"What about you? How long are you staying this time?"
Hearing Jiraiya's question, Tsunade also looked at him.
"I plan to write some books, and then look around the village for a promising youngster. I want to find a successor."
Neither of them found this surprising. After all, Jiraiya had taken three disciples before; taking on another one upon his return was no big deal.
Yet just as Jiraiya's voice trailed off, the mechanical voice rang in Orochimaru's mind once again!
"Plane plot triggered: The Parting of the Sannin. You have the following choices:
① Collaborate with Tsunade on medical ninjutsu research and become a renowned medical duo in the Shinobi World. Reward: Rapid Cell Regeneration.
② Train disciples together with Jiraiya and become the teachers of the Child of Prophecy. Reward: Training method for the Flying Thunder God Technique.
③ Go it alone; only when the seas roar do true heroes emerge. Reward: Doubled Comprehension."
Indeed, he knew this moment would come. The three of them had already developed diverging philosophies.
If it were still wartime, peer pressure would have forced them to team up and take on missions, but now all three had made names for themselves, and the war had drawn to a close.
It was precisely through surviving the war that their perspectives had shifted. Tsunade had seen through the futility of war and lived a listless life, growing indifferent to everything.
Orochimaru was wandering further and further down the path of research; even without his transmigrated soul, he would have embarked on the quest for longevity, though perhaps with a different focus.
As for Jiraiya, he sought to change something by finding the Child of Prophecy, while venting his frustrations through pen and paper. His behavior was somewhat reminiscent of Du Fu from ancient times—singing of eras of prosperity, decline, and unfulfilled depression.
As for these three options, Rapid Cell Regeneration was certainly tempting, but what on earth was this "renowned medical duo in the Shinobi World"?
Even if he were willing to learn, Tsunade might not be willing to teach. Was he supposed to become her apprentice? Seducing Tsunade would make things simpler, but looking at her current state—in a single word: extremely difficult!
The second option was completely out of the question. Not to mention that he had no interest in teaching Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, what would be the point of training him?
To compete with his own disciple for the position of Hokage and then lose like that?
Orochimaru never underestimated himself, but becoming Hokage wasn't something you could just decide to do overnight. It wasn't like Sarutobi Hiruzen stepping into the role during a crisis.
A normal Hokage needed to be elected by the people, build a high level of popular support, secure the backing of major clans, gain the approval of the village higher-ups, and finally win the nod of the Daimyo.
Orochimaru possessed none of these advantages; he had nothing going for him besides a bit of fame. Surpassing Namikaze Minato during the Third Great Ninja War would be no easy feat.
Besides, he would never clear the hurdle of the higher-ups—most notably the Third Hokage, his own teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen, who claimed there was evil lurking in the depths of his eyes.
Please, take another look now and see if any of that was left! He was a model youth of the new era, alright?
All these obstacles made him reluctant to even consider it. As for the training method for the Flying Thunder God, even if he couldn't master it immediately—well, wouldn't he just learn it in secret just like in the original story?
"Flying Thunder Snake?"
At this thought, the idea suddenly popped into Orochimaru's head, and he shook it off, decisively choosing option three.
"Congratulations to the host for doubling your comprehension (Note: You may doubt this snake's character, but do not doubt this snake's intelligence. Young man, have you enlightened yourself?)"
A cool sensation washed into his mind, causing the corners of Orochimaru's mouth to curve upward involuntarily.
"Hey, hey, hey, Orochimaru, is my idea that ridiculous?"
At that moment, Jiraiya's voice rang out. He had somehow misinterpreted Orochimaru's smile.
"Tsunade, you should go pick up Shizune and bring her over. It's inconvenient for you to keep running back and forth."
Ignoring Jiraiya's questioning tone, Orochimaru turned and spoke to Tsunade.
Previously, Shizune was still too small, and since Tsunade had no experience raising children, she had left her in the care of a relative's wet nurse. Now Shizune was over four years old, long since weaned, and could eat regular meals.
Before this, Tsunade had frequently brought meals over from here, but that was no long-term solution.
"Alright, I'll go pick her up tomorrow!"
Hearing this, Tsunade's eyes lit up. How could she not have thought of that?
Jiraiya felt left out. In the past, he used to bicker and play around with Tsunade, but now Tsunade had lost interest, and Orochimaru was habitually taciturn. On top of that, the two of them didn't see eye to eye, making it rather difficult to find common ground for conversation.
The atmosphere suddenly turned gloomy. Tsunade remained glum and despondent, while Orochimaru was busy reviewing his newly acquired reward and didn't speak.
Only Jiraiya was left at a loss, suddenly feeling that his boisterous personality could no longer mesh with the mental worlds of these two. The three of them simply sat there drinking in silence.
As midnight approached, Jiraiya took his leave first, and Orochimaru began cleaning up the table. Only Tsunade remained, drinking by herself.
"Don't drink too much. You still have to go pick up Shizune tomorrow."
Knowing he couldn't persuade her otherwise, Orochimaru could only bring up Shizune.
Sure enough, upon hearing Orochimaru mention Shizune, the wine bottle in Tsunade's hand paused slightly.
"Got it, you're such a nag!"
Seeing her reluctant expression, Orochimaru reached out and ruffled her hair.
"You should go buy a few outfits tomorrow."
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Tsunade, who was already feeling a bit tipsy, was stunned for a moment before blurting out:
"I have plenty of clothes. There's no need to buy any."
Orochimaru knew she had misunderstood. Buy clothes for herself? The ones she wore were just fine!
"I mean for you to buy some clothes for Shizune. Kids grow fast, and just looking at you makes it obvious you've never raised a child."
Joking aside, there wasn't a child in the Shinobi World that Orochimaru couldn't win over. In this regard, he could be considered an expert, especially given that he was living his second life—unlike Tsunade, who had zero parenting experience.
"Oh!"
Realizing her mistake, Tsunade hurriedly picked up her wine glass to mask her embarrassment. Just then, Orochimaru added another remark:
"Of course, you should buy yourself a few new outfits as well. You've torn a few during our training sessions lately."
With that, Orochimaru said no more, picked up a medical notebook, and began reading.
These were all problems he had previously jotted down; some were already resolved, while others required deeper study. Right now, it was the perfect time to review them.
He wanted to test whether his doubled comprehension could grant him entirely new perspectives.
The results did not disappoint him. Puzzles he had already cracked now appeared exceedingly simple, and for some, he could even conceive entirely different methods of resolution.
As for the unresolved problems, he quickly formulated several viable strategies and efficiently deduced the success rates of each approach.
Although the original Orochimaru was already brilliant, he was completely incomparable to his present self. Doubled comprehension wasn't just a simple addition of 1+1; it was a qualitative leap.
Not only could it shorten the research time described in the original story, but he could also free up his hands to pursue several more research projects.
Recently, through Shiro, he had managed to acquire some cells belonging to Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito.
This gave him the chance to get a head start, so that when Konoha Village's Hashirama Cells research officially began, he would be able to further verify his own hypotheses.