Shigeru watched as his teacher, holding a young woman in his arms, flew westward towards the Land of Demons, scratching his head in confusion.
“Where is Teacher taking the shaman of the Land of Demons?”
“Kurama, do you know?”
Nine-Tails sensed the joy in Miyiru’s emotions transmitted into his mind, stroked his chin, and wore a smile of unfathomable depth.
“You few young ones, in the future, when you meet the shaman of the Land of Demons, it’s best to treat her with the same attitude you usually have towards that girl Tsunade.”
“Tsk, tsk, old man, I really am a good fox!”
Shigeru looked bewildered.
“The attitude towards older sister?”
“What attitude? I can’t hit her back when she hits me?”
Nonohai and Kushina exchanged glances, their faces filled with surprise as they leaned closer to Nine-Tails.
“Kurama, do you mean, Teacher is going to… with the shaman…”
Kushina held up two thumbs, pressed them together, and winked mischievously in the direction Orochimaru and Miyiru had departed.
“Heh heh, who knows!”
“Let’s see how that fellow Orochimaru chooses.”
“However, for a woman who can mobilize the Undead Army to willingly marry him, old man, I suspect that fellow Orochimaru won’t be able to resist such temptation!”
As soon as Nine-Tails finished speaking, the two young girls immediately cheered.
“Yay!”
“This way, big sister Tsunade won’t be thinking about how to deal with me all day. That’s great!”
“Captain Kushina, representing the entire Leaf Village, agrees to this marriage!”
Kushina waved her small fists about excitedly, her face beaming.
Shigeru’s mouth dropped open in shock, then he subconsciously glanced at Nonohai.
“Mar… marriage?”
Minato Namikaze, lost in thought, looked at the cheerful Kushina with longing in his eyes.
The guards of the Land of Demons resting nearby and the maids who attended to Miyiru’s daily needs listened intently for a while, then began to whisper amongst themselves.
“Is the shaman getting married and going to the Leaf Village?”
“What about the seal?”
“Are you an idiot!”
“Given the shaman’s personality, how could she possibly abandon the seal?”
“I’m guessing, did Lord Orochimaru completely eliminate that damned demon, freeing the shaman from her duty of guarding the seal, and that’s why she decided to marry Lord Orochimaru?”
“Right, right, that makes sense. Why didn’t I think of that…”
…
Leaf Village, Commercial District.
Tsunade stood at the entrance of the Leaf Village gambling house, holding a pile of money and frowning.
“Sigh!”
“Why has Lady Tsunade changed her style today? I bet against her and lost all my savings!”
“Who’s to say otherwise!”
“It seems the moniker ‘big fat sheep’ for Lady Tsunade was fabricated by someone else. With such superb gambling skills, Lady Tsunade must have been losing money on purpose before!”
Listening to the gamblers behind her, Tsunade’s frown deepened.
“The last time I won money was when Dad and Mom went to support the Land of Whirlpools. The time before that was when Grandpa’s second uncle passed away. The time before that was when Grandpa passed away…”
“Except for when Grandma passed away and I was training in the Toad Forest, I haven’t been to a casino. Every time I win money, something bad happens.”
“Then this time…”
Tsunade thought of her younger brother and Kushina, who were on a mission in the Land of Demons with Orochimaru’s clone, and her heart grew increasingly anxious.
“No, I have to go find that fellow Orochimaru!”
Tsunade gritted her teeth, haphazardly wrapped the winnings in her clothes, dropping many without the mood to pick them up, and with a body flicker, rushed towards Orochimaru’s house.
The scattered banknotes fluttering to the ground immediately caused a frenzy among the gamblers, who pushed and shoved each other in a desperate scramble.
The chaos soon attracted the attention of the Military Police. A squad of Uchiha chunin, with excitement in their eyes, appeared at the scene of the fight, holding their fine tickets.
Their Sharingan activated, they instantly counted the amount of money being fought over by these gamblers, and swiftly scribbled a series of numbers on the fine tickets. After these gamblers finally determined the victors, they ripped off the fine tickets with a *tsst* and handed them over.
