"Orochimaru, leave it to me."
This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. Danzo Shimura could handle it himself, and he didn't want Orochimaru to make another trip, as it would make him seem very incompetent.
"Then, Advisor Danzo, I'll trouble you."
Orochimaru held Uchiha Hikari's hand, activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, and their figures vanished.
At Orochimaru's home, Ichikishimahime was lying on the sofa, a bag of potato chips in front of her, watching a comedy show on TV. She scratched her butt and let out a laugh like silver bells.
"Can't you... can't you pay a little attention to your image?"
Orochimaru looked at Ichikishimahime's otaku-like appearance, the snack crumbs on the sofa, and the spots on the floor soaked with soda and juice. He felt a suffocating sensation, as if his heart had stopped.
"I'm not going out, why care about my image?"
Ichikishimahime rested her chin on one hand. The TV show suddenly cut to commercials.
"Why are there so many commercials! How am I supposed to watch! Annoying!"
Ichikishimahime threw the remote control aside, sat up, and crossed her legs, looking at Orochimaru.
"Get up for me!"
Orochimaru couldn't take it anymore. Just looking at such a messy scene, she felt as if countless ants were crawling all over her body.
Orochimaru reached out, grabbed Ichikishimahime by the collar, lifted her from the sofa, and shook her, dislodging many snack crumbs... The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
"You're a snake, not a pig, okay?"
Orochimaru was about to lose it, looking at Ichikishimahime with a dark expression.
"Um... should I help clean up?"
Ichikishimahime said nervously.
"Here's a lollipop for you. Don't cause more trouble."
Orochimaru released the floating Ichikishimahime and put a lollipop in her hand.
"Orochimaru, can I help?"
Uchiha Hikari held the doorframe with both hands, peeking at the mess in the living room.
"Hikari, I'll do it myself."
Orochimaru glared fiercely at Ichikishimahime, then gave Uchiha Hikari a slight smile.
Uchiha Hikari, sensing Orochimaru's bad mood, instantly disappeared from her spot and returned to her room. She didn't want to upset Orochimaru.
Orochimaru used various tools to clean the living room, then combined Water Release and Fire Release to clean the carpet. After all that, she sat on the sofa, satisfied with the sparkling clean living room, feeling the breeze on her cheeks, and her mood brightened.
"You worked hard~!"
Ichikishimahime held a lollipop in her mouth and hugged Orochimaru's neck.
When Orochimaru had been in a bad mood earlier, she hadn't dared to get close.
Swish—!
A Shadow Clone returned to the living room using the Flying Thunder God Technique, a large scroll tucked under its arm.
"Main body, the materials for the TV tower have arrived."
The Shadow Clone handed the large scroll to Orochimaru, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to the Laboratory to continue its research. Time was short; it didn't want to waste time on the main body.
Ichikishimahime looked at the large scroll, feeling an impulse to destroy it. Having seen the wonderful world outside, she didn't want to return to Ryūchi Cave anymore.
"Ichikishimahime, get ready. We're going to Ryūchi Cave."
Orochimaru's trip to Ryūchi Cave was not only to install the TV tower but also to test the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique. Neither Konoha nor the underground space of the Laboratory was suitable for testing the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique. After much thought, Ryūchi Cave was the most appropriate.
"You're not unable to leave Ryūchi Cave, so what's with that expression like you're about to cry?"
Orochimaru noticed Ichikishimahime's expression and commented speechlessly. Her expression was as if she wouldn't be able to leave once she returned to Ryūchi Cave.
"That's true!"
Ichikishimahime suddenly realized, completely forgetting that the White Snake Sage had not restricted her, Tagorihime, or Tagitsuhime's movements, nor had he ever demanded that they stay in Ryūchi Cave.
Ryūchi Cave
"Ichikishimahime! You finally remembered to come back!"
"Are you mentally prepared?"
Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime looked at the smoke with kind smiles. As the smoke cleared, they saw many bags and packages, Ichikishimahime in a blue qipao with twin ponytails, and Orochimaru beside her.
They had wanted to scold Ichikishimahime, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it.
"These are gifts for you!"
Ichikishimahime pointed at the bags and packages, then looked disdainfully at their unchanging outfits of many years, hands on her hips, saying, "Look at the clothes I'm wearing, then look at yours. I can't believe that you and I are Sages under the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave."
What to do, I really want to hit her... No, I must hold back! Orochimaru is still watching!
Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime looked at Ichikishimahime's annoying demeanor, suppressed the urge to hit her, and walked towards Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, why are you here?"
"I haven't seen you in a long time. Why didn't you ask me for help?"
"I thought you would be very busy, so I asked Ichikishimahime, who was most likely to be idle, for help."
Orochimaru said with a smile, easily defusing the crisis.
"Is that so..."
"Indeed, Ichikishimahime is the most idle in Ryūchi Cave."
Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime's moods instantly improved, while Ichikishimahime's mood was, to say the least, very bad.
"If you need help, don't forget to summon me."
Tagorihime linked arms with Orochimaru. After all, she was more useful than that lazy Ichikishimahime.
"There will be a chance."
Orochimaru glanced at Ichikishimahime, who was glaring angrily at Tagorihime.
"Orochimaru, you didn't just come to Ryūchi Cave to drop off Ichikishimahime and these things, did you?"
Tagitsuhime looked at Orochimaru with gentle eyes.
"This trip to Ryūchi Cave, I will install a TV tower here, so you can watch TV in Ryūchi Cave. Also, there's one more thing: I want to test a Forbidden Technique I'm currently researching."
Orochimaru truthfully stated the purpose of his visit to Ryūchi Cave.
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