Orochimaru Comes to Visit

Three days later, in Tsunade's room.

Tsunade sat cross-legged on her bed, hands forming a seal, her expression grave.

"Secret Art: Menstrual Seal!"

She gave a low shout, and pale purple Chakra markings appeared on her fingertips.

They faintly formed a small sealing array.

Then she gently pressed her fingers to her lower abdomen.

Hummm!

A faint pulse of Chakra spread outward.

The dull ache and unbearable heaviness in her lower abdomen

vanished in an instant!

The irritation and discomfort that had plagued her for three days receded like a tide.

"It worked!"

Wild joy spread across Tsunade's face.

She hadn't been idle these past three days.

While enduring the discomfort of her period, she had frantically pored over the Sealing Jutsu scrolls Mito had given her.

She had even shamelessly asked Mito several times whether "periodic physiological phenomena could be sealed."

The look Mito had given her was complicated, to say the least.

She probably couldn't understand why her granddaughter had suddenly taken an interest in such an obscure branch of Sealing Jutsu.

But Tsunade had kept pestering her, and Mito had eventually offered plenty of guidance.

Now she had results!

The Menstrual Seal worked in a brutally simple way.

During menstruation, the sealing formula temporarily sealed the menstrual blood inside her body.

It didn't make the blood disappear. It stored it up!

Simply put, Tsunade's period normally lasted five days.

Each day brought bleeding and discomfort.

With the seal, all five days' worth would be stored together.

Then, on the final day, it would all be released at once.

There would be a lot of it.

Afterward, she would be weak for a while.

But for the previous four days, she wouldn't be affected at all!

She could eat and train as usual, as if nothing were wrong!

Once it was all expelled, there would be no lingering effects either.

She could even adjust the timing.

She could choose a day in the future to release it.

"That takes care of being weak for five days every month!"

Tsunade clenched her fist in excitement.

"Only one day of weakness a month? I can live with that!"

"That leaves twenty-nine days to train at full strength!"

She looked down at herself and nodded in satisfaction.

Then she pulled a bloodied tampon out of herself.

She tossed it into the trash.

"Finally, I don't have to keep this thing in anymore!"

Tsunade let out a long, satisfied breath.

For the past three days, she'd had to wear one every day.

Walking felt awkward. Training felt awkward. She'd even worried about leaks while sleeping.

It had driven her crazy.

But now she was finally free!

Ninjutsu really does change lives!

Beaming, she hopped off the bed and stretched.

Her whole body felt light, and she was brimming with energy.

"While the seal's still working, I'd better make up for those three days of missed training!"

Tsunade rolled up her sleeves, ready to head to the backyard for a few more sets of squats.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked at the door.

Tsunade paused and called out, "Who is it?"

Her family's house was large, but Mito Uzumaki disliked having people around.

Or rather, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she couldn't be allowed to come into contact with too many people.

So usually, only the three family members lived there.

When someone knocked, Tsunade was the one who answered.

"It's me, Orochimaru."

A cool, slightly hoarse voice came from outside.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

Orochimaru? What's he doing here?

She wasn't particularly surprised.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were the two teammates she was bound to meet sooner or later.

She had already had a "pleasant" meeting with Jiraiya.

It had gone quite smoothly.

Now it was Orochimaru's turn.

Tsunade took a deep breath, relaxed her expression, and headed out.

She opened the door.

A young man stood outside.

He had pale skin and golden eyes with slit pupils.

Long black hair fell over his shoulders.

It was Orochimaru in his younger days.

Young Orochimaru~

At this point, he had none of the sinister air he would develop later.

He just looked a little unapproachable.

"What do you want?"

Tsunade spoke in her usual tone, leaning against the doorframe.

Her posture said, Spit it out already.

Orochimaru seemed long accustomed to her attitude. His expression didn't change as he got straight to the point:

"I heard Jiraiya was hurt. I'm going to visit him."

Tsunade: "???"

She gave Orochimaru a strange look.

"You're visiting Jiraiya? And you want me to come?"

Orochimaru nodded earnestly.

"Yes. We have a mission together in a few days. I think he'll recover faster if you visit him too."

Tsunade's face twitched.

He wasn't wrong.

Visiting an injured teammate together could strengthen their bond and lift the patient's spirits.

Especially when it came to her and Jiraiya.

But the problem was...

This situation was different!

She was the one who had beaten Jiraiya into that state!

Visit him now?

Would she be checking on him or finishing him off?

Tsunade pursed her lips and waved a hand. "Forget it. I'm not going."

She paused, then added, "I'm the one who beat him up."

