Chapter 139: Ability — Exchange
The White Snake Sage?
As Asuka watched the man and woman before him repeatedly flick their tongues, his brows furrowed.
Whether Manda was dead or not was a matter for later.
He vaguely remembered that in the anime he'd watched in his previous life, when Manda had been blown up by Sasuke after being used as a human shield, nobody had gone after the culprit, Deidara. Nobody had gone after Sasuke, either.
"White Snake Sage…"
Crack!
Asuka slammed his right fist into his left palm, suddenly enlightened.
"Deidara died in the territory of the Sage of Six Paths, so the White Snake Sage couldn't defeat the Sage of Six Paths."
Sasuke was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, yet the White Snake Sage still couldn't defeat him.
Does that mean…
They've come here because they think I'm an easy target?
???
Hearing the Uchiha mutter inexplicable things to himself, the two exchanged a glance. Confusion was clearly visible in both their eyes.
Are all Uchiha this neurotic?
Asuka looked at the two silent visitors, stepped forward, and asked coldly, "Did you come to Konoha to avenge Manda?"
"No."
One of them shook his head.
"Snakes are cold-blooded creatures. Even if Manda had died, nobody would have come seeking revenge for him. Besides, he's still alive."
Hearing that Manda wasn't dead, Asuka raised an eyebrow in surprise.
That bastard survived being chopped in half?
Are snakes really that hard to kill?
Before he could ask further, the man continued.
"Because of the incident involving Manda, the Sage took notice of you."
"The Sage says that your fate is extremely unusual. You have already broken free from the trajectory of fate."
"Furthermore, the Sage says that you have some kind of connection with Ryūchi Cave."
???
What kind of connection?
Thinking of what Kabuto had looked like back then, the corner of Asuka's mouth twitched.
Of the three great sacred lands, Ryūchi Cave had the ugliest transformation.
You ended up dragging around a long snake tail.
Even a dog would shake its head and sigh at that.
After a moment of silence, Asuka looked at the two visitors.
"Since you came to Konoha because of me, why did you participate in the Chūnin Exams?"
"Heh."
After a cold laugh, one of them pointed toward Ichikishimahime, who was approaching from behind Asuka.
"This was all her idea."
"Hm?"
Asuka followed their gaze.
He turned around and saw Ichikishimahime walking toward him with Hana's arm hooked in hers, apparently intending to use the Hyūga girl as a hostage.
Her little hand kept moving around Hana's neck.
Asuka's expression darkened.
"Let her go."
Hearing the icy tone in his voice, Ichikishimahime spat onto the ground.
The killing intent in her eyes was chilling.
Before gaining sensory abilities, she used to swallow her food whole. She couldn't distinguish any particular flavor.
But after gaining the ability to sense things, everything had changed.
Before eating, she would prepare her food like a human, trying to make it as delicious as possible.
Now, the taste in her mouth reminded her of her former savage life—eating raw meat and drinking blood.
She looked past Asuka toward her two companions and said unhappily,
"Why are you two just standing there like idiots?"
The two looked at Ichikishimahime and immediately pushed all the blame onto her.
"The Sage told us to go directly to Asuka and tell him that Ryūchi Cave would welcome him at any time."
"You were the one who insisted on participating in the Chūnin Exams."
"Not only did you waste our time, you also caused all this trouble."
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke appeared.
The two vanished instantly.
???
Ichikishimahime stared blankly at the dissipating smoke.
Didn't you two suggest the Chūnin Exams yourselves?
Didn't you say you wanted to pick out a few delicious children and give them a path to Ryūchi Cave, letting them undergo your trials? And if they failed, you could openly eat them?
And now you're blaming me?
Did I ever suggest any of that?
Ichikishimahime instantly collapsed into a fit of rage.
She glared viciously at the place where the smoke had vanished.
"Wait until I get back. I'll kill you two!"
"Let her go. You can go back and slaughter them afterward."
"No."
Seeing that she still refused to release the girl, Asuka looked up at Ichikishimahime.
He drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist and pointed its tip toward the two of them.
He was about to test a new ability and see what it could do.
"What do you want me to do?"
Seeing the Kusanagi raised in his hand, Ichikishimahime narrowed her eyes and became wary.
She had been careless earlier. She had never expected that someone in the ninja world could see through her invisibility at a glance without even knowing her true identity.
But this time, she wouldn't be controlled so easily.
