- Oh, Ryo-kun, you've arrived," he smiled, finding me with a glance and giving me a small bow of greeting.
- As agreed, Orochimaru-san," I mirrored his action.
- I apologize, but the original was a little short on time," the clone sighed, waving his hands, "so we'll have to wait a little longer.
Orochimaru's white lab coat, which was covered with something dark, hinted at what the owner of the house might be doing at the moment.
- I snorted, smiling a little at the familiar situation - I used to hang out the same way myself, if my family kept me busy, reminding me of the time and the need for three meals a day.
But this shinobi has no one to remind except his teammates, and the origin of the constant dark circles under his eyes becomes clear. With chronic sleep deprivation, even I used to get them.
- Koo-koo-koo, then you know what I mean," the clone grinned and suggested, "How about a cup of tea?
- If I may," I nodded to him.
The clone went to one of the side doors, behind which was the kitchen, which to my surprise was filled with lunch boxes from various eateries in Konoha and even unopened packages of noodles. In a few minutes he brewed a decent green tea, heating the water with a simple fire ninjutsu that didn't even require printing.
To accompany the cup of flavorful beverage, I printed out a bag of sweet cookies from the scroll of emergency supplies I always carried with me.
The clone didn't want to keep me company, but he made me laugh, continuing the ninjutsu topic from the last meeting, and by the end of the third cup and half-eaten bag of cookies, when the real Orochimaru emerged from the lower rooms, I'd learned quite a bit about the alternation of different hand seals.
- Ryo-kun, I apologize for the wait, but I didn't have a chance to interrupt," the snake sannin grinned, giving the kage bunshin a glance that made him scatter and sinking tiredly into his chair.
He had already gotten rid of his lab coat and even freshened up somewhere, judging by the slightly damp hair.
Pouring tea into a prepared cup, he crunched the treat with pleasure, drinking small sips, but despite the seeming slowness and smoothness of his movements, he quickly devoured everything that remained on the table, making me suspect that the experiment or scientific frenzy had begun yesterday, and the owner of the house not only hadn't eaten for a long time, but also hadn't slept last night, working until morning, when I showed up.
- I hope the experiment was a success? - I asked the first Konoha scientist politely.
- Orochimaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully and muttered quietly, probably to himself, "I still haven't figured out why some organs take root normally and others are rejected.
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