Orochimaru: "...Oh."

He froze for a moment, understanding flickering in his eyes.

Then he quickly accepted it.

Apparently, "Tsunade put Jiraiya in the hospital" didn't surprise him in the slightest.

After a moment's hesitation, Orochimaru said,

"Next time... try not to hit him so hard."

"With you absent, we're already struggling to keep up with the missions."

It was blunt. Very Orochimaru.

His point was simple.

If you put him out of commission, the two of us will have to do the work, and I'll be exhausted.

Tsunade didn't mind.

That was just how Orochimaru was.

He hadn't gone down a dark path yet.

Apart from speaking too bluntly without thinking things through, he meant no harm.

It was simply the mindset of a research fanatic.

Efficiency first, feelings second.

Tsunade's eyes shifted as something occurred to her.

She grinned and suddenly reached out.

She threw an arm around Orochimaru's shoulders and pulled him against her.

Caught off guard, Orochimaru stumbled.

Then he felt his cheek and shoulder collide with a soft, springy "cushion."

The two Planetary Devastations even deformed slightly under the pressure.

They pressed tightly against him.

Orochimaru went rigid.

His golden slit pupils contracted.

For once, a trace of shock appeared on his face.

He would admit he and Tsunade got along fairly well.

But they weren't... that close, were they?

Orochimaru was so bewildered he couldn't react.

If Jiraiya saw this, he would probably lose his mind on the spot.

That was the "paradise" he dreamed of but could never reach!

Tsunade didn't care.

She leaned toward Orochimaru's ear and lowered her voice so only he could hear.

"Hey, Orochimaru. I hear you've been working on some interesting experiments lately?"

"Let me in on them?"

Her warm breath brushed his ear, and Orochimaru stiffened even more.

Slowly and rigidly, he turned his head.

He looked at Tsunade's face, inches from his own, his golden slit pupils full of confusion.

"You're interested in my experiments?"

Tsunade nodded at once, her face lighting up!

She wasn't pretending.

She really was interested!

She carried both Senju and Uzumaki blood.

To others, that meant extraordinary talent and noble lineage.

But Tsunade knew the truth.

Her bloodlines weren't all that special!

Her constitution fell far short of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju!

Even Creation Rebirth, the ultimate technique she would develop later, only matched Hashirama's passive healing.

There was no comparison!

Since she had decided to grow stronger in every way,

she had to tackle the problem of her bloodlines!

Even if she couldn't fully awaken her ancestral blood and gain a monstrous constitution like Hashirama's.

Even getting halfway there would be incredible!

And Orochimaru was the key to her Bloodline Reversion Plan!

Who else would she ask?

Orochimaru looked into Tsunade's excited eyes and fell silent for a few seconds.

"I can take you."

"But... you can't hit me."

Tsunade: "...?"

She froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Heh, don't worry. I'm not the sort of person who goes around hitting people."

Orochimaru gave her a doubtful look. His golden, slit-pupiled eyes said he didn't believe a word of it.

Jiraiya was still lying in the hospital!

His look made Tsunade feel a little guilty. She cleared her throat and waved a hand.

"Oh, come on, that was an accident! I promise I won't lay a hand on you!"

"Let's go! I want to see your lab right now!"

With that, she took her arm off Orochimaru's shoulders, turned toward the house, and called out:

"Grandma! I'm going out with Orochimaru!"

"If it gets too late, I'll stay at Orochimaru's place instead of coming home!"

Inside, Mito Uzumaki's hand jerked as she drank her tea, nearly spilling it.

She looked up toward the doorway, helplessness written all over her face.

"That girl... does she have to say everything out loud?"

"Is that something a young woman should say so casually?"

Mito sighed.

She shook her head but said nothing in the end.

She knew how close Tsunade and Orochimaru were.

And although Orochimaru had an odd personality,

he was a decent person. He probably wouldn't do anything improper.

Outside.

Orochimaru's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly when he heard Tsunade call out.

"You're staying at my place?"

He looked at Tsunade strangely.

She didn't notice. Already brimming with enthusiasm, she pushed him along.

"Come on, hurry up! Let me see what good stuff you've got in your lab!"

"And don't try to fob me off with toys for children. I want to see the real thing!"

Orochimaru let her push him forward. After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

"My experiments... might not be suitable for a girl to see."

Tsunade glared at him. "Are you looking down on women?!"

Orochimaru: "...No."

"Then quit talking and lead the way!"

"All right."

Orochimaru had no choice but to take Tsunade, who had suddenly developed an interest in his experiments,

and head toward his home.