As soon as Orochimaru had returned to the Orochi compound, several summons had been sent out to travel across the Five Nations. The first to reach their destination was Akane, who found herself slithering into a cave opening after the sun had just set. A small fire guided her towards three shinobi who were talking quietly as they ate a sparse meal. They were about a week's travel from Konaha, but for a summons, it was barely any effort to locate someone they needed to deliver a message to.
"Oh, Akane-chan, what are you doing here?" A gentle voice called out to the snake, who excitedly climbed up the extend arm offered to her. Konan giggled as Akane's scales brushed against her and indirectly tickled her. The snake's bright red scales shone beautifully in the fire as she loosely circled Konan's neck to perch on her shoulders.
"Master has a message for the three snakelets."
"We're hardly kids anymore," Yahiko snorted.
"A parent will always see their young as hatchlings," Akane insisted, while Yahiko rolled his eyes but smiled, nonetheless. The three had a rough time coming to terms with Orochimaru becoming their legal guardians, but after a month or so of living in the Orochi compound, they discovered that it was perfect for them.
Anko might have attached herself to Konan's hip, and Kushina was constantly coming over or dragging Nagato and Yahiko out of the compound, but it was Orochimaru's gentleness that won them over. The first time they had met, he was simply their new sensei's teammate who wanted to kill them. But now, he was the one who made sure they had enough to eat, were safe, met all their needs, and was the one to stay up and hold them when nightmares of the war resurfaced.
Now, they wouldn't hesitate to do anything the man had asked of them, even if Yahiko constantly brought their first meeting up in jest.
"What is the message, Akane-chan?" Nagato's voice was soft and hard to hear over the crackling of the flames, but his teammates-part-siblings never had any issues.
"Master has taken on a new apprentice."
"Oh shit!" Yahiko yelped.
"Who is it?" Konan asked.
"Her name is Haruno Sakura."
"Haruno? That's not a shinobi name." Yahiko pointed out.
"I do not know much more than her name and that Yua has taken quite the shine to her." Akane spoke simply. "Master wishes you to come home as soon as you can to welcome her properly."
"A new little sister," Nagato smiled brightly. "Anko is going to have a lot of fun, isn't she?"
"That means we should hurry this up," Konan chuckled. "Just to make sure we can keep her out of Anko's hands."
"Tell Oro-ba-chan that we'll be home by the end of the week," Yahiko nodded determinately. "We wouldn't want to be late to meet our little sister."
"Master will be overjoyed to have all his hatchlings back in the nest."
After sharing the three's dinner, Akane continued north towards the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. Her next recipient was staying in a small village close to the border, which allowed it to house many weary travelers. At the village's bathhouse, Akane slithered close to the warm pools of water before spotting him.
Jiraiya was sitting strategically close to the wooden fence that was separating the two sides of the bathhouse, and looking through a small hole in said fence. Hissing, Akane slid into the water and dove deep until she spotted her target. If a snake could smile, she would be beaming in pride at the loud, ear-splitting scream of pain that came from the Toad Sage.
"Fuck! Fuck! What the hell!?"
Releasing her jaw and coming to the surface, Akane hissed smugly up at the fuming man.
"Greetings, Jiraiya-sama."
"You little, slithering piece of shit!" He snarled. "You're lucky I don't skin you and make you into shoes!"
"I don't have enough skin to make even a single shoe."
"Not the point!" He grumbled, sinking back into the water and glaring at her. "What does Oro-chan want?"
"Master has taken on a new apprentice."
"Apprentice or some random kid off the street?"
"An official apprentice the Hokage has approved of." Akane was growing too warm in the water and crawled up Jiraiya's arm, hissing in gratitude when the man gently placed her on the cooler tile next to the pool. He looked thoughtful as he took in the information, completely losing interest in the hole in the fence. No doubt his screaming had made any women on the other side fleeing.
"Huh. Guess the council really wants him to have official students rather than adopt more kids. Minato-kun shouldn't have taken sensei's rule away and let Oro-chan have more kids," Jiraiya laughed to himself. "So, who's his apprentice?"
"Haruno Sakura."
"Shit," Jiraiya cursed under his breath. "That's one can of worms I'd wish he'd keep his nose out of. But, it wouldn't be Oro-chan if he didn't smack a wasps' nest every other week. Thank kami I'm out of the village and not part of all the drama he loves causing."
"Master does love playing politics," Akane hissed in agreement.
"Why'd he pick her anyway?"
"A few reasons I believe. She is incredibly smart and is similar to Tsunade-sama."
"Just what we need, a combination of Tsuna and Oro." Jiraiya rubbed a hand down his face. "Well, tell him congrats for me. I'll try to get back to Konaha as soon as I can to meet her."
"Master will be pleased. He is calling all his family home."
"Ah, that means I'll get to see my kids!" Jiraiya smiled. "Those three brats need to be taught a lesson for the stunt they pulled on my birthday."
Moving closer, Akane inquired about such incident. Gossip and rumors were the currency in the Ryuuchi cave.
