Seeing the murder of crows, Orochimaru's face turned pale. A fear engraved deep in his bones instantly surged into his heart, cold and absolute. Who else but that man could control the crows?
Soon, the crows swirled together, gathering into a single mass before gradually transforming into a human form.
"Itachi Uchiha!"
Tsunade and Jiraiya's pupils constricted. The Uchiha clan's boy genius?
"What's going on?" Tsunade asked. "Why would an Uchiha help us capture Orochimaru?"
Jiraiya was silent for a moment, his expression grim. "He's no ordinary Uchiha. Look at his cloak."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Its a cloak? What about it"
"Mmm" Jiraiya nodded. "There's a mercenary organization I've been tracking, called the Akatsuki. Its members are all S-rank rogue shinobi, and every one of them is extremely powerful ."
"Orochimaru was once one of them ."
"What?" Tsunade was stunned. "Orochimaru stooped to join a group like that?" Tsunade knew Orochimaru well. He had always been a loner, never one to cooperate with others or willingly take orders . For him to break that pattern meant that the person leading the organization had to be several times stronger than Orochimaru himself.
Thinking of this, Tsunade whispered, "Jiraiya, the leader of this Akatsuki… do you know who it is?"
Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head helplessly. "I don't know. I've been investigating them for years, using every method I have, but I still can't find out who the mysterious leader behind the Akatsuki truly is ."
"He can't be an ordinary shinobi," Tsunade said.
Jiraiya said nothing, his silence a grim agreement. After another moment of silence, Jiraiya spoke again. "Itachi and the Akatsuki are both extremely dangerous. If we allow them to continue unchecked, I'm afraid that in a few years, this organization will become a major threat to Konoha."
"Since he's here today, let's capture him and Orochimaru together." Jiraiya's expression hardened with resolve. Just as he was about to move, a deep, unsettling voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Hehehe… so these are the legendary Sannin? I'm truly honored to meet all three of you at once."
Tsunade and Jiraiya spun around to find another man wearing the same black cloak with red clouds.
"That sword on his back… isn't that the Samehada?" Tsunade's expression darkened. "He's one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist !"
"Yes. His name is Kisame Hoshigaki," Jiraiya confirmed. "The Monster of the Hidden Mist ." He remembered Kisame's face from the Bingo Book.
"Another dangerous one has arrived. They all have ill intentions…" Jiraiya scratched his head, his mind made up.
"Tsunade, I need your help. Hold them off for me for a moment. I'm going to summon the Two Great Sage Toads."
Tsunade looked stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Jiraiya. The two of us are more than enough to deal with Itachi and Kisame."
"Of course, I know that," Jiraiya responded. "But I want to end this battle as quickly as possible. We can't let it drag on."
"Besides… we don't know what's happening back in Konoha. To be honest, I'm worried."
"It's not that I don't trust Minato… there are just too many unknown variables. Let's end this farce as soon as possible!"