A Chaotic Stalemate of Mutual Enmity!

When Orochimaru came out, Sakura Haruno's eyes widened.

Sakura almost thought that Orochimaru had been secretly observing her fight with Sasori the whole time.

"Impossible..." She quickly realized she was mistaken; no one could hide so close to the battle for so long without being discovered...

No, there was one exception... She remembered that mysterious figure. Sakura had been watching him disappear into the ground, yet she couldn't sense his presence at all.

Surely, that strange man is still lurking somewhere on the battlefield right now?

Thinking about it this way, it's just as Orochimaru said, it's really lively here!

She glanced around, her eyes sweeping over Orochimaru, who had casually walked into their line of sight.

On Orochimaru's side, there was himself and Kabuto. One was a very strong ninja among the "Kage" level, and the other was an Elite Jonin- level figure comparable to Kakashi.

On Xiao's side, there's Sasori and an unidentified figure hiding underground. Sasori's puppets have been largely depleted, leaving him vulnerable, but he still possesses a Secret Technique scroll, so caution is advised; the other mysterious figure is also quite formidable.

As for her side... Jiraiya and Naruto are basically in good fighting condition, so she can be considered a patient, but she can still contribute some fighting power if necessary. Shino will be able to arrive soon.

The three parties are roughly equal in strength.

"What's even more interesting," Sakura thought to herself, "Is that they're all paired off as enemies!"

Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Akatsuki and Konoha. Orochimaru and Konoha.

They are mortal enemies!

In this delicate situation, any action taken by anyone could potentially provoke a simultaneous attack from the other two sides!

The wind howled across the battlefield, swirling up sand, stones, and withered branches, and whipping the hair of the soldiers.

The three standing at the front— Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sasori—silently exchanged glances.

"Kabuto, I never expected you to betray me..." Sasori glanced at the inconspicuous young man following behind Orochimaru and said indifferently.

The white-haired youth pushed up his glasses, the reflection on the lenses obscuring his eyes.

He sneered, "My loyalty to you only existed within the restrictions you placed on my mind... After Lord Orochimaru lifted those restrictions, my loyalty was naturally also lifted!"

"However, after serving as your subordinate for so many years, this is the first time I've seen your true face. You're actually like this..." Dou stepped forward, glanced at Scorpion's pretty face, and added in surprise.

"We can catch up later, Kabuto." Orochimaru waved his hand, casually interrupting Kabuto, and turned to Jiraiya a cold smile. "Sasori is at his weakest right now... Aren't you Konoha going against Akatsuki? I happen to have a personal grudge against Akatsuki too! How about we take him down together?"

"Do you think we'll trust you, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya said sternly, rejecting his suggestion without hesitation.

Sasori frowned slightly. Jiraiya said so, but he didn't think he could take the opportunity to retreat while the two were on guard against each other. If he did, they would probably attack without hesitation.

He suddenly smiled slightly, "Orochimaru, the order to hunt you down is from the leader, not from a personal grudge between us... I think it would be better if we joined forces to deal with the people of Konoha!"

"Hmph... You weren't like this when you were chasing me back then." Orochimaru glanced at him and said with a sneer.

Upon hearing this, Sakura found the serious confrontation suddenly hilarious; it would be even more amusing if Jiraiya added, "Orochimaru is a traitor to us all, so why don't we take care of him first!"

Orochimaru wanted to team up with Jiraiya to fight Sasori; Sasori wanted to team up with Orochimaru to fight Jiraiya; then Jiraiya proposed teaming up with Sasori to fight Orochimaru...

Wow, this tongue twister is so hard to pronounce!

With Jiraiya and Naruto ahead, Sakura could finally relax a bit; stepping out of battle mode, Sakura's mind immediately shifted from calm and focused to lively and active.

They started letting their imaginations run wild and began to rant and rave.

Sakura tiptoed and quietly told Jiraiya the information she knew.

Jiraiya nodded seriously. Of course, he wouldn't say what she imagined; Jiraiya didn't have that kind of perverse sense of humor. In a state of high alert, Jiraiya simply stared intently at the two people opposite him, without uttering a word.

