"It's haunted! The place is haunted!" screeched Jiraiya, latching his arms around Tsunade's neck as all of the torches inside the tomb suddenly lit up. In the front, Orochimaru quickly got into an offensive stance with his sword drawn.

Tsunade spat out a mouthful of white hair as Jiraiya buried his face into her shoulder. "Stop squirming! It's like I'm carrying a big baby!"

Orochimaru arched a slender eyebrow at the exchange. "So the great Jiraiya is afraid of ghosts?"

"Shut up you girly snake!" Jiraiya fumed at his teammate. "No matter how big of a brain you may have or how many techniques you do know, you can't use them on ghosts!"

Orochimaru stared at him in silence for a few seconds before he stuck his tongue out and raised up his hands. "Boo."

Jiraiya screeched again and thrashed in Tsunade's arms while she yelled and tried to keep him from falling out of her arms. Orochimaru smirked for a moment before eyeing the lit corridor with a degree of wariness. How did those torches light up anyways? Was there some kind of trigger or mechanism in the ancient tomb? Taking out a kunai, he threw it into the middle of the hallway. When no traps or explosions went off, he said, "I suppose it's safe enough. But keep alert."

"You can't keep alert for ghosts," Jiraiya piped up.

"Pervy no brain, there's no such thing as ghosts," Tsunade said with a roll of her eyes as she tagged behind Orochimaru. She then added vindictively, "Besides, with Orochimaru here, any ghosts would take one look at him and run back to their ghost land in the next second."

"Hmph. Thank you for the compliment," he replied tonelessly. "I suppose the powerful chakra aura around me is enough protection for any ghosts. On the other hand, the strong blend of Senju and Uzumaki chakra you carry from your bloodline..." He looked behind his shoulder at her with lidded eyes. "Is undetectable to even me at the moment. Are you tired hime? Hungry? I have some dried meat." He made to reach into for his backpack but then he paused. "I forget, the Senju princess can't possibly lower her standards for dry cheap meat. Unfortunately, there're no five-star restaurants around here so you'll have to bear it and hurry up. I'm already walking at half my speed for you."

Tsunade could almost snarl and punch him in the gut. "Yea, cuz I'm carrying Jiraiya."

"I offered to carry him first. If you don't think you're up to the task, you shouldn't have volunteered," Orochimaru replied smoothly.

Jiraiya gulped. If she traded one barb word, Orochimaru would trade ten back. Except his words weren't just barbed, they were also heated to extreme temperatures. "He-hey!" He pointed to the fork in the lit hallway. "Think we should split up to find the exit?"

"It's dangerous to split up," said Orochimaru. "I've sealed off the way I used to get in to prevent our pursuers from coming in. But this place is equally dangerous."

Tsunade pointed her nose up at him and began taking the hallway to the right. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Peh."

Jiraiya turned his head back as they left Orochimaru. "If you hit a dead end or we do, we'll backtrack! Leave marks for us to follow and we'll do the same for you."

Orochimaru crossed his arms and watched silently as they left. There usually was no stopping Tsunade once she's decided on something. It was true that if they did split up, they would increase the chance of finding an exit and though he was worried she might run into traps, he was moderately confident that she would be able to make it through unscathed. Still, one could never be too prepared. Holding up a hand, he watched as a brown and grey viper crawled out from his sleeve and slither around his wrist. It was thick and rippled with muscles, strong enough to break a man's leg if it wanted to. But most importantly, it had a toxic bite and could easily kill an elephant with two bites. "Keep them safe for me," he murmured, lowering it down to the ground.

After an awkward half an hour of hearing Tsunade grind on her teeth, Jiraiya finally gathered enough courage to ask what was going on between her and Orochimaru. That started off the longest rant he's ever heard in his life.

Ten minutes later...

"He's such a horrible meanie! Sometimes I think my best friend was born from an iceberg! Doesn't he know how to even speak to a lady!"

Jiraiya said slowly, "Ummm Tsunade, have you even seen Orochimaru talk to any other girl our age?"

