Snake Goes Blind! The White Snake Sage Sat Up in Shock!

Qian Ye looked up at those two enormous lantern-like eyes.

The stench nearly made him throw up last night's dinner.

"Snack, what are you staring blankly at?" The giant snake flicked its tongue, its voice like fingernails scraping across a blackboard.

Qian Ye's palms were drenched in sweat.

Orochimaru, that scheming bastard!

Qian Ye cursed furiously in his heart.

He had definitely done this on purpose. He said he was bringing him here to sign a contract, but the moment they landed, he tossed him into a snake den. This was no contract signing—he was the pre-meal snack!

The giant snake's massive body slithered through the darkness, its scales grinding against the rocks with a teeth-grating creak.

"Orochimaru has gotten more and more half-hearted. This offering isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."

The giant snake suddenly opened its bloody maw and lunged down at Qian Ye.

Qian Ye clenched his molars.

The muscles in his legs spasmed wildly as the physical instincts ingrained by Garp's training forcibly awakened at that moment.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His feet struck the ground in rapid succession.

Qian Ye shot sideways to the right like a sack of rags.

Boom!

The giant snake's head smashed viciously into where Qian Ye had been standing, sending shards of rock flying.

Qian Ye rolled twice across the ground, his head covered in dust.

He raised his revolver and pulled the trigger directly at the giant snake's enormous vertical pupil.

Bang! Bang!

Both bullets hit dead on.

Sparks scattered everywhere.

The bullets struck the scales above the snake's eye without leaving even a white mark before ricocheting away.

The giant snake stopped moving.

It seemed bewildered by that scratch-like attack, then let out an ear-splitting hiss.

"Human! You're courting death!"

A gale reeking of blood and rot rushed at him.

Qian Ye was blown off his feet by the blast of air, his back slamming heavily into the rock wall.

It felt as though his internal organs had been knocked out of place.

Deep within Dragon's Lair.

White Snake Sage's Temple.

Orochimaru stood before an enormous water mirror with his arms folded.

The water mirror clearly reflected Qian Ye's miserable state.

In the seat of honor, the White Snake Sage had transformed into a wrinkled old woman. She held a smoking pipe and puffed away.

Three alluring women stood beside her.

Ichikishimahime covered her mouth and giggled.

"Orochimaru, your eye for talent isn't very good this time."

"This brat's chakra is pitifully weak. He can't even beat one of Shinga's underlings. He's about to be swallowed."

Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils remained fixed on the water mirror, the corner of his lips curling upward.

"Keep watching."

"This child's life is tough."

Tagitsuhime rolled her eyes.

"What good is a tough life? Dragon's Lair doesn't take in trash."

"If he can't even pass the first test, what right does he have to meet the White Snake Sage?"

Orochimaru said nothing.

He had indeed done it deliberately.

Those were Dragon's Lair's rules. Without showing some real skill, one could never earn the recognition of these snake sages.

He wanted to see what other trump cards this disciple, who always managed to surprise him, could pull out in a desperate situation.

Qian Ye's back slammed heavily into the rock wall. It felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and the pain made him suck in cold breaths.

The giant snake's massive body crushed the scattered rocks under it as it lunged again with its bloody maw open. The stench churned Qian Ye's stomach.

"Orochimaru, you scheming bastard!"

Qian Ye cursed furiously in his heart.

If I make it back alive, I'm blowing up your laboratory! You said we were signing a contract! This is clearly using me as a pre-meal snack!

Qian Ye scrambled and rolled to the side.

Bang!

The giant snake's head smashed into the rock wall, violently shaking the entire cavern as rubble rained down.

Qian Ye gasped for breath, his mind spinning like a high-speed motor.

Come on, brain, think faster!

How did those overpowered bastards in the original story deal with giant snakes like these?

Sasuke used the Kusanagi Sword to cut them? All he had was a revolver that barely scratched the target.

Itachi used the Totsuka Blade to seal them? He could not even use a basic genjutsu.

Lightning Release to paralyze it? His tests had shown only water and wind affinities!

After missing with its strike, the giant snake swept its thick tail toward him with a howling gust.

Qian Ye's feet stamped the ground in rapid succession as the physical instincts brought by Garp's training forcibly awakened at that moment.

"Geppo!"

He threw himself upward with all his strength, narrowly dodging the dragon-tail sweep.

Suspended in midair, Qian Ye watched the giant snake's scarlet tongue constantly flick in and out, and a flash of insight suddenly crossed his mind.

What had that nature documentary from his previous life said?

Snakes had terrible eyesight. They were severely nearsighted.

They hunted entirely by using their tongues to gather scent molecules from the air, as well as the pit organs above their lips to sense heat!

As long as something was warmer than its surroundings, it would look like a blazing light bulb to a snake.

Qian Ye landed, his legs turning weak. The chakra in his meridians was already nearly exhausted.

But he had no time to worry about that. He forcibly squeezed out the last bit of energy in his meridians.

"Water nature to lower my temperature, wind nature to carry away the heat..."

Qian Ye formed hand seals rapidly.

The contents of Orochimaru's notes flashed wildly through his mind.

He used the exact same technique he had used to cool Pakura inside the barrier earlier, this time on himself.

An extremely thin film of water covered Qian Ye's body. Then a faint breeze circulated around him, swiftly carrying away his body heat.

The agony from chakra exhaustion made his whole body tremble, but he bit down on his lip and did not let out a single sound.

In thermal vision, Qian Ye instantly became a stone without any heat.

The giant snake was just about to launch its third attack when its enormous body suddenly stiffened.

Its huge head swayed from side to side in midair, its scarlet tongue flicking frantically as it tried to catch his scent in the air.

"Human... where did you go?"

Confusion filled the giant snake's hoarse voice.

He had clearly been right in front of it just moments ago. How had he suddenly vanished?

In the darkness, Qian Ye pressed himself against the rock wall, scarcely daring to breathe.

It worked!

This giant snake was actually blind!

Deep within Dragon's Lair.

White Snake Sage's Temple.

Before the water mirror, Ichikishimahime's smile froze completely on her face.

"This brat..."

Tagitsuhime's eyes widened, and the bone she had been playing with clattered to the ground.

"He actually lowered his body temperature to the same level as the surrounding rocks?"

Tagitsuhime moved closer to the water mirror in disbelief.

"How is that possible? He doesn't even have the chakra reserves of a Genin. How can he achieve such precise chakra control?"

The three snake goddesses looked at one another.

The snakes of Dragon's Lair hunted by heat and scent. That was common knowledge.

Yet a twelve-year-old human child had not only instantly seen through that fact in a life-or-death situation, but also used his remaining chakra to precisely conceal his own thermal radiation.

This was no longer talent. This was a monster.

Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils suddenly narrowed, and an extremely exaggerated grin spread across his face.

A genius.

This was a true genius.

He was not bound by the destructive power of ninjutsu. Instead, he could instantly identify an enemy's weakness and achieve the perfect result at the smallest possible cost.

In the seat of honor, the White Snake Sage, who had been smoking with her eyes closed, slowly opened her right eye.

"Orochimaru, this little fellow you brought this time has quite a sharp mind."

The White Snake Sage exhaled a ring of smoke, her voice old yet imposing.

Orochimaru gave a slight bow.

"He always brings me surprises."