"Ew... can't you be a little more sanitary?"
Kageyama Kogetsu looked disgusted. He flicked out a water whip to wrap around the scroll, then sprayed a stream of clean water from his mouth to wash off the yellowish mucus before reaching out to catch it.
"Kogetsu-kun, your ninjutsu proficiency has become even more terrifying. Even I feel like I'm being left in the dust."
Orochimaru didn't mind the look of disgust; he was quite interested in Kogetsu's ability to perform jutsu without hand seals.
"It's nothing. Not every jutsu can be done this way. It's merely a matter of practice."
Kogetsu opened the scroll, quickly read through it, and after memorizing its contents, a ball of orange-red flame appeared in his hand. With a casual toss, the scroll was swiftly reduced to ashes.
"By the way, Master Orochimaru, aren't you going to learn Senjutsu?"
"I've thought about it, but after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to give up. The risk is too great."
"If I can't withstand the erosion of natural energy, I'm not confident I can escape from the White Snake Sage's grasp."
"Rather than take such a huge risk, I'd rather focus on refining the Cursed Seal, or wait until I've mastered a sufficiently powerful life-saving technique before attempting it."
In the original story, it was already too late when Orochimaru wanted to learn Sage Mode. After performing the Living Corpse Reincarnation, his soul's strength had diminished, making it impossible for him to learn the orthodox Senjutsu.
In this world, if Orochimaru succeeded in his research following Kageyama Kogetsu's ideas, there was still a chance he could learn orthodox Senjutsu.
"Heh, the risk of Senjutsu training is high. You'd better not die."
"High? Why do I feel it's quite easy?" Kageyama Kogetsu said with a faint smile, his tone light.
As soon as he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and then opened them again. Orange-red eyeshadow appeared around his eye sockets, and a unique aura emanated from him...
"This... This is Mount Myoboku's Sage Mode?" Orochimaru was startled and shot up from his seat.
"Ah," Kageyama Kogetsu said, nodding with a smile.
"According to Konoha's secret archives, your Sage Mode is perfect. The student has truly surpassed the master."
"Neither Jiraiya nor I could learn it, but you and Minato both did."
With a wave of his hand, a glass of red wine and a glass of fruit juice flew over.
"Don't be so self-deprecating. You and Master Jiraiya both have many things to attend to and can't focus."
"Thank you. I apologize for my earlier offense, Lord Kogetsu." Seeing Orochimaru accept the glass, Kimimaro also reached out to take his and then bowed in respect.
"It's fine. What adult would hold a grudge against a child?"
"Well... except for bratty kids." Kageyama Kogetsu waved his hand with a smile.
"You don't need to comfort me. I admit my talent in Senjutsu is inferior to yours."
"But since you've already learned Senjutsu, why are you still going to Ryuchi Cave?" Orochimaru asked with interest after taking a light sip of his red wine.
Kageyama Kogetsu said seriously, "Not only am I going to Ryuchi Cave, but I also plan to make a trip to Shikkotsu Forest."
"I intend to combine the Sage Modes of the three great sage regions to create a Sage Mode for humans."
"Humans and the creatures of the three great sage regions are ultimately not the same species, so their Sage Modes can't perfectly integrate with the human body and soul."
"If Master Orochimaru is willing, I'd like the complete data on the Cursed Seal."
"Hmm... If I succeed, I'll give you a share."
Orochimaru beamed. "As expected of you, Kogetsu-kun. When you do something, you do it big—a feat comparable to the art of immortality."
"The Cursed Seal data is no problem. I can give you future research data on it as well."
Hmm... I'll hide the fact that the Cursed Seal can bring me back from the dead. The rest can be given.
To be fair, Orochimaru's Cursed Seal was really something, very similar to the "Karma," just more passive.
Currently, because he didn't have Jugo, the Cursed Seal was still relatively crude. The subsequent data was exactly what he wanted.
"Thank you for your support. It's a pleasure working with you," Kageyama Kogetsu said with a smile, raising his glass.
"Mutual support. A pleasure," Orochimaru also said with a smile, raising his glass.
