With the two-day Five Kage Summit coming to an end, the situation in the Shinobi world immediately became tense again.
Upon returning to Konoha, Jiraiya quickly called a meeting with the higher-ups of the village.
Almost everyone present at the meeting was someone who had watched the projection of the summit.
The only exception was Tsunade.
"Tsunade, are you planning to stay this time?"
In response to Jiraiya's question, Tsunade waved her hand dismissively and replied, "Let's see how things go."
"Come on, if not for yourself, at least think about the soon-to-be-resurrected Nawaki. Do you want him to follow you and wander outside the village?"
"You make it sound like I'm living a miserable life out there."
It was a good thing Shizune wasn't eligible to attend this meeting, or she would definitely be silently complaining.
Their life outside the village wasn't some heavenly existence, but rather one of constantly hiding from debt collectors and living in poverty.
The end of every month was the hardest time for them, and only after surviving that could Tsunade confidently approach certain nobles for a loan.
With her reputation as a best medical ninja, even though people knew they probably wouldn't get the money back, they still lent it to her.
After all, who hasn't had a moment of weakness?
Lending Tsunade some money could potentially save their life, and those nobles wouldn't miss out on a business deal like that.
Besides, to be fair, Tsunade was still one of their own nobles, and they should support her.
Shaking his head, Jiraiya stopped pressing the issue with Tsunade and instead looked seriously at the people gathered for the meeting.
"Everyone should know by now, we're about to form a joint force with the other four major villages and go to war with the Akatsuki organization."
"This operation is specifically against the Akatsuki, not the Hidden Rain Village, so we don't need too many people to participate."
"Is there anyone here who wants to join? It's an A-rank mission."
After saying this, Jiraiya leaned back in his chair and quietly observed the hushed conversation among the attendees.
Below, the Hatake father and son were quietly talking.
"Father, are we participating in this mission?"
Hatake Sakumo didn't immediately answer Kakashi's question but instead asked, "Do you want to participate?"
"It's okay. The reward for an A-rank mission is pretty good."
"If you want to participate, go ahead, but I have to remind you—if it's time to slack off, then slack off. Don't be foolish and rush into battle just because you see the enemy."
Hearing this, Kakashi sighed helplessly. "Father, do you still think of me as a kid? I know this kind of thing, of course."
"I'm just worried you might not see clearly in the heat of the moment."
"Don't worry, the main force in this operation is the Cloud Village ninjas. We Leaf ninjas just need to cheer from the sidelines."
Kakashi's words eased Hatake Sakumo's concerns a bit.
Everyone knew that the Cloud Village and the Akatsuki organization were in a never-ending conflict.
Besides, with the relationship between Akatsuki's leader Nagato and Jiraiya, the Leaf Village didn't need to be the ones to take the lead.
They just needed to cheer from behind.
This was evident from the fact that Jiraiya only gave an A-rank mission, not an S-rank.
Everyone understood.
On the other side, Minato was also discussing with Kushina.
"Minato, just let me participate. I won't cause any trouble for you guys."
"I don't quite understand, why do you have to join this mission?"
Honestly, Minato didn't want Kushina to participate in this mission.
Who knows if Akatsuki has any hidden trump cards left?
The light screen didn't show all the intel on Akatsuki members.
At least, they still didn't know what abilities the Human Path of the Six Paths of Pain had.
"If you leave, what about Naruto?"
"Simple. You can take Naruto to Mount Myoboku. You'll have the chance to learn senjutsu, two birds with one stone."
"Going to Mount Myoboku is fine, but for senjutsu, it depends on whether the Great Toad Sage agrees."
"It will definitely agree."
"I hope so."
Minato couldn't argue with Kushina, so he had to agree.
"Alright, it seems like everyone has discussed enough. Now, who wants to join this mission?"
As soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, Asuma eagerly raised his hand.
Soon after, Kakashi, Minato, and Kushina also raised their hands.
Seeing this, Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction.
With four people joining, especially with the Fourth Hokage Minato in the mix, this team was more than enough to silence anyone from Cloud or Rock who might doubt Konoha's deployment of too few people.
Wait, why is Orochimaru raising his hand too?
"Orochimaru, what do you want?"
Orochimaru smirked, ignoring Jiraiya's surprised gaze.
"I don't want anything. I just want to join this mission."
"Join, my foot. Is the clone of Nawaki ready? Has Kabuto returned to Konoha? Did you figure out Hidan's immortality? You're not trying to slack off, are you?"
Orochimaru's face darkened, and he shot Jiraiya a cold glare, reluctantly replying, "I simply want to know, is the Third Kazekage I summoned using Edo Tensei stronger, or is the Third Kazekage puppet controlled by Sasori stronger?"
"Shut up. I know you're just trying to show off to Sasori, flaunting how your Edo Tensei Third Kazekage is stronger than his puppet version. After all these years, do you think I don't know you?"
"Tch, so boring."
Orochimaru sneered and accepted it.
After a long time without returning to the village and having little contact with Jiraiya or Orochimaru, Tsunade looked at Orochimaru in slight surprise and asked, "Since when did you develop such bad tastes?"
"I'm not this weird with everyone. When I partnered with Sasori, that guy would always take every chance to mock my research, saying stuff like only eternity is the true answer. The worst part was, he even sent spies to me. Tsunade, tell me, can I just take this lying down?"
Hearing this, Tsunade rolled her eyes and replied, "You act like a woman, so petty."
"Ugh~"
Not sure if Orochimaru was purposely trying to annoy Tsunade, he gave her a flirtatious wink, changed his voice, and said in a sweet tone, "I'm a very cute girl now."
Tsunade: (`"
"Monster, take this punch!"
Annoyed beyond measure, Tsunade didn't care about the situation and raised her fist, ready to punch Orochimaru.
"Want to hit me? Not a chance."
Orochimaru had already anticipated this move.
The moment Tsunade moved, he quickly jumped from his seat and dashed to the door.
"Heh heh heh~ You can't catch me."
"Die, snake! Come here and fight me!"
"Ooh, so scary~ Haha, I'm outta here~"
"Die, snake, don't run away!"
And so, the two of them ran out of the meeting room, one chasing the other.
The Third Hokage turned away, unable to watch.
Jiraiya also wore an expression that seemed like he was dealing with constipation.
"...Forget about them, let's continue."
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