Orochimaru had always believed one simple truth about shinobi: in the chaos of battle, nothing stayed hidden forever. Ninjutsu tore apart landscapes, explosive clashes reshaped terrain, and anything buried stood a high chance of being unearthed sooner or later. No sensible person would hide valuable treasure on a battlefield.
Which was precisely why Tsunade's enthusiasm seemed so absurd to him.
"Orochimaru! Come with me to find the treasure!" she declared, practically bouncing with excitement. "If we find it, I'll take seventy percent, you take thirty!"
She watched his expression with bright expectation—but Orochimaru didn't even blink. He continued calmly stirring whatever he was cooking, completely unfazed. Tsunade hesitated, then quickly adjusted her offer.
"Fine, fine! You take forty, I take sixty. That's fair, right?"
Still no response. Orochimaru didn't even look up. He simply flipped the contents of the pan with practiced ease.
Tsunade's eye twitched. "Hey! This scroll is a keepsake from my grandfather! Don't be greedy!"
"Greedy?" Orochimaru finally looked at her, a hint of impatience in his eyes. "Can't you see I'm cooking? Or are you saying you don't want dinner anymore?"
Her bravado instantly collapsed.
"Ah… well, when you put it that way… I'll stop bothering you."
She gave an awkward smile and gently closed the kitchen door behind her.
From the living room, Hyuga Mio watched the entire exchange. She had witnessed this strange dance between Tsunade and Orochimaru for years—and yet their relationship seemed frozen in place, unchanged after all this time.
Given Tsunade's personality… shouldn't she be the proactive one?
"Mio, what are you staring at?" Tsunade asked, suddenly noticing the young woman's gaze.
"You still haven't told him?" Mio asked calmly, her white eyes—sharp and perceptive—settling on Tsunade with quiet certainty.
"Told him what?" Tsunade asked, though guilt flickered across her face.
"If you don't make it clear, he'll never know," Mio said. "Orochimaru puts all his energy into training and research. He's too focused to understand such things unless you say it plainly."
Mio spoke from experience—Orochimaru's mind was always occupied. Without a direct confession, he would remain oblivious.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I don't understand at all," Tsunade denied quickly.
Mio's expression softened into a small smile. "Really? If that's the case… then I suppose I still have a chance."
Tsunade froze.
Her eyes widened. "What did you just say?!"
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Mio asked, resting her chin on her hand.
This Mio—already twenty-one—possessed a calm, graceful beauty that young Tsunade couldn't compare to. Everything about her was refined: her voice, her mannerisms, her posture. She radiated a poised charm that Tsunade found extremely threatening.
"You—!" Tsunade clenched her fists. For the first time, she realized her most dangerous romantic rival wasn't someone outside… but someone living in Orochimaru's own home.
At dinner later that evening, Orochimaru finally opened the parchment Tsunade had brought. The material felt old—much older than any standard ninja document. Examining the markings, he frowned.
"Is this really a treasure map?" he muttered.
Mio leaned over slightly, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "That parchment looks unusual. Where did it come from?"
"It's nothing you need to worry about!" Tsunade snapped, snatching the scroll protectively. She glared at Mio with hostility. No way would she allow her rival to accompany them. A treasure hunt was supposed to be a two-person adventure—definitely not three.
"You won't be coming with us! Orochimaru and I will handle it. You stay home and watch over his place!"
Mio merely spread her hands in helplessness. Tsunade's hostility today was unusually high.
Orochimaru, however, remained focused on the parchment. "Tsunade, we're not even certain whether this is a treasure map," he said. "It could be something else entirely."
Despite his skepticism, the possibility intrigued him. Whatever had been buried a century ago by the Senju clan must have been of great importance.
A forbidden technique?
The thought struck him suddenly.
His heartbeat quickened. His pale face—normally expressionless—gained a faint flush of excitement.
What kind of technique would the Senju ancestors have buried? Something unknown? Something dangerous? A secret so profound that it had to be hidden deep beneath the earth?