After finishing the glass of red wine, Orochimaru produced the data related to the Cursed Seal. Kageyama Kogetsu accepted it and then took his leave.
Orochimaru was a workaholic and a research fanatic; there were no recreational activities to be had with him.
...
The Land of Stone, a barren, small country sandwiched between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
Following the directions, Kageyama Kogetsu soon arrived near Ryuchi Cave. Jugo's village was nearby.
"Help! Help..."
Suddenly, a heart-wrenching cry for help echoed through the mountain forest. Kageyama Kogetsu looked towards the source of the sound and quickly flew over.
In the forest, several woodcutters who were traveling together were fleeing for their lives in a panic...
Behind them, a giant purple snake with black stripes, as large as a small mountain, was slowly slithering. Wherever it passed, hills and rocks crumbled, trees fell, and the forest was destroyed. The sense of pressure was immense.
"Hehehe, be afraid, be terrified! Let despair soak your flesh and soul! Only then will the taste and effect be at their best."
"Manda, you really are a bastard."
As a human, Kageyama Kogetsu could stand by and watch humans kill each other, but he couldn't stand seeing humans being devoured by other species, and even less could he stand seeing them being toyed with before being devoured.
"Who? Who dares to curse me?"
Manda raised his head angrily and looked around. He soon spotted Kageyama Kogetsu standing on a treetop.
"So it's you, that guy Orochimaru's subordinate."
Kageyama Kogetsu and Orochimaru had worked together on the Iwagakure battlefield for so long that Manda naturally recognized him.
"Correction: former subordinate," Kageyama Kogetsu said coolly.
"Hmph, you dare to interfere with me?" Manda's tone was hostile, his cold snake eyes fixed on the small figure in the tree.
Although he knew Kageyama Kogetsu was powerful, Manda's personality was inherently vicious and cruel. He didn't even hold Orochimaru in high regard.
Coupled with the backing of Ryuchi Cave, and the fact that they were near Ryuchi Cave, his home base, he naturally wasn't afraid.
"In this world, if I want to interfere, there's nothing I don't dare to interfere with."
"The affairs of this world are my affairs," Kageyama Kogetsu said with a faint smile.
"Arrogant brat, watch me eat you!"
Being even more arrogant than him was something Manda couldn't tolerate. His muscles tensed, and he shot forward.
"You're courting death!"
Too lazy to use his abilities, ninjutsu, genjutsu, or even Sage Mode, Kageyama Kogetsu charged straight at him...
He dodged Manda's giant snake mouth, then descended from the sky, delivering a simple, unadorned axe kick to the top of Manda's head.
Boom!
Manda's massive head and body slammed heavily into the ground. A small patch of forest was instantly smashed to pieces, and a large crater was formed, sending up a thick cloud of dust and smoke from the trembling ground.
The kick left Manda completely dazed.
The next moment, Kageyama Kogetsu flashed into the dust cloud, plunged his hands directly into Manda's lower jaw, and with all his strength, performed an overhead throw, like an ant tossing an elephant.
Boom! A patch of forest was directly destroyed. The booming sounds continued one after another as the surrounding forest was rapidly smashed, and a thick cloud of dust and smoke rose, obscuring a large area.
Manda was thrown into a complete daze. His scales flew everywhere, he coughed up blood repeatedly, and his entire body ached.
If this continued, Manda felt he would be thrown to death. He wanted to beg for mercy, but he had no chance.
Just as Manda's consciousness was fading and he vaguely saw his long-dead parents, Kageyama Kogetsu finally stopped.
Wiping the non-existent sweat from his forehead, Kageyama Kogetsu jumped onto the middle of Manda's nose and grinned. "Now tell me, can I interfere with you or not?"
"You can, you can, of course you can."
"Still dare to be arrogant?"
"No more, no more."
"Good that you know. Arrogance comes with a price. You're not strong enough, so keep a low profile."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Manda lay on the ground like a dead dog, his scales scattered everywhere, and a large amount of foul-smelling snake blood oozed from his mouth and nose. His human-like snake eyes avoided Kageyama Kogetsu's gaze, his weak voice filled with fear...
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