"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 210: Orochimaru, Your Power Is Simply Too Great (Part 1)
Compared to toads, Yūshin was somewhat less accepting of snakes.
For instance, he could tolerate bullfrogs being served at the dinner table, yet found it difficult to accept snakes—regardless of species.
A person's dietary preferences may be free, but not excessively so.
Solid ice spread with Yūshin's movement—or rather, before he even advanced, he had already completely frozen the areas he intended to traverse. The humid Ryūchi Cave, with its characteristic warmth from the deep earth, was instantly transported back to the Ice Age by Yūshin.
Snakes attempting to obstruct his path naturally received the same treatment as the Mount Myōboku toads—transformed into vivid ice sculptures... Perfectly fair; neither the Frog Protection Society nor the Snake Protection Society could complain.
The sound of shoes treading on solid ice echoed continuously through the caverns. When those unhurried footsteps finally ceased, White Snake Sage drew a deep breath, causing the tobacco surface in her pipe bowl to instantly turn crimson.
She exhaled massive clouds of smoke through her nostrils and mouth corners, those narrow, dangerous serpentine pupils fixing upon Yūshin as he approached.
"White Snake Sage, meeting you proves quite challenging."
White Snake Sage's form remained imposing, though having just encountered Shikkotsu Forest's giant slug, Yūshin could only describe her as slender, graceful, and petite by comparison.
"You carry the scents of both toad and slug... Are you systematically visiting us reclusive beings?"
White Snake Sage felt no need to explain her previous avoidance. Such "sages" naturally acted according to their whims.
"Oh? You're willing to communicate. I expected matters might prove more complex—perhaps requiring combat before conversation."
"Unnecessary. I'm ancient—haven't personally fought in countless years."
"Why? As a sage, shouldn't your strength and combat prowess be extraordinary?"
Yūshin sensed the natural energy within White Snake Sage, believing she possessed considerable fighting capability... Both the giant slug and White Snake Sage could engage in battle; only Great Toad Sage was truly too aged to move.
White Snake Sage thought: This young man lacks courtesy—must you force me to voice this?
"Ahem, because I cannot defeat you."
Unable to win, therefore wouldn't fight—very wise and self-aware. Truly worthy of a sage, openly cowardly yet dignified.
Besides, did they have any compelling reason for conflict? Absolutely none.
"Indeed worthy of a sage—your perception is razor-sharp... You've encountered both Uchiha Sasuke from the future and Orochimaru, haven't you?"
Uchiha Sasuke could utilize Ryūchi Cave's Sage Techniques, certainly having received White Snake Sage's guidance. As for Orochimaru, he'd been quite busy these years with numerous covert activities—theoretically, he should have found White Snake Sage as well.
"Correct. Those two arrived from the future to this era, both connected to you... Sasuke studied Sage Techniques here; Orochimaru merely conversed with me. The former's disappearance was regrettable; regarding the latter, at least personality-wise, Orochimaru is cunning as a serpent."
Hmm, this seemed rather "favoring the new over the old." Compared to Orochimaru, White Snake Sage apparently preferred Uchiha Sasuke—selective blindness, perhaps? Hadn't she noticed how many snakes Sasuke had killed through his "play"?
"Sasuke's situation is complex—I cannot confirm his circumstances, possessing only vague speculation. As for Orochimaru... Orochimaru doesn't belong to this era. I intend to return him to his proper time period."
"Send him to the future? Is such a thing achievable?"
White Snake Sage's head lifted slightly, displaying apparent surprise.
Yūshin now possessed Shichimi's Sharingan—even truly sending Orochimaru to the future was within his capabilities. However, he considered this method unreliable; Sharingan was prone to operational errors. Comparatively, the old "popsicle" earthen time-travel method could more precisely deliver people to the future.
Earthen time travel—despite appearing primitive, it was actually quite advanced everywhere else.
Therefore, Yūshin merely waved his hand without specifically answering this question.
