Shiori woke up near noon. Others were already awake by the sound of conversation outside the room. Shiori folded her futon and blankets and put them neatly to the side.
She picked up her toiletries and headed out of the room, mumbling a good morning as she headed for the bathroom. After a tiring day, she liked to take showers at night to wash off the dirt and feel clean when she went to bed.
But she knew they had an important meeting today, and she wanted to look her best. So she took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. When she came out, a tray with breakfast was on the table.
Tsunade was reading a book Shiori had bought her. It was one of the newer published ones she knew could not be found in the land of fire. It was about the research on the long-term effects of healing jutsu on people with different chakra levels.
Using chakra to heal someone often leaves a slight residue in their body. While the body would do its best to dissolve this chakra over time, some lingering residue would take a long time to entirely be gone.
The body tried to fight off this residue since it was foreign. A person with high levels or a potent chakra could dissolve it faster, but a civilian's body often had a hard time.
Their bodies would constantly use a level of chakra to burn it off, which would lead to chakra waste. While it was not at such a high level to be a danger to the person, it still needed consideration.
It could also be important immediately after healing the person since that was when there was the highest amount of residue. Also, the person's body was already weak due to the injury.
Also, if the person's chakra was weaker than the healer's, as in the case of civilians, it could take years to fully dissolve the residue, and the constant use of chakra in the area where the residue was could become problematic.
The research did not suggest possible solutions. It only warned people of the effects and possibilities. In the end, the author suggested that more data was needed before a solution could be formed.
Shiori was very interested in the whole article, as it was very detailed. It was more of a book with all observations and records. She couldn't wait for her sensei to finish reading it so they could discuss it.
Shizune was busy with her own work. Reading Shiori's journal and making her own copy.
When Shiori finished her breakfast, which was some rice and miso soup, she made them all some tea so they could all focus on their own reading material. When she handed everyone their own cup, Shizune handed her her own notes so Shiori could take notes as well.
They spent the next few hours in peaceful silence, each immersed in their own work. The only sounds were the pages flipping, brushes against the paper, and Tonton snoring softly from her nap under the sunlight near the window.
When it was lunchtime, Tsunade and Shiori headed to a restaurant to meet her former teammate. Shiori was wearing her usual attire minus her backpack. She didn't want to lose anything important. She had a sealing scroll with what they may need. The scroll needed her blood and chakra to activate, so she wasn't worried about it getting stolen.
Tsunade guided them to a table in the back. A man was sitting there. Shiori recognized her from the photo Tsunade showed her of her former genin days, but the man was much older.
More mature. And all Shiori could think about were the eyes. The beautiful golden eyes screamed of danger. Such was the case of nature that often, the most beautiful things were the most dangerous.
But it was not only the eyes—the pale skin, dark silky hair, and purple markings around the eyes—that made the man perfect.
"So pretty," Shiori said under her breath. She didn't mean to say it out loud and only noticed what she did when the man's gaze turned towards her for the first time with evident confusion.
Shiori blushed deep red, hoping she could disappear into the ground. She stood there frozen. Nobody reacted for a second before Tsunade burst out laughing.
"I can't believe this." She managed between her chuckles. Shiori brought her hands to her face to hide her shame.
"I'm so sorry," she said as she bowed to apologize. Now was her chance to impress the man.
"Who is this Tsunade?" Orochimaru said curiously. Shiori was grateful that he didn't comment on what she accidentally said.
"This is Shiori. She is my student," Tsunade said as she finally sat down in front of him. Shiori slipped beside her. Her gaze was fixated on the table, and she was trying to get over her shame.
"Oh, your student? I thought Shizune-chan was your only student." He said. Even his voice was mesmerizing. The way his speech resembled a snake and sent a shiver down her spine.
She believed it was what people call a crush. Which made her even more embarrassed.
"Yeah, she was my only student. But I took in Shiori-chan two years ago. She is a medic already. She has her general certificate and one from Konoha as well," Tsunade said proudly. It was clear she wanted to boast about her accomplishments but also be careful with what she said.
She wasn't giving away anything personal about Shiori. She was taught by both her senseis not to reveal all her abilities to potential enemies.
"Oh, that is wonderful. Is she the one you contacted me about? Your message was quite vague," he said. A waiter interrupted them by coming to their table to take their orders. After she left, Tsunade nudged her to tell her story.
So, Shiori gave a shortened version of events. She tried to provide as little as possible in addition to the relevant events and historical information.
"That is indeed interesting. So you have the samples?" he said, his eyes shining with clear interest.
