Orochimaru

Once inside the house, with no one else around, Tsunade seemed like a completely different person.

She shed her previous formality and, with a casual air, sat down on the chair next to Koki. Casually picking up Koki's hair, she teased with a slight smile, "Oh, how come you're even prettier than a young girl today?"

Koki pulled her hair back irritably and questioned Tsunade with a harsh look, "What do you want from me? Just tell me, how much did you lose this time?"

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Once, Koki had a deep, unwavering affection for Tsunade, but now, that affection is like a shattered mirror, with not even a fragment remaining.

Tsunade chuckled, a hint of embarrassment flashing across her face, but she forced herself to remain calm and said, "What are you talking about? It's your birthday today, why would I come to borrow money from you?"

Koki's suspicious gaze was like two sharp arrows, fixed on Tsunade, as if trying to see through her thoughts.

Then, he quietly got up, walked around Tsunade, approached Shizune, and asked softly, "Shizune- neechan, really?"

Shizune's gaze met Koki's. After a moment of inner struggle, she couldn't bear it and nodded against her own will.

"So what do you want from me?" Koki was genuinely curious.

After all, in his memory, eight out of ten times when Tsunade came to him, it was to borrow money, and Tsunade was particularly concerned about her reputation, always telling him not to let Fugaku know.

Tsunade looked at Koki, a mysterious smile suddenly appearing on her face. As if by magic, a piece of gold appeared in her hand.

The gold gleamed brilliantly under the indoor lights, reflecting Tsunade's slightly cunning eyes.

"Well, I've been having some troubles lately, so I went up the mountain to vent, and that's when a lot of this gold started popping out of the rocks!" Tsunade's voice drifted over.

Koki thought to herself, "This isn't some kind of gold appearing out of nowhere; it's clearly because he went gambling recently and lost it all."

Tsunade, seemingly oblivious to Koki's thoughts, continued animatedly, "We've found a gold mine, but it needs some development. The initial investment is only 10 million, but we could potentially extract hundreds of millions more! Are you interested?"

Oh, Koki instantly understood— Tsunade owed her ten million.

Hearing Tsunade's rife-of-holes-filled words, Shizune behind her felt utterly helpless. What a clumsy lie from Lady Tsunade! What gold mine? What development? Only a fool would believe that!

Just as Shizune was Shizune grumbling to herself, she heard Koki's clear, foolish voice echo in her ears, "Interested! You have to be interested. I'll send you the money tonight!"

He didn't care about the ten million yuan anyway, because he knew that as long as he had the system, the ten million yuan he lent to Tsunade would eventually come back to him, and it would even double.

He'll never lose out!

Shizune stared incredulously at Koki, this "idiot," Chunin, "No way?! Someone actually believes that?!"

She thought Koki was such a naive fool; how could she be so easily fooled?

Tsunade let out a deep breath, her face filled with excitement. She slapped Koki's shoulder hard and exclaimed, "What a promising student! Koki, your future is absolutely limitless!"

"Cough cough..." Koki coughed incessantly from Tsunade's sudden slap, and he swayed, almost losing his balance.

"Tsunade- neechan, don't you know how strong you are?" Koki cried out in despair.

Upon hearing Koki's complaint, Tsunade realized that she might have gone a little too far.

She smiled sheepishly, then quickly poured Koki a glass of water and handed it to her, saying with concern, "Hehe, sorry. Drink some water to calm your nerves."

As she spoke, she gently patted her 'little sugar daddy' on the back.

A very slight creaking sound rang out, and the door seemed to be slowly pulled open by an invisible hand, without making a sound.

A figure slipped silently into the room like a ghost. His appearance seemed to instantly lower the temperature of the entire room below freezing, making everyone feel a bone-chilling cold.

His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, as if it had endured the vicissitudes and hardships of time, lifeless, revealing a chilling atmosphere of death.

Those golden eyes were slits, like two extremely sharp short swords, flashing with a dangerous light. Their cold gaze was like frost from the Arctic, devoid of any warmth. Just a light sweep of their eyes sent a chill down one's spine, as if one were in a frozen wasteland.

As he arrived, his deep, hoarse voice echoed in the air, like the flicking of a snake's tongue in the night, filled with eeriness and fear, sending chills down one's spine.

"A gold mine? You actually believe her?" His tone was laced with disdain, as if he found the other person's foolishness laughable.

Tsunade arms crossed, her face arrogant, her eyes full of disdain. She didn't even deign to glance at the newcomer, and said sarcastically, "Orochimaru, I thought you were going to be eavesdropping outside for a long time!"

Koki shifted her gaze from Tsunade to Orochimaru, jokingly saying, "So, you're here to borrow money too? Don't even think about it unless you've discovered a gold mine."

Orochimaru's lips curled into a strange smile as he stared intently at Koki, his eyes seeming to want to devour Koki.

Then, he slowly extended his tongue and gently licked his lips. The subtle movement was like that of a venomous snake preparing to attack, sending chills down one's spine.

"Koki- kun, I really... like you more and more."

It's not a good thing that you like me.

Koki's lips twitched involuntarily, and she replied helplessly, "... Thank you so much."

He thought to himself, it seems Orochimaru didn't come to borrow money, which was to be expected.

After all, he usually provides Orochimaru with quite generous research funding, so he probably doesn't lack money.

"If that's the case, what are you doing here? And how did you get in?"

Fugaku has never liked the eccentric and cold Orochimaru. If Orochimaru dares to openly barge in through the main gate, Fugaku will certainly not let him pass easily.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow slightly, a subtle, enigmatic smile playing on his lips, and said softly, "I've come this time, naturally to bring a generous gift."

Orochimaru remained silent about how he entered Koki's house.

Koki suddenly realized, and sighed inwardly that this guy had indeed taken the wrong path again, probably sneaking into the yard by climbing over the wall.