The Sannin Skirmish (14/14)

In less than a minute, Orochimaru led Su through several elements.

No. That will be an understatement.

The Dragon Admirer of a Serpent who also wants horns jutting out of her forehead railed an orphan weaver through the most extreme tests of elements as if his fatherless existence presented the highest height of distaste.

Yes, that is how it would look to the viewer and that is how Jiraiya is going to re-tale this battle and flourish his pen upon his reports— period. Let no man or shinobi ever doubt the creative limits of his vocabulary. Not only will he use terms like 'Fatherless', but he shall also find glory and seek literary honor by writing phrases like— Orochimaru, in HIS excitement let loose a torrent of blows that a whore in Ame would take in with great strides.

Su...

Su, on the other hand, takes the trophy for endurance. Or rather, the ability to survive.

Yes, Jiraiya is impressed by Orochimaru's use of manipulating nature itself using Senjutsu which allows her to perform feats like 'walking' on air and 'mimicking' Jutsus without any hand signs, meaning, without any specific mold of chakra nature.

But when it comes to leaving an expression, Su takes the cake. Ironic when Orochimaru's ACTUAL fatherless and straight-less existence has the larger one.

Not that Jiraiya minds it. But he would rather admire Tsunade's back despite the Snake admitting that her three figures are slightly more pronounced than Tsunade. There is a reason for that, of course.

He believes Tsunade tolerates him a lot more and when she does break him apart, bone-by-bone, she also does him the courtesy of putting him back together just barely... like that one time.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, will afford no such courtesies. Jiraiya holds no illusion for that.

And speaking of illusions...

After the harsh grilling from elemental 'Jutsu' including a rather deadly increase in atmospheric pressure or removal of atmospheric pressure entirely in a set space and locking Su down in a 'void'-like chamber, and after noting that nothing does work on him...

Orochimaru decided to step onto the next aspect of Shinobi— Genjutsu.

And...

"Did that work?" He questions.

He admits that his Genjutsu game is a bit weak but that is true only in the aspect of casting Genjutsu. When it comes to discovering the existence of Genjutsu or breaking them, Jiraiya is as much of an elite as his teammates.

"His body is fundamentally different but my research suggests that things like chakra coils and the eight gates are not prone to changes. Getting a flow of his chakra, too, is easy in the state I am in," Orochimaru narrows her eyes.

Craters fill the area— not as large as the one Jiraiya created— but this time the craters are greater in number. A tree or two around them is still licked with flames. Large puddles of water can be used for water-release ninjutsu. And the rubble may as well be used for physical training or an obstacle course for the young.

"But that's temporary," Jiraiya is still on the sidelines, unwilling to put himself or the mission at risk by dilly-dallying near a Jinchuriki with a vile Kinjutsu.

This Jutsu is the true expression of Kinjutsu that emerged in the wake of Second Hokage's and Second Tsuchikage's life... the two Shinobi pioneered... well, creative thinking and independence. Being at the top of their profession and during the peak of their strength, others could hardly find faults with the two Kages. So... they basically did what they liked— breaking the current era's truces and unspoken rules by researching methods that sometimes defy death.

Defiance of death— The First and Major category under the umbrella of Kinjutsu.

"Indeed it is temporary. Even with my Genjutsu strengthened by Senjutsu, I am not inclined to believe that the Tailed-Beasts will be equally restrained. But..." Narrowing her eyes suspiciously and glancing at the crude seal on Su's chest, Orochimaru questions, "Why hasn't he resorted to that power until now? All he is managing to do is receive a beating."

"Successfully at that," Jiraiya points out and looks at Su who is in a daze, "Try wounding him now. Maybe his Kinjutsu needs to be 'activated' like our personal Body altering jutsu—"

Su's arm was already flying away before Jiraiya could finish but seeing the man just continue to bleed out, Orochimaru sighs, "No, he spoke the truth. His body is permanently altered. I think he needs to focus to 'become' strings but physical wounds won't kill him."

After all, even stabs through his brain did not make the Jinchuriki flinch.

"We might have to kill him..." Jiraiya sighs.

"Or just let him go," Orochimaru adds controversially, "But... it is Su who knows this Kinjutsu... and for some reason, he is holding back the beast inside."

