Konoha Hospital

Orochimaru snapped upright the moment he woke from the dream.

His cold, sharp gaze cut through the room like a blade, brimming with extreme vigilance and menace as he surveyed his surroundings.

The research lab was empty. The familiar scent of disinfectant hung in the air. Outside the window, the sky remained dark.

"I'm back."

Orochimaru leaned back into his chair, turning his head to glance at the clock on the wall.

From falling asleep to waking up, only about ten minutes had passed.

But in the dream, at least half an hour had felt like it had gone by. Clearly, the mysterious 'Church of Bones' operated on a different flow of time from the real world.

Orochimaru pinched the bridge of his nose hard, a flicker of wariness and hatred crossing his stern face.

"Orochimaru, beware of the Third Hokage and Danzo."

This was the first fate 'Adam' had revealed to him before he left.

Being wary of Danzo, Orochimaru could still understand.

As their cooperation deepened, they had already touched on many special projects that Konoha had explicitly forbidden.

Though they kept each other in check, it was hard to guarantee nothing would go wrong in the future.

Even if Orochimaru was unwilling to believe this outcome, White Fang's fate was a stark warning right before his eyes. He had no choice but to stay on guard.

Lost in thought, Orochimaru unrolled the scroll again and deleted the last section of text, rewriting it: "Progress in Wood Release research looks promising. Approximately several dozen experimental subjects are needed. I hope to select them from death row prisoners in Konoha's prison. Your disciple, Orochimaru, respectfully submitted."

"Heh, fate. Let's wait and see."

Sealing the scroll, Orochimaru crossed his hands, his purple eyeshadow half-closed, brewing with unspoken emotion.

The black mist receded like an ebbing tide.

Uchiha Sōgetsu slowly opened his eyes. The splitting headache made him frown slightly.

In the corner of the room, the brass-colored candlestick that had been burning had now gone out.

Wispy white smoke rose, releasing a peculiar fragrance into the room.

"Maintaining a Sequence 3 dream is too much of a burden on my spirituality." Sōgetsu rubbed his temples with his fingers. Though it couldn't fully heal him, it at least eased the symptoms a little. He let out a heavy sigh: "Even ten portions of spiritual body only let the dream last ten minutes."

Hermes' Brass Candlestick was the core of his constructed 'dream'.

Made from the Extraordinary Characteristic of a Sequence 3 Dream Weaver, this Extraordinary Item possessed part of the Dream Weaver's abilities. It could weave whatever dream the holder desired and forcibly pull anyone within a kilometer into it. The dream's duration and power were tied to the quality of the spiritual body fed into the candlestick for burning.

Of course, true to the duality of any Extraordinary Item, its negative effects were also severe.

First, while maintaining the dream, it rapidly drained the holder's spirituality. If the loss was too great, the holder would experience symptoms like loss of control or madness.

Second, after using 'Hermes' Brass Candlestick', there would be a period of 'misfortune' lasting about 24 hours.

The 'misfortune' here didn't mean ordinary 'bad luck'. Instead, during this time, everyone within a one-kilometer radius centered on Hermes' Brass Candlestick would have their minds affected, developing an 'inexplicable hostility' toward him.

Sōgetsu guessed it was a trait of the Visionary pathway, allowing Hermes' Brass Candlestick to overwrite and guide the subconscious mental ocean of those people over a wide area.

In other words, this candlestick 'wanted to kill' its holder.

"Just like 0-08."

Sōgetsu grumbled inwardly, stashing Hermes' Brass Candlestick away and obediently going to sleep.

Nothing happened that night.

At sunrise, Sōgetsu woke naturally—a habit forged on the battlefield.

As a ninja, he had to stay alert to his surroundings at all times, whether on the battlefield or not. One moment of carelessness could lead to irreversible consequences.

After dressing neatly, Sōgetsu left the Uchiha Residence.

Along the way, people kept casting strange glances at him, tinged with a hint of hostility.

