Power always comes at a price.
This was something Orochimaru knew very early on.
Through his years of interacting with Genie Lamp, he has gained a deeper understanding of this.
Every good thing has its bad side; every cause has its effect.
He once split his soul into several parts to avoid death, implanting them in his capable subordinates in the form of cursed seals.
While this allowed him to avoid accidental death and gave him a chance to start over, it also planted unimaginable hidden dangers in his soul, almost completely destroying his potential for growth.
Nearly half of his efforts over the years have been to resolve this hidden danger.
Learning from past mistakes, Orochimaru would naturally not be foolish enough to intentionally repeat the same error.
Ryuuchi Cave and the Shikkotsu Forest were the only places where natural energy was gathered that he could use without causing a fight at this time.
But aside from what Slug Sage and White Snake Sage thought about his growth and evolution, the natural energy contained in these two holy places made Orochimaru hesitant to act.
Absorbing this second-hand natural energy could very well lead to unimaginable consequences in the future.
Therefore, rather than comfortably enjoying the protection of the sages in the holy lands, Orochimaru preferred to steal it himself.
The yellow sand spun and shattered rocks, continuously bombarding the barrier of the underground shelter. Waves of light rippled across the white shield, and judging by the frequency of the ripples, it could withstand the assault for a whole day without problem.
"Hey, this shell is really tough."
Genie Lamp withdrew his gaze, turned to look at Orochimaru, and smiled, "The power of the Dragon Vein seems to be stronger than expected. This can't go on."
He knew very well that although Orochimaru's main body was powerful, he couldn't sustain the control of such a massive natural disaster for too long.
"The power of the Dragon Vein will only make me more ecstatic."
Orochimaru flicked his snake tongue and licked the sweat on his forehead, grinning, "Perhaps the energy of the Dragon Vein is even greater than mine, but the Queen Roran who controls it is not. No one knows better than I do that human ability has its limits."
Natural disasters, time... if humans could so easily resist these enormous monsters, why would he have worked so hard for so many years?
And the truth was just as Orochimaru said. The white light was slowly weakening in the face of the sandstorm.
This wasn't because Queen Roran and the others couldn't continue after only such a short time, but because they were finding a balance point to resist the storm, trying their best to conserve their energy and spirit.
She also knew that if she imagined that they could avoid any losses at all, she would only lead everyone to ruin.
"What an experienced fellow."
After describing his observations and guesses, Genie Lamp couldn't help but sigh. He turned his gaze to Orochimaru and asked, "Are you really planning to keep going against that Queen Roran and bury all these people?"
"How could I? I'm not that heartless."
A smile appeared on Orochimaru's face, as if he wasn't the one controlling the natural disaster attacking Roran.
"Besides, if there are no Roran people, there will be no Queen Roran. How can we make this queen obey?"
He didn't care about the lives of these people at all. The only reason he was making such a big commotion now was to show his strength and make the Roran people stop having unrealistic fantasies.
To conquer a place protected by a guardian deity, there was nothing more shocking than directly defeating their guardian deity, nothing that could more completely shatter their faith. Orochimaru knew this very well.
After all, it's hard to leave one's homeland and easy to be complacent in a safe environment. It's not so easy to get a group of people to abandon their homes.
Orochimaru couldn't give them any grand expectations for a new home, so he could only use such a decisive method, spreading more complete fear to force them to leave on their own.
And once they leave Roran... haha, without the protection of their guardian deity, whether through Sunagakure Village or Konoha, there would be plenty of ways to control a group of powerless people.
If force is used completely from the beginning, things will be much easier later on.
It would be ridiculous to think that he could force them to surrender without a fight by relying on the reputation of a 'Konoha Sannin'.
Orochimaru couldn't kill Queen Roran. Instead, he needed to rely on her power.
A polite start followed by a violent end would only give the other party hope. Then, revealing his fangs and threatening her with her daughter's life or the lives of other Roran citizens might have a chance of success, but it would also lead to resentment, and there would be a possibility of betrayal during the surgery.
This was something that Orochimaru couldn't tolerate. He wanted to minimize the known risks of the surgery.
"The idea is good, but there are still some flaws."
