Ch412. Tsunade's chaos

"Kukuku~, Tsunade-chan, it was magnificent. I wonder what kind of 'coincidence' allowed both Uzushio and Suna to gain geniuses like that at the same time, eh?" Orochimaru slyly chuckled in a calculated manner.

His words instantly prompted a shift in the atmosphere as both Raikage and Tsuchikage realized a few important things now that they were pointed out so bluntly.

There were no free lunches in their world and geniuses did not fall from the sky nor were they cabbages.

For both Suna and Uzushio to gain these 'earth-shattering' prodigies at the same time... now that was fishy as hell.

Needless to say, the attention of everyone shifted towards Pakura. Even Tsunade and Ringo did not try to break the situation off, both taking sadistic pleasure from throwing Ringo under the bus like this.

Pakura, however, did not even blink an eyelash at the sudden attention. She just leisurely leaned into her chair, "I can't speak for Uzushio but... Suna is just that good!" She exclaimed in a prideful manner while smirking smugly.

The people watching her gave her deadpan looks for that answer.

"Oh~? Are we to expect more miracles like that from Sunagakure?" Orochimaru slyly asked, completely ignoring the fact that Pakura's answer was basically a subtle way to blow off the topic.

He didn't care if Suna was really 'just that good' or if they had any new secret. He surmised he would know soon enough as this discovery practically cemented his resolve to infiltrate Sunagakure.

While he definitely would not dare to go for Uzushio because of their strong sealing defenses... after all, he spent the last few years sending spies into their village only for none to return... Suna was a different matter altogether. Orochimaru really didn't think he would have many problems getting in.

Pakura chuckled at his question as she found amusement in his telling expression. Anybody who knew his modus operandi would guess what was going through his head and Pakura was a bit wistful that the guy would not survive past today. She could certainly make use of his schemes as a group training exercise for Sunagakure's chunins.

"Miracles, heeh~?" Pakura mysteriously quipped while briefly glancing at Tsuchikage with a small mischievous smile. 'I wonder if making an old man homeless could be called a miracle.' She inwardly mused before she answered, "Naah. Temari is special." And nonchalantly shrugged, too experienced in the kunoichi arts for her lie to be caught.

Temari... despite her bloodline... was not really all that special. What made her reach her current level was attention and tutelage from both Pakura and Rei as her teachers. Pakura taught the girl the basics and more intricate things kunoichi needed to know while Rei polished Temari's chakra natures, bloodline, and chakra control to an unprecedented degree.

That was honestly all there was to it. Temari simply had the guts and determination to stick to their training and her current level was the result.

In short... it was definitely something they could replicate with someone else if they really wanted and that person could take their training methods. In fact, Konan was making her own experiments with training others and they were largely successful. After all, the number of S-ranks in Uzushio attested to that.

This fight between Karin and Temari? It could be taken as a measure of success between their two methods. Karin was mostly trained according to Konan's training method while Temari was under Pakura's influence.

'Needless to say, it is obvious whose method is superior. Hehe.' Pakura gleefully thought, happy with the result of this match. Temari was definitely in for a nice little bonus for her victory!

If Rei knew what she was thinking, he would have shaken his head in exasperation. Obviously, it was HIS training that made Temari prevail. After all, she mostly used elemental Jutsu and her bloodline, did she not?

And while Pakura was on the moon for one-upping Konan in this way, the other Kages took her word for Suna not having another genius. As suspicious as they were, geniuses were indeed not something common. They just could not believe Suna to have more than one of them. It simply didn't fit their common sense, and hence, such thought was subconsciously discarded.

In this manner, the topic was concluded, much to Tsunade's and Ringo's dissatisfaction. They wanted to see Pakura sweat a little under the scrutiny of the Kages but it seemed the other Kages were just pussies with limited mental capacity if they couldn't press her more...

'How utterly disappointing.' They both thought in disgruntlement.

Of course, Tsunade would not let her fun end like this. She did not put the effort into coming to the Kage Box during the break between the matches just to be stopped from witnessing a bit of chaos. And since the chaos would not happen on its own, she had to help it a little bit, no?

"So, old man shit-flinger," Tsunade addressed Onoki who turned to her, not at all happy at her calling him that. He did not show it outwardly, however. Just as when Hiruzen called him that in the past, he once again put an unbothered facade and snorted at Tsunade as she continued, "A little senbon-using birdy told me that you and the old pedo-snake had a small reunion. Wonder what that was about..." She grinned, giving a side-glance at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, Onoki, and A almost had a heart attack when they heard her mentioning this.

Orochimaru almost involuntarily gave a signal to start the invasion because he thought they were exposed but fortunately, his cold head prevailed and when Tsunade's words fully registered, he realized she was just fishing for a reaction.

There was no way Kin, because there was nobody else this 'senbon-using birdy' could be, would know about his plans. Realizing this, Orochimaru forcefully calmed down and donned a genial smile, ignoring how Onoki and A were subtly eyeing him.

Couldn't they at least pretend to not be on edge!? Damn muscle-headed idiot and paranoid old fool!

"Since the Land of Rice is close to the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, our villages recently entered talks about doing business together. It is only natural. But I guess something like diplomacy does not belong to your barbaric worldview, Tsuna-chan. I remember you prefer a 'punch it till it goes away' method of solving things." He calmly replied, his expression the perfect picture of amusement.

Tsunade snickered at that, "Oh, you have no idea. In fact, Konoha recently also decided to enter an alliance with Suna, Uzushio, and Kiri! What a coincidence, riiiight!?" She childishly uttered, causing Shikaku to facepalm.

The second Orochimaru heard that, his calm smile fell, and his eyes involuntarily glanced at Pakura and Ringo who observed him with calm amusement.

The only thought that filled his head as he realized what that meant for his plans was...

'Oh... fuck.'