บท 413: Ch413. Provocation
Even the Tsuchikage and Raikage completely stilled, utterly stupefied at the bomb Tsunade just dropped. There was not one person in the Kage Box who did not realize what this new alliance meant and they couldn't believe Tsunade just bluntly admitted it with an innocent grin on her face.
It was stuff like this that was deemed the highest grade secrets in the villages. People died to keep it secret and here Tsunade was just leisurely revealing it without a care in the world.
Orochimaru, Onoki, and A subconsciously thought her to be an idiot but they were too shocked at the implications to really put much attention to Tsunade's foolishness.
In their minds, by revealing this information, Tsunade completely decimated any chance for Uzushio, Kiri, Suna, and Konoha to gain the most out of their alliance. She ruined any chance at surprise attacks from multiple sides as now, both A and Onoki will expect such a thing to happen in the future.
Little did they know that Tsunade was very careful what she revealed as the benefits of this alliance were already about to be reaped and there was no longer any need to keep it secret. They would no longer be able to react anyway...
And while Onoki's and A's priority was their village, Orochimaru was furiously contemplating the impact this news would have on his invasion and he didn't like the picture he was seeing.
Alas, it was far too late to call it off.
'I guess I will just have to cut my losses and let the Tsuchikage and Raikage take the fall for me.' Orochimaru thought in displeasure. The two Kages were almost certainly bound to betray their little alliance anyway with how things were going. It would be better to cause some trouble for them now.
As much as Orochimaru believed in himself, having only Otogakure against Uzushio, Konoha, Kiri, and Suna... He could admit they would have been outmatched. Roping in both Iwa and Kumo to his side in this conflict was indeed the best thing he could have done. They would be an excellent buffer for him.
With these two Kages participating in the invasion on his side, Orochimaru had the confidence to at the very least kill Sarutobi and cause some nice damage to Konoha before he orders a retreat in a code he 'forgot' to mention to his Iwa and Kumo allies. How... unfortunate for them.
Now that he had it all figured out, Orochimaru's smile eased into a pleasant one as he looked at Tsunade, "In that case, I congratulate you for your new alliance. It looks like Konoha's future is going to be bright."
Seeing that Orochimaru was not gonna visibly freak out, Tsunade pouted in disappointment. She knew well enough that by 'bright' he meant 'on flame' but she was not gonna call him out on that. Anko and that lazy bum tag-along of hers already returned and discreetly took the place of their shadow clones which meant the surprise forces Orochimaru was counting on were no more. Tsunade decided to leave Orochimaru his delusions. He was pitiful enough as it was.
"Why thank you!" She amicably exclaimed, her expression completely innocent as she delivered the next part. "Konoha's future is indeed looking up now that you, Danzo, and Sarutobi are no longer in any leadership position!"
That actually made Orochimaru's eyebrows twitch. He hated being compared to Sarutobi and Tsunade knew it. That's why she did just that.
The other Kages, and even Shikaku, were extremely surprised Tsunade had no qualms calling out Sarutobi like this in front of them. To throw dirt on one of the most iconic 'heroes' of Konoha in front of the leaders of the 'enemy' villages...
Both Tsuchikage's and Raikage's opinions on Tsunade's intelligence only lowered and their tenseness relaxed. In their minds, Tsunade was no leadership material. She might have been the best medic in the world but from what they were seeing, the woman was dumb as a rock. There was no need to worry. Their invasion was in no way compromised. The last Senju was just being her retarded self.
And while the worries of the two started to dissipate, Shikaku was throwing Tsuande a look that basically screamed, 'What are you doing!?'.
Unfortunately for him, Tsunade totally ignored him, grinning at Pakura and Ringo who were having the time of their life, enjoying the private joke between the three of them. They could plainly see how the two Kages disregarded Tsunade because of her words. She was throwing blatant hints that something is wrong and yet... they already made their opinion about her because of how set in their ways they were. Not for a second did they consider this to be a ploy.
After all, Tsunade Senju was known to be an extremely straightforward woman who was blunt as a hammer.
"Heeh~. Looks like the day you defected was a real blessing for Konoha, eh, Snake?" Ringo decided to join the fray, light-heartedly making a jab at Orochimaru.
The poor dude paled even more from the repressed anger but they all knew he could not afford to make a scene. While he had diplomatic immunity to a degree, Oto was still just a minor and new village. As long as this... banter didn't turn physical, Orochimaru could only sit tight and take their words while trying to give back his own retorts.
And that's exactly what he tried to do, "Hehe. You would know... After all, you are my role model, Ameyuri. Becoming a rogue ninja scum and then returning to your village only to become its Kage. Kirigakure's standards have really fallen if they allow their rogues to become their leaders nowadays. I wish Konoha was the same." Orochimaru wistfully sighed.
"But... I wonder how you got so strong. From what I know the Raikage," He glanced at A, "defeated you with one punch when you met him for the first time. Your unit slaughtered the Kumo ninjas and killed his fiance, I heard." He purposefully mentioned that incident and then watched how A's expression tightened alongside his fists.
"Such a poisonous tongue." Pakura interjected, gaining the attention of the others before Orochimaru successfully goaded the Raikage into doing something stupid too soon.
This teasing was all in good fun but Rei would probably spank them silly if their little fun made the invasion start sooner than it was supposed to.
"Only an idiot would fall for a provocation like that." Pakura deadpanned, totally ignoring the fact that A seemed to have a hard time stopping himself from pouncing at Ringo now that he had the reason for his dislike of her blatantly thrown into his face.
Of course, Pakura had to insult him in the process which earned her a glare from the man too.
Orochimaru amusedly chuckled at that, "That's rich coming from the person who didn't see her Kage sacrificing her in a suidice mission to get himself rid of the competition. Then again... you also killed him so your case is not all that much different from Ameyuri." He casually pointed out, making Onoki loudly snort.
"Rogues becoming Kages. The village founders would roll in their graves if they knew." Onoki grumbled, supporting Orochimaru's claim.
The lines were clearly drawn at this point. Orochimaru, Onoki, and A on one side while Pakura, Ringo, and Tsunade on the other. It might have just been a small conversation during a break but... it clearly showcased what the future held for their villages.
Or so the Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Otokage thought.
"Hmph. Former rogue or not, what does it even matter? I made my village much better in five years than what you managed in a lifetime." Pakura retorted, making Onoki bristle much to her delight.
At this point, Shikaku felt as if life drained out of him. The atmosphere among the four other Kages was so hostile, he wondered how there was still no fight among them. He knew there was no way for him to stop them. Either verbally or physically. He was not strong enough to do so and that also meant his word was not respected enough.
So, he did the only thing he could. He pulled his secret move and... started doing puppy eyes on Tsunade.
Seeing how pitiful her Hokage was acting, Tsunade inwardly sighed. 'Well, I guess this has gone far enough for now.'
"I'd be you, I would stop this dick-measuring contest. We all know Orochimaru has none and Raikage's massive body size is practically him over-compensating. As for Onoki... Well, he is a dwarf in both the body and below the belt. Good for you Shikaku, you win!" She mirthfully laughed while the three men whose manhood she just insulted glared at her. Not giving a shit, she continued, "As fun as this was, I will be going. The last Uchiha's match will be starting soon. Bye!"
With that, Tsunade disappeared from the Kage Box, leaving three butthurt men behind and causing their focus to shift towards her, instead of trying to start a fight with Ringo and Pakura.
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