I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 122: In the end, no one can convince the other in arguments about who is right.

The rare moment of relaxation on New Year's Eve was shattered by a sudden distress signal, putting all the support teams lurking within the Land of Rain on high alert, and they all rushed toward the source of the signal.

"Can you keep up? If not, don't force yourself. Just be careful to keep your own safety."

Before setting off, Captain Aburame looked at Tatsuma and Minato. He advised the two not to go, since they would definitely have to fight immediately if they rushed there. If Tatsuma and Minato forced themselves to go, they would be too weak to fight after they arrived, which would be even more dangerous.

Staying here, with their perception abilities, they should at least be able to protect themselves. However, after hearing the question, both of them immediately shook their heads, after all, it was their teacher who was asking for help.

Seeing this, the oil-loving captain stopped trying to persuade them. After all, seeking help was a matter of utmost urgency, and there was no time to advise others.

The team didn't bother to conceal their location, since there were too many people in the group and they would definitely be exposed. No matter how they tried to hide, it would be pointless, so they might as well save time and get there as soon as possible.

Everyone simultaneously formed hand seals and used the Body Flicker Technique to follow behind Captain Aburame. Captain Aburame held a device that looked somewhat like a Dragon Ball detector, looking at the small breathing dot on the simple screen and fine-tuning the direction.

Tatsuma and Minato struggled to keep up, and along the way, they met up with several other infiltrating squads.

From night to dawn, when Chenma took a break to sense things, he could perceive a large cluster of chakra gathering in the distance, and the support team had already entered a state of combat readiness, clearly ready to fight at any time.

Meanwhile, inside a cave, Tsunade was healing Jiraiya, who had been injured once again during the chase.

That's how it is on the battlefield; those who are already wounded are more likely to be wounded again and then lose their lives as a result.

The cave kept shaking, and the entire mountain was under attack from the ninjas of Iwagakure. The constant ninjutsu attacks from afar made Orochimaru's eyes grow dimmer and dimmer inside the cave.

"Give up, Tsunade."

Finally, hoarse and cold words came from his mouth. He looked at Tsunade, who was still unwilling to stop, and said, "The Iwa ninja's attack will break through this mountain sooner or later. If you want to escape, you can't hesitate for a moment."

Right now, you and I have to leave.

"And Jiraiya too!"

Tsunade said with dissatisfaction, while Orochimaru pursed his lips and said, "It's simply impossible to leave with Jiraiya in this condition."

"That's why I want to treat him."

"Tsunade, this is war, we can't let personal feelings reduce the chances of success."

"What's the probability?"

After Tsunade finished asking her question, she turned to look at Orochimaru. Orochimaru, seeing the anxious look on Tsunade's face, said, "The probability of survival, and the probability of completing the mission."

Given our current situation, one person can't escape alive, two people might be able to, but three people... they're certain to die.

Hearing Orochimaru's increasingly cold expression, Tsunade's anxiety turned into shock. She knew that Orochimaru was more indifferent to emotions than ordinary people, but... how could he be so indifferent? This was a teammate, a friend!

Orochimaru, who was being stared at by Tsunade, finally looked away and said, "You continue with the treatment. I'll take care of killing Jiraiya and his teammates. Now that there's no one left to save, you're willing to leave, aren't you?"

As he spoke, Orochimaru took out a kunai and approached the two of them. Tsunade also turned around, the chakra glow from her medical ninjutsu growing brighter and brighter. When Orochimaru reached her from behind and raised the kunai towards the seemingly unconscious Jiraiya, Tsunade's voice became incredibly cold as she spoke:

"If you dare do that, I'll kill you."

"Boom!"

The cave shook more violently, and light could even be seen through some of the cracks. Orochimaru took a deep breath and said, "Let's see who can make a move faster."

Just then, Jiraiya, who had been unable to move, suddenly trembled in his right hand. He then slowly raised his right hand and made a V-sign towards Orochimaru.

Seeing this, Tsunade said, "Even now, Jiraiya still trusts you. Faced with that trust, can you still bring yourself to do it?"

".boring."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth and made his decision. Seeing that Orochimaru still wanted to take action, Tsunade no longer hid anything and said, "Orochimaru, I have already requested reinforcements, and the support team will arrive soon."

"You called for help? When? No, do you know what that means?"

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Orochimaru was momentarily stunned before anger appeared on his face. He said, "Do you want Konoha to become the enemy of the entire ninja world?"

The Land of Rain and the Land of Earth will wage war against us, but we only need one defeat, just one, and the Land of Lightning, which has been holding back, and the Land of Water, whose nature we don't even understand, will immediately take action, all for Jiraiya?!

Tsunade continued treating Jiraiya, and even though the Healing Palm Technique had limited effect on internal injuries, she didn't stop. She remained silent for a while before answering:

"Then we just shouldn't lose even once!"

Seeing that Tsunade was still so stubborn, Orochimaru said angrily, "Can you guarantee that you won't lose even once?! Even if you can, can you guarantee that more people won't die because of this?"

You are so selfish!

"Am I selfish?"

Tsunade's hands trembled slightly. Indeed, according to Orochimaru's view, if the war were to escalate and expand as a result, the number of deaths would undoubtedly be far greater than if Jiraiya had been abandoned now.

