A/N: I'm still not sure where the shit this is going.
The summons came as a complete surprise to Orochimaru.
In the two years since he had left Kohona to wander, he'd learned wonderful, terrible things. His knowledge and power had expanded to areas of research he'd never had the chance to look at in Kohona, with it's rules and good-boy outlook on life. And while he'd never given much thought to his departure, he found that the conversation he'd had that last night with Minato coming to mind again and again.
Perhaps in a different time and place, or where his departure had been forced, Orochimaru would resent Kohona, but as it stood he was actually faintly grateful that the Third had not picked him as Hokage now. He'd learned so much, made so much money, become so incredibly powerful – this he never would have been able to do still in his hometown.
There were trade-offs, of course.
He'd had to give up his plan to recreate the mokuton ability of the First Hokage, before it even got off the ground. He'd lost his various far-flung labs, since those really belonged to Kohona, and more than one bounty hunter had thought to come and take his head for the vast wealth and fame it would bring. These encounters all ended very badly for the hunter in question, of course. The most irritating of them, a fellow calling himself Kazuku, used a fascinating kinjutsu to extend his life and durability – one that did not take into account the necrotic, neurological poisons Orochimaru hit him with that killed him shortly afterward.
In fact that encounter – which gave him access to the Earth Grudge Fear abilities of Kazuku – was the first of many encounters that left Orochimaru stronger than he'd ever been in Kohona. He'd been cut off from the corpus of his research in Kohona, but he'd ended up working several times with both Tsunade and Jiraya, and during that time expanded his medical knowledge greatly and gained even more skill and ability with seals. Some of the seals he'd picked up from Jiraya seemed useless at first, but he'd come across more than a few interesting kekkai gekkai fleeing from the chaos in Kiri, and his ability to build seal arrays made use of that.
His experiments with seal arrays and semi-solid chakra states had yielded huge advances not just in his basic combat abilities and experiments in long-range communications, but also in his prototype cursed seal. Rather than binding the natural chakra into an array and force-injecting it into a chakra system, one of the containment seals he found on a Torya clan member gave him an idea.
Now, the cursed seals were reverse reservoirs. Each one unique, bound to a secured shinobi with a useful ability. The sage chakra acted as a conduit, filtering and flowing the chakra manipulations of the trapped shinobi's kekkai gekkai and manifesting it in the master seal. Orochimaru had seven such seals now, each neatly inscribed on his forearms.
He could call on ice release, on spark release, on an interesting ability to corrode metal, an ability to create clones out of nothing more than wind and chakra that acted as invisible spies, and more. If he was careful and cautious, he could even inscribe seal arrays within his eye sockets, and call upon both the Byukugan and Sharingan without any chance of chakra rejection.
The new Chain Cursed Seals had dangers, of course. Each one required a sacrifice of chakra – Orochimaru got around this by sacrificing people, of course. The bound target shinobi who actually possessed the ability had to be rendered unconscious, and the chakra used to power the ability came from however much natural chakra could be safely filtered through the seals without causing an overload – if he drew on too much , the sage chakra would corrupt the target shinobi, turning them into a stone snake.
Worse, the chakra coming out of the seals was horribly corruptive. Each one of Orochimaru's seals was ringed with chakra suppressors, to keep the chakra from entering his own system. He'd have to fix that if he wanted to use vision-based effects, but for the moment, he could utilize it as a weapon of sorts, channeling the stuff into his blade or thrown kunai.
He'd been expanding on his repertoire of throwing techniques, wire techniques and developing a few futon jutsus to aid in throwing such kunai when the messenger hawk alighted on the tree outside his dwelling.
He'd settled into the ruins of a Hidden Village known only as Tanigakure, in the Land of Rivers. It had been destroyed by a recent battle, and when Orochimaru had arrived all of the ninja and population had been dead for several months. With some judicious use of Impure World Resurrection, he'd had the dead rebuild several areas and clean the place up.
Now he had a dozen different labs, a workforce of dead but useful shinobi, dead civilians to grow and produce food and goods, and privacy. He wasn't aware that Kohona knew of his location, so he could only assume the distinctive black-barred hawk had some manner of chakra sensing seal on it.
Stepping out of his lab towards the tree, he extended his arm, and the hawk alit upon it, talons digging ineffectually into his reinforced skin. Orochimaru carefully took the message scroll from the tied ribbon around its neck before flexing his arm, the hawk winging away to the south in response. The scroll was sealed with a black ribbon, and the wax was hardened and chakra-sensative.