She went off as if she didn't even hear him. "And you know what, no one is perfect right? Why does he expect so much! I'm already carrying everything I can fit into this stupid bag! What does he want? Me to stuff blood replenishing pills in my bra or something?" At that, she burst into tears. "I know I'm flat like an ironing board and that I'm sometimes lazy. I don't know half the amount of techniques he knows and I don't work as hard as I should. I know he carried my weight back at the Academy. But I mean well! I'm trying. I really did try to prepare for this mission. I wanted to see him be proud of me." She wiped her eyes on Jiraiya's sleeves as he offered up his hand. "I really am sorry. I'm sorry to you too. I put you in danger because I didn't know our blood types and didn't have those blood pills."

"It-it's fine." He smiled and continued wiping her eyes for her. "I don't mind at all, Tsunade. Besides, you had the antidote to cure me from that poison." When she sniffled and thanked him, he said, "I'm just being honest. Knowing that you tried your best to look after me is enough for me." He grinned and added, "Now stop crying. Girls don't look pretty when they cry."

She nodded, her ponytail bobbing with the movement and she said quietly, "Ok..."

"It's all good," he said as she continued carrying him in her arms down the hallway. "And don't' fret too much. Orochimaru thought I was a complete idiot when we first met but look at me now! He sometimes even gives me a compliment. As long as you don't give up, you'll be the number one best medic ninja and he'll see that. Orochimaru isn't blind you know."

She cheered up slightly. "Thank you, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya smiled. But on the inside, he knew that the reason why she cheered up was because she was thinking about the fact that Orochimaru would see her become the best medical ninja. His friend's opinions clearly held great importance for her. His eyes picked up the shifting color near the ground and he realized that it was one of Orochimaru's snake that was following them but trying to keep out of sight. It confirmed to him that even if Orochimaru was disappointed or irritated at her, he still cared.

Hesitantly, he said, "Hey... is it too mean if I call you flat?" The fact that she made a mention of her lack of breasts did not escape his notice.

Tsunade pouted. "I am twelve so I have started to care about how I look. It didn't really matter before but now..."

Without thinking, he asked, "Did you get your periods yet?" Obviously, it was the wrong thing to ask as her eyes turned black and she growled.

"Do you want to die?"

"I-I'm sorry! I mean it's just the average age when girls get it unless you're a really late bloomer like you might be-" Tsunade's eyes flashed and he screamed. "AEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"

After some more walking, they came upon a large destroyed open area. Grand stairs led the way down to a large empty space before giant intimidating double doors. Cracks ran through the walls and ground and more picture carvings lined the walls. Sand piled in corners and crevices and some clung to the columns. A few viney plants were even crawling up the walls. But most surprisingly, Orochimaru was already there and had even started a small fire. Noticing them, he looked over and said, "The hallway I took also led here." He then tilted his head with a curious look. "By the way, was that you who screamed earlier, Jiraiya? Did you two run into traps?"

Tsunade glared at Jiraiya before raising her nose up and giving an annoyed hmph. Jiraiya laughed nervously and patted down his bangs to hide the bruise on his forehead. "Uhhh... let's just say I experienced something scarier than seeing a ghost."

"Ok?" Orochimaru was mildly confused but he shrugged it off and returned to stoking the fire.

Jiraiya grinned and stepped down gingerly as Tsunade stopped carrying him. Walking over, he said, "I guess we'll sleep for abit before continuing?"

Orochimaru nodded before gesturing to where he had put down his backpack. "Put your stuff over there and rest. We'll take turns keeping watch."

Jiraiya sat down beside him and whispered, "Soooooo, did you find out why the torches in the hallways are lit?"

At that, Orochimaru smirked. "Since I got here sooner, I did take the time to inspect and figure it out, Jiraiya."

"So how did they light up?" Jiraiya asked in curiosity. When Orochimaru continued looking secretively pleased, Jiraiya fumed. "Come on tell me. It's not like you're going to keep it as a secret to make secret underground hideouts in the future or something."

Orochimaru merely chuckled in reply and watched as Jiraiya gave up to set up beddings. Beside him, Tsunade tentatively walked over and said, "You're not telling him because you want to let him think that ghosts are still a possibility, right?"

He could see that she was clearly in a much better mood and he replied, "As always, you catch on quickly." He gestured over to where Jiraiya was laying down. "Go to sleep. I'll take first watch."

Tsunade nodded, feeling the air of tension that was still there between them. She was still too proud to admit that she was wrong. On the other hand, waiting for Orochimaru to apologize for being too harsh would be like waiting for the Hokage's mountain to erode to dust. Without another word, she resigned herself to head to bed.

