Jiraiya, who was asleep, had his sweet dream interrupted by the noisy chatter in his ear. Still in a daze, he kept waving his hand to drive away the annoying sound.
(Confused grunt)
"Rasengan"
(Surprised gasp) Wow!
This time, Jiraiya was completely awake. He spun around and flew out, then suddenly landed on the ground. He opened his eyes and saw Naruto with veins popping out on his forehead. He silently sighed to himself that his move wasn't supposed to be used like this.
"Perverted Hermit, where's Granny Tsunade? Why are you here alone, snoring away and not waking up no matter how much we call you?"
"Tsunade! Oh no, Naruto, we have to hurry. Tsunade drugged my wine and ran off to make a deal with Orochimaru on her own."
Realizing something was wrong, Jiraiya struggled to get up, but as he was about to step forward, his body went weak and he fell onto Naruto.
"So heavy! Perverted Hermit, what are you doing? Hurry up and get up."
"Oops, sorry. It's all Tsunade's fault for drugging me. I still haven't recovered. Carry me for a while."
?_?
"Are you even up to it? It's really hard for me when you're being such a burden."
Jiraiya: ~＞_＜~
He's being regarded as a burden!
...
"Naruto."
"Sasuke, where have you been all this time? Why are you just showing up now?"
"I was in a bad mood, so I went out to clear my head. On my way here, I saw all this commotion you were making, so I came to see what was going on."
"Let's go first. I'll tell you on the way."
................
"Ah, Tsunade, you've finally come."
In an open area outside the village, Orochimaru and Kabuto's eyes lit up with excitement when they saw Tsunade coming alone.
"Orochimaru, we had an agreement. As long as I give up the position of the Fifth Hokage, you'll bring back my younger brother and Dan. You'll keep your promise, right?"
"Of course. It's no big deal for me."
Orochimaru shrugged and waved his hand as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Kabuto."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru. I've brought the living sacrifices you asked for."
Two burly men were tied up by Kabuto and thrown in front of Orochimaru.
Tsunade looked at their familiar faces. They were the gambling friends she often met at that gambling house. She couldn't help but wonder what Orochimaru was going to do with them.
"What do you mean by this?"
"Of course, I'm preparing the living sacrifices. To revive the dead, living sacrifices must be offered as a prerequisite. They're just two unrelated people. You won't have any objections to me using them as sacrifices, will you?"
Tsunade clenched her fists so tightly that her teeth were grinding. The tied-up men on the ground looked at Tsunade with pleading eyes. After a fierce internal struggle, she finally turned her head away and let go of her fists resignedly.
"Yes, they're just two unrelated people. Go ahead, Orochimaru."
Orochimaru smiled and walked up to the two men. He formed Hand Seals with his hands. Just as he was about to activate the technique, Tsunade's fist lunged at him like a tiger pouncing down from the mountain.
He wasn't completely on guard against Tsunade. But at the moment Tsunade compromised, Orochimaru truly believed that she had fallen and was no different from himself.
As it turned out, he was wrong.
A sharp pain shot across his face, making his eyes roll up, and his body crashed to the ground like a howitzer shell.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Kabuto nervously watched as Tsunade charged forward, not willing to stop and ready to attack Orochimaru.
Kabuto concentrated his Chakra in his hands and rushed forward desperately to block Tsunade's path.
Tsunade was stronger than Kabuto, and right now, she was holding nothing back.
Kabuto couldn't fight back against Tsunade's fierce attack. He managed to make her fist deviate from his face only by using his Scalpel to cut Tsunade's thigh muscles, and then took this opportunity to slip to the side.
Seeing that Tsunade was about to heal her injuries and regain her mobility, Kabuto was suddenly alarmed. He immediately sliced his palm with the Kunai in his hand.
The red blood, mixed with the smell of blood, dripped onto the brown ground. Tsunade's eyes widened as a sense of suffocation washed over her again. Even though she didn't want to recall, she was forced to think of the despair when she failed to save the one she loved.
She trembled all over, gasping for air as she curled up her body tightly. Kabuto looked at Tsunade in this state and showed a satisfied smile.
"The so - called Legendary Sannin ain't nothing special."
He strolled forward, brandishing the Kunai in his hand with a cruel smile. It was time to get rid of this troublesome woman.
He held the Kunai in reverse and aimed at Tsunade's exposed neck, stabbing it hard.
"Clang -"
"Who is it?!"
Kabuto frowned. This feeling of being interrupted was really annoying!
He looked in the direction from which the Shuriken had flown.
"Sasuke Uchiha!"
Why was it him? Didn't he decide to join forces with Lord Orochimaru? He had been hesitating in Konoha all this time, and now, he even dared to help the people in Konoha.
Behind Sasuke, Naruto supported Jiraiya, and Sakura also arrived later.
"Humph! You thought you could solve the problem on your own. Now look at you. You've got what you deserve!"
"Yo, Orochimaru. Long time no see. You're still as hyperactive as ever."
Orochimaru looked displeased. If there was someone in this world he wasn't good at dealing with, Jiraiya was one of them.
"After all these years, you don't even say hello. You've become more and more reclusive, you old guy."
Tsunade turned to look at the angry Jiraiya, feeling guilty.
"Jiraiya, why are you here?"
"I haven't settled the score with you yet. What did you put in the wine? My Chakra still isn't flowing smoothly. Give me the antidote right away."
"... Sorry, I didn't bring the antidote with me."
"What?!"
Jiraiya twitched his eyelids as he looked at the situation. He thought that if he caught up with Tsunade, he could get the antidote. Now, could they, two useless old fellas with three kids, really deal with Orochimaru and his minions?
"Perverted Hermit, if you can't handle it, let me do it."
Naruto was well aware of the Perverted Hermit's physical condition. He had supported the Perverted Hermit all the way here. It seemed that he could only rely on himself when dealing with a serious situation.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
After the smoke cleared, a cute little frog was summoned.
.....
"You idiot, what are you doing? Get out of the way and watch me! Summoning Jutsu!"
After the smoke cleared again, another cute little frog was summoned.
"What the hell are you? Where is Gamabunta? Call him out!"
Jiraiya couldn't help roaring at the little frog. This was no time for him to be fooling around, but unfortunately, his strength wouldn't allow him to do better!
"Ah, are you Lord Jiraiya? My dad is sleeping. He should be too busy to come out right now."