"Except for Kaihime, give me two servings of the rest."
Akaba arrives at a manga shop.
Orochimaru and Tsunade had been stuck there like they were locked up in prison. Last time when he visited, the two ate like they were having the time of their lives, making him laugh while secretly admiring them.
So now, after the update, he decided to stop by and see how those two have been holding up.
"Master, who are these for?"
"To visit two people. I'm off."
Akaba grabbed the food and then made his way to the street to pick up a few more things.
Last time he bought barbecue, but Orochimaru complained it was too greasy. This time Akaba simply bought entirely vegetarian dishes instead.
Konoha didn't have a single vegetarian restaurant worth mentioning, but at Akaba's persistent requests, the owner still prepared these dishes—completely vegetarian without even a single speck of meat.
Stir-fried vegetables, boiled tofu, and such—three or four dishes total, along with some rice balls.
Originally planning to take away only two servings, he suddenly thought about visiting Danzo's territory. If he didn't offer something as tribute, might that stingy teacher hold a grudge?
Therefore, he carried three portions of food and made his way directly toward Anbu.
First time's awkward, but the second time goes smoothly. The first time the Hidden Shinobi didn't know what Akaba wanted, but this time, seeing him holding three "takeouts," they immediately understood and led Akaba straight into Danzo's office.
Danzo cast a glance at those dishes and couldn't help showing an unusual expression.
Akaba placed the food down. After a long pause, Danzo gave him a long stare before finally muttering, "All vegetables?"
"Vegetables contain certain essential nutrients your body needs occasionally. It's actually good to eat vegetarian once in a while. Plus, ninjas should maintain proper physique."
Akaba improvised casually.
Of course, he wouldn't tell Danzo that he was just too lazy to go multiple places, so he simply got three identical servings from the vegetarian restaurant.
"Fine then."
Danzo accepted it. The Anbu's rations clearly weren't great either; though outwardly calm, he actually felt rather pleased upon seeing these vegetarian dishes.
"Then if nothing else, I'll go see them now."
"Hmph, but next time, bring one for me as well."
Danzo said indifferently.
"Eh?"
Akaba looked puzzled. Wasn't he already bringing one portion?
He then glanced at the things in his hands and immediately realized—Danzo meant the manga.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "Teacher, aren't you already getting your own copies somehow?"
Although he had no proof, as the head of Anbu, if someone couldn't find another way to obtain manga, he'd really find it unbelievable.
"Cough cough cough—"
Danzo seemed to be choked, immediately bursting into violent coughing.
After a long while, he regained his composure and said, "Don't speculate randomly. Where would I have such other methods? Anyway, go find them. I need to work."
"Yes."
Inside, Akaba was grinning like a cat who just got its cream.
If he actually handed over the manga to Danzo, it'd probably be like throwing a bone to a dog—gone forever.
Money?
When you give something to your teacher, money doesn't even come into play.
"That sneaky little kid has too many tricks up his sleeve."
Danzo inwardly cursed. After Akaba left, he took out the rice ball and vegetarian dishes and began eating.
Hmm, although just vegetables, the taste wasn't bad at all.
Not bad for plain veggies!
Delicious!
Soon, every last dish was devoured.
Leaving the office, Akaba needed no further guidance and walked directly to where Tsunade and Orochimaru's laboratory was located.
This time, neither had locked the door.
Akaba glanced sideways. Tsunade was inside a small laboratory, continuously channeling chakra into a rat.
He walked in and gently placed his belongings down.
At this point, there wasn't yet what one could call "Medical Ninjutsu." Most medics used drugs combined with chakra stimulation, and there wasn't even an official name established for unified Medical Ninjutsu techniques.
Tsunade's current approach was different from basic stimulation therapy.
The previously motionless rat twitched its limbs slightly after the treatment, then gradually stood up, regaining some vitality.
She let out a sigh of relief and grabbed the rat's tail—when she suddenly noticed someone standing nearby.
