Orochimaru's Arrangements

"What kind of chicken?" Lin Qing asked.

"Tagorihime."

Jiraiya's expression turned grim, a bead of cold sweat appearing on his forehead as he explained to Lin Qing: "There are three great lineages of senjutsu in the ninja world: Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave.

The founder of Ryūchi Cave is the White Snake Sage, and Tagorihime is her trusted confidante. After hundreds of years of cultivation, she possesses an incredibly vast amount of senjutsu chakra.

She is the one responsible for the cultivation trials of Ryūchi Cave; only those who pass Tagorihime's assessment are qualified to practice the senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave."

Lin Qing stared at Tagorihime. She was beautiful, possessing a certain allure reminiscent of the Snake Spirit sister he watched in cartoons when he was a child.

"Is she strong?"

"Strong..."

Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's not a question of strength. Sages like her, who have cultivated for hundreds of years, usually possess all sorts of miraculous abilities that differ from standard ninjutsu."

Lin Qing hoisted the Blade of Ruin onto his shoulder.

Coincidentally, he also possessed miraculous abilities that differed from those of a ninja.

Jiraiya recalled, "But in my memory, Orochimaru never earned the right to practice senjutsu... Just how high a price did he pay to get her to intervene?"

Facing the vigilant gazes of Lin Qing and Jiraiya, Tagorihime acted as if she heard nothing. She cradled Orochimaru, her slender, jade-like fingers gently stroking his cheek.

"Poor little snake, it hasn't been long, yet you've grown old. You no longer have the handsomeness of your youth... I should have just swallowed you whole when you were at your most beautiful."

"I have never mastered senjutsu, and being a mere mortal of flesh and blood, I naturally cannot compare to one with such a long lifespan. My busy days and nights are merely an attempt to chase your footsteps."

Orochimaru's body was rapidly repairing itself as he said respectfully, "I ask for your assistance."

Tagorihime chuckled; she loved Orochimaru's cleverness. She spread her arms, ignored gravity, and slowly floated into the air.

Jiraiya shouted at the rising Tagorihime, "Lady Tagorihime, this is a battle between us and Orochimaru. Must you really get involved?

If you strike, I will also summon the two elders, Fukasaku and Shijian. If that happens, it will be an all-out war between Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myoboku."

Jiraiya's meaning was clear.

They and Orochimaru were engaged in a battle between humans.

Both sides had backers of equal standing; there was no need to escalate the scale of the war.

Tagorihime covered her mouth and giggled, her gentle laughter filled with the disdain of a higher life form for a lower one.

"Then why don't you try summoning... or rather, 'inviting' them and see what happens?"

Hearing this, Jiraiya's heart sank. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately bit his finger, formed hand seals, and slammed his palm onto the ground to perform the Summoning Jutsu.

Normally, as the jutsu was cast, curse marks would spread outward, the summoning beast and the caster would resonate, and the beast would be summoned.

But now—

The curse marks on his palm hit the ground and, just as they were about to spread, they exploded with a bang.

Jiraiya could no longer establish a connection with Mount Myoboku!

Following the source of the power he sensed, Jiraiya turned his head toward the venomous snakes Orochimaru had released earlier to surround the village.

They were continuously spewing toxic mist from their mouths. A circle of pitch-black mist covered the sky above the village, eventually flowing into Tagorihime's hands to form a barrier that isolated the inside from the outside.

The Ten Thousand Snake Black Array!

"Don't worry."

Tagorihime looked down at them and said, "The little snake does not possess the qualifications to practice senjutsu. Bound by the rules, I will not strike you directly. I will simply conduct a..."

"Test."

What did she mean by a test?

A wave of confusion flashed through everyone's minds.

They saw Tagorihime holding an Emerald Orb in her hands. Her snow-white dress fluttered without wind, and a brilliant radiance appeared behind her. Within the light, one could vaguely see spirit snakes coiling, and a faint, sweet scent filled the air.

