"Well, about that…"
Kazama broke into a grin when he heard Tsunade's words.
While defeating Hei Zetsu earlier, he had already sent a signal to Otogakure (the Hidden Sound Village), instructing Orochimaru to lead the village's main forces to rendezvous at Konoha.
"Report, Lady Hokage! A group claiming to be shinobi from Otogakure has arrived at Konoha!"
"What?! I was just thinking about asking Otogakure for help, and they're already here? Talk about perfect timing! Hurry, invite them in!"
"It's been a while, Tsunade!"
"Orochimaru?!"
Just as Tsunade was about to thank the Otogakure shinobi for coming to Konoha's aid, she froze. Leading the group was none other than Orochimaru, and the sight sent a chill down her spine.
Fearing Orochimaru had come to destroy Konoha, she immediately ordered her subordinates to prepare for an attack.
"Tsunade, I'm here under orders from the leader of Otogakure to support Konoha. Is this how you treat guests?" Orochimaru said, unfazed.
"You're an Otogakure shinobi? And acting on your leader's orders?"
Tsunade was stunned by his words. She knew Orochimaru had always dreamed of crushing Konoha, yet here he was, offering help. Even more shocking, he wasn't even the leader of Otogakure.
Tsunade couldn't fathom anyone in the world capable of keeping Orochimaru in check.
"Who is the leader of Otogakure?" she demanded, her curiosity piqued.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Tsunade, should I call you clever or clueless?"
"Our leader has saved Konoha three times in a row, and you still don't know who he is?"
"Saved Konoha three times?"
Tsunade staggered back a few steps, her eyes darting to Kazama, who was smiling at her from the side. The only person who had saved Konoha three times was Kazama.
But Tsunade had never imagined that one of her own village's shinobi could be the formidable leader of Otogakure.
"Kazama, are you really…?"
Tsunade was so shocked she could barely string a sentence together.
"That's right! I'm the leader of Otogakure. I had my reasons for not telling you before, so please don't take offense, Lady Tsunade."
"Offense? How could I?" Tsunade replied, a bit exasperated by Kazama's teasing tone.
"I know there's bad blood between you, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya. But that's all in the past. Orochimaru is now a shinobi of Otogakure and here to help Konoha. I hope you can let bygones be bygones and work together."
"Fine," Tsunade sighed. "If you put it that way, I've got no objections."
Even setting aside Kazama's request, Orochimaru's willingness to aid Konoha was reason enough for Tsunade to put old grudges aside.
"Kazama, you're really the leader of Otogakure?"
Even after his confirmation, Tsunade still couldn't quite believe it.
"And how on earth did Otogakure manage to recruit four Jinchūriki? Weren't they all from other villages before?"
Tsunade was dying to know how Kazama had pulled off such a feat.
"We'll talk about that later," Kazama said with a smirk. "And by the way, it's not four Jinchūriki—it's five. The Seven-Tails Jinchūriki joined Otogakure after the Budō Taikai (Martial Arts Tournament)."
"What?!"
The bombshell hit Tsunade so hard she momentarily entertained the wild idea of joining Otogakure herself.