Sannin Divergence

"How about you? How long will you be back this time?"

Hearing Orochimaru's question, Tsunade also looked toward Jiraiya.

"I plan to write some books, then see if there are any suitable juniors in the village. I want to find a successor."

Neither of them found it surprising. After all, Jiraiya had previously taken on three disciples. Returning to take on another was hardly anything remarkable.

But just as Jiraiya finished speaking, the mechanical voice sounded in Orochimaru's mind once more!

"Plane storyline triggered: Sannin's parting of ways. You have the following choices:

① Conduct Medical Ninjutsu research with Tsunade and become the Medical Duo Famous Throughout the Ninja World. Reward: Rapid Cell Regeneration.

② Teach disciples alongside Jiraiya and become the Teacher of the Child of Prophecy. Reward: Flying Thunder God Technique cultivation method.

③ Go it alone. Only when the tide turns does a hero's true character emerge. Reward: Doubled Comprehension."

Sure enough, he had known this moment would come. The three of them had already changed in their ideals.

If it were still wartime, they would have remained under pressure to form a team and carry out missions together. But now, all three had made names for themselves, and the war had ended.

It was precisely because they had experienced war that their thoughts had changed. Tsunade had seen through the nature of war and lived each day in despondency, becoming indifferent to everything.

Orochimaru's path of research had gone farther and farther. Even without his transmigration, he would have embarked on the path of researching immortality. It was merely that his current direction of research was different.

As for Jiraiya, he wanted to change something by searching for the Child of Prophecy. He even poured out his frustration through pen and paper. His behavior was somewhat like that of the ancient Du Fu, singing of prosperity, decline, melancholy, and unfulfilled ambition.

As for these three options, Rapid Cell Regeneration was indeed tempting, but what the hell was the Medical Duo Famous Throughout the Ninja World?

Even if he wanted to learn, Tsunade might not be willing to teach him. Was he supposed to take her as his master? If he knocked Tsunade down, that would be easier to discuss, but looking at her current state, one word: difficult!

There was no need to consider the second option. Leaving aside whether he was interested in teaching Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, what would be the point of training him?

To compete with his own disciple for the Hokage position, then lose?

Orochimaru had never underestimated himself, but becoming Hokage was not something one could simply decide to do. It was not like the Third Hokage, who had been appointed in a crisis.

Normally, a Hokage had to be elected by the people. First came public support, then the backing of the major clans, the approval of the village higher-ups, and finally the Daimyo's nod.

Orochimaru possessed none of those advantages. He only had some reputation, but surpassing Minato Namikaze during the Third Great Ninja War would not be easy.

Besides, he would never get past the higher-ups. Most importantly, there was the Third Hokage—his own teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi—who claimed that evil lurked in his eyes.

Come on, take another look now. He was a model young man of the new era, all right?

With so many obstacles, he had no desire to consider the matter. As for the Flying Thunder God cultivation method, setting aside whether he could learn it, even if he could, couldn't he just secretly study it like in the Original Work?

"Flying Thunder Snake?"

That thought suddenly surfaced in Orochimaru's mind. He immediately shook his head and decisively chose the third option.

"Congratulations, Host. Doubled Comprehension acquired. (Note: You may doubt this snake's character, but do not doubt this snake's intelligence. Young man, have you grasped it?)"

A cool sensation flowed into his mind, and the corners of Orochimaru's lips rose involuntarily.

"Hey, hey, hey, Orochimaru. Do you find my idea that funny?"

Jiraiya's voice rang out then. To his surprise, Jiraiya had misunderstood Orochimaru's smile.

"Tsunade, bring Shizune over here. It's inconvenient for you to keep running back and forth over there every day."

Ignoring Jiraiya's questioning, Orochimaru turned to Tsunade.

Shizune had been young before, and since Tsunade had no experience caring for children, she had been left with a wet nurse from a relative's household. Now that she was over four years old, she had long since been weaned and could eat regular meals.

Tsunade had often brought food over from here before, but that was not a long-term solution.

"Sure, I'll bring her over tomorrow!"

Tsunade's eyes lit up when she heard that. How had she not thought of it?

Jiraiya had made a futile attempt at conversation. He used to joke and roughhouse with Tsunade, but Tsunade was no longer in the mood, while Orochimaru had always been a man of few words. The two of them did not see eye to eye, so finding a shared topic was indeed difficult.

For a time, the atmosphere became gloomy. Tsunade was depressed, while Orochimaru was examining the reward he had just obtained and said nothing.

Only Jiraiya was at a loss. All of a sudden, he felt that his carefree personality could not fit into the spiritual world of these two. The three simply drank in silence.

As midnight approached, Jiraiya was the first to take his leave. Orochimaru began clearing the table, while Tsunade alone continued drinking by herself.

"Don't drink too much. You still have to pick up Shizune tomorrow."

Orochimaru knew he could not persuade her, so he could only bring up Shizune.

Sure enough, when Orochimaru mentioned Shizune, the bottle in Tsunade's hand paused slightly.

"I know. You're so naggy!"

Seeing her reluctant expression, Orochimaru rubbed her head again.

"Go buy some clothes tomorrow."

Hearing Orochimaru's words, the slightly tipsy Tsunade froze for a moment before speaking.

"I have plenty of clothes. There's no need to buy any."

Orochimaru knew she had misunderstood. What clothes did she need to buy? She looked perfectly good dressed like this!

"I meant for you to buy Shizune some clothes. Children grow quickly. Just looking at you, I can tell you've never raised a child."

What a joke. There was no child in the Ninja World that Orochimaru could not coax away. In this regard, he could be called an expert. Besides, he had lived two lives, unlike Tsunade, who had no experience raising children.

"Oh!"

Tsunade realized she had misunderstood and hurriedly lifted her wine cup to hide her embarrassment. But then Orochimaru added another line.

"Of course, buy yourself a few new outfits while you're at it. You've torn several while practicing with me lately."

After saying that, Orochimaru said nothing more. He picked up a copy of Medical Notes and began reading.

These were questions he had recorded earlier. Some had already been resolved, while others had not yet been studied in depth. This was the perfect time to review them.

He wanted to test whether his doubled comprehension could give him entirely new ideas.

The results did not disappoint him. Problems he had already overcome now seemed extremely simple, and for some of them, he could even think of different solutions.

As for the unresolved issues, he quickly formulated several viable plans and swiftly estimated their chances of success.

The former Orochimaru had been intelligent as well, but he could not compare with his current self at all. Doubled comprehension was not as simple as one plus one. It was a qualitative leap.

Not only could it shorten the research time from the Original Work, but it would also free him up to undertake several more research projects.

Recently, he had already obtained some cells from Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki through Shiro.

This was a good opportunity to get in touch with them early. When Konoha's Hashirama Cells research began, he would also be able to further verify his hypotheses.