The Third Hokage seemed to have some plans, but he didn't say much, and besides, with the rapidly changing situation in the Ninja World, he wouldn't act immediately; moreover, Yahiko and the others were also his grand-disciples.
"Heh heh, are those the three brats we met in the Hidden Rain Village back then?"
Orochimaru recalled the three brats they encountered after their decisive battle with Hanzo, where they were at a disadvantage and then humiliatingly bestowed the title of Sannin. At the time, he advocated killing them to spare them the pain of war.
"You didn't come back for those few years because you were teaching them, right?" Tsunade, tipsy, thought of that day, which was the first time the three of them went their separate ways.
"The Toad Sage said that the Child of Prophecy would be my disciple, so until the day peace comes to the Ninja World, I will continue to take in and teach disciples." Jiraiya's eyes were firm. Currently, he believed Nagato or Minato had the most hope of becoming the Child of Prophecy.
"Heh heh, the Toad Sage's prophecy, only a certain fool would believe it without question." Orochimaru scoffed at the prophecy of a mere animal.
"Haha, well, the Toad Sage, the Slug Sage, and the White Snake Sage have all lived for thousands of years; they do have some wisdom."
Ling said something fair to ease the atmosphere, lest they argue and part on bad terms.
"Heh heh, is that so, how does Ling know these things? Even we Sannin, as contractors of the Three Great Sage Locations, don't necessarily know." Orochimaru looked at Ling with interest, planning to see how she would lie her way out of it.
Ling didn't expect Orochimaru to be so mischievous, wanting to see her embarrassed. "Oh, this was told to me by Cat Granny. She knows some things about the Three Great Sage Locations."
Ling's lie came out easily. If you don't believe it, go find Cat Granny to verify it. You'd be impressive if you could find her.
Just as Orochimaru was about to ask more questions, the doorbell rang, and Ling, as if greatly pardoned, quickly ran to open the door.
"Oh my, Ling, are you surprised to see Granny me? But Shisui and Itachi are here too, Happy Birthday."
As soon as Ling opened the door, she saw Granny Zhili, dressed in a kimono, looking at her with a playful smile.
"Happy Birthday, Ling." Shisui, carrying Uchiha Itachi on his back, entered Ling's sight. If it weren't for waiting for these two, he would have arrived much earlier.
"Happy Birthday, Ling. Please forgive our abrupt visit." The young Itachi was still very cute, especially when he was being serious.
"Welcome, Granny Zhili, Shisui, Itachi, please come in quickly, and thank you for your gifts."
Ling saw the gift boxes held by Granny Zhili and the two boys, especially Shisui's super large box.
Ling helped Shisui carry the large box into the room, while Granny Zhili walked directly to the other side of the sofa and sat down elegantly.
However, when she saw the dazed Tsunade, her eyes lit up, as if she had thought of something interesting, but she first took the barley tea handed to her by Ling and took a shallow sip.
After moistening her lips and adjusting her expression, she looked at Tsunade again. "Little sister Tsunade, long time no see. When I saw you thirty years ago, you were still a flat-chested brat, right? I didn't expect such a big change."
Uchiha Chiri's words instantly silenced the scene. Tsunade heard a strange yet somewhat familiar voice and immediately sobered up significantly. When she saw Chiri's face, she completely snapped out of it.
"It's you! The old hag of the Uchiha, you're not dead yet! How about it? Now I'm much bigger than you, aren't you self-conscious?"
Upon seeing Chiri, Tsunade immediately became combative, as if she had suffered losses against Chiri in the past. At this moment, she stood tall and proud, showing off in front of Chiri.
"You don't need to worry about how many more years this old woman can live. However, are you sure you're not taking medicine or using Yang Release to modify yourself?"
Uchiha Chiri paid no attention to Tsunade's taunts. She looked more like a princess who had received a noble education than Tsunade.
"How could that be? This old woman doesn't need such methods." Looking at Chiri's graceful and noble demeanor, for some reason, she immediately calmed down.
"Someone's granddaughter truly hasn't learned any of her etiquette. What a pity."
The "someone" Chiri referred to was naturally Uzumaki Mito, and the reason Tsunade calmed down just now was probably because seeing Chiri's appearance reminded her of Granny Mito.
"Hmph, a certain old woman is just putting on airs. How can she compare to Granny Mito's natural nobility and elegance?"
Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Ling immediately changed the subject. "Granny Zhili, have you arranged the Forbidden Technique I gave you?"
Uchiha Chiri had to stop her verbal assault on Tsunade and then looked at the awkwardly smiling Ling. "Oh, you, I was just joking with Tsunade. Don't worry, I've already arranged it."
Chiri knew what Ling wanted to express, so she didn't provoke Tsunade further. If it weren't for the cold reception she received when she visited the Senju clan land in the past, she wouldn't bother with the only remaining Senju now.
"Ling, this is the birthday cake I prepared for you. I made it myself. Do you like it?" Shisui also quickly helped change the subject and opened the gift box for Ling.
Inside was a three-tiered cake, looking very exquisite, adorned with many fruits and cream flowers, and Ling's name was on top.
"It's beautiful, thank you, Shisui. When Kakashi and the others arrive, we'll cut the cake and eat it. I don't think anyone else will be coming after that."
Ling didn't expect Shisui to have such skill. It seemed like it wasn't his first time making one, as it was even more exquisite than cakes from a bakery.
Upon hearing Ling say that, Shisui naturally breathed a sigh of relief. He had put a lot of effort into making it, and it would have been awful if Ling didn't like it.
In fact, to make the cake, Shisui used his Sharingan to copy the techniques from all the cake shops in Konoha, and then he failed several times last night before succeeding.
Because he strictly controlled the amount of milk powder, sugar, water, and eggs within a few grams of error, fearing the taste would be off.
"Such a beautiful cake, and it smells great too. Even Little Sun doesn't have such good craftsmanship."
Kushina glanced at Minato, who was smiling and scratching his head helplessly. Although the gifts Minato gave her were always carefully prepared, he wouldn't go to such great lengths to make her such an exquisite cake.
"Thank you for the compliment, Senior. It's my first time making it, so I don't know if it suits Ling's taste."
Shisui looked at everyone's ambiguous gazes, but Ling didn't seem to understand. He was initially a bit disappointed but then cast aside that emotion.
"Ling, this is the lip rouge Mother chose for me. I hope you like it."
Itachi took out an exquisite, white jade-like seashell from the box, inlaid with silver threads and agate. It appeared to be an expensive handmade craft.
Ling opened the seashell, and inside was some red rouge, but it was for lips, not for the face.
This time, everyone was surprised again. Giving lip rouge was usually something only couples would do, but Ling apparently didn't know about that meaning.
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