Filthy Gamer in Narutoverse

Chapter 188: The Sannin Skirmish (2)

Unlike its name— The Village Hidden by the Waterfall— Takigakure is built under the canopy of a gargantuan tree which can only be accessed through a special path past a lake. Like many, many wonders of the continent and chakra, the origins of the tree are mysterious.

Orochimaru silently stares at the thick and sturdy trunk of the tree. Easily surpassing many buildings in thickness, this beast of tree houses not only Takigakure but also a good amount of chakra beasts. Aquatic ones, to be exact, which also tend to get into contracts with the shinobi of the village.

'Being able to control the environment of their summons is a great blessing,' Orochimaru muses internally, 'They can grow in a safe environment and battle alongside their partners without the shinobi ever wondering if their summon is even alive or not.'

After all, one of the more common weaknesses of summons is their status which is usually unknown to the summoner until they try to summon the chakra beast again.

"Come on," Hisen, one of the four Jonin Guards of the current Takigake glances at the Three Sannin and calls them in a bland monotone, "Lord Fourth is expecting you."

'Fourth...' Jiraiya takes note of the information, 'Even for Shinobi, and that, too, one at the level of Kages... the position of Takigake has quite the turnover. Is the title cursed or something?'

While having various thoughts, Sannin also observes the village. Light barely seeps through the dense canopy of the unnamed tree that is almost unidentifiable in the continent's forest. Although Land of Fire boasts one of the largest stretches of vegetation, the forest where Taki resides is no less verdant.

'A perfect region for shinobi to be on the move constantly,' Tsunade looks around, 'I wonder if I can replicate that large tree using Mokuton... although, I've got a weird feeling about this tree. Is it because of my mokuton or... my Sage Mode?'

While they observe the village, Hisen takes no detour and brings them to a slightly modest yet bigger house. Unlike Konoha, this village is... 'budding.' Its infrastructure is lacking. Its economy is not bold. But... josei

'Takigakure continues to be consistent in producing gifted Jonins. How interesting,' Orochimaru almost lets her eager smirk slip out of the mask of her stoicism.

If it wasn't for Iwa and Kumo pressuring the village from both sides, Konoha may not have gotten a chance to step into its border.

Within the modest wooden house, the trio from Konoha and Hisen are greeted by a tall and lanky shinobi. Another Jonin and an elite at that.

This man has long and straight black hair and despite his darker skin tone, this man looks sickly. His cheeks sink in. His orange, pupilless eyes reveal a rather energetic look. He wears his forehead protector around his neck loosely.

Another one of the four jonins that guard Takikage— Su, A Jonin Elite... and the current Jinchuriki of Seven Tails.

The moment Su's chipper orange eyes fall on the Sannin, the three of them collectively feel a chill trace the back of their necks and their pupils shrink significantly. Even Hisen stiffens and looks at Su with a frown.

"The Legendary Sannin!" Su gasps in admiration and the creeping yet significant amount of chakra disappears, "It's an honor to meet all of you! Especially you~!" He walks in front of Tsunade and extends his hand with a sincere grin, "Your beauty precedes you, Slug Princess! I'm so glad I got to meet you before another war erupted."

"Why is that?" Tsunade questions calmly and seeing that she has no intention of shaking his hand... a rather sensible approach, everyone in the room could agree to that, Su retracts his hand and chuckles, "Well, who can guarantee lives in war? And beauty only reflects well through life... not death. Don't you think so?"

Tsunade stares at Su who continues to look back until Senju questions, "Was that rhetoric, or are you actually waiting for an answer?"

"An answer," Su replies with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

Glancing at the silent Orochi and Jiraiya, Tsunade shrugs, "Kunoichi like me have no right to talk about death. And when it comes to beauty, I suppose, the classic— it's upto the eye of the beholder— exists for a reason."

Su's eyes widen and he takes a step back. His gaze drifts off and his expression becomes that of absentmindedness.

Annoyed, Hisen scoffs, "Lord Fourth is waiting, Su! Back off."

"Oh, yeah, whatever. I have something new to think of and waste my day," Su waves his hand and flickers away.

The trio of Sannin share a look once again and silently follow Hisen who speaks nothing extra about Su.

Within the room, an aged face greets the Sannin.

Smiling kindly, the man who should be younger than Hiruzen but looks equally aged welcomes the reinforcement, "Ah, the Legendary Sannin. Come in, come in. I hope the trip this time was more comfortable. Hisen-san," the elderly regards someone 'younger' than him with a 'San', "Please continue to patrol around the village."

Hisen nods with a respectful expression and leaves the room to the four.

"Let me start by offering my condolences for Sakumo Hatake," Utsu, the Fourth Takikage sighs softly, "It is still a wonder how the secret path was so easily known to the enemies."

"Is it?" Orochimaru chuckles and Utsu nods with a calm smile.

"The enemies are well-prepared," he adds and looks at the trio seriously, "I'm sure you three understand what is expected from you but putting it into precise words may be better."

Until now, neither Utsu nor the trio address his significant elderly appearance when he should be as old as Yata or other middle-aged Clan Patriarchs.