"Hey..." Jiraiya's eyes tighten and he cautions sternly but the 'Lass' smirks in reply. The tips of her fingers... claws brun in a purplish glow of chakra mimicking shapes of a lick of flame.

Before Jiraiya could speak otherwise, Orochimaru's hand extends to cover three meters of distance and her claws stab into Su's left chest!

"Five elemental seals," Orochimaru punctuates each word with a cold and dark sense of glee.

She's... excited at this moment. A greedier part of her is no longer satisfied with just having Fukushu as a lab rat. The undying Jashinist is fascinating but so is Su!

But... she must contain her avarice. Nothing good will come if she lets herself go and all that she has built... her new life, relationships, and her character itself... all of it shall go to waste.

To injure Su, however, Orochimaru realizes that she needs to pull him out of his thread-laced comfort of invincibility.

"She... really did it..." Jiraiya is well aware of Orochimaru's Five Elemental Seals that she drew in hopes to reach Uzumaki's level of fuin one day. That day is still far, but her drive in her early years led her to create a fuinjutsu that perverse most other seals crudely and corrupts them to malfunction.

That's all she could do, really, and Jiraiya is, again, well aware of things going on in her mind. Or, at least, he hopes so.

'When Jinchuriki goes out of control, so does their chakra. Their disastrous chakra form would act like a coat over the Jinchuriki but this moment of madness should provide opportunity.'

So, after screwing with Su's seal, Orochimaru pulls her hand back and waits with an eager smirk. Waiting for the beast within to undo her Genjutsu with a swift burst of chakra and attack her in incomparable rage, hatred, and violence.

Only... that never happened.

There is no reaction from Su's tailed beast.

Orochimaru eventually frowns and stops feeding her chakra to the Genjutsu and a fierce yet rare scowl adorns her expression alongside a distinct taste of bitter defeat staying on her tongue.

---

A few Years Ago, the Day Utsu became the Fourth Takikage.

Night.

"Why do you not hate?"

Su's stargazing from the top of the tree is interrupted by a calm voice. Even though this is the first time Su is hearing this voice, he feels as if he knows this individual intimately. So, instead of ruining his own mood by asking unnecessary questions like— Who are you? Show Yourself!

Su instead replies.

"What's there to hate? I can't hate you. You're a victim. I can't hate the village, because after everything is said and done, I never felt angry... after a while."

"Do you have no self-respect?" The voice snarls, "I'm no human but their acts have crossed many lines! Even if you did not find that girl attractive... their intentions were downright vicious."

"Eh? Who gives a fuck. I'll forget everything tomorrow morning," Su chuckles and leans against the trunk over the crown of the tree, "And Utsu promised. Tomorrow will be brighter... by the way, thanks for sticking out for me. I know it couldn't have been easy."

"Hmph." A snort is all that he got as an answer.

"The first and the last assistance you shall ever receive." The voice adds.

"Nanabi isn't your first name, is it?" Su inquires but there is no reply anymore. In fact, the silence continued for 30 minutes before he heard something.

"My name is not for your ears."

"Damn... I thought we were friends."

"Friends assist each other. You are no friend of mine."

"Dude, I'm not just going to die for your happiness. I can only live and die once. You tailed-beasts just roll with it."

There is another gap of silence after this but Su breaks it this time by requesting, "How about you tell me your name tomorrow?"

And as if aware of what Su meant, the voice replies in a stoic tone, "My name is for those who I come to respect, assist, and even serve. There is no tomorrow for us."

"No, there is!" Su speaks with remarkable certainty, "There is something for us tomorrow. Tell me how we get that... help me get that."

"You shall go your entire life without calling upon my power. I shall forever withhold my power. If you truly believe there is a tomorrow for us... then let your future generation reap its benefit. Hold true to this promise and you shall have my name and my respect."

"Got it~!" Su grins.

And from then day onwards, except for one mission, Su never lost 'control.'

In reality, there never was any 'control' to lose.

---

Orochimaru and Jiraiya glance at each other in defeat as they settled to knock Su out with a burst of Genjutsu instead.

But that was it.

Utter failure.

Aside from storing a few samples of Su's body, Orochimaru could do nothing to him which... was depressing to her. But oddly exhilarating.

