After about half an hour, they finally emerged from the passage and they gazed down at the quiescent village below. A wide sparkling blue river gushed and snaked around the village. Magnificent bridges connected every part of the village and the buildings were tall, grand, reaching high up into the sky and reflecting the soft sunlight. Many of the buildings had water rushing over its sides, adding another little quality of beauty to the place. Nestled amongst large lush hills with distant waterfalls, the village was settled in quite snugly.

"They are more advanced and grand than us." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly. It was well known that among the great five villages, Konoha was the most prosperous. To see such tall and pristine buildings like this... was unnerving.

"The air here is incredibly chakra dense," Tsunade noted in amazement. She lifted her hand up and it glowed green. "With this much chakra around us, my healing powers just tripled in strength."

Jiraiya closed his eyes to focus. "Nature energy is also very high here."

"Come on." Orochimaru began the path downwards. "We have business to take care of. We can gawk later."

"I wonder if they have hot springs," Jiraiya gushed, his head already in pervy land. "Then I'd care about gawking."

Orochimaru sighed as Tsunade knocked him off the mountain.

Once they arrived at the village and announced themselves and their intentions at the village's gate, they were escorted to the central building of the place where the leader of the village resided. Arriving at the head office, they were let into a large circular room. The entire back wall was an open window, with waters gushing out of the outside walls to crash down below, disappearing into the foliage of the fragrant garden below. A large elegant desk was placed before the open windowed walls and plush dark blue sofas served as seating as they faced each other. At the desk, a middle-aged man wearing a set of white and dark green robes, with mid length cardinal red hair and clever dark eyes gestured for them to sit. "Greetings to you all, my name is Mitsurugi Uzumaki, Kage of this village. It's a delight to have you three visit us all the way from Konoha."

"We share the same sentiment," Tsunade said with a bright smile. "I've always wanted to see my grandmother's village in person anyways. This is better than I thought."

Mitsurugi cracked a smile. "Lady Mito's grandchild... how swiftly the years passes by. I was a baby when she left to get married to your grandfather. Is she well?" When Tsunade nodded, he said, "That is good to hear. Even now, Lady Mito is beloved in this village. She was our most powerful kunoichi and the most beautiful when she was young."

"Speaking of younger..." Tsunade drew out the red crystal they were given. "Lord Third asked us to show this to a little baby girl named Kushina."

Peering at the glimmering red crystal the size of an apple, he nodded solemnly. "Understood. You may all see her in three days. We need to prepare first."

An apprehensive look crossed Orochimaru's face but he stayed quiet as Jiraiya and Tsunade both said that was perfectly fine. Next, Jiraiya handed over the letter they were assigned to give. "Our village would like to request your fuinjutsu should we have need of it, my lord," said Tsunade.

"What's going on?" asked Mitsurugi, folding his hands together warily. "This wasn't included in our expected meeting."

"Rising tension, ambushes, and a growing resentment over our prosperity," Orochimaru spoke emotionlessly.

"A chance for war." Mitsurugi leaned back in his chair with an uninterested look. "We want no involvement in one."

The words immediately changed the atmosphere of the room. He didn't even give pause or consideration to their request. "Our villages have always been allies, are we not? Or did the years change that without our knowledge?" asked Orochimaru,

"We have always been neutral. Even during the first war, Hashirama knew not to bother us. We will not budge from that stance. Your Hokage should have known our answer, before asking a pointless question," Mitsurugi replied, folding the letter and placing it aside.

"But-"

Orochimaru shot Jiraiya a look and discreetly shook his head. To argue or push the subject, would only worsen their position. They had to be smart about this. He offered, "We will have to stay here awhile longer, to fulfill the tasks you desire of us as per ordered by our Kage. You can give us your answer then my lord."

Mitsurugi cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you think my answer will be different, even if you three do complete some missions for my village, child?"

"Change is never something that involves certainty. I don't know if your answer will change, my lord. I only know that there is a chance for it. That is all I have and it's pointless to pine for something more," Orochimaru answered simply.

"Words spoken with more wisdom than what it implies," Mitsurugi commented, slightly impressed by the foresight. "Very well, we shall see. Until then, I welcome you all as honored guests to Uzushiogakure."

Evening...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Orochimaru and Tsunade both plugged their ears as Jiraiya screamed and jumped up and down. "WE HAVE A ROOM AT THE HOT SPRING RESORT!"

