"Yes, I understand."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Danzo Shimura's concerns were not unfounded.
"Then, I'll leave the liquid contact lenses to you, Danzo."
"Alright."
Danzo Shimura nodded slightly, then realized something as he turned to leave.
He was told to produce liquid contact lenses, but where was the funding?
"Hiruzen, did you forget something?"
Danzo Shimura glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi out of the corner of his eye.
"Did I?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi feigned ignorance.
"Funding! Hiruzen, if you don't allocate funds, what am I supposed to use to make liquid contact lenses?"
Danzo Shimura couldn't hold back; it seemed Hiruzen wanted him to pay out of his own pocket!
"Danzo, look, Konoha's finances are tight. As the Assistant Hokage, shouldn't you contribute more to Konoha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi forced a smile and spoke in a negotiating tone. All the money he had was distributed as condolence payments, and the funds from the Land of Fire's Daimyo hadn't arrived yet. He didn't have much money left.
Danzo Shimura's face turned red, and he roared, "Don't even think about it, Hiruzen Sarutobi, you are the Hokage!"
"I don't have to be!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and made a gesturing motion, "Danzo, if you want to be Hokage, I can recommend you right now."
He had been Hokage long enough.
Hiruzen Sarutobi! Where is your Will of Fire!
Danzo Shimura wanted to question Hiruzen Sarutobi like that, but he was more worried that Hiruzen Sarutobi would ask him the same question. He cleared his throat and said, "Hiruzen, let's discuss the production of liquid contact lenses."
He was truly afraid of Hiruzen Sarutobi and was somewhat perplexed. How could the finances be so tight? Had the Land of Fire's Daimyo's funds not come down yet?
This was wartime, the time when funding should least be delayed!
Ryūchi Cave
"Are you sure this is… Ryūchi Cave's unique hot spring, the Snake… Spring?"
Orochimaru looked at the bubbling, clear yet strangely colored hot spring water. On a huge stone tablet, there were abstract drawings of snakes and hot springs. She almost suspected it was a soup made by soaking snakes.
She suddenly remembered this was Ryūchi Cave, so such a strangely colored spring might actually be from soaking snakes.
"How rude of you! Mount Myōboku has toad oil to aid in training, so Ryūchi Cave naturally has its own unique things! This hot spring is formed by condensed Natural Energy from Ryūchi Cave. Only those who have perfectly mastered Sage Mode can soak in it safely, needing to use Sage Chakra to protect themselves."
Ichikishimahime rolled her eyes, took off her blue qipao and underwear, and jumped into the hot spring.
"What if one doesn't use Sage Chakra to protect themselves?"
Orochimaru felt it was necessary to ask before she entered this strange hot spring.
"The last fool who tried that has already become a mindless snake."
Ichikishimahime pointed to the hot spring. The hot spring water, formed from such dense Natural Energy, required even her to use Sage Chakra to protect herself, let alone someone who had only just mastered Sage Mode.
"I'm not saying anything, but doesn't Ryūchi Cave have anything a bit more normal? Soaking in a hot spring can even cost you your life."
Orochimaru could guess the fate of that snake. The snake meat, infused with Sage Chakra, must have ended up in the bellies of the Three Snake Princesses.
"This is the dangerous Ryūchi Cave. Only madmen seeking power come here."
Ichikishimahime looked at Orochimaru meaningfully, as if to say, 'Didn't you come to Ryūchi Cave too?'
"Tch… I'm not a madman."
Orochimaru took off her clothes, folded them neatly, and placed them aside. The Yin Seal on her abdomen glowed, releasing Sage Chakra, and she entered Sage Mode.
"Right, right, you're a mad scientist."
Ichikishimahime couldn't forget everything she saw in Orochimaru's Laboratory. She felt that compared to this mad scientist, Ryūchi Cave was quite safe.
"Mad scientist? I like that title, much better than Konoha's Sannin."
Orochimaru protected her body with Sage Chakra, walked to the hot spring, and tentatively touched the water with her white snake tail. She then touched it with her toes. After confirming it was safe, her entire foot entered the hot spring, followed by her body.
"I'm not saying anything, but you're really cautious. If anything were to happen, wouldn't I be the first to be affected?"
Ichikishimahime saw how cautious Orochimaru was and remembered how she herself had been just as careful in the Land of Rain.
"Because I don't want to regret it later, thinking 'Why wasn't I more careful then?' or 'Why didn't I notice that then?' Isn't it better to prevent such possibilities from the start? Being a little careful and cautious is always right."
Orochimaru's golden eyes narrowed. She scooped up some hot spring water, which shimmered with iridescent colors under the light, giving her the feeling that someone had poured oil into the water.
Ichikishimahime swam to Orochimaru's side, poked her head out, her wet, dark blue hair clinging to her pale skin, and complained, "No matter what, the food in Ryūchi Cave is quite normal! You should be glad you weren't made to eat live insects; at least they cooked them for you! Although her cooking skills aren't as good as yours, Tagorihime's cooking is pretty good."
"Jiraiya told you, didn't he?"
Orochimaru knew that Jiraiya would be unable to resist asking Ichikishimahime about food. His time eating insects on Mount Myōboku was unforgettable.
Ichikishimahime nodded and chattered on, "Yes, and then I told him about the food in Ryūchi Cave. He said he wondered why he hadn't reverse-summoned to Ryūchi Cave back then."
"He also asked me if the Snake Princesses of Ryūchi Cave all looked like me. I told him that Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime are beautiful, older-sister types, and Tagorihime is also very good at cooking. He excitedly said he wanted to come to Ryūchi Cave to see, and told me not to misunderstand, he was just curious how Sage Mode is trained in Ryūchi Cave."
"He also asked about your process of training in Sage Mode. I just told him how you trained in Sage Mode, and also said that failure would result in being eaten. I saw him silent for a long time, and when I asked him if he still wanted to train in Ryūchi Cave and if I could help him, he firmly said that he was more suited for Mount Myōboku, and that he liked being with toads."
Ichikishimahime finished, spreading her hands, "He's such a strange person. I can't understand why Mount Myōboku, which once taught the Six Paths Sage Sage Jutsu, would choose him."
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