Turning back to the fire, he too remained silent as he chewed on some dry meat strips, letting his two friends sleep in the meanwhile. He was surprised when Jiraiya woke up after a mere three hours of rest and stumbled his way over. "Go back to sleep," he whispered, prodding the fire. "You've lost alot of blood and need to rest."

Jiraiya slapped him on the back as he sat down. "Smartass, you've lost a good amount by donating blood to me. You should go to sleep."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "It's too bad I can't donate some of my brain cells to you, dumbass. Now go back to bed and stop bothering me. I'm not tired yet."

"You're not my momma or sensei, you can't make meeeeeeee," Jiraiya said in a sing-song voice.

Putting his face into his hands, he grumbled, "What do you want?"

"I can't really sleep with all the sand in my pants. Secondly, I have something important I want to talk to you about," said Jiraiya.

"If this is about asking me to come up with more ways to sneak into a hot spring, I will bite you," Orochimaru replied, resting his chin on his hand.

"I'll ask that later. But right now, I want to talk about Tsunade."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. He could count on one hand how many times Jiraiya was actually serious and solemn. So for Jiraiya to look like this, he knew that his friend was not taking the matter very lightly. "She told you what happened?"

"You didn't have to be so harsh to her," Jiraiya replied.

"Hmph." Orochimaru continued staring into the flickering fire and stayed silent.

"She's a girl. You need to be nice to girls. That's what we men are supposed to do," Jiraiya continued, refusing to let up. He added, "Besides, she's your first friend right? You... aren't you afraid that she might be mad at you forever?"

Turning in his seat, he said tiredly, "I don't coddle, Jiraiya. What she's messed up on isn't something that can just be brushed off. In fact, I have the right to be mad at her." He stood up in a huff. "She's acting like a spoiled brat. Quite frankly, I am irritated. I had expected better."

"Orochimaru," Jiraiya said, standing up with him. "You can't be blind. You have to have noticed how much she packed in that bag of hers. She tried."

A sudden hurt look crossed his face and he said, "I hate that word."

Noticing how pained he seemed, Jiraiya said hesitantly, "Did something happen?"

"They said try tried to protect my parents," Orochimaru whispered, his voice barely audible. "They said it's because of war. All I hear is excuses."

"Oro-"

"I'm going to sleep. If you want to stay up so much, you can keep watch-"

Jiraiya grabbed onto his friend and said, "You can't keep letting that event eat at you. Orochimaru, you're never going to get better at this rate."

"Don't talk to me as if I'm sick." Orochimaru struggled to wrench his arm free.

"You are sick," Jiraiya insisted. "Look, I know that after eight years, you still miss your parents. I know you're still bitter on how they died. But you can't put your hurt on those around you, especially Tsunade."

Orochimaru couldn't believe what he was saying. "Jiraiya," he said strickenly, finally pulling his hand free. "I am not that selfish. Do you think I would intentionally hurt her?"

Seeing how sad Orochimaru looked at the accusation, Jiraiya regretted immediately what he had said. Why did he say that? Somewhere in the back of his heart, he knew that Orochimaru cared for Tsunade the most out of all of them. They were not only extremely intelligent and could talk to each other about the most complex of subjects, but in a way, he knew it was true that Orochimaru did know her best. Jiraiya had seen it many times before, where Orochimaru could say no more than a sentence and cheer her up, get her to focus or reassure her, while he could spend hours and it would have no effect. Tsunade... was the last person Orochimaru would ever hurt. "I'm sorry. I don't mean it that way," Jiraiya apologized.

"It's because I care that I say those things to her. I want her to be the best she can be, Jiraiya," he said, his expression pained. "But most of all, I know how devastated she would be if she lost you, me or those she really cared about through some silly mistake. She would blame herself forever."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Orochimaru..."

"You must know, bonds can hurt just as much as they can heal." He pointed to himself. "I am her dark mirror. I don't want her to become like me, who can only look back on the memories of those he lost with a sense of helplessness." His eyes glowed with deep sorrow. "I don't want her to hate herself, the same way I once did."

Jiraiya finally understood why his friend wanted to learn so many techniques. "Is that why you study so hard?" He said in exasperation, "Orochimaru, you were what? Only four? Why would you blame yourself for being unable to help?"

