Izo looked bewildered, blinking his eyes repeatedly, his gaze falling on Orochimaru who had been placed in his arms.
Was he supposed to bathe Orochimaru?
However, as a retainer, bathing the lord's child seemed to be part of his duty.
Izo curiously lifted Orochimaru and examined him carefully.
"So small... Is his height from Lady Toki? But Lady Toki is nearly one meter ninety tall.
Lord Orochimaru looks to be less than one meter seventy.
It seems he's still too young. I wonder how Denjiro has been taking care of him."
(Why does Izo know? The diary says Lady Toki entrusted Orochimaru to Denjiro before her death. It contains everything up to her death.)
Izo held Orochimaru steadily with one hand, tested the water temperature with the other, then gently removed Orochimaru's clothes.
Next, he ripped off his own outer garment and, holding Orochimaru, stepped into the water together. After all, in Wano Country, clothes were simple, with only a loincloth under the outer garment.
As a Ninja, Orochimaru was still wearing pants and chainmail underneath.
Warm water enveloped them both, with Orochimaru sitting astride Izo, facing him.
Izo first gently wiped Orochimaru's small face with a wet cloth, then lathered shampoo into bubbles, from his forehead to his cheeks, then to his chin, not missing any dirt, as he had just been soiled by bugs.
He looked at Orochimaru's tightly closed eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"If only Lord Orochimaru were Lord Oden's successor."
After all, Lord Momonosuke's personality was somewhat hard to describe, and Izo had no special feelings for him; his respect was only because he was Oden's son.
Izo began to wash Orochimaru's body, starting from his shoulders, slowly moving down his arms, carefully scrubbing away the dirt.
When washing his body, Izo gently pressed with his hand, feeling Orochimaru's tender bones, and sighed in admiration. He truly was Lord Oden's son; although his build was a bit small, his physical fitness was incredibly strong, with all the necessary muscles.
(Garp: You also have to consider who raised him.)
When washing his legs, Izo was extra careful, gently leaning him against the bathtub wall, lifting Orochimaru's calves, and cleaning them thoroughly, occasionally checking for any missed spots.
However, when he saw a certain spot, his expression became a bit subtle... Was it a bit small? But the places that needed to be wiped still had to be wiped.
Orochimaru stirred slightly in his sleep, and Izo quickly stopped his movements, resuming only after Orochimaru quieted down.
He cupped a handful of water and gently poured it over Orochimaru's head, the water flowing through his hair. He gently combed it with his fingers, ensuring every strand was clean and refreshed.
After washing the front, it was time for the back. Izo turned Orochimaru around, and the moment he lifted his hair, he froze.
On the right side of Orochimaru's back, near the shoulder blade, was a family crest (this is a private setting, please do not scrutinize).
Izo's trembling fingers caressed the chrysanthemum pattern on the outer edge of the Tsuru Maru design.
Eight layers, sixteen petals—only the main family could possess this... (I don't fully understand it, but apparently, chrysanthemum patterns can be used to distinguish between branch and main families, and a sixteen-petal chrysanthemum pattern seems to be exclusively for royalty, so I'll just set it as the symbol of an heir. The chrysanthemum pattern is the floral border.)
Does this mean Lady Toki decided to make Lord Orochimaru Lord Oden's successor?
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Lord Momonosuke was sent 20 years into the future, to find someone who could help Wano Country open its borders 20 years later.
But even then, Lord Momonosuke would still be 8 years old, still a child.
And Lady Toki didn't know that she was pregnant with Lord Orochimaru at that time.
All of this must have been decided by Lady Toki after giving birth to Lord Orochimaru.
If Lord Orochimaru died young, then there would still be Lord Momonosuke as a fallback.
But if Lord Orochimaru survived, he would be the eldest son in a practical sense.
It's just that Lord Orochimaru's childhood must have been very difficult.
Usually, this emblem is supposed to be tattooed after adulthood, once the heir is confirmed.
Hmm... wait... Since Lord Orochimaru became the main family's heir and survived, not only is he powerful and intelligent, but his Devil Fruit ability, though appearing to be a snake, is actually a dragon type.
Does that mean Lord Momonosuke automatically became part of the branch family, perhaps only slightly better than a slave? Denjiro should know about this, and I wonder if he told the rest of the Nine Red Scabbards. Such an important matter would surely be told, right?
Izo looked at the family crest, his expression momentarily odd, schadenfreude? No, no... He's Lord Oden's son after all... How could I feel schadenfreude?
Orochimaru, sensing the movement on his back, gradually woke up. In fact, he knew everything that was happening outside, he just didn't want to face it. He turned to look at Izo, whose expression was a bit distorted.
"Are you done touching?"
Izo was startled, not expecting Orochimaru to wake up so quickly. Didn't Sabo say it would be several days? Izo quickly withdrew his hand.
"My apologies, Lord. I'll continue."
Orochimaru didn't speak, still closing his eyes in feigned sleep, enjoying Izo's meticulous back-scrubbing service.
He had been awake for a while... It was just his pride acting up, not wanting to open his eyes. How embarrassing, he wasn't a child anymore, how could he still... be afraid... Forget it... He was afraid of bugs, so what!
Compared to the turmoil in Izo's heart, Orochimaru's mind was only focused on how to kill Ace.
Izo secretly watched Orochimaru, who was deep in thought, and after much hesitation, he finally couldn't resist and asked,
"Lord Orochimaru, have you seen the Nine Red Scabbards, other than the three who were sent by Lady Toki?" Orochimaru was somewhat silent. Perhaps it was almost time; the closer they got to the New World, the clearer the so-called childhood memories set by the system became, which was very irritating.
In those memories from his infancy, there were indeed a group of strangely dressed people. Orochimaru slowly said, "There seemed to be a group of... hmm, strange people, some like cats and dogs, and a fat one, and one person who looked a bit like you."
"Perverts?" Izo looked bewildered, completely unprepared to hear such a description.
"Oh, it was just one day, a few dirty guys suddenly appeared from nowhere, and they just hugged you and cried... and had snot running down their noses," Orochimaru's tone was flat, but a hint of disgust could be heard.
Izo's mouth twitched violently, and his mind immediately went into a frantic brainstorm.
He was filled with complaints about Denjiro and Kiku: how on earth were they taking care of the child?
Kiku, what exactly did you do to Lord Orochimaru? Lord Orochimaru's 潔癖 wouldn't have come from that, would it?
Orochimaru noticed the person behind him stop moving and said, annoyed, "Don't get distracted, the water's getting cold."
"Ah... My apologies, Lord." Izo quickly snapped back to attention and continued to scrub Orochimaru's back diligently.
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