His primary purpose for visiting Ryūchi Cave was resolving Orochimaru, who posed potential timeline disruption risks. Regardless, this was a problem caused by Shichimi's Sharingan—by resolving it, Yūshin would demonstrate thoroughness and responsibility.
Additionally, Yūshin wanted to chat with an existence like White Snake Sage... Last time, Great Toad Sage had fallen asleep too quickly for Yūshin to speak. More importantly, Great Toad Sage appeared mentally fragile—Yūshin feared conversing might literally talk him to death.
White Snake Sage differed—she appeared quite spirited. Among the Three Great Sanctuaries, only this sage had submerged Yūshin in an ocean of secondhand smoke.
"White Snake Sage, in common understanding, wisdom typically grows with age. In a sense, existences like yourself can truly be called sages, so I have a question... For long-lived beings like you, are you currently advancing through willpower, or coasting on the inertia of your earlier life?"
This question proved difficult to answer. White Snake Sage lived quite freely and carefree. Upon careful consideration, her current life state could be described in four words: complete freedom.
If not for figures like Yūshin appearing before her, she could be even more carefree.
After brief contemplation, White Snake Sage replied:
"Must these two be distinguished so clearly? The longer life becomes, the more transparent one's perspective, leading easily to transcendent states. The purer the spirit, the more ethereal it becomes, yet ethereality easily brings confusion... Past will determines future inertia—they're the same thing, unless your previously held will was erroneous."
Yūshin nodded. White Snake Sage spoke well—the only problem was it equaled saying nothing.
"Indeed. At least I strongly agree with one viewpoint: if humans become too transcendent, they cease being human."
White Snake Sage took another puff, glanced at Yūshin, then asked in return:
"I also have a question for you: if the world were about to face destruction, what would that mean to you?"
"Oh, that's an excellent question..."
Yūshin fell into deep contemplation.
Well, some questions cannot receive accurate answers from third parties—Yūshin had to "meditate and achieve enlightenment" himself.
"Forget it. Overly idealistic matters are all false—ordinary people and ordinary snakes cannot grasp them."
Yūshin pondered, then understood nothing. He decided to handle business first.
"White Snake Sage, find a suitable location, then locate an appropriate snake to reverse-summon Orochimaru... He's been running wild outside and requires discipline."
White Snake Sage felt speechless—you're jumping between heaven and earth, just now engaging in life philosophy, now wanting to interfere with others' lives...
Yet what could White Snake Sage do? Could she refuse? She could not.
After finding a relatively spacious cavern and providing labor services from a small purple snake, White Snake Sage ceased managing the situation... Yūshin wanted to arrest Orochimaru? Then let him arrest away.
Yūshin didn't rush to begin. He first arranged various jutsu formulas around the cavern—partly to prevent Orochimaru's escape, partly... well, soil samples still required collection.
Having completed preparations, Yūshin used that snake's connection with Orochimaru as an anchor, executing the Reverse Summoning Technique.
After completing its mission, that snake fled the scene at high speed as if it had grown four legs.
Smoke rose as Orochimaru's figure appeared abruptly in the clearing. His expression showed slight surprise, his right hand still gripping a test tube containing pale purple liquid.
"So it's Lord Yūshin... It's been quite some time, Lord Yūshin."
Orochimaru surveyed his surroundings, immediately recognizing Ryūchi Cave. When his gaze settled on Yūshin and he realized he'd been summoned, he appeared surprised but not panicked.
Clearly, this represented confident behavior.
"Long time no see? Indeed, quite some time."
Yūshin felt Orochimaru spoke correctly, though Orochimaru didn't truly understand how long "quite some time" actually was.
"Orochimaru, your previous departure without notice was displeasing. You promised to contribute your strength to Konoha—breaking one's word requires paying a price."
Orochimaru ignored Yūshin's words, instead examining Yūshin up and down before speaking:
"Lord Yūshin, your sense of humanity seems somewhat more diluted."
This statement was highly subjective, sounding somewhat insulting, but Yūshin understood Orochimaru's meaning... One could say that as a person, Orochimaru's intuition was sharp, but his perceptual abilities were ordinary.
