Surviving the Aftermath: Taking Stock of the Battle's Gains

"Twelve points."

Chiba leaned against a broken tree, his fingertips brushing the World Tree's roots. The evolution points he had saved, combined with the crisis reward, had reached twelve.

His wounds were still healing.

Silver-white tissue grew over the side of his neck where venomous fangs had torn it open. His Sage Body reconnected the severed meridians, while new purification branches pushed the purplish-black residue out of his body.

"Eight points in exchange. Not a bad trade."

The moment he spoke, a tearing pain came from his chest. The meridians that had not yet fully settled broke apart again.

Chiba pressed his right palm against the Root Network, drawing in natural energy to repair the damage.

"Still a loss."

The panel did not respond. It merely displayed several battle records beneath the World Tree.

The attack path of the Snakehead Assassination Technique, the location where Orochimaru had escaped through Substitution Technique, and the changes in his chakra each time he came into contact with the Purification Light had all been recorded by the Sage Body.

Chiba reviewed them one by one.

"The first contact made him use a substitute, the second made him shed his skin, and only on the third did he dare use his real chakra."

He could not handle Orochimaru's close-range speed, and he could not discern the full pattern behind his Substitution Technique either.

Only one thing was certain.

Purification Light worked.

If Intermediate Purification could touch his real body, Orochimaru would have to abandon another layer of his body to escape.

"The gap is still too wide."

Chiba closed the panel and buried his still-unhealed right hand in the soil.

Natural energy passed through the Cultivation Tree's branching channels, avoiding the damaged meridians and forming a cycle only around the outer layer of his Sage