章節 279: Chapter 279 - Clash of Legends: Orochimaru vs Tsunade

Fire country border.

Tsunade and Shizune were fully alert of the enemies present in their vicinity. The blonde Sannin glared at her former teammate and the now rogue ninja.

Orochimaru smiled as he looked at the fury on his teammates face. "Ah, Tsunade. It's been soo long. When I heard that you were somewhere nearby, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to reunite with my dear friend."

Tsunade smirked, hearing that. "You must have gotten hit on the head or something." Her mocking expression turned to one of seriousness again. "We are not friends. We haven't been for a long time. Don't think for a second that I've forgotten the atrocities you've committed, Orochimaru."

The snake Sannin's lips curled into a wicked grin as he extended his palm, fingers arching like serpents ready to strike. "Hahaha…. I've missed your vibrant spirit." He hissed, a hint of mockery present in his voice.

Despite being outnumbered, Tsunade's gaze was resolute. Clad in her distinctive haori, her green necklace shimmering in the moonlight, she fixed her deep brown eyes on Orochimaru with a mixture of anger and determination. "You won't find me as easy a prey as those you've taken before."

The grin on Orochimaru's face dimmed as he looked at his opponent. "Oh I'm counting on it." The atmosphere crackled with chakra as the two Sannin glared at each other, their enmity radiating like a storm gathering strength.

Shizune took a couple steps back from her teacher. 'This is bad. Orochimaru looks serious. But why now? What does he want with Lady Tsunade?'

The Sound Five were vigilant as they looked at the two powerful ninjas. Unlike the other times when they faced enemies, they didn't dare insult or belittle Tsunade. Just from the chakra and presence being emitted from Tsunade was enough to put them on edge.

Shizune's eyes then went to the others present. 'Orochimaru wouldn't bring people who aren't capable. So that means I can't take any of them lightly.'

Tonton whined in fear in between Shizune's arms. "It's going to be okay, Tonton." She comforted the small pig in a low tone but the younger medic was nervous as she had no idea how the situation was going to develop.

It was Orochimaru who made the first move. In the fraction of a second he moved and was in front of Tsunade with his right arm extended.

'Hidden Shadow Snake Hand'

Multiple snakes flew out from the sleeve of his right arm headed for Tsunade's body. Their jaws widened and each of them had a sword protruding from their mouths. The snakes struck Tsunade's body and dug into several places but the next moment they were covered in smoke.

Orochimaru let go of the jutsu and turned his head to the tree nearby. He chuckled as he saw his former teammate standing with crossed arms atop a branch, unharmed. "Flawless Substitution jutsu. Good. You haven't lost your touch. I'd be disappointed otherwise."

"I'm not here to impress you, Orochimaru." Tsunade jumped down and Shizune quickly rushed to her side and stood by.

Aside from Kimimaro, none of the other sound ninjas could track Tsunade. Kidomaru and Jirobo had slight sweat as they looked at the Slug Sannin. 'I couldn't even follow that speed. I thought for sure Orochimaru would have gotten her… No. I shouldn't have made that assumption. She is in the same league as him. Subduing her won't be easy.'

Kimimaro gazed at Tsunade and kept his calm expression. 'Based on Lord Orochimaru's intel, her fighting strength should be slightly diminished during these last several years. But still, it's best not to waste time. With that plan in place it shouldn't be long before we're able to knock her out.'

The ninja from the Kaguya clan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the blonde medic. He noted that Shizune had also made her way to her master's side.

Orochimaru pressed his belly and opened his mouth wide looking up. A second later the handle of his Kusanagi appeared and the snake Sannin quickly grabbed and pulled it out of his body. "Kimimaro. It's time. Let's finish this quickly."

Tsunade tensed up as she saw the long sword. 'I need to be careful with my attacks.'

The leader of the sound five quickly removed the upper garments and was ready for battle. "Kidomaru, Jirobo. You know what to do. The rest of you, stick to the strategy put in place."

The moment the order was given, various markings began to appear on their bodies and began to spread.

"What is that?" Shizune couldn't help but ask as she saw what was happening.

"It's a curse seal Orochimaru developed. It increases the strength of whoever wields it. So be careful." Tsunade ordered and her apprentice nodded. Tonton jumped from Shizune's grasp and went to hide under a tree nearby away from the action.