The two watched as Jiraiya ran in without another word and Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I suppose we should be thankful to have such a nice place to stay at while we're here, and have all our expenses covered... but I'm probably too afraid to even relax in the springs while Jiraiya is around."

Orochimaru gave the resort a once over. It was a large building with a plethora of hanging pots of flowers and the stone walkway that led to the porch and doors were carefully cut and laid out beautifully. The wooden beams were smooth and a smoky brown, emphasizing the creamy white of the building. The roof was curved in a traditional style that he quite liked. The smell of bath salts and soap was also heavy in the air behind the building along with the rising steam from the baths. Besides its fine appearance, it was the only building in the area and he was quite pleased by the peace and quiet. Turning back to Tsunade, he said, "Shouldn't you be more afraid that with all three of us sharing a room-"

Tsunade snorted with him implying that he or Jiraiya could walk in on her by accident. "I've learned from the age of six to triple lock the bathroom door when the three of us had to share a room for missions." Adjusting her bag, she took his hand and dragged him in. "Come on, let's set up! After that long journey, I can use a nice bath and rest."

"And whose fault was it that our journey was mired in disasters? Ouch! Tsunade! My hand!"

"You deserved that Orochi. Hmphhhhh!"

The room given to them was luxurious and he was very happy about the color coordination with the dark red walls and burnished brown wooden floors. A screen with a painted green dragon allowed one to change and if one desired more privacy, there was a connecting bathroom. A large table was set in the middle with little gold cushions to sit on. A little heated pot of scented oil on the table gave the room a heavy lavender scent. The right side of their room had a comfortable pile of multi-colored cushions laid back against the wall, looking rather inviting for hours of reading. Last but not least, three little steps ascended up to where three very fat and gold white futons were laid out for them. Behind them, large windows, with some pots of purple orchids on the windowsill, let in a stream of soft moonlight. Not like it was needed. The lighting of the room was fantastic. It was soft amber light, reminiscent of a fading fire that kept their room illuminated to give the room a relaxed and warm atmosphere.

Walking over to the mountain of cushions, he sat down, expecting to be comfortable. That was until he sank all the way down and was half buried in it. To his chagrin, Tsunade noticed and burst out laughing. "You can be so cute sometimes Orochi," she giggled.

Jiraiya snickered and said in a high-pitched voice, "You can be so cute and not ghastly depressing and fatalistic sometimes, Orochi." A pink cushion hit him in the face.

"Hmph." Standing up, Orochimaru shook out his long hair in a disgruntled fashion. "It's been a long journey. Hot spring, dinner and then bedtime."

"You're not my mom or sensei. You can't make meeeeee," Jiraiya sang.

"What are you, ten?" Putting a hand on his hip, he said, "Fine. Tsunade, let's go and ditch idiot here."

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya immediately turned red. "WHAT?!"

It took him a few seconds to realize what they were thinking and he sighed, "You both realize that there is no mixed bathing. It's separate for men and women."

Jiraiya patted his heart and let out a sigh of relief. "I almost thought you've finally become a man, girly Oro."

He finally lost his patience with his dork of a teammate who was constantly picking on his effeminate look. Deciding to teach Jiraiya a lesson, he said silkily, "Oh please. I'm more of a man than you are, my friend."

"Wait... you mean..."

"Oh yes, that is exactly what I mean, Jiraiya." A ghost of a smirk hovered around his lips.

"Is that a challenge? Bring it snake-eyes." Jiraiya sauntered over with a wide grin while Tsunade was growing even more red-faced as she realized what the two were talking about. In a way, since they've all grown up together, they were quite comfortable on many topics. But this was kinda almost too much. She looked over as Jiraiya said, "I'm like a foot taller than you. I'm quite sure I'm bigger than you in that department. Let's check while we take a bath in the springs."

"As always, your logic astounds me," Orochimaru said sarcastically as he gestured for the door and they headed out.

It wasn't long before she heard a loud cry of 'The hell is that?! It's like an anaconda!' coming in the direction of the springs and blood soon gushed out of her nose. Damn Jiraiya! After all these years, it looks like she was catching his pervertedness. She grabbed some papers to stuff her nose and tried not to think dirty.

After they've all had their baths and were dressed in comfy white robes, they started on a good night's dinner. Orochimaru had went for miso ramen, with a thick and heady broth, soft moist pork, and two eggs on top of the noodles. Jiraiya decided to go for sushi, eating a long roll of spicy salmon with fried yam topping for a crunchy aftertaste and fresh salmon sashimi. She went for a pretty set of Zaru udon, cold chilled noodles in a lovely box, set on bamboo mat along with a bowl of rich sweet dipping sauce. Slurping her noodles, she gushed. "This is fantastic."

