Chapter 225

Orochimaru's Ten Thousand Swords Formation—a combination of Magnetic Release and Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu was a visually spectacular attack.

By applying the principle of shuriken shadow cloning to his Kusanagi sword, he was able to create multiple copies and control them with Magnetic Release, launching a large-scale offensive. But in truth, it was inefficient and impractical.

The chakra consumption was immense, and its destructive potential was easily countered by a strong enough earth wall. Even if the attack could breach such a defense, the delay would give most opponents ample time to dodge.

Orochimaru wasn't worried about using this technique against Tsunade. He assumed she would simply counterattack by throwing boulders or debris at him.

What he didn't expect was Tsunade summoning Rashomon instead.

When the massive, hellish gate materialized and stopped every single one of his Kusanagi swords, Orochimaru felt a twinge of unease.

Rashomon was originally developed by the First Hokage as an ultimate defensive jutsu. Even summoning just one gate required a significant amount of chakra. Hashirama could summon five. Orochimaru himself had managed to summon three gates during his collaboration with Danzo, using the First Hokage's cells as a basis.

But Tsunade?

"I never had enough chakra before," Tsunade said with a proud smile, stepping out from behind the towering gate. "I always had to save my chakra for healing my comrades, so I didn't bother learning it. But now… well, things are different."

She flexed her fists, her tone confident. "With the chakra reserves of my sage body, I can finally master techniques that I couldn't even attempt before."

"I nearly forgot," Orochimaru said, his expression unreadable. "This technique originally belonged to your grandfather."

It was true. He had momentarily overlooked Tsunade's lineage as the granddaughter of the First Hokage. With her newfound immortal body and increased chakra reserves, it was only natural that she would revisit her family's legacy and learn techniques like Rashomon.

As the two exchanged words, white smoke began to rise across the battlefield. The Rashomon gate vanished, along with the countless Kusanagi swords, which re-formed into a single blade and flew back to Orochimaru's hand.

"Well then… shall we continue, husband?" Tsunade teased, her smirk widening.

At the mention of "husband," Orochimaru felt a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. Since their marriage, Tsunade had taken to addressing him this way whenever she could. While it initially caught him off guard, he had grown used to it.

He waved his hand dismissively and returned the Kusanagi sword to its alternate dimension. "Let's call it a day. We're not far from Konoha, and with all this noise, someone will come looking for us soon."

"Fine, fine. Let's head back," Tsunade agreed.

In a flash, Orochimaru appeared beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. With two quick teleportations using the Flying Thunder God technique, the pair returned to Konoha.

The kunai he had buried in advance made the journey effortless, highlighting once again the sheer convenience of the Flying Thunder God technique. Not only was it a powerful combat skill, but it was also the ultimate tool for travel. As long as a Flying Thunder God mark existed, the user could teleport anywhere instantly, as if exploiting a loophole in reality itself.

Of course, their sparring session wasn't due to any personal conflict.

Both understood that a peaceful life could dull their combat abilities, so they sparred to keep themselves sharp. And their choice of a secluded battlefield was to protect the secrecy of their respective abilities.

It wasn't just Orochimaru's techniques that needed to be kept hidden, Tsunade's use of Wood Release was just as sensitive.

---

Later, back in their home, Tsunade brought up a curious detail from their earlier battle.

"You said your Mangekyo Sharingan has a different dimension?" she asked.

"Mm," Orochimaru affirmed.

"Then when you stored away the Kusanagi sword earlier, why didn't you activate your Mangekyo?"

Orochimaru hesitated for a moment, then deflected with an offhand comment. "Don't worry about such details."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes but let the matter drop.

In truth, Orochimaru's Mangekyo Sharingan did grant him access to a personal alternate dimension, allowing him to store items within it.

However, its functionality was limited compared to Uchiha Obito's Kamui. Unlike Obito, Orochimaru couldn't enter his own dimension, nor could he send others into it. His alternate dimension was essentially a storage space, useful only for sealing ninja tools or other items.

Its one advantage was speed. Orochimaru's Mangekyo allowed him to absorb objects such as thrown kunai or shuriken instantly, simply by focusing on them.

As for storing items without using his Mangekyo, that was thanks to his system.

Tsunade had her suspicions about some of his abilities, but ultimately, she didn't question them too deeply. Whatever explanation Orochimaru gave her, she found herself accepting without hesitation.

The same went for the topic of having children.

Orochimaru had dismissed the idea, saying, "Now isn't the right time. If we have a child now, I won't have the time to raise or teach them properly."

Though disappointed, Tsunade relented.

---

Knock, knock, knock!

A sudden knock at the door broke the afternoon's tranquility.

Orochimaru, who had just returned from their sparring session, frowned. It was four in the afternoon an odd time for visitors.

Who could it be?

When he opened the door, he found himself face-to-face with a young woman with long black hair.

"Mikoto? What are you doing here?" Orochimaru asked, his confusion evident.

Uchiha Mikoto looked embarrassed, her face slightly flushed. "Um… Tsunade-sama asked me to come."

"Tsunade?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

What reason could Tsunade possibly have for calling Mikoto over? The two didn't exactly have the friendliest relationship, considering both familial and personal grudges between the Senju and Uchiha clans.

"Tsunade," he called out, "why is Mikoto here?"

Tsunade's voice rang out from another room. "I asked her to come! Let her in."

Orochimaru allowed Mikoto inside and soon learned the reason for her visit.

Apparently, Tsunade had called her over to clean the house.

After their marriage, Tsunade had moved in with Orochimaru, leaving Nawaki to live alone in the Senju compound. While Tsunade could handle basic household chores, she was far lazier than Orochimaru and often delegated the cleaning to others.

But what puzzled Orochimaru was that Tsunade specifically sought out Uchiha Mikoto for this task every single time.

"You've been asking her to clean the house regularly?" Orochimaru asked, sitting with Tsunade in the living room.

"That's right," Tsunade replied casually.

"Why her?"

Tsunade smirked, imitating Orochimaru's usual aloof expression. "Don't you think she's getting more and more beautiful?"

"What does that have to do with making her clean the house?" Orochimaru asked, bewildered.

"So that you can see her more often, of course."

"..."

Orochimaru was left speechless.

***

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