"Hope I can get through today smoothly." Knowing what was going on, Sōgetsu could only pray silently that nothing would happen, and he quickened his pace toward Konoha Hospital.

"Morning, Dr. Sōgetsu~"

"Good morning, Dr. Sōgetsu."

"Dr. Sōgetsu is here?"

Fortunately, Konoha Hospital was far from the Uchiha Residence, outside the overwrite range of Hermes' Brass Candlestick.

Otherwise, he'd really have to reconsider whether to come today.

After all, today's 'patient' was a notoriously violent one.

At the top-floor office of the hospital, Sōgetsu tidied himself up and pushed the door open.

By the floor-to-ceiling window, the rising warm sun draped like a layer of golden gauze, gently falling over a woman's shoulders. Her light yellow hair was tied into a ponytail, her delicate face and fine figure—though nearly thirty, her skin was still as soft and fair as a baby's.

Long lashes covered her eyes, trembling slightly. Her right hand propped up her oval face, bobbing up and down like a pestle, nodding off.

Beautiful.

Seeing her in person, Sōgetsu finally understood why Tsunade topped the charts.

No wonder she was the queen of the lists—Senju Tsunade.

"Ah—"

However, the pleasant scene was shattered as Tsunade woke up.

She let out a yawn utterly devoid of feminine grace, then stretched with such vigor that her chest heaved in a tumultuous wave.

See no evil, hear no evil.

Reciting the mantra in his heart, Sōgetsu kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, putting on the appearance of an old monk in meditation before the 'benefits' so close at hand.

"Ah, kid, you're here." Tsunade lifted her eyelids, half-covering her pink lips with a sleepy look. "Sorry about that, I went out for a few rounds last night and got a bit late."

Say 'rounds' but don't say—

Sōgetsu suppressed his urge to quip and said calmly, "Lady Tsunade, if it's inconvenient to treat today, I can come back tomorrow."

Senju Tsunade was, barely, one of his customers.

As for why 'barely'?

Simple—because this woman couldn't always pay him.

"Oh, no need to go through all that trouble." Tsunade waved her hand carelessly. "Let's do it today. I made a big haul last night anyway!"

Tsunade? A big haul?

Hearing this, Uchiha Sōgetsu's brows twitched violently, and he silently cursed. What a piece of work.

According to the laws of Hokage, whenever Tsunade got lucky, it meant someone was about to have a stroke of bad luck—and it was always someone close to her.

"Alright, Lady Tsunade." But that thought stayed in his head. Sōgetsu didn't dare say it out loud.

No other reason—he was afraid of getting hit.

"Thanks for your hard work, kid."

A hint of tenderness surfaced in Tsunade's eyes as she obediently sat up straight and said softly, "If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be trapped in the shadows of the past."

"It's nothing. It's my honor to help you."

Sōgetsu wore a warm and gentle smile as his pitch-black eyes slowly turned red, three tomoe emerging. "Are you ready, Lady Tsunade? The treatment is about to begin. Please relax."

"Mm, I'm ready."

Deep in Tsunade's tea-colored eyes, a trace of recollection lingered as her mind gradually emptied.

"Genjutsu: Wish Fulfillment!"

Sōgetsu pretended to form hand seals, his Sharingan spinning rapidly.

But in truth, he secretly mobilized his mental power, a sharp gleam bursting from his eyes.

Hypnosis!

Through his Spiritual Vision, he could clearly see Tsunade's Mind-Body Gate opening.

"Perfect. Let me test just how far Sequence 6's Psychological Suggestion can go."

Sōgetsu silently apologized in his heart as his consciousness swam through the depths of Tsunade's mental ocean, quietly implanting a psychological suggestion.

December 4th, Sunny.

Don't wanna go to work. Getting PUA'd every day, fed empty promises again. I'm so miserable. Might as well buy a lottery ticket after work—if I win, I won't have to go to work. Also, shamelessly begging for collections, recommendations, investments—new book needs follow-up reads. Dear readers, be merciful and throw me a bone~