After listening to Orochimaru's words, Genie Lamp tilted his head. "Natural disasters are indeed terrifying, but these natural things will inevitably follow the principles of nature."
"Although these Roran people are hiding in underground shelters and can't see any difference between this storm and previous ones, that Queen Roran seems to have a way to directly observe the current situation and may have already noticed something."
After all, Orochimaru wasn't a native ninja of the Land of Wind. Although he had gained a lot of experience from Sunagakure Village and had personally observed sandstorms several times, he was inevitably a bit rough when actually making one.
He might be able to fool ordinary people, but this level of deception was far from enough for Queen Roran.
"It doesn't matter. This was originally a transparent scheme."
Orochimaru smiled nonchalantly. "I never intended to deceive that Queen Roran in the first place. On the contrary, I need someone knowledgeable like her."
Ordinary people would have different attitudes toward the same thing for various reasons, but as a qualified leader, she would inevitably choose the option that was most beneficial for the group.
Now that he had shown his greed for the Dragon Vein and displayed enough power, many things had already been set. Queen Roran would definitely not want to go down the path of mutually assured destruction and would choose to surrender.
However, those Roran citizens were different. There are all kinds of birds in a big forest. If they knew the truth, there would inevitably be many voices of opposition.
In this way, the optimal choice that was originally created would instead have various problems of discord.
The reason why Orochimaru was going to so much trouble was to avoid this situation.
The difficult situation would be caused by the natural disaster, leaving their homeland would be the conscious choice of the people and their leader, and then he would provide protection as a rescuer, severing ties with his role as the perpetrator.
At least he wouldn't let those Roran citizens know, so that both Queen Roran and he himself would have an easier time.
"This is really time-consuming and laborious. If it were the old you, you would have been more direct with threats and bribes."
Genie Lamp spoke jokingly, but there was a hint of emotion in his tone.
Over the years, Orochimaru had grown quite a bit and changed his methods significantly.
It wasn't that his previous approaches were bad, but he was more likely to consider short-term interests and treat people as expendable resources.
And now... Genie Lamp guessed that this was just the beginning, and that Orochimaru would later drain every last drop of value from these Roran people.
After a moment of thought, Genie Lamp spoke up, "There's nothing wrong with your approach overall, but I still have a few small suggestions."
"Oh? Let's hear them." Orochimaru wasn't overly self-confident. If Genie Lamp had any good ideas, he would naturally accept them happily.
"Putting aside the issue of wasting time, the current struggle with Queen Roran is actually unnecessary."
Genie Lamp shrugged and said, "Since you didn't plan to hide anything from her from the beginning, it wouldn't hurt to retreat now and directly have a showdown with her."
"Besides, there haven't been any casualties yet, so it'll be easier to talk to the queen."
"What you said makes sense, but Queen Roran's attitude isn't really important."
Orochimaru's gaze fell on the several shelters, and he said slowly, "If they don't experience some blood and death, how can these people so easily leave Roran?"
He hadn't had much contact with the Roran people, but he had dealt with Sunagakure Village, which also lived in the desert, quite a bit.
These people were very brave, and the Sunagakure ninjas were known for being unafraid of death among the five great ninja villages. If it weren't for their truly limited resources and Sunagakure Village's years of decline, it would be nearly impossible to suppress Sunagakure Village as easily as they were now.
Comparing the two, Orochimaru naturally wouldn't underestimate these Roran people too much.
To destroy their courage, he still needed some tougher methods.
"There's no need to go that far."
Genie Lamp briefly described what he had seen, the initial panic of the Roran people.
"Roran and Sunagakure Village are still somewhat different. Although they both have the characteristics of desert people, this place is a rare oasis and has long been protected by the Dragon Vein. It can be said to be a paradise of sorts."
"Those who grow up in this kind of environment may not have much determination."
Orochimaru was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking seriously. Genie Lamp continued, "Don't overestimate them too much, and don't underestimate the fear that ordinary humans have of natural disasters."
"To say nothing of the rest, after this sand tornado passes, all the exposed food will be completely destroyed, and the water source will be temporarily polluted, adding extra toil to the process."