"People hate what they can't have. I wished I had been older, stronger and powerful to have been there to protect my parents. Since I wasn't, I could only look at myself and hate. It was a long and terrible time until I met Tsunade." His expression softened slightly as he thought about the Senju princess. "Now... you know why I acted the way I did towards her. If I didn't care, I wouldn't have said anything."

Jiraiya looked at his friend sadly. "Orochimaru.."

His friend turned his eyes to the ground and added, "Now you can also know this. I can be cold to her because I know that you'll be there to comfort her. Like I predicted, after spending just some time with you, she's cheered up."

Jiraiya shook his head and protested, "But that's not fair for you."

Orochimaru replied solemnly, "When it comes to those one cares about, fairness doesn't matter. I don't mind taking the short end of the stick." He was slightly taken back when he saw Jiraiya tear up. "What?"

Jiraiya wiped at his eyes and blubbered, "You might seem like a complete asshole most of the time, but you really do care."

"Hey!" Orochimaru froze as Jiraiya rushed into his arms. "You're leaving snot all over my clothes idiot!"

"Shaddup you big softie," Jiraiya said, patting his cheek as he wiped his nose on his shoulder.

"I will bite you."

"As if, you're just a big softie- ouch! You really bit me!" cried Jiraiya as he cradled his hand.

"The bite is poisonous too. Those who gets bitten will turn ugly. You'll forever be single now."

Jiraiya squinted at his friend. "Is this another lame attempt at trying to be funny?"

"Hmmm... is it time to wake up?"

The two boys panicked and hastily scrambled to sit back down by the fire.

Tsunade groggily sat up and wiped at her eyes, woken up by loud noises. "What's... going on?" she asked with a yawn. Blinking, she saw the two boys sitting side by side and poking at the fire, their backside to her.

Jiraiya gave her the thumbs up without looking back. "Nothing, I was just talking to Orochimaru and telling him he looks like a girl."

"And you'll grow up to be ugly, chosen of the frogs."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and wiggled back down in her thin green bedroll. When Tsunade fell back asleep, Jiraiya whispered, "Soooooo, when are you going to apologize to her? Someone has to. I'm getting sick of being stuck in the middle."

"Why do I have to be the one to apologize?" Orochimaru scowled.

"Because you're a boy," Jiraiya replied in a matter of fact voice.

Orochimaru stared at him for a minute before saying, "Considering the fact that Tsunade acts like a tomboy and according to you, I'm like a girl, your argument is void. Now keep watch while I go to sleep."

Jiraiya sat there in bafflement and confusion about what his friend just said.

After a long and restful sleep...

"These doors looks like they're meant to keep people out. As in I THINK WE SHOULDN'T GO IN THERE!" He raised his arms out and walked towards them unsteadily. "I've heard stories about cursed mummies from the sand."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "We've walked by quite a few sarcophagus already and I want to go through there to find the exit. We've already explored a large portion of the place. The way forward is the only path we haven't checked yet."

Jiraiya rapped his knuckles on the double doors. "It's sealed smartass. So too bad."

"Hmph." Taking his sword, he ran up it and stabbed it into the slit of the double doors. Falling down, he dragged his sword with him and pulled it out. "Tsunade."

Stepping up to the weakened double doors, she cracked her knuckles before reeling back her fist and punching forward. The right side flew open to reveal another long hallway with lit torches and she blew the dust off her hand. "Too easy."

"Let's hurry," Orochimaru said tonelessly. "We've no time to waste."

Jiraiya was confused when Orochimaru held out his hands towards him. "What?"

"I'm carrying you," he said in a matter of fact voice.

"Ahhhhhh no. I'd rather-" He let out an angry outburst when Orochimaru wordlessly scooped him up in his arms and ran. "Hey! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT YOU GIRLY SNAKE!"

"Look, there's a ghost," Orochimaru lied.

Jiraiya screeched and hugged his neck. "Where where where?!"

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh behind her hand as she followed the two. After awhile, they came upon a long tan stone bridge that stretched over a sea of darkness below. The bridge was beautifully decorated with stone archways on the side. At the end of the bridge, the ledge led to a massive pair of stairs and pictures of fierce lions adorned the walls around them. All of a sudden, the light of the torches intensified and the shadows of the place grew sharper. A sudden clanking sound could be heard from some kind of hidden mechanism before a loud thud echoed through the place, making the bridge shake and rumble.