Yukio slithered silently on polished, wooden floors as he searched for his first recipient. With his gold and black markings, he was always found to be one of the most handsome snakes their master would send on small errands like this. Especially when they needed Yukio's more silver tongue to deal with someone who needed a delicate touch. And moving through the palace of the daimyou of the Land of Lightning, Yukio took an educated guess that whoever he was talking with wasn't quite expecting him.
Slipping through the small opening of the shoji doors, Yukio carefully surveyed the lavish rooms before his eyes landed on his target. Sitting at a low desk and reading through thick scrolls was an older woman. Her once golden hair was now full of grey, only streaks of her original hair color shone through the tight of bun on top of her head. The kimono she was wearing was made of pure silk and intricate embroidery that would have taken ten years to have been finished. From her posture to the severe look on her face meant she was not someone to be trifled with.
"Are you going to sit there all day?" Her voice was sharp, not revealing her age in the least.
"I apologize, my lady," Yukio slid closer, careful not to act threatening at all. But, from the woman's bored expression, he had a feeling it would take more than one snake to frighten her. "I am here on behalf of my master, Orochimaru-sama, the legendary Snake Sannin of Konahagakure. I have a message to deliver to the head of the Haruno merchant clan."
"Konaha, huh?" She set down her scroll. "You have my attention, snake summon."
"One of your clan members, Haruno Sakura, has been chosen as my Master's apprentice, and he wanted to meet with her clan head before making any decisions."
"A shinobi asking permission from a civilian clan?" She asked rhetorically. "I didn't think I'd ever see the day. Tell your master that I appreciate the offer, and will begin to plan a trip to Konaha. In the meantime, I trust his judgement in her training until we can meet properly."
"I will relay this message," Yukio bowed his head.
"One more thing, snake summon," the matriarch narrowed her eyes at him. "Why did he chose my clansman in particular?"
"She has a variety of skills that he believes will make her become one of the best kunoichi of her generation." Yukio spoke smoothly. "He will present more information when you can meet in person."
The woman's face creased even further in thought but ultimately waved her hand in dismissal. Quickly retreating, Yukio hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with Haruno Reiko again. The power the woman wielded was obvious and even if Yukio only visited this world, he could tell that she wouldn't let that stop her.
After delivering his message to the Haruno clan head, Yukio moved swiftly to the Land of Iron. The trip was uneventful, but when he had arrived at his destination, he had nearly sighed. Not another large, overly lavish palace. The district was clearly civilian as he slithered across well maintained cobblestones towards a massive inn that had its own moat and waterwheel channeling water into a small bathhouse connected to it. Why was he the one to deal with people who would be willing to kill him on sight?
They wouldn't know he was a powerful shinobi's summons, only that he was a snake that had sneaked inside.
Luckily, his next targets were sitting on the balcony of their room, and he was able to make his way up to them. Haruno Mebuki and Kizashi did not looked frightened when he revealed himself and even offered him some of their food.
"What is your message, kind summons?" Kizashi smiled at him. Even though hair was a foreign concept to Yukio, he couldn't help but admire the man's hairdo.
"My Master wishes me to tell you your daughter, Haruno Sakura, has been accepted as his apprentice. Orochimaru-sama wishes to meet with you and your clan head to talk about her training."
"Reiko-sama?" Mebuki blinked. "She doesn't have time to bother with our small family. She has too many duties with the rest of the clan."
"She has been informed and plans to attend the meeting." Yukio flicked his tongue out and could taste the uncertainty shared between the couple. Mebuki was frowning slightly while Kizashi's shoulders had slumped with despair.
"When would Orochimaru-sama like to meet with us?" Mebuki straightened up and her face fell into a professional mask. "We still have business to conduct here."
"When you are able to. Haruno Reiko-sama has given her permission for my Master to start her training."
"She's our daughter, we should have the final say," Kisashi mumbled to Mebuki.
"Clan politics, dear," she sighed. "As our clan head, she had the first say in most things."
"Shall I inform my Master of your decision?"
"Yes. We will head back to Konaha when we are able to. Until then, I wish for regular updates on our daughter."
"Understood."
Asahi disliked leaving the village. In fact, he was one of the last to be summoned into a fight because he would rather lay in the sun or curl against their master to sleep. Rarely was he told to do much, only to watch an eye on a hatchling or two. He disliked having so much responsibility such as delivering a message. Yes, he was capable of it, but he was doing so after the sun had set, which meant no warm rocks to take a quick nap on. Maybe his master had been counting on that.
Traveling through the Land of River wasn't what he had planned to do with his evening, but here he was climbing a steep hill towards a bedroll that should be inside a tent, not underneath the stars. Slithering past the remains of a fire, he moved on top of the figure's feet and crept closer towards their face. Bright, blond hair greeted him as well as soft snores. Only one of his master's children would be so nonchalant about their own safety—whether that stemmed from their abilities or pure cockiness had yet to be determined.
Asahi positioned himself so half of his body was wrapped loosely around the boy's neck and the other half hovering of his face.
"Oi. Wake up."
Deidara's reaction was amusing, to say the least. The boy screamed in alarm, arms flaying in panic as he tried to assess the danger. Asahi simply tightened his body so not to be flung and felt the boy jump to his feet, only to trip over his bedroll and topple over.