"Cold food tastes great after a hot bath," agreed Jiraiya, pouring soy sauce onto his sushi.

"Hmph. Cold food never tastes good," Orochimaru replied, adjusting his seat on the gold cushion.

Popping another piece of sushi into his mouth, Jiraiya grinned. "Yea yea, we know. It makes you sleepy."

"Hmph." Popping a tasty egg into his mouth, he chewed and swallowed before saying, "We're not in a good situation."

Tsunade slowly lowered her box of noodles. "The alliance. If they don't agree to help, we've just lost a great deal of manpower."

"We can't blame them for not wanting to get involved. They just want peace," said Jiraiya.

"Neutrality is a mockery of peace," Orochimaru retorted with an edge of venom to his voice. "They would sit back and watch the world burn. If the fire doesn't reach them, who cares if only their neighbours dies. That is what they believe in."

Jiraiya realized with a start that what Orochimaru was saying was partially true. Pausing for a moment to think, he replied, "There is very few right and wrong in war. They perhaps, see things differently. Or maybe they just dislike violence and bloodshed."

Orochimaru scoffed. "If they help, perhaps the war will end earlier and less people would die. If they had joined the first war, maybe my parents would have lived." He stopped when he saw the looks his two friends were giving him and he averted his eyes, thinking back to what Tsunade's grandmother had suggested to help heal his heart. Laying down his chopsticks he stood up and walked over to the window, looking up at the starry night skies. Behind, he could hear Tsunade and Jiraiya following suit and he said, "We are the best team, three of the strongest ninjas of the village. We will be put on the very front lines if war breaks out. We need power to protect ourselves."

"Orochimaru..." Tsunade reached for his arm worriedly.

"What are you planning now, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked, detecting the undertone in his friend's voice.

"This place is a treasure trove of knowledge. Wonders rarely seen outside, unspoiled by time and chaos," he said as he gave a short pat on Tsunade's hand that was on his arm, reassuring her that he was alright before turning to Jiraiya. "I want to know its history, and that of the world, along with all the techniques stored here. I will request to use their library and access their archives. You two must come with me and study. Worst case scenario where they do not help us, we can at least be comforted that we won't be returning home empty handed. We will return stronger, better and deadlier."

"And if they don't let us read their stuff?" Jiraiya asked, referring to the fact that most villages guarded their techniques and specialties quite closely.

At that, Orochimaru grinned. "I suppose we'll have to rely on your skills in intelligence gathering and infiltration."

Jiraiya said in exasperation, "I don't know if I should be happy you just complimented me, or punch you for the idea. We're stealing from our allies."

Tsunade giggled. "He just said yes Orochi."

Orochimaru chuckled and nodded. "It's for the sake of our village, Jiraiya. If Uzushiogakure won't help their own allies, we're just going to help do it for them. Besides, you peek in on women all the time. Don't try the high moral road with me."

Pinching his nose, he said, "Go ask first before we decide to break into some old musty library for your boring ass books."

The next morning, she woke up to see that Orochimaru was already gone and Jiraiya was busy over at the table with papers spread out before him. Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, she said blearily, "Writing again? Where's Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya jerked a finger behind him. "It's already afternoon my spoiled princess. He woke up hours ago and left to go ask about his library thing."

Tsunade whipped around and her eyes widened at the sun that was high up in the sky. "Why didn't you wake me up? I wanted to go with him!"

At that, Jiraiya snorted. "You know that I and Orochimaru always have to draw straws to see who gets to wake you up and risk getting punch in the face. We figured this was something he can just do on his own. After all, he can be quite charismatic when he wants to be."

Tsunade sighed and combed her fingers through her thick golden hair. "Yea but-" Suddenly, the door opened as Orochimaru returned. Throwing aside her blankets, she quickly jumped to her feet. "Orochi! How'd it go?"

"Hmph." He crossed his arms after he closed the door. Turning his head sideway, he muttered, "Permission is granted but we are restricted from some sections. To placate us, Mitsurugi said that we will each be taught one single advanced technique."

