Orochimaru looked at Kushina, who had an innocent expression, and said softly, "You are Kushina, right? We met once. You should remember. I am Orochimaru."
Kushina nodded her small head, somewhat afraid to look at Orochimaru's cold, sinister face, and lowered her head, "Yes, I know. You are Lin Yu's supervising teacher."
"Oh? Did Lin Yu mention me to you? What did he say?" Orochimaru was not good at chatting with little girls and could only patiently try to start a conversation.
Kushina shook her little head, thought for a moment, and said with some confusion, "I once heard Lin Yu say that his supervising Jonin was his 'scapegoat,' and he could blame anything bad he did on him. But I don't know what a 'scapegoat' means. Can Lord Orochimaru tell me?"
Orochimaru looked at Kushina's innocent eyes, and the corners of his cold mouth twitched severely. He could no longer maintain his dignified demeanor.
You, Uzumaki Lin Yu, actually treated me as a scapegoat! If Kushina hadn't said it today, he might have been kept in the dark his whole life.
I treated you as a student, as one of my own, and you were always thinking of me helping you carry the blame! Did you secretly wish for me, Orochimaru, to defect from Konoha!
This is, this is making me furious!
Orochimaru took a breath and said to Kushina, "Lin Yu is my student. If he makes a mistake, as his teacher, I will naturally help him handle it. Yes, that's what it means."
"Wow! Lord Orochimaru is such a good person! Can you also be my 'scapegoat'!" Kushina's eyes sparkled as she looked at Orochimaru, as if his cold face had lost all effect.
Orochimaru really wanted to slap himself right now. Why did he have to speak the truth!
Orochimaru said somewhat helplessly, "Wait until you graduate from the Ninja Academy." Anyway, he was the supervisor of Lin Yu and Kushina. Taking one was the same as taking two. He was only nominally in charge, and Kushina was under Lin Yu's supervision, so he wouldn't bother much.
"Hooray! From now on, if I beat people up at school, I'll have someone to back me up!" Kushina put her hands on her hips, as if she already saw all the students at the Ninja Academy surrendering to her "fists of fury"!
Orochimaru told himself that he would never chat with little girls again. He would rather face the idiotic Jiraiya now than say another word to Kushina.
But he still needed to understand the current situation. He coughed and asked, "Kushina, did you do all this? Can you explain it to me in detail?"
Kushina snapped back from her fantasy of being the boss of the Ninja Academy, rested her chin on her hand, and said with a serious expression, "This is a long story. Please let me tell you slowly!"
Orochimaru: ... I want to go back to doing experiments. Human girls change their faces too quickly!
...
"So, you were knocked unconscious and kidnapped by Cloud Ninjas at home, then you woke up to find Sand Ninjas bullying Uzumaki Lin Yu. Then you sensed a power surging within you, and you used it without thinking, which resulted in this situation?"
Orochimaru felt like he was being tricked by a little girl, but he had no proof!
"Yes, yes, that's right. Teacher Orochimaru, you summarized it very well!" Kushina was already calling him "teacher" and wanted a scapegoat too!
As for Kurama, Kushina would never mention him. That was an agreement between her and Kurama! She, Kushina, was a trustworthy person!
Orochimaru wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He, who had never sweated in battles against Kage-level experts, was now involuntarily sweating when facing Kushina. Lin Yu, how much torment did you endure?
Lin Yu: You don't understand Kushina's charm at all! Kushina is so cute, how can you say that about her!
Kushina: Mmm-hmm!
"Then where is Uzumaki Lin Yu? And those three Cloud Ninjas who kidnapped you?" Orochimaru looked around, not finding any trace of Lin Yu or the Cloud Ninjas.
"Ah! Oops! I had so much fun beating them up! I completely forgot about Lin Yu-bro!" Kushina covered her small mouth in surprise. She was such a girl! She loved it!
But what if that smelly Lin Yu was in danger? Kushina was a little worried. Should she ask that smelly fox for some chakra?
Behind the sealing gate, Kurama's ears twitched. He seemed to have heard Kushina's complaint and roared, "How many times have I told you, I have a name! If you call me 'smelly fox' again, I won't help you next time! That brat Uzumaki Lin Yu is fine, he's much stronger than you."
Kushina's heart skipped a beat. She was actually heard by the smelly fox. No! She had to reinforce the seal! However, hearing that Lin Yu was fine, she was relieved.
She muttered to herself, "That smelly Lin Yu actually cultivated secretly behind my back. It looks like I have to work hard too, otherwise, I won't be able to beat him up anymore."
Orochimaru was speechless. He was asking where Uzumaki Lin Yu was, not how strong he was. If you want to beat him, beat him! Beat him hard! I want to beat that kid up whenever I see him now!
So infuriating!
"Report! Reporting to Lord Orochimaru, traces of battle were found about tens of miles to the west. One of them was Konoha ninja Uzumaki Lin Yu, and the other three were Cloud Ninjas, confirmed to be members of the Cloud Village delegation. All are dead!" a member of the pursuit team ran to report.
"Hmm? Is the information confirmed?" Orochimaru smiled sinisterly. He was truly ruthless, leaving no survivors. Was he afraid of some secret being exposed? Well done, Uzumaki Lin Yu!
"The information is accurate! Uzumaki Lin Yu is already heading this way. Lord Orochimaru will personally confirm it then."
Orochimaru waved his hand to indicate he understood. After the ninja retreated, Kushina happily said, "Lin Yu is coming? Is he injured?"
"Uh... probably not." Orochimaru didn't want to talk to the little girl right now. He was very annoyed!
"But Lin Yu is just a Genin. How could he defeat three ninjas?"
"Teacher Orochimaru, should we go and meet Lin Yu?"
"Teacher Orochimaru, I'm afraid Lin Yu will be injured. Should we notify medical ninja?"
"Teacher Orochimaru, look at my face, is there any dust on it? Will Lin Yu dislike me if he sees me later?"
"Teacher Orochimaru..."
Orochimaru: ... Please kill me!
...
After sending the three Cloud Ninjas to the pure land, Lin Yu was about to look for Kushina when he was discovered by Konoha ninja who were searching nearby. Lin Yu had no choice but to lead them to the burial site of the Cloud Ninjas and then follow their direction to find Kushina.
He heard that the leader this time was Orochimaru. It was understandable, after all, both he and Kushina were under Orochimaru's supervision, even if it was only in name.
Lin Yu didn't blame Orochimaru for failing to protect Kushina when she was kidnapped, because it was an agreement between him and Orochimaru. Orochimaru would not restrict their freedom, nor would he supervise them. If Orochimaru had stopped the Cloud Ninjas, then Lin Yu would have "looked at Orochimaru differently."
When Lin Yu arrived at another battlefield, he rubbed his eyes and seemed to disbelieve what he saw.
Orochimaru was squatting on the ground, seemingly drawing circles, with a look of complete despair. Kushina was standing not far from him, talking incessantly, with a beaming smile, incredibly happy!