"Hmm?"
"They brought someone else with them?"
Uzuki Mito's senses spread out, and she immediately detected the life fluctuations of another person beside Orochimaru. She frowned slightly and waved at Tsunade.
"Tsunade, that child is almost at the door. Go open it and invite him in!"
"Otherwise, knowing that child's personality, he'll probably stand outside and knock for a long time."
Although Orochimaru brought an outsider to the Senju compound without her prior permission, Uzuki Mito was truly fond of Orochimaru, that obedient and sensible child.
Calm in his dealings, good at thinking, and also diligent and eager to learn.
Compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi's other disciple, Uzuki Mito's impression of Orochimaru was exceptionally good.
After all, no elder would want their younger female relative to associate with a dissolute fellow who often enjoyed peeking into the women's bath.
Uzuki Mito once suspected that a significant reason why Hiruzen Sarutobi took Jiraiya as a disciple was their surprisingly similar hobbies.
For example, the crystal ball gifted by the Saru clan to the Hiruzen clan for early warning, which was now placed on the Hokage's office desk, had been used by Hiruzen Sarutobi many times to spy on places he shouldn't have.
As for how Uzuki Mito knew these things?
Heh...
It was no exaggeration to say that even without mentioning the powerful senses derived from Uzuki Mito's own bloodline, just by relying on the fox within her, which she controlled to sense the good and evil thoughts throughout Konoha, as long as Uzuki Mito wished, any corner of Konoha, even what an ant was thinking, could not escape her perception.
However, ever since Hashirama Senju and his brother successively perished, and Tsunade's and Nawaki's parents also died in the battle that annihilated the Land of Whirlpools, Uzuki Mito had become too lazy to bother with the darkness hidden within Konoha.
She now only wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren before entrusting the Nine-Tails to Kushina. As for other matters...
After she died, what could she possibly manage?
In the end, after her husband and son died, she, like Uzuki Kushina, was just a pathetic person who had lost her homeland and loved ones.
Tsunade had no idea that her grandmother had gone through so many thoughts in this brief moment. She cheerfully let go of her grandmother's arm, stood up, and, rubbing her fists, walked towards the door.
Hearing the footsteps from afar slowly stop outside the door, Tsunade's lips curled into a mischievous smile. With a 'whoosh', she pulled the door open from the inside, raised her fist, and prepared to strike at Orochimaru, who was standing outside the door.
"Orochimaru, take this punch!"
Grandma said Orochimaru was here, so it had to be Orochimaru himself outside the door, not even a shadow clone.
As for why she wanted to give him a show of force at the door...
Hmph!
If she waited any longer, Grandma probably wouldn't let her hit him!
With this thought, Tsunade couldn't help but gnash her teeth with a hint of possessiveness, further strengthening her resolve to surpass Orochimaru in strength.
"He's clearly my grandmother!"
Orochimaru, holding Amaru, who was sleeping in a dream, in his arms, had not yet had time to approach and knock when he was surprised to find the door suddenly flung open. At the same time, a fair and tender fist was smashing down towards his head.
Orochimaru's pupils contracted. He instantly realized that the crazy Tsunade was acting out again, taking advantage of being at home.
This was also one of the reasons why he was reluctant to come to the Senju compound when Tsunade was home, except for when he was occasionally invited by Uzuki Mito or when he came to call Nawaki for training.
However, Tsunade was his teammate, and as long as he was in the village, Tsunade would also be wandering around the village without any missions.
As long as she gambled away all the money in her hands, Tsunade would spend most of her time accompanying that old lady (trying to cheat her out of pocket money).
And given Tsunade's indescribable talent in gambling, she was always short of money.
Shaking his head helplessly, Orochimaru's toes tapped. His body instantly turned into an afterimage, and he darted past Tsunade into the courtyard, arriving before Uzuki Mito.
Uzuki Mito's eyes held a hint of a smile. She sat gracefully on a wooden stool in the courtyard and nodded gently at Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, it's been a while since you've visited this old woman!"
"How is it that after not seeing you for a while, your child is already this big?"
"Look at how concerned you are about this child, you've even kept me, an old woman, in the dark for so long. You deserve a scolding!"
Uzuki Mito glanced at Amaru, who was held tightly in Orochimaru's arms, and teased him with rare playfulness.
Orochimaru's movement to bow stiffened. He pulled at the corner of his mouth, forming a somewhat awkward smile.
"Lady Mito, you jest!"
"Your junior has come to ask for a favor this time!"
"But before that, please take a look at this child."
Bowing slightly to Mito as a junior, Orochimaru gently pulled back the hood covering Amaru's head, letting the little girl's long red hair cascade down.
The smile in Uzuki Mito's eyes immediately subsided. She sat up with a solemn expression, staring intently at the long hair that shimmered with a vibrant red in the sunlight.
"Bring her here for me to see!"
She urged him, extending her hands and taking Amaru from Orochimaru's embrace.
The small body was only a little over a meter long, and it was soft and light. Uzuki Mito supported the little girl's back with her left arm, and her small body was gently placed on her lap.
She lightly brushed aside some of the messy red hair on the girl's forehead with her right hand and carefully examined her features. A hint of surprise flashed in Uzuki Mito's eyes. She then placed her hand on Amaru's chest, and a gentle chakra emerged from her fingertips.
After a moment of hesitation, Uzuki Mito looked up at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru blinked. Seeing where Uzuki Mito's right hand was placed, he immediately understood and turned away somewhat awkwardly.
Uzuki Mito nodded with satisfaction. She reached out and pulled aside the little girl's clothes. With a point of her chakra-infused fingertip, a drop of blood was drawn from Amaru's body out of thin air.
Holding the drop of blood in her palm, she hooked it with her little finger and, in a similar fashion, drew a drop of slightly dark red blood from her own chest.
Uzuki Mito stared at the two drops of blood floating above her palm, her eyes filled with seriousness.
"Bloodline Chain - Manifest!"
With a soft cry, several chains glowing with a golden-red luster suddenly emerged from the drop of blood forced out of Uzuki Mito's body, silently wrapping around the other drop of blood.
The almost inaudible rustling of chains, to Uzuki Mito, the unparalleled sealing master of the ninja world, sounded so clear and pleasant.
Looking at the blood that, under the pressure of her bloodline power, unyieldingly revealed several golden chains, Uzuki Mito let out a long sigh of relief, and an irrepressible joy surged onto her face.
A surge of chakra rose from her palm, separating the two drops of blood that were clashing with each other in a kagura shuriken-like struggle. With a gentle wave of her hand, the two drops of blood returned to their respective bodies.
Uzuki Mito carefully tidied Amaru's clothes, gently stroked her small face, and then looked up and called out to Orochimaru.
"It's fine, you can turn around now!"
Orochimaru turned his head and looked at the two of them as if nothing had happened, a trace of doubt appearing in his eyes.
"Lady Mito, this..."
Uzuki Mito nodded and, without any reservation in front of Orochimaru, admitted the authenticity of Amaru's Uzumaki bloodline.
Seeing Uzuki Mito's satisfied gaze, Orochimaru's heart rejoiced, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now, if I were to make a request later, it shouldn't be too excessive, right?"