Orochimaru noticed White Snake Sage's wariness but didn't respond. He just floated in the air, sizing up the "Little Yellow Snake" which was still moving forward, and frowned slightly.
The little guy's offensive power wasn't strong; even those toads could jump all over its body. But its recovery was truly terrifying.
Once it had a guaranteed energy source with "Sun Breathing," the "Little Yellow Snake" abandoned the hunting behavior of a top reptile in its survival strategy and focused on growth and recovery.
Only extremes can achieve perfection.
And if he wasn't mistaken, its current massive size was still far from its limit. It was just that the organic matter it had devoured on its journey could only sustain it to this size.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru felt a sense of relief.
Fortunately, the western desert was desolate and uninhabited, a dead zone for any creature. Otherwise, the "Little Yellow Snake" would have been even harder to deal with.
"I can't let it devour Mount Myōboku any further..."
Orochimaru made up his mind, landed on White Snake Sage's head, and shared his guess with the other.
"So what?" White Snake Sage, though still fighting, was clearly holding back, a mocking look on its snake face. "Even if Mount Myōboku is destroyed and this thing gets bigger, so what? My relationship with that old toad isn't as good as you think."
"No harm, but no benefit, right?"
Orochimaru licked his lips. "You're staying here to see if I can help you eat it. Honestly, I found a weakness of this thing. If you help me slow it down for a while, I'll tell you."
"Are you bluffing me? Trying to get something for nothing, a no-risk deal?" White Snake Sage glanced over, clearly disbelieving.
"How could I? How could I possibly lie to you here."
Orochimaru curled his lips into a sinister smile. "It's just a troublesome chore. Our trust isn't that cheap..."
White Snake Sage's expression eased slightly, but Orochimaru's next words made her furious. "If you're going to sell it, you should at least get a good price."
With a loud boom...
A huge whip mark appeared on the Little Yellow Snake's body again. The shockwave spread, making even the toads unsteady, almost falling into the rock shards and sand.
After venting, White Snake Sage glared at Orochimaru. "I can't stop it by myself."
It wasn't that it was completely impossible, it was just too much effort, and she didn't want to do it, especially to benefit Orochimaru.
"In that case, let me help you."
Orochimaru didn't care. He suddenly dispelled his transformation jutsu. With his childish face, he gave White Snake Sage a smile, then his lower body dissolved and entered the other's body.
Sensing the abnormality in her body, White Snake Sage was filled with shock and anger. "What are you doing?"
"Helping you... in all sorts of ways."
Orochimaru slowly encroached on White Snake Sage's body control, smiling. "I'll take care of the grunt work. Feeling the power of a higher level in advance will also be beneficial for you..."
Of course, it was beneficial for him too.
Six Paths level power wasn't about how strong it was, but about a certain transformation of the body and spirit. Information state, Genie Lamp used this term to describe this state.
Orochimaru didn't understand much yet. The most basic aspect was that even if his soul and body were destroyed, he could be reborn by borrowing a body through root information. The specific method was the invasion he was currently using.
And the more similar the species' form, the faster this invasion would be.
In the past, White Snake Sage had used White Snake Sage-type natural energy to modify his body, wanting to gain complete control over him. Now, Orochimaru had taken the upper hand, using the same method of "shifting stars and moving to the universe," a bitter fruit of her own making.
Orochimaru naturally wouldn't go too far, just getting familiar with the method. But on the other hand, he couldn't help but think that perhaps he should create some descendants as a precaution.
This shameless remark made White Snake Sage furious. She roared, "Who needs your help? Get out of my body."
"You know, I never change my mind easily," Orochimaru smiled, still acting as he pleased, merely restraining himself a bit. "But if you cooperate obediently, I can return your body to you this time. I'll just be a support."
He then took a step back, no longer expanding his scope of control.
"..." White Snake Sage glared, feeling a sense of injustice.
The strong prey on the weak; this is the truth of nature, the law of heaven and earth. So if Orochimaru wanted to summon her, he summoned her. If he wanted to strip her of control over her body, he stripped her.
