Natsuhane quickly put on his clothes and strode to the living room.
Standing before him was Orochimaru, dressed in pure white, her long hair flowing down her back.
It had been a long time since they'd met, and her demeanor had become even more feminine—an embodiment of extreme, cold elegance.
But more than anything, she exuded a chilling aura of aloofness, like an icy queen who kept everyone at arm's length.
"Long time no see~ What made you decide to visit me? Missed me, perhaps?"
Orochimaru ignored his teasing words. She gently raised her hand, and a massive snake emerged from her sleeve.
The snake opened its wide jaws, revealing a small, cute girl, covered in mucus, suddenly appearing before Natsuhane.
The girl had her eyes closed, her body steaming slightly, seemingly still unconscious.
"Hmm? Isn't this..."
Natsuhane recognized her instantly; it was Funato Sieka, whom Orochimaru had intercepted from him previously.
Orochimaru retracted her sleeve, speaking in her usual cold tone:
"I've finished my research on the pureblood lineage of the Funato Clan. I'm returning her to you. The effect of the sedative will last for another two hours, so... take your chance."
Natsuhane blinked. "Huh? What do you take me for?"
Orochimaru replied flatly, "Perverted, greedy, led by your lower instincts, lecherous, indiscriminate, not caring about quality—"
"Stop, stop, stop...!" Natsuhane protested in exasperation, "Is that really what you think of me? You've got it all wrong! Besides, she's still just a kid; how could I... take advantage of her like this!"
Orochimaru continued, "Don't judge by appearances. From what I've researched, her real age is well over twenty. Maintaining the appearance of an eleven- or twelve-year-old is simply an ability of hers."
"Oh?" Natsuhane's eyes lit up with interest. "Is that so? Not bad, not bad. The Funato Clan is indeed mysterious! They'd make a great match with the Uchiha lineage."
Orochimaru looked at him disdainfully. "I knew it. You kept her around for such a sordid reason."
She stood up, preparing to leave.
"Wait, are you leaving already?" Natsuhane quickly called after her. "Back when you took Sieka from me, you promised to give me something extra in return. Where's the second part of that promise?"
"Hmph..." Orochimaru gave him a sidelong glance and snorted coldly. "I didn't expect you to remember so well..."
She tossed a scroll into his hands as she spoke.
"This is the location of the widows of the Funato Clan that I extracted from Sieka. Take it as compensation for letting me borrow her for so long."
"Amazing! This is exactly what I wanted! You know me well!" Natsuhane grinned widely, tightly gripping the scroll, unable to suppress his excitement.
"I'm leaving. I owe you nothing now." Orochimaru couldn't stand the way Natsuhane's eyes lit up at the mention of women.
"Not staying a while longer? We could go search for the Funato Clan's lair together."
"No need. I'm only interested in purebloods, and I've already gathered all the information I needed."
Before she could finish her sentence, Orochimaru was already at the door, uninterested in hearing any more of his nonsense.
Seeing this, Natsuhane didn't push her to stay. He picked up Sieka from the floor, setting her gently in a chair, and then began unrolling the scroll, carefully studying the coordinates marked on the map.
As he was fully focused, Orochimaru suddenly returned, her expression unusually serious.
Natsuhane looked up with a grin, "Heh, I knew you couldn't bear to leave me..."
Orochimaru responded with irritation:
"Cut the crap. I came back to ask you something..."
"What do you think about Akatsuki's recent actions...?"
...
****Let's keep the clan name as Funato Clan as I messed up the name previously.******