Gathering of the Four Directions

"I've already met Jiraiya."

Tsunade suddenly raised her head, the fatigue in her eyes replaced by surprise. "He came back to the village too?"

"Yes." Orochimaru gave a slight nod, the corner of his mouth curling up. "That guy is still the same as ever. Hot-blooded, naïve, clinging to unrealistic fantasies. He searched everywhere for news of me and eventually cornered me."

He paused, as if savoring the memory. "He tried to persuade me to return to the village, saying things like, 'The three of us Sannin can still be like we were before,' 'Konoha needs me,' and 'Sensei has always been worried about me'... Hmph. As noisy and idealistic as ever."

Tsunade said nothing. She merely listened in silence, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the armrest of the sofa.

"I got tired of it, so I told him directly." Orochimaru's golden slit-pupiled eyes turned toward Tsunade, carrying the air of someone sharing a secret. "I said that I'd returned this time to kill Sensei."

The air in the room seemed to freeze for an instant.

"And then?" Tsunade's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"And then?" Orochimaru let out a soft laugh, though no emotion could be heard in it. "His reaction was much like yours. First shock, then rage—his chakra nearly went out of control. But after he calmed down... he was silent for a long time. In the end, he said, 'The old man has indeed changed. But I can't let you kill him. At the very least, I can't let you kill him in a way that harms Konoha.'"

Orochimaru mimicked Jiraiya's tone from that time—a mixture of pain, struggle, and resolve—and sounded remarkably similar.

"I told him my plan. I told him about the darkness Sensei had tolerated all these years, and about this so-called 'hero's final curtain.'" Orochimaru continued, "After hearing it, he didn't speak for a long time. Finally, he looked at me and said, 'I'll keep an eye on you. If your plan harms Konoha's civilians, or gives foreign enemies a chance to exploit the situation... even if it's you, I'll stop you.'"

"And then he left." Orochimaru spread his hands. "He didn't say he would expose me, nor did he say he would help me. His stance... heh, was probably rather like the choice you're making now."

Tsunade drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out, as though trying to expel the tangled weight in her chest. She leaned against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes.

The three Sannin... three people who had once fought side by side and shared life and death, now stood in such a delicate and dangerous triangular relationship because of their differing views and choices regarding Konoha, their teacher, and the future.

That realization filled her with profound exhaustion and sorrow.

The silence lasted for a while before Tsunade forcibly pulled her thoughts free from the suffocating heaviness. Her gaze shifted to Karin, who was still asleep on the sofa, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"This girl is the Uzumaki orphan you saw on the street and then snatched back from Grass Village?" Tsunade asked Qianyu, her usual blunt tone returning. "But why is she sleeping so deeply? Is she injured, or...?"

Qianyu rubbed his nose, looking a little embarrassed. "Uh... I put her under deep hypnosis with the Sharingan. The situation was urgent, and she was terrified. Explaining things directly would've been too troublesome..."

Tsunade: "..."

Orochimaru gave an intrigued "Oh."

Abin popped out from the corner, raising a hand to add, "When Little Dried Fish's eyes turned red, that red-haired girl just went 'thud' and fell over! It was super convenient!"

Everyone was rendered speechless by Qianyu's simple and brutal way of handling things.

Orochimaru, however, did not mind in the slightest. He walked to the sofa, bent down, and carefully examined Karin. His gaze was like a precise scalpel, as though it could see through skin and muscle into the deeper chakra pathways and essence of life.

"Orochimaru!" Tsunade warned immediately, chakra faintly rippling around her.

"Relax, Tsunade." Without even raising his head, Orochimaru spoke calmly. "At this moment, I am observing her with the attitude of a scholar. Such pure, vigorous, yet excessively depleted Uzumaki Clan vitality... truly a rare specimen."

His finger hovered over the layers of old and fresh bite marks on Karin's arm, and a trace of cold disgust and regret flashed through his eyes.

"A remarkable yet tragic girl," he murmured. "Her bloodline gave her nearly limitless healing potential, yet that potential became the source of her suffering, turning her into a mobile tool in the eyes of others. The nature of power, and the way power is used... what an eternal irony."

As he spoke, he smoothly pulled a syringe from within his wide sleeve.