Startled, Tsunade hesitated briefly before pretending to be nonchalant. "What are you doing here?"
"Just checking on you two and bringing some food."
Akaba pointed toward the meal on the table, then curiously asked, "So what exactly is this?"
"Practicing medical ninjutsu."
Tsunade replied while lightly tapping the wall, seemingly communicating with Orochimaru.
Sure enough,
Within seconds, Orochimaru arrived from the adjacent room holding several unconscious rats.
Upon seeing Orochimaru, the rat in Tsunade's grip trembled with fear, desperately struggling and letting out high-pitched squeaks.
But it couldn't escape its fate. With a slight squeeze, Tsunade rendered it temporarily unconscious.
"It sure makes things easier with your medical techniques."
Orochimaru accepted the rat from her.
"It's still not good enough though. Success rate isn't high."
Tsunade shook her head and went to wash her hands in a basin nearby.
"They're researched, played with, brought here near death just to train healing techniques, healed, then sent back to repeat the process again… Isn't that just too cruel?!"
A deep sense of sympathy welled up within Akaba.
They probably want to die but can't.
"Oh, Akaba is here too."
Orochimaru noticed him, then immediately looked at the meal and rushed off to wash his hands.
When he returned, however, he didn't start eating right away. Instead, he looked left and right anxiously as if searching for something.
"You're staring, aren't you going to eat?"
Tsunade ate quickly—already finishing almost half a rice ball within this short time.
"Where's the manga?"
Orochimaru asked urgently.
Time was too precious to waste a second.
Tsunade stayed silent briefly before turning her gaze toward Akaba.
"Here."
Akaba retrieved a package from a sealing scroll, then handed out manga books to both Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Tsunade didn't look at hers immediately, placing it aside for now.
As soon as Orochimaru received his copy, he eagerly flipped it open like he couldn't wait any longer.
Looking at the first chapter, he froze momentarily.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing his reaction, Tsunade also flipped open the newly released seventy-sixth chapter.
Nothing particularly special seemed to be there.
The only notable part was Kiba getting knocked out by a smelly fart—hardly something that should cause such shock.
"A little while ago, Anbu came and asked me whether I could research ninjutsu to alter people's sense of smell."
Orochimaru explained.
Then he pointed at those rats, his meaning self-evident.
Tsunade paused, then burst into laughter: "So it's actually you causing trouble again, though I guess it makes sense."
The Inuzuka possessed naturally sharp senses of smell, further enhanced by their Beast Mimicry Ninjutsu.
A fart in close proximity definitely had devastating effects.
She thought for a moment and couldn't help but say, "From dozens of steps away, the destructive power shouldn't be this great. Seriously? They'd go *that* far?"
"Maybe," he muttered, "they considered other possibilities."
Since they were eating right now, it was better not to mention anything smelly.
Orochimaru silently took several bites of food.
The Inuzuka clan had offered very generous conditions—not only financial support, but they were also willing to help collect valuable biological specimens for experiments.
For the Inuzuka family, who raised numerous ninja hounds, capturing prey was part of daily training.
Furthermore, he found the research on olfactory modification quite intriguing.
Tsunade seemed listless, uninterested in these topics—not because she disliked storytelling, but because her mind was fully occupied with medical ninjutsu.
Especially after learning that Sunagakure's medical techniques had become stronger due to poison arts, she felt an even greater desire to research medical ninjutsu.
Seeing the battle between Neji and Hinata, she paused briefly before suddenly recalling:
The Byakugan could see human body channels, and Gentle Fist directly attacked internal organs and blocked chakra points by striking specific pressure points. When it came to understanding bodily structures, who could rival the Hyūga clan?
The high failure rate in treating these rats mainly resulted from imprecise techniques.
If even rats were this difficult, how much more complex would human internal organs be?
I must visit the Hyūga clan!