The more he considered it, the more eager he became.
After dinner, Orochimaru packed lightly. He and Tsunade planned to leave immediately and return before dawn. If it was truly treasure, it would be entrusted to Mito-sama—Tsunade could not be trusted with anything valuable. She was too likely to lose it gambling.
"Mio, Tsunade and I won't be gone for long," Orochimaru said calmly.
Before leaving, Tsunade shot Mio a triumphant look. "His house is your responsibility."
Mio watched them depart, her expression thoughtful.
"Let's see if she makes any progress this time…"
In the forest outside Konoha, Orochimaru and Tsunade followed the markings indicated on the parchment. According to the map, the buried object lay somewhere near the ancient battlefield once shared by the Senju and Uchiha clans.
As they walked, Tsunade occasionally glanced down at her hand. The memory of earlier—the moment she had tried to hold Orochimaru's hand before Nawaki dragged her away—still lingered.
Orochimaru noticed her staring. "Why do you keep looking at your hand? Is something wrong with it?"
"N-no! I was just… thinking about… holding hands…" Tsunade muttered, cheeks reddening.
"Senju?" Orochimaru asked, misunderstanding completely. "Are you thinking about the Senju clan?"
Tsunade almost tripped.
That was definitely not what she meant.
He returned the parchment to her. "I've already memorized the map."
That's not what I wanted to say… Tsunade thought with despair.
She tried again, hesitating, then slowly reached out toward his pale, cold hand.
"…Huh?" Orochimaru blinked in surprise.
"I wasn't talking about the Senju clan," Tsunade said, voice trembling slightly. "I meant… holding hands."
Her palms were warm—almost feverishly so. She was nervous. Very nervous.
Orochimaru couldn't help it; a small laugh escaped him. "It's just holding hands. Why are you so embarrassed?"
"S-shut up! It's none of your business!" Tsunade barked, trying to yank her hand away.
"But earlier—you did want to hold my hand, didn't you?" he teased gently. "On the day Jiraiya left Konoha."
Tsunade instantly flared up like a startled cat. "I did NOT! I wasn't trying to do anything! Don't imagine things!"
"Is that so?" Orochimaru replied calmly.
"Yes!" she insisted. "Now stop talking! We need to find that treasure!"
She grabbed him and dragged him forward—only to charge in the completely wrong direction.
"Tsunade," Orochimaru said, tapping her shoulder, "that's the wrong way."
"I knew that!" she snapped immediately. "I was testing you!"
Orochimaru only sighed. "If we don't hurry, we won't reach the location before midnight."
As evening settled, they stopped to rest near a riverbank. Orochimaru efficiently gathered fish from the river using a quick, precise Lightning Release technique.
"Lightning Release: Ground Surge!"
Electricity crackled across the surface of the water, stunning several fish instantly.
"Very convenient," he murmured, cleaning and threading them together with metal wire.
Suddenly, a burst of bright flame lit up the forest behind them.
Orochimaru stiffened. Fire Release?
His senses sharpened. No enemy chakra approached—yet a jutsu had gone off nearby. Impossible. Had someone slipped past his detection?
Without hesitation, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished.
He reappeared at one of his marked locations—only to find Tsunade standing amid a scorched patch of earth, her face and hair covered in soot, looking as though she had stuck her head into a chimney.
Orochimaru stared. "…What are you doing?"
Tsunade coughed weakly. "I just wanted to start a fire using Fire Release… It's been a while, so I lost control of the output."
She looked pitiful, toes curling in embarrassment.
The sight was too much.
Orochimaru burst out laughing. "Fire Release? For this? Pfft—ha!"
"Stop laughing!" Tsunade shouted, mortified. When she wiped her face and saw the black soot on her hands, she realized exactly how ridiculous she looked.
Orochimaru kept laughing.
Her face turned as red as a boiling kettle.
"Orochimaru! Stop laughing right now!"
She lunged toward him, intending to tackle him and bury her humiliation—but her expression only made him laugh harder.