"Lady Tsunade, I'm Kabuto Yakushi."
Kabuto followed behind Shizune, looking at Tsunade with a hint of excitement and admiration, as if he were standing before his idol. The expression didn't look fake at all.
Tsunade had to admit that Orochimaru's spy was unexpectedly good at acting.
If she hadn't already read the manga, there was no way she would've connected this kind-looking young man with the word "spy." But that only proved he really was a successful one.
"Kabuto Yakushi, right?"
Tsunade stood up, went into her room, retrieved a sealing scroll, and handed it to Kabuto.
Then she said, "Take this to Orochimaru. Tell him that in two days, I'll be waiting for him in Tanzaku Town. I have something very important to discuss with him."
Kabuto looked stunned, even panicked. "Lady Tsunade, I…"
"No need to explain."
Tsunade cut him off without hesitation, before he could say another word, and said calmly, "Since I came to you, I obviously know who you are. So don't bother acting in front of me."
The panic on Kabuto's face gradually faded.
"You can look at what's inside too, if you want. And if you feel like it, you can come to Tanzaku Town in three days as well. Go on. Leave Konoha. If anyone asks, just say you're carrying out a secret mission I assigned you."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. He could tell he didn't really have the right to refuse.
So he nodded cleanly. "Understood, Lady Tsunade. I'll pass your message on to Lord Orochimaru. As for whether Lord Orochimaru is willing to meet you in Tanzaku Town, that isn't something I can decide."
Tsunade said with complete confidence, "He'll come."
Kabuto accepted the sealing scroll and turned to leave.
He knew exactly why Tsunade was so confident.
It was obviously because of that scroll.
There had to be something inside it that Lord Orochimaru couldn't refuse.
Although Tsunade had said he could read it too, Kabuto still decided to take it back for Orochimaru to see first.
After Kabuto left, Rowan asked curiously, "What did you put inside that sealing scroll for Kabuto? Don't tell me it's the Naruto manga."
Tsunade smiled and shook her head. "Of course not. But whatever's in there, he won't be able to refuse it."
That only made Rowan more curious.
What exactly had she put inside?
But he didn't ask. In two days, the truth would reveal itself on its own.
On the other side, after Kabuto left Konoha, he found an empty place, slapped a hand against the ground, and performed a summoning technique, calling forth a red snake about a meter long.
"Take this scroll to Lord Orochimaru. Tell him Tsunade gave it to me and asked him to meet her in Tanzaku Town in three days."
With that, he handed the sealing scroll to the red snake. The snake swallowed it whole, then vanished in a puff of smoke with a bang.
Only then did Kabuto get up and leave. By nightfall, he found an inn and stayed there.
That same night, just as Kabuto was about to sleep, the red snake that had vanished earlier appeared again and brought him a slip of paper.
Kabuto took it and glanced at it.
There were only a few words written on it:
Meet in Tanzaku Town.
Kabuto's heart skipped a beat.
Looks like there really was something inside that sealing scroll Lord Orochimaru couldn't refuse.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have responded so quickly.
Early the next morning, Kabuto rushed toward Tanzaku Town as fast as he could.
By nightfall, he finally arrived and spent the night at an inn there.
The next morning, while Kabuto was eating breakfast, a white snake suddenly crawled in through the window, flicked out its tongue at him, and let out a series of hisses.
Kabuto immediately understood. He quickly followed behind the white snake and quietly left Tanzaku Town.
In a nearby forest, Kabuto finally met the person he had been looking for.
"Lord Orochimaru."
He dropped to one knee with a thud before Orochimaru, lowering his head in respect.
Orochimaru looked down at the kneeling Kabuto and said, "That scroll—Tsunade gave it to you."
"Yes."
"She asked me to meet her in Tanzaku Town."
"Yes," Kabuto replied.
Orochimaru fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "How did she know you work for me?"
At the mention of that, Kabuto looked puzzled too. "I don't understand it either. Not long ago, Lady Tsunade suddenly returned to Konoha with a man named Rowan and arranged for him to stay at the Senju compound."
"Although Lady Tsunade publicly claimed he was just a friend, Shizune treated this man named Rowan with obvious respect."
"But to avoid drawing unnecessary suspicion, I didn't immediately investigate him."
"Then two days ago, Shizune suddenly came to find me and said Tsunade had business with me."
"When I met Lady Tsunade, she handed me the sealing scroll and seemed completely certain that I was one of your people. She told me to deliver the scroll to you and asked you to meet her in Tanzaku Town."
Orochimaru silently listened to Kabuto's account, his gaze flickering as he sank into thought.
Kabuto raised his head and asked carefully, "Lord Orochimaru, what exactly was inside the sealing scroll that made you travel all this way to Tanzaku Town just to meet Tsunade?"
Orochimaru said slowly, "Something very novel. Very interesting to me. But that isn't what matters."
"What matters is what the appearance of those things represents."
"If I'm not mistaken, what Tsunade gave me must have come from that man named Rowan."
"This person is not simple. His origins are tied to an earth-shaking secret."
"If that secret were exposed, the entire ninja world would be thrown into upheaval."
Kabuto was doubtful.
Could that ordinary-looking man really be hiding some world-shaking secret?
But he didn't doubt Lord Orochimaru.
Maybe the man was just hiding it well, and Kabuto simply hadn't noticed.
"Lord Orochimaru, are we keeping the appointment?"
"We're going. We have to."
Orochimaru's answer was absolute.
"In order to make sure I come, Tsunade has already thrown out bait I can't resist. I have a feeling this meeting may change the entire ninja world."
…
A day later, the agreed time arrived.
After a long journey, Tsunade, Rowan, and Shizune finally reached Tanzaku Town.
It sounded like just a street, but in reality, Tanzaku Town was a full-fledged town.
Its level of prosperity was no less than Konoha's. It had countless inns, bars, the pleasure houses Jiraiya loved to visit, and the casinos Tsunade loved to gamble in.
~~~
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