Cooperation with Orochimaru

"Jiraiya, what the hell are you doing back here?"

Tsunade saw her two teammates arrive. Her mouth said she wasn't welcome, but her body honestly scooted over to make room.

"The old man had urgent business to call me in for. If I didn't come back, I'd probably get tied up and dragged here by ANBU."

"I'm only back for one day. Ran into Orochimaru on the way."

Seeing Jiraiya's usual flighty, irresponsible demeanor, anger rose in Tsunade's heart.

"You old pervert, I'm afraid you'll corrupt the kid."

She even raised her fist as she spoke. Jiraiya watched Tsunade's fist and silently took a step back, repeatedly swearing he would absolutely not corrupt any child.

"Originally I only wanted to invite Orochimaru-sensei, but Jiraiya-sama insisted on tagging along."

Seeing Jiraiya's embarrassment, Shengshu quickly stepped in to twist the knife.

Orochimaru's lips curled up, and he nodded along.

"Orochimaru, now is not the time to throw me under the bus! Save me!"

Fooling around was one thing, but the Sannin were still the Sannin—comrades who could entrust each other with their lives on the battlefield.

Luckily the private room was big enough; everyone managed to sit comfortably.

Yayoi and Yan sat together, Shengshu and Tsunade, Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

Orochimaru was a bit surprised to see an Uchiha, but once he looked at Yayoi, he didn't dwell on it.

As teammates who had lived and died together, they had heard from Tsunade about Uesugi Yayoi.

She was a member of the Senju clan and also a promising talent in Medical Ninjutsu. Tsunade planned to take her as a disciple.

Seeing her now, he simply smiled and offered his goodwill.

"Little Yayoi, I didn't expect someone so young to already have a girl liking you."

Jiraiya was the most enthusiastic, looking at Yayoi with a kind face and speaking with a grin.

This was Tsunade's disciple. If he could build a good relationship now...

Then work from the inside, and he might not be without a chance.

Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Ahem, I am one of the Sannin—Jiraiya."

Jiraiya quietly leaned in close to Yayoi's ear and said.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to see some good stuff."

"Jiraiya-sama really knows how to joke."

Yayoi wasn't buying it. Who didn't know Jiraiya? An old pervert. And if he had that kind of time, wouldn't it be better spent studying Dragon Script?

Yan, sitting beside them, silently stared at Jiraiya and Yayoi. She stared until Jiraizi felt a bit awkward, and only withdrew her gaze after he let go of Yayoi.

"Jiraiya, rein it in, or else."

Seeing Jiraiya's sneaky behavior, Tsunade knew he wasn't planning anything good and warned him.

Jiraiya opened a bottle of sake, as if he intended to drink a heroic toast.

"Wait, my cousin hasn't arrived yet. She might have gotten lost. I'll go pick her up."

Just then, Tsunade seemed to suddenly remember something.

The remaining few looked at each other, unsure what was happening.

Before long, the door to the private room opened, and Tsunade led in a little girl with red hair.

"Ahem, let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Kushina."

"Kushina."

Shengshu also greeted her, motioning for Kushina to come over.

As for why his sister had invited Kushina, it was probably to make Kushina feel a little better.

After all, her country had been destroyed, and she had come to a foreign land all alone—it was far too lonely.

Perhaps the lively atmosphere could let Kushina feel the warmth of Konoha.

"Alright, everyone, dig in. Don't be shy."

Tsunade opened a bottle of sake and started drinking alongside Jiraiya.

"What a feast this is."

Yayoi couldn't help but sigh as he looked at everyone at the banquet.

The Sannin, Shengshu, the future—no, the current—Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

This banquet couldn't be more remarkable.

Kushina was still a bit at a loss, suddenly meeting so many strangers and feeling out of place.

But seeing the quiet boy and girl across from her who only ate their vegetables, she followed their example and buried her head in her food.

At the dinner table, the only thing keeping the atmosphere lively was Jiraiya and Tsunade chugging bottles at each other.

Everyone else, including Orochimaru—also one of the Sannin—remained silent.

Yayoi, however, was lost in thought.

His analysis of the Uchiha Gene and the Hyuga Gene had long hit a bottleneck; this was destined to be something he couldn't finish in a short time.

His expertise was still insufficient—after all, one person's energy was limited.

But maybe two people could split the work.

"Perhaps, for now, I can let Orochimaru help me research the Hyuga genes."

After mulling it over, Yayoi finally came up with an idea.

He had no choice—even his research on the Uchiha Gene had recently stalled, requiring deeper understanding.

Earlier, with Tsunade away, Yayoi could only focus on breaking through the threshold of Dragon Script.

He simply had no spare hands for gene research.

At this stage, Orochimaru's ambition for research had already begun to show.

If he handed over the Byakugan's genes now, Orochimaru would probably be ecstatic.

Having made up his mind, Yayoi decided to talk to Orochimaru later.

For now, he'd finish this meal first.

"How boring—the great Sannin, and not one can match me in drinking. A lonely master indeed."

Tsunade laughed heartily as she looked at Jiraiya slumped over.

"Shengshu, help me home. That's enough for today."

"Sis, are you about to get drunk too?"

Shengshu, true to his title as brother of the year, completely dismantled Tsunade's bravado with one sentence.

"What kind of talk is that, you brat? I won."

Relying on her height advantage, Tsunade rubbed Shengshu's head furiously.

In the end, Shengshu, his face full of grievance, helped Tsunade out.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to call out to Kushina.

"Alright, I should be going too."

Orochimaru hoisted the reeking Jiraiya up, his face full of disgust.

"Lord Orochimaru, if you have time tomorrow, please stop by the Tricolor Dango shop next door."

Orochimaru glanced at Yayoi, confirmed he wasn't joking, and nodded.

"Fine."

Then the two left.

"Lord Orochimaru isn't so cold and distant after all—he seems easy to talk to."

Yan stood up beside him.

"Yeah, true. Alright, Yan, let's head home too, or your Second Grandfather will start worrying."

"Mm-hmm."

Every night, he activated the Mirror Eye to decipher Dragon Script, draining most of his Chakra and exhausting his stamina.

Only then could Yayoi sleep soundly.

The next morning, he got up early, tidied himself, grabbed his research materials on the Hyuga, and headed to the Dango Shop.

The outsourcing work officially began.

Yayoi wasn't worried about Orochimaru screwing him over—not only was Orochimaru still good to his own people at this stage, but if he fed him false information, Yayoi would be able to tell.

In short, there was no need for it, and Orochimaru wasn't low-class enough to lie.

"Boss, five skewers of dango, two to go."

"Yayoi, you're here early today. The dango's for Yan, right?"

The Dango Shop owner said kindly.

"Can't hide it from you, Shopkeeper."

"Coming right up, I'll make it now."

Morning light slipped through the curtain, casting thin rays slanting across Yayoi's face.

The dawn light wasn't scorching; it was gentle, not blinding, like a breeze brushing his skin.

Before long, Orochimaru arrived as promised.

"What do you want to tell me?"

Orochimaru sat down, the Magatama-shaped earring at his ear glinting eerily in the light. He looked directly at Yayoi and said bluntly.

"I would like to ask you, senior, to help me research something."

"Research?"

"Please take a look, senior."

Yayoi handed the documents to Orochimaru.

Just then, three skewers of dango were brought over by the shop owner.