Three days passed.
Naruto was beginning to think Jiraiya had lost his fucking mind.
They stayed in Tanzaku.
They ate.
They slept.
Jiraiya drank.
Naruto trained.
Jiraiya drank more.
At no point did his teacher make any obvious attempt to find Tsunade again.
By the second day, Naruto started asking questions.
By the third—
He stopped asking nicely.
"We're wasting time."
Jiraiya didn't look up from his sake.
"We're waiting."
"For what?"
"The right moment."
Naruto stared at him.
"You've said that six times."
"Then you've heard the answer."
"She's right here!"
"Yes."
"She already listened to me once!"
"Partially."
"Which is more than she listened to you!"
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched.
Naruto pointed accusingly.
"And you're just sitting here!"
Jiraiya took another drink.
"Sometimes pushing harder makes people dig in."
"Sometimes doing nothing means you're doing nothing."
"Very profound."
"Pervy Sage."
"Naruto."
Naruto's fists clenched.
"Konoha needs a Hokage."
Jiraiya's humor faded.
"I know."
"Then act like it."
For a moment, they stared at each other.
Then Jiraiya looked away.
"Give her time."
Naruto hated that answer.
Tsunade was also having a terrible three days.
For entirely different reasons.
Naruto's words wouldn't leave her alone.
Every drink helped.
For about ten minutes.
Then Nawaki came back.
Dan came back.
Hiruzen came back.
Not physically.
That would've been easier.
Instead they existed in memories.
In half-finished sentences.
In old arguments.
In promises that hadn't meant enough to stop any of them from dying.
So Tsunade drank.
And gambled.
And something impossible started happening.
She won.
At first, nobody noticed.
A small hand.
Then another.
Then a roulette wheel landed exactly where she'd called it.
Then again.
By the end of the first night, she had tripled her money.
By the second, casinos had started refusing her tables.
By the third—
She had enough winnings stacked in front of her to buy several buildings.
Shizune looked terrified.
"Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade stared at the cards.
"What?"
"You won again."
"I can see that."
"That's the problem."
Tsunade slowly looked up.
Shizune swallowed.
"You don't win."
Silence.
Tsunade looked back at the pile of chips.
Then the money.
Then the dealer.
Her stomach tightened.
She pushed away from the table.
"I'm done."
Shizune blinked.
"Really?"
"Now."
That tone ended the conversation.
They left immediately.
Outside, Tsunade checked the street.
Nothing.
Too quiet.
No.
Not quiet.
Normal.
That was worse.
She had lived too long to believe in good luck.
Especially hers.
Winning felt like finding blood on clean sheets.
A warning that something had already gone wrong.
She stopped walking.
Shizune noticed.
"Tsunade-sama?"
"Stay close."
A voice drifted from the alley ahead.
"Your instincts are as sharp as ever."
Tsunade's face went cold.
Shizune froze.
Orochimaru stepped into the street.
Kabuto followed.
A third figure stood beside them.
Pale.
Thin.
White hair.
Kimimaro swayed slightly before catching himself.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"Orochimaru."
He smiled.
"Tsunade."
Naruto found out twenty minutes later.
Not because Jiraiya told him.
Because Naruto had finally gotten tired of waiting.
He'd left the inn to look for Tsunade himself.
A Shadow Clone checked the casino district.
Another searched nearby bars.
The original followed a faint trail of disturbed chakra through the rooftops until he saw Shizune disappear into an alley.
Naruto slowed.
Then followed.
Quietly.
Very quietly.
He found a rooftop overlooking an abandoned courtyard.
Tsunade stood below.
Orochimaru stood across from her.
Naruto's blood boiled. Here was the bastard that killed the Hokage. The person responsible for Sasuke's current problems.
He remembered Kabuto from the chuunin exams too. What was this side character doing with Orochimaru?
The pale guy beside them was new.
Naruto crouched behind the roofline.
Listened.
"You look terrible," Tsunade said.
Kimimaro said nothing.
Orochimaru smiled.
"An unfortunate condition."
Tsunade's gaze sharpened.
"Terminal."
"Eventually."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses.
"His condition has progressed beyond what conventional treatment can stabilize."
Tsunade looked back at Orochimaru.
"So why are you here?"
"Because conventional treatment is not what I'm asking for."
Her expression changed.
"No."
Orochimaru's smile widened.
"You haven't heard the offer."
"I know you."
"Then you know I wouldn't waste your time."
Tsunade's hands tightened.
Orochimaru gestured toward Kimimaro.
"Heal him."
Tsunade glanced at the boy.
"Why?"
"Because he is the last known inheritor of the Shikotsumyaku."
Naruto frowned from above.
Bloodline.
Rare.
That explained something.
Orochimaru continued.
"A lineage that may disappear entirely if he dies."
Tsunade's face remained unreadable.
"And why should I care?"
"Because you understand loss."
That landed.
Naruto saw it.
Orochimaru stepped closer.
"You understand better than most what it means for something irreplaceable to vanish."
Tsunade's eyes hardened.
"Careful."
Orochimaru smiled.
"I came prepared to pay."
Her face went blank.
"No."
"You still haven't heard the price."
"I don't want your money."
"Neither do I."
Silence.
Then Orochimaru spoke.
"Dan."
Tsunade stopped breathing.
Naruto went still.
"Nawaki."
