Uchiha Hikari stood in front of the mirror, looking at her outfit, pressing her hair with both hands, but the hair she pushed down sprung back up.
"Eh? Why?"
Uchiha Hikari tried a few more times, looking at the hair sticking up on both sides with great dissatisfaction.
Knock knock knock—!
A knock sounded, and Orochimaru's voice came from outside the door.
"Hikari, are you ready yet?"
Uchiha Hikari walked to the door, opened it, reached out and pulled Orochimaru inside, pointed to the parts of her hair sticking up on both sides, and said gloomily, "I can't push it down..."
"Well... I guess that's one of Hikari's characteristics, isn't it?"
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Hikari's hair. She had tried before, but no matter how she combed her long black hair, it still tended to be frizzy.
"This might look a bit better."
Orochimaru saw that Uchiha Hikari cared a lot about her hairstyle, so she tied her hair into a single ponytail with a red hair tie.
"How's this?"
Orochimaru pushed Uchiha Hikari to the mirror. With her hair in a single ponytail, the hair on both sides looked like a cat's drooping ears, very cute.
"Orochimaru seems to know everything!"
Uchiha Hikari's face broke into a happy smile. Orochimaru gave her the feeling that there was nothing she didn't know.
"I'm not that amazing. There are many, many things I don't know. There's no such thing as a perfect person in the world; everyone has their flaws and strengths."
Orochimaru smiled and said.
Uchiha Hikari followed behind Orochimaru out of the room, asking curiously, "Orochimaru, where is the Land of Waves?"
"The Land of Waves is an island nation south of the Land of Fire. It's also the country where the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company is located. The skincare products you use are from that White Snake Company, you know."
"Then how will we get there? By boat?"
Uchiha Hikari, who had always lived on the mainland, was very much looking forward to seeing the sea and experiencing the feeling of being on a boat.
"I'll take you by boat to the Land of Waves next time. This time, I might have to disappoint you."
Orochimaru needed to get to the Land of Waves quickly to deal with some matters and didn't have time to travel leisurely.
"Okay, next time it is!"
Uchiha Hikari said obediently and understandingly.
Land of Waves, White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company.
In the President's office, Uchiha Hikari sat on the sofa, staring intently ahead, feeling quite dizzy at the moment.
Who would have thought that the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company, which she often saw on TV, was actually Orochimaru's Company!
The Company's President was Orochimaru's subordinate, and upon meeting, he was so ashamed that he wanted to commit seppuku in front of Orochimaru as an apology.
Uchiha Hikari even wondered if she was under a genjutsu. To put her under a genjutsu, one would need at least a Sharingan with pupil power surpassing hers.
"Aokawa, don't look like the sky is falling. So what if the merchant from the Land of Water died? What if we don't have leverage?"
Orochimaru said somewhat impatiently. Aokawa had some responsibility in this matter, but it wasn't entirely his fault.
"I'm very sorry, Lord Orochimaru."
Aokawa didn't know how many times he had said'sorry' in just a few minutes.
"Enough! If you keep this up, get out!"
Orochimaru looked at Aokawa angrily.
"Yes! Lord Orochimaru!"
Seeing Lord Orochimaru angry, Aokawa swallowed the apology that was on the tip of his tongue.
Kakuzu cast a schadenfreude glance at Aokawa, then his gaze fell on Uchiha Hikari.
Is this child from the Uchiha Clan?
Why is she with Orochimaru? Could it be that she kidnapped her?
Kakuzu thought suspiciously.
Orochimaru didn't know what Kakuzu was thinking. If she did, she would definitely want to drag him to the sea outside the Land of Waves for a spar. After all, Kakuzu was hard to kill now, so if she couldn't kill him, she would just beat him to a pulp.
"Given the situation, we know that the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village are interested in the formulas we possess. With all the major Ninja Villages stockpiling resources and preparing for war, it's quite normal for them to take risks to obtain the Healing Pill formula."
"Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure could all be interested in the formula. They understand very well the importance of the Healing Pill to them once war breaks out; it's a crucial medicine that can greatly reduce casualties."
Orochimaru was not at all surprised that something like this would happen. The Four Great Nations had been trying to acquire the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company's Healing Pill formula for a long time.
As for the Land of Fire, it was because she had developed the rebirth pill. The Daimyo didn't care about the Healing Pill and had once requested the rebirth pill formula from Konoha, only to be sternly refused by the Konoha Higher-Ups.
Are you kidding? Even Senju Hashirama wouldn't hand over such an important formula... Well, Senju Hashirama actually might have given it away, considering he once thought about distributing the Tailed Beasts to each Ninja Village for free.
"Various countries and Ninja Villages haven't stopped trying to analyze the Healing Pill formula. Precisely because they can't decipher it, they want to obtain the formula. If they could produce the Healing Pill themselves, it would not only lower production costs but also allow them to be self-sufficient, without needing the Company's supply."
Kakuzu anticipated that as war approached, the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company and the Land of Waves would also be affected.
"But even if they get the formula, it's useless; they can't obtain the most crucial ingredient."
Orochimaru wasn't worried about the Healing Pill formula leaking out. The most important ingredient was the Chimera Bug's healing fluid, and the places where Chimera Bugs lived were the Mangrove Forest and the Aburame Clan's territory in Konoha.
"Indeed."
Kakuzu nodded slightly, thinking of the Chimera Bug colonies living in the Mangrove Forest.
Those Chimera Bugs were not something ordinary Ninja could deal with. To capture them alive, at least a unit of Jonin would be needed, and even then, it would only be possible. Furthermore, they possessed considerable intelligence and were extremely fast in aerial flight.
"Lord Orochimaru, how should we deal with those three from the Chinoike Clan?"
Aokawa asked, glancing at Uchiha Hikari sitting there, very curious as to who she was and why she could sit beside Lord Orochimaru.
"You're the Company's President, don't ask me about everything. Whether to kill them or expel them, make these minor decisions yourself!"
Orochimaru said indifferently. She didn't care what happened to those three small fries; with their Ketsuryugan sealed by the Eye Sealing Curse Mark, they were useless.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"