Kakashi feels an itch in his nose.
Naruto looks at Kakashi with curiosity as he scratches it over the mask.
"It ain't itch proof?", Naruto says as he takes out a note and writes it down.
"What .....are you writing there, Naruto?" Kakashi asks.
"Oh, it's your .....info thingy? Sasuke paid me a fat sum to write down whatever I find interesting ", Naruto says as he flips through other pages.
[Enrty745: Asuma sensei smokes Tori brand cigarettes,
Entry 749: Kuranai sensei's makeup smells like lavender, but I always sneeze when I smell lavender. Might be Genjutsu].
"He pays you just for that?" Kakashi raises his eyebrows.
"Yeah, the Uchiha has pretty fat pockets. Easy money", he smirks.
"You mean deep pockets?", Kakashi corrects Naruto.
These events are the only times when you can see this many jounins in one place. He will then sell for 10 times the amount Naruto is being paid for sure.
But, why Naruto? Why not hire someone with recon capabilities.
Then he remembers Naruto's Shadow clone jutsu.
God knows how many clones did he expand around the stadium to get this much information. Let's hope that Sasuke doesn't sell those shit to the wrong people. He recently caught wind of some branch of Anbu working on a book on village trivia.
Is Sasuke in league with them? Kakashi had put those junior anbu's shenanigans in the back of his mind, but if Sasuke is helping them, it makes things...
"Interesting", Kakashi thinks out loud.
"It's interesting as hell! Believe it! I'm gonna swim in ramen when I'm done", Naruto says with all 32 of his teeth on display.
Speaking of shits, that's an unusually long shit he is taking.
For a second, he feels worried. But, then again, it's Sasuke we are talking about.
He can handle himself.
#######
I slowly turn as the moist smell smacks me on the face.
"We meet at last", Orochimaru tries hard to hide his annoyance.
"Oooh, I see. Did sir want to meet me earlier? I was right there, you know?" I try to lighten up the mood. It doesn't seem to be working, though.
"Your jinjuriki pet made things difficult with all those clones all over place. Throw a rock, and it will hit a clone" Orochimaru, surprisingly, is also trying to lighten up the mood.
It is working.
Can't he tell I'm trying to buy time?
Or maybe he thinks the backup won't come?
Why does he think that? I'm gonna cry.
Orochimaru takes a deep breath that makes a weird whistling sound.
"Tell me, child. What do you think of the things that are happening today?", he asks plainly.
"Pardon?", I'm confused at his straightforward yet abstract question.
"You clearly know my plans. I intend to know how. But, before that, I am to assume you noticed, that there is something rather unusual", he says.
"You mean someone else is also planning an invasion?", I ask.
Orochimaru looks at me with wide eyes.
Then he breaks into laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha... you are amusing. I wish your brother was half as funny as you were", he says.
"You mean my sister?", I ask.
"No, Itachi Uchiha. Your brother?" he asks, clearly confused.
"No, my sister Itachi Uchiha. Nee-san is a woman", I insist.
"Are you sure you are not in his genius right now? He had a bad habit of erasing people's memories just for the fun of it", Orochimaru smirks.
"Maybe you are the one in genjutsu?", I ask.
Orochimaru's smile fades in an instant. Anger and annoyance replace it.
Then he remembers something with a scowl on his face. Some old memory of Nee-san playing around with him?
"Maybe?", he controls himself from killing me.
"Well, you were saying about someone else trying to invade?", I try to get back on track.
"Yes... it seems like it", Orochimaru admits.
"Let's just say, our arrangements align, but our motives don't," Orchimaru continues.
"Not to mention, it seems like you don't know who they are?", I ask with caution.
Orochimaru smirks. Suddenly, there is an unusual amount of weird chakra flowing into me.
Is he trying to do that scary jutsu he used in canon? Does he really think it's going to work on me?
On the hind side, it revealed his position, which was right in front of me.
Where he has been this whole time.
Doesn't make a difference, does it?
"Uchiha, I would watch my tongue if I were you. The only reason I'm not killing you is because of your body", he smacks his lips.
"Then what are waiting for? Take it", I spread my hands to embrace the snake.
Orochimaru trembles in rage, yet he doesn't take action.
"The shinigami has a very soft spot for me you know", I say with a cheeky smile.
I passed a deception check.
Orochimaru sighs as if he is dealing with an unruly brat.
"I will take what is mine when the time comes", he says as he runs his fingers across my cheek.
His hands are cold.
"Then why are you here?", I ask.
"I'm here to give you a job", he says.
"Oh yeah? Get in line then. I'm gonna be chauffeuring the Mist kage for a while".
Orochimaru looks at me as if he is contemplating his life choices.
Then he gets closer to me.
He was already on my face. But, if I move now we will kiss.
"I want you to kill someone for me", he says.
".....who might that be?".
"You will know....when the time comes".
"And why would I do that?", I ask.
"Because you don't want 2 invasions on a single day now. Do you?", he asks.
"Sir, I'm just a genin. What I want in this case is irrelevant", I say.
"What? You think your elders don't know about my plans? They won't do anything to stop me from crushing Hairuzen's skull. It's the nosy brats like you that make things difficult. Now, CHOOSE KID!
Either, you do as I say and only lose your Kage.
Or, lose a whole lot more!" he says.
It's...hard.... but I can't deny what he said about the elders.
Karin's testimony will probably be washed down the toilet.
They will either kill her or erase her memories.
Aside from Sand, there have to be some close Anbu bodyguards who will betray Hokage sama.
I sigh.
There is always someone taking backshots.
"Aww, don't be sad. Maybe I will sweeten the deal for you? I won't kill our budding flower of a Mizukage. Just the old man. I promise!", he says.
I don't have time to ask questions.
But I have to make sure, he is telling the truth about the last part.
"I need proof that you will keep your word", I cave in.
Orochimaru doesn't laugh this time.
He takes a step back and flicks his fingers.
A mangled and bloodied body appears on the ground.
Blood splatters across the floor and mixes with the water and dirt.
Karin ... is looking at me with a horrified expression. Her eyes were lifeless, and her neck was bent in a weird shape. As if she had been chewed for a while by something big, then spat out mid-chewing.
" I will be watching", Orochimaru slides back into the crack that he came in from.
My knees give in and my ass falls on the dirty floor.
I gasp for air like an asthma patient.
That is no genjutsu. It's really dead Karin on the ground.
Right there.
To think he would kill an Uzumaki just to intimidate me.....
Wait a minute...something ain't right.
I carefully make my way to the corpse.
Make a cut on my palm.
Making a silent prayer to the gods, I drink the body's blood like a ghoul from its wrist.
No effect.
It's not Karin.
I vomit before I can sigh in relief.
My ears ring and my whole body hurts. I feel the blood rushing around my veins.
I've been poisoned.
Luckily, I know the symptoms. And I promptly unseal the antidote from my backpack.
Immediate effect.
I can't help but laugh.
"That makes us even", his voice echo inside the room.
I get back on my feet while wiping my face.
Can't afford to pass out right now.
I've got a job to do.