The return journey to the Land of Fire wasn't as peaceful as they had thought. All three of them were low on chakra. Hence, Akane used Zetsu to make sure that they wouldn't be fighting against any ninja above Chunin level, even if Orochimaru started to find the situation weird.
It was just as Akane had thought. Orochimaru had already noticed the high level of chakra reserves Akane had, and he was sure that Akane had pure Senju bloodline, just like Tsunade and Nawaki's.
He also noticed how good and extreme Akane's sensory perception was. It was like he could see miles away from their location and know where the rogue or other ninjas were.
The more time he spent with the group, the more curious he became about Akane. Orochimaru had also noticed that Tsunade had gotten a lot stronger than before, and she had completed the technique of storing chakra and using it as passive regeneration.
It was Tsunade who transferred chakra to Orochimaru and Akane from time to time to make sure that if an emergency situation arose, they would be able to fight without worrying about chakra.
Luckily, because of Zetsu, they didn't have to fight against any ninjas, though they had to change their path from time to time to move past the ninjas.
Unlike before, they took two days to get out of the Land of Rain, and when they reached the Land of Fire, the trio sighed in relief and decided to rest.
"We have a day left from the mission about handing in the report of Iwa ninjas, right?" Akane spoke as the group sat inside a cave they found to rest, and at his words, Orochimaru replied, "18-19 hours are left."
Hearing the precise answer, Tsunade rolled her eyes and said, "The clones will finish that mission. Let's just rest here, and after the clones leave, we will meet with them and continue our journey to the Capital."
Akane nodded at Tsunade's words, but he still turned to Orochimaru as he wondered what Orochimaru had in mind. After all, from this mission, Orochimaru didn't gain much beside knowing about him and extra knowledge of the masked man as Hanzo.
He already knew of the dirty deeds of Danzo and how Hiruzen had been supporting him from behind, while showing himself as a good Hokage. Orochimaru had already lost interest in the fake light shown by his teacher.
"Tsunade is right. It would be better to rest here. Though, do you understand what I am thinking, Akane-kun?" Orochimaru spoke with a sly smile on his face. As Akane heard 'Akane-kun' from his mouth, he felt chills and knew that Orochimaru was about to talk about business.
"Orochimaru! What do you have in mind?" Tsunade called out Orochimaru, but he ignored her. Instead, he stared at Akane because he knew that Akane would have no idea of what he wanted, and it was just as he had thought.
"A fight, huh!" Akane murmured, and Orochimaru's eyes gleamed at his words.
"Hehe~! It seems you understand me better than my comrade, who has worked with me for years." Orochimaru spoke with a laugh, while not forgetting to comment on Tsunade, who looked at the two with an annoyed expression.
She understood that Orochimaru wasn't satisfied with what he had gained. Even though Akane had shown quite good things; Orochimaru didn't get what he wanted.
"Strength, huh! You want to see his limits, right?" Tsunade spoke with a frown, and Orochimaru nodded at his words.
"What if I say no?" She continued, this time her expression turning serious, and Orochimaru turned his eyes from Akane to Tsunade to match his eyes.
"You do know that this wouldn't work on me, right?" Orochimaru spoke, his expression still showing a sense of amusement, and he was really amused by how protective Tsunade was of Akane.
"Another weakness developed, Tsunade."
Without holding his words, Orochimaru spoke while staring into Tsunade's eyes and saw her twitching at his words. Orochimaru was sure that Tsunade knew what he was talking about, and he spoke, even though it would hurt her.
Tsunade stared at Orochimaru as he spoke something she didn't want to hear. If Akane were just a normal guy, she would have agreed to his words and felt worse, but Akane was not normal at all.
Still, she faked herself because she couldn't show how good Akane was, and that she didn't care about Orochimaru's words as much as she should.
Looking at Tsunade and Orochimaru, Akane felt like he could see fox ears appearing in Tsunade's head and a snake appearing behind Orochimaru.
Akane understood what Orochimaru meant when he mentioned himself as Tsunade's weakness. He also understood that Orochimaru more or less knew of the Senju bloodline disposal, the attack on Uzushiogakure, and mainly, the detestation of bloodline ninjas by Konoha Higher-ups.
This was why Akane had become a new weakness for Tsunade. As a ninja, he could be deported and sent to any mission by Hokage, but under certain limits as Mito was alive in the village. But even if Hiruzen had some respect left for Mito Uzumaki, the First Hokage's Wife and Jinchuuriki of Konoha, it was different for Danzo, who didn't care of anything and only focused on his goals.
'She has grown up too.'
But, he could see that Tsunade was acting and faking how effective Orochimaru's words were. After all, Orochimaru didn't know of Zetsu, Dream Manipulation, his complete strength, Kurama, who would help Mito with chakra, and many other things, like their personal country, i.e. the Land of Waves.
'These two! They are both playing mind games with each other to gain the upper hand. Still, Orochimaru didn't mention anything about telling Hiruzen, and Tsuna also didn't mention grandma.'
'Even though they both are 'fighting' and trying to outsmart each other, there is basic trust and a sense of loyalty because they have been teammates for years.'
'I think it is time for me to step in.'
Making up his mind, Akane was about to step in and say that he would fight Orochimaru without showing his full strength, but before he could, Tsunade dropped the bomb.
"He is my fiance."
As soon as Akane heard the words, his eyes widened and he turned to Tsunade, who was staring at Orochimaru with a serious face.
Orochimaru, who was staring at Tsunade, didn't expect her to say the words she had said, and a chuckle escaped her lips.
"Haha! I didn't expect this out of everything I thought. You won this one, Tsunade. Still, I didn't think you would admit it like this." Orochimaru spoke with laughter, and hearing him, Tsunade tilted her head and asked, "You knew?"