Jugo Clan

"So, is this a success?"

Ao blinked his eyes, ignoring the soreness, and felt his entire soul undergo a sublimation.

He waved his hand gently.

A sphere of light formed from Natural Energy hovered in his palm.

The violent and chaotic Natural Energy had achieved a perfect fusion with his soul power.

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As his soul mobilized, the Natural Energy acted like an obedient puppy, following his every command.

Furthermore, once the Natural Energy within his body was depleted, it would automatically begin to absorb the surrounding Natural Energy.

The replenishment speed...

Ao sensed it for a moment.

It was roughly equivalent to the Chakra refinement speed of a genin; if he were to exhaust all the Natural Energy in his body, it would likely take at least one to two hours to return to normal.

The speed was a bit on the slow side.

Compared to the state of the White Snake Sage, it was still a far cry.

With the transformation of his soul, he discovered that the soul wounds he had just sustained had all healed.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, an exclamation rang out in his ear.

This disrupted Ao's train of thought, causing him to look over instinctively, just in time to see Yinqian staring at him in a daze.

"Boss... you... how did you start glowing? Wait a second... if you are here, then who is on the bed..."

Yinqian called out incoherently, looking here and there, its head in a daze.

What on earth was going on!?

It hadn't even seen Ao perform the Clone Technique...

Moreover, the aura emitted by this golden light was so similar to that of their ancestor.

It was as if...

It was the aura of the Natural Energy it absorbed day and night.

"Boss, did you succeed!?"

Yinqian reacted instantly. It sprang up, climbed in front of Ao, and gently extended its tail to touch the body emitting the golden light.

Hiss!

Its snake tongue flicked out involuntarily.

Its eyes were filled with curiosity and amazement.

A real tactile sensation.

It was actually just like a real body; apart from lacking warmth, there was no difference at all.

"Hiss, it's cold... Boss! Do you want to go bask in the sun?"

Yinqian asked with concern, as this sensation was even colder than the bodies of their snake clan.

Usually, when they felt cold, they would crawl out to bask in the sun.

Since the boss was this cold, he should definitely go outside.

Lying in the cave, it worried that something might go wrong.

Ao smiled and said, "No need, this is a normal condition for a soul state."

He waved his hand, intending to dissipate the condensed Natural Energy, but noticed Yinqian looking at the energy sphere in his hand with a greedy expression.

"You want it?"

Ao held the Natural Energy sphere out in front of Yinqian.

Yinqian instinctively made a swallowing motion.

"Can... you... really give it to me?"

It asked in a low voice.

Without waiting for Ao's reply, the colorful sphere of light was shoved directly into its body.

Yinqian had just prepared to express its gratitude when it suddenly felt its whole body jolt, and it passed out instantly.

"Ao, come over here! Little Silver is fine, but don't infuse such dense Natural Energy spheres into their bodies next time; their bodies are still too fragile to withstand it."

The voice of the White Snake Sage came from afar, pouring directly into his ears.

It wasn't speech.

Ao knew his spirit body state didn't have "hearing"! Was this a telepathic message from the White Snake Sage, a type of Sage Art?

Even from such a distance, the voice sounded as clear as if it were being whispered right into his ear.

"Come over immediately."

Uchiha Ao also tried to reply in the same manner; his words dispersed in the form of Natural Energy, drifting toward the distant main hall.

At this moment, inside the White Snake Temple.

The White Snake Sage slowly shifted her form into that of an old woman, wearing a knitted hat with long horns and holding a pipe, her gaze fixed eerily upon Orochimaru before her.

"You have found a fine disciple! Even the Sage Soul Body, which you yourself never mastered, has been learned by him in such a short amount of time."

"Do you feel any shame?"

The White Snake Sage teased, seemingly hoping to see a trace of jealousy on Orochimaru's face.

"Sage, doesn't this better fulfill your requirements? Now that you have obtained such an excellent successor, your research can continue. Shouldn't you give me a token of gratitude?"

Far from feeling jealous, a smile surged onto Orochimaru's face.

His relationship with Ryūchi Cave was merely one of cooperation.

The bond between the two sides could only be considered average.

They were simply using one another.

The appearance of Uchiha Ao served as proof that their relationship had progressed further.

The White Snake Sage looked toward the distance with a hollow gaze and said softly, "It has been over five hundred years; it is time to restart."

"Orochimaru, do you think he can do it?"

These words lacked any real conviction.

Having experienced so many failures.

She no longer held much hope.

Orochimaru did not answer; his gaze had gone vacant, as if he were thinking about other matters.

Soon, Uchiha Ao arrived in the main hall.

Seeing Orochimaru's figure, he revealed a look of surprise.