"Impressive, hatchling."
"Shut up!" Deidara snarled and glared at Asahi, only for his eyes to nearly cross from staring at the summon who was right in front of his nose. "What the hell do you want? Is Oro-kaa-san okay?"
"Master is fine. In fact, he has taken on a new apprentice."
"Really?!" Deidara's earlier anger disappeared all together. "Is it that Sai kid? I know he was adopted by that old grandma, but he'd fit in great with us."
"No. He chose a pink one." Asahi unraveled himself from around the boy.
"Pink? What does that mean?" He snapped.
"That's what Yua told me." If snakes could shrug, it would be Asahi's signature move. Swiftly, Asahi dropped from Deidara and landed in the dense grass. "Master wants you to finish your mission quickly and come home to meet her."
Without another word, Asahi left the young shinobi alone, conveniently not hearing the shouted questions coming from that direction.
Night had fallen long ago in Suna. The strong desert winds blew harshly against the shuttered windows of the cheap hotel room, but it kept the sand out, so Tsunade wasn't complaining. Not when she had a large pile of gold sitting in front of her and a few bottles of sake. Shizune had gone to bed not too long ago, rejoicing over their sudden luck, but Tsunade knew better.
Sipping at her sake, she stared intently at the coins, almost as if they were about to explode at any moment. But no, the pile sat there menacingly and foretelling the trouble that was going to interrupt her nomadic life.
With her cup empty, she picked up a sake bottle and began to pour, only for a small "plop" to echo in the small room. Staring down at the snake that had ended up in her cup, she finally knew what was coming to annoy her.
"What does Oro-chan want?" She sighed as she plucked the little white snake out of her cup. "And doesn't he have a strict, no drinking on the job rule?"
"Just—hic—delivering a few messages. You were the last, so I'm relaxing," the little snake, Asahi, blinked lazily at her. His head was bobbing slowly as he tried to wiggle back into her cup.
"I swear," she huffed. "He needs to train you lot to stop getting into drinks."
"He says we add to the flavor."
"Ew." She curled her lip in disgust even as she downed the cup of sake herself. Asahi glared at her, but she ignored him. "What's your message?"
"Master has taken on a new snakelet."
"Adopted?"
"Student."
Tsunade raised her eyebrows. So, her teammate and friend had taken on another apprentice. Hopefully they weren't anything like Anko. That girl was insane. Tsunade hadn't spent much time around Orochimaru's kids, but she knew they all had a flare about them which normally meant trouble. Apparently, one of them had an affinity towards Hashirama's wood style, but she had left Nawaki in charge of dealing with that whole mess. After all, the two were the only ones able to use the style.
"Master has a request."
"What?" This didn't sound good.
"He wishes for you to come back to the village—"
"Fuck no."
"—or send all your research on your specialty techniques."
"Why?"
"His new student has better chakra control than even you." Asahi didn't bother with niceties, only focusing on trying to get back into the sake. How could a snake be an alcoholic? But, even with his antics, Tsunade's eyebrows rose. That certainly was interesting, but not enough to return back to the village.
"If he wants it, then he can come to me."
"He says he'll bring all of his children if that is the case."
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Tsunade could feel a headache coming on. Orochimaru might not even be in the same country as her and he was still able to annoy the ever-living shit out of her. What had she done in her past life to have to deal with him?
"He knows why I don't want to return, so what's he offering to make me stay?"
"He's creating a connection that will allow you to pay off all your gambling debts."
Flinching a bit, Tsunade had hoped her teammates hadn't learned of that little fact. With her and Nawaki sharing the family fortune, she had flown through her own part of it. She was too ashamed to ask for more money from her little brother, but at this point, her debts were piling up the more she gambled and traveled.
"Wait," she spoke slowly. "He's making a connection? What does that mean? Couldn't he pay the debts himself?"
"Something about not wanting to enable you," Asahi's voice was bland as he lunged for the sake bottle again. Without any effort, Tsunade lifted it out of his grasp.
"Anyone tell you that you're a horrible messenger?" She grumbled.
"Anyone tell you that you need therapy?" Asahi snipped back immediately.
"Don't test me, little snake." To prove her point, Tsunade barely flexed her hand for the bottle to crumble, leaving broken shards and sake all over her hand.
"So, are you going to take Master up on his request or not?"
Tsunade's mouth twisted into something ugly as she considered her options. She and Shizune were already struggling, and she could tell the younger woman was growing tired of their nomadic lifestyle. There would be a point she would refuse to follow after her, and Tsunade feared it was coming sooner than later. On top of that, if it was Orochimaru asking her, then she knew he would lay his reasons out for her. He had never dared lying to her, even as they grew older. She had known him far too long to judge him on his decisions, which allowed the trust between them to be unbreakable.
Sighing, Tsunade wiped her hand on her leg before nodding.
"Tell Oro-chan that I'll set out in a bit."
"I'll tell him." Quick as lightning, Asahi lunged forward, successfully landing into one of the still full sake bottles. Rolling her eyes, Tsunade silently considered her future as her impromptu drinking partner blew bubbles in his sake.