Shizune's face drained of color.
"Don't."
Tsunade's voice was barely audible.
Orochimaru's smile became softer.
More dangerous.
"I can bring them back."
Naruto's stomach twisted.
Tsunade stared.
Orochimaru continued.
"Not memories."
"Not illusions."
"Not corpses."
"Living forms."
Kabuto said nothing.
Kimimaro looked away.
Tsunade's hands began to shake.
"You liar."
"You've seen enough of my work to know better."
Naruto's mind raced.
The invasion.
The old Hokage.
The First.
Second.
Fourth.
The bodies that moved and spoke.
His eyes widened, looking over to the jarred slug sannin.
Tsunade took one step forward.
"What technique?"
Orochimaru smiled.
"You already know."
Her face changed.
"Edo Tensei."
Naruto's hand clenched against the tile.
Orochimaru spread his hands.
"I have improved it."
"You desecrated Hokage graves with it."
"And proved it works."
Tsunade looked sick.
He continued.
"Dan."
"Nawaki."
"Returned to you."
"In exchange for one life preserved."
His eyes shifted toward Kimimaro.
"A fair trade."
Tsunade stared at Kimimaro.
The boy met her gaze.
No pleading.
No fear.
Just exhaustion.
That somehow made it worse.
Naruto couldn't stay quiet.
"They wouldn't be them."
Every head turned towards Tsunade's side where Naruto suddenly appeared in an instant.
Tsunade's face twisted.
"Naruto?"
Kabuto's hand moved and adjusted his circular glasses, analyzing the boy beside the slug sannin.
Orochimaru laughed.
"There you are."
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
Orochimaru looked directly at him.
"I was wondering how long you intended to pretend you were hidden."
Naruto's stomach dropped.
"You knew?"
"I've known your and Jiraiya boys whereabouts since before you left the village Naruto-kun. "
Naruto's face scrunched in disgust, pedophilia vibes crushing the already tense mood.
Tsunade rounded on him, her eyes still tracking her treacherous teammate.
"What are you doing here?"
"Stopping this."
"Nobody asked you."
Naruto looked at Orochimaru.
"Those things he brings back aren't people."
Orochimaru's smile thinned.
Naruto kept going.
"I saw them."
"Naruto."
Tsunade's voice sharpened.
He ignored her.
"They looked like them."
He pointed at Orochimaru.
"But he controlled them."
Orochimaru said nothing.
"Your brother and Dan wouldn't come back free."
Tsunade's face darkened.
"You know nothing about them."
"I know what Edo Tensei does."
"Do you?"
Naruto hesitated.
Orochimaru smiled.
Tsunade saw the hesitation.
That hurt him.
Because she was actually considering it.
"Baa-chan."
"Stop calling me that."
"You can't seriously trust him."
Tsunade's chakra flared.
"And you don't get to tell me what I can consider."
Naruto froze.
She stepped toward him.
"You stood there three days ago and told me you didn't understand what I lost."
"I don't."
"Then stop pretending you understand what I would give to see them again."
Naruto's jaw clenched.
"They'd be dead bodies wearing their faces."
Tsunade slapped him.
Not hard.
By her standards.
Naruto's head snapped sideways.
Everyone went still.
Tsunade stared at him.
"Enough."
Naruto looked back at her.
More hurt than angry.
"You know I'm right."
Her eyes flashed.
"No."
But the answer came too fast.
Orochimaru enjoyed every second.
Naruto saw that too.
"You're doing this on purpose."
Orochimaru smiled.
"Of course."
Tsunade turned.
"Shut up."
He actually did.
For a moment.
Then—
"Three days."
Tsunade looked at him.
Orochimaru gestured toward Kimimaro.
"You have three days to decide."
Kabuto shifted.
Kimimaro remained silent.
"If you agree, you heal him."
"And Dan and Nawaki?"
Orochimaru's smile returned.
"I bring them back."
Naruto stepped forward.
"No."
Tsunade shot him a look.
Orochimaru's eyes moved between them.
"Three days."
Then he turned.
Kabuto followed.
Kimimaro lingered.
His eyes met Naruto's.
There was something strange there.
Not hostility.
Not exactly.
Then he followed Orochimaru into the darkness.
Nobody spoke.
Naruto finally looked at Tsunade.
"You can't do this."
Tsunade's face closed.
"Go back to Jiraiya."
"Baa-chan."
"Go."
"What about Konoha?"
Her eyes hardened.
"What about my family?"
Naruto had no answer.
That was the worst part.
Tsunade turned away.
Shizune hesitated.
Then followed.
Naruto stood alone in the courtyard.
Angry.
Afraid.
And suddenly very aware that words weren't always enough.
Far above them—
Another observer remained completely still.
No breath.
No movement.
No chakra signature anyone could detect.
A pale mask rested beneath a dark hood.
The operative had been there before Naruto arrived.
Before Tsunade arrived.
Before Orochimaru revealed himself.
Specialized suppression seals covered the inside of his clothes, flattening his chakra until even experienced sensory shinobi would struggle to notice anything unusual.
He watched Orochimaru leave.
Watched Tsunade leave.
Watched Naruto remain.
Then—
Silently—
He disappeared.
Danzo would want every word.
PING
Hidden Objective Discovered!
Prevent Tsunade from assisting Orochimaru!
Rewards pending on outcome!