"Teacher, you are here as well."

Orochimaru nodded with a smile.

"The Sage said there was an important matter today, so she called me over."

"I heard you are practicing Sage Art? How is your progress?"

Orochimaru asked, his eyes scanning him, noting that Uchiha Ao's aura had become more stable, and his entire being exuded a peculiar sensation.

It was somewhat mysterious, yet also somewhat ethereal.

"I have just entered the gate; I still have a long way to go."

Uchiha Ao replied with a smile.

After the Sage Soul merged with his body, there was no difference from his normal state, but he had discovered one special trait: he could generate Sage Art Chakra anytime and anywhere.

He could also use the Sage Soul to perceive the Natural Energy around his body and absorb it to store within himself.

This was equivalent to being able to activate Sage Mode at any moment, similar to the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.

Once he fully mastered Natural Energy, his overall strength would undergo another qualitative change.

Looking at his strength on paper now, he should have already reached the threshold of Kage Level, and his Wood Release, bolstered by Sage Art, already possessed the initial power to destroy villages and nations.

"The reason I called you both here is because there is a child in a village on the outskirts of Ryūchi Cave."

"He possesses a natural affinity for the snake clan from birth; his body can passively absorb Natural Energy and fuse it into Sage Art Chakra—what you ninjas call a Sage Body."

"Today, the village he lived in was destroyed due to a surge of Natural Energy, and he is the only survivor, so I called you here to see who among you is interested in taking this child in."

The White Snake Sage spoke.

When she mentioned the village being destroyed, Orochimaru gave her a look filled with deep meaning.

"I have been very busy lately; I have no time to look after a child."

Orochimaru spoke directly.

He refused the request.

"Sage, my training is at a critical juncture, and I don't have time to look after a child either. Besides, I have to go to Kirigakure to carry out a mission in a while."

"Right, Teacher?"

Uchiha Ao replied, his gaze involuntarily shifting toward Orochimaru.

He subconsciously rubbed his stomach; he hadn't eaten in three days, and his stomach was completely empty.

Teacher should still have food there.

After all, Teacher didn't know how to cook, and those ingredients left in the kitchen were useless.

He would follow Teacher when he left in a moment and go to his place.

Orochimaru caught Ao's gaze and gave an instinctive nod.

"I've received word that things have been quite chaotic in Kirigakure lately. After the Mizukage wiped out the Yuki clan, the Kaguya clan has become increasingly restless, and a new round of conflict is likely to erupt soon."

"I've heard that the bodies of the Kaguya clan are the most perfect in the entire Ninja World, so I intend to track down a body with the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai to serve as a backup vessel for my future reincarnations."

"Little Ao, if you have nothing else to attend to, you should set off as soon as possible!"

"If you're late, you might miss your chance."

The White Snake Sage fell silent upon hearing this, swept her gaze over the two of them, and spoke again: "In that case, I will send this child to Konoha."

"It doesn't matter to me..."

Orochimaru shrugged, saying he had no interest in looking after a small child right now.

His entire focus was on the Impure World Reincarnation.

Ao also remained silent.

He had a rough idea of who this child was; living near Ryūchi Cave, it was almost certainly Jugo.

He possessed a natural Sage Body, a talent that allowed him to freely absorb Natural Energy and condense it into Sage Art Chakra.

If this were the Orochimaru of the past, he might have been intrigued by the Sage's words, taken the child, and used Jugo's body as a reference to create the Cursed Seal.

But now, under Ao's guidance, Orochimaru had already developed the Cursed Seal and was joyfully preparing for his first round of the reincarnation plan.

How could he have the heart to worry about a strange child?

"Let's talk about it after I return from Kirigakure, Sage! Could you help look after this child for the time being?"

Ao remained silent for a moment, and seeing the Sage's somewhat troubled expression, he finally spoke up.

"This child has a connection to your Ryūchi Cave. If I help take him in for a while, could you provide some compensation?"

The White Snake Sage's eyes grew profound. She pondered for a moment, took a deep drag from her pipe, exhaled two smoke rings in succession, turned around, and tapped her pipe against the wall twice.

"I will grant you a spot for the Sage trial..."

"This may be useless to you now, but you can save it for someone else."

Ao smiled and nodded upon hearing this, a glimmer of sharp light flashing in his eyes.

"Deal. Once I return from Kirigakure, I will come to collect this child."

It seems the Jugo Clan is inextricably linked to the White Snake Sage; it is even highly likely that they are her own handiwork!

It was she who secretly created the special talent of the Jugo Clan.

Otherwise, why would this Sage value their clan so highly?

She was even willing to offer him a trial spot...

Or perhaps, this spot was intended for Jugo all along?