"After a tiring day, a comfortable bath is definitely what's needed to relieve fatigue!"
"You can say that again. My man, he..."
In the women's bathhouse, steam swirled as the women chatted about all sorts of topics, eventually moving on to their men.
Orochimaru is so strong!
I trained at Mount Myōboku for so long, but I still can't beat her.
Jiraiya crouched outside the women's bathhouse, peeking in. His thoughts were entirely on the day's battle. He had thought his growth would be enough to impress Tsunade and Orochimaru, but he was still far from it.
"Oil Toad! After this mission, I'm going to train even harder!"
Jiraiya clenched his fists, determined to train more diligently.
"Who's there!"
"Kyaaaah! There's a pervert!"
"Kyaaaah! A lecher!"
No, this isn't good!
Jiraiya hastily left. After he was gone, fierce-looking women stormed out of the bathhouse, armed with basins, ladles, and anything else they could use as weapons.
Tanzaku Street, located in the southwest of the Land of Fire, is a large entertainment district filled with Casinos, hotels, and amusement centers, and it's also where Ninja are most likely to break the Three Prohibitions.
Tanzaku Castle, situated on Tanzaku Street, is a cultural heritage site of the Land of Fire, said to have a long history. Many people come to Tanzaku Street to visit this ancient castle.
After completing a mission to eradicate a bandit group entrenched on the border of the Land of Fire, on their way back to Konoha, Orochimaru personally witnessed how Jiraiya used the Transformation Jutsu to sneak into a hotel. Immediately after, she was dragged to the Casino by Tsunade, who was gripped by her gambling addiction.
Without any surprise, Tsunade lost everything. Orochimaru, who joined the game, won so much that the others suspected her of cheating. They tried many methods but couldn't find any evidence of her cheating, so they had to give up.
"I... I lost again..."
Tsunade walked out of the Casino dejectedly, kicking a stone that blocked her path.
"Make sure to call me next time too."
Orochimaru narrowed her eyes, in a good mood as she counted the money in her hand. Gambling with Tsunade, she could win money even by playing haphazardly.
Suddenly, her money-counting stopped. She saw a tall, masked person with green eyes and red sclera.
Kakuzu?
Why is he here?
Is he looking for someone with a bounty on the black market?
The moment she saw Kakuzu, many conjectures arose in Orochimaru's mind.
"Orochimaru! My gambling luck really was absorbed by you! Give my gambling luck back!"
Tsunade crushed the dice in her hand and lunged at Orochimaru.
"What does your bad gambling luck have to do with me... Easy, I can't breathe..."
Orochimaru patted Tsunade's arm, her pale white face turning crimson.
"I don't care, half of the money you won is mine!"
Tsunade said unreasonably, hands on her hips.
"That makes sense."
Orochimaru thought for a moment, put away her initial capital, and then divided the winnings equally into two halves.
A delusion?
Kakuzu paused, looking over there. He had just felt someone watching him.
"You're really willing to share it with me?"
Tsunade looked at the money Orochimaru handed her. Her previous comment was just a joke.
"Don't want it? If you don't, I'll take it back."
Orochimaru made to take the money back.
"Who, who said I don't want it!"
Tsunade snatched her portion of the money from Orochimaru's hand, hummed contentedly, and stuffed the money into her deflated wallet.
"Let's go, let's find that pervert Jiraiya."
Tsunade said through gritted teeth, thinking of the place Jiraiya went, she didn't even want to go look for him.
"Hm."
Orochimaru nodded, and the two walked down the street.
"How dare you force a beautiful older sister, I, Lord Jiraiya, will not allow it!"
"Ah..."
Tsunade and Orochimaru exchanged glances, hearing Jiraiya's spirited shout from inside the hotel.
"You! You!"
Jiraiya rushed into the room, looking at the unbearable scene, the confident and cheerful smile on his face that usually gave people a sense of security froze. He saw his beloved beautiful older sister holding a small leather whip, and beside her, a strange uncle hanging, covered in whip marks. What was happening was completely opposite to what he had imagined.
"Who let you in!"
The woman with the whip looked at Jiraiya, and the whip in her hand cracked.
"Waaah!!!"
Jiraiya let out a terrified shriek.
After a commotion, Jiraiya, bruised and swollen, walked behind Tsunade and Orochimaru, saying indignantly, "What's this? They were playing a special game. The adult world is too dirty!"
Tsunade and Orochimaru exchanged glances, unsure what to say.
---
Orochimaru's home had changed quite a bit compared to before, with the addition of soldier pill making tools and a medicine cabinet.
"The soldier pill formula's improvement has yielded results, but it still needs refinement. Compared to current soldier pills, the perfected soldier pill will enhance effects and reduce side effects. As a necessity for Ninja on missions and during wartime, reducing side effects is the most important aspect. This is a test product."
Orochimaru placed a bag of improved soldier pills on the table. As Danzo Shimura was her angel investor, she naturally had to show him her progress.
"Yes, I will relay your words to Lord Danzo."
The Root Ninja collected the soldier pills.
"Please tell Lord Danzo that to thoroughly improve the soldier pill formula, I need to purchase more medicinal ingredients."
"Yes."
The Root Ninja nodded, and his figure vanished.
Seeing the Root Ninja leave, Orochimaru picked up a freshly made soldier pill, threw it into her mouth, bit it, and felt the changes in her body.
Her mind became excited, and her stamina and Chakra also recovered rapidly. Its effect was twice that of an ordinary soldier pill, and its side effects were half. Improving the existing soldier pill formula was not difficult for Orochimaru. With the use of Shadow Clone for research, the research speed doubled, and the soldier pill formula was improved in a few days.
It must be said that the books Danzo Shimura sent her were incredibly beneficial. Improving the soldier pill formula was just a small matter. Not only did she improve the soldier pill's formula, but she also improved its taste without affecting its efficacy. Continuing the research, it might even become a popular tonic, for example, enhancing certain abilities, which would surely be welcomed by the vast majority of men.
The reason she didn't directly hand over the finished product to Danzo Shimura was, of course, for well-known reasons. If she gave the finished product to Danzo Shimura, how would she get funding from him? Slow and steady wins the race. Danzo Shimura wanted to win her over and also use her achievements to gain fame. How could he not pay more?
Zero Training Ground Underground Base
"Very good."
Danzo Shimura listened to his subordinate, who had taken Orochimaru's improved soldier pill, describe his feelings, and was very satisfied with the improved soldier pill.
As soldier pills were a necessity for Ninja, he could already imagine the impact a new type of soldier pill would have in the Village.
All the Ninja and villagers of Konoha will remember me, Danzo Shimura!
It was I who funded Orochimaru to improve the soldier pill formula; without me, Danzo Shimura, the new type of soldier pill would not have appeared!
When Danzo Shimura thought about how popular he would be in the Village, perhaps even being able to compete for the next Hokage's seat, his wildly upturned corners of the mouth were harder to suppress than an AK. Not wanting to smile in front of his subordinates, his facial expression became somewhat twisted and strange.
With Orochimaru's abilities, even if she doesn't join Root, I might need her help in the future... Danzo Shimura decided to play the role of an elder well.