"I must've lost my mind—I completely forgot to reach out to the Hyūga clan!"
Tsunade slapped her own head.
Then, in a flurry, she sprang to her feet, shoved some food into her mouth, and mumbled, "I'll leave first. I don't have time to help you save these rats—you handle them yourself."
Orochimaru wanted to say something else, but Tsunade had already left in a flash.
"..."
"It's normal—researchers always get excited when inspiration strikes."
Akaba coughed lightly and said.
Orochimaru looked at those unconscious rats with regret; recapturing new ones would take time and waste valuable research hours.
"Oh well!"
He activated the Summoning Technique, calling forth a snake of adequate size, and let it consume the dead rats.
He winced at the loss—it would take time to replace the rats, and each hour wasted was precious research time lost.
Orochimaru rolled over and watched as Neji and Hinata wrapped up their fight.
Next was Lee vs Gaara.
Gaara was a jinchūriki from Sunagakure Village, but Lee, on the other hand…
Orochimaru didn't think much of Lee's chances. If it were Neji instead, there might be a shot. But Lee relied solely on taijutsu—he stood almost no chance against Gaara.
Perhaps he couldn't even break through that defense.
This was exactly what Orochimaru thought inwardly.
Indeed.
Although Lee was extremely strong and astonishingly fast, in the following fight, he still couldn't breach the sand defense.
This scene resembled watching Mū Sakumo—without any Kekkei Genkai or ninjutsu—clash against Sankai, clad entirely in iron armor.
Orochimaru silently sighed.
Without Kekkei Genkai, defeating such special existences was truly difficult.
At this moment, he deeply resonated with Lee.
However—
The next second, he saw Lee remove the weights on his legs.
The sight of him slamming down and sending a burst of debris flying left Orochimaru's mouth hanging open in shock.
Was this even humanly possible?
Then, Lee moved even faster—faster than the sand could defend against his strikes.
Gaara struggled to keep up with the relentless blows. The Armor of Sand surrounding him began to peel away.
What incredible Taijutsu.
Orochimaru was astonished. Was this level even achievable for ordinary people?
He had always believed that Taijutsu lacked the power to change one's fate. For example, could Shinku or Nightdance ever surpass the Senju clan's Taijutsu, no matter how much they trained?
Obviously not.
"Perhaps he possesses a special talent for Taijutsu; some individuals are simply different from others. That's nothing strange."
This was what Orochimaru thought silently to himself.
[Primary Lotus]!
A spinning attack—yet he struck only a substitution. At the same time, after using Primary Lotus, Lee lost all mobility.
Such was the price of knowing no Ninjutsu.
Orochimaru felt a sense of pity. If only Lee knew some Ninjutsu techniques, at times like these he could rely on something like Substitution Jutsu or an earth-style Earth Flow Wall, or even a water-style Water Encampment Wall to survive through the vulnerable period following Primary Lotus.
But unfortunately, he couldn't use any Ninjutsu at all.
This was an unfair fight—at least in Orochimaru's eyes.
"Hard work and talent—just excuses people tell themselves to feel better. There are chasms in this world that effort alone can never cross, such as Kekkei Genkai or the Bijū abilities of a Jinchuriki."
Orochimaru murmured softly.
It wasn't mockery or contempt—he had completely put himself in Lee's shoes.
Though he himself had been luckier than Lee, capable of easily learning Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, when facing the red-feathered Akaba's genjutsu, he had no choice but to force himself into unconsciousness and then awaken quickly again.
Not to mention, there was also the Kaleidoscope Sharingan!
Previously, he hadn't understood. He once thought the three tomoe were the ultimate limit of the Sharingan. But ever since that night of the Uchiha—the night Motonami Uchiha awakened the Kaleidoscope Sharingan and used that abnormal illusion technique, Kagutsuchi's Hell—Orochimaru had realized just how terrifying the true power of the Uchiha bloodline truly was.
Can hard work truly change anything?
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>