Tsunade ultimately handed the authority of command over to Orochimaru. He immediately sent word back to the village; a shift of this magnitude required him to touch base with his teacher first.
Tatsuma, however, was not granted an invite to this "Hokage-tier conference call." Despite being the one to propose the tactical shift, the meeting was classified as top-secret, far exceeding his security clearance.
Truth be told, a part of Tatsuma regretted speaking up. His plan required a segment of the shinobi force to act as bait—meaning some would die not just from enemy attacks, but as a direct result of his own orchestration.
While a cold, strategic view suggested the plan was best for Konoha's interests and would ultimately reduce the total casualty count of the war, it didn't change the fact that he was deliberately sending people to their deaths.
Plagued by a lingering gloom, Tatsuma was led deeper into the temporary camp. He didn't even have time to unpack before he was pulled back into service as a medical ninja, treating those wounded in the recent skirmishes.
He knew that his current state of mind—this wavering indecision and emotional volatility—was his greatest weakness as a ninja. He just couldn't flick a switch and change it overnight.
Working as a temporary medic was actually a blessing for his mental state. It allowed him to focus on helping "his people" rather than plotting how to sacrifice them. It was a form of penance; a way to keep his hands busy so his mind didn't have time to dwell on the "greater good."
Orochimaru worked with frightening efficiency. Within the day, he issued a camp-wide reorganization order under his new authority as commander. Not a single voice rose in protest. Everyone already knew that Orochimaru had been the one managing the day-to-day operations; this simply made his title official.
The following day, Orochimaru split the thousand-plus ninjas in camp into new units. No one suspected a thing. After all, the previous formation had been designed to hold the front and buy time for the Hyuga. Now that the Hyuga squad had been wiped out and the two sides were evenly matched in numbers, a change in strategy was only logical.
Under Orochimaru's new structure, aside from specialized utility squads, the force was divided into two categories: Combat and Decoy. The Combat teams would continue to hold the line against Suna to buy time, while the Decoy teams were tasked with setting up a network of temporary outposts, checkpoints, and ambush lines across the Land of Rivers.
Orochimaru kept the full scope of the plan under wraps. Even Tatsuma, when he received his new orders, was only told to follow a squad leader to assist in constructing a temporary outpost.
It was an easy assignment—the kind of low-risk task that carried the same mission credit as a front-line skirmish during these high-tension times.
But it wasn't the task Tatsuma wanted. Driven by a mix of suspicion and resolve, Tatsuma sought out Orochimaru at the command tent.
He was granted entry almost immediately. Inside, Orochimaru was standing before a massive sand table, using precise Earth and Wind Style chakra to simulate shifting battlefield conditions.
Tatsuma walked in and scanned the room. Before he could even offer a greeting, Orochimaru spoke without looking up. "There's a different mission on my desk. Take a look."
Tatsuma raised an eyebrow. He hadn't pegged Orochimaru as the type for mysterious, late-night mentorship tropes, but he walked to the desk and picked up the scroll.
He unfurled it. It was a formal notice assigning him to a front-line combat detachment. Tatsuma's brow furrowed. There was no way Orochimaru had prepared two sets of orders just for him; that didn't fit the " Snake Uncle" he knew.
"The one in your hand was arranged by Tsunade," Orochimaru said, finally turning around with a smile that was both ancient and unsettling. "She said this is what you actually wanted. I must say, I didn't expect the two of you to share such a... master-disciple intuition."
Tatsuma felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He suppressed a shiver and asked, "Lord Orochimaru, the previous mission—assigning me to the outposts—was that your doing?"
"Not me. That came from the village... a very specific arrangement."
Tatsuma went silent, unsure how to process that. The village elders were actively trying to shelter him? Orochimaru didn't seem to care about his confusion. He simply asked, "You seem skeptical of the favoritism being shown to you? That's going to be a problem."
"I'm not skeptical, just... surprised. And what do you mean by 'problem'?"
"The village wants to shield you from the front lines, yet more than one person guessed you would try to go anyway. And all of them... almost simultaneously... asked me to 'look after' you."
Orochimaru stared at Tatsuma as if trying to dissect him with his eyes. Tatsuma scratched his head and gave a nervous laugh. "Is that so? Maybe I just have one of those faces people find easy to get along with. I suppose I expected Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya-sensei to pull some strings."
"It wasn't just them." Orochimaru shook his head and pointed at Tatsuma's waist. "Did you bring Sakumo-senpai's blade?"
"Huh?" Confused, Tatsuma pulled out a scroll, performed a quick unseal, and produced the chakra metal short sword. The hilt was already beginning to show the smooth, dark patina of frequent handling.
Orochimaru frowned slightly at Tatsuma's lack of wariness but said nothing. He walked over, took the blade, and hummed. "Your chakra reserves are low, but your control far exceeds your peers. You've already mastered the Chakra Scalpel, but tell me... how is your training in Wind Style nature transformation progressing?"
"It's... alright," Tatsuma said "humbly." "I can pick up B-rank Wind Style jutsu without much of a hurdle."
Orochimaru's lip curled. B-rank jutsu were no small feat; many veteran Chunin only mastered two or three as their ultimate trump cards. Yet Tatsuma spoke as if they were basics. Orochimaru could tell the boy wasn't lying, but he also sensed this wasn't Tatsuma's limit—it was Jiraiya's.
Jiraiya often bragged about being proficient in four elements, but Orochimaru knew his teammate had zero patience for the grueling study required for A-rank or S-rank nature manipulation. He preferred to throw around high-volume, low-efficiency B and C-rank jutsu and overwhelm enemies with raw chakra.
In Orochimaru's eyes, if Tatsuma only felt comfortable with B-ranks, it wasn't because he couldn't handle more—it was because Jiraiya didn't have anything more to teach him.
However, Jiraiya had changed recently. Perhaps becoming a teacher had finally forced him to be more responsible, or perhaps Tsunade's recent growth had ignited his competitive spirit. Orochimaru had heard rumors that Jiraiya was researching a technique similar to the First Hokage's—one Jiraiya refused to discuss, but Orochimaru could guess what it was. Aside from Wood Style, the First Lord was most famous for his...
"Lord Orochimaru?"
Tatsuma's voice snapped him out of his reverie. Orochimaru nodded reflexively, though he had no reason to.
"Ahem." Orochimaru cleared his throat. "You don't have a Lightning affinity, so Sakumo-senpai's specific sword style isn't a perfect fit for you. Because of that, Sakumo asked me to ensure you learn a certain technique before you head into battle."
"What technique?" Tatsuma's eyes lit up.
Orochimaru looked at the short sword in his hand and unsheathed it. He gathered Wind Style chakra in his throat and exhaled sharply onto the blade.
In an instant, the palm-and-a-half-long blade was enveloped in a roaring aura of wind, extending into a shimmering edge nearly eighty centimeters long.
"A B-rank jutsu: Wind Style: Gale Blade," Orochimaru explained. "Lord Danzo has a similar technique called Vacuum Blade, but that one wouldn't suit your style."