Hearing Tashinohime's cry from the White Snake Sage's dwelling, the other two realized something was wrong and rushed over.
Orochimaru followed closely behind, also hurrying to the scene.
Seeing Shiro arrive before the White Snake Sage, but with the Three Goddesses looking at Shiro with varied expressions, Orochimaru didn't know if Shiro had passed or not.
"Aura?"
Tashinohime, reprimanded by the White Snake Sage, gradually calmed down and re-examined Shiro's aura, finally discovering the problem.
"Lord White Snake, he, he, he… he secretly learned Ryuchi Cave's Sage Art!"
Tashinohime extended her hand, pointing at Shiro in astonishment.
"Fool, smell again."
The White Snake Sage's elderly eyes slightly opened, glaring at Tashinohime.
"Sniff… it does smell a bit different. This is?"
Tashinohime was stunned.
"He didn't receive my blessing; he relied on his own instincts—let's put these aside for now. First, tell this old one what happened that made you violate the trial rules and bring him here."
Mid-explanation, the White Snake Sage's tone suddenly shifted.
"Lord White Snake, I was forced, look at this—"
Tashinohime, like a child who had been bullied and found a parent to complain to, tearfully pulled out the two books Shiro had given her from her embrace.
"Lord White Snake, please be careful when you look; the contents are very terrifying…"
After handing over the two books, Tashinohime retreated to the side, kindly reminding her.
"Hmph, this old one has lived for over a thousand years; what haven't I seen?"
The White Snake Sage snorted coldly, lowering her head to look at the books in her hand.
"?!"
Bang.
The books in the White Snake Sage's hand fell directly to the ground.
"Where did this filth come from!!!"
The White Snake Sage's originally deep, old woman's voice suddenly became sharp.
"It's him! He said this was written by that contractor Jiraiya from Mount Myōboku!"
Tashinohime pointed at Shiro.
"Jiraiya? Is that Orochimaru's former teammate?"
The White Snake Sage narrowed her eyes, looking at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was taken aback.
He only knew Jiraiya's personality, and that he had indeed published some inappropriate novels.
As for the specific content of the novels, he really didn't know.
Orochimaru didn't have the leisure to read such boring romance stories.
"...That Jiraiya, ever since he was a child, he liked to peep into women's bathhouses.
Shiro and I recently saw Jiraiya, and he hasn't changed his ways; he's still the same.
If the content inside is lewd and unbearable, then it's almost certainly his work."
Orochimaru was silent for a moment. He somewhat suspected that this might not have been written by Jiraiya, but who could blame Jiraiya for being such a perfect "culprit"?
So he still gave an affirmative answer.
Anyway, Mount Myōboku and Ryuchi Cave were already at odds, so adding a little more discord wouldn't hurt.
Sure enough, after Orochimaru said that, the White Snake Sage had an expression of "that explains it" and no longer delved deeper.
Clearly, even if Orochimaru hadn't said anything, the White Snake Sage had heard about Jiraiya's personality from Mount Myōboku.
"This is simply a toad wanting to eat white snake meat, disgusting."
The White Snake Sage picked up the books from the ground and disgustedly threw them onto a nearby table.
Having dealt with that matter, they could finally return to the main topic.
The White Snake Sage crawled back onto the bed, finding a comfortable position to recline.
"Since that's the case, then let's complete the final trial here… I mean Tagorihime!"
Mid-sentence, the White Snake Sage saw Ichikishimahime excitedly pull out a pile of tangrams, and her face immediately darkened.
Among the Three Goddesses' trials, only the final trial was the most important.
The preceding tests of temperament, wisdom, and chakra volume were all insignificant; the most crucial point was—whether one could withstand Natural Energy.
Ryuchi Cave's Sage Art inheritance began with the White Snake Sage injecting Natural Energy into the contractor with her fangs, and then they would learn Sage Art.
And Tagorihime's test was also to bite the trial participant, inject Natural Energy, and produce a genjutsu effect.
This was a layered screening process.
Unlike Mount Myōboku.
Here, they wouldn't first teach you the method and basics of cultivating Sage Mode; instead, you had to withstand it yourself.
If you couldn't withstand it, you'd become a meal.
"Lord, Lord White Snake, is, is this really necessary? Doesn't he already have Natural Energy in his body?"
Tagorihime, who was secretly glancing at the books the White Snake Sage had thrown onto the table, was a bit trembling.
—She had seen some of the illustrations in the book and understood why Tashinohime had cried for help earlier.
"Do as I say."
"Yes, yes, ma'am."
Under the White Snake Sage's pressure, Tagorihime reluctantly walked up to Shiro, taking his hand: "Trial participant, concentrate. Here I come."
If it were before, Tagorihime would definitely choose to bite the most fatal spot, the neck; this was a snake's instinct.
But now, she very cautiously chose to bite his hand.
And she didn't reveal her snake form; she merely opened her mouth, and her two fangs lengthened slightly.
"Ouch."
Tagorihime bit down.
"What are you so afraid of? Could he possibly act presumptuously in front of Lord White Snake?"
Ichikishimahime floated in front of Tagorihime, who was wiping her mouth, and mocked her.
After mocking her teammate, Ichikishimahime turned to look at Shiro: "What do you think he'll see in the genjutsu?"
"What will he see?"
Shiro indicated that he also wanted to know.
"Eh?"
Ichikishimahime blinked, "You're not under genjutsu?"
"Is something strange? People who can break out of genjutsu have a talent for cultivating Sage Art. He's already full of Natural Energy, so it's normal for him to be unaffected by me, right?"
Tagorihime retorted.
"Orochimaru, I didn't expect you to bring such a special being this time."
The White Snake Sage waved her hand, signaling the three to step aside.
"Lord White Snake, Shiro-kun might be even more special than you imagine."
Orochimaru chuckled a few times.
"Oh? How so?"
The White Snake Sage was somewhat curious.
"Lord White Snake, you know Jugo. As someone with a body that can naturally absorb Natural Energy, when he undergoes Sage Transformation, he mutates and becomes violent. My Cursed Seal was developed from him."
Orochimaru began to explain.
"This old one knows, but in this one, there is no trace of the violence and mutation caused by Natural Energy rejection. This is his 'instinct,' just like the Sacred Land a thousand years ago."
The White Snake Sage's reference to a thousand years ago was the world before the Ōtsutsuki Clan arrived.
A world where chakra didn't yet exist.
At that time, the Three Sacred Lands still existed, and the animals there relied on this instinctive, pure absorption of Natural Energy to gain power.
After the Ōtsutsuki Clan's arrival and the appearance of chakra, the cultivation of Sage Art changed.
Whether this change was good or bad for the world was uncertain, but for the White Snake Sage, Gamamaru, and Katsuyu, it was definitely a good thing.
If the original pure Natural Energy cultivation method was very good, then only the three of them wouldn't have survived for a thousand years.
"I'm not referring to that, but to the cells that contain his Natural Energy."
"Cells?"
"That's right, the activity and strength of his body cells… are pitifully weak."
"What did you say?"
The White Snake Sage frowned.
She had originally thought Orochimaru was going to say how incredibly strong Shiro's body cells were, which was why he could absorb and control Natural Energy so perfectly.
How did it turn out to be the opposite?
That completely defied logic, didn't it?
....
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