Chapter 182: The Night of the Five Tails (Part 1)

Orochimaru extended a finger, pointing at the two of them, shock spreading across his pale face:"You two, just now..."

Caught off guard, Tōshirō scratched his head, playing dumb:"The weather is really nice today, huh~"

Ugh, what am I even saying...

Tōshirō shot Tsunade a look, his eyes practically screaming for help, as if to say:"Don't just stand there! Think of something!"

Tsunade's lost expression seemed to say:"How should I know?"

Tōshirō sighed in defeat:"So... you saw everything?"

Orochimaru nodded, then shook his head as if dismissing a hallucination, muttering to himself:"I must have been too absorbed in my research, seeing things... Haha... Tōshirō and Tsunade, doing something like that? Impossible."

Tōshirō and Tsunade exchanged glances, and they both knew exactly what the other was thinking.

But wishful thinking wasn't enough. Orochimaru wasn't stupid—he'd soon realize something was off.

Since it had come to this, Tōshirō took a deep breath, steeling himself. He cupped Tsunade's face and, right in front of Orochimaru, pressed his lips to hers.

Orochimaru watched the entire scene, his eyes wide like a startled goldfish, his mind buzzing.

Tōshirō held Tsunade close and said:"As you can see, we're together."

The intimate display made Orochimaru's snake-like pupils narrow even more. After a long moment, he murmured:"Well, this is certainly unexpected..."

With the secret out, Tōshirō felt a weight lift off his shoulders:"The world is always changing, isn't it?"

Beyond his shock, Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with the curiosity of a child discovering a new toy:"How long have you two been like this?"

"Well, uh..."

Tsunade hesitated, but Tōshirō decided to take the lead:"I'll explain."

Tsunade nodded, letting him handle it.

Tōshirō briefly recounted their relationship, keeping the details vague and the story simple.

As Orochimaru listened, he recalled Tsunade's strange behavior in the past. The timeline matched up, suggesting they weren't lying—the two had indeed gotten together.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes and heard it from you, I'd never have believed it. You two have never seen eye to eye, and now you're... in love? Well, congratulations, I suppose."

"Sorry, it's not that we didn't trust you, but the relationships between our families are... complicated."

Orochimaru nodded, showing his understanding. He knew a bit about the complex ties between the Uchiha and Senju clans.

Grateful for Orochimaru's maturity, Tōshirō pressed his palms together in thanks:"Then I'll count on you to keep this secret."

"I will," Orochimaru promised.

"But seriously, why are you here, Orochimaru?" Tōshirō forced a smile."You really gave us a scare."

Orochimaru explained that he was searching for the mythical Red Clover.

After hearing this, Tōshirō was a bit dumbfounded:"For something like that? Do you need my help?"

Orochimaru chuckled:"Aren't you two busy with something else?"

"I'd rather not get caught again," Tōshirō admitted with a wry smile.

He had to acknowledge that he'd been a bit too reckless lately, his romantic thoughts clouding his judgment.

It would be best to avoid dating in the village—clearly, even the Forest of Death wasn't as private as he'd thought.

Following Orochimaru's directions, they were headed to a place called Akahara, named for its red grass.

As they walked, Orochimaru suddenly asked:"What are you going to tell Jiraiya?"

He was well aware of Jiraiya's feelings for Tsunade.

Now that Tōshirō and Tsunade were together, any slim hope Jiraiya had was completely gone.

"What else can we do? We'll just keep things as they are," Tsunade said.

She preferred avoiding unnecessary complications and didn't want Jiraiya to know about her relationship with Tōshirō.

Orochimaru sighed:"Poor Jiraiya..."

Before they knew it, the trio arrived at Akahara, a red-grassed plain just as described.

The moment they got close, they sensed danger and quickly jumped away.

Boom!

An explosion erupted where they had just been standing.

As the smoke cleared, the group felt a bit speechless.

Were there really landmines just for searching for a Red Clover?

Still, their curiosity was piqued:"It seems like someone really doesn't want us getting close," Tōshirō said with a sly grin.

He suggested using Shadow Clones to trigger all the traps.

Following his plan, they each created clones and charged into Akahara. Explosions erupted one after another, black smoke filling the air.

Once all the traps were triggered, they walked into Akahara with confidence. The ground beneath them was no longer explosive, suggesting the danger had passed.

They searched the entire area but found no sign of the legendary Red Clover.

Tsunade smacked her lips in disappointment:"It looks like the Red Clover really is just a myth."

"Well, if it's not here, so be it. I was only looking because I was bored," Orochimaru said lightly.

He had never expected much from the search anyway.

"Besides," he added, his smile widening, "I've already found something much more interesting."

Having scoured the area with no results, Tsunade suggested:"Let's just head back."

"There's still one place we haven't checked," Tōshirō said, shaking his head and pointing to a stone Buddha statue in the center of Akahara."The base of that statue is hollow. It's the only spot we haven't looked at."

Tsunade gave him a look that seemed to say:"Are you serious?"