"Obviously, you're still going to want to sneak into those restricted sections," sighed Jiraiya, laying down his brush and resting his chin in his hand. "Seriously... I get to stay at a hot spring resort with hot babes, and instead I have to sneak around with you to read unsexy material." He wiggled his fingers and sniffed. "Do you know how rare red hair beauties are? This is a chance of a lifetime."

Orochimaru said in exasperation, "And do you realize how rare those scrolls and books are? This village is isolated and rarely shares any of its information with others. We'll read whatever we can during the day in the section of the archive that we're allowed to be in. Which is at the public library. At night, we'll access the restricted sections. Once we're done there, we'll move onto the main administrative building where the rest of the archive is."

"They split up their archive?" asked Jiraiya, already getting a headache from all of this. When Orochimaru nodded, he banged his head on the table, his spiky white hair bouncing with the movement. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

They headed out with notebooks and scrolls in hand to research. Uzushiogakure's library was filled with bookshelves and tables and decorated with many artistic wall scrolls and bamboo plants. The windows were opened and the constant rushing of water that flowed around the building, instead of being distracting, was strangely soothing. A tall spiraling staircase led to the upper levels, with the top two being off-limits. There was a total of five floors and the three were currently sitting on the third floor next to a window. Piles of books were strewn around them and Orochimaru looked around to see that most of the floor was bare, with only a few readers on the other side of the floor. Hiding behind a pile of books, Tsunade was busy drawing down the layout of the building while Jiraiya tried to figure out the best way they could sneak in. Guards were posted at night and only those with permission from the council or Kage were allowed in after hours. After some time of hair pulling, Jiraiya whispered, "This actually isn't too hard. I can get in easily with my cloaking technique and I'll take Tsunade with me. They'll never see me. Orochimaru, you're good at using that weird technique to disappear and reappear from the ground. You can get in by yourself and disable the alarms. Then, we'll take rounds in researching since someone has to keep watch."

Orochimaru fiddled with one of his earrings and said, "Alright, we'll head out at midnight. But right now, let's figure out an advanced technique we want to learn."

Tsunade tapped on her chin. "Is there a list we can look at?"

"No. We just have to speak to the teacher that will be assigned to us after we hand over that red crystal to that baby named Kushina. He or she will determine what to teach us after asking us questions. However, I already know what I want." He smiled as he unraveled a scroll.

The two stared at it for a moment before Jiraiya shouted, "You're getting a tattoo?!"

"QUIET VOICE PLEASE!" yelled the librarian from downstairs.

The three winced and Tsunade muttered, "Hypocrite." She rested her chin in hand and began reading. "It boosts the efficiency and power of the summoning technique. Using a special ink to make the tattoo, one can gather and seal away chakra into it easily, even if they don't have good chakra control. Doing so, when the summoning is cast, it's much faster and stronger than normal."

"It is perfect for my snake hand technique, along with my many other snake techniques of course," Orochimaru said happily. "The method and special ink are only available here in Uzushiogakure. They never tattoo outsiders. Instead of an advanced technique," he lowered his voice, "that I'll probably learn anyway from the restricted section, I'd much rather have this."

Tsunade was delighted to see him looking so happy. It was like seeing a child being excited at opening birthday presents. On the other hand, Jiraiya took notice that Orochimaru seemed to have an unhealthy joy in obtaining things he wasn't supposed to have and did not share Tsunade's sentiment.

"Come on." Orochimaru stood up. "Let's eat dinner before we," he jerked his head at the map Tsunade was stuffing away in her bag. "Attend to other matters."

"You guys clean up. I'll just grab something quick to snack on while I do my own research at the hot springs since I have time," guffawed Jiraiya as he ran off.

With a roll of his eyes, Orochimaru muttered, "Idiot." Packing away their stuff, he and Tsunade headed downstairs at a quick pace to return to their resort, ignoring the looks the villagers were giving them since they were foreigners. As they walked through the bustling streets, Orochimaru nudged Tsunade and smirked. "Remember that promise I made to you when we were kids? About extending my life to be with you?"

She beamed. "Yea, what about it Orochi?"

"Uzushiogakure is known as the Village of Longevity, and it's well established already that the Uzumaki clan lives for a very long time. Your grandmother is old, but she's still holding up quite well." He licked his lips in relish. "We both know that those with a huge chakra reserve are stronger, healthier and live longer. Chakra is more important than water. We can live for at least three days without water, but we'd die in a heartbeat without chakra."

Tsunade hugged her book bag and thought about what he was saying. Catching on, she said, "You think being born here, where chakra is so heavy in the air is a result of that?"

