When they were little, Hitomi and Chiri would constantly cling to Miki, almost wishing they could be attached to her twenty-four hours a day.
But as they grew older, such things no longer happened.
Both Hitomi and Chiri had grown up.
Miki had no regrets about this situation.
It was natural for everyone to have their own lives; no one could stay together forever.
Walking down the streets of Konoha, Miki, enjoying a rare moment of leisure, strolled leisurely.
She observed the changes Konoha had undergone over the years.
Aside from an increase in the variety of shops, the Village hadn't actually changed much.
But there was one significant change: electricity had been brought to the Village.
While ordinary cities in the outside world were undergoing rapid transformations, changes in the Village remained very slow.
So slow that people barely noticed the subtle shifts.
As Miki passed, the loud cries of children occasionally echoed through the street.
For a moment, an entire street turned into a sea of wailing.
"The Insect Demon Woman is coming!"
"The Insect Demon Woman is coming!"
"Everyone!"
"Run!!!"
"She's going to feed us insects!!!"
Some boys shouted and ran, loyally warning other children, occasionally glancing back nervously at Miki's movements.
Miki made no move, finding it quite amusing.
What energetic children.
She strolled carelessly down the street, and everywhere she went, not just children, but adults too, were afraid.
Over the past four years, Miki had treated at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, patients.
As Miki approached, many people held their breath and lowered their heads; everywhere she passed, it visibly quieted down.
Especially the Shinobi who knew Miki.
Shinobi wearing green vests on the street, upon seeing Miki from afar, hastily stood at attention by the roadside.
Only after Miki had passed did they let out a sigh of relief.
"Who is she?" a girl who had recently moved to Konoha asked her Shinobi boyfriend.
The sixteen-year-old boy gave an awkward laugh and said, "Who? I don't know!"
"Liar, your body is clearly trembling!" the girl retorted indignantly.
"No! It's not!" the boy exclaimed loudly, "I don't know her! I'm not afraid of her!"
"Honestly!" the girl said, "You wouldn't be…"
"Honestly!" Saying this, the boy covered the girl's mouth, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Don't provoke her! Don't mention her! Pretend she doesn't exist! That's her rule! If any strange rumors get out, we'll be dead! You don't want to be covered in insects and drowned in a sea of them, do you?"
The girl blinked, then whispered, "So you guys are…?"
"Classmates! That guy is my nightmare! I've been scared of him since I was little!"
"Is she that scary?"
The Shinobi boy stared solemnly into his girlfriend's eyes, nodding frantically up and down.
"If you anger her, she'll feed you insects! You don't want to try it, do you? Huh?"
The girl shook her head frantically, understanding the horror.
Miki continued to wander the streets, unconsciously arriving at a high, secluded, and quiet place.
A single large tree stood there, and beneath its lush green canopy was a stone bench, next to a small shop.
Amaguri Ama
It was a Yōkan shop, a long-established brand in Konoha.
Miki entered the shop, bought two portions, and sat down on the stone bench under the tree.
A handsome young man, whose skin was unusually fair from rarely seeing the sun, sat on the stone bench, holding a portion of Yōkan, and looked at Miki.
Reflected in his golden slit pupils, beneath his long, narrow purple eyeshadow, was a pure white mask.
Orochimaru.
Orochimaru shifted uncomfortably, carefully moving a little further away from Miki.
Orochimaru had always found this person both disgusting and terrifying, like a true insect, making him uncomfortable.
Miki paid no attention to his actions.
Because he was just scared.
And Miki was here to see how the chives in the flowerbed were growing.
There was no malice.
Orochimaru looked at Miki's mask.
Miki picked up a portion of Yōkan and took a small bite.
It was soft and chewy, with a sweet taste.
"You like this too?" Orochimaru asked in a cold voice, breaking the silent atmosphere.
Although he didn't want to speak, not speaking at all felt even more unsettling and creepy.
"No, just tasting it," Miki said. "It's alright."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Orochimaru's eyes; it was clearly delicious, the Yōkan.
"What's wrong with your body?" Miki asked then.
Hearing this, Orochimaru's body tensed, and he remained silent.
"You really aren't afraid of death," Miki said. "When did this happen?"
"A week ago," Orochimaru said.
"What did you do?" Miki asked.
"Softening Modification." For some reason, Orochimaru answered honestly; perhaps he wanted someone to confide in.
"Directly modifying your body, how daring. Didn't you think of testing it on experimental subjects first?" Miki asked.
"I did think of it…" Orochimaru said, "But there were no experimental subjects. The tests on mice went very smoothly."
"That's really…" Miki said, "So, was the Softening Modification successful?"
"It was successful." Saying this, Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue, then retracted it.
"How disgusting," Miki said.
"You're one to talk," Orochimaru retorted coldly.
"Laughable," Miki said. "You've changed your own sex, are you happy?"
Miki smelled it: the change in hormones.
Orochimaru's face darkened, and he said nothing.
After a while, Orochimaru said, "Gender doesn't matter. I am a Shinobi."
"Oh~" Miki drew out the sound, then said, "The Third Hokage will be devastated when he finds out, won't he? Tsunade said he treats you like his own son and spoils you rotten."
Orochimaru broke down.
"What do you want?"
"No, nothing." Miki stood up and said, "What are you going to do?"
What to do?!
Orochimaru lowered his head and remained silent.
"Do you know what the most important factor in biological experiments is?"
Miki asked.
"Money?" Orochimaru wondered.
"I'm sure you've felt it too," Miki said. "Money, you can grit your teeth and get through it. Even if you eat instant noodles, you can always sustain the experiment."
"I don't eat instant noodles," Orochimaru said coldly.
Ignoring his stubbornness, Miki said, "The most important factor for biological experiments is luck."
"It seems your luck isn't very good."
Some people research their whole lives with no results, while others mess around a bit and achieve something.
Orochimaru was the latter kind of person.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Orochimaru asked indifferently.
"Your luck is pretty good; at least you didn't lose your life," Miki said. "And it's just a hormonal imbalance in your body, which can be remedied with some medicine. Do you want this medicine?"
Orochimaru didn't respond.
"At this rate of growth, in three weeks at most…" Miki held the Yōkan to her chest and gestured, saying, "Bandages won't be able to hold this in anymore."
"How much?" Orochimaru asked in a cold voice.
Miki took a bite of Yōkan and said, "It's free, you know."
Orochimaru looked at Miki suspiciously.
This person, is she really that kind-hearted?
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