Uchiha Hikari walked into Orochimaru's room, carefully placing her pillow next to Orochimaru's, and observed his room.
She found his room to be very simple, with no extra decorations except for some necessary items. Everything was very simple, while the room arranged for her was filled with an explosion of decorations, with many things she didn't even know the purpose of.
"Is this… a snake skin?"
Uchiha Hikari looked at the white snake skin in a glass box on the desk and the photo in the frame, which showed Tsunade in a nurse's uniform, looking much younger than her.
"The white snake symbolizes luck and regeneration."
Orochimaru thought of what Sarutobi-sensei had once told him and said, "Hikari, seeing the white snake's skin, you will also become lucky."
"Meeting you and Tsunade is my greatest fortune… If it weren't for you, I don't know how long I would have stayed underground, possibly never leaving until I died."
Uchiha Hikari felt very lucky to have met Orochimaru and Tsunade. If she had met someone else… she dared not imagine what she would have become; she might have been used again.
She no longer wanted to be a weapon. She had her own name, no longer the name of a weapon, but Uchiha Hikari, the light that passed through darkness and lived in the sunlight.
Speaking of which… Orochimaru is also a white snake… Uchiha Hikari thought of Orochimaru in Sage Mode.
"Tomorrow I will give you a full body examination. If the situation is optimistic, your body will recover very quickly."
Orochimaru touched Uchiha Hikari's head, closed the notebook on the desk, walked to the bed, and asked, "Hikari, do you want to sleep on the inside or the outside?"
"Can I sleep on the inside?"
Uchiha Hikari looked at the bed, then at Orochimaru, with a hint of inquiry in her eyes.
"You can sleep inside or outside, I'm not picky."
Orochimaru made a gesture of invitation. Uchiha Hikari quickly slipped under the covers, revealing a pair of big black eyes, staring at him unblinkingly.
So soft… Uchiha Hikari felt how soft the bed beneath her was, something she had never experienced before. Previously, she had always slept on the ground, at best on a straw mat.
Why do I feel… like I picked up a scarred little stray cat?
Orochimaru suddenly had this feeling looking at Uchiha Hikari. He lifted the covers and lay down, and a pair of thin, small arms hugged his arm.
"Sleep."
Orochimaru flicked a finger, and the Wind Release Chakra gathered at his fingertip flew out.
With a click, the lights in the room went out, plunging it into darkness.
"Do you need a nightlight?"
Orochimaru felt Uchiha Hikari's grip on his arm tighten, as if she was afraid of the dark.
"Sleeping next to Orochimaru makes me feel safe. I… I can overcome it…"
Uchiha Hikari tightly hugged Orochimaru's arm, constantly telling herself that she was no longer in that dark, suffocating underground place.
If the lights were on, it would affect Orochimaru, right? Uchiha Hikari didn't want to disturb Orochimaru's rest because of herself. She was a little afraid that Orochimaru might one day find her troublesome, so she didn't want to cause her any trouble.
"You just left that place not long ago. How could you overcome it so easily?"
Orochimaru thought of a new product she had developed recently, got up, turned on the light, and left the room.
Uchiha Hikari anxiously clutched the blanket with both hands, her large black eyes fixed on the room's door.
Soon after, Orochimaru returned with a cat-shaped nightlight, placed it on the bedside table, and turned it on.
The adorable little cat glowed with warm light, looking exceptionally cute and comforting.
"How does it feel?"
Orochimaru thought this nightlight was quite cute. It was a product from White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company aimed at children. The portable rice cooker she used before was also a flagship product of the company, advertised for being able to eat fragrant rice anytime, anywhere, even in the wild.
The company's development couldn't just stick to a small plot of land; it needed to constantly develop new avenues and products to earn more money, and she had many places where she needed to spend money.
Stockpiling Sage Art Explosives required money, a lot of money.
Moreover, wars between small nations caused their people to become refugees, and many chose to seek refuge in neutral countries, with the Land of Waves being one of their choices.
Once a war between great nations broke out...
There would only be more refugees and homeless war orphans.
Uchiha Hikari threw herself into Orochimaru's embrace, her head resting on her chest.
"Hikari?"
Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Hikari in confusion, not knowing what was wrong with her.
Children's thoughts are too hard to guess!
Orochimaru suddenly felt that Tsunade was a very easy person to understand, but Uchiha Hikari, who had been buried underground for a hundred years, was truly difficult to understand, delicate and sensitive.
"I caused you trouble…"
"No, not at all."
Orochimaru felt the dampness on her chest and sighed inwardly. This child was even more sensitive than she had imagined.
"I told you, this is your home. Relax a little; such a small matter is not trouble."
Orochimaru could only patiently comfort Uchiha Hikari, thinking with a bittersweet feeling:
The biggest gain from this treasure hunt was a true little ancestor, plus one.
She wondered if Grandma Mito had scolded Tsunade. This time, she really didn't know if she should blame her… If Orochimaru had known that the location marked on the map sealed a girl, she would still have gone to unseal it, because she would be curious, curious why the girl was sealed, curious what special abilities the girl had… Curiosity really kills the snake!
Late at night, Uchiha Hikari, suddenly awakened from her sleep, looked at the sleeping Orochimaru beside her. She gazed at the adorable cat-shaped nightlight on the bedside table, and the terror and fear in her heart melted like snow under the sun. She rubbed her face against Orochimaru's arm and quickly fell asleep, sleeping exceptionally soundly this time.
Did she have a nightmare?
Orochimaru watched Uchiha Hikari through a slit in her eyes.
The next day, early morning.
Orochimaru slowly opened her eyes, pulled back the blanket, and looked at Uchiha Hikari, who was curled up, clutching her arm.
She really was like a cat.
Orochimaru tried to pull out her arm, which Uchiha Hikari was holding tightly, but it only made her grip tighter, like a drowning person clutching at the last straw.
Bang—!
"Please go make breakfast."
Orochimaru formed hand signs, and a Shadow Clone appeared beside her.
"Leave it to me."
The Shadow Clone gave the original a sympathetic look and walked out with light steps.
So annoying… I really want to beat up my Shadow Clone… Orochimaru looked at the Shadow Clone's irritating demeanor, and her fists clenched.
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