Orochimaru and Shiro arrived at Hidden Rain Village, while Yakushi Kabuto returned to Sound Village in the Land of Rice Fields.
Following Orochimaru's instructions, he sealed some research materials and essential experimental equipment into scrolls and brought them to Hidden Rain Village.
As for Sound Village, Orochimaru had no intention of abandoning it.
Just like the Land of Waves, it could serve as a branch and contribute its strength.
Inside a clean and spacious steel building outside Hidden Rain Village, Orochimaru bit his finger and used the Summoning Technique.
A snake from Ryuchi Cave was summoned, and Yakushi Kabuto crawled out of the snake's mouth, carrying a pile of scrolls.
That's right, the Summoning Technique is actually a type of space-time ninjutsu, capable of achieving the teleportation effect of the Flying Thunder Formation, but it requires signing a contract and a transit point in the summoning realm, which is quite troublesome.
After arranging all the items, Orochimaru turned to look at Shiro, who had been waiting there for a good part of the day.
"Shiro-kun has very sincerely answered many of my questions; now it's my turn to help solve your problems."
Orochimaru said, looking at Yakushi Kabuto, who was cleaning the instruments nearby, "I remember you mentioned that in the future, Kabuto helped you find a cultivation method, right?"
"Orochimaru-sama, I... me?"
Yakushi Kabuto was surprised and a little scared when he heard Orochimaru mention him and his "future" help to the other party.
"That's right, you and Yakushi Kabuto were both heroes of the Fourth Great Ninja War in the future. Yakushi Kabuto fell under the genjutsu of Izanami and had to rediscover himself, otherwise he would be trapped in the genjutsu forever... As for you, Orochimaru, you saw that Yakushi Kabuto, who inherited your will, perfected Impure World Reincarnation, mastered Sage Mode, and fought against the Five Great Nations.
He achieved a level you thought you might not even be able to reach, so after your revival, you also gave up the idea of mastering everything on your own.
In short, you both eventually became Konoha ninja again.
It was precisely because of this that I could confidently seek out Yakushi Kabuto before gaining strength.
But also because of this, Yakushi Kabuto seemed to be worried that I would become the second Pain of Hidden Rain Village, and seemed to be hiding something."
After Shiro finished speaking, Yakushi Kabuto stood there, holding a beaker, stunned.
It must be said that Danzo deserved to be the 'pot-bearer' Kage.
During Konoha's three upheavals, the Night of the Nine-Tails, the Konoha Crush Plan, and Pain's invasion, Danzo never helped once.
Instead, Orochimaru, who was behind the Konoha Crush Plan, cooperated with Danzo before defecting.
Nagato and Konan during Pain's invasion, and Yakushi Kabuto, the core villain and main force of the Fourth Great Ninja War, were all people Danzo actively messed with, causing them to turn dark.
Don't let the Masked Man's imposing declaration of war at the Five Kage Summit fool you.
From an outsider's perspective, if it weren't for Yakushi Kabuto's Impure World Reincarnation army, the Masked Man would have been nothing with just a bunch of miscellaneous White Zetsu and a Gedo Statue.
"Kabuto, calm down. First, help Shiro-kun solve his problems, then you can slowly consider your own matters."
Orochimaru saw Kabuto looking somewhat dazed and reminded him.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."
Kabuto snapped out of it and walked over with the instruments.
After scraping Shiro's tongue and taking a sample, Orochimaru, with Yakushi Kabuto's assistance, began observation and research.
"According to you, Shiro-kun, you can't extract chakra from cells, but you can absorb Natural Energy, so your cells need to be analyzed first, which will take some time.
If possible, I'd like to understand more about the 'Ōtsutsuki Clan' you mentioned earlier."
Orochimaru was eager for knowledge about these matters.
He also understood that Shiro's trust in them was based on his trust in their future selves, so Orochimaru had been trying his best to remain calm and not show any abnormal expressions.
—Even knowing the future, changing one's mindset is not something that happens overnight.
"...Divine Jutsu comes from the Ōtsutsuki God who devoured countless fruits. It is said that this Ōtsutsuki God ultimately transcended dimensions, which then became the goal and example for the Ōtsutsuki Clan."
Shiro reiterated the connection between the ninja world and the Ōtsutsuki that he had previously mentioned to the Akatsuki Organization, finally adding an extra detail about the origin of the Divine Jutsu he had mentioned before.
"Transcended dimensions? What does that mean?"
Orochimaru found it somewhat difficult to understand.
"Simply put, he may have ascended in dimension, becoming a higher-dimensional being, for example..."
Shiro casually took out a photo, "You can imagine how two-dimensional beings would understand us three-dimensional beings."
"Two-dimensional understanding three-dimensional, higher-dimensional beings?"
Orochimaru continued his research while pondering the new concept Shiro presented.
"For example, a four-dimensional being might see an extra layer of 'time' than us three-dimensional beings.
They wouldn't see us three-dimensional beings as individual entities, but as a long string, like a sausage with a head and a tail. If you cut it from the head, the cross-section would show a child; if you cut it from the tail, you'd see an old person.
For a five-dimensional being, they might not see a sausage, but a tree, where they can see countless possible branches of a person's life."
Shiro stopped there.
He was talking about theories from his original world, using the rigorous word "might" only to open Orochimaru's mind.
"There's more than one layer of higher dimensions?
So, that means if there exists a being of the highest dimension, then anything they do that seems incredible in the eyes of lower-dimensional beings is reasonable, right?"
"You could say that."
"Then I understand."
Orochimaru put down the instrument in his hand and smiled.
What Orochimaru understood was that he didn't need to understand it immediately.
What he needed now was to use the existing reality to solve problems.
"Shiro-kun, would you like to come with me to Ryuchi Cave? Perhaps we can find the answer there."
"No problem, when do we leave?"
"Without further ado, right now."
After sealing the instrument into a scroll, Orochimaru bit his finger, summoned a large snake, which swallowed the two people in the room whole, and then disappeared with a "bang."
Yakushi Kabuto remained in the room, no longer thinking about research, but slowly walked to the wall, slumped to the ground, pondering the meaning of life.
Ryuchi Cave.
Compared to the bright sunshine of Mount Myōboku, Ryuchi Cave was dark and damp, shrouded in mist.
"Orochimaru, is this your new trial participant? Let him come over."
A female voice echoed from the thick mist.
"This is a necessary condition to inherit the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave. It shouldn't be difficult for you, Shiro-kun."
Orochimaru stepped aside and explained to Shiro.
Shiro felt no fear of the unknown about this.
After all, although the original story didn't describe how Yakushi Kabuto obtained the Ryuchi Cave Sage Art, Boruto did undergo the Ryuchi Cave trial when he later went to find Mitsuki.
It can only be said that while failure in this trial meant death, it was indeed a bit childish.
Shiro walked into the thick mist.
After walking for a while, a brilliant light emanated from ahead, the mist dispersed, revealing a palace.
The palace gates were wide open, and a woman in palace attire stood at the entrance. Seeing Shiro, she smiled and raised a hand: "You must be the esteemed trial participant? Please enjoy the food first to restore your strength; the trial will begin shortly."
That's right, this was the first trial of Tashinohime of Ryuchi Cave.
—To see if you are Akimichi Ryōko.
Shiro looked at the tables of food inside. Not to mention he knew these were transformed poisons, even if they weren't, he had no appetite whatsoever.
It seemed that to entice the trial participants, these dishes were all "high-end cuisine."
But as is well known, what each culture considers high-end cuisine is different.
For example, Shiro, in the past, would never have imagined that high-end cuisine would include a large basin of rice mountain on the table.
....
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