"The team of Sannin must protect the Village's border. Not the people, not the shinobi, and not the jinchuriki either. The three of you will be stationed near the border and I alone will have the information of your locations so that there is no more leakage of information."

The trio contemplates quietly.

Not being able to find Raikage's son and any hint of Sakumo was already a blow to their actual mission. The rest of their mission comprises dealing a fatal blow to Su, and even stealing the rumored artifact that is the secret to this village's strength— Hero Water. Not to mention, they also wished to profile the current talents that may become the next jinchuriki.

But... if they do things according to Utsu, their mission will fail entirely without a doubt. But not showing any discontent in her expression, Orochimaru smiles merrily, "Missions like this where we only have to execute already thought-out plans are always better. And..." sliding her hand into her tunic that hides her rather deceptively well-wrapped bosom, Orochi takes out a sealed scroll, "Lord Third hopes our reinforcement this time can allow us one step close to achieving a better, shared future."

Utsu accepts the scroll with a smile and scans it for a few seconds to make sure that it isn't a trap of any kind. Finally nodding, he replies gracefully, "I will go through it at a later date. Let's first complete one transaction successfully. My third guard, Sanma will be waiting for you, and do refer to this scroll for your patrol duty."

Utsu sets a scroll on the table and Orochimaru picks it up after a cursory glance.

It's clear by this welcome that they will not be staying within the border of this village but... that is not a problem. Orochimaru already has many plans that don't require her to expose her true strength... or gender for that matter.

As Utsu remarked, another one of the four guards awaited their return. And just like that, Sannin leaves the exotic village built on the broad appendages of the tree surrounded by a massive concentric lake that is connected to a river on one side and extends to a waterfall on the other.

'And yet this place can contain a Jinchuriki...' Orochimaru smirks internally.

---

"What?!" Being nameless did not lower his temper. Being nameless did not dilute his blood. And being nameless certainly did not lower his talents in any way.

Rising from nothing to his name despite being A's offspring, let's say, he has a more 'interesting' childhood.

Killing his blood siblings to be the lone survivor and become the inheritor of the title— A? Check.

Managing to master A's signature jutsu. Check.

Completing missions upon missions without any need for a break. Check.

Killing Sakumo Hatake after concrete intel, outside hire, and even a team of a recent but fruitful initiative known as Fuin Corps is provided... put a pin in that one.

Let's call this youth... A-2. Or Not-A. Anyway, being the son of A doesn't make life easier but harder instead.

A is a large and muscular man. His body is trained in a way that no strength is wasted. His looks, be it his long and muddy blonde mane or grizzled beard, are a deception. He looks brawny... but A, the Third Raikage, single-handedly leads the scientific progress of Kumo.

He is aggressive yet meticulous and disciplined. So... he has no 'love' for his offspring but merely duty and expectation.

Third Raikage had no wife. He carefully selected a group of kunoichi and kekkei genkai slaves alike, bred them, and had the 'results' 'net' each other out.

The fact that Not-A looks similar to A, possesses the same nature transformations, and is an offspring of a legitimate Kunoichi of the Cloud instead of Kekkei Genkai slaves... is a pure coincidence.

Not-A knows deep down... he never had his father's help or his mother's.

Speaking of his mother, once Not-A succeeded in the final competition, she received a large sum of bonus for a task carried out successfully. This does not mean that mothers of Not-A's competition were inflicted harm.

No.

They were notified about their child's death and the mothers were barely affected. The slaves are already numb to almost everything. They are just packets of flesh. Meanwhile, the few kunoichi of the village were already prepared for it.

A fair game, they say.

Currently stationed on the border of the Land of Hot Water, Not-A has a meeting with his team where the outside hire announced something ridiculous!

"Say that again!" Chakra visibly arcs around him like lightning and fluctuates as the man covered by a hooded cloak comment calmly with the rich timber in his voice, "The next target is a team. A team whose bounty will fetch more Ryo than Sakumo Hatake. I understand Senju Tsunade is more valuable alive but catching her is a different thing."

Taking a moment, the man adds, "And I am here to kill. If I am expected to invest more effort and time in a target, naturally, I shall demand more money."

Not-A glares at the man balefully but doesn't let his temper get the better of him.

Another shared trait with A, perhaps.

Yes, he is temperamental... but Not-A is raised to keep his eye on the target and not his ego. Ego is fatal to the shinobi. Such ego is for the mighty.

And Not-A understands this well.

"I will contact the village administration. You will be awarded 4 million ryo more."

Not-A narrows his eyes and comments, "And nothing more."

The cloaked figure lets out an audible hum, "It's fine. With the price set, my skills are for you to wield. Just point out the target."

"As discussed before," Not-A taps his desk, "We will first deal with the special troops of Iwa and then catch the Sannin by surprise. They may be Sakumo's match as a team but even the White Fang failed. A blow to Konoha as great as Sannin will surely cripple their advances for the time being."

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Alternate Title: Make A Great Again— Looks at Boruto

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A/N: Ok... so Takigakure has a special tree that produces a special product... catch my drift? This author will most assuredly make connections and I do not apologize for that! A fanfic has to explore all that! And I am taking liberties with Kumo to an extent but Third Raikage is one of the most powerful shinobi ever. Heck, he even avoided death when leading charge against Uzu!

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