"Tsunade!" Orochimaru shouted as he came to a stop with Jiraiya in his arms. Before them was a giant boulder rolling towards them on the big bridge.

"After this long, I'm not too surprised that we finally managed to activate a trap," she said as she jumped in front of them. Raising back her fist, she pushed all of her chakra to it and punched forward to shatter the house size boulder to bits.

"Keep running," instructed Orochimaru as the walls opened up to shoot arrows at them. "Jiraiya, stop pulling on my hair. I can't concentrate." Jumping up and running on the arches, he managed to avoid most of the projectiles. The only one that did hit him, hit his hair that danced behind him. As for Tsunade, she swung herself down and ran on the underside of the bridge to avoid the arrows since she had the best chakra control and could easily fight against the gravity. Once she reached the end of the bridge, she jumped up to rejoin them. Hurriedly, they scrambled up the stairs and burst through the door to a large square room. The walls were inlaid with carvings of red birds and the feathers sparkled from rare gems and gold. But all of a sudden, holes appeared in the walls from where the bird's beaks were and the temperature in the room spiked up. Behind them, the doors they came through slammed shut with a loud clang.

"Those are phoenixes," Tsunade said as she pressed her back to Orochimaru.

"Jiraiya, you're up."

"Heh." Jiraiya grinned as Orochimaru let him down. Forming a few hand seals, he shouted, "Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!" His white hair extended to wrap around the three of them protectively. In the safety of his diamond hard hair, they could still feel the intense heat as the fire sprayed out at them from the walls. After five minutes of intense heat, the room finally let up and Jiraiya released his technique, panting from the amount of chakra he had to use to protect them. The room rumbled and slowly, a wall slid upwards to reveal a new path for them to take.

"We're probably almost at the end or at least somewhere important for all of these traps to activate," said Orochimaru as he scooped Jiraiya back up and continued running.

"Can't wait to see a blue sky again. I'm sick of this dank place," grumbled Tsunade as she kept pace with him. Up ahead was another pair of doors with a man and woman carved onto each one. They were both facing each other and their hair was pure white. Their clothes were golden in color and their hands seemed to be raised up towards a symbol of the sun and moon. As they neared it, the floor suddenly collapsed beneath them and they fell downwards towards a pit of spikes. Tsunade screamed and closed her eyes. "Help!"

"Tsunade!" shouted Jiraiya.

"Tsunade! I'm coming!" Quickly, Orochimaru stretched his right arm to grab the ledge. The other arm held onto Jiraiya and with his tongue, he lashed it out to catch her around the waist.

Swinging from his tongue, Tsunade gulped as her feet were mere inches away from the spikes. "That... was too close."

"Hurry and get us up Oro," Jiraiya said, holding onto his friend tightly. "I think I'm slipping!" He clung onto Orochimaru's neck even tighter.

"Imf frying. Or both heavy," panted Orochimaru as he struggled to pull his tongue back in and reel Tsunade up. After a few minutes of struggling, he finally managed to pull all of them up and he breathed heavily, kneeling on the cold stone.

"You know Oro," Jiraiya said, patting his heart, feeling like it was beating a mile a minute. "If all three of us weren't so good, our asses would have been dead by now."

"It's also because we look out for each other pervy no brain," Tsunade said, taking a big gulp of water from her water bottle and gasping for breath.

Orochimaru stilled at her words and slowly nodded. "Yes... you're right. We're a team." He looked at the two and only friends he had, feeling his throat suddenly constrict. "Tsunade, I'm sorry."

She choked on her water and her eyes grew wide as saucers. "Orochi... maru?" She saw his cheeks turn slightly pink and he looked away from her.

"I'm not sorry about what I said but how I said it," he explained, still keeping his face averted. "If you were anyone else, then we would all be dead. But even if you're mad, you're still prioritizing the mission and our teamwork. We... we work well because in the end, we'll always look out for each other. I shouldn't have made it harder for you to do that. I could have scolded you differently."

"I'm sorry too," Tsunade said loudly, squeezing her eyes together. "You're right to scold me. I could have asked you or Jiraiya to carry some stuff that I missed and I should have known all of our medical information beforehand. Like if you or Jiraiya were allergic to something and I gave you guys the wrong food and you both died, it'd be the stupidest thing ever. My own grandfather would die all over in shame. From now on, I'll know both of your medical histories like the back of my hand." She rubbed at her eyes. "Don't mind scolding me if I mess up, Orochimaru. I need to keep getting better and make sure that nothing ever happens to you two."

