"Hey, Orochimaru, can you please pay attention to the road ahead!"
Tsunade finally couldn't take it anymore when she saw Orochimaru almost hit a utility pole for the third time.
"Don't I have Tsunade by my side?"
Orochimaru looked up at Tsunade, her golden eyes narrowing slightly, showing trust in Tsunade, "Tsunade, you wouldn't let me hit a utility pole, would you?"
"That… that's of course! With me here, how could you possibly hit a utility pole?"
Tsunade felt Orochimaru's trust in her, her heart skipped a beat, her cheeks flushed, and she walked forward, linking her arm with Orochimaru's.
"Then my safety is in your hands."
Orochimaru smiled and said.
"I can't do anything with you."
Tsunade couldn't help but let the corners of her lips curl upwards.
"Speaking of which, Orochimaru, you didn't just go to Root to collect data, did you?"
"Of course."
Orochimaru sensed around, confirmed no one was following or hiding nearby, then continued, "It's about the war."
"War…"
Tsunade tightened her grip on Orochimaru's arm slightly, "Is Konoha going to join the war?"
She had long had a premonition that this day would come, but she hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly, so suddenly.
"Danzo-sama wants to make the first move. The Four Great Shinobi Villages scaling down their combat operations clearly shows they are wary of Konoha. It's only a matter of time before they act against Konoha."
Orochimaru looked at the notebook in her hand.
"Then what do you think, Orochimaru?"
Tsunade wanted to know Orochimaru's thoughts.
"My thoughts? The sooner the war ends, the better. I've already wasted too much time on missions."
Orochimaru's tone carried a hint of helplessness. She was fed up with missions protecting daimyo. Perhaps her reputation had spread among the powerful, as many daimyo specifically requested her protection when entrusting Konoha.
It was truly unbearable.
Having met many daimyo, she realized that these daimyo were nothing special. They managed tiny areas but had so many problems. She could do it too.
If only you could spend more time on me… Tsunade really wanted to say this, but she swallowed it back. From what she knew of Orochimaru, all her energy was almost entirely focused on research. Otherwise, she wouldn't have failed to notice that Rei, Hikari, and she all liked her.
She was practically a block of wood!
Little did she know, in Uzumaki Mito's eyes, Tsunade was even more of a block of wood among blocks of wood. Sometimes, she couldn't help but want to offer Tsunade advice, but she held back. She wanted to see just how foolish her granddaughter could be.
One could say that a part of the reason Uzumaki Mito chose to move into the Spiral Tower was that she couldn't stand Tsunade being so foolish and so dense. Many opportunities to get closer and deepen their relationship were wasted by her.
Uzumaki Mito sometimes wondered, "Is this really my granddaughter?"
"There's not a single thing about her that's like me!"
She also couldn't help but sigh that Senju Hashirama's genes were too strong; even after a generation, she was still so much like him.
"If war is unavoidable, I believe starting it sooner isn't a bad thing."
Orochimaru thought for a moment that if she were Hokage, she might find a soft target to squeeze before other Shinobi Villages attacked Konoha. And the soft target in her eyes was Sunagakure, which had no one capable of fighting except Third Kazekage and Chiyo.
First, stir up trouble and pressure Sunagakure, while guarding against attacks from Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and monitoring the movements of Hidden Mist.
After taking control of Hidden Sand Village, they could propose an alliance to enhance Konoha's strength, making the Three Great Shinobi Villages think twice before acting.
Next, they could consider finding an excuse to attack Kumogakure. Hidden Sand Village, having a grudge against Kumogakure, would likely assist Konoha in fighting Kumogakure, even if it's just providing support.
Iwagakure and Hidden Mist, in order to preserve their strength, would likely not attack Konoha at this time. They might send small units to harass Konoha, but the forces remaining in Konoha would be sufficient to deal with them.
On the Kumogakure side, the most powerful force is undoubtedly Third Raikage A. As long as they can hold him back, Konoha can gain an advantage on the battlefield. If they can persuade Third Kazekage to come to the battlefield and clash with A, and hold him back.
Konoha and Hidden Sand Village joining forces to severely damage Kumogakure is not impossible.
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