Orochimaru had always been a master manipulator, and Tsunade was no exception. She could be hard to win over, but he knew precisely which buttons to press. If he stayed close to her and indulged her interests—especially her endless gambling streak—perhaps all the money she had squandered over the years might eventually find its way back to him.
A Housewarming with the Sannin
On the first night after moving into his new home, Orochimaru hosted a small celebration. Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived together, bringing laughter and the scent of warm food.
"Orochimaru! Congratulations on the new place!" Tsunade beamed, raising a glass of juice.
"Thank you," Orochimaru replied, lifting his own glass and clinking it against theirs.
Jiraiya frowned at the golden liquid in his cup. "Juice? Really? If this is a celebration, why aren't we drinking sake? I want sake!"
Before he could say more, Tsunade's fist cracked down on his head with a resounding thump. If she hadn't held back, he'd have been sprawled across the floor with the dinner table overturned.
"Honestly, Jiraiya. Maybe think about our age before demanding alcohol. What's going through that thick skull of yours?"
Jiraiya winced and rubbed his scalp. He did wonder what sake tasted like, but Orochimaru's stoic gaze kept him from pushing the subject.
Still rubbing his head, Jiraiya pointed to himself with a sly grin. "You know, a lot happened in Konoha after I left for Mount Myōboku. If I'd stayed, maybe none of it would have happened."
Tsunade snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. Those events had nothing to do with whether you were in the village."
"Then how do you explain that everything went wrong after I left? That's the deterrent power of Lord Jiraiya!"
"Stop joking!"
Their familiar bickering filled the room like an old melody. Orochimaru rested his chin on one hand, quietly amused as their voices rose and fell.
The argument fizzled out as quickly as it began. Soon Tsunade and Jiraiya attacked the meal like a pair of hungry whirlwinds.
"Mmm, delicious!" Jiraiya said through a mouthful of food. "Orochimaru, your cooking is still the best. I swear, I dreamed last night about complaining to Shima-san about her cooking, and the next day she nearly tortured me with another round of her… delicacies."
Mount Myōboku's so-called "insect dishes" came to Orochimaru's mind, and a faint queasiness settled in his stomach. He shuddered at the memory.
"Just eat," Tsunade said sharply, glaring at Jiraiya. "No one wants to hear about those revolting meals."
She remembered all too well how Jiraiya had once described dishes filled with wriggling insects—most of them still alive when served.
After the housewarming ended, Orochimaru summoned a shadow clone to help clean up. Soon the laboratory was ready, and his real work could begin: groundbreaking research into chakra-based poisons and experimental medicines.
---
An Unexpected Visitor
The next morning, the doorbell chimed. Orochimaru carefully set a fragile test tube into its rack before answering.
Standing outside was Hyuga Mio, her pale eyes calm and resolute. She wore no forehead protector.
"Mio?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.
"Orochimaru, I want to be your assistant," she said plainly. "I've already informed Hokage-sama."
He noted her bare forehead with interest. "You're giving up your ninja status?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation.
Switching briefly into a sharp, testing tone, he asked, "Are you sure I'll even accept you? What if I don't need your help? Could you just go back and reclaim your headband?"
Mio stayed silent, her eyes never leaving his. She simply waited.
Orochimaru turned, a faint smile on his lips. "Being my assistant is not an easy task."
Mio exhaled softly, sensing his unspoken acceptance. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"Your Byakugan will be extremely useful," Orochimaru said as they walked toward the lab. "It can capture subtle changes in experiments far more efficiently than most devices."
He glanced back at her. She seemed a little downcast, though he wasn't sure why. It wasn't the moment to pry.
The Hyuga's unique dōjutsu had fascinated him for years. He had often imagined how valuable a Hyuga clan member would be in his experiments. He just hadn't expected Mio to volunteer.
Her presence would save him enormous time and effort. Instruments struggled to detect minute changes in test subjects, but the Byakugan could record them instantly.
"If you don't mind," Orochimaru added, "consider moving in here. It'll be easier to accompany me to the lab whenever necessary."
Mio nodded. "I'll move in."
