Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san

"Long time no see, Tsunade."

The slender man with golden vertical pupils standing before her wore a twisted smile on his lips, reminiscent of a snake. Even as he finished speaking, the air around them grew chilly.

After the initial shock, the adult Tsunade coldly shut him out. "After all this time, you can't possibly be here just to catch up, can you, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru replied calmly, "Actually, I came to ask a small favor."

A small favor.

Adult Tsunade merely listened, her sharp eyes scanning him. Despite his excellent disguise, she could still spot the clues: his forehead was sweaty, his heartbeat was rapid, his complexion was pale as if he were running a high fever, and he looked utterly exhausted. Most importantly, his hands...

Adult Tsunade's gaze fell on Orochimaru's bandaged hands.

Noticing her shift in focus, Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged, though he inwardly admired her keen observation. As expected of her, she had immediately noticed the changes in his condition.

At this moment, the young man wearing round glasses beside Orochimaru spoke up, saying what his leader could not. "Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru's situation is..."

"You should find someone else. I've retired from medicine..."

Adult Tsunade cut him off, outright refusing.

However, since Orochimaru had gone out of his way to find her and made such a grand entrance, it was clear he wouldn't be easily deterred by a few words.

"That won't do. You know how severe this injury is. Only one of the legendary Sannin, renowned for medical ninjutsu, can heal it."

The bespectacled man's tone was firm, even carrying a hint of coercion.

As he spoke, Orochimaru's hands trembled slightly.

Adult Tsunade paid no heed to the subtle threat. She noticed Orochimaru's hands shaking involuntarily and saw through the situation. "The injury to your hands isn't ordinary, is it..."

Without waiting for a response, she began speculating that the damage to Orochimaru's hands was caused by a special curse seal...

She was so focused on Orochimaru that she forgot about the person standing beside her.

Tōshirō was utterly shocked.

What was going on?

If his ears weren't deceiving him, the effeminate man before him was none other than Orochimaru, one of the legendary Sannin, alongside Tsunade.

As for the other man, wearing glasses and looking rather unassuming, it wasn't hard to guess that he was Kabuto Yakushi.

Damn...

He had stumbled upon the period when Orochimaru's hands were sealed, and he had come to Tsunade for treatment.

At this point, he was already aware of adult Tsunade's identity and knew that the man before him was the future Orochimaru. Shouldn't he act accordingly to solidify his persona?

"...You don't need to look so grim. Everything with form will eventually decay..."

Orochimaru's lengthy monologue struck a nerve with adult Tsunade.

Adult Tsunade lowered her head slightly, remaining silent.

Tōshirō glanced sideways. Adult Tsunade's expression was hidden behind her hair, but he could guess it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Hmph... Those two died quite miserably."

Orochimaru's smile was sinister as he deliberately provoked her. He didn't get a response from adult Tsunade, but the boy beside her couldn't hold back. "Orochimaru, how could you become like this!"

Tōshirō lashed out, reinforcing his persona.

Normally, Tōshirō wouldn't dare to act so boldly, but Orochimaru's strength was mostly sealed, and he was running a high fever, looking pale and sickly. It was questionable whether he even had a tenth of his usual power.

Orochimaru: ???

Adult Tsunade suddenly remembered that Tōshirō, who had come from the past, was standing beside her. She turned her gaze to Orochimaru, curious about his reaction.

"Lord Orochimaru, do you know this child?"

Kabuto glanced over, his expression puzzled.

Orochimaru looked at Tōshirō with disbelief. From the tone of his earlier words, it seemed this kid knew him, and not in a superficial way.

"Do you know me?"

He couldn't help but ask.

Tōshirō didn't respond. Instead, he sighed to Tsunade beside him. "I never expected you to be that Tsunade. No wonder your medical skills are so extraordinary. The Tsunade I know even thought of you as her daughter. Thinking about it now, it's quite amusing."

Adult Tsunade sighed helplessly. "I never thought you'd find out this way."

Orochimaru, hearing their conversation, was utterly confused. He understood every word, but when put together, they made no sense.

Moreover, their conversation seemed to imply the existence of another Tsunade. What was going on?

Orochimaru pressed for answers. "Who are you?"

"Who I am isn't important. What matters is you."

Tōshirō closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were blood-red, with three tomoe swirling around his pupils.

He quickly formed hand seals and unleashed a Fire Release: Dragon Flame Singing Projectile.

What the—!

