Found the Kusa in Kusa :)

As the night progressed Tsunade and Shizune went to sleep. Shizune was adamant about being woken up for her shift but Shirohi had no plans to, as he sat near the fire circulating his chakra the previous day ran through his mind. He knew there were Shinobi stronger than him, he knew he was far from existences like the Kages but after his 'spar' with Jirayia and Minato he realized how much his skills had stagnated since they had stayed in Kurokami Village, muttering to himself Shirohi sped up the circulation of his chakra "Ginkamen is going to have to lay low, I need to focus on my skills for a while… mercenary work can wait,"

Shirohi had nearly saved up nearly 2.5 million Ryo over the past year, a lot of it hidden from Shizune and Tsunade. The majority of it was a rainy day fund in case everything was run into the dirt, it assured that Shizune and Tsunade could have a place to sleep and food to eat for a while if Shizune kept track of Tsunade's gambling habit… Shirohi's eyes cracked open as he glanced at Tonton, while prideful this pig had acute senses and would normally pick things up long before Shirohi. This was actually one of the reasons Shirohi is so confident in keeping watch at night… he has his curiosities about the seemingly harmless pig sprawled out by the low fire… the largest was how'd it taste when it was nice and fat, Shirohi chuckled as Tonton sprang to his feet while cautiously checking its surroundings.

As morning approached Shirohi was surprised to find Tsuande up before Shizune, she came out of the tent wearing little more than an oversized shirt and a pair of form-fitting shorts. Her hair was a mess and there was a large red patch on her cheek, Shirohi swore he saw a few dribbles of drool staining the white shirt.

Tsunade turned to Shirohi, a smile on her face that he hadn't seen in a long time "Good morning… mom," Tsuande's smile widened as she spoke "You hungry? I'll make something while you clean some water." Shirohi gave a nod "Okay," he had been trying to avoid what happened last night, but sometime during the silence of the night Shirohi came to accept Tsunade as more than just the woman who adopted him… she had accepted him as a son and it was only right for him to love her as a son.

However Tsunade froze as the hissing of a snake filled their campground, "Too thhink I would find Tsssunade all the way out here," Shirohi who hadn't gone far flickered in front of Tsunade, flinging a rock through the tent forcing Shizune up with a yelp.

"Kukuku, what a lovely 'son' you've found yourself Tsuande," the snake became disfigured as it began to slowly take form as a pale skinned man, in a loosely thrown on yukata, he hissed "What? Are you not going to invite me for breakfast,"

"Orochi, I'm not interested in playing your games… Leave" Tsunade turned her head, refusing to even look at the man… "Oh how my heart bleeds from your sharp words," the smile on his face was disgusting, his eyes seemed to linger on Tsunade's body seemingly tracing its every curve "I'm beginning to see why Jirayia had been so infatuated with you…" Shirohi bit his lip, anger no rage fueling his movements as his chakra began to circulate, as his chakra moved in his body like a tidal wave the lightning outside his body coated him like a set of clothes, a trace of white staining his pale blue eyes.

Orochi's eyes went wide as his smile stretched past human limits threatening to spilt his face in half, "Kukukukuku, too think you would find a Tensuki… a 'blessed one' at that…It seems you've used a lifetime's worth of luck Tsuande, I will take this gift graciously," Shirohi exploded forward, the ground under his feet rippling outward before the top layer of soil exploded, Shirohi's arm yanked back a small flame forming between his fingers. Orochi back pedaled as his jaw dislocated allowing a sword to shoot out, Shirohi made no attempt to dodge as he thrusted his palm out the once small fire like a black hole devoured the lightning coating his body before shooting off towards Orochi in a conical shape.

Tsunade's hair blew back from the wind pressure, the heat kissed her skin causing it to redden… the small wet spots in her shirt instantly drying in the face of the intense white flames. Orochi's expression crumpled as the cone of flames engulfed him leaving a path of ash in its wake, the pale blue slowly came back to Shirohi's eyes as his body became limp.

Before he could hit the ground Tsunade caught him, breathing a sigh of relief as she felt his heart beat. Not even noticing his eyes staring into her's until a moment after, he coughed out a few words "Sorry, it seems you'll have to watch over me while I recover…"

From behind Tsunade, Shizune grumbled "You promised you'd take it easy…" Shirohi let out a pained chuckle "I'm not sorry," a cheeky grin smeared across his face as he slowly circulated his chakra, an expression of surprise forming as he felt the pathways of chakra network had expanded, gaining a sense of elasticity, the chakra seemed to flow much more smoothly than previously… Shirohi assumed this was a fluke, there was no possible way this was something he could exploit but it was definitely something to look into. Turning his tired gaze to Tsunade who was excessively checking his body for injuries he asked "Who was that?"

Not meeting his gaze Tsunade answered "Orochimaru, the snake sennin, believed to have found Ryuchi Cave and to be learning Senjutsu… Luckily he retreated, He's always been a step ahead of us, if only I—"

Shirohi gripped Tsunade's wrist, "No, I simply must become stronger… You may be the Slug Princess, the Matriarch of the Senju Clan, the Slug Sennin… but before that you are my mom, and anyone who wants to cause trouble for you will have to go through me first…" Tsunade's expression softened, her voice breaking slightly "But—" Shirohi lightly shook his head "No, you aren't changing my mind… while you may be upset, sad, or mad at me it will never change the fact that the kunai will have to pierce through me to find you…"

Shizune meekly called out "Hey guys, what about this sword?" Raising the sword above her head, Shirohi recognized it as the sword that Orochimaru spat out, Tsunade muttered, "No way… Kusagani?!"

Shirohi turned a questioning gaze toward Tsuande to find her stuck in her own thoughts as she stared at the blade, her slight trembling worried Shirohi… Shizune brought it over to Shirohi, and he immediately began to inspect it… it's length from hilt to the tip of the blade was 99cm, as his hand wrapped around the leather wrapped handle he felt something prodding at his mind. On instinct he dropped the sword only to find traces of a white flame clinging to the handle slowly eating away at the white leather, a pained hiss sounded out from the scaled cross guard and Tsunade instantly leapt back with Shirohi while pushing Shizune away.

The blade seemed to melt away leaving what seemed to be a shell of its former self, letting curiosity dictate his moves Shirohi cautiously approached the sword, shocked to see the 'shell' break to find a completely different sword left behind… no it would be more accurate to say a black rectangular box, where the handle once was slightly rounded to fit someone's hand. Despite Tsunade's warnings Shirohi picked up the 'box' by the handle, as he lifted it the sheath released the blade showing a single edged blade with waves frozen in time coursing throughout its length, a sheen revealed itself as the sunlight reflected off the blade revealing a thin liquid running down the blade from the hilt. Flicking his wrist he watched as the blade extended in a swirl of wind cutting through the tall grass with ease…

"I'll be keeping this, I was wanting a sword anyways, until we know exactly what we are working with it will stay in a scroll," Tsuande seemed like she wanted to say something but kept silent, Shirohi had done so much for her and she was looking for anyway to repay that… but if she only know Shirohi still felt as if he was indebted to her… but her mind was searching for a reason Orochi would leave the sword, he rarely did something without reason…