Tobirama ignored Tsunade's disapproval. He walked up, his gaze sweeping over them, his expression stern and commanding.
"What is it?"
They were used to Tobirama's serious, battle-ready face.
An Yan stepped forward and bowed. "Lord Tobirama, I've obtained something good that I need you to see."
Tobirama stared at him for two seconds, then turned and walked towards the basement. An Yan was confused, wondering what he meant. Then, Tobirama's voice came from behind.
"Follow me."
The three of them exchanged a look and followed him into the basement.
After walking down a long, oil-lamp-lit corridor, Tobirama led them to an empty room. It was clearly a room specifically for storing things.
An Yan looked around. Seeing no one else was present, he slowly took out the Wood Talisman from his clothes.
The talisman was a wooden pendant that emitted a faint green glow.
The moment he took it out, plants began to sprout in the room, growing before their astonished eyes.
Tobirama stepped forward, took the talisman, and carefully sensed its power. He suddenly infused a burst of chakra into it.
Their surroundings changed instantly. The four of them were pulled into a domain.
Sunlight streamed down from the sky. They were surrounded by a dense bamboo forest, with very little room to move.
"Wow, what is this place? It's amazing!" Tsunade exclaimed, startled. She had never seen bamboo before and was fascinated.
Orochimaru's eyes were filled with curiosity. He turned to An Yan. "Where did you find this? Can you get me one?"
An Yan rolled his eyes. "I found it on the road. This is the only one."
Tobirama rubbed the pendant in his hand and murmured to himself, "A barrier... a domain... or a space inherent to the item?"
He continued to study the pendant, then suddenly vanished from the bamboo forest, as if he had turned invisible.
Tsunade was alarmed and shouted, "Great-uncle, are you okay? Where are you? Great-uncle!"
The next moment, the air rippled, and Tobirama appeared from behind a bamboo stalk, placing his hand on Tsunade's head.
"What are you shouting for, little Tsunade? Do you not trust my strength?"
Tsunade relaxed and pouted. "I was just worried about you, great-uncle."
Tobirama waved his hand, and the space shifted. They were back in the basement. The plants were still growing slowly. Tobirama placed a sealing jutsu on the talisman, temporarily suppressing its power.
He turned to An Yan. "Little An Yan, where did you get this? Do you have any specific information about it?"
An Yan scratched his head and decided to make something up. "This is called the Wood Talisman. It has the power to make plants grow. A long time ago, my ancestors used it for farming, but it was lost. However, I found it in a pile of junk in my basement today while I was cleaning. I thought it might be useful to you, so I brought it here."
Tobirama frowned slightly. "Your family is from a commoner background, right? Do you have a long family history?"
An Yan spread his hands helplessly. "I don't know. This is just something passed down by word of mouth in my family. I don't know how old it is, and it's not very reliable. I hope it can be of some use to you."
Tobirama was silent. An Yan's story was full of holes, but sometimes, the truth wasn't necessary. It was enough to know that the boy's heart was with Konoha. Not to mention, he and little Tsunade were childhood friends.
Faced with his silence, An Yan began to feel a little uneasy. He was about to add more to his story when Tobirama said, "I'll study this. You can go back for now."
An Yan nodded and was about to leave when Orochimaru suddenly bowed.
"Lord Tobirama, I am Orochimaru. My parents, Ao and Shiro, were your subordinates. I'm sure you remember them. I would like to join the Technology Development Department to study biology under you."
Tobirama looked at Orochimaru's clearly biologically modified snake-like pupils and remembered who he was talking about.
"So you're Ao and Shiro's child. In that case, I'll talk to Monkey and have you transferred here as an intern for a while."
"Um," An Yan quietly raised his hand. "Lord Tobirama, I have a friend named Hiruko who is also very interested in biology and medicine. Can he come in with Orochimaru? And... I'd like to study here too."
Tsunade punched An Yan and pulled him back a few steps, whispering, "It's so dark and gloomy in here. What's there to study? You can read anything in the Senju clan's library. Why do you have to come here?"
An Yan whispered back, "I'm looking out for Orochimaru and Hiruko. If they're always studying these things, they might become dark and twisted. Someone needs to keep an eye on them."
Tobirama overheard their conversation and nodded slightly. "In that case, all three of you can come in as interns."
The three of them left the dark basement. Tsunade complained all the way.
"If Orochimaru joins the Technology Development Department, then it'll just be me and Jiraiya on missions. That Jiraiya guy will be so happy. Ugh, just thinking about it is annoying."
An Yan and Orochimaru exchanged a look of helplessness.
After a moment of thought, An Yan said, "If Hiruko and I both join, then our team will only have Sakumo left. If you don't mind, Tsunade, he could go on missions with you. Brother Sakumo is exceptionally skilled, almost at the Jonin level. I'd feel more at ease if he were with you. What do you think?"
Tsunade nodded indifferently. She didn't mind who she went on missions with; she just had a problem with Jiraiya.
After all, the first time they met, Jiraiya had smugly told her to save her love letters for him, which had left a very bad impression.
And she had heard from Orochimaru that Jiraiya often peeked at girls bathing, which made her opinion of the pervert even worse.
"Alright, it's settled then. I'll go tell Hiruko and Sakumo. You can talk to Jiraiya."
An Yan and Tsunade finalized the plan. He smiled and nodded at Orochimaru, then formed a hand seal and vanished with a body flicker.
-------
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