If you can talk, you can say more later. Drunk women are the most troublesome.

"You... what are you talking about?" Tsunade asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Didn't hear me clearly?" Orochimaru smiled. "I said that the one miscalculation he made was that he actually fell in love with you. Is that clear enough?"

"Y-you mean... it's true?" Tsunade was already too restless to sit still.

Although she had always hoped it was true, she had never received any positive confirmation from anyone.

As for Uchiha Dan...

That guy was far too good at lying. She didn't dare believe him.

But hearing Orochimaru say this now, every cell in Tsunade's body seemed to come alive.

"Man is not made of wood or stone; how could he be without feelings?" Orochimaru nodded with certainty. "Precisely because his circumstances are so dangerous, filled with schemes and exploitation."

"His longing for sincerity therefore far surpasses that of ordinary people, because he was never someone born to enjoy plotting."

"He hoped there would be someone who could treat him wholeheartedly, someone he could also treat wholeheartedly."

"And your personality, Tsunade, is exactly that—you never put on an act, and your heart is open and frank. Again and again, you moved him."

It all matched. Every bit of it.

Tsunade believed Orochimaru was right, because everything made perfect sense. It even resolved many of the doubts in her heart.

She had never expected that Uchiha Dan would not give her answers to those doubts, while Orochimaru would be the one to say them aloud.

"What you said earlier, about helping me..." Tsunade asked impatiently.

"Haha, Tsunade, if it weren't for this conversation, I truly wouldn't have realized you'd fallen this deeply!"

"Spit it out! Stop talking nonsense!" Seeing Orochimaru continue to speak in riddles instead of answering directly, Tsunade's temper flared up again.

What Tsunade hated most about Orochimaru was his habit of speaking in riddles. He could make something clear in a single sentence, yet he always had to beat around the bush.

How was someone as straightforward as her supposed to tolerate that?

"Very well." Orochimaru's expression remained utterly unchanged as he explained, "I'm afraid even Lord Dan himself doesn't realize that his love for you exceeds his own imagination."

"The reason he still cannot accept you is, rather, that he cannot accept himself."

"Ah, you bastard, explain it clearly!" Tsunade exploded with anger, slamming a hand on the table as she demanded, "Can you stop fucking circling around the point?"

"Haha!" Orochimaru could not help laughing again. "The reason he won't agree to you is because he feels deeply guilty toward you."

"Because he has been using you all along, yet he doesn't dare be honest with you. He's afraid you'll blame him, or come to resent him."

"It's truly hard to imagine that a rational man like Lord Dan could have such conflicts in his heart."

"That is why I often say that love makes people lose their reason. Lord Dan is the perfect proof of that, and it is also why I think love is entirely unnecessary."

"That guy!" Tsunade sat back down, fuming. "How could I really blame him? Wouldn't it have been fine if he had just explained everything clearly? He made me sad for so long!"

"Because he cares, he is afraid," Orochimaru concluded.

Another sentence that struck straight into the depths of Tsunade's heart.

This conversation made Tsunade find Orochimaru more pleasing to the eye than ever before.

If you're this good at talking, you should talk more often!

"So, the help you mentioned?" Tsunade asked again.

Orochimaru, not yet the sort to lick his lips now and then, curled the corner of his mouth upward and merely smiled without speaking.

"What are you smiling so strangely for? Tell me already!" If Orochimaru had not been speaking so pleasantly, she would have been unable to stop herself from hitting him.

He was fucking infuriating!

"Tsunade, have you ever heard that drunk women are the most troublesome?" Orochimaru merely sipped his tea and smiled.

"Dan doesn't like me drinking, so I haven't had any alcohol in a long time," Tsunade said with some regret.

"Tsunade, Tsunade... I never thought even you could be this reasonable. It really doesn't suit you." Orochimaru shook his head. "I think what Lord Dan means when he says he dislikes you drinking is that he doesn't like you drinking yourself senseless the way you used to."

"He definitely would not be unhappy if you only had a drink once in a while. There is a huge difference between the two."

Tsunade blushed at that.

Back then, she really did drink at the drop of a hat, and her so-called couple of drinks often ended with her completely wasted.

Though underage ninjas were forbidden from drinking, who would know if Tsunade drank within the Senju Clan Estate?

And even if they knew, who would dare stop her?

It was all because she had sneaked a sip of her grandfather's liquor back then!

"Under normal circumstances, if you asked Lord Dan to drink with you, he would definitely refuse," Orochimaru continued, playing the role of strategist. "But what if something made you extremely sad, and you insisted on drinking?"

"Something extremely sad? What do I have to be extremely sad about?"

Even Orochimaru was speechless. Tsunade was not usually this slow-witted, was she?

She really had become too anxious to think properly!

Sure enough, a woman in love had an IQ of zero.

"I heard Lady Mito's health has been getting worse lately," Orochimaru reminded her.

Tsunade's expression dimmed slightly. "How can I use Grandma's health as an excuse?"

"How is that an excuse?" Orochimaru shook his head. "Lady Mito's condition has worsened. Aren't you upset?"

"I am!" Tsunade answered without hesitation.

"Is it too much to want a drink to ease the sorrow in your heart?"

"Uh... no, it isn't!"

"And while you're drinking, isn't it perfectly reasonable for Lord Dan to stay by your side?"

"Reasonable. Extremely reasonable!"

With Orochimaru's guidance, Tsunade's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

That's right, I wasn't doing it on purpose. I really was heartbroken.

"Thank you!" Tsunade finally knew what to do and, for once, thanked Orochimaru.

"I'm glad I could help!" Orochimaru nodded in satisfaction as well.

Today, he had said every nice thing he could think of, all carefully chosen to please Tsunade. At last, it had paid off.

As long as Tsunade whispered a few words in Uchiha Dan's ear, there was a good chance he would agree to his request.

"So, about introducing me to him..." Orochimaru prompted.

"First tell me why you're so determined to meet Dan." Although Tsunade's opinion of Orochimaru had improved considerably, she still asked warily when Uchiha Dan was involved.

"I want to invite Lord Dan to participate in one of my research projects," Orochimaru said bluntly.

"What kind of research?" Tsunade pressed.

"Genetics. It requires a great deal of advanced medical knowledge, and there's no one more suitable than Lord Dan."

"So you're just casting me aside?" Tsunade said unhappily. "I'm joining too!"

"If you can join, that would naturally be for the best. But do you have the patience for it?" Orochimaru asked hesitantly.

"Who says I don't have patience?" Tsunade denied it vehemently.

Orochimaru was speechless. You clearly just can't bear to be apart from Uchiha Dan. Do you really want me to spell it out?

"Orochimaru, I'll tell Dan about this and help persuade him, but I have two conditions as well." With the basics settled, Tsunade spoke again.

"Go ahead!"

"First, I want you to do everything you can to keep him in Konoha," Tsunade said solemnly.