"Hahh!"
Tsunade gave a long sigh when she was done going through the memories of the Shadow Clone that acted in her place. When she opened her eyes, she saw more clones of her staring at her, and they snickered at her before dispersing on their own.
"Ughh!"
At their actions, Tsunade groaned. Akane, who was beside her, snickered at her condition. He had been telling her to get used to it for quite some time, but Tsunade didn't like the feeling of experiencing anything as a Shadow Clone and wanted to try everything on her own.
"Akane-Kun, after this, do you want to research the Shadow Clone Technique later and see if something can be done about it?"
"Something like?" Akane asked with a curious face, and after thinking for a moment, Orochimaru spoke, "Decreasing chakra cost, changing size from the start instead of using transformation or anything, and changing body parts."
"No, wait a minute, since the clone creates physical copies, what if instead of just creating a clone, we create hands or legs or something like that..."
Instead of speaking to Akane, Orochimaru started to speak to himself and looking at him, Akane clicked his tongue.
'Geniuses really are different, and Orochimaru is even more of a Genius than Minato when it comes to creating techniques, and only lacking behind Tobirama because of bloodline and resources.'
'Orochimaru has wisdom. Now it is on me to decide where he puts his mind, and what I can get from him.'
A grin flashed on Akane's face as he thought of Orochimaru researching for him, and him getting results. Because he knew that Orochimaru wanted process and experience more than results, and it was the opposite for him, who wanted results but disliked the process.
So, it would be a win-win situation for both, but Akane knew that it wasn't the right time, and he had to stimulate more to make Orochimaru dependent on him, making sure he wouldn't betray him or leave anytime.
"Hahh, fucking finally done..." Tsunade exhaled loudly as she was done with all the memories of clones, and she looked at Akane as soon as she opened his eyes.
The look in her eyes made Akane understand that she was thinking of the conversation between the clones, and he thought that she would ask a question, but Tsunade didn't. She got up from her place, stretched her body and said, "Let's leave for the Capital and finish this shit as soon as possible."
"It's been a while since I took a clean and warm bath, and the tiredness from the travel is also catching up."
Akane agreed with her words. Even though he could use the dream manipulation to rest his mind, the body fatigue wouldn't go away.
"We can rest in the capital for some time. I want to see how people live there and the difference between the Village and the Capital." Akane spoke after Tsunade, and hearing him, Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"You will be surprised," Orochimaru said as he thought of the time he went to the capital, and Tsunade agreed with Orochimaru's words. Looking at them, Akane wondered what the state of Capital was, and he decided to check it out before thinking of the plan he had thought of about the Daimyos.
The trio left in the direction of the capital, and after travelling for several hours and dealing with a few rogue ninjas, the group finally reached the land of Fire's capital.
Reaching there, Akane used Kagura's Mind Eye to search for different chakra levels in the capital, and he noticed a few good ones gathered in a place.
"So that's where Daimyo stays," He spoke as he pointed in a direction, and Orochimaru nodded at his words.
"I will go and meet them. What about you two?" Tsunade asked Orochimaru and Akane. They both had nothing to do there, and Tsunade also wanted to finish the mission as soon as possible, so she didn't think they had to come with her.
"I will go and meet the Daimyo. Akane-Kun can also look around in the meantime and see the capital without any worries." Orochimaru spoke, and he had already thought about what he would do at the capital.
Hearing him, Tsunade raised her brows, but she didn't question him since Orochimaru had already joined the team, and he didn't have the choice to leave, either.
"Okay, then I will finish the mission as soon as possible and go to Akane. Even if you are done, do not come to us. Do you understand?" Tsunade said after thinking for a moment, and Orochimaru laughed in response. Without saying a word, he disappeared from the place, and Tsunade clicked her tongue at his action.
"See you later," Tsunade said, and before leaving, she kissed Akane on the cheek, and Akane rolled his eyes at her actions. He was about to hold her, but Tsunade disappeared from the place, and Akane looked at the empty place with a glint in his eyes.
"Well, she is not the only one..." He murmured with a smirk, and before going to the dreamspace, he decided to find a comfortable space. Akane walked towards the gate of the Capital with a thoughtful face, and he saw the guard at the gate ignoring him as he moved inside.
Walking inside, he looked around, and after he walked for a minute, he understood what Orochimaru meant before.
"So, the capital is divided between Slums and the Rich, huh!"
Even though he was expecting this after remembering the state of the Land of Waves, the difference between the two classes of society was way too much.
"This doesn't even look like a place to live," Akane murmured as he looked around and smelled the stench in the place. He could also feel various people's gaze on him, and he knew that the only reason they weren't rushing towards him was because of his ninja attire.
"Haha! In the end, this isn't different from other places." Akane spoke to himself, and he disappeared from the place, leaving behind some leaves for fun.
When the beggars and people of the slum area looked at the sight, they sighed in relief and understood that it was a good decision not to judge a ninja based on their age.
---
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