Chapter 114: The Temptation of the Snake Lady

After a harmonious and sweet breakfast, Kato Mifune dropped Tsunade off at the Konoha Hospital. Just as he had the day before, his true body headed to the Spring Base located beneath Konoha, while his "slacker" shadow clone remained at home.

Having just completed a round of intensive solo missions, Kato Mifune knew that his old acquaintance at the mission center, Furuoya, could not possibly produce another list of missions suitable for him to grind through alone so soon. Even if Mifune were to treat Furuoya to a few more nights at that high-end club, it would only serve to deepen the man’s eye bags and drain his vitality; Furuoya simply could not conjure up appropriate missions out of thin air.

With no solo missions available for the clone, its task for the day was to remain at home, studying and practicing the Mind Body Switch Technique.

As for the true Kato Mifune, beyond his primary duty of "treating" patients, he intended to utilize the high-end, precision equipment within the Spring Base to take over the work his clone had started—secretly conducting research on White Zetsu cells.

***

In Operating Room 1 of the Spring Base, Kato Mifune was participating in a routine surgical treatment for a "patient."

The preparations were still underway, and it was not yet time for Mifune to step in. Taking advantage of the lull, he began chatting idly with Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, you seem to be in high spirits today."

Mifune was still trying to probe whether there were any lingering side effects from when Orochimaru had been affected by the "slacker force" the previous day. Of course, Mifune was genuinely slacking off during work, whereas Orochimaru was significantly more professional, keeping his focus primarily on the patient before him.

To Mifune, this surgery was routine, but in Orochimaru's eyes, it was quite significant. Today’s plan was to test the effectiveness of a catalyst codenamed 3-69. For this, Orochimaru had personally gone to the ward to select a test subject to his liking, and he had invested extra effort into this particular specimen. This surgery was merely the first in a series of test procedures scheduled for the base over the coming days, and the detailed plan already filled Orochimaru’s schedule.

Catalyst 3-69 was an iteration of the 3rd-generation catalyst developed under Orochimaru’s leadership. The 3rd-generation catalyst was the primary agent tested during the surgery Mifune had witnessed on his first visit to the base. It hadn't been long, yet the minor iterations had already reached the 69th version.

"Chief Ken, report the subject's vital signs again."

Orochimaru had no desire to entertain the slacking Mifune. He turned his head and issued an order to Ken, the operating room supervisor who was equally busy nearby.

Orochimaru could afford to ignore Mifune’s presence and focus on his work, but Ken, who was just as occupied, did not dare to follow suit.

"Subject No. XXX, female, 26 years old, height 165cm, weight 46kg, measurements 89-63-88. Before falling ill, she was a Grass Ninja from the Land of Grass, Chunin rank, skilled in..."

Although Mifune was not speaking to him, Ken still offered a friendly smile, easing the awkwardness of Mifune’s comment going ignored before he began reporting the subject's status to Orochimaru.

Although Ken was a technical ninja, he was neither deaf nor blind. As a department head within the Spring Base, he was well aware that the big boss, Elder Danzo Shimura, had been actively trying to recruit the Jonin Kato Mifune. Furthermore, not long ago, on a late night, Ken had been dragged out of bed by the base’s internal affairs supervisor and the Aburame supervisor from the security department for an emergency overtime session.

During that late-night session, Ken had personally processed a female patient who wasn't on the original work schedule. According to the gossip Ken had picked up afterward, that woman had been a gift carefully selected by Danzo for Mifune. Because Mifune hadn't been satisfied with the gift and didn't like the woman, Danzo had arranged for her to be dealt with overnight.

Ken did not want to upset the new "big shot" in the base. He had worked at the Spring Base for a long time and had processed so many patients that he certainly didn't want to end up as one lying on the operating table himself.

***

Left without a response from Orochimaru, Mifune did feel a bit awkward, but his skin was thick enough, and Ken’s smile had helped alleviate the tension. What Ken said also caught Mifune’s attention.

"Tsk tsk, Orochimaru, your aesthetic is truly unchanging."

Following Ken's report, Mifune looked at the patient, who was completely naked and being strapped down by staff. Finding that the patient looked very similar to the one he had encountered during his first visit, he began to tease Orochimaru about his twisted interests, hoping to shift the conversation back to him.

One couldn't blame Mifune for slacking. After all, these were experiments with predetermined results. What did it matter how effective the catalyst was? Could it really give birth to a new Wood Style user? Even if it reached iteration 886 or 996, it would likely only help the patients die faster without achieving much else.

For Mifune, his only goal here was to collect special souls, absorb energy fragments, and advance his progress toward the "Special Constitution: Life Activity."

Incidentally, using his abilities to ease the pain these patients suffered before death could be considered a humanitarian gesture, fulfilling his responsibility as a Konoha Jonin. It allowed these poor souls to feel the warmth of the Will of Fire before their painful end. After all, as the greatest nation in the ninja world, the Land of Fire—and Konoha, its greatest village—had to shoulder its corresponding social responsibilities.

***

The patient on the table was different from those before; she was conscious, and looking at the busy staff, it seemed there was no intention to inject her with anesthesia.

The patient didn't struggle or resist. She didn't seem to care that she was naked and being bound by a group of weirdos in uniforms, as if that beautiful body didn't belong to her. She lay quietly on the table, allowing the staff to manipulate her, her eyes fixed on Orochimaru with an obsessive intensity that clearly showed she was willing to sacrifice everything for him.

"Relax, relax. Yes, just like that. Very good, very good..."

Orochimaru still ignored Mifune’s idle chatter. Instead, he began to speak to the subject on the bed in an extraordinarily gentle, magnetic, and feminine voice.

"In just a moment, you will arrive at a beautiful world. Everything in that world will be wonderful. There is no death, no pain. There is only you and me..."

*??!* This voice... is it really this feminine?

It was the first time Mifune had heard Orochimaru speak in such a girlish tone, and he was stunned for a moment before snapping back to reality.

*...Not an illusion. No chakra fluctuations!*

Having regained his composure, Mifune immediately checked the soul-sensing ability he kept active at all times.

It was intact; there were no abnormal fluctuations.

Mifune looked around at the others in the operating room. Setting himself aside, he noticed that everyone else displayed varying degrees of infatuation with Orochimaru on their faces.

As for the patient on the table—that exceptionally beautiful woman—the infatuation in her eyes had become even more fanatical, with a faint, underlying sense of madness.

What was this? The temptation of a "Snake Lady"? Was it really this potent? What on earth had Orochimaru experienced when he went to Ryuchi Cave?