"It might have aided in a long life. Genetics probably played a major part as well, through mutations to perhaps adapt and take advantage of this place." Orochimaru folded his hand behind his back and said thoughtfully, "Everyone produces chakra. I've never thought about the possibility that something other than a human body could produce it. The chakra in this air... it must be coming from somewhere. It also makes me question something. Chakra has to have an origin. In the beginning of time, the Sage of Six Paths taught us ninjutsu and hold to mold chakra. Is he the origin of chakra, or something else? How much truth is there in this fairy tale about the Sage of Six Paths?"

She smiled, enamored with his inquisitive mind. Few people had such curiosity and intellect like he does. He shone so brightly, that she could not help but fall for him even deeper with every passing year. "You're always pondering such deep questions, my handsome scholar," she flirted.

He smirked at her compliment. "Brains and good looks, I am perfect, no?" He took her book bag from her and helped carry it, bringing a dash of pink to her cheeks before he continued. "There is so much more we still don't know about chakra, despite it being a part of ourselves and a way of life. I hope to learn more while we're here, especially if it can help me live longer."

"Is that what you've been discussing with my grandmother when you sleep over at my house?" asked Tsunade, taking note of grandmother's origin.

"Not quite," he said delicately. "Remember when we were lost in that ancient tomb when we traveled to the Sand?" When she nodded in memory at that icy room with the frozen strange bodies and carvings of tailed beasts on the walls, his grin widened. "It's related to that place. Besides asking her, I've also done my fair share of research. What your library couldn't offer, I had to sneak in and obtain in the restricted archives of our own village. You won't believe what I found out, Tsunade-hime."

She said with slight disapproval, "Sarutobi-sensei would be disappointed if he knew you broke into our restricted archives, Orochimaru."

He gave her a shrug. "I'm not hurting anyone am I? I just want to understand our village and its history. It's out of pure intentions, hime."

Knowing that it would be pointless to argue and that she wouldn't rat him out anyways, she decided to let it go. She couldn't really blame him anyways. He's always been like that. It was a character quirk for him to go out of his ways to research and learn. If the knowledge he gains doesn't hurt anyone and helps the village, why not? She asked, "What did you find?"

Orochimaru grinned. "Those tailed beasts are real and their existence are only known to the Kages and their confidantes. They're titanic living entities composed purely of chakra and given physical shape. Every village has at least one to serve as weapons for war." His eyes flashed. "In essence, chakra is alive and can even manifest into a physical form. Fascinating, right? It's not just some kind of energy we use to perform ninjutsu. It is so much more. With it, we might even be able to create... I don't know, dimensions. Maybe even life."

"If that is true, it would make for great research. But about those... ummm, tailed beasts. We have a giant monster? Where?" Tsunade asked. In all her life, she had never heard or seen anything that could point to some gigantic tailed monster. Unless it was living under Konohagakure or something.

"It's-" He paused as if catching himself. Almost looking remorseful, he said, "It's... hidden, and will only be taken out when needed."

Tsunade peered up at him suspiciously. "You're hiding something, Orochimaru. What is it?" He seemed hesitant, as if he was considering his reply with great thought.

How could you tell someone you care about, that their grandmother holds a monster inside them? It would only hurt her. He didn't want to cause her unnecessary pain and there was little point in letting her know. So he deflected. "I believe that the method used to hold and hide the beast has grown weak over the years. As the Uzumaki clan is famous for sealing techniques, the reason we're sent here might not just be because we need them for a potential war, but because they're needed to reseal the beast."

Thinking back on their mission's details, she quickly picked up on what he was hinting at. "Could it be related to that red crystal and that child we're supposed to see? But how would a child play into this? Shouldn't it be some really experienced shinobi who can cast powerful fuinjutsu to strengthen our seal?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see," he lied, not wanting her to realize that the child was probably a potential candidate for the tailed beast like her grandmother had once been. He took her warm hand in his and said, "Stay close. This trip here is probably more complicated than we thought. Especially since we're going to be tasked with some missions for Uzushiogakure. We're outsiders. It would make sense that they would push us to deal with something unfavorable rather than let their own people take the risk. That might also be what Sarutobi-sensei is thinking in hopes of gaining their favor, and why this mission is used to evaluate if we'll become jonin. At the worst, it might even be another life and death situation like the Chunin exam."

Her cheeks turned pink at their connected hands, not really hearing what he was saying.