If she couldn't get revenge, her mouth would feel uncomfortable, and her heart would feel even worse.
A red glow flashed through Asuka's eyes.
"Ōkuninushi!"
A blue halo once again enveloped the surrounding area.
Ichikishimahime's heart sank.
She raised her head and looked around, her expression gradually becoming dangerous.
She had already sensed it earlier.
It was as though something had wrapped itself around her.
Now, she could faintly feel a barrier surrounding the area.
Asuka narrowed his eyes and slowly pushed the tip of his sword forward.
"Room: Transplant!"
The next moment—
Ichikishimahime lowered her head.
A pink, heart-shaped object was emerging from her chest.
The same thing was emerging from Hana's chest.
She tilted her head in confusion.
"What is this?"
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the two pink hearts intertwined in midair before each flew into the other's chest.
Their eyes dimmed.
Then, almost immediately, they lit up again.
When Hana's consciousness entered Ichikishimahime's body, she blinked blankly.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw her own original body standing beside her.
She lowered her head.
So flat.
Is my body really this flat?
Her mind was briefly thrown into chaos.
Then she immediately ran toward Asuka.
"Sensei! What's going on? Why did my body become like this?!"
Hearing the Ryūchi Cave people call him "Sensei," Asuka nodded.
His eyes settled on the person who now looked like "Hana."
His ability could extract a target's consciousness, causing the person whose consciousness had been extracted to exchange bodies and consciousness with the person whose heart had been extracted.
It was similar to a soul swap.
Unfortunately, it had a time limit—and consumed an enormous amount of chakra.
"Invisibility!"
"Release!"
At that moment, Ichikishimahime's consciousness had entered Hana's body.
She seemed to have been possessed, jumping around and shouting excitedly while muttering about invisibility, levitation, and other abilities.
After experimenting for a while, she discovered that she couldn't dispel the technique.
She couldn't return to Ryūchi Cave.
She couldn't even use her original abilities.
All she could use were the abilities of this little girl with the Byakugan.
Troublesome.
Then "Hana" suddenly raised her head.
Her white eyes stared viciously at Asuka.
"Brat, switch us back! After that, we'll call it even for today."
"Idiot."
Asuka glanced at her.
Then he deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and leaned against a tree, panting as he recovered his chakra.
At her current level as a Genin, she couldn't possibly hurt him.
"Hana" also ran over and grabbed Asuka by the shoulders, shaking him violently.
"Switch me back!"
"Look what you've done!"
She was sick of this weak body.
Not only could she barely sense any power, her chest also felt strangely heavy.
"Sensei!"
"'Ichikishimahime'" seemed to have discovered an entirely new continent.
She touched her forehead and spoke excitedly.
"Sensei! My Caged Bird Seal is gone!"
"Look! Look! The Caged Bird Seal really disappeared!"
"Phew~"
Then "Ichikishimahime" spread her arms wide and greedily breathed in the fresh air.
The Caged Bird Seal that had accompanied her for ten years was completely gone.
So this is what freedom feels like.
Then "Ichikishimahime" suddenly smacked her lips and asked in confusion,
"Why does my mouth taste like urine?"
Asuka and "Hana" immediately darkened.
Then "Hana" grabbed Asuka's arm and twisted her face in disgust.
"If it weren't for that smell, I would've left already."
"Hurry up and switch me back. I need to go home and brush my teeth."
"Heh~"
Asuka had already washed his hands with Water Release.
It wasn't his fault.
Who could have expected a snake's tongue to be that sensitive?
He glanced at her before standing up and leaving the Forest of Death.
He still had to investigate Ryūchi Cave after he returned.
Putting Orochimaru aside for the moment—
Exactly when did I, a noble member of the Uchiha clan, become involved with snakes?
At that moment, on a tree in the Forest of Death.
The other two members of Ryūchi Cave appeared.
They looked at the exasperated "Ichikishimahime" and asked,
"Isn't running away like this embarrassing for the Sacred Land?"
"We had no choice. These were the White Snake Sage's orders."
"Does the Sage intend for Ichikishimahime to remain in Konoha? Does he have some kind of arrangement for her?"
"Who said the Sage wants Ichikishimahime to stay in Konoha?"
"He only told the two of us to deliver the message and leave. He didn't tell us to care whether she lived or died."
"I still don't understand."
"The Sage's meaning was simply to let her do whatever she wants."
"…"