Caught Off Guard

Dada looked at the two again. Without Chakra, he could not see through the Transformation Jutsu.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Tsunade kept expressionless faces, though their hearts were in turmoil.

What the hell?! Why were so many ninja eating breakfast together?!

Kawanishi Kyohei, who had been on guard duty, appeared behind them and blocked their path, saying darkly, "This is really embarrassing. You slipped in through the gap during a shift change. It makes me look completely incompetent..."

Orochimaru rapidly calculated. His and Tsunade's Transformation Jutsu were not weak, yet they had been seen through at a glance. There had to be a jonin among them. Who were these people, and why were they gathered here having breakfast?!

Wait, looking at it this way...

"There are children..." Orochimaru glanced at Dada from the corner of his eye.

"And young adults..." Orochimaru looked at the tall, burly Yotsuki Ki.

"Men and women." He then looked at the wary group of attendants.

"And elderly people..." Finally, he looked at Jishi, who continued slurping his porridge with unwavering determination.

"Plus Cloud Ninja..." Dark, glossy skin and exposed, well-defined muscles...

Wasn't this a Kekkei Genkai Family preparing to relocate to Kumogakure as a whole?!

He had not expected it to fall into his lap so easily...

But the question now was... could they beat them?

The atmosphere in the courtyard was extremely tense. The Kumogakure group had vaguely surrounded Orochimaru and Tsunade, ready to strike at any moment.

There was no trust whatsoever between ninja of different affiliations. Orochimaru and Tsunade appeared calm, but they too were calculating rapidly.

Judging by their presence, there was clearly more than one jonin among them. There might even be other hidden forces.

We can't fight them head-on! Orochimaru judged inwardly.

Or rather, there was no need to fight them head-on.

The key was that there was no need. Before coming here, Orochimaru had never intended to fight.

Although their skin color and muscular builds exposed them as Cloud Ninja, he himself had not revealed much.

Tsunade and he had only just begun traveling the Shinobi World. No one should recognize them, nor would anyone know what they were here for.

There was plenty of room to maneuver.

With that thought, Orochimaru gave Tsunade a look, then said, "We are ninja from Yugakure. My wife has contracted a strange illness, and I heard there was a skilled healer here, so we came to try our luck. We do not wish to clash with you. If it is inconvenient, we can leave right now..."

The Land of Soup also had a ninja village, though it was more like a merchant association supported by the Land of Soup's prosperity and was known as a peaceful ninja village.

To make his story more convincing, Orochimaru deliberately adopted a probing tone. "However, I do not know you people. You are certainly not from Yugakure. If you are ninja from another country, it would be best to report yourselves to us to avoid misunderstandings." His tone carried an appropriate degree of timidity, perfectly capturing the mentality of a small ninja village.

However, the Cloud Ninja did not believe him so easily.

Kawanishi Kyohei tossed a kunai up and caught it again. "Your 'wife' does not look sick at all."

Orochimaru gazed at Tsunade affectionately. After hesitating for a moment, he said with what seemed like both shame and sorrow, "My wife is... unwell in that regard."

Tsunade: "???"

Once she understood, Tsunade's face immediately flushed bright red. Just as she was about to explode, she was forcibly restrained. Orochimaru continued, "We should leave. We can come back another time..."

Under the surface, Tsunade had nearly crushed Orochimaru's hand bones...

Orochimaru endured the pain and slowly began backing away.

Kawanishi Kyohei watched coldly without stopping them.

"Wait, wait." A voice stopped Orochimaru and Tsunade. It belonged to the youngest child.

"There is no need for this. They came to see a doctor, and so did we. How can we stop them from getting treated?" It was Dada who spoke.

"Please do not leave. Grandpa Jishi really is a very skilled healer."

Dada felt that scaring the two away like this was a little too cruel.

Were Cloud Ninja always this overbearing outside... or were all ninja this domineering?

Old Man Jishi set down his bowl of porridge and nodded. "Come over, I will take a look... As for that sort of matter, this old man has seen quite a few cases."

A little light bulb suddenly went off in Dada's mind. Wait, would he use the Art of Life Peering?

No, no, what am I thinking? I'm only six years old!!!

Kawanishi Kyohei and Anzai Mamoru, the two jonin, exchanged looks before finally saying, "Fine, but you must submit to an inspection." This was their greatest concession. Jishi's attitude mattered greatly to them, and they did not want Old Man Jishi to think the Cloud Ninja were thuggish bullies who aggressively prevented him from treating other patients.

Hearing this, Orochimaru stopped walking. Leaving now would instead seem suspicious.

This group should be the Kekkei Genkai Family preparing to relocate to Kumogakure. He just did not know why they listened to that child. The child was probably an important figure. Looking closer, many of the adults were dressed like attendants...

In Orochimaru's mind, he pieced together a story: the last young master of a fallen Kekkei Genkai Family had been discovered by Cloud Ninja and was being lured to Kumogakure.

Then he might as well play along and try to gather more intelligence.

In any case, their true identities and purposes had not been exposed. Forcing their way out would only make the others suspicious and lead to pursuit.

As for the illness, Orochimaru believed that Tsunade, as a Medical Ninja, would have no problem pretending to be a patient.

Orochimaru gave Tsunade a look: Suppress your Chakra activity, accept the inspection, gather more intelligence, and preferably fake some kind of illness. You are a Medical Ninja, so that should not be difficult.

Tsunade returned a look: No problem. I will find an opportunity to strike suddenly and catch them off guard. You take the left, I take the right. Wait for me to make the first move.

Orochimaru nodded slightly, convinced that the plan was sound.

"Why use a Transformation Jutsu to see a doctor? Release it and throw away your Ninja Tool Bags," Anzai Mamoru said.

Orochimaru and Tsunade did not hesitate long before releasing their Transformation Jutsu. They had only just begun venturing through the Shinobi World, so no one could recognize them.

Dada froze for a moment when he saw their true appearances.

This man's face was so pale... He looked...

He looked really weak! So that was why his wife...

Wait! What am I thinking?! I'm only six years old!

Kawanishi Kyohei and Anzai Mamoru stepped forward, preparing to search Orochimaru and Tsunade. Ninja did not care about distinctions between men and women.

Kawanishi Kyohei approached Orochimaru, while Anzai Mamoru searched Tsunade.

Just as Anzai Mamoru was about to touch Tsunade—

With a BOOM, Tsunade suddenly struck. She went all out from the very first blow, her Strength of a Hundred Seal Punch smashing into Anzai Mamoru's stomach. He only had time to mount a slight defense before being sent flying. The tremendous force even cracked the ground around Tsunade!

After succeeding with her surprise attack, Tsunade turned around and saw Orochimaru, who was obediently being searched, and Kawanishi Kyohei, who was diligently conducting the search. Both stood there blankly staring at her.

"What are you standing around for?! Hurry up and attack!" Tsunade shouted angrily.

Orochimaru forcibly steadied himself and spat out a concealed kunai, stabbing it toward Kawanishi Kyohei. However, the other man had already become wary, so Orochimaru failed to achieve results in one strike as Tsunade had. The two began fighting, and Orochimaru could not help shouting, "Why did you attack?!"

There was absolutely no need!