The first to be affected were the villagers who had not yet died.

Immersed in this miracle, they spread their arms and breathed deeply, feeling as if their wounds were about to heal.

"Ah! I... what is happening to me?!"

The villagers looked down and saw that their bodies were covered in scales. Before long, their clothes fell away, and a snake crawled out from within.

Snakes.

Humans had turned into snakes.

"Natural energy?"

Lin Qing unleashed the power of the Ripple, feeling the breath of the world.

Within the barrier shrouded by the radiance, the air was filled with an extremely dense concentration of natural energy.

This natural energy originated from Tagorihime, who was floating in the air.

However, it seemed that because it had been converted by Tagorihime, there was a subtle difference from the natural energy Lin Qing absorbed from the outside world—

It is extremely aggressive and will actively invade the human body; once one fails to harmonize natural energy with chakra in a specific ratio, they will transform into a snake.

Sasuke was horrified: "Is this the training method of Ryūchi Cave? It is far too overbearing!"

Jiraiya's brows were locked in a deep frown: "Impossible. Even for Ryūchi Cave, it is impossible to force natural energy into the body without any medium..."

He stared at the Emerald Orb in Tagorihime's hand, vaguely recalling that the Toad Sage had mentioned that the Great Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave possessed a Sage Art orb refined over a thousand years, which had an incredibly powerful effect on manipulating natural energy.

Could this be it?!

Lin Qing watched with his own eyes as living people turned into snakes one by one.

This is the power of nature...

Mount Myoboku is stone.

Ryūchi Cave is snake.

Then, does failure in Shikkotsu Forest result in turning into... a slug?

The so-called stone and snake are merely appearances.

Natural energy truly alters the genetic structure of the human body.

"Genes..."

Lin Qing opened his left hand.

"Come to me!"

Jiraiya shouted, spreading his arms wide and exerting all his strength to mobilize natural energy, using his own body as a springboard to convert the natural energy in the surroundings.

Within a one-meter radius centered on him, he barely managed to remain unaffected by Tagorihime's "test," creating a purified zone to protect Little Sasuke from the influence.

But this was not a long-term solution.

Purifying natural energy consumed a massive amount of Jiraiya's chakra; it wouldn't be long before he ran dry.

If it came to a contest of accumulated Sage chakra, how could he possibly outlast Tagorihime, who had been training for hundreds of years?

Moreover, this was not a game of endurance.

This was a life-or-death struggle!

Orochimaru slowly straightened his back, tilted his head, and took a deep breath, feeling an indescribable sense of comfort throughout his entire body.

He was indeed unable to practice Sage Art, but that did not mean Orochimaru had no involvement with the power of nature or Sage chakra.

The Cursed Seal.

It was a variant of Sage chakra.

For today's battle, Orochimaru had adjusted the Cursed Seal; within Tagorihime's domain, not only would he be completely unaffected, but he could even further enhance the effects of his ninjutsu and his physical recovery speed.

As for his enemies, as long as they were not Sage Art practitioners from Ryūchi Cave, they would all be suppressed.

And what of the Sharingan's genjutsu?

True, Orochimaru's resistance to genjutsu was indeed not high.

But Tagorihime was a true master of the genjutsu arts, capable of countering any form of illusion.

This was the entirety of Orochimaru's plan.

From the discovery of Hope Village to visiting Ryūchi Cave, adjusting the Cursed Seal, hiding Jugo, and slaughtering civilians... this series of arrangements was all to ensure that this moment would be foolproof.

Click.

A cracking sound echoed as the charred Jugo stood up once more.

Dense natural energy repaired his physical body.

Jugo rubbed his neck and stood behind Orochimaru, accompanied by Kimimaro, who had entered his released Cursed Seal state and drawn his own spine.

Orochimaru extended his long tongue, licking clean the bloodstains Lin Qing had previously struck onto the ground.