It's shedding its skin!
Realizing this, Orochimaru jumped off the gray giant snake and returned to the head of the snake he was on before, looking at the other snake from a distance.
Normal snakes shed their skin in order to grow.
Snake skin and scales are made of keratin, which is tough, wear-resistant, and waterproof, preventing the loss of water from the body... and so on, having many advantages.
But one thing is not as good as the skin of ordinary creatures, that is, snake skin cannot expand as the snake grows.
Therefore, snakes must shed their skin every so often. The more years they live, the more times they shed their skin.
This is a growth rule, or a kind of physical thing for snakes.
But for the special snakes of Ryuuchi Cave, shedding skin has other meanings.
For example, the Senjutsu snakes, led by White Snake Sage, also do it to grow. However, their shedding skin is not to expand their size, but to shrink their bodies.
It's not escaping, but forming a new snake skin inside, letting the outer stone layer fall off.
This is a Senjutsu that White Snake Sage developed by combining physical instinct with natural energy. The purpose is to reverse the burden brought by body size and complete evolution. It is a path completely opposite to warrior snakes.
But this dumb snake Manda also has a similar skill.
It can't use Senjutsu, but it directly relies on instinct to escape danger by 'shedding skin'.
That is similar to White Snake Sage's shedding skin, but it only forms a new snake skin inside. The body size neither shrinks nor grows.
The purpose is only to transfer damage using a substitute.
Orochimaru has seen Manda use this skill many times and is quite familiar with it.
Therefore, he is very sure that this gray giant snake, this warrior snake, is not using shedding skin similar to Manda's at this time.
It is growing.
This... is very interesting.
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows, suppressing the urge to continue messing with the First Hokage cells, and looked at the gray giant snake with great interest.
If this 'shedding skin' is like that of White Snake Sage, after the gray giant snake strengthens its body and uses its increased chakra strength, it will greatly increase the possibility of taming the First Hokage cells.
More importantly, he allowed the gray giant snake to show this possibility, and White Snake Sage will naturally be interested in this. This trip can be said to be a complete success.
But if it is just the snake growing, then the process will be much more dangerous.
During the process of the python growing, First Hokage cells will completely fuse with the snake's body through rapid cell change, opening the road to perfect fusion at the cell level.
It sounds good, but under this situation, the body may turn to wood if you're not careful and completely become a big tree.
Perfect fusion at the cell level is his ultimate desire for the effect of First Hokage cells, and there are still many problems that have not been solved.
Until now, he has been using partial First Hokage cells to transplant.
Which of these is it?
Under Orochimaru's expectant gaze, the gray giant snake curled up its body and rolled back and forth in the cave. The snout rubbed against the hard earth and rocks. After a while, it tore the outermost snake skin open.
"Hiss hiss hiss…"
The gray giant snake let out a cry of pain, both because of the pain of shedding its skin and because the effect of the medicine that stopped it was weakening, and the First Hokage cells became active again.
The gray giant snake dared not waste time, moving its head left and right, enlarging the broken wound on the snake skin. Soon, the gap created was enough for its body to pass through.
Shasha shasha...
On the rocky ground, the sound of the snake's body rubbing against the snake skin was heard, like a dull knife cutting meat, which sounded really scary.
Orochimaru's attention was all on the snake's body that was sticking out. He licked his lips unconsciously, with great interest in his eyes.
Because the color of this snake's body is no longer gray-brown, but has become a green color, just like a tree snake in the forest.
And from the way the giant python is shedding its skin at this time, this is not Senjutsu like White Snake Sage's, but simple growth.
It's a little regrettable, but this is not without gains.
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows. The shadow clone was of one mind with him and had already set up other experimental equipment, recording the data in an orderly manner.
Being able to see the perfect fusion of First Hokage cells on the giant python is very valuable for his future experiments.
Moreover, in any case, this snake did not die in the experiment. Even if White Snake Sage wanted to blame him, she would not make a big deal out of it.
Just as he was thinking this, the tree snake let out another hiss, and its body began to roll on the rocky ground again.
The newly born snake skin began to crack, and it was covered with scars in no time.
Orochimaru said in surprise, "This guy, is it going to shed its skin again?"
Unexpected, but it seems like it should be so.
With the powerful copying and growth ability of First Hokage cells, it is indeed possible for this giant python to cross the growth stage in a short period of time.
Orochimaru's heart sank. The degree of growth power made the perfect fusion of First Hokage cells more terrifying than he thought.
"Ah ah ah..."
On the rocky ground, dust rose suddenly, and the green giant python rolled, throwing layers of earth and rocks into the sky.
This shedding skin was much messier than the last time. It was already unable to slowly shed the snake skin from the snake's snout, but instead had to use the hard earth and rocks to tear it open and break free.
Such a rough act would leave ordinary snakes covered in injuries, even if Manda did this. However, because of the existence of First Hokage cells, although the giant python shed a lot of blood, it appeared to be unharmed on the surface.
But seeing the giant python struggling desperately, it must want to be like a normal snake.
Soon, although there was some sticking, most of the snake skin was broken off by the green giant python, and the color of the exposed body also deepened a lot, turning from green to dark green.
Screams came from the snake's mouth, but they seemed weak compared to before. Two shedding skins had taken too much of its energy, and it was no longer able to suppress and interfere with the First Hokage cells.
Not long after, the green giant python split open again on its perfect and undamaged snake body. This time it wasn't shedding skin. Dense buds rose under the broken scales.
They continued to grow and divide. When they grew to a certain size, they began to turn to wood, and branches and green leaves began to stick out from the tips.
Orochimaru licked his lips, expecting the result that would follow.
As expected, the huge snake body was like fertile soil for growing seeds. Seedlings of different sizes were taking nutrients from it, and in an instant, they grew into a forest.
Orochimaru stopped looking at the failed experiment. He reflected on the mistakes in the previous experiment and the areas that needed improvement. He jumped up and flew in front of Manda.
"You... can't do this to me!"
Seeing what happened to the giant python, Manda was already shocked, feeling chilled by the evil of the human in front of him.
Orochimaru smiled, as usual, "Manda, it's your turn."
"No... no, Orochimaru, if you do this, the Sage will not let you go."
Manda kept threatening and yelling, but it had no confidence in its heart. Even it could now understand the meaning that no one stopped this for so long.
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