"Tsunade," he said, slightly happy that in the end, his words did make her grow up somewhat.

"You can be mean and honest," Tsunade hiccoughed. "I know that in the end, you care for me and will protect me."

"You're the last person I'd want to see get hurt," Orochimaru admitted honestly.

Tsunade smiled and her own cheeks also turned pink. "Thanks Orochi."

Jiraiya scowled as he sat between them. "What am I? Chopped livers?" He blushed when Tsunade hugged him and Orochimaru put an arm around his shoulder.

"It wouldn't be the same with any of us missing," said Orochimaru, his golden eyes genuine and sparkling as he looked at his two friends. "Come on. Let's keep going," he said.

"I'll walk for a few minutes. My legs are getting stiff." At the doors, Jiraiya said warily, "You think there are more traps?"

Orochimaru made a face. "If there is one more trap in there, I will blow this place up when I'm older."

Tsunade couldn't help but giggle as she pushed in the door. They braced themselves as a sudden chill penetrated the air and all of the torches turned blue. Cold fog rushed out past their feet and it chilled their very bones. Looking around with a sudden awful feeling in her gut, she said, "What just happened?"

"The room." Orochimaru walked in and scanned the room cautiously. It was completely empty beside the large picture carving on the wall. Some kind of crystal was embedded into the ceiling, making it look like a starry night sky. The blue light of the torches also made the picture on the wall sparkle and Orochimaru realized that it wasn't actually carvings, it was painted on. But after so long, the ink wasn't faded in the least. Intelligible words were scribbled on top and on the bottom, were images of monstrous beasts with tails. Each were terrifying to behold, and their very eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul. It was if the pictures wanted to come to life and devour him whole.

"What are these pictures even saying?" Tsunade squinted, trying to decipher the pictures on the crumbling stone wall.

Jiraiya chewed on his bottom lips and said, "This... doesn't feel right. No, it feels very wrong. There's something about the writing and pictures that makes me feel like my gut is being pulled at."

Orochimaru took a slow step forward and narrowed his eyes at the inscriptions. Ten beasts each with a different number of tails that ranged from one to ten, while a man stood in the center. Up above was a blood red sun? "It looks like a story of some sort," he said quietly.

"I feel slightly sick just from standing near it." Tsunade put some space between her and the drawings with a disgusted face, her head heavy.

Jiraiya gasped. "I get it now... there's alot of natural energy around that thing. But it's twisted."

Orochimaru crossed his arms and said with interest, "And how did you come to know about natural energy, Jiraiya?"

"I'm training to be a sage at Mount Myoboku!" Jiraiya grinned proudly. "Once I become one, I'll beat even you."

"Hmph." He ignored the last part and continued staring at the wall, unable to pull himself away from it. There was something so terribly captivating about the words. Words preserve memories, understanding and wisdom. Techniques invented ages ago continue to be passed down and history serve as a constant reminder to progress. Whatever those words were saying, he was certain that they were important. As he tried to decipher the words using all the knowledge he had, he suddenly froze and looked over at Tsunade.

She caught his eyes and asked, "What is it Orochi?"

"Your necklace." He faced her and said, "Remember what I said when we were taking the Chunin exam, at the second stage?"

She blinked and pulled out her necklace. Holding the glittering sea-green jewel, she stared at it before saying, "It augments my grandfather's powers over tailed beasts." She turned to the wall and said, "Are these... the tailed beasts?"

"It's a possibility. We'll have to ask your grandmother for more details."

Jiraiya piped up. "Why didn't you ask for more details before?"

Orochimaru sighed. "Lady Mito seemed uncomfortable about the subject so I refrained from doing so. After awhile, it just slipped my mind." He narrowed his eyes at the red sun. "Doesn't that look like an eye to you? Almost like a Sharingan?"

Tsunade quipped, "Sharingan eyes don't look like that."

Pressing his lips together, he grew more uneasy but at the same time, his curiosity grew with it. "There is something about the twisted natural energy that seems to... it's trying to reach out to us."

"Why do you want to know so badly?" Jiraiya asked hesitantly.