"Attack!" Orochimaru rushed towards Tsunade and alongside him were Kimimaro, Sakon and Ukon. Tayuya was acting as back up and her role was to distract the blonde medic.

Kidomaru and Jirobo went straight to Shizune.

The battle between two of the Sannin's has begun.

—-

Near the Leaf Village.

Somewhere in the mountain range near the Leaf village, a lone shinobi was going through several seals. The winds blew and his silver hair and red eyes could be seen under his black cloak.

Tobirama made the final seal and the ground beneath him began to move. 'Finding this location was more difficult than I thought. I wanted to make sure Madara's grave was forgotten so there were no markings when I created it. But then again I suppose that was the point. It's been so many years. The landscape and vegetation have changed.'

A passageway opened up that led to an underground tomb and the reanimated Second Hokage slowly began to make his way down. 'It's taken all day to break through the seal without alerting anyone. But still, that's a good sign. That means the seal was intact and no one had found and opened the tomb.'

Soon Tobirama reached the room where a large square coffin was resting in the middle. 'This is it.' The torches hanging on the walls automatically lit as Tobirama entered the tomb.

The kage slowly made his way and stood near the concrete box. He let out a deep breath of air and then pushed the lid to the side. Tobirama looked inside and stood still as he saw nothing.

There were no bones, no clothes or anything. The coffin was empty. The Second Hokage's fists clenched until his knuckles dug into his palms. 'His body is gone. Either someone found it and took it or… He is alive.'

Tobirama quickly began to examine every inch of the place he built. He soon found some anomalies in a certain portion of the tomb. He examined the stones and his eyes narrowed upon closer inspection. 'This portion, it was broken from the inside and then put back together from the outside. That's why the protection seals didn't trigger. The attack came from within… That means… Madara… He came back to life somehow… And he escaped.'

"Damn it!" The Second Hokage couldn't help but punch the wall in frustration. 'I should have destroyed his body. But if only…'

He remembered his argument with his older brother shortly after the battle at the Final Valley.

Flashback.

"I want to take Madara's body and perform an autopsy." Tobirama spoke as he looked at the dead Uchiha's corpse.

"No." The simple yet stern answer from Hashirama made Tobirama frown. He tried to reason with the man.

"Brother, just imagine what we can learn from his corpse. The secrets of the Sharingan, how they work, how to counteract the Mangekyo abilities… We can create countermeasures by studying Madara's body. In the event the Uchiha clan ever becomes a threat, this knowledge will definitely be of use to the village."

Despite the points being made, Hashirama shook his head. "I forbid it, Tobirama. You will do no such thing."

"Why?" The younger Senju brother crossed his arms and gazed at the older one who was sitting besides Madara's body.

The first Hokage was silent for several moments before he spoke. "We just formed an alliance with the Uchiha and created the village. They know that Madara was a threat and they won't hold it against me right now for killing him. But that won't be the case if we desecrate his body. Even if the Uchiha clan didn't follow Madara, they respected his power. He was once their leader after all. If we take his body and start experimenting on it, they will see it as a disrespect against their whole clan and will resent us. It won't help the village."

"But brother-"

"Tobirama. I respect your dedication to the village. And I recognize the value of knowledge. But there must be a balance between seeking knowledge and preserving our values. We will continue to study the Sharingan but I will not condone desecrating Madara's body."

The younger Senju looked at his brother and his eyes slightly softened. "That's not the whole reason is it?"

Hashirama gazed at Madara's face and recalled the memories of his childhood. "He wanted nothing more than to protect his brother and safeguard the clan. The truth is… Without him, I doubt I could have changed this era… He may have walked a different path at the end, but he was my friend and he should be buried with dignity. It's the least he deserves."

Tobirama looked at the steely gaze of his brother and relented. "Fine. I'll do as you say brother. You have my word."

Hashirama nodded and the younger brother sealed Madara's body into a sealing scroll and soon left the destroyed battlefield.

Flashback End.

Tobirama took a deep breath of air and began to think things through. 'Madara was definitely dead. The seals I placed haven't been activated. So that means whatever happened, happened inside this coffin. Madara must have come back to life somehow. But what sort of jutsu does that?... It must have been some kind of a delayed technique… I need to look into this… Still, it's clear now, the Nine Tails attack is connected to Madara.'

