The Jugo Clan

"So, did it work?"

Ao blinked, ignoring the soreness in his eyes. He felt as if his entire soul had been elevated.

He casually waved a hand.

A ball of light formed from Natural Energy appeared in his palm.

The violent, chaotic Natural Energy had fused perfectly with the power of his soul.

As he directed it with his soul,

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

And once the Natural Energy inside his body was depleted, it automatically began absorbing the Natural Energy around him.

As for how quickly it replenished...

Ao sensed it.

It was about as fast as a Genin refined Chakra. If he used up all the Natural Energy inside him, it would probably take at least one or two hours to recover.

A little on the slow side.

Still, he was nowhere near the White Snake Sage's level.

As his soul transformed, he discovered that the wounds on it had all healed.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a gasp sounded beside him.

It interrupted Ao's train of thought, and he reflexively looked over. Yinqian was staring at him, dumbfounded.

"Boss... you... why are you glowing? Wait... if you're here, then who's on the bed...?"

Yinqian stammered, looking from one place to another as his mind went blank.

What in the world was going on?!

He hadn't even seen Ao use the Clone Technique...

And yet the aura radiating from that golden light was so similar to the ancestor's.

It was almost as if...

It were the aura of Natural Energy he absorbed every day and night.

"Boss, you did it?!"

Yinqian instantly understood. He sprang up and climbed in front of Ao, then carefully reached out his tail and touched the golden-glowing figure.

Hiss!

His tongue flicked out on its own.

His eyes brimmed with curiosity and amazement.

It felt real.

The body felt just like a real one. Aside from the lack of warmth, there wasn't much difference.

"Hiss, you're cold... Boss! Do you want to go sunbathe?"

Yinqian asked with concern. The body felt even colder than those of their snake clan.

Whenever they felt cold, they usually crawled outside to sunbathe.

If the boss was this cold, he should definitely go outside for a while.

He was worried something might happen if the boss stayed in the cave.

Ao smiled. "No need. This is normal for a soul state."

He waved a hand, intending to disperse the Natural Energy he had gathered, but noticed Yinqian staring greedily at the orb in his hand.

"Do you want it?"

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

Yinqian instinctively swallowed.

"Y-you're really going to give it to me?"

He asked quietly.

Before Ao could answer, the multicolored orb was shoved straight into his body.

Yinqian was just about to thank him when he suddenly shuddered and passed out.

"Ao-kun, come over here. Little Silver is fine, but don't fill them with such a dense ball of Natural Energy next time. Their bodies are still too fragile to handle it."

The White Snake Sage's voice came from far away, traveling straight into his ears.

She hadn't spoken aloud.

Ao knew that in his spiritual state he had no "hearing." Was this the White Snake Sage's telepathy, a kind of Senjutsu?

Though she was so far away, her voice sounded as loud as if she were right beside him.

"I'll be right there."

Ao tried replying the same way. His words spread out in the form of Natural Energy and drifted toward the distant temple.

At that moment, inside the White Snake Temple,

the White Snake Sage's figure slowly transformed into that of an old woman. She wore a knitted hat with long horns and held a pipe, her gaze resting thoughtfully on Orochimaru before her.

"You found yourself a fine student! Even he has mastered the Sage Soul Body in such a short time—a technique you never learned."

"Do you feel ashamed?"

The White Snake Sage teased him, apparently hoping to see a hint of jealousy on Orochimaru's face.

"Immortal, isn't this exactly what you wanted? Now that you have such an excellent successor, your research can continue. Shouldn't I get a reward?"

Rather than showing any jealousy, Orochimaru broke into a smile.

His relationship with Ryūchi Cave was merely one of cooperation.

They were on fairly ordinary terms.

They were just using each other.

Ao's arrival was proof that their relationship had taken another step forward.

The White Snake Sage gazed into the distance and spoke softly. "It's been more than five hundred years. It's time to start again."

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

There was little conviction in her voice.

After so many failures,

she had all but lost hope.

Orochimaru didn't answer. His gaze had drifted away, as if his mind were elsewhere.

Soon, Uchiha Ao entered the temple.

Seeing Orochimaru there, he looked surprised.

"Sensei, you're here too."

Orochimaru nodded with a smile.