Su's mind is well-protected by seals so stealing information on the fly is hard but eventually, after cleaning the battlefield and tossing Su into a crater, and burying him in the final hope of snuffing his life out, the two Sannins take their leave.

Almost three hours later, a tiny strand of thread begins to curl up and spool together until forming a human silhouette that is slowly filled to form an exhausted Su.

Huffing, he turns over and lies on the ground back first. His limbs sprawl out and he silently views the night sky.

"They almost killed me..." He begins to chuckle after a while.

As fate would have it, the last desperate and even somewhat comedic attempt of burying a 'thread' in the ground would have worked.

Why?

He was indeed passed out and even if his body is permanently altered... his chakra is not unlimited. And even if the fake 'void' that Orochimaru built did not do much to him, his chakra has been consumed constantly to reform himself.

The answer was simple and maybe only simple individuals would truly think of it.

Chakra Exhaustion.

'Or... by some miracle, having my entire chakra sucked and my chakra coils destroyed. That ought to kill me, too...' He smirks.

"You saved me again..." He calls out to no one in particular, "Like the mission in Kiri. Granted I hadn't perfected Heaven Liberating Fashion but you still helped... like now."

A scoff echoes in the depths of his mind.

"Not by choice—"

"Don't lie, that's not cute at all," Su chuckles and the voice grows silent.

After a small duration of silence, Su whispers, "I never wanted your strength... I just wanted a friend."

"We'll see," the voice replies, "Tomorrow."

Su laughs at that, "Of course. Oh, I even chose the name of my son or daughter! I'll call them Fu!"

"You cannot have kids, remember? You shoot blank threads."

"Remember?" Su scoffs, "I stored a few flasks away. I want a kid soon enough... And remember your promise! Be kind to them. Be their friend that very day... meanwhile, the two of us can be friends tomorrow."

Su did not receive a reply for a long while, prompting him to return to the village to see who survived. As they reached the outskirts of the village, the familiar voice sniffs haughtily, "Why even think of death? Would you not stay for your child?"

"And fill their head with my nonsense?" Su smirks, "No... the truth is, there is never going to be tomorrow for me. But you're different. You're resilient... Why do you think I threw myself to perfecting Earth Grudge Fear using the strings you created? It's to leave everything to Fu to be your best companion."

For the first time, Su felt more than words within him. A distinct sense of loneliness.

'How?' Although his brows quirk up in surprise, he smiles brightly, "Don't be so glum, buddy. You're far too kind for a chucklefuck killer like me. Just... make sure Fu is loved."

"I will honor my word... and your intentions. Friend."

Su smiles in contentment.

The village may be fucked in every right but damn it, he feels happy!

---

"Pfft! Losers! I not only got Utsu, A's son, Tsuchikage's kid, and even Kakuzu!"

One smug Senju lords her accomplishment over the two other failures.

"Well... my greatest find was that Orochimaru is a chick..." Jiraiya grumbles.

Tsunade glances at Jiraiya for a moment before shrugging, "Losers, the lot of you."

"So... you said Kakuzu has that Earth Grudge Fear..." Orochimaru looks at Tsunade with her gimlet eyes.

"And you don't get to poke around him until I say so," Tsunade smirks and responds with just the right amount of smugness.

What is the right amount, you ask?

As Overwhelming smugness as possible!

Orochimaru and Jiraiya groan in frustration as Tsunade adds heatedly, "I also need to stop at a Bingo Spot and collect the bounty on Onoki's son!"

***

Title: The Senju Supremacy!; Three Sannins... Select the Odd, Successful One Out!; Verbal T-Bagging on Teammates; The Hidden Tailed-Beast; The Legacy of Tomorrow

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A/N: Su is going to die, no doubt, for Fu to live but I did not intend for him to die at Orochi's hand. The mission for Hero Water was a bust since the very beginning due to some constructs of Cum but this entire event was created to stoke the flames for the next war, especially A's capture.

You might even say that Konoha preemptively got back at Kumo before the Hyuga Incident.

And after some chapters, and hopefully, a few good smuts, we enter the next phase— The Hyuga Incident.

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Psst, hey, wanna join the dark side and share some powerstones? If yes, follow the path of your seniors!—

Hunter Frownfelter, Angel Diaz, and Suzuki Miyamura!!

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