After Orochimaru left, a furious Danzo threw a tantrum.
Because of Orochimaru's defection, all of Danzo's subsequent plans were rendered useless.
Danzo had never expected that Orochimaru, who didn't care about anything and only wanted to conduct research, would actually go to Hiruzen Sarutobi to propose self-restraint in order to continue his research.
But no matter how angry Danzo was now, it was useless, because Orochimaru was Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple, and as Orochimaru had indeed said, Root was a training department for the Anbu; it was reasonable and legitimate for Orochimaru to go to the Anbu.
He had thought he was about to see the dawn, but unexpectedly, before the sky had even brightened, the dark clouds were already drifting overhead.
"If it's not Jiraiya, and it's not Orochimaru, who does Hiruzen intend to let inherit the position of Hokage? Is there anyone else more qualified to become Hokage than those two? Tsunade? Unlikely; Tsunade has hemophobia, and in terms of influence, aside from her status as the First Hokage's granddaughter, she can't compare to Orochimaru or Jiraiya..."
Danzo couldn't figure out at all who Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to make Hokage.
...
At the barbecue restaurant.
The corners of Uzumaki Kushina's and Pakura's eyes were twitching.
Yakushi Kabuto had almost lowered his head to his chest.
Because the three of them were already full, while Shendai was still stuffing his face there, as if he hadn't eaten in eight hundred years.
Unable to endure it any longer, Uzumaki Kushina warned: "Hey, Shendai, that's enough! You're full, so stop it; forcing yourself to eat like this is pointless!"
Uzumaki Kushina had already started to feel heartache for her wallet.
"Full? Still... *hiccup*... nowhere near it! Although with the seasonings Tafu carries around, we can hunt and cook a little something on the side occasionally, it still can't compare to barbecue. If I don't eat until I'm satisfied, I'm doing myself a disservice!"
As Shendai spoke, he let out several more burps.
Uzumaki Kushina resisted the urge to throw a punch, squeezing the words through her teeth: "I'll give you ten more seconds. Once ten seconds are up, we're leaving!"
Uzumaki Kushina began counting down, and Shendai's hand movements became even faster, frantically stuffing food into his mouth.
After the countdown ended, Shendai's mouth was completely stuffed; he couldn't put anything more in.
Uzumaki Kushina, Pakura, and Yakushi Kabuto all rolled their eyes.
Was he a reincarnated starving ghost?
To prevent Shendai from causing any more trouble, Uzumaki Kushina immediately went to pay the bill.
Even though she was mentally prepared, seeing her wallet instantly deflate made Uzumaki Kushina's breathing heavy, and she looked aggressively at Shendai, who was still struggling to swallow the meat in his mouth behind her.
What should she do if she wanted to beat someone up!
"Sorry, I've made you spend so much," Pakura apologized to Uzumaki Kushina embarrassedly.
Uzumaki Kushina shook her head with a smile: "How could that be? I should be a few years older than you. Pakura, you can just call me sister, just like Shendai does."
Pakura nodded: "Mm, Sister Kushina."
Hearing Pakura call her sister just like Shendai did, Uzumaki Kushina felt a little comforted about her wallet.
After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Shendai finally swallowed the barbecue in his mouth.
Shendai patted his bulging belly: "Whew, that was satisfying. Time to go home, time to go home~"
As Shendai's voice trailed off, he felt a very resentful gaze.
Shendai turned his head and discovered that the gaze came from Yakushi Kabuto.
Shendai chuckled dryly: "Uh, ha, I didn't forget. I was just joking with you; did you really take it seriously~"
Yakushi Kabuto pouted. He didn't forget? Yeah, right!
Shendai said to Pakura: "Pakura, I'm going to the orphanage with Kabuto. Do you want to come with me, or go home first with Sister Kushina?"
"I..."
Originally, Pakura wanted to go with Shendai, but Uzumaki Kushina immediately said: "Pakura, come back with me first. The wounds on your body need proper rest; you can't keep wandering around with him!"
"Mm, that's also fine. Anyway, Pakura, you have the house key. Tonight, you can sleep in my room. Tomorrow I'll take you to buy daily necessities. Let's go, Kabuto."
Shendai waved at Pakura and Uzumaki Kushina, and with his big belly sticking out, headed to the orphanage with Yakushi Kabuto.
After Shendai left, a gossipy expression appeared on Uzumaki Kushina's face, and she couldn't wait to say to Pakura: "Pakura, since we're neighbors now and it's still early, come over to my place first and sit for a while, and tell me how you and Shendai met."
Pakura looked at Uzumaki Kushina with a subtle expression. Why did she have a... not-so-good feeling?
...
Shendai was now almost leaning his entire body on Yakushi Kabuto, who was struggling to support him.
"Ha, sorry, Kabuto, I need you to support me~"
"You ate too much! Couldn't you have eaten a little less?"
Yakushi Kabuto complained; he was still young and shouldn't have to bear such weight!
Shendai lectured: "Eh, you can't eat less. Eating more means earning more. You're still young, you don't understand."
Yakushi Kabuto retorted: "I don't think you're much older than me! And aren't you uncomfortable from eating so full?"
"Uncomfortable! But the moment I think about how the burps I'm letting out taste like barbecue, I don't feel uncomfortable anymore."
Shendai completely left Yakushi Kabuto speechless.
Finally, after Yakushi Kabuto used all his strength and was almost exhausted, they arrived at the orphanage.
After Yakushi Kabuto took Shendai into a room, he said: "Wait here a moment, I'm going to find the director."
"Okay, it's a good time to sit for a while and digest."
Shendai sat down while holding onto the table, and he clearly felt his little belly bounce when he sat down.
A while later.
Yakushi Kabuto brought Yakushi Nono to the room, and there was someone else with them.
"Eh, Orochimaru-sama, you're here too."
Orochimaru's gaze turned to Shendai's belly, which his clothes could barely cover: "It seems you didn't eat little."
Shendai asked curiously: "Since Orochimaru-sama is appearing here, then that means..."
Orochimaru nodded: "That's right, I've already talked it over with Hiruzen-sensei. Hiruzen-sensei will support my research from now on. At the same time, regarding your proposal for the orphanage, I also mentioned it to Hiruzen-sensei, and he has agreed to your plan."
"Although Hiruzen-sensei warned him, we can't rule out the possibility that he will exploit the information gap and immediately come to threaten Yakushi Nonou to rejoin Root, and then assign Yakushi Nonou a mission to leave the village. If that happens, it would be too late, so I came to warn Yakushi Nonou."
Regarding the 'he' in Orochimaru's words, Shendai was very clear that it referred to Danzo.
Shendai looked at Yakushi Nonou and asked: "So, Sister Nonou, you already know about it?"
Yakushi Nono smiled and said: "Mm, thank you, Shendai, for the money-making plan you came up with for our orphanage. If it succeeds, our orphanage will be able to be self-sufficient and won't need subsidies anymore."
Shendai lifted his chin proudly and boasted to Yakushi Kabuto: "How about that? I didn't lie to you, Kabuto. Even Hokage-sama approves of my plan!"
Yakushi Kabuto's eyes finally filled with stars as he looked at Shendai, and he said very sincerely: "Big Brother, you're so amazing!"
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