To let more people die for the sake of one person could be considered selfish, but... no, there are no buts. Tsunade could only stubbornly say, "I will do everything in my power to prevent people from dying."

"Kill Jiraiya, cancel the operation before the reinforcements can move out in full force, and cover up their actions!"

Orochimaru stopped arguing with Tsunade about those words. He knew Tsunade had realized her mistake, but her personality wouldn't change. Now, he could only try to salvage the situation before it worsened.

Orochimaru guessed that Tsunade must have called for help after they were surrounded, Jiraiya was injured again, and they hid in this cave.

If it had only been half an hour earlier, then canceling the operation in time should have been able to deceive the ninjas of the Land of Rain. However, what he didn't know was that Tsunade had sent out a request for help last night.

Orochimaru raised his kunai again, this time thrusting it at Jiraiya without hesitation. He had to finish off Jiraiya as quickly as possible, take Tsunade away, and then cancel the support team's operation.

"boom!!!"

The loud explosion and the subsequent collapse of the cave did not stop Orochimaru's actions, but just as the kunai was about to pierce Jiraiya, Tsunade turned around and tightly gripped his right wrist that was holding the kunai.

His left hand was also grabbed by Tsunade's other hand. At this moment, Orochimaru could even hear footsteps. Despair appeared on his face. It was too late.

"Jiraiya! Tsunade! Orochimaru!"

Hearing the voices calling their names, Orochimaru felt his heart almost stop, but hope appeared on Tsunade's face. Just as Orochimaru was puzzled by Tsunade's change in emotion, the voices came again.

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

Along with this, there were some wind-style ninjutsu, seemingly trying to blow away the dust inside the cave. At this moment, Tsunade released Orochimaru's right hand and pushed him forward, creating some distance between them.

As the dust settled, Orochimaru was already several steps away from Tsunade and Jiraiya. Although Orochimaru was holding a kunai, no one would have guessed that he intended to kill Jiraiya with it.

Tsunade glared at Orochimaru but said nothing more. The two of them, and even Jiraiya, who was half-lying on the ground, understood that what had happened here today must not be known to anyone else.

There's no right or wrong in the different decisions Orochimaru and Tsunade made. Orochimaru chose the lesser of two evils and abandoned Jiraiya to avoid escalating the war, which was correct.

However, Tsunade chose to provide support in order to save her teammates, which was not wrong, and it was also what their teacher, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, had asked them to do.

Many issues are not disputes about right or wrong, but rather disputes about what is right. Different people choose different answers, which is why people can never convince others.

Orochimaru then turned around and said to the ninjas who had come to his aid, "You guys came really fast."

A ninja from the Inuzuka clan nodded and said, "We received a distress signal last night and came without stopping. Let's get out first, the cave is about to collapse."

Hearing that the distress signal had been sent out last night, Orochimaru knew that there was no way to salvage the situation, and could only nod blankly. At this time, the others also entered the cave and helped Jiraiya, who was unable to move on his own, out.

Upon exiting the cave, Orochimaru saw the Iwa ninja who had previously surrounded them now engaged in fierce battles with Konoha ninja, and even recognized some of them.

"My grandfather founded Konoha to protect everyone, and I will not do anything against his will."

Tsunade then spoke to Orochimaru, who didn't answer but continued watching the battlefield. Tsunade turned her head and followed Orochimaru's gaze.

However, with just one glance, the ease that had finally appeared on her face turned tense again, because she saw her disciple and Jiraiya's disciple mixed in with the group, fighting against the Iwa ninja.

Seeing that her disciples' left shoulder was stained with blood and their movements were somewhat unnatural, clearly indicating they were injured, Tsunade couldn't help but exclaim, "Don't those two know how dangerous it is?!"

"The First Lord's power is enough for him to protect everyone, but we... instead need the people who should be protected by us to protect us."

Orochimaru's tone was tinged with self-deprecation: "No one can inherit the First Hokage's will now."

Meanwhile, Tatsuma and Minato, who were in the distance, didn't have as many feelings. They had just learned that all three of them were alive, and they were quite happy. After all, being able to help others was a kind of joy.

No longer worried about his teacher and the others, Tatsuma looked at the Iwa ninja before him and said, "You are all very strong to have been able to infiltrate the Land of Rain so silently for so long, but today's victory belongs to us!"

As he spoke, he threw a shuriken, unleashing his shuriken shadow clone technique, which he had practiced diligently for half a year. Hundreds of shuriken appeared out of thin air and flew towards the Iwa ninja. At the same time, he shouted, "Minato!"

"Ninja Art! Fire Release! Super Phoenix Flower Light Wheel Fire Dance Hand-Slaying Sword Two-Step Technique!"

Minato shouted loudly, so much so that his hand, after completing the hand seal, lingered in front of his chest for a while before his right hand cupped in front of his mouth like a trumpet. He took a deep breath, and then a huge ball of flame mixed with oil spewed out, igniting hundreds of shuriken shadow clones.

Tatsuma's lips twitched, and under Minato's expectant gaze, which gleamed with light, he could only look at the numerous Iwa ninja engulfed in flames, and, mimicking Minato's earlier excitement, roared:

"Nisunai!!!"

Minato nodded, but still felt a little disappointed. Tatsuma's shout was powerful enough, but it was a bit too short.

(End of this chapter)