"Yes. Today, I have two small vials of blood with me to start. I am willing to make a deal for them." Shiori said. She knew the value of what she had and was willing to make a deal for it.
"Oh, and what may you want for them?" he said. At this moment, their food finally arrived.
"I want the results. I may not be particularly interested in what happens with the information after it is gained. Still, knowing how much immortality was possible can be important for me as a medic."
"It can give me an understanding of the human body and a way to advance the medical field. So I want a report of everything that is discovered," Shiori said. She didn't feel confident in the beginning, but she wasn't going to lose such a great opportunity.
"And is that all?" Orochimaru said that his body language showed that he was agreeable to the deal.
"This deal is for the samples. I will give you a blood sample from each of them today, and you can decide if we will make the deal after you do the initial analysis. Then, I will give you a list of my samples. I will provide a new sample to you each time I am given a report which is considered satisfactory."
"You can choose the next sample you want to work on, but I have to also agree. Also, with each report, I will ask for the recipe of a poison and its cure. I was told that you are an expert in the subject." Shiori said. She knew it was a golden opportunity to learn more about the subject and wouldn't miss it.
After a few seconds of staring at each other, the man smirked and turned towards Tsunade.
"You have an interesting student there, Tsunade. You taught her how to negotiate well," he said.
Tsunade laughed at that. "It was all Shizune. But you can't deny she is giving you a good deal." Tsunade said as she patted Shiori on the back.
"Indeed. The possibility of natural immortality existing. I am not opposed to the deal. I will take the samples today and contact you when I make a decision," he said as he stretched a hand toward Shiori. They were already done with their meal, so it was time for them to go.
Shiori took the scroll she had with her and unsealed another scroll from within it. She wasn't sure if the man had special scrolls for carrying such objects with him, so she brought one with her to ensure the samples wouldn't be destroyed along the way.
He took the scroll from her with interest. He opened it and inspected the seal. "Interesting. How did you come across such a seal?" He asked.
"I made it myself. It doesn't have as much space for storage as normal ones, but it has components to keep the items in the condition they were stored. It stops the time so the objects will not age. The only downside is that they can only be used several times before the seal burns out." Shiori said proudly.
She wasn't one to boast about her skills, but like every other Uzumaki, she couldn't stop herself when it came to fuinjutsu. Or at least that is what she had heard. She could talk about seals and their details for hours, regardless of whether the person she spoke to was interested.
"So you are a seal master?" he asked. His glinting eyes made him look dangerous, which made Shiori interested in him as well.
"No, I'm not even close to being a master. I can only make storage seals and modify them. It's the only thing I experiment with. The only other thing I know is basic explosion tags," Shiori said with a smile. She knew a bit more than that, but there was no need to expose her skills even more.
"It is interesting for someone of your age to know this much. I can't wait to see you grow, Shiori-chan." The man reached a hand and ruffled her hair. Shiori didn't show any reaction beyond a pout. After bidding Tsunade goodbye, he left the restaurant.
They didn't fully relax before getting back to their room. Shizune was waiting for them.
"How did it go?" She asked when they got in.
"It went as well as expected. I knew he wouldn't attempt anything when I was there." Tsunade said.
"He seemed very dangerous." Shiori provided.
"Oho. Is that why you were eyeing him like you were trying to capture his essence for a portrait?" Tsunade teased.
Shiori blushed beet red.
"What?" Shizune asked, confused.
"You won't believe this, but when we met Orochimaru, the first thing she said was calling him beautiful to his face. Then she was swooning the whole meeting." Tsunade then continued to exaggerate every detail of the meeting while laughing hard.
Shizune was mortified. Tonton was very interested. Shiori was crouched on the ground, trying to hide from the world.
She wasn't mad at the teasing, but it was so embarrassing.
When Tsunade was finally done retelling the whole story, she turned to Shiori.
"By the way, you are not going to contact him directly from now on. It's too dangerous for you. So, I'm going to give you a temporary contract with Katsuyu. I will manage the communication lines," Tsunade said.
A temporal contract allowed summons to go to someone without a permanent contract. It was often a way for people who needed to still contact their village or someone when they were away.
The person with a temporal contract couldn't summon, but the summons could go to them. Tsunade had a temporal contract placed in Konoha with her previous sensei in case she needed to contact him immediately.
Some summons couldn't form such contracts, but luckily, the slugs were able to. Shiori took the scroll from Tsunade and summoned a small Katsuyu to tell her the situation.