"Tsunade. Tsunade. Hime, are you even listening?"

Startled, she shook her head. "What did you say after the complicated trip part?"

He sighed, half exasperated but also amused. "Don't tell me you were distracted by my charming appearance? The bath salts for my skin at the hot spring must have worked better than expected."

"Would be nice if you were be-spelled by my looks too," Tsunade said with a fake pout.

At that, he chuckled. "No one else has my attention like you do. But I suppose we could always pretty ourselves up together at the hot springs. Spa day sounds fabulous, no?"

"See this is why I love you," laughed Tsunade. "Most other men are gross and don't know how to apply lotion to their own backside. You know how to pamper. And this princess loves pampering."

"Well for one, I am just as vain as you are so I take care of my appearance. Secondly, the fact that my arm can stretch helps with putting on lotion," Orochimaru played along. When she smiled and leaned into him as they walked, he said hesitantly, "Tsunade, if I... we, end up together, we'll have to break it to Jiraiya." Solemnly, he said, "You know that he likes you all this time, right?"

"It's almost sad that you noticed him liking me instead of noticing that I like you."

Orochimaru squeezed her hand. "The reason why you never gave him a chance was because of me then?" When she stayed silent, he said, "Truth be told, while he is an idiot and a super pervert, he has a good and faithful heart. He would die for you."

"Wouldn't you as well?" she asked.

"No." Tsunade looked up at him sharply and he could see the hurt in her eyes. He said curtly, "It is more painful to be left behind in my opinion. I told you, remember? The pain of loss hurts more than the pain of loneliness. If we live, we should live together. If we die, we should die together."

His explanation relieved her and she smiled sadly, understanding the pain they've both went through when they lost their loved ones. Thinking about him dying for her, suddenly made her quite sick. If he did do that, she would be crushed with immense guilt and pain. It wasn't something she wanted at all. She would much rather just die with him. "You really do know me best," she whispered, leaning into him and hugging his arm. "I think you like me as well, if you would say something like dying with me." She beamed up at him happily.

Orochimaru felt his heart sped up and he tugged at the collar of his purple shirt uncomfortably. "I don't know if that can really be classified as romantic feelings. Even I must admit it sounds rather morbid. Also, I'd much rather live with you than die with you." Realizing he might have just implied that he wanted to move in with her, he quickly tried to correct himself. "I mean not like settle into domesticity or anything. It's not even possible or legal to settle down right now and I don't even have the money to afford a family. Wait, no, I-I don't want a family. No I mean of course not right now."

Tsunade listened as he continued to blabber on about confused feelings, how she was important to him but how was he supposed to know if he liked her in that way, and if what he said was really appropriate if one loved someone. Then it went on to something about how a parent tiger would sacrifice themselves for their young because they really loved them and wanted them to live on. Maybe what he was saying about dying together was weird and selfish and not at all romantic. When he finished, they were five minutes away from the resort, along a quiet nice white sidewalk with a beautiful view of the distant lake and swaying tall trees. She giggled and said, "You know you are really really cute when you're all flustered, right?" His pale cheeks colored and without thinking, she leaned up to peck him on the cheek. The result was instantaneous as his whole face turned as red as a tomato. Even the tips of his ears heated up.

"Hime!" He tried to sound angry but instead, he sounded like he was scared witless.

"You called me by my nickname, you liked it!" she cried victoriously, hanging onto his arm and not letting him get away. "You know, I think I don't quite mind always taking the first step anymore. Especially when you look so vulnerable like this," she gushed.

"You are so..." He had to substitute a disgruntled sound for a word, as he couldn't quite think at the moment. When she continued giggling, he sighed. "This is a dangerous game you're playing, Tsunade. It isn't wise."

Tsunade immediately kicked him in the shins and made him stumble. "For god sake, we're sixteen and I just want to date you. It's not like us being together means the end of the world or that we'll start up some kind of clan war."

"Anything that involves feelings is dangerous and complicated," he replied softly. "We're ninjas. Most of us don't even get married since we know the dangers of our occupation. We're supposed to take our pleasures where we can, when we can. Even the shinobi rules try to shape us to become emotionless because feelings are dangerous. If you truly seek love then... I am honestly the worst person to seek it from, especially since Jiraiya would give you all of his affections without restraint and has been asking for you since we were kids." Orochimaru looked at her sadly. "I don't know if I can say the same, to be honest. My ambitions and dreams have always been at the forefront. I never considered otherwise until you confessed to me. I... I don't think I am as true as Jiraiya is to you. Picking him would be a smarter choice."

