"Finally, we're back," Kawakaze said as he looked at the gates of Konohagakure. Instead of using the Flying Thunder God Technique to enter, he walked.
"There's no need to get this excited." Orochimaru gave him a look that clearly said he thought Kawakaze was an idiot, then walked up to the gate and knocked slowly.
After a short wait, the gate opened, and two Konoha Ninjas greeted them with respectful bows.
"Lord Kawakaze, Lord Orochimaru," they said in unison.
"Hm," the two replied together before walking into the village.
"Go hand in your mission card. I have sothing to do," Kawakaze said, slipping the mission card into Orochimaru's hands before vanishing with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"You..." Orochimaru started, but Kawakaze had already disappeared.
"Damn it, I don't want to go!" Orochimaru muttered angrily, throwing the mission card on the ground. "eting you was my bad luck."
After a mont of frustration, he reluctantly picked up the card and began walking toward the Hokage building.
...
"Sensei, the mission is complete. The Eight-Tails Jinchūriki went berserk, and Kumogakure suffered heavy losses," Orochimaru said, his face expressionless as he placed the mission card on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.
"I have already received the news. Well done," Hiruzen replied, smiling warmly, his tone carrying the praise of an elder. "Why didn't Kawakaze co?"
"He had sothing to attend to," Orochimaru answered flatly. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going." The sight of Hiruzen's hypocritical smile made him feel uneasy.
"I know the Hatake Clan doesn't lack money, but the paynt for this mission still needs to be collected. You can go get it," Hiruzen said, putting the mission card away and handing Orochimaru a docunt for the paynt.
"Okay," Orochimaru replied, taking the docunt and turning to leave. His respectful but detached deanor left Hiruzen feeling uneasy. As he watched Orochimaru leave, Hiruzen muttered to himself, "They're both untamable wolf cubs."
His thoughts wandered briefly to his other students. Although Tsunade was still in the village, she rarely ca to see him anymore. Jiraiya had gone to Mount Myōboku, and there had been no news from him for a long ti. As a Sensei, Hiruzen felt he had failed in certain ways.
anwhile, Orochimaru went to the finance departnt, collected the paynt, and slipped the money into his pocket. He knew Kawakaze wouldn't care about the small amount, so he kept it for himself. Afterward, he leisurely strolled through the streets, buying so delicious food on his way ho.
At the sa ti, Kawakaze was chatting with Tsunade in the hospital laboratory.
"If you don't want to go yourself, just send Orochimaru," Tsunade suggested, scolding him lightly. "How could you treat your brother like that? Haven't you heard the saying, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'?"
"It's fine. Worst case, I'll owe him more money later," Kawakaze replied casually, steering the conversation in another direction with a gossipy tone.
"That's not impossible," Tsunade said, her eyes lighting up. Putting down the lab equipnt in her hands, she leaned in, clearly intrigued. Won were naturally drawn to gossip. "Do you think they make a good match?"
"They make a pretty good match," Kawakaze said with a smirk. He hadn't expected his idle actions to lead to such an outco. Bringing Pakura back himself had, through so strange twist of fate, helped Orochimaru find his match.
The world truly worked in mysterious ways.
"What do you think they're doing right now?" Tsunade leaned closer to Kawakaze, her expression teasing.
"I don't think so," Kawakaze replied after a mont of thought. "They haven't reached that point yet." He considered Orochimaru's reserved nature. If Orochimaru had been more assertive, things might have progressed further by now.
"What are you thinking?" Tsunade imdiately caught on to Kawakaze's wandering thoughts and poked his forehead with her right index finger.
"Haha, I didn't say anything," Kawakaze protested. "Don't you dare sully my mind with your thoughts!"
He tried to turn the bla onto her, but Tsunade wasn't having it. "Told you to keep your mouth shut," she said and delivered two sharp hits to his head.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kawakaze admitted defeat, covering his head and pleading for rcy.
The two of them playfully bickered and fought, and soon Tsunade lost her desire to continue with the experint.
anwhile, Orochimaru returned ho. Noticing the front door was unlocked, he paused. This was unusual—during missions, his ho was always locked. For the first ti, it felt like soone was truly at ho. A faint smile unconsciously appeared on his lips as he approached the door and knocked.
"Who is it?" ca Pakura's voice from inside. Monts later, the door opened.
"These are the dumplings I just bought," Orochimaru said, holding up the bag in his hand without expression. Pakura often bought this snack, and he'd seen her enjoy it before.
After several days, Pakura had visibly changed. She looked much healthier and livelier, having enjoyed good als and plenty of rest. She had regained the warmth of her old self.
"You bought these for ? Then I won't be rude," Pakura said with a pleased smile as she took the bag from Orochimaru's hands.
"No, I was just passing by," Orochimaru replied curtly as he walked past her into the house.
"Stubborn as a mule," Pakura muttered, picking up a dumpling and taking a bite as she watched Orochimaru's back.
"Did the mission go well?" Pakura asked as she closed the door and caught up with him.
"It went well," Orochimaru replied, handing her the money he had just received. "Here's the mission bonus."
"That's a lot!" Pakura exclaid, surprised as she counted the money. The larger the bonus, the more dangerous the mission—it was far beyond anything she had ever handled before.
"It's okay. You can keep it," Orochimaru said, his tone calm and composed, as if it was no big deal.
They moved to the living room and sat down. Pakura poured him a cup of tea before leaning in suddenly, locking eyes with him. "Why are you being so nice to ?"
"Ahem..." Orochimaru choked, coughing twice as he guiltily turned his gaze away. "You're staying with for a day, and I'm obliged to keep you from starving to death."
"Is that all?" Pakura wasn't satisfied with his response and leaned in closer, her face re inches from his. Orochimaru could feel the warmth of her breath.
"Don't lean in so close," he said hastily, pushing her back and standing up quickly, his heart pounding.
"Haha, I'll let you off the hook," Pakura said with a laugh, clearly amused by his flustered state. "I'll take the money," she added, putting it away with a smile.
"What have you been doing at ho lately?" Orochimaru asked, quickly changing the subject to hide his embarrassnt.
"Learning how to be an ordinary person," Pakura replied calmly. With all of her power sealed, she was now just an ordinary woman—albeit a good-looking one, but nothing extraordinary. Lately, she had been spending her ti learning to cook and take care of the house. She hadn't forgotten, however, to docunt her experiences with Scorch Release in greater detail.
"Don't worry, in a little while, I'll help you break the seal," Orochimaru said, his tone steady. He hadn't done so imdiately because he had his reasons. Living in Konohagakure required a proper justification. Once Tsunade ascended to power, these issues would resolve themselves.
"Okay, I'm in no hurry," Pakura replied. Her reaction was far calr than Orochimaru had expected. She seed content with her current life, enjoying the simplicity of being an ordinary person with a warm ho.
With a peaceful smile and her gaze full of hope for the future, she looked truly charming as she ate a dumpling. For a brief mont, Orochimaru found himself dazed.
"Do you want to eat it?" Pakura asked, pushing her dumpling toward Orochimaru's mouth.
Without thinking, Orochimaru bit into it but seed so distracted that he didn't even register the taste.
"Haha~" Pakura's light laughter filled the room as she watched his confused expression, her joy ringing like a bell.
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