This was not, he sensed, a good message.
Applying his chakra and opening the scroll, he read rapidly:
"Mighty Orochimaru, sage Jiraya, and wise Princess Tsunade,
Kohona has been attacked, grievously so. As you are one of few to know, the woman Uzumaki Kushina was the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. It was securely sealed, however, during pregnancy such seals weaken.
As she gave birth, she and the Fourth Hokage were attacked by assailant or assailants unknown. The calamity that walks, the Kyubi, was unleashed upon us. The ninja force attempted and failed to stop the beast, and in the fighting many were slain.
The Fourth managed to kill his attacker, but was badly wounded in the process of doing so and rescuing Kushina. That left the Third Lord to stop the beast, which he was able to do by utilizing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. He was not, however, strong enough to contain the Beast entire, and thus a portion of the beast's chakra was also sealed into a living host. As there was obviously no volunteers for this, the newborn child of Kushina, Uzumaki Naruto, was used."
Orochimaru paused to snort at this. Typical cowards.
"The Third expired with the closing of the seal, his soul damned to battle the Kyubi for all eternity, and the Fourth is still badly wounded. Kushina amazingly survived her ordeal, but is still in critical condition, and half of our ninja lay dead, another third wounded. A full fourth of the civilian population is dead and our enemies know our weakness.
The Council of Kohona is aware that the Sannin did not leave Kohona on a fair note. The Third made the choices he felt were correct, and it is not our place to comment upon them. However, this is a time where we must beg for your return, and if there are costs to be paid we will pay them without argument.
We are not arrogant enough to summon you as if you are under our command, for we know you are not. Instead we beg, we plead, we hope that you will return to aid us in protecting Kohona at least until the Fourth recovers his wounds and our ninja can defend us once more.
Signed, in Unison, by the Clans of Kohona, the Jonin Commander, the Advisory Council, the ANBU Commander, and the Civilian Council."
Orochimaru rolled the scroll shut and frowned. They were recalling all of the Sannin, not just him. The village was in ruins, and it wouldn't be long before either Iwa or Kumo struck. Even if the Sand could be depended on to honor their alliance, it would be days or weeks before they could respond, and Grass and Waterfall were useless as defenders.
If the Sannin were all present, however, any assault became very dicey. Orochimaru could see the logic the Council put forth.
The question was . . . how to respond?
X-WSBaS-X
One week later...
"Another sake!"
The bar was small, almost humble. A few battered tables, framed with simple chairs. Wooden walls, polished and dyed dark gray, framed an open sitting area in front of a large oak bar. Fans turned lazily overhead, and a group of porters sat in one corner, nursing drinks and muttering about food prices.
At the bar itself, no one sat except one figure, a tall, voluptuous woman. Golden pale blond hair tumbled down her back in a rough ponytail, obscuring the kanji on the back of her green jacket, while her feet tapped irregularly on the brass railing.
The bartender sighed as he poured the woman in front of him yet another glass of Iron Country sake, placing it in front of her with a small bow. He turned away then, not willing to be caught up in the woman's anger, given who she was.
Senju Tsunade scowled blackly at the small glass in front of her and drank, the fiery liquid burning down her throat. To one side sat a small pig wearing a pearl necklace. To the other side sat a black-bordered scroll.
"Master?"
Tsunade snarled. "I haven't made up my mind yet. Let me drink in peace at least once, Shizune..."
The dark-haired woman standing near the door of the bar winced and sighed. "I am sorry, but … Jiraya-sama and Orochimaru-sama are standing outside looking for you."
Tsunade paused mid-sip, arched an eyebrow, then finished her drink. "Huh. Both of them."
Even as she spoke, a broad-shouldered figure entered the doorway, white hair shining dimly in the interior light from the lamps. "Indeed! The West! The East! The North-"
Even as Jiraya began to move into a kabuki stance, Orochimaru shouldered past him, knocking him off balance. "- yes, yes, the unbelievably stupid and gross Jiraya, purveyor of pornography for old men." Sighing in exasperation, he glanced over at Tsunade. "I see you are still attempting to wreck your liver, Tsunade-hime."
She looked over the both of them. It had been years since she'd seen Jiraya, and he looked … older. His chest was still massive and his form looked healthy, but there were new wrinkles near his eyes, near his mouth. There was an air of tiredness and fatigue about him, and his usually spotless garb was worn in a few spots.
