The White Snake Sage's Request

Ryūchi Cave.

Inside a temple deep within the Hidden Village.

White Snake Sage lay on a bed, a pipe clamped between her teeth.

She puffed on the pipe, taking intermittent drags.

A plume of white mist slowly drifted from her mouth.

"I wonder if that brat has started practicing Sage Art yet?"

"Probably not, or he would have died long ago."

White Snake Sage muttered to herself.

Back when she first found Orochimaru, a human skilled in scientific research, she had attempted to teach him Sage Art.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru lacked the necessary soul talent to practice Sage Art, and his body was not strong enough to withstand the infusion of her power.

After Orochimaru recommended Uchiha Ao, and after a period of observation, she decided to give this descendant of Old Man Six Paths a chance.

"Are you there, Sage?"

Suddenly, a call came from outside the great hall.

The voice of Uchiha Ao rang out from beyond the door.

"What is it?"

White Snake Sage's voice echoed within the hall.

She subconsciously coiled her body, trying to appear more dignified.

"Sage, I have some questions regarding the Snake Script documents I would like to ask you."

Ao said in a sincere tone.

"Come in..."

The doors to the great hall opened automatically.

The environment inside was revealed.

After Ao walked in, he glanced around; the setting was simple, with almost no decorations, and snake patterns were carved into the walls.

Several unknown stone statues stood tall in the darkness.

White Snake Sage was lying on an oversized bed, her pristine white snake body fully exposed before him.

The scales on her body were faintly visible.

Without the white mist that had obscured her during their first meeting, she lost a bit of her mystery and appeared much more tangible.

"You understood it?"

White Snake Sage's eyelids lifted slightly, revealing a pale yellow slit pupil.

Her snake scales curled up, creating a rustling sound as if she were hiding something, emitting a strange creaking noise.

"Yes, Sage! I am very confused; that document records a method for practicing Natural Energy."

"I don't quite understand—can one practice it while in a soul state?"

Ao spread his hands and asked curiously.

"I recall that in a soul state, there are no physical meridians at all. How can one store Natural Energy? Is there some connection between the soul and Natural Energy?"

This was his greatest doubt.

The soul belonged to the realm of mysticism, and his past experiences were of no reference at all.

He was a blank slate in this regard.

Although the research he first encountered while following Orochimaru involved the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique, which touched upon the soul, his actual understanding of the soul remained superficial.

"Natural Energy is a power without any attributes; it, along with spiritual energy and physical energy, constitutes the three fundamental forces of the entire world."

"If you must draw a distinction regarding Natural Energy,"

"perhaps you can distinguish it by its source."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

White Snake Sage paused, tapped her pipe, blew a smoke ring, and her expression became playful.

"Source? Is the source of Natural Energy... the power generated after all things die?"

Ao proposed a hypothesis, a guess he had deduced based on certain substances that dissipated during the process of life and death.

"No, your understanding is far too one-sided."

White Snake Sage bit down on her pipe and shook her head.

"Natural Energy is the primordial energy generated by the atmosphere, geology, and life cycles of the entire world. Mountains, rivers, and all things emit Natural Energy throughout their existence; everything is nature."

"Natural Energy represents the vitality of the entire world."

"Even a single wisp of breeze generates Natural Energy."

"If Natural Energy were to vanish, this world would completely collapse."

So that's how it is!

Ao nodded in sudden realization, then proceeded to ask a brand-new question.

"Does the Sage know of the Impure World Reincarnation?"

A flicker of confusion crossed the eyes of the White Snake Sage, and she remained silent.

This technique had never been revealed in the current era.

She was unaware of it.

"It is a forbidden technique created by the Second Hokage that can summon the dead back to the living world from a place called the Pure Land to fight."

Ao briefly introduced the capabilities of the Impure World Reincarnation before posing his question.

"What I am curious about is how the bodies of the dead summoned by this technique can remain indestructible and possess infinite Chakra. How exactly is such an extraordinary state achieved?"

These were the two most important abilities of the Impure World Reincarnation.

