"Zhuang Zhou dreams of butterflies, and butterflies dream of Zhuang Zhou!"
A sigh, like a dream, escaped Orochimaru's lips.
He opened his eyes, weary from the massive depletion of his chakra, and his yellow snake pupils gradually cleared in the dim cave.
"Am I a two-dimensional collector from another world, or Orochimaru of the Ninja world?"
Orochimaru leaned against the rock at the cave entrance, pushed there by Tsunade's immense strength, reflecting on his fleeting experience of his consciousness traversing two worlds.
The surrounding rock walls trembled with dull thuds from the continuous 'Earth Style - Mud Wall' technique of the Iwagakure ninjas outside. Pellets of rubble rained down, dusting his head and body white.
Glancing around the cave, which seemed on the verge of collapse and burying him at the border of Iwagakure, Orochimaru's gaze, with a hint of hesitation, fell upon the area deeper within the cave, illuminated by a crisp green chakra light.
There, were his two dear friends - Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Their fierce battle against hundreds of elite Iwagakure ninjas had been interrupted by the sudden intervention of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. This forced the three of them and the main Leaf Village forces to separate, leaving the primary battlefield to the Leaf elites led by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
To alleviate the pressure on Hiruzen Sarutobi's team, they, as disciples of the Third Hokage, had successfully drawn more than half of the Iwagakure ninjas, who couldn't engage in battles between Kage, to this area.
Of course, these ninjas, temporarily unable to participate in the Kage-level combat, included Orochimaru and his companions.
The plan had clearly succeeded.
However, the cost was considerable.
After dealing with nearly a hundred pursuing Iwagakure ninjas, Orochimaru's chakra was almost depleted. Jiraiya, to cover their escape, had taken several group bombardments from the Iwagakure army head-on using his newly developed and somewhat clumsy hair-based ninjutsu. The consequences were obvious.
He was nearly mortally wounded!
Fortunately, Tsunade, with the physique of the Senju clan, was among them. Relying on her innate strength and vast chakra reserves, she had forcefully dragged them both out of the encirclement and into this hidden natural lava cave.
"The current situation, based on the images from that fleeting memory just now, is that next..."
"I will likely propose killing Jiraiya, the heavily injured burden, and then escaping with Tsunade!"
"And Tsunade and Jiraiya's reactions..."
"If it aligns..."
Orochimaru looked at the scene before him, which was as familiar now as it was in those future visions, and a strange smile played on his lips, utterly out of place with the precarious state of the cave.
"Heh!"
"If I hadn't seen those visions that seemed like the future, with my own personality, I probably would have made such a decision!"
"Then... let's try it!"
Feeling that his chakra had recovered enough to act, Orochimaru slowly stood up from the rock at the cave entrance.
He brushed off the gray-white rock powder clinging to him, paid no mind to the continuously falling debris and the slightly shaking ground, and reached into his ninja tool pouch, drawing out a kunai. He then walked directly behind Tsunade, who was using her medical ninjutsu.
"Tsunade!"
"No need to waste your effort. The Iwagakure ninjas have already discovered this cave."
"It won't be long before their Earth Style ninjutsu destroys this cave."
"When that happens..."
"Give up!"
The familiar husky voice came from behind him. Tsunade's hand movements didn't falter, but her delicate eyebrows furrowed.
She turned her head to look at Orochimaru behind her. The emerald green light of her medical ninjutsu reflected off the sharp edge of the kunai, causing her pupils to constrict slightly. She reprimanded in a low voice,
"Orochimaru, what do you mean by this?"
"I'm working hard to heal him. He should be able to move again soon."
"Also, have you forgotten who took the brunt of the Iwagakure attack for us just now?"
Orochimaru's eyes held a smile, but his voice was nonchalant,
"It's the destiny of a ninja!"
"With my remaining chakra, and yours, the two of us can fend for ourselves, but we can't leave with Jiraiya!"
"To try and escape with a burden will only result in all three of us dying here!"
Orochimaru watched the increasing anger in Tsunade's eyes, habitually licked his dry lips, and said with a chilling tone,
"So..."
"To prevent Jiraiya's presence from lowering our chances of survival, Tsunade, let me kill him!"
Tsunade, multitasking, maintained her chakra flow for medical ninjutsu while a slightly wild chakra fluctuation surged around her. With killing intent, she said,
"If you dare take another step closer, I'll kill you immediately!"
"Rumble!"
The rock walls trembled more violently, and more debris fell from the ceiling.
Silence.
Tsunade's brow was deeply furrowed, and she met Orochimaru's gaze with determination, speaking first.
"It seems we have different definitions of a comrade!"
"I will not abandon a comrade like you would in such a dangerous moment!"
"Orochimaru, rather than confronting me here, it's better to focus on recovering your strength!"
Hearing Tsunade's words, almost identical to those in the future visions, Orochimaru's smile deepened.
"Confrontation?"
"Then let's see if you, who cares about comrades but indirectly causes everyone's death, will be in control..."
"Or if I'll strike first!"
Tsunade couldn't see the true emotions in Orochimaru's eyes. Upon hearing this, her heart suddenly tightened, and a layer of azure chakra light had already quietly appeared beneath her feet.
"Ugh..."
Just as they were on the verge of a confrontation, Jiraiya, who didn't even have the strength to open his eyes, seemed to have heard their conversation. With a weak groan, he exerted himself to raise his right hand and extend it in the direction of Orochimaru's voice.
His shaky right hand eventually formed a somewhat silly peace sign in Orochimaru's eyes.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya both curled their lips into a smile.
Jiraiya, as if using his last ounce of strength, let his arm fall limply, completely losing consciousness.
Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya's face, which still held a trusting smile even in unconsciousness, and gently put away the kunai in his hand.
Tsunade looked at Orochimaru's actions with surprise, and the scolding words she had prepared were stuck in her throat.
"Orochimaru, you..."
Orochimaru chuckled and shook his head, turning his back to Tsunade and Jiraiya. Unable to suppress the overwhelming joy in his heart, his lips curved into a unrestrained arc.
"If all of this is true..."
"Ryūchi Cave, Sage Mode, Body Reanimation, Sky's Blade, Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki..."
"The ninja world is far more interesting than I imagined!"
After a brief moment of calming his tumultuous thoughts, Orochimaru turned his head slightly and offered Tsunade a casual excuse.
"That was just a joke to test your attitude!"
"Tsunade, I acknowledge you and Jiraiya!"
"Continue your treatment. Leave your back to me!"
Tsunade's eyes widened, and then she yelled angrily.
"You bastard!"
"We've been partners for nearly ten years, and I even entrusted Nawaki to your personal guidance!"
"Jiraiya aside, you only acknowledge me now?"
Orochimaru nodded indifferently and said with a serious expression,
"That's right!"
"Ever since Teacher Hiruzen enlightened me before my parents' graves, the pursuit of the secrets of the ninja world and life has become my lifelong endeavor!"
"In this process, I originally didn't need companions!"
"However..."
Orochimaru revealed a smiling profile to Tsunade, his voice sincere,
"Now, the two of you are barely qualified to embark on this path with me!"
Tsunade was startled by the smile on Orochimaru's face, then reacted and spat at him.
"Pah!"
"You big talker!"