This contained obvious subjective-objective distinctions.
"This is called transcending worldly matters, standing aloof from the world. According to your description, I sound like I'm transforming into some monster or ghost." Yūshin replied irritably.
Orochimaru, regardless of whether he'd undergone Living Corpse Reincarnation, displayed mediocre talent in mastering natural energy and learning Sage Techniques.
Obviously, regarding Sage Techniques, current Orochimaru was even inferior to his original timeline's later self.
If Orochimaru truly possessed exceptional talent, he wouldn't need to research natural energy through Cursed Seal studies... This was normal—every master had areas of expertise and weakness.
Researching Cursed Seals required "Jūgo" as a crucial sample. This era lacked Jūgo, so Orochimaru likely remained in natural energy research's preliminary stages.
Compared to White Snake Sage's natural energy utilization being as natural as breathing, Orochimaru was negligible. Since Orochimaru lacked such acute perceptual abilities, his judgment of Yūshin's strength was misaligned... This wasn't a good omen.
Orochimaru carefully stored his test tube, then shook his head at Yūshin:
"Lord Yūshin seems somewhat reluctant to age? You maintain youthful appearance, even experiencing strength growth. However... a ninja's achievable accomplishments sometimes carry predestined implications."
"Lord Yūshin is naturally a talented ninja, though your talent isn't the absolute pinnacle type."
Yūshin opened his mouth but didn't argue, because he discovered... Hey, Orochimaru was correct. This statement not only avoided belittling him but actually praised him.
Regarding talent, Yūshin had initially been merely a cannon fodder ninja.
"Orochimaru, I don't quite understand what you're saying."
Cannon fodder ninja Yūshin began amusing himself with genius ninja Orochimaru.
"My meaning is that I'm extremely grateful to have come to this era, and very thankful Lord Yūshin provided me opportunities for close contact with First Hokage. Simply put, I deeply respect Lord Yūshin."
"After all, I truly originated from Fireflies. Although Fireflies' ideals seem somewhat naive and outdated, only within Fireflies could I grow."
Naive? Outdated? Yūshin shook his head. Orochimaru apparently didn't understand "knowing black while maintaining white"... Idealism sometimes appears childish, but without idealism, how boring the world would be.
"Not necessarily. You could grow anywhere."
Yūshin dared not claim credit for Orochimaru's growth.
"In any case, Lord Yūshin, I know your summoning purpose, but I have no intention of opposing you... Or rather, for the current you, mutual non-interference benefits us both."
Hmm? Excellent performance—absolutely superb.
Orochimaru was treating Yūshin as incompetent, speaking from a condescending perspective, expressing his intentions while warning Yūshin against rash actions, as such actions would bring catastrophic consequences.
Yūshin laughed. How about that—this trip wasn't wasted. Orochimaru could always produce novel entertainment.
The opening act was excellent—Yūshin couldn't waste Orochimaru's performance. After laughing, he straightened his expression, using standard baritone voice:
"Orochimaru, your power is simply too great... I apologize, but I cannot permit your free actions."
Good, good, good—Yūshin certainly didn't lose face. Though the dialogue was borrowed, his delivery was excellent, even perfect. Possessing an actor's spirit was precisely this.
"Lord Yūshin, I haven't been idle these years... Very well, let me show you my research results. You're Fireflies' leader and my most suitable demonstration target after achieving success."
This statement was somewhat infernal, containing the Shinobi World's most orthodox "repaying kindness with vengeance" implications... Repaying kindness? Repaying by elimination!
Certain ninja, after achieving success, ahem—their first sword upon reaching shore targets their old mentor!
"You really shouldn't say that—I'm genuinely curious about your research results."
Yūshin wanted to see what novel contraptions Orochimaru had developed over the years.
Then, something astonishing occurred.
Orochimaru simply stood there, yet beyond visual perception, his "presence" vanished.
"This is..."
"Lord Yūshin, can't you recognize it? This should be your signature technique..."
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