Seeing those eyes, even Orochimaru was momentarily stunned. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and barely managed to dodge.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Orochimaru shouted, but the response was a series of rapid advances, taking advantage of his disabled state.

The shadow clones wouldn't hold Orochimaru for long, but it was enough time. Tōshirō's real body charged at Kabuto.

Kabuto gathered blue chakra in his hand, slashing horizontally with a chakra scalpel.

Tōshirō responded with a similar attack.

With a loud bang, their hands collided.

Kabuto grinned. His attack wasn't just a regular strike; it was a chakra scalpel, capable of severing tendons with ease.

Just as he eagerly awaited the result, something unexpected happened. After being hit by the chakra scalpel, Tōshirō remained unharmed. Instead, his hand twisted, grabbing Kabuto's wrist.

Kabuto's pupils contracted as he tried to break free, but it was too late.

Tōshirō formed a one-handed seal, gathering chakra in his palm. Ice particles formed as he struck Kabuto's chest.

A freezing force invaded Kabuto's body, causing excruciating pain as if icy spikes were growing in his bloodstream.

Despite the warm weather, Kabuto felt colder than ever, his body trembling uncontrollably as if frozen solid.

To make matters worse, the cold was intensifying, with frost spreading over his face, hands, feet, and even his cheeks.

Most ninjas were fragile, and without proper defenses, a single powerful technique could render them incapacitated.

Given Kabuto's skills, Tōshirō wouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily under normal circumstances. However, Kabuto didn't know Tōshirō, while Tōshirō knew Kabuto well. Plus, he had the Sharingan.

Any trick Kabuto tried would be seen through by Tōshirō. He had anticipated the chakra scalpel and used his ice armor to block it, then seized Kabuto's wrist to immobilize him. With a one-handed seal, he delivered a direct Ice Palm strike.

It was only under these specific conditions that Tōshirō could so easily defeat Kabuto, who had the strength of a jonin. If they fought again, with Kabuto prepared, Tōshirō wouldn't be able to pull off a first-strike victory.

As for whether Kabuto would die from this, that wasn't Tōshirō's concern.

The future didn't matter to him; it wouldn't affect his world.

Tsunade was currently learning techniques from adult Tsunade, and Tōshirō didn't want Orochimaru causing trouble.

If Jiraiya got involved, things would become even more unpredictable.

In the original story, after meeting Tsunade, Orochimaru gave her time to consider his offer. On one hand, it was genuine consideration time, but on the other, Orochimaru's body was truly weak at the time, and he needed that period to recover.

Tōshirō knew this, which was why he chose to strike now, catching Orochimaru off guard.

However, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Even with his hands sealed and running a high fever, Orochimaru wasn't an easy opponent for Tōshirō.

Soon, Tōshirō's shadow clones were all destroyed, and Orochimaru even had time to rescue Kabuto.

Kabuto was too valuable to Orochimaru for him to let Tōshirō kill him.

Facing the long tongue lashing out at him, Tōshirō dodged, kicked off the ground, flipped through the air, and landed safely while drawing his sword. With a flash of steel, he severed the tongue.

Orochimaru retracted the remaining part of his tongue. His tongue was abnormal; even if cut, it would regenerate like a lizard's tail.

However, regrowing the tongue wasn't instantaneous and required a significant amount of chakra.

Being well-informed, Orochimaru immediately recognized the weapon in Tōshirō's hand as one of the Kusanagi swords he had been searching for.

Out of caution, Orochimaru stopped using his tongue and instead spat out a long sword. The blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, similar to the weapon Tōshirō wielded.

Kusanagi Sword: Sword of the Sky.

Orochimaru charged at Tōshirō, swinging the sword with his head movements.

Tōshirō swung Enma to block, their blades clashing and sparking.

After several exchanges, Tōshirō gradually fell into a disadvantage. Orochimaru pressed his advantage, and the Kusanagi Sword in his mouth suddenly extended, aiming for Tōshirō's neck.

However, Tōshirō did something unexpected. He threw his Kusanagi Sword into the air, quickly formed hand seals, and leaned back sharply to avoid the thrust.

Before Orochimaru could retract the Kusanagi Sword into his mouth, Tōshirō, using the Sharingan's insight, clapped his hands together with a loud snap, catching the sword.

Massive amounts of ice chakra flowed from his palms, spreading over the Kusanagi Sword. With a series of cracking sounds, the blade froze section by section, and in moments, the ice reached the hilt.

Seeing the ice creeping toward his face, Orochimaru hastily released the sword.

