"Don't mind him. Jiraiya is usually frivolous, but he's quite reliable in critical moments."
Orochimaru stifled a laugh. She could imagine the changes in Jiraiya's facial expression. Let him remain lustful; he should come to Ryūchi Cave and let Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime scare him properly. That's the price of his frivolity.
Speaking of which, letting Fukasaku and Shima of Mount Myōboku know about Jiraiya's thoughts wouldn't be bad. They would definitely teach Jiraiya a good lesson.
"Hmm?"
Orochimaru felt her body getting hot. She, who was already low-desire and not very interested in such things, now felt a burning desire.
"Ichikishimahime, is there something wrong with this hot spring?"
Orochimaru looked at Ichikishimahime suspiciously. It was said that this hot spring had the effect of making the body more easily condense Natural Energy… but that clearly wasn't the case!
"You didn't ask me!"
Ichikishimahime sat on Orochimaru, looking at her increasingly flushed face, no longer cool and aloof. A fiery desire had appeared in her clear golden eyes.
"Orochimaru, can you still refuse me now?"
Ichikishimahime's petite body pressed against Orochimaru's.
"Enough, I'm going back."
Feeling the petite, cool body, Orochimaru couldn't help but want to hold her tightly. She forcibly suppressed the urge, pushed Ichikishimahime away, stood up, and said, "My self-control isn't that bad. Don't underestimate me!"
She really disliked this feeling of being out of control.
"Orochimaru, do you hate me?"
Her white snake tail wrapped around Orochimaru's waist. Ichikishimahime, in her human-headed, snake-bodied form, hugged Orochimaru's waist, her dark blue eyes looking at her, as if she would immediately let go if Orochimaru said she hated her.
"No, I don't hate you."
Orochimaru turned her head away.
"Then why are you refusing me?"
Ichikishimahime said with a smile. If Orochimaru said she hated her, she would let her go. After all, she had her pride, right? Leaving Orochimaru here to endure desire would be her revenge.
"I've answered that question. What I care more about is emotion, not desire."
"Hmm… Then after we've done it, let's slowly cultivate feelings?"
Ichikishimahime's snake tail wrapped around Orochimaru's body. She cupped Orochimaru's cheeks, kissed her bitten, red lips, and held her as they fell into the hot spring.
Splash—!
Steam billowed. In the iridescent hot spring, two white snake tails intertwined and tumbled in the water, with constant splashing sounds.
"…"
Orochimaru sat on a stool, looking utterly lifeless, staring at her hands as if a pair of silver bracelets had appeared on her wrists.
"Orochimaru, you have to take full responsibility."
Tagitsuhime looked at Orochimaru, whose soul seemed to have flown away, and patted her shoulder with schadenfreude.
"Didn't you two stop her?"
Orochimaru looked at Tagitsuhime, then at Tagorihime. She didn't believe they wouldn't know that the snake spring had such an abnormal side effect.
"It doesn't have that effect on us. Being able to control one's desires is also a form of training."
Tagorihime said, stifling a laugh, "Besides, the hot spring's effect was good, wasn't it? Your speed of condensing Natural Energy increased."
"Don't make it sound like I was just an afterthought!"
Ichikishimahime appeared in the air, glared fiercely at Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime, then hugged Orochimaru's neck, rubbing her cheek and saying, "Orochimaru, let's go home~!"
"Isn't your home Ryūchi Cave?"
Orochimaru complained weakly. Ichikishimahime was truly too much to handle.
"Your home is my home too!"
Ichikishimahime said with a matter-of-fact expression.
"White Snake Sage-sama doesn't object, but I… personally think it's better if you stay in Ryūchi Cave."
Orochimaru sighed softly, reaching out to hold Ichikishimahime in her arms. Since things had come to this, she couldn't be so sentimental as to think she had been tricked and blame or distance herself from her because of it.
"Why?!"
Ichikishimahime was very happy to be actively held by Orochimaru, but upon hearing that, her good mood was ruined.
"According to intelligence, Iwagakure and Konoha will soon have another war. Kumogakure hasn't achieved ideal results against Iwagakure, and might turn its spearhead towards Konoha."
Orochimaru had a premonition that this conflict would last until the end of the Second Shinobi World War. It would be a true war of attrition, seeing who could outlast the other.
"You still care about me so much~!"
The anger on Ichikishimahime's face disappeared, replaced by a brilliant smile.
"I won't help you kill people, but I can help you gather intelligence!"
"If you insist…"
Orochimaru did not refuse Ichikishimahime.
"This is the power of love!"
Tagorihime rested her hand on her cheek.
"Even a thousand-year-old loli has her spring."
Tagitsuhime added.
"I think you two are just jealous of me!"
Ichikishimahime recalled what happened in the hot spring and provoked them, "You two thousand-year-old single snakes will never experience that kind of thing."
"Ichikishimahime, do you want to fight?"
Tagorihime said with a dark smile.
"It seems we'll have to settle both old and new scores."
Tagitsuhime's face darkened slightly, and white scales appeared on her face.
"No, this isn't good!"
Ichikishimahime hugged Orochimaru and, with a puff, disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
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