Before Manda even finished its fierce roar that was tearing apart the surrounding woods, a tender voice from the Eight-Headed Serpent's light cocoon on Orochimaru's chest entered his ears: "Master, I can subdue this big worm!"
The tone was tender and clear, with a hint of the playful boasting a child directs toward a parent.
Orochimaru was startled by the sudden, youthful voice that seemed to come from nowhere.
"Master, it's me, the Eight-Headed Serpent!" the tender voice continued, full of deep affection.
Hearing this, a light flared in Orochimaru's dark-golden eyes, and his heart settled completely. The thought of bringing Manda—a beast he couldn't fully command even at his previous peak—under his control, filled him with irrepressible excitement. His wicked smile involuntarily curled up, and he extended his tongue, repeatedly licking his slightly dry lips.
...
A brilliant faint-gold radiance burst forth from Orochimaru's chest, as if a small sun were hidden there.
This golden light wasn't harsh; instead, it carried an air of gentle nobility and dignity!
The radiance shone through Orochimaru's clothes, illuminating the outline of the oval light cocoon.
Manda's enormous emerald snake eyes were fixed intently on the faint-gold light on Orochimaru's chest. Even the fierce, surging aura around Manda seemed to freeze instantly.
As the faint-gold light intensified, the cocoon rapidly dissolved like ice in bright sunshine. A portion of it melted into the Eight-Headed Serpent's body, and another part seeped into Orochimaru's body.
The faint-gold light that entered Orochimaru swiftly injected itself into his chakra system. In the blink of an eye, his entire chakra system was once again surging with pure chakra, like a great river.
Next, under the gaze of both Orochimaru and Manda, the Eight-Headed Serpent, which didn't seem to have grown much in size since awakening from the cocoon, slithered out from Orochimaru's chest.
Orochimaru was surprised to find that the previously subtle faint-gold markings on the Eight-Headed Serpent's pure white body were now much clearer and brighter, shining with a mysterious, brilliant gold light under the pale moonlight.
The Eight-Headed Serpent calmly slithered down Orochimaru's body and onto the ground, moving to face Manda. Its scarlet snake eyes fixed on the massive serpent. As its tongue flickered, the tender voice clearly echoed: "You big worm! How dare you threaten my Master, hmph!"
No sooner had the childlike voice faded than the next sight left both Orochimaru and Manda utterly stunned.
The Eight-Headed Serpent—which was about a finger thick and half a meter long, barely matching Manda's tongue in size—suddenly shone with brilliant light.
A soft golden light that filled the entire field of vision soared skyward. A massive, semi-transparent phantom glowing with inherent gold light instantly erected itself between heaven and earth, appearing before Orochimaru and Manda.
The phantom was a golden serpent with two heads and two tails, with a colossal body hundreds of meters long. When fully upright, it stood even taller than Manda, appearing like a divine entity descended from the heavens, viewing Manda with an innate elegance and nobility.
The two-headed, two-tailed serpent, even larger than Manda, was covered in streaks of noble, mysterious golden patterns that continuously pulsed with soft gold light.
On its two room-sized snake heads, the pair of scarlet snake eyes shed the childishness of the true Eight-Headed Serpent. In their place was a cold indifference and ruthlessness that viewed all living beings as nothing, along with a profound mystery and depth, as if they had witnessed the birth and annihilation of countless lifeforms.
As the two golden snake heads focused on Manda, they emitted a silent roar, like a noble emperor reprimanding a disrespectful vassal. An overwhelmingly potent, faintly visible aura of terror—unique to the King of Serpents—instantaneously descended.
BOOM!
The ground for hundreds of meters around violently shook, and dust billowed up. Under this earth-shattering pressure, Manda's massive serpent body was forcibly pressed down into the deep trench it had originally made, sinking in up to half its colossal bulk before the downward trend barely ceased.
Hiss!—
Manda opened its mouth and let out a miserable hiss. Along with its long tongue, a gout of dark-purple snake blood sprayed out.
Orochimaru, though under the same aura, felt no discomfort. He stared blankly at the Eight-Headed Serpent's bizarre and terrifying form, and then at the snake blood Manda had expelled, remaining speechless for a long time.
As Manda spat out the snake blood, it immediately regained its senses. Its immense body coiled into a subservient posture, bowing its proud head to the two-headed, two-tailed Eight-Headed Serpent phantom: "Great One, Manda of the Great Serpent Clan pays his respects to you!"
The noble, mysterious, faint-gold phantom of the two-headed, two-tailed Eight-Headed Serpent instantly vanished like a deflating balloon. The golden light faded, revealing the Eight-Headed Serpent's slender, tiny body.
The Eight-Headed Serpent quickly slithered back onto Orochimaru, coiling on his shoulder and keeping its scarlet eyes fixed on Manda.
Orochimaru keenly noticed a hint of fatigue in the Eight-Headed Serpent's scarlet eyes.
RUMBLE!—
Manda's massive body, leaving a winding trail, slithered out of the depressed earth.
Its emerald snake eyes looked toward the Eight-Headed Serpent on Orochimaru's shoulder with a trace of deference, then addressed Orochimaru: "Little whelp, what is your name?"
"Orochimaru. I am Orochimaru!" Orochimaru declared with pride and conviction.
"Orochimaru?" Manda repeated, its emerald eyes flicking as if recalling something. "Very well, I won't eat you. I will assist you in battle from now on. However, after every battle, I require a sacrifice—a large sacrifice of living people! Hiss, hiss!"
As it finished speaking, Manda's eyes revealed an irrepressible greed.
Orochimaru frowned. Just like in my past life, this old monster Manda still demands living sacrifices!
Considering his future plans and the backing of the Eight-Headed Serpent, Orochimaru hardened his resolve and refused unequivocally: "No. Living people are out of the question. I can provide raw sacrifices like pigs, dogs, cows, and sheep, though."
"Hmm?" A fierce look flashed across Manda's enormous eyes. Just as it was about to release its violent aura, the Eight-Headed Serpent made a quiet "Hiss—" sound, and its scarlet eyes met Manda's.
The threatening aura was immediately withdrawn. Manda relented dejectedly: "Fine. However, the quantity must be doubled—two hundred sacrifices of raw animals like pigs, dogs, cows, and sheep after every battle!"
Then, Manda respectfully implored, "Furthermore, I humbly request a single drop of your blood, Great One!"
Suddenly, Manda noticed Orochimaru's strange, dark-golden snake eyes and added in a deep voice: "Wait! Little whelp, I want your blood too!"
🗒️NOTE:
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