"How will we know if we don't check?"

Tōshirō crouched down by the statue, peeking underneath.

"There's no way it's there..." Tsunade started, but her words were immediately contradicted by Tōshirō's excited shout:"I found it!"

The Red Clover was indeed beneath the statue, though the gap was too small for Tōshirō to reach it.

"Ugh, how useless. Move aside," Tsunade said, unable to watch any longer.

She walked up to the statue and, with surprising strength, simply lifted it away.

Tōshirō bent down excitedly and plucked the red four-leaf clover. Just as he was about to hand it over to Orochimaru, it seemed as if some mechanism had been triggered, and a horde of puppets crawled out from the ground.

Before the trio could react, the puppets, as if possessing consciousness, attacked them in unison.

The puppets weren't particularly strong, but they had the advantage of sheer numbers.

Even if there were many small fries, they posed no real threat. The trio didn't take them seriously and treated the battle as a warm-up.

However, as the fight dragged on, they gradually noticed something off. No matter how many puppets they destroyed, more kept coming. This endless wave was starting to become a real headache.

Earlier, there were landmines around the Akahara area, and now, an infinite number of puppets. It was hard not to think that something hidden nearby warranted so many traps.

"These puppets are getting out of hand. I'm going to use a jutsu. You two, watch out," Tsunade said, punching a puppet and showing signs of impatience.

"Wait..."

A sudden voice halted her actions. Tsunade paused mid-hand sign, confusion in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Tōshirō didn't have time to explain: "You two cover me and buy me some time."

"No problem."

Tsunade and Orochimaru didn't question him and immediately moved to support Tōshirō.

With their cover, Tōshirō quickly moved the stone Buddha statue back to its original place. As soon as he did, the puppets all collapsed to the ground, lifeless like strings cut from marionettes.

Orochimaru observed for a moment and concluded, "It seems this stone Buddha is the key to triggering the mechanism."

Tsunade looked at the fallen puppets, confusion evident on her face. "It's really strange. Why are there so many traps in a place like Akahara?"

"Isn't it obvious? Someone doesn't want the secrets of Akahara to be discovered," Tōshirō said, his tone casual as he glanced over the scattered puppets.

He was curious about how these puppets worked, but he decided it was better not to dig too deep today—less trouble that way.

Tsunade, intrigued, asked about the secret.

Tōshirō shrugged. "Instead of asking me, shouldn't you ask your teacher, Hiruzen?"

Tsunade thought it made sense. "I'll try to get something out of him next time."

Tōshirō looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted with a crimson hue.

"It's getting late. Let's get out of the Forest of Death."

The trio left the Forest of Death and walked along streets bathed in the red glow of the sunset, only to run into a familiar face.

A head of white hair and red facial markings.

—It was Jiraiya.

Seeing the three of them together, Jiraiya paused and let out a small "Huh?" "Where are you all coming from? And why didn't you call me?"

Knowing about Tsunade and Tōshirō's relationship, Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with an odd expression.

Jiraiya, confused by the stare, scratched his cheek. "What is it? Is there something on my face?"

"Nothing..."

Orochimaru's eyes conveyed a silent pity as if saying, "What a poor guy."

Explanations are often just excuses. Jiraiya had a feeling that Orochimaru was hiding something from him.

"Hey, did you do something behind my back?"

Orochimaru remained silent, his gaze meaningfully shifting to the couple.

Following Orochimaru's eyes, Jiraiya questioned the pair.

Tsunade and Tōshirō felt a wave of guilt.

Tōshirō chuckled awkwardly. "Um, I just remembered I have something to do. I gotta go."

Tsunade quickly added, "Yeah, me too."

With that, Tōshirō and Tsunade split up and walked off in different directions.

While Jiraiya stood there in a daze, Orochimaru also quietly slipped away.

At the intersection, Jiraiya stood motionless.

For some reason, he suddenly felt a deep sense of abandonment...

...

Two weeks later.

In the northwest of the Land of Fire, in a superpower nation—the Land of Earth.

Unlike the forests of Konoha, this country was filled with overlapping mountains and peaks.

Nestled within its rocky mountains was a ninja village surrounded by high stone walls, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. While enemies found it hard to penetrate the village, the same difficulty applied to the village's interactions with the outside world.

It was night, with a clear moon and sparse stars.

Uchiha Madara raised his head to gaze at the moon, his crimson Sharingan peeking through his mask, staring quietly at the bright and gentle moon.

"The moon is beautiful tonight~~"

It was indeed perfect as the backdrop for the upcoming Five-Tails rampage...

Madara genuinely thought so.

He wore a hooded cloak and a spiral-patterned mask, emanating an eerie and mysterious aura under the shroud of night.

After admiring the moon for a brief moment, Madara melded into the shadows, sneaking into Iwagakure.

"Let's begin. Five-Tails, I will now set you free from your Jinchūriki's body..."

Author's Note: Got something to do. Might not have time to write more.

(End of Chapter)

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