"Call it research curiosity," Orochimaru answered. Slowly, he touched his chest. "But there is something about this thing that calls to all of us in the most ancient and primitive way and I want to know why."

"Uhhh..." Jiraiya stared at him blankly.

Tsunade said softly, "Fear. It invokes fear in all of us."

Orochimaru added darkly, "The one emotion that supersedes everything else save for desire. The fact that three different people are all feeling the same thing even though we don't even know what this means is something to take note of." He reached into his sleeve for an empty scroll. Unraveling it, he bit into his thumb and began copying down the words and pictures on the wall.

Tsunade watched as he rolled it back up and locked it with three different seals. When he was done, he swallowed it whole and she knew that he was taking this incredibly seriously. He only ever swallowed things he considered important.

Jiraiya said loudly, "Ok so can we go now? This place is just getting creepier and creepier." He let out a yelp and stumbled backward. Pointing to the ground, he stammered, "L-look! Ghost!"

"What?" Tsunade and Orochimaru both bent down to the ground and waved aside the fog. Underneath their feet, protected by thick glass, was the body of a woman and man. Their hair was snow white and their skin was pale, frozen by the ice that had preserved their features. "No clan I know of has such features," murmured Orochimaru. He rapped his knuckles on the glass and narrowed his eyes. "This isn't even glass."

"Eh?" Tsunade wiped at its surface. "How is it not glass?"

"Punch it, hime."

"What! But what if-"

"It won't break," reassured Orochimaru.

She took in a deep breath and reluctantly nodded. Reeling back her fist, she punched downward. To her surprise, nothing happened. If it had been glass, it should have shattered.

"This thing," said Orochimaru, rapping on it, "Is actually draining our chakra." Standing up, he said, "Let's get out of this room. It's probably the most dangerous room in this entire ruin."

Jiraiya pulled on his hair. "But we've already been everywhere now. How are we gonna get out?"

Orochimaru pointed to the right wall. "Do you both see that? Part of it is sticking out." He also held out his hand, showing his glistening fingers. "There's also water on the floor. Water is seeping in here in mist. Add in the fact that we saw some viney plants where we slept last night, there's an underground river. If we can follow it, we can get out."

"I got it." Walking over to the right wall, Tsunade also broke it down and they were all delighted to see another path revealed. This one was hidden and raw in form, leading off to deep darkness.

"We've found our underground cavern beneath a buried ancient ruin. Time to leave." Grabbing a torch, Orochimaru waved them forward. As Tsunade and Jiraiya walked on ahead, he looked over his shoulder one more time, shelving away the memory of this room.

On the outside, on top of the tallest sand dune ever...

"That is suicidal, Jiraiya. I'm not going to slide down this," Orochimaru said emotionlessly.

Behind them was the entrance of the secret passage they had used to crawl out of. Below them was the endless sea of sand and in the distance, they could see the Sand village. Jiraiya at the moment was pointing to the wooden and wrecked door he had pulled off once they crawled out. "Come on Oro, it'll take us forever to walk."

"No. Besides, there's three of us and that door can only hold one properly," Orochimaru pointed out.

Tsunade tapped on her chin. "Jiraiya has a point. The village is practically in sight. If we run or walk down this sand dune, we risk rolling anyways." She pulled on his sleeve. "Come on! It'll be fun too."

He rolled his eyes. "How are we supposed to use that door to slide down anyways? I said it's not going to fit us to use as a sled."

Tsunade clapped her hands together. "I got it!"

Five minutes later...

"Are you kidding me?" grouched Orochimaru. He was carrying Jiraiya in his arms again and he was also piggybacking Tsunade while trying to balance himself on the flat door.

"Remember, focus your chakra and make sure your feet sticks to the door," she instructed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his backpack on her back and her side bag secured.

He eyed the immense drop and said wryly, "I still think this is a horrible idea. I've never 'sandboard' in my life in the first place."

From his arms, Jiraiya peeked down and said, "You know... I'm starting to have second thoughts too."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You two are such wimps. Hya!" She immediately leaned forward and the three of them went streaking down the giant sand dune. Jiraiya screamed his head off and Orochimaru felt like his heart was beating so hard it might just fly out of his chest. The only one who seemed to be enjoying this was Tsunade as she hugged herself close to him and laughed in delight as they sped down the sandy slope. "This is so fun!"

"That's because you're not the one carrying two other persons and trying to keep balance so that we won't die hime!"

