"Good," I smiled, paying more attention to my clones, who were just pulling something out of the oven. When I saw them baking earlier, I'd already been surprised—but now, seeing the result, my eyes nearly popped out of my head! "Pastries? What, are you trying to make them come over every day now?!"
Silent, sly smiles were my only answer.
"Then bring more milk," I waved a hand at the two idiots. "You can't exactly eat these with chocolate."
My clones, it seemed, were completely incapable of restraining our shared mental quirks. Or maybe it was the lack of consequences getting to them? Like, since they weren't "real," they figured they could do whatever they wanted?
Still, at least they behaved when it actually mattered—they weren't that independent.
Meanwhile, someone had taken my words a little too much to heart.
"Don't you want us to come again?" Nami looked at me, almost hurt.
"Just not every day. Unfortunately, I'm a busy person—I can't afford much rest,"I sighed. That much was true. "I hardly even see my own friends. Speaking of which, I wonder how Tsunade and Jiraiya are doing?"
"Tsunade-san passed the exam to become an A-class med-nin," Mikoto answered immediately.
Hm, impressive! I knew she was a genius, but to reach that level at sixteen… And unlike me, she didn't have nearly half a century of studying biological sciences behind her.
"That's amazing!" I voiced my first thought. "I'll have to congratulate her when I get the chance. Maybe even give her a gift."
"And Jiraiya's disappeared," Nami added. "They say he went traveling almost right after you left on your mission. Either to write books or to look for a disciple. He's kind of weird, isn't he? Like Nawaki."
That news amused me. Looking for a disciple, huh. My gaze drifted involuntarily to Mikoto, who was regretfully staring at her empty cup. The clone understood without words—a fresh serving appeared in front of the girl at once.
By the way… where was the second clone? I hadn't dispelled it.
"Yeah, Jiraiya's a real idiot, that's for sure," I said with a smile. "He was always lagging behind in our team. But I believe he'll become a strong and famous ninja someday—a legendary shinobi! He's already caught up with me and Tsunade," I'd never admit to these two that he'd actually surpassed me! "So you don't look down on your classmates either, Nami-chan. Maybe seeing you will inspire them to develop their talents to incredible heights."
"Understood, Orochimaru-sensei," the girl bowed.
Yes, as I'd said before—a single shinobi, no matter how strong, will always be inferior to a well-coordinated team. I have one now—Jiraiya and Tsunade are excellent partners—but will that be enough when the real chaos begins? There are still two or three great wars ahead, and there's nothing I can do to stop them. I don't have the power for that—no talent for talk-no-jutsu. Give me test tubes, a proper genetic analyzer, and I'd turn this whole world upside down—but no, instead I have to play the hero.
And besides the wars, there's also Kaguya Otsutsuki with her Zetsu, the Otsutsuki clan itself, a half-dead Madara I still haven't managed to find… I might be repeating myself, but it really bothers me! Is this world cursed or something? Why does it have so many problems—and why did I have to be reborn here of all places?! It's infuriating.
Will I have enough strength to deal with all of this?
My gaze drifted from one girl to the other. Sensei, huh? Why not. A Hyuga and an Uchiha—dojutsu users. And I just so happen to know how to make them stronger.
For instance, I could inject Mikoto with Senju or Uzumaki DNA. In theory, that would mix the chakra of Asura's and Indra's descendants—meaning there's a non-zero chance of awakening the Rinnegan. But it would take time. Even if I grafted Hashirama's cells into her, I'd still need Madara's as well. Obito never awakened the Rinnegan, despite living with the First Hokage's cells since childhood. However… there's a simpler option! Find ready-made pair of eyes. That idea deserves some thought. And I should start working on finding an Uzumaki genome compatible with her.
With Nami-chan, things are both simpler and more complicated. To obtain the Tenseigan, she'd need Otsutsuki eyes transplanted. But to get those, I'd have to make it to the Moon. That's something I'll have to think about as well.
All that remains is to take them for myself… Tch! I mean—to ensure that no one objects to my "work" on them. Ideally, no one even notices.