Did Jiraiya actually feel ashamed?
Orochimaru paused for a moment. He'd always thought Jiraiya's personality allowed him to openly draw such risqué stuff, as if he didn't even know the meaning of shame.
I'll have to apologize later.
He thought inwardly, then turned his gaze toward Akaba.
Food. Manga.
He hadn't read today's manga yet, but based on past storylines, he could already guess most of what was going to happen next, so he wasn't particularly eager to rush through it.
The food, though—he really enjoyed that.
Orochimaru picked up some food and asked while eating, "You must have something important since you brought these things. Now that Jiraiya's gone, tell me what task you need me to handle?"
"I want to make frog hotpot tonight, so I'd like your snakes' help catching some frogs and bullfrogs for me."
Akaba rubbed his hands together excitedly.
What? Frog hotpot?
Orochimaru blinked briefly, then stuffed another few bites into his mouth. He quickly formed hand seals and summoned an array of small summoning snakes.
These summoned snakes possessed much greater intelligence than ordinary snakes. He crouched down and communicated with them briefly before they soon dispersed through the cracks between rocks.
"No problem. They'll stun the prey, and I can send a shadow clone to collect everything," Orochimaru said.
He sat back down, grabbed the manga, and continued eating.
The plot played out just as he'd predicted — once more, he showed up doing evil deeds. The first time seeing his "evil" depiction had taken some getting used to, but now he felt completely indifferent.
Anyway, that's not really him.
Moreover, this volume seemed to explain from various angles how the "Orochimaru" character evolved from the Hokage's disciple into who he is now.
War, death, the pursuit of immortality and eternal life.
Orochimaru flipped through a few pages before silently closing the book.
When the task finished and the items were delivered, Akaba stood up to leave. Just then, Orochimaru called out, "Akaba, if Teacher disapproved of my research, do you think I might end up becoming like this version from the manga?"
"Fate is hard to predict — for example, Nawaki's death. Without that incident, maybe the Orochimaru in here wouldn't have become who he later became either."
Nawaki had been Orochimaru's student.
From the manga, it was clear how much Orochimaru valued him — practically treating him like a personal apprentice, devoting all his effort into training him.
His death had dealt Orochimaru a devastating blow.
Humans are so fragile.
Orochimaru fell into deep thought after hearing this. He experienced an extremely strange sensation — that the personalities, goals, and other traits of the characters inside were shockingly similar to his own, almost like an alternate path his life might take.
Of course,
he didn't believe he would truly turn out like that person.
Right now, Konoha supported his studies of various ninjutsu techniques. He had a respected teacher and elders who appreciated him, along with many good companions. There was absolutely no reason for him to betray the village and become a rogue ninja.
As for human experimentation...
Without a proper research system, developing jutsu on your own lacks precision and speed. But with a solid framework, many techniques can be perfected far better than by one man alone.
"I'm off."
Akaba waved goodbye.
The frog meat was already secured, and he had no intention of lingering in the dimly lit lab any longer. Fortunately, the research institute would be opening soon, so he wouldn't have to make daily trips here anymore.
Although it felt a bit bad toward Danzo thinking this way, who in their right mind would willingly go to Anbu headquarters?
"If we're talking about Frog Hotpot, you better save me a portion too. I'm the one who did all the work this afternoon—don't expect me to end up with nothing while you and Tsunade eat everything."
Though he didn't know what Frog Hotpot tasted like, for someone as lazy as Akaba to come all the way just to ask him to prepare some, it must be pretty good.
Even someone like Orochimaru couldn't help feeling curious about its taste.
"Hmph, what are you talking about? I just wanted to eat; I wasn't trying to invite anyone over or anything. But since you mentioned it, I might as well invite Tsunade along too."
Akaba had some nerve.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
He was the one who wanted to invite Tsunade in the first place, but now it sounded like it was his idea all along.
Well, whatever.
Orochimaru gave a slight shake of his head, not even bothering to argue over such nonsense.
If there was going to be hotpot, how could there be no drinks or alcohol?
Coke and beer weren't available, but many clans in Konoha brewed their own fruit wines.
For example, the Senju clan's honey wine.
So he went to the Senju clan and after quite a struggle managed to see Tsunade through Mito Uzumaki, telling her he wanted some Senju honey wine and inviting her over for dinner.
Tsunade didn't refuse, especially when she heard Akaba was personally going to cook. Even Mito Uzumaki decided she wanted to join in.
To ensure the food's freshness and flavor, Akaba "selflessly" went with Tsunade to the Nara clan to get some spices and then into the forest to collect mushrooms and wild vegetables.
Worth mentioning was that during a moment alone together, Akaba specifically activated [Cherry Blossom Tearing Impact], showing off a bit while demonstrating it right there.
Before the upgrade, Tsunade might have been doubtful.
Although Cherry Blossom Tearing Impact was technically an extension of Monstrous Strength, it fundamentally required extreme familiarity with chakra flow and muscle control within the human body.
Such mastery required profound understanding of Medical Ninjutsu, but Mystical Palm Technique erased all doubts.
In short, the entire afternoon had passed in such a dull and uneventful manner.
As dusk approached, Orochimaru arrived at the restaurant carrying his catch.
A huge basket full of large frogs, each one plump and mouthwatering. However, behind him came Jiraiya too.
Akaba looked perplexed and stared at Jiraiya, asking, "Won't you feel guilty eating this?"
"Not at all. Frogs and toads aren't even the same thing."
Jiraiya replied excitedly.
Frog Hotpot sounded absolutely amazing!
Not only that, he enthusiastically volunteered, "How should we handle these frogs? Let me help out."