"Whoever I pick is up to me and my heart," she said firmly. "Love is something you can't be rational about. My feelings are for you."

"And if I end up rejecting you? Why are you risking heartbreak when the other option is so much safer? I don't understand this at all," Orochimaru said in slight frustration about the whole thing.

"I choose to be alive instead of being safe," she said harshly. "I choose to keep on gambling even though I know I lose more than I win, because I hold on to the memories my grandfather spent with me when we would gamble together and how he taught me to never give up and keep reaching for happiness, no matter how low my chances are. I choose to walk a path that's full of turns, pitfalls and crappy direction signs towards a destination that I want to be. I want to be with you, you romantically challenged idiot! You've already pounded into my head you're a difficult bastard. I get it, and I still pick you, ok?"

The words stunned him and he found himself coming to a complete stop. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he said quietly, "That strength you possess... it's admirable. You impress me, hime." Inwardly, he wished he could have her courage. He was afraid most of the time and tried hard to hide it by wearing a cold mask and being distant. She, on the other hand, was so willing to try and reach out.

"I'd rather you fall for me, but that's nice too," she said brightly, reverting back into a cheerful manner very quickly. "In the meantime, I'll wait some more while you sort out your feelings." She threatened jokingly, "But don't take too long. I'm an impatient and short-tempered princess, remember?"

Orochimaru laughed softly. "Of course I would. You knocked me out on our first day of school, hime."

Two days later... night time...

"Where is this place anyways?" Jiraiya whispered as they ascended the stairs of a tall tower. The place was near the edge of the village and they had to pass by several checkpoints before they were allowed inside. Right when they woke up and had breakfast, the manager of the resort had personally come to deliver a letter that told them to meet at this location at night, where their Kage and Kushina awaited them.

Orochimaru shushed him. "Best not to ask, Jiraiya. We're here to record our observations after we hand over the crystal to that little girl, that's all." He looked over his shoulder. "Tsunade, ready?"

She patted her sidebag, holding her notebook and the crystal. "All set."

When they reached the top and opened the door, they stepped into a gigantic cold room with a large dome-like ceiling. Magnificent stone columns held the roof up and moonlight passed through ornate stained glass windows that circled around the entire room. Ninjas wearing porcelain decorated masks that marked them as Anbu, were covered from head to toe in loose fitting pants and snug orange vests that covered dark undershirts. They wore basic greaves and arm guards, but other than that, nothing else to offer more defensive capabilities. A quick look around the room showed at least twenty of them. In the middle of the floor with mystical runes and engravings carved into the ground, Mitsurugi stood there waiting for them, holding a little baby girl with red hair in his arms. The girl of just two years old was gurgling and chewing on the white sleeves of his green and white robe, tied with a dark red belt that complemented his own dark mid-length long hair. She perked up and blinked her large violet eyes at them. "Welcome," said Mitsurugi Uzumaki. "This here is Kushina."

Only Jiraiya spoke as the three stared at the little girl who was drooling at them and gurgling unintelligible words. "Uhhh... hello kid?" She giggled and reached out for him. In bemusement, Jiraiya scooped her into his arms and bounced her alittle, rustling her cute little green dress with smiling bees on it. Boisterously, he laughed, "Looks like you're my favorite lady for today."

Kushina clapped her hands together at his infectiously joyful attitude. But then she noticed Orochimaru standing near and she squealed as she reached for his earring. Orochimaru made a face and hastily leaned back, making Jiraiya laugh even harder. "Afraid of a little kid, Oro?"

"I've lost enough hair to Nawaki when he was a baby to be somewhat wary of kids," Orochimaru replied. True to his words, in the next instant, Kushina grabbed a handful of long silky black hair and tugged. "Augh!"

"Now now," Tsunade gushed as she leaned down and poked at her chubby cheeks while Orochimaru worked on pulling his hair out of her pudgy fist. "Don't do that little one. Orochi here can bite." Kushina giggled and grabbed onto her finger instead.

Uzushiogakure's Kage coughed. "I'm sorry to interrupt but we should focus. This is a delicate matter at hand."

"What? We just give her the crystal and record whether she slobbers all over it or something right?" asked Jiraiya.