“Here!”
“Same as usual, if you don’t want to spend a few days eating cold food at the Military Police, just pay these fines obediently!”
A group of bruised and battered gamblers looked as if they had lost their parents. They pooled their resources together.
Coincidentally, the amount of the fines was exactly the same as the money they had snatched.
Watching the gamblers obediently pay their fines and leave with expressions as if they had lost their parents, the Uchiha chunin gleefully shook the banknotes in his hand and signaled to his equally excited comrades behind him.
“Disband! Old place!”
“Yes!”
The onlookers seemed unsurprised by the Military Police’s blatant abuse of power for personal gain. Apart from these gamblers who were neglecting their duties, the Uchiha clan never embezzled any money from the citizens of the Leaf Village.
As for those who spent their days at the gambling dens, they deserved it!
…
“Orochimaru!”
Tsunade leaped into the courtyard and kicked open Orochimaru’s door with a bang.
“I have something very important to discuss with you!”
Orochimaru put down a scroll titled “Wood Style Modification Experiment” and looked up at the worried Tsunade, asking with confusion:
“Tsunade, what’s wrong?”
“Sit down and talk!”
“Just as well, I was planning to come find you about something.”
Tsunade glanced at the characters on the scroll, her brow furrowing slightly.
“I want to ask about Shigeru, how is he doing now?”
Orochimaru blinked, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.
“What a coincidence, I wanted to find you about Shigeru as well.”
“But, you already knew that Shigeru and I went to the Land of Demons for a training mission, didn’t you?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about his condition?”
Tsunade gritted her teeth, and with a rustle, dumped the money she was holding onto Orochimaru’s desk.
“I…”
“I won money today!”
Orochimaru was startled, and stood up with a serious expression.
“You actually won money?”
“Don’t worry, Shigeru has been practicing the Body Activation Secret Technique for a long time, and I’m personally protecting him. There shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Could it be that Teacher Sarutobi is in trouble?”
Tsunade’s worried expression faltered, and she looked at Orochimaru with a peculiar expression.
“You fellow, how much do you want the old man to have an accident…”
“When I passed by the Ninja Academy earlier, the old man was there, puffing on his pipe!”
Orochimaru became confused.
“That’s strange!”
“Could it be Jiraiya?”
“But that’s not right either. I’ve already improved Jiraiya’s strength to that extent, there’s no reason for him to have an accident!”
“Wait a moment, I’ll find someone to ask!”
After pondering for a while, Orochimaru couldn’t figure out which of Tsunade’s close associates might be in trouble. After some thought, he formed a hand seal for a summoning jutsu and summoned Katsuhime.
“Great Sage, Lady Tsunade!”
Upon seeing that it was Orochimaru himself summoning her, Katsuhime respectfully bowed to both him and Tsunade.
Tsunade nodded with a cold face.
She disliked this snake woman who looked like a fox spirit.
“Katsuhime, you and the others were summoned by Kurama earlier. Did something happen in the Land of Demons?”
Orochimaru patted Tsunade’s back, appeasing her slight jealousy, and asked Katsuhime.
Katsuhime shook her head and replied softly:
“Great Sage, everything is normal!”
“You have already solved the threat of魍魉 for the Land of Demons, and the several young masters are all safe and sound!”
“It’s just…”
Katsuhime glanced at Tsunade, hesitating slightly.
“Just what?”
Tsunade’s expression tensed, and she quickly asked.
“Lord Kurama said that the shaman of the Land of Demons is going to marry you, Great Sage.”
As soon as Katsuhime finished speaking, Orochimaru’s hand on Tsunade’s back froze.
“O-ro-chi-ma-ru!”
Tsunade suddenly turned around, grabbed Orochimaru by the collar, and glared at him, fire blazing in her eyes.
“It’s one thing to keep three fox spirits, they are summon beasts after all.”
“Explain to me, what’s this about the shaman marrying you?”
“It was me first!”
Orochimaru was equally confused.
“What is this clone of mine up to?”