The relieved Ninja would rest, and another team of Ninja would take their place.
"Thanks, Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya's eyes lit up as he looked at the food. At this moment, even if a beautiful older sister walked by, she wouldn't be able to capture his attention.
"By the way, Orochimaru, how is the Village planning to deal with the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki?"
Jiraiya took a big gulp of soup, ate large mouthfuls of rice, patted his chest, and swallowed with effort, like a pig that had been starved for days, devouring the food Orochimaru had brought.
"We're waiting for Sunagakure's reaction. Sunagakure hasn't touched Konoha's intelligence Ninja, so they likely intend to negotiate peace with Konoha."
The intelligence Orochimaru received was that Sunagakure had begun clearing out intelligence Ninja, but had specifically left Konoha's intelligence Ninja untouched. This attitude was quite ambiguous.
"So, Sunagakure might send an envoy to Konoha?" Jiraiya speculated.
"It's very possible. The Jinchuriki are secondary; the Tailed Beast is very important to Sunagakure."
Orochimaru believed that Sunagakure might send an envoy to Konoha. As for their intentions, that was uncertain.
It could be to negotiate peace, or it could be to test Konoha's attitude towards Sunagakure.
With Konoha currently showing no signs, the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure must be restless.
"This braised mackerel is so delicious! This soy sauce chicken tastes amazing too! These meatballs are also so good… This is delicious too…"
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru, who was wearing casual home clothes, and said enviously, "It's so nice that you and Tsunade can rest in the Village."
"Jiraiya, you should be rotated back to the Village to rest soon. Even Ninja can't fight for extended periods without rest. If you fight for a long time without proper rest, do you even have half your former strength now?"
"I… Of course I do!"
Jiraiya said with a lack of confidence. How could he, the great Jiraiya, admit he was not capable in front of a girl?
"Tch!"
Orochimaru's eyes showed a hint of disdain, seeing through Jiraiya's current facade of strength.
"From Iwagakure's current strategy, they want to wage a war of attrition against Konoha. The only thing the Third Tsuchikage didn't anticipate was Kumogakure suddenly attacking Iwagakure."
Orochimaru felt that Iwagakure probably wanted to replicate the situation of the Four Great Shinobi Villages besieging Konoha during the First Shinobi World War, which is why they wanted to drag Konoha into a war of attrition. Hidden Mist and Sunagakure clearly saw through Iwagakure's plan, which is why they sent Ninja forces to attack Konoha.
However, those reckless Kumogakure people, on a whim, decided that attacking Iwagakure would yield better results, directly smashing Iwagakure's calculations.
Just as Orochimaru guessed, the Third Kazekage in the Hidden Sand Village, far away in the Land of Wind, couldn't even eat. He looked at the food on the table without any appetite.
He couldn't figure out Konoha's current attitude towards Sunagakure. Because of this, he hadn't dealt with Konoha's intelligence Ninja, which was also sending a signal to Konoha: Sunagakure was willing to negotiate peace with Konoha.
Regardless of whether Konoha and Kumogakure were secretly allied or had a cooperative relationship, Sunagakure's strength and conditions were insufficient for a long-term war of attrition.
Sunagakure couldn't afford to fight or endure it, and with the Daimyo of the Wind Country also considering cutting Sunagakure's budget, Sunagakure was now in an even more difficult position.
---
"Orochimaru, why do I feel like Grandma wants to get me drunk? *Hic*!"
Tsunade hiccuped, sitting on a small stool with her hands cupping her chin, eyes squinted, enjoying Orochimaru washing her hair, swaying restlessly.
"It's quite obvious, Grandma Mito wants to replicate your last time getting drunk."
Orochimaru rubbed shampoo into a lather and applied it to Tsunade's hair. She truly hadn't expected Grandma Mito's methods to be so wild. To push her and Tsunade a step further, she actually wanted to get Tsunade drunk, and by cheating too.
The women of the Uzumaki Clan, when it came time to be proactive, were truly frighteningly proactive!
She had reason to believe that Grandma Mito had used this very method to win over Senju Hashirama, that empty-headed vegetable.
"What do you mean! We're already progressing very quickly!"
Tsunade pouted, displeased with her grandmother's actions. She and Orochimaru had kissed many times!
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