White Snake Inheritance and Orochimaru's Crisis

Uchiha Ao's expression shifted slightly, a bead of cold sweat slowly trickling down his forehead.

He dared not underestimate anyone in this world.

He was always cautious, hiding his greatest trump card to ensure it would never be discovered by others.

He had not expected this Sage to see through his final hidden card at a single glance.

His soul was indeed not one, but two!

Transmigration!

The fusion of souls from two different worlds had created his current soul state.

His predecessor appeared dead, having lost control of the body.

Yet the influence remained; those lingering memories left him with a trace of attachment to this world.

And those inseparable emotions for his family.

These were all proof of his predecessor's existence.

The fusion of two souls meant his soul power was naturally greater than that of a normal person; compared to his inferior talent for other ninjutsu, he progressed extremely quickly when practicing soul-related techniques like the Spirit Transformation Technique.

Relying on this talent.

He had spent only a month by Orochimaru's side before mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique and the Soul Body Separation technique to perfection!

He had not expected White Snake Sage to see through it at a glance.

Uchiha Ao lowered his head, gritting his teeth, suppressing the terror in his heart while masking all expression to maintain a calm face.

"However, I am quite curious about this ninjutsu of yours that I have never heard of, being able to use the soul to possess the bodies of other creatures... Was the inspiration for its creation derived from the Soul Body Separation technique?"

White Snake Sage asked with curiosity.

Fighting with an out-of-body soul was the hallmark of the Spirit Transformation Technique, while soul possession was the forte of the Soul Body Separation technique.

She understood them both well.

But she had not expected these two techniques could be fused into an entirely new one.

Its effects were actually even more outstanding than the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique Orochimaru had shown her.

"How did you know!?"

Uchiha Ao questioned with a look of surprise, unable to stop his fingers from twitching.

Could this Sage truly know everything?

Did White Snake Sage also possess some kind of precognitive ability?

Wasn't that the Toad Sage's specialty?

Uchiha Ao felt a sense of panic, worried that his identity as a transmigrator would be exposed.

"This is a technique I created!"

White Snake Sage chuckled softly.

Uchiha Ao's pupils constricted; he had not expected White Snake Sage to be capable of creating ninjutsu.

And a forbidden technique involving the soul, at that.

In his past life, he had a certain impression of this technique; it seemed to be something a spy hidden in Konoha under Yakushi Kabuto could perform.

He had not expected the root of it to be here with White Snake Sage.

The Soul Body Separation technique was actually a type of sealing formula used to strip a soul from a living body and seal it within other objects.

It belonged to the category of sealing techniques, but because it involved the soul, it became extremely unique and difficult to practice.

"What is the name of this technique you innovated?"

A trace of curiosity welled up in White Snake Sage.

Initially, she had created the Soul Body Separation technique to compete with Old Man Six Paths for control over the souls of the living world.

She did not want all souls to return to the Pure Land controlled by Old Man Six Paths after their physical bodies died.

Later, she found it too troublesome.

Souls stored inside stones had no real use and even interfered with her refinement of Natural Energy, so she gradually abandoned the practice.

It was only used to seal the souls of some important snake clan descendants.

It was only recently that Orochimaru had come to ask about secret techniques involving the soul that she had handed this technique over.

She had not expected Uchiha Ao to master it in such a short time.

This made her feel very surprised.

One had to know that in the entire snake clan over the past thousand years, there hadn't even been two members who mastered this technique.

She gained a deeper understanding of Uchiha Ao's talent.

Although this technique was only rated A-rank in terms of power due to various limitations, its difficulty in cultivation was immense because it involved soul sealing.

At least for now, she had never seen anyone capable of learning this technique.

And Uchiha Ao had actually managed to fuse it with the Spirit Transformation Technique...

"Sage, I have named this technique the Nirvana Self-Sacrifice Technique!"

After hearing this, Uchiha Ao confessed everything.

Worried that the White Snake Sage might probe his secrets again, he dared not hold anything back.

"A good name..."

"I must say, Ao-kun... even I am a little envious of your talent regarding the soul."

The White Snake Sage sighed with emotion.

The Soul Body Separation technique was merely something she had created on a whim.

Yet Orochimaru had never managed to learn it.

This junior, however, had actually mastered it.

"It seems you are more adept at soul-related research than Orochimaru, so I shall give you a chance."

"Let us see if you can achieve something in this field!"

As the White Snake Sage finished speaking, she flicked her tail.

A tattered piece of snake skin was tossed out from the mist.

It landed squarely in front of Uchiha Ao, embedding itself into the bluestone floor and leaving a deep mark.

The force was immense.

Ao looked over and saw some strange symbols written upon it.

At first glance, he couldn't understand a thing.

"This is..."

He looked up with slight hesitation, gazing at the White Snake Sage in confusion, waiting for an explanation.

"You don't understand it? Oh, right! I forgot, you brat don't know Snake Script..."

The White Snake Sage curled her lips, seemingly smiling.