As a predator who believed in the law of the jungle, she shouldn't be angry. Beasts didn't care about self-esteem; that was just a concept in human society. But White Snake Sage had interacted with humans too much over the past thousand years, and seeing Orochimaru succeed later on made her somewhat... unwilling.
However, compared to the minor distractions in her heart, White Snake Sage now valued growth more. Only by growing faster and better could she possibly turn the tide.
So, facing Orochimaru's proposal, White Snake Sage gritted her teeth and said, "Okay."
And when White Snake Sage no longer held back, she instantly unleashed a terrifying aura.
With a great rumble, the earth shook. Sand surged to the sky for miles, flinging all the toads away.
Orochimaru's voice spread around. "You guys have nothing to do here for now. Hurry up and recover your energy."
As he spoke, his senses were spread throughout the surroundings, perceiving the changes in power.
Whether it was White Snake Sage going all out or the Little Yellow Snake relying purely on instinct, the clash of these two powers caused a giant vortex to spin up on the desert, seemingly about to engulf everything. It expanded rapidly. The toads, ignoring their injuries, quickly hopped away.
The battle between giant beasts of this magnitude was very different from that of ninja. It was a struggle for control over heaven and earth, especially when the nature of their powers was the same.
In terms of life level, the "Ouroboros" that had not completely transformed was no less than White Snake Sage. Although its experience was much less, it was at least not a one-sided trend.
The two sides traded blows, stirring up waves of sand on the desert floor, engulfing and opposing each other.
White Snake Sage wasn't concerned with injuring the other, only with delaying it as much as possible, just as Orochimaru had said.
Under the erosion of the quicksand, the two entwined giant snakes gradually sank underground.
At a certain moment, White Snake Sage suddenly felt the other give up its resistance and even risk damage to its body, starting to surface desperately.
"What is it doing?"
White Snake Sage felt puzzled. A voice came to her ear, "Probably to ensure enough sunlight."
Orochimaru glanced at White Snake Sage, then shifted his gaze to the "Little Yellow Snake" and said slowly, "The reason it can maintain such terrifying recovery is that it can absorb solar energy Limitlessly, allowing it to circulate within its body."
White Snake Sage reacted quickly and immediately asked, "So your opportunity means waiting until night?"
"That's right." A hint of surprise flashed in Orochimaru's eyes, and he said slowly, "Right now, it has almost Limitless energy. Only at night can the battle truly deplete its power, and then there's a chance to fight and win."
"Then why not just wait until night?" White Snake Sage continued to try to drag the Ouroboros underground, saying coldly, "It doesn't matter to me whether Mount Myōboku is destroyed or not."
"The specific reason is too troublesome to explain..." Orochimaru's snake pupils narrowed, and he said directly, "You just need to know that if you don't drag it here, I'll send you back and won't give you a chance to share this."
"Hmph..." White Snake Sage looked rebellious, her tail wrapping around the yellow snake's body and pulling with all her might. "Why wait until night? If it's just about blocking the sunlight, dragging it underground is the same."
"Then you'd have to sink at least a thousand meters to achieve the same effect as night, and besides..." Orochimaru gestured with his eyes, "Will it be that easy?"
The entwined part of the two snakes, the yellow snake split in half directly and escaped.
Every creature has its inverse scale, its bottom line in survival strategy. If touched, it will fight to the death.
Orochimaru could provoke White Snake Sage without any concern because he knew that "self-esteem" and "anger" were all false. What the other party valued most was survival and evolution.
If it were someone like Nagato, who had strong self-esteem but also a vulnerable side, he would be careful with his words and say something appropriate to coax Nagato, preventing the other party from suddenly exploding and causing a scene.
As for the "Little Yellow Snake," sunlight was quite close to its bottom line.
It was one thing for White Snake Sage to hinder its movement westward, but if it dared to prevent it from basking in the reachable sunlight, it would definitely face a fierce counterattack.
Whether this White Snake could withstand it was secondary. If it consumed too much energy and delayed the big battle that night, it would be terrible.
