Kurenai wasn't at all surprised at Anko's appearance.
After all, ever since Aoba went to find her, she had guessed that Anko would follow along.
"Kurenai, you're being really generous today. Looks like you guys made quite a lot from this mission, huh?", Anko looked at the whole table full of barbecue and couldn't help but drool already.
Although her favorite food was still dango, barbecue was also something that could satisfy her craving.
"Mm, aside from the regular commission fee, the client also gave us an extra sum," Kurenai smiled as she said this.
Other than paying the remaining balance of the commission, Sandayu Asame even gave them an additional one million ryo.
For someone like Sandayu Asame, who had once just been an ordinary agent, that was already a huge sum of money.
Anko's face was full of envy, "Really makes me jealous, you know. With that guy Aoba around, you can just lie down and still earn money."
Kurenai didn't think much when she first heard it, but when she heard the latter part, she was already speechless.
'If you can talk, then say more.'
'What do you mean, lying down and still earning money?'
'Would this mission even exist without me?"
Kurenai sulkily picked up a piece of grilled meat wrapped with chili and stuffed it straight into Anko's mouth.
Anko chewed twice out of instinct, and her face immediately flushed red.
She hated chili peppers the most.
Seeing this, Kurenai couldn't help but laugh, but since her prank had already worked, she still handed her a glass of milk.
After drinking the milk, the burning sensation in Anko's mouth finally eased down.
Then she glared angrily at Kurenai, and the two close girlfriends started bickering.
The three on the side, Aoba and the others, completely ignored their quarrel.
Hinata frowned, her heart full of doubt.
Originally, she thought Yakumo went back to bathe because she wanted to dress up before coming out again, so she also went back to prepare a little.
But when she came over, she found that Yakumo was only wearing casual clothes.
That meant she was the only one here wearing a rather formal kimono.
This made her feel a little embarrassed.
"Hinata, coming out for barbecue dressed like this, it'll be super easy to get it dirty, you know," Yakumo looked at Hinata with a teasing expression. She could tell her thoughts at a glance.
"There were no other clothes to change into at home," Hinata explained.
"Is that so? I thought—mmm," Before Yakumo could finish, Aoba stuffed a piece of grilled meat into her mouth without a word.
To avoid making Hinata unhappy, he also gave her a piece.
"Grilling by yourself does get messy. I'll cook for you," Aoba smiled as he spoke.
"Mm," Hinata blushed and nodded.
That barbecue meal ended with Aoba scrambling left and right, barely managing, while in the end Kurenai and Anko also stopped bickering and happily watched the scene.
Aoba was then dragged out the door, flanked on both sides by Yakumo and Hinata.
This time Anko didn't follow, but instead went shopping with Kurenai.
No matter what, you couldn't just ditch your best girlfriend for a man and leave her lonely and pitiful.
Yakumo and Hinata sandwiched Aoba as they wandered around the commercial street for a while before deciding to head home.
Honestly speaking, the three of them had already played enough these past few days, so one more afternoon wasn't a big deal.
But though they called it playing, in truth they'd also been traveling constantly these past days. After walking for so long and only just returning today, the two girls wanted to rest a bit.
Especially Yakumo.
But Aoba, on the other hand, wasn't planning on going home just yet.
Even though Yugao had taken a team out on a commission, if he went home now without a proper excuse, he'd probably be pinned to the bed by Konan, unable to get up for the entire day.
After thinking it through, he simply decided to go find Orochimaru instead.
Finding a deserted place, Aoba directly began sensing the Flying Thunder God seal on Orochimaru's body.
———
The scene shifted, and Aoba was already inside a dimly lit underground laboratory.
He immediately spotted Orochimaru, though Orochimaru didn't seem to notice him at first.
The man was in a white lab coat, focused on examining the body of a white-haired boy lying on the experiment table.
Hissss!
A strange sound rang out. Aoba instinctively tilted his head, dodging the wide-open jaws of a snake head.
"Hmm? I thought it was some intruder, but who would've thought it's Aoba-kun himself paying a visit," At this moment, Orochimaru also turned around. The swarm of snakes that had silently surrounded Aoba scattered at once.
"Looks like you're busy," Aoba looked at the white-haired boy on the experiment table.
'By the looks of it, that seems to be Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan.'
'According to the original story, this guy should be near death now.'
'The curse of the bloodline disease really is terrifying.'
"Not really, just examining his body condition," Orochimaru grinned, sticking out his tongue to lick his lips, gazing at Aoba with a perverted expression.
"But for Aoba-kun to dare show up here alone, aren't you afraid…", Before Orochimaru could finish, he suddenly felt the environment around him go still.
That feeling he'd experienced in the Forest of Death, time being infinitely stretched, the sensation of endlessly approaching death, returned once again.
It felt like his senses and thoughts were being forcibly sharpened by time itself.
When everything finally stopped, Orochimaru collapsed weakly to the ground, panting heavily.
"Had enough now?", Aoba looked at the shameless Orochimaru, feeling a bit speechless.
Orochimaru got back up, the fear in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by curiosity, "Truly a fascinating experience. Painful, yes, but I'm very curious, just how did you do it?"
The corner of Aoba's mouth twitched, 'Don't tell me Orochimaru is turning into a masochist?'
"I came to ask you for help," He didn't bother to explain and instead directly stated his purpose.
"What kind of help?", Orochimaru didn't sound disappointed at all.
"A way to remove a cursed seal."
"Mm?"
Orochimaru was a bit surprised by Aoba's request, but she quickly understood, "You want to help Anko remove her cursed seal?"
"Mm," Aoba nodded.
"Consider it a fair trade. You can name whatever condition you want. Of course, if it's too excessive, then forget it."
Can't just make the horse run without giving it grass to eat.
Orochimaru thought for a moment, "Helping Anko remove the cursed seal is nothing to me. How about letting me experience that time-space ninjutsu again?"
"You want to experience it again?"
Aoba gave him a weird look, 'Don't tell me he really turned into a masochist?'
At his words, Orochimaru's eyes shifted, "Just let me feel it properly one time. That's enough."
She did enjoy research, but she wasn't a total pervert.
She simply felt that his ability, similar to manipulating time, might in some sense be a path toward immortality.
So she wanted to experience it.
Hearing this, Aoba's expression finally returned to normal.
If Orochimaru really had become a masochist because of him, he honestly wouldn't know how to face her.
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