Without Orochimaru's chakra supply, the Kusanagi Sword: Sword of the Sky gradually returned to its original length.

Hand it over.

Tōshirō flipped the sword and grasped the hilt.

Then, he picked up Enma from the ground, sheathed it, and deliberately waved Orochimaru's beloved sword in front of him, taunting, "Thank you for the gift, Lord Orochimaru."

If Orochimaru had been holding the sword with his hands, Tōshirō wouldn't have dared to try disarming him barehanded.

Orochimaru's face darkened like coal.

Ice Release.

Sharingan.

Kusanagi Sword.

One-handed seals.

Any one of these would be impressive on its own, but when combined in one person, it was downright terrifying.

Tōshirō's performance reminded Orochimaru of someone.

A genius who even he had to admire.

No, in some ways, Tōshirō might even be more shocking than Uchiha Itachi.

After all, Itachi only had the Sharingan as his kekkei genkai.

Tōshirō, on the other hand, possessed the rare dual kekkei genkai.

Although Orochimaru considered Tōshirō's Ice Release merely a nice bonus, who would complain about having multiple kekkei genkai?

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with greed as he licked his lips like a snake.

If he could take over that body, what a magnificent sight it would be.

Knowing exactly what Orochimaru was thinking, Tōshirō felt a chill run down his spine.

Shifting his gaze, he noticed that Kabuto's frozen state had somehow been lifted. His lips were slightly purple from the cold, and he didn't look too comfortable.

Tōshirō sighed softly and glanced to the side.

Adult Tsunade was shivering...

Before her was a pool of blood.

Her hemophobia had kicked in...

Tōshirō: ...

Orochimaru, to prevent Tsunade from joining the fight and tipping the scales, had preemptively debuffed her.

Orochimaru asked with interest, "What's your name?"

"Uchiha Tōshirō."

Tōshirō answered truthfully. After all, once he returned to his time, they would have no further contact, so he had no reservations.

"I never expected the Uchiha clan to have someone like you still alive. How surprising."

Seeing that there was no hope of getting Tsunade's help today, Orochimaru calmed down. "Did we know each other before?"

Tōshirō sighed. "You could say that..."

Orochimaru grew even more intrigued. "When?"

"That's a bit complicated to explain..."

Orochimaru's vertical pupils narrowed. "Things are getting more and more interesting."

While learning about Tōshirō's past was intriguing, Orochimaru was more interested in obtaining his body.

To do that, he needed to heal his hands.

He glanced at Tsunade on the ground, mentioned the报酬 for treatment, and set a time and place for their next meeting before leaving.

The next time he visited, it wouldn't be a casual encounter like today. He would come fully prepared.

"Are they gone?"

Tōshirō had initially considered capturing Orochimaru in his weakened state to extract useful information, such as his research on Hashirama's cells.

But now, it seemed like a pipe dream.

Well, he hadn't come away empty-handed.

With Orochimaru's gift of the Sword of the Sky, he now had three Kusanagi swords.

The question was whether he could take this Kusanagi sword back with him.

When he had traveled to this time, he had brought along blank scrolls.

If he sealed the sword inside one, could he exploit a loophole?

In any case, it was best to leave with Tsunade as soon as possible. If Orochimaru returned with the Sound Five, Tōshirō would be outnumbered and likely meet his end.

Tōshirō approached the trembling Tsunade, who was sitting on the ground. "Can you stand? Rangiku, no, Tsunade..."

"You really saw me at my weakest."

Adult Tsunade clutched her green coat, looking like a pitiful child, her face filled with苦笑 and self-mockery.

Tōshirō feigned ignorance. "It seems the future has changed a lot."

Adult Tsunade lowered her head. After revealing her identity, she wasn't sure how to face him.

Seeing her still sitting on the ground, Tōshirō decided to help her up and took her to a teahouse to rest and discuss their next steps.

Adult Tsunade held a teacup with both hands, taking a small sip. Her hemophobia had subsided somewhat.

"Should I tell you about the relevant history?"

After being provoked by Orochimaru, she no longer cared what happened to this world.

Tōshirō placed a finger on his chin, pretending to hesitate, then shook his head and declined.

Tsunade was surprised. "You don't want to know?"

Tōshirō nodded.

He knew the history better than adult Tsunade.

Whether she told him or not wouldn't make much of a difference.

PS Author: I'm a bit stuck. It's not that I don't know how to write the next part of the story, but I'm not sure how to handle this particular section. Let me think about it...

(End of Chapter)

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