"If you spent some effort designing a few more proper surgeries, you could earn just as much money as this."
However, Orochimaru knew that Tsunade wouldn't be able to earn money.
She was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. This status made her dedication to the village, for herself and the villagers, a given.
Improving the village's medical system was such a profitable job, but anyone with eyes could see that Tsunade wouldn't take advantage to get rich, so they trusted her with it.
Another point was that this woman preferred to earn money gambling rather than saving it steadily.
In the end, Tsunade didn't like money at all; she liked gambling itself.
In this, Tsunade was the same as Orochimaru.
"These experimental materials are very important to me."
Orochimaru flicked his snake-like tongue, a smile appearing on his face. "Buy them back for me as soon as possible, and don't think about earning a fortune at the casino with this."
"If you can't get those materials, I'll come and get them myself. You'll have to bear any consequences then."
"Alright, alright, I get it. You've given me the money, and you still don't trust me." Tsunade clutched the scroll, a hint of regret flashing in her eyes.
"It's getting late, I need to go back and tell the old man about the intel."
Tsunade looked behind her and bowed slightly. "Lord Slug, goodbye for now."
The Slug Sage nodded slightly in response, and the next moment, Tsunade's body turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared into thin air.
After greeting the Slug Sage, Orochimaru went to a corner of the cave and closed his eyes in thought, recalling his recent experiences in the environment and beginning to study the use of the fission jutsu.
…
"So he was in the Forest of the Sage..."
In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen's furrowed brow slightly relaxed. Tsunade continued her narration, recounting everything she knew.
The Third Hokage took a deep puff of his pipe, his brow furrowing again. "The Akatsuki organization, the Six Paths of Pain..."
Although he had expected it, he was still greatly shocked to learn the details about Nagato.
He never expected that the child Jiraiya had chanced upon in the Village Hidden in the Rain possessed the legendary Rinnegan and had grown to this extent.
The Third Hokage took another puff of his pipe as he listened to the abilities of the three Rinnegan techniques.
With 'Universal Pull', Nagato was almost fearless of group attacks. 'Almighty Push' gave him the ability to kill targets individually, and 'Planetary Devastation' was even more outrageous; when unleashed with full power, even Orochimaru had no chance to escape.
That was not his normal state; it was Orochimaru at his peak, transformed into his snake form.
This meant that even if they attacked him with an elite troop, they could be wiped out in a single move.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed with emotion, "After so many years, another monster ninja has appeared in the ninja world..."
However, despite this, the Third Hokage did not fall into despair.
Compared to the ninja he had seen, who was truly omniscient and was called a 'god', this Nagato was still a bit short.
Konoha could deal with him, but it would come at a great cost if it relied solely on one village.
"Old man, tell Iwagakure and Kumogakure about this news."
Seeing the Third Hokage fall silent, Tsunade couldn't help but remind him, "They, like our Konoha, won't want to see a new power suddenly appear in the ninja world. If the three villages join forces, we can definitely deal with the Akatsuki organization."
"Your idea is too naive."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "For now, these two villages have no conflict of interest with the Akatsuki organization, and they have no reason to deal with them."
Doing so would only spread the hard-won intel to everyone else without much benefit.
Onoki, that old guy, and the Fourth Raikage are not fools.
Compared to the Akatsuki organization, which was still developing, Konoha firmly held the position of the greatest ninja village in the ninja world.
And Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan and called himself 'god', was still quite a distance from the true ninja revered as 'god', so it wasn't entirely unsolvable.
If they put themselves in their shoes, they would rather see Konoha and the Akatsuki organization suffer heavy losses and bloody themselves.
Tsunade's eyebrows knitted, and after a moment of thought, she said, "If Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and I attack together, we have a chance to defeat Nagato."
Nagato's ocular techniques were very difficult to counter, but the biggest problem was that he couldn't use them consecutively. If they attacked in waves, with Orochimaru taking the lead to deplete one use of his 'Planetary Devastation', then she and Jiraiya could take the opportunity to attack Nagato's main body, and there would be a good chance of defeating him.
Although the Akatsuki organization had powerful ninja like Sasori and Kakuzu, Konoha's Anbu and the elites of each clan were not for show. While tying up the enemy, they could still have the spare capacity to support the fight against Nagato.
Tsunade felt that if they did this, the win rate would be high, but the Third Hokage still shook his head.
Tsunade looked at the old man in the Hokage chair. "Old man, what's lacking in the method I suggested?"
"There's no problem with the tactics; there's a high probability of success. But the strategic direction is wrong from the start."
The Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke and said slowly, "Nagato is indeed a threat, and he harbors a hidden hostility towards Konoha, but it's the same for other ninja villages. There's no need to try to deal with them alone."
"But you just said that these two villages have no conflict with the Akatsuki organization," Tsunade said, looking confused.
"That's why I said you chose the wrong strategic direction."
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, tapped the desk with his pipe. "No conflict? We can create a conflict."
A spark of realization flashed in Tsunade's mind, and a look of "This works too" appeared on her face. But before she could say anything, she heard the Third Hokage continue,
"Where are Jiraiya and the others now?"
Without waiting for Tsunade's answer, the Third Hokage spread a map of the ninja world on the long table, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Originally, after learning about Nagato's intel, for safety reasons, he should have immediately ordered Jiraiya and the others to return to the village.
But now, it seemed that they still needed to be kept busy outside for a while.
…
Land of Water.
It was late at night. The moon was dark and the stars were sparse. A hazy mist hung in the sky, creating a cold, dim atmosphere.
Jiraiya lay on the ground, leaning against a large tree to regain his strength. From time to time, crackling sounds came from in front of him, where a blazing bonfire cast his face in flickering light and shadow.
He had been in this country for four or five days, searching for Orochimaru, but after spending so much time, apart from seeing the ruins of Takigakure Village in a photo, he had gained almost no leads.
This situation made Jiraiya feel a bit dejected. Even though he firmly believed that Orochimaru would not die easily, his mood couldn't help but become heavy as time passed.
"Sigh, where on earth is that Orochimaru?"
He sighed softly in his heart, and a puff of smoke suddenly rose in front of Jiraiya.
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