Brother Snake, Practicing Sage Arts

Seeing that Orochimaru ignored him, Manda flew into another fit of embarrassed rage.

But when he met Orochimaru's disdainful gaze, it was as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him from head to tail, instantly making him afraid to act out.

"Have you forgotten the pain once your wounds healed? Talk to me like that again, and I'll break your weak spot!"

After saying that, Orochimaru turned over the grilled fish on the rack and stirred the rabbit meat stewing in the pot.

The temptation of rabbit stewed with mushrooms was naturally immediate. Otherwise, Manda would not have dared to come closer despite the risk of being beaten.

"Uh... Orochimaru, if you give me that fish, I'll listen to you from now on."

Seeing Manda put away his Gary Stu attitude and show signs of yielding, Orochimaru looked at him again, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"If you call me Brother Snake, I wouldn't mind grilling one for you."

Manda immediately bristled at that. He was the mighty Manda, a being who had lived for centuries, the top dog of Ryūchi Cave—and Orochimaru wanted him to call some brat only a few decades old his brother.

Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Did Manda have no pride?

But when Orochimaru sprinkled seasoning over the grilled fish, Manda could no longer sit still.

Still, he needed to save some face in public. So he silently slithered to within two meters of Orochimaru and reluctantly called out, "Brother Snake."

When Manda approached, Orochimaru had thought the guy was planning a sneak attack. He had not expected this to be his goal.

There was nothing he could do. He could not beat Orochimaru, and he could not resist the temptation either. He could only add this to Orochimaru's debt for now. He swore he would get even someday!

"Go catch a fish from the river yourself."

Orochimaru said it without even looking back. Upon hearing that, Manda hurriedly twisted his enormous body and plunged headfirst into the nearby river.

Orochimaru gave an awkward smile at the sight. Once there was a first time, there would be countless more. Little punk! Let's see if I can't handle you.

In the end, Manda successfully got to eat Orochimaru's grilled fish. The fragrant aroma and tender, succulent flesh made him reluctant to swallow the food before him in a single bite.

Instead, he used his forked tongue to pick at the fish bit by bit, making the animals watching from nearby green with envy.

"Mm! It smells so good!"

Watching Manda succumb to the law of "it smells so good," Orochimaru was not surprised in the slightest. This was a law even more powerful than the law of cause and effect. What was a mere Manda before it? Laughable, truly laughable!

After Orochimaru had eaten and drunk his fill, Tagorihime slowly walked over.

Orochimaru was somewhat surprised to see her. He had thought Tagorihime would be the one teaching him throughout the process. Why had they changed instructors now?

Moreover, Orochimaru did not have a very good impression of her. Setting aside how she had hit him hard during the illusion trial, her alluring yet strange face alone made it difficult for him to feel any goodwill toward her.

He called her strange because her gaze always seemed ill-intentioned, as though she plainly wanted to eat him alive.

"Orochimaru, I'll be guiding the next stage of your training. Be careful not to die by accident, or else..."

As she spoke, Tagorihime stuck out a tongue even longer than Orochimaru's and licked her lips. Her malicious intent was written all over her face.

Sure enough, this female demon was after his body!

For the next period of time, Orochimaru underwent the second stage of training under Tagorihime's guidance.

Her attitude was not particularly good, but she answered every question and carried out her duties conscientiously.

The second stage of training was difficult, yet simple: sense the Natural Energy in the air and guide it into the body.

However, he had to carefully control the amount absorbed. One careless mistake, and he would turn into a snake.

Orochimaru needed to gradually familiarize himself with Natural Energy as he absorbed and refined it, until he could fully control it.

Time passed unnoticed in the mountains. Before he knew it, half a year had quietly slipped away.

One day,

"Brother Snake, look! Can these be used?"

With a cloth sack clenched between his teeth, Manda eagerly came before Orochimaru.

After the double impact of fists and delicious food, Manda now called him "Brother Snake" with great ease. There was no helping it—Orochimaru simply gave him too much.

He carried the sack over to Orochimaru. Once he set it down, bottles and jars spilled out from within. They were the seasonings Orochimaru used for cooking.

"They're quite complete. How are the ingredients for lunch coming along?"

Orochimaru, who was sitting cross-legged, looked at the pile of seasonings before speaking to Manda.

"I'll go prepare them right away!"

With that, Manda vanished in a flash. It was no wonder he had become so proactive.

Manda now got a share of all three daily meals. As long as he brought all kinds of ingredients before Orochimaru, he could enjoy delicious food.

These were far tastier than the food illusions in the trials. And it was not just him—Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime had all benefited as well.

At first, the three women had been a little embarrassed and reserved. But after seeing shameless Manda stuffing himself, they could no longer hold back.

With the three women assisting him, Orochimaru encountered no difficulties in his training. In just half a year, he had nearly mastered Sage Mode.

Orochimaru, with prominent horns, black tear marks beneath his eyes, sharp claws growing from his fingers and toes, a pair of black wings sprouting from his back, and a slender black steel tail, was focused on cooking.

No one found it strange. According to Orochimaru, "Maintaining and using Sage Mode for long periods can serve as training."

In his view, these simple daily activities were precisely what allowed him to control Sage Mode down to the finest detail.

The results proved that these actions were remarkably effective. In this state, he could continuously absorb Natural Energy, and activating Sage Mode now took only a few breaths.

Other than when sleeping, he was basically always in Sage Mode. Maintaining this state for long periods consumed an enormous amount of mental energy, but it had also strengthened his mental power considerably.

"This portion is for the White Snake Sage, and this one is yours!"

Orochimaru handed a large pot to Manda, asking him to deliver it to the White Snake Sage.

Orochimaru was quite skilled at handling such social niceties. Otherwise, even if the White Snake Sage showed no objections on the surface, who knew whether she might secretly criticize him as an ungrateful snake who did not know his place?

Manda clamped the pot between his teeth and happily slithered toward the depths of Ryūchi Cave. Naturally, errands like this were for a servant like him to handle.

The remaining pot was for everyone else. Ever since the three women had tasted Orochimaru's food, they had long lost interest in raw meat and were now eagerly sitting around it.

"Little Orochimaru, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could stay here forever? I really don't want you to finish learning and leave so soon!"

Tagitsuhime was the first to speak, and the other two women quickly chimed in.

"That's right, stay here. With us older sisters accompanying you, you won't be lonely."

"If I had known, I would have taught you less. You learned everything so quickly, and now you're leaving..."

The women had become familiar with Orochimaru, so they no longer held back in how they addressed him. They even joked around with him.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you three sisters. I plan to leave in a couple of days."

Orochimaru did not mind their teasing. Over this time, he had already come to understand their personalities. But the moment he spoke, the three women cast somewhat resentful looks at him.