"Well... sure."
Akaba felt strangely uneasy inside.
This guy was being way too proactive. Eating was one thing, but helping to process them? Still, who could resist free labor?
After briefly showing him how it was done, Jiraiya quickly got the hang of it, working so efficiently that everyone was stunned.
As he chopped away, he muttered to himself, "Die Gamata! Die! Die! Die!"
Everyone pretended not to hear, silently mourning for Jiraiya in their hearts.
Gamata, though not as large as he would become in the future, was already decently sized and more than capable of bullying Jiraiya. Chances are, he must have picked on him quite a bit back when they were both training at Mount Myoboku.
"By the way, Jiraiya," Tsunade asked curiously, "what did you eat while you were at Mount Myoboku?"
The natural energy in Shikkotsu Forest was highly corrosive, so much so that she had never dared to visit it herself. Among the Three Sacred Lands, only Jiraiya had actually been to all of them.
When he heard this, Jiraiya's face immediately fell, and he groaned, "Don't even ask. It's like a nightmare."
"You'll get the chance to taste it in the village soon enough. The toads recently brought their business to Konoha."
Akaba was busy preparing hotpot base ingredients.
Even Jiraiya treated the situation with great caution.
Orochimaru found it somewhat intriguing. He had always been curious about things no one else dared to try, especially things that frightened Jiraiya.
After some effort, Akaba successfully made a pot of hotpot base, though not entirely perfect—many of the traditional Sichuan hotpot ingredients couldn't be found in Konoha, so suitable substitutes had to be used instead. Although the flavor was somewhat similar, overall it wasn't quite authentic.
The aroma gradually spread through the woods.
"It seems we arrived just in time. We can start eating right away."
Mito Uzumaki approached gracefully, speaking softly and politely—unlike her usual self.
"Some people prepare such a grand meal without telling their teacher. I guess all the bad things I've done made someone dislike me so much."
Danzo sneered coldly as he stepped out from behind Mito Uzumaki.
"Erm, Danzo… we kinda crashed the party, but please don't take it the wrong way."
Sandaime extinguished his cigarette.
Two unexpected guests.
Akaba glanced at the prepared ingredients, then found himself exchanging a look with Orochimaru.
With this much food, adding two or three more people should still be fine.
"Teacher, Uncle Danzo, please sit over here."
Tsunade quickly laid down a cloth, expanding the clean area outward.
The seven of them settled around the steaming stone pot.
Only one of Danzo's eyes was intact, so he had to tilt his head slightly to see clearly. He watched Akaba drop frog meat into the red broth of the stone pot.
"This smell is too intense. How did you make something like this?"
He frowned slightly.
"Teacher, if you eat hotpot with just plain broth, it has no soul. It's better when it's spicy."
Akaba squatted down.
The fire wasn't strong enough, so after glancing at it a few times, he poked Jiraiya and said, "You should bring some toad oil from Mount Myoboku next time. With that, cooking will become much easier and faster."
"Oh yeah, that's a good idea."
Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully and took note immediately.
"Toad oil? I happen to have some right here."
Sandaime took out a sealing scroll, performed a hand seal, and retrieved a bottle of toad oil.
"That's perfect."
Thanks to the toad oil, the flames roared to life, and the stone pot started bubbling in no time.
Orochimaru glanced at it and immediately reached forward with chopsticks: "I'm immune to toxins—I'll test it first."
"Hold on, hold on. Let me check if it's cooked yet."
Akaba also extended his chopsticks forward.
The people present weren't fools. Everyone except Jiraiya sprang into action the moment the meat hit the pot, and in the blink of an eye, most of it had already been scooped up.
By the time Jiraiya managed to grab about half a frog's worth of meat, he realized the pot was already empty.
Looking over at The Third and Danzo, both were busy eating with spicy-induced hisses, yet their bowls were overflowing—especially Mito Uzumaki's. Don't let her gentle, kind appearance fool you; she was clearly taking the biggest share.
Man, that's spicy as hell—but tastes amazing!
After a few bites, Danzo hurriedly took a sip or two of honey wine to tame the heat.
Sunagakure Village almost tore the Land of Bird apart, yet here we are, peacefully enjoying hotpot. Life like this doesn't come easy.
The Third ate slowly and methodically while expressing some sentiment.
Horseface, don't bring that stuff to the table. This is supposed to be a private dinner.
Mito Uzumaki gave a sideways glance and snapped irritably, Look at you—you've taken way more than you can eat. You even grabbed all of Jiraiya's share.
Yeah, yeah, Jiraiya, here—have some of these.
Thank you Teacher, thank you Lady Mito.
Jiraiya wanted to cry.
Sure enough, it was Mito Uzumaki who grabbed the most—but she's the only one The Third would even think about giving up his food for.
There's still plenty left! Why's everyone fighting over it like wolves?
Danzo skillfully poured a second bowl of frog meat into the pot, then added vegetables, mushrooms, and other vegetarian ingredients.
In such a short time, he'd already figured out how to enjoy hotpot properly.
Drinking honey wine, enjoying hotpot—life was good, except for those few who kept snatching food before it's even cooked.
Akaba felt a small sense of regret deep inside.
The spiciness was way more intense than what The Third and Danzo were used to—but somehow they couldn't get enough of it either, so the two of them ended up drinking the most honey wine.
Before long, both showed signs of loosening up, clearly different from their usual selves.
When the frog meat ran low, The Third jumped into the nearby river and caught several fish. Danzo swiftly gutted and scaled them with a kunai before tossing the fresh ingredients into the pot.
Not until near dusk did everyone finally feel completely satisfied.
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