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as he realized what they had meant when they said they needed three days to prepare. "No... of course not." He glanced over at the Anbu around them and crossed his arms. "With this many guard here, something here is likely to try and kill us." Tapping his feet on the stone cold ground, he said, "Seals have been woven into the stone itself to serve as amplifiers. Barriers are to be cast as an additional precaution."

"Then..." Tsunade looked down at the symbols, suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of foreboding.

"Be on your guard, Jiraiya, Tsunade." Orochimaru's eyes darkened. "Judging by the intricacy and details that went into these engravings, very powerful fuinjutsu will be used... to contain something uncontrollable and dangerous. Perhaps even beast-like."

Darkwings13: Due to my convocation on Thursday, I was unable to update until today. Sorry everyone! I think the next update will probably be on Saturday and then I'll see where this goes for update days again. XD

-This chapter was really hard to write since I'm trying to set up so many things. Hope it's not too confusing! ಥ_ಥ

(ღ˘⌣˘ღ) Hehe I'm so glad my fic gives you life hxshigaki76! I'd totally love to meet you and all my other readers in person. It'd be so wonderful to be able to talk with you face to face. And if you're breathless and can only gesticulate, I'll wait and bring you water! XD I try my best to write this fic as cannon as possible to make this story and analysis of Orochimaru as in-depth and plausible. One thing I can say about Kishimoto, he's horrendous with details. We don't know alot about things like if Kushina even had a family before she came to Konoha, how did Hashirama even die in the first war when he was so powerful, and why Naruto cares so much about Sasuke (their relationship was honestly very weak), etc. Oh and he totally screws over almost every female character in the series lol. I can only think of Temari, Tsunade and Mei as being strong females. But oh god Naruto is so long lol. I can't rewrite it xD Thank you for this review my friend. Brought a smile to my face.

(￣▽￣) Hi LuckyLefty77! I'm so glad you're still enjoying the chapters I write out my friend. I'll keep doing my best to support the shipping of Orotsu! 3

（^Ｏ^）～ Orochimaru is just showing alot of hesitation about Mito's side quest. I'll definitely add more details into why he's reluctant JigokuShoujosRevenge. As to if he'll decide to go through with it, we'll see ;D Haha, I had alot of fun torturing them on their terribly unlucky journey. Glad you liked it and the cute part where Orochi dreamed about Tsunade and worried for her sake lol.

(*ﾟーﾟ*) Your intuition is right ileangie23. Akano Uchiha will definitely make another appearance. OMG writing about Orochimaru being conflicted about love and not knowing what to do with feelings gives me life too! He can be very very loving despite his ruthlessness, based on him bringing flowers to his parents' graves and on what he said to Mitsuki in the manga. Sometimes when I write, I wanna pinch his cheeks. He'd probably bite me though LOL. Ahhh trying to think of an appropriate gift was so hard for me lol. In the end, I thought back on him making a bouquet for his parents and how doing things with your own hands is sometimes much more meaningful than buying presents. So I went for a notebook. And yes, Jiraiya can be so cute and funny too. I really love his big heart and how he truly cares about Tsunade and Orochimaru and wants what's best for them no matter what. I wanna pinch his cheeks too but he might just grope me ahaha. And Tsunade's curse huehuehuehue. Jiraiya liked being mischievous and poking fun at Orochimaru so I think he would find humor in making out with a female Oro if he could see his friend turn even greener.

o(￣▽￣o) And it is always a joy to read yours and everyone's reviews, BlackLady777! And yessssssss! Exactly. I truly believe he's distant and fears caring because like Jiraiya said, his parents' deaths affected him and he detests human fragility in leaving those they love behind to live in pain. To have a romantic partner but then be widowed might just be on the top of his fear list, just alittle below cold food. Oh wait... now I'm giggling at a widowed Orochimaru. I'm a horrible horrible woman. Bwahahahaha. He probably would figure out the safest way to be with Tsunade would be for the both to retire from fighting and focus on medical research and experiments. And I love writing wise serene grandmother characters, so I'm relieved you're impressed by Mito and Orochi's intereaction. And about the singing genjutsu, it's related to his Hidden Village of sound and I try to take every chance I get to expressed Oro's affections for his parents. Oh yea, I've already thought about Orochimaru's reaction to Jiraiya's sage mode. It's going to be amazing. But I'm actually looking forward more to Tsunade's reaction. As Jiraiya did once mention that the ladies find his sage look... uhhhh not exactly very good on the eyes lol. Haha thanks for the smiley at the end of your review my friend. I love smileys. (=ﾟ▽ﾟ)/