"What chicken?" Lin Qing asked.
"Tagorihime."
Jiraiya's expression turned grim, and a bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead as he explained to Lin Qing, "There are three sage arts lineages in the Ninja World: Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave.
"The founder of Ryūchi Cave is the White Snake Sage. Tagorihime is her trusted aide, and after several hundred years of cultivation, she possesses an immense amount of Senjutsu Chakra.
"She is the one who oversees Ryūchi Cave's training trials. Only those who pass Tagorihime's test are qualified to learn Ryūchi Cave's sage arts."
Lin Qing stared at Tagorihime. She was beautiful, with the same bewitching allure as the Snake Witch sister from Calabash Brothers, a show he had watched as a child.
"Is she strong?"
"Strong..."
Jiraiya hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's not a matter of how strong she is. Sages who've cultivated for hundreds of years usually possess all sorts of wondrous abilities unlike ninjutsu."
Lin Qing hoisted the Blade of Ruin onto his shoulder.
What a coincidence. He, too, had wondrous abilities unlike those of a ninja.
Jiraiya recalled, "But as far as I remember, Orochimaru never gained permission to learn sage arts... Just what did he give up to get her to come here and fight?"
Ignoring the wary gazes of Lin Qing and Jiraiya, Tagorihime cradled Orochimaru in her arms. Her slender fingers gently stroked his cheek.
"Poor little snake. It's only been a short while, and you've already grown old. You're no longer as handsome as you were in your youth... I should have eaten you whole when you were at your most beautiful."
"I never learned sage arts, and I'm only mortal flesh and blood. Naturally, I can't compare to you, with your long life. All my ceaseless efforts these days are merely to keep up with you."
Orochimaru's body was rapidly healing. He said respectfully, "Please, lend me your aid."
Tagorihime chuckled. She had always liked Orochimaru's quick wit. Spreading her arms, she slowly rose into the air, defying gravity.
Jiraiya shouted up at Tagorihime as she floated into the sky. "Lady Tagorihime, this is a fight between Orochimaru and us. Do you really have to get involved?
"If you attack, I'll summon Elders Fukasaku and Shijian as well. Then it'll be a clash between Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myoboku."
Jiraiya's meaning was clear.
This was a fight between them and Orochimaru—a battle between humans.
Both sides had powerful backers of equal standing. There was no need to escalate the conflict.
Tagorihime covered her mouth and laughed softly. Her gentle laughter carried the disdain of a higher life form for a lower one.
"Then summon them... No," she said. "Try asking them to come."
Jiraiya's heart sank at her words. He immediately bit his finger, formed Hand Seals, slapped his palm against the ground, and performed the Summoning Technique.
Normally, when the jutsu was performed, lines of script would spread outward. The summoner and the summoned creature would sense each other, and the creature would answer the call.
But now—
The markings on his palm touched the ground and were just about to spread when they burst apart with a bang.
Jiraiya could no longer contact Mount Myoboku!
Following the power he sensed, Jiraiya turned toward the venomous snakes Orochimaru had released earlier, which encircled the village.
They were constantly spewing poisonous mist. A ring of black fog covered the sky above the village before finally flowing into Tagorihime's hands, forming a barrier that sealed off the area.
Ten Thousand Snake Black Array!
"Don't worry."
Tagorihime looked down at them and said, "Little Snake isn't qualified to learn sage arts. The rules prevent me from attacking you directly. I'll simply put you through a..."
"Test."
What did she mean by a test?
A question flashed through everyone's minds.
Tagorihime raised an Emerald Orb in both hands. Her snow-white dress fluttered in a windless breeze, and a brilliant radiance stretched behind her for miles. Within it, serpents could faintly be seen coiling about. A faint, sickly-sweet fragrance filled the air.
The first to be affected were the villagers who were still alive.
Entranced by the miracle before them, they spread their arms and breathed deeply, feeling as if their wounds were about to heal.
"Ah! What... What's happening to me?!"
The villagers looked down and saw that scales had sprouted all over their bodies. Before long, their clothes fell away, and snakes crawled out from within them.
Snakes.
People had turned into snakes.
"Natural Energy?"
Lin Qing used the power of the Ripple to sense the world's breath.
The space within the barrier bathed in radiance was saturated with Natural Energy.
This Natural Energy came from Tagorihime, who floated in the air.
But it seemed that after being transformed by Tagorihime, it differed slightly from the Natural Energy Lin Qing absorbed in the outside world—
It was extremely aggressive, actively invading the human body. If the Natural Energy and chakra weren't balanced in a specific ratio, the person would turn into a snake.
Sasuke was horrified. "This is how they train at Ryūchi Cave? It's far too forceful!"
Jiraiya furrowed his brow. "Impossible. Even Ryūchi Cave couldn't force Natural Energy into someone's body without any kind of medium..."
He stared at the Emerald Orb in Tagorihime's hands. He vaguely remembered the Toad Sage mentioning that the Great Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave possessed a sage-art orb that had been refined for a thousand years, giving it an extremely powerful ability to manipulate Natural Energy.
Could this be that very orb?!
Lin Qing watched as one person after another turned into snakes.
So this was the power of nature...
Mount Myoboku had toads.
Ryūchi Cave had snakes.
Then did failing at Shikkotsu Forest mean turning into... Katsuyu?
The so-called toads, snakes, and slugs were only the outward forms.
Natural Energy truly changed the body's genetic structure.
"Genes..."
Lin Qing opened his left hand.
"Get over here!"
Jiraiya shouted, spreading his arms as he desperately manipulated the Natural Energy. Using his own body as a stepping stone, he transformed the Natural Energy around them.
Within a one-meter radius of him, they were more or less unaffected by Tagorihime's "test." The area became a purified zone, shielding Little Sasuke.
But it wasn't a long-term solution.
Purifying the Natural Energy consumed a huge amount of Jiraiya's chakra. Before long, he would run out.
When it came to reserves of Senjutsu Chakra, how could he possibly compare to Tagorihime, who had cultivated for hundreds of years?
Besides, this wasn't a battle of endurance.
It was a fight to the death!
Orochimaru slowly straightened his back, tilted his head up, and took a deep breath. He felt incomparably refreshed from head to toe.
He couldn't learn sage arts, but that didn't mean he knew nothing about Natural Energy or Senjutsu Chakra.
The Cursed Seal.
It was a variant of Senjutsu Chakra.
For today's battle, Orochimaru had modified the Cursed Seal. Within Tagorihime's domain, he wouldn't be affected in the slightest. If anything, his ninjutsu would grow more powerful, and his body would heal faster.
His enemies, on the other hand, would all be suppressed as long as they practiced sage arts outside of Ryūchi Cave.
What about the Sharingan's genjutsu?
It was true that Orochimaru had little resistance to genjutsu.
But Tagorihime was a true genjutsu expert, capable of countering any form of genjutsu.
That was Orochimaru's entire plan.
From discovering Hope Village to visiting Ryūchi Cave, modifying the Cursed Seal, hiding within Jugo, and slaughtering civilians... Every step of the plan had been arranged to ensure this moment went off without a hitch.
Click.
A cracking sound rang out. Jugo, burned to a crisp, stood up once more.
The dense Natural Energy healed his body.
Jugo rubbed his neck and stood behind Orochimaru. Kimimaro stood with him, his Cursed Seal released as he pulled out his own spine.
Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked away the blood Lin Qing had spilled earlier.
Before you continue