"Orochimaru, is there something there?"
Without knowing when, Tagorihime had already come to Orochimaru's side, looking in the same direction as him.
"It's nothing, just thinking about some things."
Orochimaru smiled slightly, his expression returning to normal.
Learning that the White Snake Sage was just a bad person, the pressure on his shoulders vanished, and he felt he could act freely.
Dealing with bad people was exactly what he was good at.
"That's really interesting."
Tagorihime looked Orochimaru up and down, feeling that he seemed much more relaxed than a little while ago.
The change was so obvious that snake princess couldn't help but look at him, secretly guessing why.
"Alright, the White Snake Sage is still waiting for us, we can't delay too long, next, we need to hurry there."
Orochimaru of course agreed and followed behind snake princess. The two quickly traveled through the cave, soon arriving at their destination, the White Snake Sage's location.
According to the map provided by the Lamp Spirit, it should be at the top of the 'Dragon' word, the snake head position of the white scaled snake.
In the dim light, the White Snake Sage, transformed into an old grandma, leaned back on the chair, curled up on a red cushion, holding a thin pipe in her hand, taking a puff from time to time, puffing out smoke.
She looked like a normal, kind old person, and didn't show any of the evil and ruthless nature of one who uses their own people as test subjects.
Tagorihime floated behind the chair, and Orochimaru bowed slightly to show his respect, "Sage, long time no see."
"A dozen years, for humans, is indeed a long time."
The White Snake Sage slightly closed her eyelids, opening them to exhale a puff of smoke, as if sighing, "Orochimaru, you've also become quite smooth."
Orochimaru smiled without saying anything, his gaze passing over the illusion on the chair and falling into the shadows, where a pair of golden eyes flickered, faintly grasping the outline of the snake's body.
Compared to the White Snake Sage's length, which coiled around the entire Ryuuchi Cave, the diameter of the snake's body couldn't be said to be thick, only that it was too thin.
According to the scale, it was more like a thread than a snake, the size of a thread and a yarn ball.
Sure enough, after so long, the White Snake Sage had shed her skin many times.
But the further this went, the more dangerous it became. One wrong move, and it would be a natural energy backlash.
Without complete confidence, this white snake would not act rashly.
Orochimaru didn't know the extent of the risks the other party was facing now, but he knew very well that if there were other feasible methods, the other party would definitely flock to them.
He didn't have a solution in the short term, but just showing a little possibility was something he could try.
The White Snake Sage noticed Orochimaru's gaze, and although she didn't know what he was thinking, she instinctively felt unpleasant.
Her body swayed, the old woman appearance faded like mist, and the white snake revealed four sharp teeth in her mouth, coldly saying,
"Human lives are short, don't waste time, come closer, I will teach you Sage Art."
"This matter is not urgent."
Orochimaru had a smile on his face, "I didn't come unprepared for this visit, I think you can see the changes in me."
The White Snake Sage slightly raised her chin, "So what?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, "I would like to exchange this training method of strengthening the body with natural energy, for the Ryuuchi Cave's insights from past ninjas who have studied Sage Art."...
"That's impossible."
The White Snake Sage refused without hesitation.
Whether the training method developed by Orochimaru was useful to snake life was not something to consider right now, but it was useless to her, absorbing natural energy to strengthen the body, she could do it herself.
The White Snake Sage stared at Orochimaru and said, "You can only pass the trial."
"Is that so..."
Under the White Snake Sage's gaze, Orochimaru didn't go forward, but instead took a few steps back.
The White Snake Sage's eyes narrowed, "Orochimaru, what do you mean?"
"Your trial is too dangerous, I don't have the confidence to pass."
Orochimaru touched the right side of his neck, the four wounds left by the last trial still faintly aching,
He laughed, "I want to stay in Ryuuchi Cave for a while, to experiment with my natural energy training method, Sage, you wouldn't kick me out for that, would you?"
This answer was a bit unexpected for the White Snake Sage. She curled up on the cushion, changing back into her old woman appearance, "As you wish."
"Thank you for your generosity, Sage."
Orochimaru smiled, cupped his fist in salute, and turned to go to Manda's location, but after a few steps, he seemed to remember something, and turned his head,
"Sage, if I exchange this training method... can I leave my name on the summoning scroll."
As he spoke, his gaze fell behind the White Snake Sage, where there was a huge stone carving of a fierce beast head.
It didn't matter whether it was a dragon or some other ancient beast, the key was that the beast's mouth was biting a scroll.
This scroll was very similar to the Mount Myōboku scroll held by Jiraiya, and could be used to summon all the snakes of Ryuuchi Cave.
It sounded very impressive, but this scroll was actually a summoning based on equality, and the other party could refuse.
The worst case scenario was that even if you summoned, no snake would respond.
Of course, Orochimaru wasn't greedy for Ryuuchi Cave's fighting power. What he wanted was a chance to communicate with the other three snake princesses outside Ryuuchi Cave, in areas that the White Snake Sage couldn't reach.
The White Snake Sage raised her eyelids when she heard this, the expression on her face was a half-smile,
"Orochimaru, you don't know Sage Art, and you don't dare to accept the trial, what makes you think I would allow you to leave your name? It seems you have a lot of confidence in what you've researched."
"However, confidence and arrogance are only a slight difference."
"Is that so... then I've embarrassed myself." The smile on Orochimaru's face didn't change, but his pace quickened, and he soon disappeared into the darkness.
The White Snake Sage watched the direction Orochimaru disappeared in, slightly frowning.
Behind the chair, Tagorihime's eyes flickered, not knowing what she was thinking.
"..."
"Do you really think the three snake princesses will come to help me?"
Walking in the dark passage, Orochimaru asked with his mind.
The Lamp Spirit laughed, "Of course, the White Snake Sage doesn't allow Ryuuchi Cave's snakes to leave the cave, the summoning scroll is the only way, they won't easily give up the chance to go to the ninja world to relax."
Orochimaru retorted, "Snakes like cold, dark, and damp places, they may not want to go above ground."
"You understand snakes, but you don't understand women."
The Lamp Spirit looked playful, "They're the kind of women who even underground, in places where no one can see them, still want to dress cleanly and beautifully."
Orochimaru looked surprised, emphasizing, "They aren't women, at most they are just female snakes."
Hearing this, the Lamp Spirit shook his head, feeling a bit emotional.
Sure enough, the level of civilization determines the degree of human love.
Before becoming a Lamp Spirit, in his world, men's eyes had already shifted from fox spirits that transform into humans to cat-eared girls, ship girls, sword spirits... even the Mink Tribe had a group of furry fans.
In this ninja world, even Jiraiya's poorly written "Make-Out Paradise" can become popular, it's truly a pitiful cultural desert.
Limited by civilization, even Orochimaru, with his flexible bottom line, didn't even think about that when he saw the snake princess, who looked exactly like real people.
"Tsk tsk tsk... it feels like it's a bit troublesome to explain."
The Lamp Spirit rubbed his chin, sighing, "You just need to know that even a boring man like you had to come up and say hello, which shows how lonely... hungry... isolated they are."
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