After determining the advantages and disadvantages of both sides, Orochimaru had his own plan for the entire battle. If White Snake Sage had a better way, so be it; otherwise, she should just follow his instructions.
"..." White Snake Sage's expression soured as she sensed Orochimaru's attitude, but she proactively rose to the surface.
The wind and sand swirled, and stones gathered. In the blink of an eye, a thick layer of rock formed around White Snake Sage's body. Her snake body, originally about a thousand meters long and lean, grew several times larger, catching up to the Little Yellow Snake's size.
White Snake Sage, dragging the heavy stone armor, rammed into the Little Yellow Snake again.
This time, she completely gave up on inflicting damage. All her abilities were focused on preventing the other from staying on the surface. Besides stopping the "Little Yellow Snake" from moving, she caused almost no injuries.
The Little Yellow Snake's body dispersed and reassembled, unwilling to tangle with White Snake Sage.
But when its snake body dispersed, the surrounding earth and sand pressed down, attacking its weakness and trying to swallow it underground. And to avoid this, if it reassembled its snake body, White Snake Sage would continue to entangle with the Little Yellow Snake's body, giving it no room to move.
This time, White Snake Sage's actions were not rash and forceful, but extremely wise.
After several failed attempts, the "Little Yellow Snake" even stopped resisting, only continuously using "Sun Breathing" to absorb solar energy. White Snake Sage's pressure suddenly reduced greatly.
"This guy is really easy to figure out..."
While maintaining the entanglement, White Snake Sage couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Too much is as bad as too little. It was all about the right balance. It allowed her to achieve her goal with half the effort while saving energy.
"Actually, you're quite easy to figure out too," Orochimaru said with a smile.
White Snake Sage glared at him, then continued to maintain the situation.
Time ticked by, making the waiting toads feel anxious, but for those busy, it was like a fleeting moment.
As the sun dipped below the western horizon, the crescent moon and stars lit up the night. The Little Yellow Snake, which had been struggling intermittently, completely stopped moving, maintaining only the minimum level of breathing.
Dusk and evening were good times for Orochimaru to absorb natural energy, but the Little Yellow Snake clearly didn't care about such insignificant gains.
White Snake Sage rested for a moment, looking at the Little Yellow Snake spread out on the desert. Golden light flashed in her eyes.
Without hesitation, she swung her giant snake tail and lashed out fiercely at the other.
With a thunderous boom...
The earth shook, and as if on cue, the toads, who had been passively watching from the sidelines, rushed forward and attacked the snake's head and tail from the edges.
"Hiss..."
The injuries completely recovered as if nothing had happened, but a strange, angry snake cry suddenly echoed across the desert.
White Snake Sage's gaze sharpened. Although she couldn't sense the specific source, she clearly felt a dense gaze fixed on her.
This feeling was not present during the day, as if it only gradually revived at night.
White Snake Sage instantly felt a great sense of crisis and became extremely vigilant.
Orochimaru, who was on top of White Snake Sage's head, also raised an eyebrow. If he guessed correctly, the owner of the gaze should be the former "Little White Snake." The other party recognized him, or rather, after waking up from its daytime sleep, it "discovered" him.
"Hiss..."
With a sharp hiss, the middle of the giant snake's body gradually bulged, and a massive snake head emerged bit by bit. All the fungal spores gathered in the center, stacking up like building blocks to form a sand and stone serpent.
This form and appearance were very similar to the former "Little White Snake," only it was yellowish-brown all over and lacked fine scales. It glared at White Snake Sage, its black eye sockets filled with rage. In the next instant, it opened its massive maw and lunged.
Thump!
The earth trembled, rocks cracked, and a huge depression was made on the desert.
White Snake Sage's eyes twitched at the immense destructive power, and she roared at Orochimaru, "What in the world is going on?"
"What else could it be? The idiot who fell asleep prematurely to avoid pain during the day has woken up. His plan to easily take advantage has fallen through..."
Orochimaru looked up at the giant snake that had reared its head again, shrugging his shoulders. "Now we can only fight."
The wind and sand blow from Roran all the way to Mount Myōboku. Now it's overtime, and in the end, we have to have one final match.