"What are you doing?!" Tsunade sprang to her feet.

"A little blood sample." Orochimaru's tone was matter-of-fact. "The cellular activity and chakra traits of the Uzumaki Clan, particularly the mechanism by which this healing ability is transmitted through bodily fluids, have considerable research value. Don't worry. I know my limits."

Before he had even finished speaking, the needle had already pierced an unmarked patch of skin on Karin's arm with swift precision, drawing a small amount of blood. The process was so quick that even Tsunade had no time to stop him.

After drawing the blood, Orochimaru carefully put away the vial, then extended a finger and lightly tapped Karin's forehead. Chakra carrying the effect of releasing the genjutsu flowed into her.

Karin's long eyelashes trembled a few times before she slowly opened her eyes.

For the first few seconds, her gaze was dazed and blank, as if she were still struggling at the edge between dream and reality. Then her memories returned—the terrifying forest, her Grass ninja companions killed in an instant, and that black-haired boy who had walked through blood with cold eyes...

"Ah!" she cried out, her body jerking backward as she tightly hugged her arms. Her pupils were filled with fear and vigilance, like a small beast frightened beyond its limits.

"Don't be afraid, child." Tsunade stepped forward at once, but she did not approach rashly. Instead, she crouched down to seem less intimidating. She softened her voice as much as possible, using the tone she only used when facing severely wounded patients or children. "I'm Tsunade Senju, a medical ninja of Konoha. My grandmother was Mito Uzumaki. We... could be considered family."

Karin's body remained stiff. Her eyes stayed fixed on Tsunade before she timidly glanced toward Qianyu and Orochimaru beside her. Her little face was deathly pale, and her lips trembled.

But she did not immediately flee or cry out. Instead, she instinctively activated Kagura Mind's Eye.

This time, the emotions she sensed were even clearer.

That blonde woman with the huge breasts, Tsunade—her chakra was warm and powerful, carrying obvious goodwill, pity, and a faint resonance from their shared bloodline?

That black-haired boy—the gentle concern she had sensed before was still there, and now there was a hint of embarrassment as well?

As for that pale, effeminate man who made her feel immense pressure, his emotions were far more complex. There was inquiry and curiosity, but at this moment, no malice or greed directed at her.

There really... was no hostility.

Karin's taut nerves finally began to relax, little by little. Carefully, she nodded with the tiniest movement. She still did not dare speak, but she was no longer quite so afraid.

"Can you tell big sister your name? And how you ended up in Grass Village?" Tsunade's voice became even gentler.

Perhaps the word family had touched her, or perhaps it was the sincerity sensed by Kagura Mind's Eye... Karin hesitated for a long time before finally speaking in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"Karin... My name is Karin."

Then, haltingly, she told them of her past. Her mother had been a wandering member of the Uzumaki Clan who fled with her, still young at the time, to the Land of Grass, where they were taken in by Grass Village. Things had been fine at first, but after her mother's special healing ability was discovered, they became the village's communal medical supplies.

Her mother had been drained of too much chakra and life force while treating a severely wounded person, and she hadn't made it through... Karin had inherited her mother's ability, as well as her mother's fate, becoming a mobile first-aid kit for a Grass Village genin squad.

When she spoke of how her mother had been bitten to death alive, Karin could no longer endure it. The fear and grief she had suppressed for years burst forth like a breached flood, and she hugged her knees and wailed, her frail shoulders shaking violently.

Tsunade's eyes reddened as she listened. Her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She gently pulled the crying Karin into her arms and patted her back, her voice trembling with barely contained fury. "Animals... those animals from Grass Village!"

She abruptly raised her head and looked at Qianyu, a cold gleam flashing in her eyes. "Qianyu, did you cleanly deal with her two teammates?"

Qianyu nodded calmly. "Cleaned up. Not even the scum was left behind."

That answer slightly eased the knot in Tsunade's chest. She continued comforting Karin for quite some time, until the girl's sobbing gradually dwindled into sniffles.

"Alright, Karin, don't cry anymore." Tsunade used her sleeve to wipe the tears and snot from Karin's face. "You won't have to go back to Grass Village anymore. You'll stay in Konoha."

Karin raised her tear-blurred face and stared at Tsunade in disbelief.

