Forget it, this girl is too precious to hit. If she wants to poke me in the ribs, let her. I'll deal with her when she grows up.
Tsunade sighed and compromised.
"Senior."
Entering the crowd and joining the group leaving the village, Takashi greeted Shikashin Nara.
"Hello," Shikashin Nara responded with a polite attitude.
But there was something a bit strange in the way he looked at Takashi.
Takashi was used to it by now.
Go ahead, look at me however you want. You're not the first to think like that. I'm Hyuga Takashi, and yes, I am a gigolo. What about it?
"I hope we have a good partnership."
Shikashin Nara was the designated combat commander from the village, while Takashi was the medical ninja at the camp. Cooperation between them was inevitable—one to ensure the healing at the camp, the other to lead the battle strategies.
Since they were from the same faction, getting along would be beneficial.
"Partnership or not, we're all doing it for the village. It's our duty," Takashi replied with a smile.
Shikashin nodded slightly, agreeing with the sentiment. Speaking of a partnership felt too distant.
Overall, their first meeting went well. Shikashin thought Takashi didn't seem like someone difficult to get along with. He had worried that because of Tsunade, Takashi might be arrogant, which would have been a headache for him as a combat commander.
After all, he could command others, but not Takashi. He wasn't allowed to interfere with camp medical operations.
His worries were not unfounded—any friction between them could easily spark conflicts. Despite Shikashin's alliance with Tsunade's faction, Takashi's relationship with Tsunade was closer than theirs, and you should never underestimate the influence of pillow talk.
That kind of influence could work on men or women alike.
If Takashi was willing to cooperate, and both sides worked hard together, it was certainly good news for Shikashin.
After exchanging pleasantries, Takashi immediately sought out Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Compared to people like Shikashin Nara, who relied heavily on their intellect, Takashi preferred being around Orochimaru or Jiraiya. Conversations with smart people like Shikashin were too draining—every word had to be weighed and processed.
Maybe that was just a Nara clan trait—always calculating, always assessing what to say and what not to say.
In the past few days, Jiraiya seemed to have recovered his usual demeanor.
Though he really liked Tsunade, he wouldn't let his feelings affect his duties or the village.
Seeing Takashi approach, Jiraiya spoke up:
"I already heard from that brat about your plans for Nawaki. If the war breaks out, it'll be dangerous for him to follow me to the battlefield. Leaving him at the camp is for the best."
"Speaking of which, I should thank you for putting in a good word for me to be Nawaki's teacher."
"..."
Oh, Jiraiya, you managed to offend two people with one sentence, didn't you?
Orochimaru squinted at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya coughed and quickly tried to explain, "Orochimaru, that's not what I meant. I'm just happy, that's all—just happy."
The matter of Nawaki's teacher had been discussed by Tsunade and Orochimaru, and Orochimaru had not refused. Yet, in the end, Jiraiya became the teacher.
Orochimaru didn't care enough to dwell on it, but still—Jiraiya shouldn't have said it out loud!
That loose mouth of his—he had to learn the hard way now, didn't he? Takashi could barely hold back a laugh.
"What do you mean, I spoke for you? Tsunade made the decision, not me."
You better watch out. Don't let me catch you slipping.
Takashi gave Jiraiya a meaningful glance, and Orochimaru simply turned away, deciding to ignore Jiraiya and instead started chatting with Takashi.
Takashi also chose to ignore Jiraiya—after all, his loose lips had gotten him into trouble.
He knew it would offend people, and he still went ahead and said it.
"I believe that the puppets you're making could be a surprising force on the battlefield. There are also many resources we could use out there," Orochimaru said.
The most important thing for making puppets? Materials!
And there was no shortage of materials on the battlefield, such as enemy corpses. As long as Takashi could get over his hesitation, he could utilize the enemy's bodies to create puppets—putting these puppets onto the battlefield would definitely surprise their enemies.
"We'll see. Honestly, I'm not too keen on touching corpses, even if they're the enemy's. But if there's a need, I'll do it," Takashi replied.
He wasn't someone who liked to be squeamish. If the need arose, he'd do it, as long as it didn't involve their own comrades' bodies.
As for enemy corpses... Why overthink it?
Using the enemy's bodies to create puppets and then using those puppets against them—it was perfect.
Orochimaru smiled slightly. "If you're interested, I could provide quite a bit of materials."
It looked like Orochimaru had come prepared.
If he wanted to research puppets, he definitely had to put in some effort, and Orochimaru was the kind of person who put his all into what he did.
"Why don't you help me make the puppets? I'll just finish the last step," Takashi suddenly suggested. Since he didn't really want to deal with corpses, why not have someone else do it, and he'd just finish it off?
After all, Orochimaru didn't mind working with enemy corpses. Asking him to make the puppets would probably be fine.
"Sure, but I'll need some of the puppets we make. Don't worry, I won't take too many," Orochimaru immediately stated his condition.
"Deal!"
How could Takashi refuse such a good offer?
He agreed right away, and thus they forged their cooperation.
Watching Takashi and Orochimaru happily strike a deal, Jiraiya, who had been left out, was completely bewildered.
"Takashi, aren't you a medical ninja? How did you get involved in making puppets? And Orochimaru, since when did you get interested in puppets?"
Though Jiraiya hadn't seen it firsthand, he knew that if Orochimaru put his mind to it, he could master it anytime—after all, Orochimaru was just that talented.
Takashi looked Jiraiya up and down—his tattered clothes reeked, who knew how long he hadn't changed them. Takashi's lips curled slightly, and he just let out a dismissive, "Heh."
"Heh," Orochimaru followed, giving Jiraiya a meaningful smile.
Jiraiya: "?????"
What's with you two? Do you really have to be this petty? All I did was say one wrong thing.
Do you have to be so harsh to me?
So annoying. Now I really want to know.
Jiraiya scratched his head, feeling completely at a loss. Takashi and Orochimaru let him hear part of their conversation but withheld the truth, leaving him desperate with curiosity.
"Just tell me, just a little, satisfy my curiosity."
But Orochimaru, already used to Jiraiya's antics, was unmoved, only offering him a half-smile.