Not long after Ginji had reached the age of two months, Orochimaru and the others all became fathers in succession.
This was Dai's second child, and once again it was a son.
He named his younger son Matt Kinoto.
During a gathering at Dai's house with their old friends, Kawaki made a sarcastic remark about how unusual the name was.
Dai laughed and explained that he hoped his two sons could be as strong and dependable as armor.
Orochimaru had a daughter, who inherited his rare serpentine eyes and Pakura's beauty.
They named her Aoi Tsukigami.
At the full moon celebration, everyone got completely drunk.
Kawaki even joked about arranging a marriage between their families.
Orochimaru immediately refused, "How could anything good come from you, Kawaki Hatake, and Tsunade? There's no way that brat would turn out well!"
"My daughter will find love in her own time. Arranged marriages are absolutely not happening."
Jiraiya was last—Makoto gave birth to a son for him.
History has a funny way of repeating itself.
While eating ramen, inspiration suddenly struck Jiraiya, and he decided to name his son Naruto.
Now, all three legendary Sannin from the source material each had their own children and happy families.
Whether or not it had to do with having kids, everyone felt that life had recently been going more smoothly than ever.
One midday, Orochimaru sent someone to urgently summon Tsunade.
"What's so important that you called me here in such a rush?"
Tsunade pushed open the lab door wearing an annoyed expression.
Her face screamed, "I am NOT happy."
Well, she had been sound asleep during her lunch break—of course she'd be furious.
"If I called you, naturally there's a reason."
Orochimaru coldly replied without even pausing his work.
Unlike Kakashi and Jiraiya, he wasn't afraid of Tsunade at all.
"Then speak up already."
Tsunade took a deep breath and stepped forward.
If this wasn't important, she was seriously thinking about kidnapping Aoi to make her future daughter-in-law.
That little girl was just too adorable.
"Look for yourself."
Orochimaru moved aside slightly, fully revealing the petri dish in front of Tsunade.
"This… has it succeeded?"
Tsunade was shocked; she hadn't expected this at all.
"Hmm."
Orochimaru softly responded. Within the petri dish lay fully developed human tissue.
It was a fusion of Tsunade's cells with the combined cells of Hashirama and Kawaki.
After all this time experimenting, they had finally succeeded.
Next, as long as they verified this through live testing, the transplantation surgery on Tsunade could proceed.
Excluding Kawaki, who is a special case, this would become a major breakthrough in their research.
And it would also provide invaluable experience for Orochimaru's future transplants.
"Let me see."
Tsunade had completely forgotten about being angry at Orochimaru.
She shoved him aside and gazed at the tissue in the petri dish as if it were a priceless gem.
"We're running low on suitable live test subjects."
Orochimaru had been well-behaved lately and hadn't taken matters into his own hands by kidnapping people.
"Understood. Leave this to me."
Tsunade nodded while keeping her gaze fixed on the sample.
In a large village like Konoha, whether from Anbu or the prison system, there would be no shortage of condemned prisoners.
As Hokage, handling this kind of matter was easy for her.
"Make it quick—I've got many things to attend to."
The faintest smirk flickered across Orochimaru's lips.
She had to go home on time every day to keep Aoi Tsunagami company. It's not like I'm busy or anything!
"The latest by the day after tomorrow, I'll have someone send it over."
Tsunade mentally calculated a timeline and gave Orochimaru an exact timeframe.
"Fine."
Orochimaru didn't feel like watching Tsunade zone out anymore and went off to handle other things.
After quite some time passed, the laboratory door opened again.
"Sister Tsunade, you're here already."
Misaki wasn't sure what had delayed her, but she finally showed up just now.
"Hmm, I just came to check things out."
Tsunade finally lifted her head and offered a warm smile.
"I just got back from Elder Pakura's wife. Aoi is so adorable."
From Misaki's expression, it was obvious she really liked the child.
"Is that so?"
"Your brother-in-law said he wants Aoi to become Ginji's future bride."
"And your Orochimaru-sensei refused."
Tsunade spoke absentmindedly, but her words found their mark.
"You wish."
"Even if we do give Aoi to Ginji as his bride, it still depends on whether my daughter herself agrees."
It was as if Orochimaru had been stepped on the tail—his voice exploded from another room.
"Hahaha~"
"That's what you said!"
Tsunade burst into laughter. Let's see you act composed now, Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sensei really dotes on Aoi."
Misaki covered her mouth giggling. Only Sister Tsunade and Brother-in-law Kawaki could crack Orochimaru-sensei's composure like this.
"What's there to be jealous about?"
"At least you and Nawaki can have a lovely daughter later."
Tsunade winked at Misaki. That future sister-in-law wasn't getting away.
"Oh come on, Sister Tsunade!"
"Now is way too early to talk about this!!"
Misaki stomped her foot, her face instantly burning red.
Talking about having children with Nawaki? That was so embarrassing!!
"Not too early at all. Our Misaki has grown into a fine young lady already."
As Tsunade spoke, she couldn't help but stare pointedly at Misaki's chest.
Not as impressive as her own, but still nothing to scoff at.
"Forget it, I'm going to find Orochimaru-sensei."
Misaki fled in embarrassment.
In the end, she was just too shy. No way could she match Tsunade, who was as bold as a tigress.
