On the Moon, inside the hall of the Otsutsuki descendants.
"My lord, please partake."
A young-looking clansman shuffled forward on his knees, holding a crude gray stone cup in both hands as he presented it to Orochimaru.
"Uh... is there only water?"
Orochimaru's mouth twitched as he looked at the clan chief across from him.
As hospitality went, this was rather shabby...
The young clansman suddenly shuddered and lowered his head even further, not daring to respond.
"The Moon's environment cannot sustain crops."
"We can maintain our bodily functions with Chakra alone."
The clan chief spoke through gritted teeth.
If only he could defeat this man...
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.
But on second thought, the Otsutsuki clan truly had no need to consume food.
From a biological perspective, they had already transcended the primitive stage where carbon-based organisms relied on organic matter to replenish energy, directly converting Chakra into vitality.
And the people on the Moon, their bloodlines untainted, had retained this trait...
"I see."
Orochimaru nodded, lifted the stone cup, and held it beneath his nose for a sniff.
It had no smell, not even the faint astringency of minerals. It was as pure as distilled water in a laboratory.
"Tell me about what happened back then. Start from the beginning."
After taking a sip, Orochimaru got straight to the point.
The clan chief stared fixedly at Orochimaru, the humiliation in his eyes nearly overflowing.
But the black mark on his neck throbbed faintly, warning him not to act rashly.
He turned his head and signaled to an elder beside him.
The elder scrambled to the corner of the ruins, rummaged through a pile of rubble for a long while, and pulled out several dust-covered scrolls.
The elder presented the scrolls before Orochimaru and slowly unfurled them.
The scrolls