Orochimaru, Are You Interested in My Body?

An hour later.

Tsunade stood in Orochimaru's private research lab.

Hands on her hips, she looked around.

She pursed her lips, unimpressed.

"What? That's it?"

The modest-sized basement was filled with jars, bottles, and petri dishes.

Most of the jars held animals that hibernated.

Snakes, frogs, squirrels, and the like.

Some were still alive, curled up in balls.

Others had already been dissected.

A few petri dishes held animal organs that were still viable.

Hearts beat faintly, and intestines continued to writhe.

Orochimaru's main focus lately was:

[The hibernation of living organisms]

He wanted to study how these animals' metabolisms nearly stopped during hibernation.

Through that, he hoped to uncover the secret to extending life.

For now, though, Orochimaru was still at the animal-testing stage.

He hadn't gone so far off the deep end that he was experimenting on humans.

Tsunade knew that.

The shift in Orochimaru's thinking wouldn't come until he took Nawaki as his apprentice.

Then, after watching Nawaki die right in front of him,

he would gradually turn toward that extreme, inhuman path of research.

But now?

It was far too early!

Orochimaru watched Tsunade's disdainful expression.

His face twitched slightly.

He had to admit he'd underestimated how unfazed Tsunade could be.

The things in his lab would unsettle more than ordinary girls.

Even some male shinobi would feel sick to their stomachs and deeply disturbed at the sight.

Yet Tsunade seemed completely fine.

She really isn't a woman...

Orochimaru muttered under his breath.

Of course, he didn't dare say that aloud.

Tsunade made a circuit of the lab and began to get bored.

She walked up to Orochimaru, studied his face for a long moment, then gave him a teasing smile.

"Hey, Orochimaru."

"Hmm?"

"Are these ordinary things all you're studying right now?"

Tsunade gestured at the jars and bottles around them.

Orochimaru paused, then nodded.

"Yes. Animal hibernation is well worth studying. For now, that's all I'm working on."

His voice was as flat as ever, giving away nothing.

The corner of Tsunade's mouth lifted. She kept her eyes on him and asked, "And after that?"

"After that?" Her question caught Orochimaru off guard.

He opened his mouth to answer.

But after a moment's hesitation, he said nothing.

Once the animal experiments were complete, the next step...

Had to be humans!

That was the inevitable course of biological research.

But he couldn't say that, no matter what.

If his true intentions got out and people learned he wanted to experiment on humans,

the consequences would be troublesome.

At best, his research would be shut down.

At worst, he'd be placed under surveillance as a dangerous individual.

Tsunade saw through him at once.

She chuckled and leaned closer.

Lowering her voice so only he could hear, she said,

"Orochimaru, are you interested in my body?"

"Huh?!"

Orochimaru stared at her in shock, his golden slit pupils widening slightly.

"Wh-what?"

He wondered if he'd heard her wrong.

Tsunade didn't waste time explaining. She stepped right in front of him.

She pushed out her chest and spoke clearly, one word at a time.

"I'm asking whether you're interested in my body, with its Senju and Uzumaki heritage."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

He looked her up and down, wariness creeping into his gaze.

He couldn't tell what she meant by saying that.

Was she testing him?

Or was it a trap?

Tsunade shrugged.

"You're researching the secrets of life. Eventually, you'll have to apply what you learn to humans."

"I'd rather keep you from going down the wrong path, conducting human experiments in secret, and ending up a wanted rogue shinobi."

"So I'm offering to be both your test subject and your research subject."

She patted her chest, producing a dull thump.

"How's that for having your back?"

Orochimaru: "..."

He fell silent for a full ten seconds.

His golden slit pupils fixed on Tsunade, as if he could see straight through her.

"...Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

Tsunade fired back.

She was still smiling, but Orochimaru could hear the sincerity in her voice.

Tsunade wasn't joking.

"Why?"

Orochimaru frowned.

Several possibilities came to mind.

