Hidan

Following the Anbu ninja into a concealed elevator, they descended roughly a hundred meters before Orochimaru's underground research base finally revealed itself.

The Anbu did not follow them inside. Once Tsunade and her two companions stepped out, he closed the elevator doors, ready to return to his post.

"That Uchiha Genya brat runs things pretty professionally." It was hard to tell whether Tsunade meant it as praise or something more peculiar.

These Anbu were precise and efficient, yet unlike Root, they had not been stripped of their humanity. To Tsunade, that proved Uchiha Genya knew how to manage his subordinates.

If all of Konoha's ninja were like this now, she really was starting to take an interest in the village. She wanted to see what it had become.

The moment she entered the laboratory, Tsunade caught the strong smell of disinfectant, mixed with a faint, fishy snake odor.

This was definitely Orochimaru's lair.

Still, the conditions were far better than she had expected—even better than the specialized surgical center she had run back in the day.

The air conditioning ran around the clock, the rooms were automatically disinfected at regular intervals, and everything was clean and tidy.

There was none of the blood-soaked, slaughterhouse-like scenery Tsunade had pictured.

And to think she had already prepared an Illusion Technique to turn everything she saw black and white, sparing her from the effects of her hemophobia.

Then again, back when Orochimaru had been short on funding, he had practically wanted to split every last coin in two.

In a laboratory like this, having an electric fan to cool the place would have been good enough. How could he possibly have installed something as extravagant as air conditioning?

What Tsunade did not know was that Orochimaru had developed a psychological aversion to fans.