"But..." Tsunade frowned as she considered it. "Going directly to the old man to arrange an identity for you would be troublesome. Grass Village may be a small country, but it's still a shinobi village. If one of their genin suddenly disappears—especially one with special abilities—they'll definitely investigate. And the old man right now..."

She quickly made up her mind. "How about this, Karin? Stay with me for now. For one month. During that month, you'll follow me. I'm Konoha's best medical ninja, and I can teach you how to better control and use your abilities, instead of letting others treat you like a tool."

She gently wiped away the tears on Karin's cheeks, her tone firm. "A month from now, once the Chunin Exam finals are over, no matter what happens, I'll find a way to get you a legal, clean identity in Konoha, so you can live here peacefully. Konoha won't treat you like a tool."

Karin stared blankly at Tsunade, then turned to Qianyu. She could feel Tsunade's unreserved promise and desire to protect her through her chakra, and Qianyu's approval and support.

A sense of security she had never known before quietly wrapped around her cold heart. She nodded hard and let out a nasal, tearful "Mm."

At that moment, Qianyu spoke as well, his voice gentle. "Besides, there's another member of your clan in Konoha. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He's a noisy idiot, but he's a good person. You can meet him then. Maybe you'll get along well."

"Uzumaki... Naruto?" Karin repeated the name, a faint glimmer appearing in her eyes. Another clansman... Was there another member of the Uzumaki clan in this world besides her dead mother?

Orochimaru listened quietly from the side without interrupting. Only then did he slowly speak, his voice returning to its usual indifferent tone.

"Then there is nothing for me to do here for the moment. Tsunade, Qianyu-kun, I'll take my leave first."

"I have some matters to attend to. We'll meet again at the finals in a month. By then... I hope everything goes smoothly."

With that, his figure seemed to melt into the shadows like a snake, vanishing soundlessly through the doorway.

Tsunade, Qianyu, Abin, and Karin, whose emotions had gradually settled, remained in the room.

Outside the window, the night had grown deep.

Over the next month, Konoha appeared peaceful on the surface, but the undercurrents beneath it surged ever more fiercely.

The day after the preliminaries ended, Kakashi whisked Sasuke away. He took Sasuke out of the village for secret special training, hoping to teach him more powerful Lightning Release ninjutsu while suppressing the Curse Mark. Sasuke trained almost madly. The pain and power enhancement brought by the Curse Mark intoxicated him, but also left Kakashi deeply worried.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, "happened" to run into Naruto in the village. Using "I'll teach you the most powerful technique" as an excuse, Jiraiya began Naruto's special training, and Naruto's improvement was obvious to the naked eye.

The other young genin also followed their respective jonin instructors, carrying out their final stretch of intensive training.

Karin settled into the house. Tsunade did not immediately teach her profound medical ninjutsu. Instead, she began with the fundamentals—chakra control, knowledge of the chakra pathways, and herbal medicine—allowing Karin to systematically understand her own body and abilities.

At the same time, Karin's learning ability and talent delighted Tsunade. Like a parched sponge, she greedily absorbed every bit of knowledge, and color gradually returned to her pale little face.

Qianyu and Karin were somewhat awkward around each other at first. Karin was still haunted by his demonic image in the forest that day, but after getting to know him, she discovered that Qianyu was actually quite mild-mannered in private, even a little lazy. He patiently answered her questions about ninjutsu. Abin's joking banter also slowly eased her tension. Gradually, Karin was able to relax around Qianyu as well.

The days passed one by one, and the date of the Chunin Exam finals drew nearer and nearer.

Nobles, merchants, and tourists arrived in succession, and the streets were filled with a festival-like atmosphere. The village's alert level was also secretly raised to its highest level. ANBU patrols visibly increased in both frequency and range, and a suffocating tension of outward ease and inward vigilance hung in the air.

Qianyu stood before the window of his little house, looking at the brightly lit, bustling village in the distance with a calm gaze.

He could sense that snake's presence. Like a cold shadow lurking beneath a grand stage, it was slowly tightening its coils.

Jiraiya also came to see Tsunade once during that time, bringing some vague warnings. There seemed to be some unspoken understanding between him and Tsunade. Regarding the coming storm, their teacher, and Orochimaru, they did not speak much, yet they both understood.