Chapter 91: Helpless Against Giving Up

Staring at the scroll slowly unfurling before him, Orochimaru frowned slightly. Times had changed; ever since he obtained the training methods from the Ryuchi Cave, he no longer wished to leave his name on the summoning scroll. After all, the contract on the scroll was an equal one—it granted him the ability to summon the serpents of Ryuchi Cave, but also allowed those serpents to summon him. This meant that, should the White Snake Sage desire, she could whisk him away to Ryuchi Cave at any moment.

And in that place, there were few who could resist the White Snake Sage. In comparison, the few powerful allies he would gain were hardly worth mentioning. The only ones who could truly be of use were the three Snake Princesses and the great serpents, Shin'ya and Manda. Yet to command them as easily as Manda would require considerable effort. This situation differed from Jiraiya's; Jiraiya could count on the wholehearted support of the toads from Mount Myoboku, partly because he was designated as the “Child of Destiny” by the Great Toad Sage, and partly due to the bonds he had formed.

Orochimaru believed that, given his and the Ryuchi Cave serpents’ natures, any relationship would remain a cold transaction for the foreseeable future. Over the long term, he would rather devote his energy to himself—a single Manda was ample. With this thought, Orochimaru raised his head, his gaze passing over the scroll to meet the White Snake Sage’s eyes.

He smiled and said, “No problem, I’ll sign.”

At this moment, he had no other choice; if he were in the White Snake Sage’s position, he would offer no alternative either.

The White Snake Sage nodded slightly, very satisfied with Orochimaru’s sense of propriety. Yet she suddenly felt that Orochimaru needed too little from her, as if he had only come to obtain senjutsu and would leave as soon as he managed it, which had forced her to adopt a firmer stance. After a moment’s contemplation, she spoke again. “Signing a contract with my Ryuchi Cave is to your benefit as well. In the future, when you summon, you need not worry they’ll feign compliance.”

She cast her gaze toward the three Snake Princesses, who quickly nodded in agreement.

Then she looked back at Orochimaru, and in that brief span she had already pinpointed the crux. Orochimaru’s surgery on Manda was, of course, aimed at mastering the power of the Divine Tree; with her aid and Orochimaru’s skill, it was not an especially difficult task. But she herself would never help Orochimaru, and he had figured this out. She needed Orochimaru to develop a procedure advanced enough to be applied to herself. If it could work for her, it would certainly work for Orochimaru—possibly even more easily.

But in this way, Orochimaru’s demands of her were not as high as imagined. She needed to add incentives elsewhere, and the three Snake Princesses were the first such offering.

“Sage, you do me too much honor. To sign a contract with Ryuchi Cave is my privilege.”

Orochimaru tugged at the corner of his mouth and smiled. “No point in delay; why not teach me senjutsu now?”

More than increased fighting power, Orochimaru now sought personal advancement.

“That’s a minor matter.” The White Snake Sage nodded, setting aside her pipe and revealing her true serpentine form.

In the next instant, the scales on her neck transformed into countless white snakes that shot toward Orochimaru, engulfing him and entwining him into a sphere of serpents. Orochimaru stood motionless, eyes closed, letting the small snakes bite into his chest, abdomen, neck, and limbs.

Their sharp fangs pierced his skin, but they injected not venom, rather pure natural energy. The White Snake Sage controlled the flow, gradually influencing—or rather, eroding—Orochimaru’s body.

“…”

Gazing at Orochimaru as he slowly adapted to the natural energy, the White Snake Sage flicked her tongue, a cold gleam in her eyes. Now was a good opportunity; she could transform Orochimaru into a being like the Snake Princesses, completely binding him to her will.

Whether person or serpent, if most of their energy source came from another, they could hardly claim to possess a self. But after some thought, the White Snake Sage suppressed the urge. Instead of eroding him with her own natural energy, she left ample space for Orochimaru to adapt actively with chakra.

Orochimaru was, after all, unlike the three Snake Princesses. If she wished, Ryuchi Cave could always cultivate more Snake Princesses, but it could never produce another Orochimaru.

He was not a mass-produced commodity.

Turning him into a Snake Princess would be easy, but would also enslave him. If he resisted, whether he succeeded or failed, she would gain nothing; if he accepted, he would simply deteriorate.

A slave could never possess ambition.

The White Snake Sage saw this very clearly. The three Snake Princesses of Ryuchi Cave had barely advanced in two or three centuries, whereas the summoned beasts, Shin'ya and Manda, had made great progress.

Though somewhat reluctant to admit it, the White Snake Sage understood that to attain the power of the Divine Tree, she could no longer maintain her previous lofty posture.

Orochimaru’s mastery of senjutsu would affect only decades of lifespan, while she must plan for millennia to come.

In this respect, she could not afford to lose.

“…”

Meanwhile, with the White Snake Sage’s help, Orochimaru for the first time grasped natural energy. Unlike his previous attempts, which nearly led him astray in vastness, the natural energy provided by her was far colder and more constrained.

Of course, Orochimaru had no right to complain about secondhand energy; he could not yet handle the original source. When his soul was complete, he would again attempt “Total Concentration Breathing: Pattern” and commune directly with nature.

...

Time passed slowly; half a day slipped by. Gradually, Orochimaru found the balance between his chakra and natural energy, and began to harmonize his first strand of senjutsu chakra.

The speed could not be called fast, but neither was it slow.

For the White Snake Sage’s fangs this time were not a trial, but a gift.

The former was difficult but could be endured; the latter required active effort, a process of communication with nature.

After another quarter hour, Orochimaru opened his eyes; the serpents before him had retreated without his notice.

He clasped his hands together, eye shadow forming at the corners, four sharp fangs protruding—he had formally entered the White Snake Sage Mode.

“Senjutsu: Inorganic Reincarnation!”

He interlaced his fingers, attempting the same senjutsu Manda had performed.

The surrounding earth and stone seemed to come alive, writhing around him like a multitude of snakes.

Such a flexible, adaptive technique would be formidable in actual combat.

But after only five minutes, his senjutsu chakra was depleted, and Orochimaru exited sage mode immediately.

He stared in astonishment at his hands; his senjutsu chakra had not been accumulated at random, he had stopped upon reaching his limit—yet the quantity was so meager, when he still had plenty of chakra left.

The White Snake Sage was unconcerned, casually explaining that this was a normal state for a beginner in senjutsu.

Because the most brute-force method was not used, Orochimaru’s body and natural energy could only harmonize gradually.

Nearby, under the White Snake Sage’s instructions, Tianxin Snake Princess brought forth a palm-sized white scale from the depths of the cavern.

Before Orochimaru even looked, he sensed a tremendous surge of natural energy and exclaimed, “This is...?”

“A scale shed when the Sage molts.”