"Hahaha~"
Watching Misaki jog away looking for Orochimaru, Tsunade laughed like a complete ruffian.
She'd look even more like one if she started whistling.
After properly placing the petri dishes, Tsunade prepared to leave.
The lab was practically used entirely by Orochimaru nowadays. She only occasionally dropped by.
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"I'm leaving first."
"Let me know once the in-vivo experiment is done."
Tsunade shouted toward the interior of the lab.
"Sure thing, no need to see me out."
Orochimaru didn't even feel like stepping out.
"Bye then."
Tsunade didn't mind in the least. She and Orochimaru didn't need formalities between them.
Leaving the hospital, Tsunade made her way to the Hokage's office with a cheerful stride.
Upon reaching her office, she immediately assigned the in-vivo experiments to others.
"Isn't this kind of cruel?"
Shouta knew the death-row prisoners were in for something worse than death.
"I know how cruel this is."
"But there's no helping it. The Ninja World is far from peaceful right now."
Tsunade sighed deeply. Relying solely on Kawaki was too heavy a burden for Konoha.
Even if it meant facing some backlash, she was determined to keep up with Kawaki.
There was definitely some personal motivation, but she'd never regret her choice.
"I hope this time peace will last longer."
Shouta shook his head bitterly with a wry smile. There was nothing he could do to change any of this.
"Don't worry. When true peace finally comes—"
"I will absolutely prevent such things from happening."
Tsunade spoke firmly; that was also what she hoped for.
"I believe you."
Shouta believed in her without doubt. Tsunade wasn't the type of person who said one thing and did another.
"Anyway, let's not talk about this anymore."
"We both have children already, so why are you still single?"
As soon as Tsunade said that, Shouta's expression immediately changed.
He looked seven parts hurt and three parts reproachful.
"With how busy I've been lately, when would I even have time to find a wife?"
"Why don't you give me half a year off, then I'll definitely find a girl and get married."
Shouta thought optimistically. Like he actually wants to stay single?
"Half a year?"
"Just kill me already."
"I'll only approve three days off—for blind dates."
Without hesitation, Tsunade refused outright.
If she gave Shouta six months off, how would she manage during that time?
"You said it—three days it is."
Shouta knew when to stop while he was ahead. If he kept pushing, he might not even get those three days.
"I..."
"Fine, I'll give you three days off."
"I'll have Kawaki help out."
Tsunade suddenly realized she'd been tricked.
But what was said was said, like spilled water—it could not be retrieved. She could only reluctantly agree.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
"I'll definitely take these three days seriously for dating."
Grinning widely, Ōga flashed his big teeth, looking delighted.
"Back to work, back to work."
As they say, talking too much invites trouble. Tsunade had no intention of chatting idly with Shouta anymore.
"Understood."
Slightly more restrained, Shouta started focusing on his paperwork.
Besides, the setup was real. He'd heard the clan had arranged a great match for someone as important as himself—right under the Hokage's nose.
Shouta didn't know whether it was true or not, but since he had these few days off, he might as well go check it out.
...
Less than a day later, the live subjects were secretly delivered to the lab.
Although many Konoha higher-ups were aware, these sorts of matters were best handled discreetly.
"If there's nothing else, we'll be taking our leave now, Orochimaru."
After settling the live subjects, the Anbu ninja prepared to leave.
Even hardened killers, accustomed to witnessing death, felt uneasy staying in the in-vivo experimentation lab.
"Hmm, go ahead."
Orochimaru didn't even turn around, busily labeling each live subject.
Misaki was already accustomed to this, assisting quietly beside him.
"Fall back."
The Anbu leader led his subordinates away.
"Orochimaru-sensei, shouldn't these test subjects be enough?"
Misaki's gaze remained calm—a sign of basic professional detachment for Medical Ninjas.
"At best, barely sufficient."
Orochimaru had already begun thinking about acquiring the next batch of live subjects.
His experiments would likely need many more than this.
"Why don't you go home first? I'll handle things here."
Misaki was very considerate; it was already past closing time.
"No, I'll keep you company, teacher."
Orochimaru smiled. Leaving Misaki alone here actually made him feel uneasy.
"So teacher doesn't trust me."
Misaki pretended to be angry. She thought she wasn't scared at all.
"Haha, you could see it that way too."
Orochimaru didn't quite dare to pat Misaki's head. After all, her age made such an action inappropriate.
He rarely allowed himself to get this close to anyone.
"Then let's hurry up. You still need to go back to Aoi Tsukigami."
Misaki quickened her pace as she spoke.
Right now they just needed to restore the physical condition of the live subjects. After all, most of them had some injuries or illnesses from being in prison.
The formal experiments were set to begin in a few days—that was another reason why Orochimaru wanted Tsunade to make her decision quickly.
An hour later, the two finally finished their work.
"Go on back now. Nawaki must be waiting anxiously at home."
Walking out of the hospital, Orochimaru teased Misaki.
"Nawaki knows about it. I already said hello to him."
As long as the topic wasn't too awkward, Misaki could stay composed.
"Alright then, see you tomorrow."
Orochimaru knew if he didn't leave first, Misaki wouldn't go ahead by herself.
"See you tomorrow."
Only after Orochimaru disappeared around the corner did Misaki finally head home.
When she returned, Mito still hadn't returned.
Kushina and Nawaki hadn't eaten either—they'd been waiting for her.
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