Orochimaru, however, looked immaculate and unchanging as always. Dressed in a black kimono with a scarlet sash and belt, his arms were bare, showing strong muscles and intricate, interlocking chakra seals and tattoos. A long blade was belted by his side, and his eyes were hard and analytical as always.
She finished her drink, grunting. "They laid the pity-party on you two as well, I see."
Jiraya gave a shrug, pausing to smirk as Ton-Ton had leapt down from the bar to nuzzle his ankle. "I don't see it as a pity-party, Tsunade. No matter how you feel about things that happened in the past, it's still our home."
Orochimaru shrugged also. "I am less sentimental about my place of origin. To me, it is simply a matter of efficiency and possibility. Little Minato-kun and I had a fascinating chat the night before I left, and I am interested to see how my apprentice has progressed. I also find myself needing research information and rare supplies from Kohona. If enemies are deterred by my presence as a result, it is only due to the usefulness of my stay."
Jiraya shook his head in disgust. "Is this about the Hokage thing?"
Tsunade watched Orochimaru carefully, and his smile, thin and mocking, was genuine, she felt. "No, baka. While I was certainly irritated at the bull-headed and short-sightedness of the Third, I feel now that I've grown much stronger without being tied to a desk. And besides, the old man is dead."
Tsunade nodded to herself, mouth slipping into grim lines. "You are both going back, then?"
Orochimaru nodded. "You should as well, Tsunade." His smile took on a cruel edge. "Ghosts do not rest well if they are hauled about from place to place."
She shot him an angry glance, but as usual, his insufferable smirk remained. "Tch. I don't need you of all people judging me."
Orochimaru spread his hands before turning away. "Jiraya and I are the only people who don't judge you, Tsunade-hime. Finish your drinks, I know the two of you too well. Kami forfend we get moving without both you being staggering drunk." He pushed through the doors to the outside, letting in shafts of searingly bright daylight before it shut again.
Jiraya sighed and, picking up Ton-Ton, sat at the bar next to Tsunade. "Sake, bartender." He flipped out a 100-ryo note and slapped it on the hard wood. "Bring the bottle."
Tsunade made a soft snorting sound. "Since I can't imagine him seeking you out, I suppose that you found him?"
Jiraya shuddered. "I'd … rather not talk about it, my hime. Oro-kun is … just so fucked up sometimes."
The bartender sat down a bottle of sake and picked up the note, and Tsunade watched Jiraya pour himself a glass and refill hers. "How bad was it this time?"
He paused, drank, and turned to look at her, a tired, dead look in his eyes. "I found him in a dead hidden village, with reanimated slave workers. The things he's researching...it was best to get him away from there. He's not safe on his own, he gets lost in what he's doing and doesn't even see how wrong it all is."
She shrugged, drinking. "Given our job is killing people in various nasty methods for nothing better than money..."
Jiraya shook his head. "Ninja are evil, perhaps, in an evil world. Kami knows I wish I could find a way to bring about peace, like the old man wanted, but it's like picking yourself up by your belt and flying. It isn't realistic, and it flies in the face of logic. But there has to be a limit, and Oro likes living beyond that limit whenever you and I aren't around to rein him in."
He drank again. "I love Kohona, but I know you two don't. But all three of us tend to go to shit when the other two aren't around. I whore around and you drink yourself into a stupor and he goes off and does shit that would make an Iwa ninja puke."
She felt herself smile, almost unwillingly. "So you're going back to help us?" Her voice turned icy. "How noble."
Jiraya shook his head, his voice going cold. "No. But I don't want to have to fight you or him one day when one of you goes too far, or does something stupid. You need to heal, and to see that people respect and grieve for your losses. And he needs to be accepted and honored."
She sniffed, glancing at the door. Shizune was still standing there, a half-hopeful look on her face. With a long sigh Tsunade took another shot of sake. "I'll go, if only to let Shizune see her friends and relax. Maybe help with the hurt and wounded. But I'm not staying."
Jiraya gave a small smile, nodding. "That's about the best I can ask for, I suppose. The Council will do whatever you ask just to have you help out."
Tsunade clucked dismissively. "Pack of old idiots. Go find Oro before he starts experimenting on people, we'll leave in the morning."
He snorted. "Fuck that, I'm finishing my drink. I haven't had a chance to catch up to you in a while, and traveling with that nutball is nerve-wracking." He followed this declaration with a long drink. "Besides, it has been too long since I last beheld your glorious form.."
Tsunade only restrained herself from punching him through the wall by remembering that this was the only bar in the entire damned country that sold Iron Country sake, her favorite.