Darkwings13:

-Abit of hint and reference to episode 322/chapter 560 of Naruto Shippuden where Orochimaru and Kabuto conducts research for years on the stone tablet regarding the Ten Tails and the infinite Tsukiyomi. Orochimaru in the future, always seems to have a fascination with lost knowledge like seeking the ruins of the Uzumaki clan and he does know about the Uchiha shrine hiding that tablet. Will reveal and explain more, especially as to why he joined the Akatsuki.

- I will now be updating on either Monday or Thursday. Maybe both (twice a week) if I'm really inspired. (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)

-I've also updated my fic picture. Uhhhh... you dear readers can download it next week if you like it (I think I messed upppppppppp) when I finish up more touches and upload it to deviantart.

-When Oro bit Jiraiya, it's a big of a laughing gag when he gives people the curse mark and makes them ugly. And it's also a nod to when he bit Jiraiya during the search for Tsunade in the future.

(ﾉﾟ▽ﾟ)ﾉ Elloooo Felikowy! Ah I remember the Forest of Death back in Naruto. The oppresive and tense atmosphere was so good. I'm glad you enjoyed that imposter scene my friend. Yes indeed, the last chapter did indeed hint at the second shinobi war in the future. I'm so glad you noticed! You have a keen eye. I'll try to reveal more about the political situation between the five villages soon.

o(^^o) huehuehue, there will be plenty of very bloody fights in the future hxshigaki76. I will do my best to write them out and I'm happy you enjoyed. The Legendary Sannin do live in a very bloody time. It's not as bad as Hashirama's time where kids as young as 7 die in war, but it's definitely still a harsh time. Like how Orochimaru would say, if the world is cold, he'd be even colder to survive. ;)

(ノ￣ω￣)ノ Indeed, I tried to write the last chapter in a very dark and depressing direction. I'm glad you can feel that JigokuShoujosRevenge. Life will always have its up and downs, and I try to showcase that as best as I can my friend.

⊂(´・ω・｀⊂) Huggles ileangie23. Yes, Jiraiya is so loveable. Out of the three, I do love his heart best. It takes someone special to chase after Orochimaru for more than a decade. And thank you for the compliment about the fight. I tried to portray how ruthless Orochimaru is against those he doesn't care about since he values survival so much. And yes you are correct on why he is angry! :D Its out of fear for both Jiraiya's wellbeing and for Tsunade's future. He only wants what's best for her but he's not the most sensitive person out there. It is indeed thanks to him though, that Tsunaed and Jiraiya both grows as one views him as a rival to surpass and the other wants to keep up (like how Sakura tries to keep up with her team. In my opinion, Tsunade is 10x better than her though lol). But most importantly, Jiraiya helps them grow as well by having such a golden heart. Thank you very much for the congratulations! Oh wow that's so cool. I wish I had musical talent lol. Hope you'll have time later to pick up the flute more.

(≧▽≦) I'm happy for the comment that I kept Tsunade in character BlackLady777. I'm slightly spoiled myself so I tried to think about how I'd react if I was in her shoes haha. But yep, I highly doubt anyone besides Orochimaru in the entire village, would have the guts to say such brutal honest truths to the Senju princess. She really does need moments like that to grow. And about the fight last chapter, he is certainly cruel but that stems from the fact that he doesn't believe in mercy for enemies, especially since his parents were killed by people from outside the village. Oh oh, and a very cool chapter about puppets will come up soon (Chiyo) so I hope you'll enjoy when it comes friend. Nawaki... poor baby. :( He still had that cute kid blush when he died... Poor Oro too.

(=^_^=) oh new reader. Hello Azarune. Uhhhh... you might want to read in order for things to make sense friend. Anyways, the story will follow the cannon universe as close as possible. It's sort of a story to analyze Orochimaru and promote the Orotsu ship in a way that would make it realistic and based off canon material. From the looks of what happened so far in the manga though, it looks like Orochi might be getting that happy ending! And with Tsunade... huehuehue *giggles in the background* Thank you for the best wishes!

(*≧∀≦*) oh yay, another new reader. Hi LordRevan66! Omg I know what you mean! There was so few Orotsu fics out there. That's why I was inspired to write this to help support the ship as well as try to analyze my favorite character from the Naruto series. And I should be the one thanking you for reading and for your support friend. Thank you!