"This kind of day might be okay for a day or two, but no one will be able to stand it for long."
Eating and drinking has always been a major concern for humans, or rather, all living beings.
The reason why the Roran people could live so long in the depths of the desert was that they had hope, believing that under the protection of the Dragon Vein, they could be spared from the occasional large sandstorms.
But if they knew that this storm wouldn't just come today, but every day in the future, that hope would be broken, and they would start seeking other ways to survive.
"..." After listening to Genie Lamp's words, Orochimaru nodded slightly. "Alright, let's try it as you said for now."
Anyway, he would have a chance to find another new storm at any time and launch a surprise attack.
...
On the altar, Queen Roran and her daughter Sara were pale and covered in fine sweat, clearly physically exhausted.
However, the two of them were mentally in a state of excitement, because in the Dragon Vein's perception, the sandstorm had lingered in Roran for a moment before gradually moving away.
In other words, the greatest danger had passed, and dawn would come if they persevered for a little longer.
Of course, precisely because of this, the two of them would never let their guard down at this time. If their carelessness at this time led to failure, it would be too frustrating.
"..."
Time passed by minute by minute. Watching the power of the sandstorm leave the Roran area with their own eyes, they breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
"Sara, you're coming into contact with the Dragon Vein's consciousness for the first time, so don't push yourself too hard. Go back and rest for now."
Queen Roran touched her daughter's hair and said gently, "I'll take care of the remaining monitoring by myself."
"... Okay."
Sara didn't refuse, or rather, she didn't have the energy to refuse.
But after disconnecting from the Dragon Vein's consciousness and returning to her body, Sara completely relaxed her mind. At the same time, fatigue washed over her like a tide.
Sara's body slumped, and she collapsed into an unladylike heap, sitting on the ground with a thud and panting heavily, instinctively using this to relieve her fatigue.
Queen Roran couldn't help but smile when she saw her daughter like this, but she quickly regained her composure and used her consciousness to sense the sandstorm's direction.
After a short while, after confirming that it had completely moved away, Queen Roran withdrew from her prayerful state, covering her chest and panting slightly.
Seeing this, Sara quickly took out a handkerchief and stepped forward to wipe the sweat from Queen Roran's forehead, her face filled with admiration. "Mother is really amazing."
If she had been in contact with the Dragon Vein for that long, she didn't know what state she would be in right now.
"Don't be envious; you'll only be more outstanding than me in the future." Queen Roran touched her daughter's head, her face full of affection.
"..." Hearing her mother say this, Sara didn't feel happy; instead, she shook her head.
Coming into contact with extraordinary power for the first time and fighting against an indescribable natural disaster... if she were a boy, she would probably be too excited to control herself right now, imagining adventures and conquests in her mind.
But she wasn't.
Suddenly encountering such a change, Sara only felt a little scared after surviving it without any dangers.
Natural disaster is merciless. What would happen if the sandstorm stayed in Roran for a little longer?
Sara didn't dare to imagine, and her heart was filled with all kinds of emotions.
"What are you thinking about, my little princess? The sandstorm has passed." Queen Roran pinched her daughter's cheek and asked with a smile.
"Mother, why do we have to stay in Roran?"
Sara raised her head and couldn't help but ask, "Although we have the protection of our guardian deity, this place is really too dangerous. What if..."
Speaking to this point, her voice stopped subconsciously. No matter how she thought about it, she shouldn't say these discouraging words now that they had narrowly escaped death and just survived a disaster.
"Mother is very happy that you're starting to think about these things."
Queen Roran didn't blame her at all. On the contrary, she was somewhat gratified. "But you haven't seen enough; natural disasters are indeed terrifying, but they're only temporary."
"But people's hearts are unpredictable, and that's something more dangerous than any natural disaster."
Sara looked at her mother with a puzzled expression and nodded subconsciously.
"Alright, you can think about these things later."
Queen Roran patted her daughter's shoulder and said with a smile, "Next, I need you to inform everyone of the good news that the disaster has passed."
"Yes, yes, okay." Sara also wanted her mother to rest for a while, so she trotted out of the sanctuary.
Watching her daughter leave, Queen Roran's expression immediately sank.
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