Tobirama began making his way back to the outside but his mind was distracted. 'Is Madara still alive? Did he make contact with the clan somehow? I need to know more about the Nine tails attack and the Uchiha clan… If he's alive, I need to be even more careful.'

Tobirama returned to the surface and began to close the passageway. He sealed everything back to the way it was and made sure to make it seem like the area was undisturbed. Soon with his work done, the Second Hokage of the village left the spot and headed back to the village.

—-

Leaf Village.

Sasuke finished his report of the Forbidden scroll incident and stretched his arms.

Daichi took the papers and went through everything quickly and nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I'll make sure to submit this at the tower. Get some sleep. You've had a long day."

Just as the Genin was about to leave, Sasuke called out. "Hey."

Daichi stopped and turned around to look at the Uchiha.

"Thank you… for saving my life." Sasuke spoke after shoving his pride down.

"You're welcome."

Daichi was about to leave but the Uchiha's next words stopped him.

"Can we spar? Now that I've awakened my Sharingan, it's not going to be so easy to defeat me."

Daichi's lips slightly curled up as he looked at the boy. "Just because you've awakened your eyes doesn't mean you're suddenly all powerful. The Sharingan may seem strong right now but there is a flaw… You should figure out the strength and weakness of your abilities before challenging a stronger opponent."

Sasuke stood silently and watched Daichi disappear into a whirl of leaves. 'Weakness of my Jutsu huh? That's not bad advice. Looks like I'll have to review the old scrolls if I want to know more about my eyes.'

As the young Uchiha made his way to the library in his family a thought suddenly stopped him. 'How does Daichi know about such information on the Sharingan?'

—-

With Orochimaru & Tsunade.

The landscape around the two Sannin had changed considerably. There were multiple craters and destroyed trees scattered about.

Tsunade dodged a bone spear to her right shoulder and quickly grabbed it, holding it in place. She swiftly brought her other palm in a chopping motion and broke the spear in two and jumped back dodging Sakon's kick.

Tsunade's opponents were in their Level 2 curse seal state.

"I must say, I'm impressed, Tsunade. You haven't even used your seal and you're still keeping up with us. And here I thought you'd be rusty." Orochimaru chuckled as he looked at the woman. Even as he kept a smiling face, inside he was analyzing her strength. 'She seems to be on the verge of overcoming her hemophobia. I thought her skills would have dulled after all these years of inactivity but it seems I'm wrong. Could it be that after taking Daichi under her, she has resumed her training?'

Just as Orochimaru was keeping an eye on Tsunade she was making notes of her enemies. 'They work perfectly as a team. One of them has the Kaguya bloodline and the other has impressive reflexes almost similar to Jonin. And whenever I'm about to land a killing blow, that bastard steps in and protects them. And on top of that, I have to deal with the sound Genjutsu attacks from that red head. This is all so annoying.'

The blonde Sannin's eyes briefly went to her student and saw that Shizune was suddenly trapped in an earth dome. 'She can handle herself.'

"You don't have time to be worried about her, Tsunade." Orochimaru appeared and swung his sword. Tsunade knew the cutting power of the Kusanagi blade and so she spread her chakra to the bone spear she was holding and deflected the sword swing.

Orochimaru's subordinates also joined in the battle and were slowly wearing the Sannin down.

Nearby, Shizune was sprawled on the ground with spider webs coating her torso and legs, trapping her. An earth dome surrounded her and she could feel her chakra being drained. Tonton was inside the dome and tried to go near Shizune but she stopped it.

'I can't believe they caught me like that. I need to get out of here quickly before I lose all my chakra.'

Shizune calmly recalled everything she learned during her battle with Kidomaru and Jirobo. 'His spider silks are strong and trying to cut it with Kunai won't help. When I analyzed the silk thread they have chakra running through them… Wait… If they have chakra running through them…'

Shizune quickly brought her hands and made several seals. A moment later green chakra began to glow around her palms. The chakra was moving in the shape of a blade. The Jonin medic closed her eyes and concentrated.

Outside Jirobo smirked and looked at his teammate. "She's done for. It won't be long before she loses her consciousness."

Kidomaru nodded his head. "Yes. But remember what Lord Orochimaru said. We need her alive and relatively unharmed. So don't go accidentally killing her, alright"

Jirobo nodded. "Yeah. I know. I'm keeping an eye on her."