"The Immortal said something important was happening today and asked me to come by."

"I heard you're training in Senjutsu. How's it going?"

Orochimaru asked, looking him over. Ao's aura seemed more stable, and there was something unusual about him.

He seemed both mysterious and ethereal.

"I've only just started. I still have a long way to go."

Ao answered with a smile.

After his Sage Soul fused with his body, he felt no different from normal. But he had discovered something special: he could produce Senjutsu Chakra whenever he wanted.

He could also use his Sage Soul to sense the Natural Energy around him and absorb it into his body for storage.

In other words, he could enter Sage Mode at any time, much like the First, Senju Hashirama.

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

Judging by his strength on paper, he had already reached the threshold of Kage Level. With Senjutsu enhancing it, his Wood Release had begun to show the power to destroy villages and countries.

"I called you here because there's a child in a village on the outskirts of Ryūchi Cave."

"He was born with an affinity for Natural Energy like that of the snake clan. His body absorbs Natural Energy passively and fuses it into Senjutsu Chakra—in other words, what you ninjas call a Sage Body."

"Today, his village was destroyed when the Natural Energy went berserk. He's the only survivor. So I called you here to see if either of you would be willing to take him in."

The White Snake Sage explained.

When she mentioned the village's destruction, Orochimaru gave her a meaningful look.

"I'm busy lately. I don't have time to look after a child."

Orochimaru immediately turned her down.

"Immortal, I'm at a crucial point in my training, so I don't have time to look after a child either. Besides, I'll have to go to Kirigakure on a mission before long."

"Right, Sensei?"

Ao replied, glancing at Orochimaru.

He absently rubbed his stomach. He hadn't eaten in three days, and it was completely empty.

Sensei should still have some food, right?

After all, Sensei couldn't cook, and the ingredients in his kitchen were just going to waste.

He'd be leaving with Sensei in a bit, so he might as well go to his place.

Orochimaru caught Ao's look and instinctively nodded.

"I've heard things have been rather chaotic in Kirigakure lately. After the Mizukage wiped out the Yuki clan, the Kaguya Clan has gradually grown restless. Another wave of conflict may break out soon."

"I've heard that the Kaguya Clan has the most perfect bodies in the entire Ninja World. So I plan to find a body with the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai and keep it as a backup for my future reincarnation."

"Ao-kun, if you don't have anything else to do, you should leave as soon as possible!"

"Otherwise, you might not make it in time."

The White Snake Sage fell silent at that, then looked at them both and spoke again. "In that case, I'll send the child to Konoha."

"Whatever,"

Orochimaru said with a shrug. He had no interest in taking care of a little kid.

All his attention was on Impure World Reincarnation.

Ao remained silent as well.

He had a pretty good guess who the child was. There was no one else who lived near Ryūchi Cave who it could be but Jugo.

He had a natural Sage Body and the ability to freely absorb Natural Energy and condense it into Senjutsu Chakra.

If this had been the old Orochimaru, the White Snake Sage's words might have intrigued him. He might have taken the child in and used Jugo's body as a reference to create the Cursed Seal.

But with Ao's guidance, Orochimaru had already developed the Cursed Seal and was happily preparing for the first reincarnation.

How could he possibly have time to look after some stranger's child?

"Let's talk about it after I get back from Kirigakure, Immortal. Could you look after the child for now?"

Ao fell silent for a while. Seeing the Immortal look troubled, he finally spoke.

"The child has a connection with Ryūchi Cave, so I'll help look after him for a while. Think you could give me a little compensation?"

The White Snake Sage's gaze grew profound. She pondered for a moment, drew deeply on her pipe, and blew out two rings of smoke in succession. Then she turned and tapped the wall twice with her pipe.

"I'll give you a spot in the Immortal's trial..."

"It might be useless to you now, but you can save it for someone else."

Ao smiled and nodded, a glint flashing in his eyes.

"Deal. I'll come back for the child after I return from Kirigakure."

It seemed the Jugo Clan had some connection to the White Snake Sage—she might even have been behind their creation!

Perhaps she was the one who had secretly created the Jugo Clan's special talent.

Otherwise, why would the Immortal care so much about their clan?

She had even given him a spot in the trial...

Or had she meant to save that spot for Jugo?