The next day, at Orochimaru's residence.
Shiraha arrived early, but Orochimaru was not home.
He had come here several times before, so he made his way to the backyard with ease.
The entire residence covered a vast area. The backyard alone was twice the size of Shiraha's home.
It had not seemed that way while watching the anime, but only after actually living here did he realize how enormous Konoha "Village" truly was.
Training Ground 44, which had been used for the Chunin Exam in the original story, had a diameter exceeding ten kilometers. Konoha had fifty or sixty Training Grounds like it, all distributed around the outskirts of the village.
Orochimaru's and Kushina's homes were both rather large, but because they were on the outskirts, land prices here were far lower than in the central areas.
The bustling districts of East Street and West Street were especially so. The land there had all been allocated back when the village was founded; even with money, one might not be able to buy any.
One could imagine what it meant for Kushina to own an entire street on West Street.
With nothing else to do, Shiraha wandered around the house. Aside from the more private bedroom and study, which he did not enter, he took a look at everything else.
"It's way too deserted."
The house was clean and tidy, but it lacked the feeling of being lived in. There was not even a single housekeeper.
The only greenery was an old tree in the backyard.
Shiraha eventually arrived in the kitchen and found it fully equipped with cooking utensils. There were signs that they had been used, and an apron even hung on the wall.
It was difficult to imagine Orochimaru cooking while wearing an apron.
When Shiraha opened the