Suddenly Kidomaru coughed up some blood.

"It seems her poison jutsus weren't completely useless." Jirobo commented looking at the blood coming from Kidomaru's mouth. He himself had a bloody nose. It was difficult for him to breathe due to Shizune's poison attacks.

Kidomaru frowned and reverted back to his Level 1 seal state. He took several deep breaths of air and grinded his teeth in anger. 'She almost had us. If it wasn't for Lord Orochimaru's poison resistance training, we'd be dead right now.'

Inside the earth dome Shizune focused on her chakra scalpel and made it as sharp as possible. Once she was ready she carefully began cutting through the silk thread that had her trapped. 'I knew it. This is the best way to fight his techniques.'

In a few seconds she was free and stood from her spot.

"Oink." Tonton immediately ran into her arms and squeaked. "Oink. Oink."

"I know Tonton. We need help." Shizune thought about the battle till now and frowned. 'They aren't aiming for any killing blows or going for the vitals. They're trying to subdue me. And they're doing the same to Lady Tsunade. They're here to capture us. Not kill us. But for what?'

Shizune tried to think of an answer but nothing came to mind. 'It doesn't matter. I need a plan now. What do I do?'

As she thought that, she immediately looked to Tonton and an idea came to mind. Shizune took a paper and bit her index finger. She immediately began writing something on it and soon closed the paper and secured it into Tonton's vest.

She spoke in a very low tone to the pet pig. "I need you to listen carefully. Take this letter back to the Leaf village. Find either Daichi or the Hokage. It's important. I'm going to get us out of this dome, but you need to run and escape as fast as you can. Understand?"

"Oink oink oink…" Tonton knew what Shizune was asking but was hesitant to leave its master's side.

"No. You can't stay. And I don't think we can escape from them. You're our only hope. Get us help from the village. Can you do that, Tonton."

The pig finally nodded its head.

Shizune smiled and began to think of a way to get out of the earth prison that was sucking her chakra. She threw several kunai in multiple directions and saw that the damage the kunai made was immediately being restored. 'Damn it. The walls are being rebuilt almost immediately.'

As she looked around she suddenly noticed something. The damage done in one spot was healed almost immediately but the damage done in the opposite side was taking much longer.

The medic ninja immediately threw her remaining two kunai to the two sides opposite each other. Two small cracks formed on the wall and she noted one of them regenerating much faster than the other. Shizune was a smart ninja and immediately figured out the weakness of Jirobo's jutsu.

'This is it. He must be concentrating chakra only on one side of the dome. I need to attack the weak point.'

The medic ninja immediately took two paper bombs and struck them to the side that was repairing slowest. She set the timer and immediately jumped back to the other side while making seals.

'Earth Style - Defense wall.'

Tonton and Shizune took cover under a stone wall that rose up. Seconds later an explosion rang out destroying the weak part of Jirobo's earth dome. Shizune used chakra to protect herself and Tonton against the blast.

"What the hell?"

"What just happened, Jirobo?"

Under the cover of the smoke and the confusion of the two sound ninjas, Shizune made her move. Several figures rushed out of the smoke and stood in front of the two bodyguards of Orochimaru.

Kidomaru looked at the 7 copies of Shizune and gritted his teeth. 'Shadow clones. I just need to find the right one. She won't escape without her master so I'm sure the real one is among them.'

What Kidomaru and Jirobo failed to notice was that there was one more Shizune who was holding Tonton quickly moving away from the battlefield. It was a shadow clone and its job was to quickly get Tonton as far away from the battle and as close to the village as possible.

"Tonton. Remember. I might disappear at any moment but you have to keep going. Reach the village and get help no matter what."

"Oink."

Back at the battlefield the real Shizune and one clone rushed at Jirobo while the others headed for Kidomaru.

'My poison hadn't killed him. But it should have at least slowed them down.'

The medic ninja rushed at Jirobo and just as he swung his fist the two medics nimbly dodged. The shadow clone Shizune had thin near invisible wires around her hands and immediately tied it around Jirobo's hands and feet.

'Now's my chance.'

Seeing the opportunity the real Shizune rushed towards Jirobo's heart with chakra scalpels in her hands. 'Heart, Liver and lunges. I just need one shot to end him.'