He simply could not fathom how Senju Tobirama had created such a forbidden technique.

Even with the forbidden scroll in his hands, he could not grasp the mysteries within.

"The Pure Land..."

Upon hearing this name, the White Snake Sage's expression grew distant, and a murderous intent soon leaked from her eyes.

"That is the greatest enemy of our Ryūchi Cave..."

"It possesses an inexhaustible amount of Natural Energy. The technique you speak of likely uses some form of contract to draw upon the Natural Energy of the Pure Land. With the entire Pure Land as its backing, it is naturally easy to obtain infinite Chakra."

"The so-called immortal body is even simpler."

"As long as Chakra exists, one can create a physical vessel to house the soul in the form of a 'clone' and exist in the living world."

"Before the birth of the Pure Land, there were countless members of the Ninjutsu Sect who possessed such forms."

"And the Natural Energy generated by these people's attachment to the living world was one of the sources of power for our Ryūchi Cave."

This was the first time Ao had felt the terrifying and violent soul power of the White Snake Sage.

Hearing these secrets of the Ninjutsu Sect, his pupils constricted.

He was completely stunned.

Could this be one of the truths behind the disintegration of the Ninjutsu Sect?

In a world without a Pure Land, ninjas who refined Chakra were unwilling to die once their lifespans were exhausted. As long as their Chakra did not run out, they could maintain the existence of their soul and will indefinitely...

Hiss, the number of ninjas would only continue to grow.

Eventually, like parasites, they would consume all the Natural Energy in the entire world.

It was somewhat like an alternative version of the God Tree.

No wonder!

The Old Man Six Paths would abandon his near-eternal life and choose death to create another world for the dead.

"One thousand years ago, there was no such thing as the Pure Land. After all things died, the soul power that constituted the soul would dissipate, forming the initial Natural Energy, which would then nurture brand-new life."

"At that time, Natural Energy was far more abundant than it is today."

"After the Pure Land was born, souls could no longer remain in the living world, which caused the violent, evil, and bloodthirsty Natural Energy that belonged to our Ryūchi Cave to become much scarcer."

"This has led to the snake clan closing our doors and not daring to walk the living world anymore..."

The White Snake Sage said viciously.

She blamed the decline of Ryūchi Cave entirely on the Sage of Six Paths.

"If one day you can reach the realm of Six Paths, I hope you can destroy the Pure Land and establish a fairer world for souls."

As her words fell.

The White Snake Sage's gaze turned toward him, filled with expectation.

It seemed she hoped this descendant of the Sage of Six Paths could surpass his ancestor and change the current landscape of the Ninja World.

"Why do you feel the Pure Land is unfair? I know the Sage of Six Paths; rumor has it he was once the ancestor of our Uchiha clan. Asking me to oppose my ancestor is a bit difficult to justify... what kind of price can you offer?"

Ao countered. His stance was clear: Six Paths was his own ancestor, so the price would have to be right.

He did not quite understand the White Snake Sage's resentment.

He felt that the existence of the Pure Land had not affected the Holy Lands; in fact, the Sage of Six Paths had a decent relationship with Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest, having deep interactions with them.

Only with Ryūchi Cave was there no connection.

Could it be because the Sage of Six Paths had been sabotaging Ryūchi Cave?

Is that why the White Snake Old Hag harbors such jealousy in her heart?

"Because the Pure Land... after collecting the souls of those evil individuals, keeps them imprisoned in that world and forbids them from reincarnating. They call it tempering their malice, but in reality, what they are intercepting is the Natural Energy of our Ryūchi Cave."

"It is precisely because of this that I created the Soul Body Separation technique, intending to compete with the Pure Land for these souls."

"It is just a pity that my abilities are limited, and I have no way to contend with Old Man Six Paths."

"If you can agree to this matter, then in the future, I will do everything in my power to help you complete the cultivation of absorbing Natural Energy using souls."

The White Snake Sage sighed, a trace of desolation flashing through her eyes, as if she were a bullied young wife, stirring one's sympathy.