Chapter 89: Since We're Already Here
"White Snake-sama, I'm not joking. This is the fact I observed."
Orochimaru shook his head.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! He grabbed my hand just now and I couldn't move at all. Orochimaru, are you saying he's actually very weak? I…"
Hearing Orochimaru say that, Tagorihime immediately felt unsteady.
While she was questioning the authenticity of Orochimaru's words, she couldn't help but walk over to Shiromo and grab at him again.
It seemed like she wanted to get revenge for being intimidated by Shiromo earlier and losing face.
"What are you doing? Giving me something?"
Just like before, Shiromo grabbed the hand Tagorihime reached out with.
After struggling twice without success, Tagorihime glared viciously at Orochimaru, she really had been tricked by that bastard!
"I only said his cells are weak. I never said Shiromo-kun is weak."
Orochimaru spread his hands innocently.
"I heard snake sheds can be soaked in alcohol or tea and drunk. Take off your socks, later, after soaking them, send them to Jiraiya to drink."
"…Help me, White Snake-sama."
Tagorihime's body stiffened. On the verge of tears, she slowly turned her head and begged the White Snake Sage for help.
"Boy, let her go. If you want snake sheds for tea or wine, I can give you some before you leave. Using socks is a bit too perverted. I advise you to have less contact with Mount Myōboku in the future, don't let them corrupt you."
The White Snake Sage advised him earnestly.
"Alright."
Shiromo released Tagorihime.
The White Snake Sage was right, he really had been led astray by Jiraiya.
"Orochimaru, continue. What exactly is going on?"
The White Snake Sage looked at Orochimaru.
"Mm. According to my observations, Shiromo-kun's cell density is far lower than that of ordinary people. Not to mention the Uzumaki or Senju clans, even ordinary people without bloodlines have around one hundred and thirty trillion cells."
"But Shiromo-kun's cells, by estimation, number at most five hundred thousand, and their activity and strength are also very low."
"Originally, I was only trying to confirm why Shiromo-kun can't refine chakra. Instead, I discovered that by all logic, his physical constitution should be worse than that of an untrained ordinary person."
"So what? Have you figured out how he actually controls natural energy?"
The White Snake Sage frowned and pressed further.
"Based on my earlier, rough observations, Shiromo-kun's cells are indeed pitifully weak. However, the substances that make up those cells, at a finer level, are completely different from any organisms in the ninja world."
"Those elements, roughly estimated, would require temperatures of tens of billions of degrees to naturally form… It can be said that Shiromo-kun's body was forged by the sun itself."
"Beyond that, there are still things I cannot observe."
"Perhaps it doesn't only require the sun…"
Orochimaru paused here, then stated the purpose of this trip. "White Snake-sama, the reason I brought Shiromo-kun to Ryūchi Cave is precisely to find a more suitable cultivation method for him."
As for the "things he cannot observe," Orochimaru was referring to those parts of his research that defied logic.
These illogical parts were of the same nature as Shiromo's "changing the future" and "time erasure."
But now, Orochimaru no longer felt confused by them.
Shiromo's concept of dimensionality made Orochimaru understand that perhaps it wasn't illogical, it was simply logic he couldn't comprehend.
If Shiromo carried the power of a higher-dimensional being, complete with built-in causality severance, then everything made sense.
The Ōtsutsuki God?
Orochimaru felt that perhaps this legendary overlord who dominated the universe, exhausting his entire life and slaughtering countless beings, never even reached Shiromo-kun's starting point.
"…Is that so?"
The White Snake Sage hadn't expected the always-rational Orochimaru to say something so outrageous.
After thinking for a while, she still decided to believe him for the time being.
The White Snake Sage picked up her pipe and tapped it against the bed. "I understand. In that case, I'll tell you this. A thousand years ago, I once saw the most massive aggregation of natural energy I have ever witnessed in my life, the Ten-Tails."
"If he is truly as you say, then perhaps the Ten-Tails' way of survival is his way of cultivation."
"The Ten-Tails?"
Orochimaru stroked his chin and thought for a moment before raising his head. "White Snake-sama, do you mean that Shiromo-kun should collect the tailed beasts and seal them within himself, becoming a jinchūriki to make up for his lack of chakra?"
"I don't know."
"..."
Orochimaru was rendered speechless by the White Snake Sage's high-quality answer: 'I don't know.'
"That battle involving the Sage of Six Paths back then shattered heaven and earth, plunging sun and moon into darkness. It wasn't something the three of us could even approach. We could only sense some things from afar with our perception. What do you expect?"
The White Snake Sage glanced at Orochimaru calmly.
"Then, White Snake-sama, if there's nothing else, we'll take our leave."
Orochimaru was extremely efficiency- and result-oriented. Seeing that he couldn't obtain any more information, he prepared to leave with Shiromo.
"Wait."
The White Snake Sage stopped them. She tilted her head back as if recalling something, thought for a moment, then spoke. "The center of that great battle caused extreme environmental destruction. It was also where the Ten-Tails once took root."
"The wounds inflicted upon the land, the rifts that formed, were called 'dragon veins' by the locals, hmph, dragon…" she muttered softly.
"If you can't find any other method, you can go take a look there."
"Thank you, White Snake-sama."
Orochimaru silently committed this to memory.
Dragon veins?
That sounded familiar.
Wasn't this something Shiromo-kun had casually mentioned to him before, something that existed in the ancient city of Rōran?
"Shiromo-kun, come closer. We're about to leave."
Orochimaru said to Shiromo.
"Since we're already here, why not sign a contract before leaving? Having three pretty snake-girl ladies as summoning beasts isn't bad…"
"No!"
"Get out now!!"
"Help!"
The moment the Three Divine Princesses heard that Shiromo wanted to contract with them, a series of terrible images instantly flashed through their minds. The three of them hurriedly shoved Shiromo over to Orochimaru's side.
"Orochimaru, hurry! Or we'll kill you!"
"..."
Bang.
Only after the two disappeared did the Three Divine Princesses finally breathe a sigh of relief and collapse onto the ground.
"You peeked too, didn't you?"
Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime looked at each other and spoke in unison.
Without peeking, one wouldn't understand how dangerous the "human" heart could be, and wouldn't react like that.
Ignoring the sorry state of the Three Divine Princesses, the White Snake Sage walked over to the table, picked up the two books she had thrown aside earlier, and opened 'The Grass Python Hero Xu Xian'. (Xu Xian is character from Legend of the White Snake, but MC named book 'The Grass Python Hero Xu Xian')
"Damn toads, so it really was you!"
Seeing that the protagonist inside was a white snake, and that the curses were things like "I'll fuck your sage," the White Snake Sage became even more convinced that this was the old toad smearing her reputation.
"Younger Sister, Aoda? Hm?" (Aoda = Green Snake, it says sister maybe in novel by Jiraiya (MC), he turn Aoda into female)
"Achoo."
Outside Ryūchi Cave, Aoda, who had been sleeping, suddenly sneezed. After waking up, he looked around in confusion, thinking someone had come to contract him as a summoning beast.
(End of this chapter)