"Sensei is absolutely right," Misaki thought. Satsuki was so lucky to have such an enlightened father.
"It's easy enough to say," Pakura scoffed. "But why don't you ask him if he actually believes it himself?"
Pakura dismissed the idea outright. There was no way Orochimaru could actually live up to it. Satsuki's happiness would inevitably be controlled by her overbearing father—Pakura knew his suffocating need for control all too well.
"Let's eat," Orochimaru said, clearly trying to deflect, guilt written all over his face. Even he didn't believe his own words. If Satsuki ever ended up with someone he disapproved of, there was no chance he'd accept it. Desperate to change the subject, he started eating a bit faster.
"See," Pakura said, pointing at Orochimaru, her face full of mockery.
"At least Sensei's opinion is good," Misaki interjected, somewhat forcefully defending Orochimaru. That was all she could manage—a defense of his opinion.
"Just defend him." Pakura rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed. The master and apprentice were in the same boat. Too lazy to argue further, she simply drank her soup.
"I'm done eating. Can I hold Satsuki now?"
Not long after, Orochimaru finished his meal, wiped his mouth, and reached out his hands toward Satsuki.
Misaki handed Satsuki over, noticing the little girl's bright smile. It seemed Satsuki really liked Orochimaru as her father.
"I'll take her outside for a bit. You two take your time eating," Orochimaru said as he carried Satsuki out. After all, she couldn't eat any of the food anyway.
In his arms, Satsuki reached out to grab his dangling earrings, her eyes full of wonder.
"Do you like it? Daddy will make you a prettier one later," Orochimaru said, tilting his head as Satsuki's tiny hand followed his movement. His tone was unmistakably doting.
"There he goes, carrying his whole world in his arms," Pakura teased, prompting both her and Misaki to laugh.
After dinner, Misaki went to inform Tsunade, while Orochimaru stayed home, continuing to enjoy quality time with his daughter.
"Sister Tsunade."
"Sensei told me to tell you that you can pick a time."
Misaki was led by an Anbu to the Hokage's Office, where only Tsunade and Shōta were present. Although her words were relatively vague, Shōta could still guess what it was about. He remained silent, knowing this matter was beneficial to both Konoha and Tsunade.
"You're pretty quick," Tsunade remarked, noting how it felt like only a few days since she'd last been in the lab. Time seemed to be flying by.
"It's not that quick—it's been over a week," Misaki replied honestly. Sensei was already complaining about the slow progress.
"It's been that long? Then I'll go there tomorrow," Tsunade said after a moment of consideration, setting the time.
"Shōta, you'll have a hard time tomorrow," she added, turning to him.
"Well, don't worry," Shōta responded without complaint, understanding the importance of her work.
"Then I'll go first," Misaki said, satisfied that the time had been set.
"Okay, see you tomorrow," Tsunade replied as they waved goodbye.
"Will there be any danger?" Shōta asked slowly after Misaki had left.
He knew that nothing was ever 100% successful, especially when it came to something as extreme as human experimentation.
"No danger. Just wait for me to come to work the day after tomorrow," Tsunade said with a composed smile, as if discussing something trivial.
"That's good," Shōta replied, visibly relieved. At this point, he decided not to overthink it—just trust Tsunade.
The day passed quickly.
When Tsunade returned home from work, the first thing she did was feed Ginji.
"Come with me to the lab tomorrow," she mentioned casually, and Kawakaze immediately understood.
"You've set a time, right? Then prepare some milk for Ginji and let Grandma take him for the day tomorrow," Kawakaze said. He didn't bring up the experiment—it wasn't as important to him as making sure Ginji had his meals.
He planned to be there the entire time tomorrow, just as Tsunade had been by his side in the beginning.
"Alright, go find something to store it in," Tsunade said with a small smile, glancing at Ginji, who was relaxing with his eyes closed. "We'll have to make our son put up with a little inconvenience tomorrow."
"Okay," Kawakaze replied, getting up to find a container that would keep the food fresh.
"It needs to be big enough for Ginji to drink from," Tsunade added as a reminder. Ginji, that little brat, had grown even more in his appetite.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Kawakaze said without hesitation, already familiar with his son's needs.
The two got busy preparing, and at one point, Kawakaze nearly had to intervene before being calmed down by a few quick slaps from Tsunade.
Once the food was stocked up, they carried Ginji to the dining room.
It had become a routine for Mito to eat there with them.
"Grandma, I have something to do tomorrow. Please take care of Ginji for the day," Kawakaze mentioned to Mito while they ate.
"You go do your own things. There's no trouble at all," Mito replied happily, not minding the task of looking after Ginji.
"Grandma, I've asked the kitchen to keep Ginji's food. When Ginji gets hungry, just pour some out for him," Tsunade added.
"Mm-hmm, got it," Mito replied impatiently, thinking to herself how annoying these two were.
Sensing her mood, Kawakaze and Tsunade refrained from giving any further advice, fearing they'd be scolded.
After they finished eating, Mito took Ginji away directly. Kakashi went off to join Minato and the others to play.
Before long, only two couples remained in the dining room.
"Are you going to undergo the fusion tomorrow?" Sakumo asked, glancing at Tsunade. He had always been aware of this experiment and was the one who had sent the living body for it this time.
In his unprofessional opinion, wasn't the time interval a bit too short? For something like this, shouldn't it take a few months?
"Well, the results of the experiment are in. It should be fine. I believe in Orochimaru's technology," Tsunade replied confidently. She trusted not only Orochimaru but also her own strength. This success would be a credit to them both.
"Isn't it a bit too hasty?" Nayuki asked, voicing what Sakumo seemed hesitant to say.
"Brother and sister, you have to trust the expertise of the professionals. I didn't see you two so nervous at the beginning," Kawakaze interjected, trying to lighten the mood.
"How can you say that? If I hadn't seen that big wooden Buddha, I wouldn't even have known!" Sakumo snapped, his frustration bubbling over. "Is this something you, as a younger brother, could just do? If you had a problem, how would I explain it to our parents, who are gone?"
Kawakaze's mention of the earlier experiment only seemed to make Sakumo angrier. While others saw only Kawakaze's strength after the experiment's success, Sakumo couldn't forget the fear he had felt. That was his only younger brother!
"Big brother, I was wrong last time," Kawakaze admitted. "But because there's a successful case now, this time will definitely be foolproof."
His words carried logic, but there was also an unmistakable note of comfort in them.