru of his own free will; he wasn't forced," Naruto suddenly spoke up. "Because I have a 'Sannin' like Jiraiya as my teacher, he wanted to train with Orochimaru, who also has the title of 'Sannin' like Jiraiya-sensei, hoping to catch up to my pace. That's roughly it."
"..."
Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade's first thought upon hearing Naruto's words was that Sasuke's idea was a bit naive, and they even felt a little sorry for him.
Especially Jiraiya. He even wanted to tell Sasuke personally that he was not worthy; Naruto's current strength truly had little to do with him, and Orochimaru certainly would not be able to teach a disciple more outstanding than him!
Only in this regard did Jiraiya possess unparalleled confidence.
"That Orochimaru must be plotting some conspiracy we don't know about!" Lady Tsunade still said unwillingly.
"I think so too."
Jiraiya nodded in agreement, then changed the subject and said to Lady Tsunade,
"But what does that have to do with us? Even if you know he'll do things detrimental to the Village, are you going to go back to the Village to stop him?"
Of course not!
Unless something life-or-death happened to the Village, she would never go back in this lifetime!
Lady Tsunade thought this to herself, then glared at Jiraiya in annoyance, a look of exasperation on her face, and said nothing more.
"Let's not talk about these unpleasant things."
Jiraiya smiled and waved his hand. Then, grinning, he took out a thick stack of banknotes and handed them to Lady Tsunade, changing the subject.
"Here, this is the reward I promised you. It should be enough for you to pay off your debts to those casinos."
Lady Tsunade's eyes lit up when she saw the banknotes Jiraiya handed her. She quickly snatched them and was about to count them when she heard Jiraiya say,
"Tsunade, let's get this straight first. You need to use this money to pay off your debts first. I don't want the little girl Karin to live a life of hiding from creditors with you. No, I think it's better if you give the money to Shizune to keep."
As he spoke, he reached out to take the money back from Lady Tsunade's hand.
"I know!"
Seeing this, Lady Tsunade quickly stuffed the money into her chest and then said righteously, "Don't worry. I will definitely pay off the debts first. Moreover, that girl Shizune is always extravagant with money. It's safer to keep this money with me!"
Shizune: I'm extravagant with money? Do you want to hear what you just said? If I hadn't saved money by being frugal, we would have been living on the streets long ago!
Jiraiya glanced at where Lady Tsunade was hiding the money, pursed his lips, and said, "In that case—alright then."
"Karin!"
After Jiraiya finished speaking, he suddenly looked at the quiet and unnoticed Karin. "Although I haven't asked for your opinion yet, I hope you can train with Lady Tsunade from now on. I think this is the best arrangement for you, and I hope you can understand."
After talking with Orochimaru today, Jiraiya knew that his and Naruto's future training journey would be even more perilous. In such a situation, bringing Karin along would be a very unwise choice. Moreover, he felt that, for Karin, training with Lady Tsunade was the best option in every aspect.
"I understand."
Karin nodded obediently, looked at Naruto with reluctance, then pouted and came to Lady Tsunade's side, lowering her head in silence.
In terms of age, Karin was actually a bit older than Naruto, and her past experiences had made her more mature than her peers. So, of course, she understood that Jiraiya's arrangement was the best for her.
"Tsk!~"
Lady Tsunade looked at Karin, who had her head down and was silent. For some reason, she suddenly felt very annoyed. Then she directly turned around and said loudly, "Shizune, take the little girl. We're leaving!"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
Upon hearing this, Shizune immediately pulled Karin, bowed to Jiraiya, and then chased after Lady Tsunade.
"Naruto, we're leaving too."
Jiraiya watched the three of them leave, then suddenly let out a deep sigh of relief. He pulled Naruto and turned to leave, looking as if he had done something wrong and was escaping.
"Jiraiya!"
That night, when Lady Tsunade excitedly took out the banknotes Jiraiya had given her to count them, she discovered that, except for the top few, the rest were all blank paper. Immediately, she was furious and roared, "You bastard! The next time we meet, I'm going to kill you!"
"Shizune-nee, what's wrong with Lady Tsunade?" In another room, Karin heard Lady Tsunade's roar and couldn't help but ask worriedly.
"It's nothing. Lady Tsunade is often like this. You'll get used to it," Shizune smiled and comforted Karin, then subconsciously reached into her pocket. There, a thick stack of banknotes was hidden.
Outside Konoha Village.
After Orochimaru sent Sasuke back to his secret base, he prepared to meet Danzo. However, unexpectedly, as soon as he approached Konoha, he was stopped by an unexpected figure.
"Oh?"
Orochimaru looked at the figure blocking his way in surprise and laughed softly.
"I remember you. You're that Uchiha kid who graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven and awakened his Sharingan at eight, right? Is your name Itachi? I didn't expect you to appear before me. How surprising!~"
Although Uchiha Itachi became famous after Orochimaru had already left Konoha, it didn't prevent him from knowing Uchiha Itachi's genius reputation.