Was Tsunade there to keep an eye on him?

Had their teacher sent her?

Or did she have some other motive of her own?

But none of those possibilities explained why Tsunade—the Konoha Princess and the First Hokage's granddaughter—

would join him in something that so clearly violated Konoha's principles!

Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru and flashed him a toothy grin.

Then she cleared her throat and struck a strange pose.

Her right hand went to her hip.

She raised her left arm and pointed at the ceiling.

Her left foot stepped forward.

She leaned slightly into the pose.

Orochimaru: "???"

Before he could react, Tsunade declared in a loud, theatrical voice,

"Since you asked so earnestly!"

"I'll be kind enough to tell you!"

"To keep Konoha from not being destroyed!"

"To protect the peace of Konoha!"

"To carry out the evil of love and truth!"

"The lovely and captivating Konoha Princess—"

"Tsunade-hime!"

"I'm the Yellow Flash streaking across the Shinobi World!"

"White hole! A bright white tomorrow awaits us!"

"That's right! Meow~"

Orochimaru: "..."

He stood frozen, his eyes full of bewilderment.

He examined Tsunade from head to toe.

It was as if he were meeting her for the first time.

He had no idea why she'd suddenly started acting like this.

But this flighty, slightly unhinged side of her...

He rather liked it.

Before Orochimaru could answer,

Tsunade stepped forward.

Smack!

Her hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

"Once I become Hokage, I'll give your research my full support."

"Money, people, facilities—whatever you need!"

"Well? Are you moved?"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted.

"Hokage?"

So that was your ultimate goal?

Orochimaru finally understood.

All those words, all the circles Tsunade had gone in—

he finally saw what she was after.

She wanted him to support her bid to become Hokage.

She was offering to back his research in exchange for his political support.

Orochimaru smiled.

Hokage?

He had no interest in the position.

All he wanted was to conduct his experiments.

To uncover the secrets of life and solve the mystery of immortality.

He didn't care who became Hokage.

But if someone offered him unwavering support for his research,

he would certainly support them.

Especially when that person was Tsunade!

Orochimaru looked at her and slowly pulled his lips into a stiff smile.

"All right. It's a deal."

Tsunade's eyes lit up. She held out her hand between them.

"Let's seal it with a high five!"

Orochimaru hesitated, then slowly raised his hand.

Smack!

The crisp slap of their palms echoed through the silent underground lab.

The pact between Orochimaru and Tsunade, with no one else the wiser,

was quietly sealed.

Tsunade withdrew her hand and broke into a grin.

"Here's to a good partnership~"

Orochimaru nodded without a word.

But there was something in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

Then Tsunade abruptly changed the subject.

"But before that, I need you to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Help me study the Senju and Uzumaki constitutions."

Tsunade patted her chest.

"I want to know if there's a way to take my constitution... to the next level."

"Like an atavistic reversion?"

Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

Atavistic reversion?

If a Senju reverted to their ancestral traits, wouldn't that mean...

A constitution on the level of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju?

"Interesting."

Orochimaru licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes.

"Very... interesting."

"Then it's settled!"

Tsunade clapped her hands.

"You study my constitution, and I'll get you research resources."

"Once you've got results and I've become Hokage, we both win!"

Orochimaru nodded firmly.

Today, for the first time, he felt as though he was truly standing in the sunlight.

Seeing that he'd agreed, Tsunade wasted no more words.

She pulled over an examination table, lay down on it, and patted the space beside her head.

Come on~

"Come on, my dear teammate. Let's get started!"

"Now?"

Tsunade looked at him as if the answer were obvious.

"Of course! I already told Grandma I wouldn't be home tonight. You didn't think I was joking, did you?"

Orochimaru nodded slightly and didn't make a fuss.

He picked up several surgical instruments from nearby and walked toward Tsunade.

The two of them.

One was fired up by the prospect of research.

The other was thrilled to be studied.

No matter how you looked at it... neither of them seemed normal.