He silently analyzed the situation on the field.

Orochimaru preferred to target Akatsuki because the powerful and influential Konoha couldn't deal with him without restraint; destroying his base was merely a retaliation. Akatsuki, on the other hand, was a bigger headache for him, as that organization was his true threat.

What about Sasori? He's currently in a state of weakened strength. Although Sakura mentioned that Sasori has another scroll and a strange person hiding underground, on the surface, his strength is the lowest among the three parties. Joining forces with Orochimaru to deal with Konoha is the most orthodox strategy of uniting the weak against the strong.

So what will Konoha do?

Jiraiya's idea was simple.

No matter how strong the fighting force here is, Jiraiya would not risk sending Naruto and Sakura, who are still children, to fight these top-tier villains who kill without blinking an eye unless absolutely necessary! Since he is here, he will protect the two of them—it is his responsibility.

If we can hold them off until reinforcements arrive, that would be ideal. But if they choose to retreat...

After a brief standoff, Scorpion was genuinely getting anxious.

He suppressed his emotions, keeping a calm expression, and took a step closer to Orochimaru, saying, "Whether we have a public feud or a personal grudge, it's best to cooperate against them now..."

Seeing Orochimaru looking over, Sasori continued, "The enemy is Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, along with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Sakura Haruno, who just instantly killed Deidara. And reinforcements are on their way... If this drags on any longer, I'm afraid neither of us will be able to escape!"

From this perspective, indeed, all real threats are fake; if you can't deal with the threats in front of you, you'll never have to think about threats again!

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki can't fully unleash his power yet, and while Sakura Haruno is strong, she's almost out of fighting strength by now..." Orochimaru stopped his sarcasm and said in a deep voice, "Apart Jiraiya that idiot Jiraiya, the others aren't much of a threat, just a bit troublesome!"

That being said, Orochimaru's hostility towards Sasori lessened considerably, and he kept a closer eye on the Konoha members.

From Orochimaru's eyes and actions, Sasori also discerned his true intentions.

"It seems our battle won't escalate." He smiled faintly, glancing at Jiraiya, then his gaze swept past him to the girl behind him. "Thank you for the inspiration. I look forward to our next meeting... Until we meet again!"

Jiraiya suddenly took a step forward.

"Do you think you can just leave whenever you want?" he said in a deep voice, his Chakra beginning to surge.

Scorpion suddenly pulled out a scroll.

"Don't be impulsive, Jiraiya..." He sneered, raising the scroll, "I have one last Secret Technique scroll containing a deadly poison. It's extremely potent, spreads with the wind, and is colorless, odorless, and silent. Don't push me; I don't want to waste it on you... If you want to die, then come after me!"

The handsome young man, Sasori of the Red Sand, slowly retreated.

"Also, let me remind you, according to the intelligence my spy, who's infiltrated Orochimaru's inner circle," he glanced at Kabuto, "Orochimaru also has designs on that Ice Release Girl beside you... I advise you to keep your sights on Orochimaru!"

Jiraiya's steps suddenly faltered.

His tiger-like eyes were fixed on the scorpion and the scroll in his hand, his mind indecisive.

If anyone else had said that, Jiraiya would have scoffed; however, Sasori was a master of poison, so it wasn't surprising that he possessed such potent venom. Tsunade had once shown Jiraiya the power of a paralyzing drug that had silently poisoned him... It happened during a drinking session when he casually remarked that Tsunade used to be a "washboard" (a derogatory term for someone who is easily manipulated), and she retaliated.

Sasori noticed Jiraiya's concerns.

He retreated further and further away, and under Jiraiya's watchful gaze, slowly left the battlefield.

With a final, wry smile, he led the puppets away from Jiraiya's sight. The latter watched them depart with solemn silence, making no move.

Then Jiraiya turned his gaze back to Orochimaru.

He was slightly taken aback.

"That cunning fellow..."

He gave a low hum.

(Guaranteed minimum/ Still writing! Will try to deliver the fifth update before midnight!)

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