Jirobo couldn't defend himself and just as Shizune's palm neared him, several golden kunai were launched from the trees aimed at Shizune. She had to change her path and cut the muscles of Jirobo's right arm and escape the deadly weapons rain. A few kunai struck Jirobo due to his large size. He immediately waved his hand and destroyed the shadow clone holding him down.

"Argh. Damn it that hurt. Couldn't you have aimed better." Jirobo asked his teammate.

"Better a few flesh wounds than your life." Kidomaru retorted as he looked at Shizune. "Lord Orochimaru gave us a detailed review of your skills and techniques. You were going with a chakra scalpel to the heart with that move weren't you."

Shizune frowned as he she looked at the two. She held a kunai and got ready.

Meanwhile Tsunade was in a Taijutsu battle against 3 opponents while also defending against Genjutsu attacks. Kimimaro and Sakon/Ukon were in their Level 2 curse seal state.

'I just need one opportunity for Ukon to enter her body. Then it'll be over. She hasn't released her Hundred seal or summoned Katsuya but that's because I haven't gotten serious yet. The moment I escalate this battle she will also take things further. I need to finish this before then.' Orochimaru knew she wouldn't resort to extreme measures unless needed but that she also wouldn't hesitate to use her trump cards if she felt her life was in danger.

The last survivor of the Kaguya clan looked at his enemy without any emotion. 'She definitely deserves to be called a Sannin. Even with fighting against us in Level 2 state she is holding her own. More than that, if it wasn't for my defensive skills, Sakon and Ukons healing ability and Orochimaru distracting her, we'd be dead by now… This can't go on much longer. If any patrol ninjas come upon us, it'll be even more of a headache. I need to create an opening for them.'

Just then Kimimaro saw a punch headed for Sakon's chest and blocked it with his own body, blowing the Kaguya several meters back. Orochimaru rushed and attacked with his sword forcing Tsunade to defend with her bone spear while Sakon kicked from behind with two legs. Tsunade then blocked the kick with her leg and was forced to block a punch coming at her face with her free hand.

But this was the opportunity they were waiting for. Ukon swiftly exited Sakon's body and entered Tsunade's. With her sight blocked by the fist, Tsunade quickly couldn't defend against the surprise invasion into her body.

"What the hell? How are you…" Tsunade was unaware of their ability to enter others bodies so she was taken by surprise.

Orochimaru grinned as he saw the scene. "Yes. Perfect." He jumped back and quickly made a seal.

"Paralysis jutsu - Absolute confinement."

Seals immediately began spreading from Ukon's body and covered Tsunade as well.

The blonde Sannin couldn't even open her mouth and could only glare at the man. Orochimaru quickly took a gas mask from his sleeve and placed it on Tsunade's face. Once secured a green gas began emitting from it.

"Take a deep breath my dear Tsunade. I made this just for you."

The medic held her breath in defiance and Orochimaru only grinned. He turned to Kimimaro who was making his way back to their location and just nodded to him.

He disappeared and several moments later Tsunade saw him return with an unconscious Shizune on his shoulder. Kimimaro dropped the sleeping medic on the ground and had a bone spear at her throat.

Orochimaru laughed and turned his gaze back to his former friend. "Kukuku... She's so devoted to you. All these years, staying by your side… Now you wouldn't want anything to happen to dear Shizune would you?"

Tsunade's eyes went to her precious apprentice on the ground and she relented. The next moment she took a breath of the gas and suddenly began to feel dizzy.

Orochimaru released the paralysis jutsu and Ukon immediately exited his target's body as he too began to feel the effects. But Sakon gave him the antidote to the gas and Ukon entered his brother's body to rest.

Tsunade wanted to struggle but with the threat against Shizune there was nothing she could do. 'They want me and Shizune alive for some reason. Right now, I need to buy some time.'

Those were the last thoughts before the female Sannin went unconscious and drifted off into sleep.

------------------------

Author's note:

The next arc has begun. 'Tsunade abduction arc.'

I originally wrote Dan Kato into this fight. Orochimaru and his team would fight Tsunade and in the heat of the battle he would use the reanimation jutsu to bring back Dan Kato and then Orochimaru would plunge his blade into dan. Tayuya would use Genjutsu and make it look like dan had his real body instead of a reanimated one. Blood spilling everywhere and making Tsunade relive that moment and take her down when she's distracted..

That was what I wrote but then I rewrote the whole thing