Late at night, Tsunade, who had slept all afternoon, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. More importantly, she really wanted to know Orochimaru's answer to her confession, but found it difficult to ask.
If it weren't for the drunken confession, she wouldn't know when she would have expressed her feelings for Orochimaru.
"Tsunade, can't you sleep?"
Orochimaru was used to Tsunade and Uchiha Hikari sleeping beside her. Under normal circumstances, she would sleep very soundly, but she was still woken up by Tsunade's constant tossing and turning.
"I... did I wake you up?"
Tsunade shrunk her neck, lowering her voice, worried about waking Uchiha Hikari too.
"What do you think?"
Orochimaru opened her eyes slightly. In the warm glow of the cat-shaped night light, she looked at Tsunade's wide-awake eyes and said helplessly, "I warned you not to drink too much. You slept all afternoon, and now you can't sleep, can you?"
"Actually, it's also because of... that."
Tsunade's face was flushed with shyness, and her eyes darted away.
A reply to the confession...? Orochimaru truly didn't know how to respond to Tsunade. She looked at the sleeping Uchiha Hikari beside her.
"Tsunade, I can't give you an answer right now... Hikari and Mio, they've also confessed to me."
Orochimaru didn't want to hide it from Tsunade. She didn't think there was anything to hide about such matters.
"Mio and Hikari?"
Tsunade's pupils suddenly contracted. She knew Hyuga Mio liked Orochimaru, but she never expected Uchiha Hikari to also like Orochimaru. The most crucial thing was that Uchiha Hikari was someone she and Orochimaru had discovered together.
This was equivalent to her digging up a love rival for herself!
"I told Hikari that I would give her an answer after she turns 18, if she still likes me then... Tsunade, it's very difficult for me to choose between you and Mio, and it's also difficult to reject either of you."
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade apologetically. She didn't want to hurt Tsunade, yet she was hurting her in this matter. She reached out to caress her face, but stopped halfway, feeling it wasn't appropriate to do so right now.
"I'm sorry, Tsunade. Perhaps hating me would make you feel better..."
Orochimaru used to think that those people in TV dramas who were dying for love were fake, but when it actually happened to her, she suddenly realized that dating was indeed a very troublesome thing.
"I won't hate you..."
Tsunade took Orochimaru's hand and placed it on her own face. Looking at Orochimaru's troubled and self-reproachful expression, it was the first time she had seen such an expression on her face. Even when facing difficult training, she had never shown such an expression.
"Hikari is fine, but I've hated Mio for a long time. I just knew she would take something important away from me."
Tsunade bit Orochimaru's hand with annoyance. As Orochimaru's assistant, Hyuga Mio had lived with them for so many years, and Tsunade couldn't think of any way to get rid of her.
Yet, she was unwilling to share Orochimaru with Hyuga Mio. Who would want to share the person they love with another woman?
This wasn't some daimyo's household, for goodness sake!
Besides, they were all women, there was no distinction between main wife and concubine or anything... "I told you my dislike for her wasn't without reason..."
Tsunade's cheeks puffed out slightly. She hugged Orochimaru's arm tightly and lay down, snuggling into Orochimaru's embrace.
Tsunade and Mio-neechan also like Orochimaru...
Uchiha Hikari's eyelids fluttered slightly, her eyes darted around, and she heard Orochimaru and Tsunade's conversation.
Three more years? Uchiha Hikari felt for the first time that time was so long, even longer than when she was sealed underground before.
In three years, her body would only be 18, and Orochimaru wouldn't treat her like a child.
The next day, the Konoha Higher-Ups officially announced that Orochimaru's latest research, the Limb Regeneration Technique, was put into use. Anyone from Konoha could receive Limb Regeneration Technique treatment to regrow missing limbs.
Disabled people who were once Konoha Ninja would have their expenses reimbursed by Konoha.
This news instantly ignited the entire Konoha. Many people had heard rumors about Orochimaru's latest research, and now the research was truly put into use.
Even people and Ninja with intact bodies couldn't help but feel excited. If they ever lost an arm or a leg due to some incident, they wouldn't have to worry about becoming disabled!
Even more excited were those who couldn't be Ninja due to physical disabilities, and those who had lost limbs fighting for Konoha and were forced to end their Ninja careers.
Since limb regeneration takes time, treatment with the Limb Regeneration Technique requires an appointment. Even so, the number of people making appointments was endless, almost overflowing the Hokage Building.
Intelligence Ninja lurking in Konoha immediately transmitted this information, and many intelligence Ninja were discovered and captured by Root Ninja.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at those who had lost arms and legs. Many of them were once Ninja, and some were comrades he had fought alongside on the battlefield. He had tried to counsel them more than once, and now he finally saw hope for the future in their eyes.
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