Deep into the night, while Shizune and her friends were huddled together in sleep, across the village in a hidden underground base, Orochimaru was still hard at work, burning the midnight oil.
As Konoha's most brilliant scientist and biologist, the word "sleep" simply didn't exist in Snake Auntie's dictionary.
There was only one way of life: grind. Grind to the absolute limit—only then could she barely scrape by.
The bright laboratory was lit by ceiling lamps that turned night into day, while the walls bristled with pipes whose purpose was a mystery even to most scientists.
The space was huge, yet every inch was crammed with cluttered lab benches, desks, and overflowing bookshelves.
Orochimaru stood before a towering piece of equipment, stroking her chin as she studied the massive glass tank where an embryonic form was slowly taking shape. Her brows knit in deep thought.
Ever since the war ended, Rinjin had sought her out, and the two had engaged in heated discussions about the mysterious art of cloning.
After a round of intense debate, Snake Auntie conquered Rinjin with her encyclopedic knowledge—and Rinjin conquered Orochimaru with truckloads of cash.
Thus, two cunning schemers hit it off immediately, launching their grand, if slightly shady, collaboration.
As the financier, Rinjin not only provided funding, but also shipped in advanced inventions from Amegakure—like those massive, state-of-the-art computers.
Orochimaru, as the chief researcher, had to not only break new ground in cloning, but also pass on her findings to the up-and-coming scientists of Amegakure.
Just as Orochimaru was pondering how to purge lingering traces of spirit from the cloned bodies, a small bell on the desk gave a soft chime.
She broke off her thoughts and pressed a button on the lab bench.
Hiss—
A gentle sound, and smoke curled up as the tightly sealed lab door slowly slid open.
A masked figure in a black cloak entered, dropping to one knee beside Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama, I've discovered that Shimura Danzō is secretly restarting the Wood Release project. Root has taken a lot of our archived data. The Third Hokage seems aware, but isn't stopping it. Also, on my way back, I saw Princess Tsunade has returned to the village—she's currently drinking with Rinjin-jōnin."
Orochimaru nodded, her face unreadable.
"No need to keep watching Shimura Danzō. Root's surveillance and counter-surveillance are top-notch—when they hit a dead end, they'll come to me themselves. For now, go back into deep cover. Don't contact me unless I summon you. That's all—go."
"Yes!" The masked man nodded vigorously and vanished in a flicker.
As the lab door slid shut, Orochimaru wandered over to her desk and flipped open a thick experiment log with interest.
Tsunade is back again? That's her ninth return this year, isn't it?
Looks like she's blown through all her cash again.
Good thing Rinjin has deep pockets—at Tsunade's rate of losing, even owning a gold mine wouldn't be enough. She'd be buried in debt in no time!
Rumor has it Rinjin has started buying up casinos near the Land of Hot Water—looks like even he's feeling the heat.
At that thought, Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle.
Of all the people she'd grown up with, only Rinjin hadn't changed a bit—still as unreliable as ever, as if time itself refused to touch him.
"Really… a talent to be envied," she murmured, setting down the experiment log and strolling over to a bookshelf.
With a single-handed sign, the bookshelf shuddered, then slowly slid aside, revealing a shadowy tunnel.
She stepped in, and the shelf closed quietly behind her.
After who knew how long, Orochimaru reached a mini-laboratory, barely half the size of the main one.
She lit the oil lamps on the wall, finally revealing the cramped ten-square-meter space—just a single experiment table and a bookshelf.
On the table, an empty straitjacket was wrapped around a vaguely human-shaped bundle of dried weeds.
Donning gloves, Orochimaru peeled back the straitjacket, eyeing the brittle, yellowed grass within. Her expression grew strange.
She snipped off a withered leaf, slid it under a microscope, and watched for a moment.
Then, she added drops of various hastily labeled liquids.
Time passed. Finally, Orochimaru lifted her eyes from the microscope and let out a long sigh.
She peeled off her gloves, pulled a thick experiment journal from the shelf, and began to write:
Experiment #141
Objective: Analyze resistance of target grass leaf cells.
Result: No abnormalities (Failure).
Conclusion: The weeds spawned by the target's fresh blood are completely indistinguishable from ordinary foxtail grass. Even after drying out, their internal structure is identical to regular foxtail grass.
Staring blankly at the thick lab journal, Orochimaru was, for once, at a loss.
Truth be told, she'd noticed Sakukata Rinjin's oddities long ago.
They'd done missions together, and her sharp senses had easily picked up on his unusual constitution.
Naturally, Orochimaru became fascinated by Rinjin's body.
But what surprised her was that Rinjin didn't mind donating blood for research. In fact, he seemed just as curious about his own nature.
Unfortunately, neither his blood nor his tissues could be preserved for long.
After so much research, Orochimaru was about ready to give up.
First, Rinjin's cells were the most aggressive she'd ever seen—no contest.
Even legendary Hashirama Cells, once mixed with his, couldn't avoid sprouting and growing.
What's more, these cells behaved as if they had a will of their own:
Once damaged, they'd immediately launch into furious self-repair.
But if they sensed they'd left their host, they'd inevitably sprout and grow into—just ordinary foxtail grass.
There was a problem: Orochimaru never had enough time to observe them in detail.
She'd even invited Rinjin to participate in experiments.
But his cells, while inside his body, showed no abnormalities at all—perfectly ordinary, just like anyone else.
She remembered the moment she told Rinjin this—he'd just shrugged and given her a "so that's how it is" look. But when she pressed him for details, the bastard clammed up and wouldn't say a word.
With a sigh, Orochimaru shoved the experiment log back onto the shelf and left the mini-lab.
Forget it. She'd ask again when the time was right.
For now, she'd better focus on perfecting this cloning technology—and secure that next round of research funding.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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