The Three Ninja Meet

Days passed one after another, but no matter how Jimo helped, he still couldn't perfectly compress the power into a Rasengan with a single hand.

"It looks like there's no way unless Naruto reconciles with the Nine-Tails..." Jimo said with a headache.

On the last day of the bet, Jiraiya and Tsunade hadn't returned all night.

Jimo went next door and saw the window wide open, Shizune lying on the floor, unconscious.

"Sister Shizune!" Jimo shook her, waking her from her stupor.

"It hurts!" Shizune said, clutching her stomach.

"How did you end up passed out here!" As soon as he said that, Jimo suddenly realized—Tsunade had probably gone to meet Orochimaru...

"Quick, hurry and find Lord Jiraiya!"

Shizune wobbled over to the window; a kunai was stuck in the outer wall.

"Jimo!"

He saw Jiraiya leaning against a wall not far away, his face somewhat pale.

"Lord Jiraiya?"

"Hurry! Hurry and give me the antidote!"

Shizune quickly helped Jiraiya into the room.

"Jimo, your warning was right... I was careless..."

Jimo had said before that going out drinking with Lady Tsunade required extreme caution. Jiraiya thought he was being overly suspicious—Tsunade and he had a deep friendship, why would she poison him?

He never expected Jimo to be right. Tsunade had slipped him a drug that disrupted chakra flow, colorless and odorless, impossible to guard against.

The four of them rushed toward the meeting place between Tsunade and Orochimaru.

"Will Granny Tsunade agree to Orochimaru?" Naruto asked.

"Hard to say... if Orochimaru really has a way to revive those two..." Jiraiya's expression was grim.

He couldn't accept that answer, and even less did he want to kill his old friend of many years with his own hands.

"Don't worry! Lady Tsunade definitely won't agree!"

Jimo said confidently.

"How can you be so sure!" Jiraiya saw Jimo's confidence and couldn't help but relax a little. Many of this kid's decisions along the way had been right in his eyes; he just hoped this time his words would hold true...

"Lady Tsunade may have lost heart because she lost something precious, but her love for Konoha is no less than anyone here! She is the descendant of the First and Second Hokage! How could she not love the village those two gave their lives to build!"

Jimo worried that his presence might change the original course of events, so he called for Flying Nimbus and went ahead.

"You all hurry along the road. I'll go first and hold off Orochimaru!"

With that, Jimo turned into a beam of golden light and sped off into the distance.

"Tsunade, have you made up your mind?" In the open space, Orochimaru looked at Tsunade with a dark smile.

"I... can treat you... but you must not touch the village..."

A hint of loss flickered in Tsunade's eyes.

Just as Tsunade was about to channel chakra and reach out to Orochimaru, a kunai flew between them.

Kabuto Yakushi appeared on the city wall.

"Why, why are you betraying me at a time like this!"

Orochimaru's face was dark, bloodshot veins threading through his eyes.

"Is this your answer, Princess Tsunade? You actually wanted to kill me?"

Seeing Tsunade silent, Orochimaru pressed on stubbornly.

"I really do want to revive them both. After all, one of them was my first disciple! And I've already agreed not to touch Konoha!"

"When you said you could bring them back, for a moment, I was truly tempted... Their dream—even if I had to risk my life to achieve it—I really wanted to see them again..."

Tsunade paused.

"But you also said... all tangible things will eventually wither... but the wishes of the departed! They will never wither!"

A few days earlier, Jimo had spoken to her privately.

"Lady Tsunade, that jutsu of Orochimaru's can indeed pull the dead back from the underworld..."

Jimo said this as someone who had witnessed it firsthand—he had seen the First and Second Hokage after their Impure World Reincarnation.

"But a puppet controlled by someone else's will—is that really them? Immortality itself goes against heaven's way... You're a medical ninja too; of course we hope people live without illness or disaster. But the dead have already passed on; we shouldn't disturb their rest in the underworld anymore..."

"It looks like negotiations have failed... Then I'll have to take you by force!"

Before the words faded, Tsunade had already charged in front of the two.

"Come on, Orochimaru!"

Kabuto and Orochimaru fought while retreating, luring Tsunade to an open area.

Kabuto swallowed a Soldier Pill, and chakra blades formed in both his hands.

The next moment, he suddenly emerged from behind Tsunade.

Tsunade's legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

Kabuto Yakushi had just severed the muscles in her legs...

"The medical ninjutsu you invented is quite convenient in battle as well!"

Kabuto Yakushi licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, letting out a sinister laugh.

Before he could strike again, Tsunade sent him flying with a single punch.

"Impressive... to still counterattack even with injuries like that, you truly live up to your reputation as one of the Three Ninja, on par with Lord Orochimaru..."

Gradually, Kabuto began to sense something wrong with his body.

The attack Tsunade had just landed targeted his nervous system—he could no longer control his own movements.

As Kabuto Yakushi regained his senses, Tsunade activated her medical ninjutsu, healing the muscle tissue and heart vessels he had just severed.

"Don't underestimate me..."

Kabuto Yakushi staggered to his feet, catching Tsunade off guard.

To recover control of his body so quickly...

"You have hemophobia, don't you... I'll make your blood... spray out..."

Kabuto Yakushi pulled out a kunai and charged at Tsunade, but was sent flying by a sudden figure.

"Whew! Made it in time..."

Jimo's figure slowly emerged from the dust, still holding his fist in the striking position.

"Lady Tsunade, leave this one to me..."

Jimo placed his hands in front of him like a flower calyx, and a blue orb of light slowly materialized between his palms, steadily growing larger.

"Kamehameha!"

A massive shockwave blasted toward Orochimaru and Kabuto, carving a long trench into the ground.

"As much as I'd love to see the Three Ninja clash... I don't want to go through all that trouble."

Two brown serpents appeared in the distance, with Orochimaru and Kabuto standing atop their heads, eyes fixed on Tsunade and Jimo.

"Tch... this is going to be tough."

Jimo stared at the giant pythons closing in.

"Heh, this is the perfect moment for the great Jiraiya to make his grand entrance!"

A bold voice rang out from behind the two. Jiraiya quickly formed hand seals and activated the Summoning Technique.

A puff of smoke later...

Gamakichi hopped out.

The scene was painfully awkward.

"Lord Jiraiya... maybe you should just go take a rest over there," Jimo quipped.