She had no close family left in the Hyuga compound. Though she had once led reforms that freed the Branch Family from the cruel Caged Bird curse, both the former Main House and the restructured Branch Family regarded her with quiet unease. Their attitude puzzled her. Hadn't she done it all for their sake?
Eventually she stopped questioning it. Orochimaru had once said, "If a Hyuga could assist in my research, it would be invaluable." That memory guided her decision to relinquish her shinobi status and join him.
---
Plans on the Horizon
Weeks later, in the Land of Waves, a meeting convened inside the president's office of the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company. Qing He spread a large map across the table, tapping a northern peninsula near the Land of Iron and circling a small, uncharted island just off the coast.
"This is the location, Lord Orochimaru," Qing He explained. "The laboratory base you requested has been constructed here."
The peninsula was deliberately marked as separate from the Land of Iron, as though the cartographer wished to make its independence unmistakable.
Qing He's eyes flicked toward Mio, who stood silently like a pale statue behind Orochimaru. Who is this Hyuga? he wondered. Why does Lord Orochimaru allow her so close?
Orochimaru noticed the glance and introduced her casually. "This is my assistant, Hyuga Mio."
Kakuzu, also present, raised an eyebrow at the sight of Mio's unmarked forehead. He had heard whispers on the black market about the Hyuga clan's reforms. The lack of the Caged Bird seal confirmed those rumors. Without the curse mark, distinguishing Main from Branch House members was now impossible. That made stealing a Byakugan for the black market a gamble—like opening a box without knowing what was inside.
Orochimaru suppressed a chuckle at the thought. Byakugan, Sharingan… all interchangeable in the right hands.
His attention returned to the map. The selected site lay across the water from the Mountain Graveyard—a place that held its own dark memories. Wasn't the old Madara rumored to lurk there still?
"Lord Orochimaru," Qing He said carefully, noticing the Sannin's unreadable expression. "If this location displeases you, we can build another base elsewhere. It wouldn't take long."
He pointed to another uncharted island to the south.
Kakuzu scowled. The man despised unnecessary spending. A new base already? But Orochimaru's word was law.
"There's no need," Orochimaru said finally, a glint of approval in his yellow eyes. "Your choice is excellent."
The barren peninsula was perfect—isolated, crawling with dangerous wildlife, and avoided even by the Land of Iron's fearless samurai. From the island laboratory, one could see the looming skeletal peaks of the Mountain Graveyard itself.
---
The First Test
"Lord Orochimaru," a voice crackled through his wireless headset, "Test Subject Number One is ready."
"Excellent. Commence the first detonation."
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru! Beginning countdown. Three… two… one…"
BOOM!
Explosives hidden beneath the sea erupted. The ocean roared as a towering wave shot skyward, sending shockwaves rippling in every direction. A dense mist hung over the water, then dissipated to reveal a vast, gaping void where the sea had been moments earlier. Water rushed back to fill it with a hiss and churn.
Mio's eyes widened. Instinctively, the veins around her temples bulged as she activated her Byakugan to examine the aftermath.
She had expected a simple explosion, nothing more than an oversized explosive tag. This… this was on another level.
Such power, she thought. And this is only with ordinary chakra mixed in. What if the chakra infusion reached its absolute limit?
Orochimaru's lips curved into a faint smile. The results exceeded his expectations. Such destructive force could threaten even a Tailed Beast.
But raw power meant little without precision. What use is overwhelming force if it cannot strike a target with speed and accuracy? he mused.
The solution was obvious: Sage Chakra.
If chakra could be fused into explosives, why not Sage Chakra? Imagine Sage Art Explosives—chakra-enhanced charges sealed within paper tags. With the principle of Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, a single Sage Art missile could trigger an endless chain of blasts the moment it struck its target.
The concept thrilled him. An overwhelming barrage of Sage Art detonations, each more potent than the last, could shatter even the celestial parasites of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
He smirked to himself. "Deidara calls his little clay bombs art," he murmured. "Let him see what true art looks like."
---
The experiment had only just begun, but Orochimaru could already taste the future—a future of Sage Art weaponry capable of reshaping the balance of the shinobi world.
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