It was satisfying to finally know there was something this brat didn't know.

She manipulated the smoke to relight her pipe, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled a wisp of white smoke from her nostrils.

The comfort of the smoke filling her lungs made her mood pleasant once again.

All of her imposing aura retracted, and she returned to being a white-scaled serpent that appeared completely harmless.

Her tail tapped the wall behind her gently.

"Great Ancestor, what are your orders?"

A woman's soft and gentle voice rang out.

Zuijinji's alluring figure prostrated on the ground; her breasts pressed against the floor through her white kimono, and her lower white skirt clung to her form, highlighting her rounded hips and astonishing proportions.

After receiving permission from the Great Ancestor to rise, her beautiful eyes kept glancing furtively at Uchiha Ao beside her.

The arrival of this human had caused the Great Ancestor's state of mind to shift multiple times; she wondered what was so special about him.

The hearts of all three sisters were filled with immense curiosity toward Uchiha Ao.

When she first saw him, she had held him in great contempt.

She hadn't taken him seriously at all.

She never expected that in just a few days, Uchiha Ao's Chakra power would be comparable to her youngest sister's.

This progress was simply too fast.

Her youngest sister had cultivated for over a hundred years to reach her current level of cultivation.

"During this time, you are to properly teach Ao-kun the Snake Script so that he can smoothly understand the contents on the Snake Slough."

The White Snake Sage commanded.

The Snake Slough was the remains left behind from the Sage's very first molting.

Later, because it could withstand the erosion of time better than the stone walls of Ryūchi Cave, she used it as parchment to record the heritage of Ryūchi Cave.

"Ah!?"

"Yes, Great Ancestor, I understand..."

Upon hearing this order, Zuijinji was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly lowered her head to signify her obedience.

Snake Script?

This was the highest secret of their snake clan.

Even Orochimaru did not know it.

The Great Ancestor actually intended to teach it to this young man before her...

Hiss... hiss...

What exactly is so special about this brat?

To be worth such high regard from the Ancestor!

The two exchanged a glance and nodded, acknowledging each other.

Under the signal of the White Snake Sage, Zuijinji slowly retreated from the temple, with Uchiha Ao following closely behind.

In the days that followed.

Uchiha Ao spent his days mostly with Zuijinji learning Snake Script, and in his spare time, he would familiarize himself with his physical condition, practice controlling his surging power, and train in the use of his Sharingan, among other things.

Every day was spent in a very fulfilling manner.

Aside from six hours of sleep and one hour for meals, he spent all his remaining time constantly enriching himself and improving his strength.

After about half a month of study.

Ao had roughly mastered the basic characters of the Snake Script and was able to understand parts of the text on the Snake Slough.

He initially intended to hand the Snake Slough over to Zuijinji, asking her to translate it so he could get an idea of the content.

However, he was flatly refused by Zuijinji.

Because the Ancestor had not given her any indication to look at it, she dared not do so.

Throughout Ryūchi Cave, the word of the White Snake Sage was an absolute command that no snake dared to defy.

And this piece of Snake Slough was a core secret of Ryūchi Cave; even Zuijinji was not qualified to view it.

Ao had no choice but to learn the Snake Script himself first, then translate and understand it on his own.

It was only then that he discovered the Snake Slough actually recorded the White Snake Sage's own methods for controlling Natural Energy, and even touched upon some of the mysteries regarding Natural Energy and immortality.

It was all a collection of the White Snake Sage's insights into Natural Energy gathered over thousands of years, making it exceptionally precious.

Judging by the traces of age on the Snake Slough, It was highly likely a work from the White Snake Sage's distant past, not her latest research after further improvements.

But it was still incredibly valuable.

Ao worked even harder at studying the Snake Script, beginning to decipher the content bit by bit, and gained a brand-new understanding of the Natural Energy in this world.

At the same time, he roughly understood why the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave was so different from the Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku.

Just as Uchiha Ao was striving to understand Natural Energy and attempting to master it, Dreadful news reached Ryūchi Cave from the mouth of Manda.

This news was relayed by Zuijinji to Uchiha Ao, who was in the midst of his training.

"Lord Ao... Lord Orochimaru has defected from Konoha, is severely injured, and is being hunted by Konoha ninja to the border of the Land of Fire! He is in urgent need of support!"

Zuijinji ran anxiously to Uchiha Ao's door, pounding on it and shouting loudly.

Ao was Orochimaru's disciple.

He could not stand idly by when his mentor was in distress!

Ao had long anticipated this moment; his desperate efforts to improve his strength were all for this very time.

Without his intervention, when Orochimaru defected from Konoha, he lost half his life and was forced to perform reincarnation prematurely without any preparation, causing irreversible damage to his soul.

So much so that in the future, he was actually bullied by a junior like Itachi Uchiha.

He had not expected that even after he improved the Cursed Seal and compensated for the soul defects caused by Orochimaru's research into it, it had little impact on the outcome of Orochimaru's severely injured defection.