However, what Orochimaru was most curious about was how Uchiha Itachi had found him. Could it be that Danzo betrayed him?
It wasn't surprising that Orochimaru suspected this, because the only one who knew he would be here today was Danzo.
Uchiha Itachi didn't know what Orochimaru was thinking. He just stared at him warily for a moment, then said directly and to the point, "Sasuke is my brother."
"Is that so?"
Orochimaru heard this and replied with an unchanged smile, "That child voluntarily became my disciple and left the Village with me. I didn't force him, you know!~"
Orochimaru initially didn't know that Sasuke was the Uchiha Clan head's child; he only found out later when Danzo mentioned it.
Of course, even if he had known Sasuke's identity from the beginning, it wouldn't have changed his mind.
"Orochimaru-sama."
Uchiha Itachi's face sank upon hearing Orochimaru's words, and his eyes switched to the Sharingan state, staring intently at him. His tone was slightly cold as he said,
"Sasuke is still a child and cannot make decisions about his own future. Please send him back. My father and I will be eternally grateful."
"That won't do."
Orochimaru directly refused Uchiha Itachi's request, shaking his head.
"As a disciple, I am very satisfied with Sasuke-kun. And Sasuke-kun is also very satisfied with me as a teacher, so I cannot agree to your request, Itachi-kun."
"Oh, right."
Orochimaru suddenly thought of something and then asked, "By the way, Itachi-kun, do you understand what Sasuke's pursuit is?"
"Sasuke's… pursuit?"
Uchiha Itachi was about to get angry when he heard Orochimaru refuse to return Sasuke, but upon hearing the question, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Sasuke's pursuit—he didn't seem to know. No, he actually did!
Uchiha Itachi suddenly thought of something and tentatively asked, "Is Sasuke's pursuit Uzumaki Naruto?"
He still remembered secretly observing Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto's spar, and he clearly remembered Sasuke's gaze at that time. Recalling the scene when Sasuke returned home and asked him for guidance in training, Uchiha Itachi seemed to suddenly understand why Sasuke would leave with Orochimaru.
"Oh? You actually know. That's truly surprising."
Orochimaru showed a slightly surprised expression, then smiled. "However, since Itachi-kun knows that child Sasuke's pursuit, you should understand that even if I send him back, you won't be able to help him achieve that pursuit, right?"
Uchiha Itachi's face darkened upon hearing Orochimaru's words. Then he said coldly,
"Will Sasuke be able to achieve his pursuit by following Orochimaru-sama?"
"Of course!"
Orochimaru nodded confidently.
"Uzumaki Naruto is Jiraiya's disciple, and Jiraiya was a complete dead last in front of me. Do you think a disciple I teach will be inferior to that unreliable guy?"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi was speechless. Based on his understanding of the "Sannin," Orochimaru's evaluation of Jiraiya seemed quite accurate.
If Orochimaru could truly teach Sasuke well, perhaps, for Sasuke, he would indeed be a rare good teacher. But Orochimaru's reputation was too bad, and he was also a rogue ninja. If news of Sasuke becoming his disciple spread, he might also be classified as a rogue ninja. The Uchiha Clan would not recognize such a relationship.
"My apologies, Orochimaru-sama."
Uchiha Itachi looked at Orochimaru with firm eyes. "Sasuke is from the Uchiha Clan. Our clan will be responsible for his training, and only our clan can teach him. So please return him!"
"Your… clan?"
Orochimaru's gaze shifted slightly upon hearing Uchiha Itachi's words. He asked with a half-smile, "If I'm not mistaken, you are currently the Hokage's direct subordinate, and as far as I know, the Uchiha he recognizes are those who have stepped outside the clan's way of thinking. But you just said 'our clan'?
"Oh, right. I suddenly remembered—you seem to have just become the new clan head of the Uchiha Clan not long ago. I wonder if this counts as a betrayal of the Hokage?"
In fact, Orochimaru had come this time precisely because he had learned that Uchiha Itachi had become the new clan head of the Uchiha Clan. He was originally Danzo's "best weapon" to deal with the Uchiha Clan, and his "betrayal" had completely disrupted Danzo's—and even Hiruzen Sarutobi's—deployment against the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Itachi's face darkened upon hearing the word "betrayal." Then he said coldly,
"This has nothing to do with our current conversation. We are discussing the issue of my brother, a member of the Uchiha Clan, whom you took away. Please address this issue, Orochimaru-sama!"
"Hahahahaha!~"
Orochimaru burst into laughter. Then he looked at Uchiha Itachi playfully. "Truly worthy of being the new clan head of the Uchiha Clan. Such spirit!~"
With that, he suddenly changed the subject, looked at Uchiha Itachi seriously, and asked, "Since you have accepted this identity, then I have a question for you, Lord Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan. Do you think the existence of Danzo Shimura is a good thing or a bad thing for the Uchiha Clan—and even for the entire Konoha?"
---
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