Hearing Tagorihime's terrified cry echoing from the White Snake Sage's inner sanctum, the other two Princesses realized something was wrong.
They stopped chatting and hurried over.
Orochimaru followed closely behind.
Seeing Makoto standing calmly before the White Snake Sage, but the Three Princesses looking at him with varied expressions of fear, disgust, and confusion, Orochimaru didn't know whether Makoto had passed the trial or traumatized them.
"His aura?"
Scolded by the White Snake Sage, Tagorihime gradually calmed down from her panic. She sniffed the air, re-examining Makoto's aura.
Finally, she discovered the problem.
"White Snake-sama!" Tagorihime pointed a shaking finger at Makoto. "He... he stole and learned the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave!!"
"Fool, smell it again," the White Snake Sage, who was currently in the form of an old woman, opened one eye slightly.
"Sniff... Sniff..." Tagorihime leaned in. "It is indeed a bit different. What is this?"
She was stunned.
"He didn't receive my blessing," the Sage rasped. "He's relying on his own instincts. But let's set that aside for now."
The Sage's tone turned sharp.
"First, tell me what happened that made you break the trial rules and bring him here directly? Did he bribe you with food?"
"White Snake-sama, I was forced!"
Like a bullied child tattling to a parent, Tagorihime wailed.
She pulled out the two books Makoto had given her with a pitiful expression.
"Look at this!"
"White Snake-sama, you must be careful when looking at these. The contents are terrifying... they detail unspeakable tortures performed on our kind!"
After handing over the books like they were radioactive waste, Tagorihime stepped aside and hid behind a pillar.
"Hmph," the White Snake Sage snorted coldly, taking a drag from her pipe. "I've lived for over a thousand years. What haven't I seen?"
She looked down at the books in her hand.
[Cover: A sultry Lamia being 'subdued' by a ninja]
"?!"
THUD.
The books fell from the White Snake Sage's trembling hands onto the cold stone floor.
"WHAT KIND OF FILTHY OBJECTS ARE THESE?!"
The White Snake Sage's originally deep, elderly voice turned sharp and high-pitched.
Her pipe even fell out of her mouth.
"It was him!" Tagorihime pointed at Makoto. "He said these were written by that contractor from Mount Moboku, Jiraiya! He brought them to threaten us!"
"Jiraiya? That former companion of Orochimaru's?"
The White Snake Sage narrowed her eyes and looked at Orochimaru with intense scrutiny.
Orochimaru was taken aback.
He knew about Jiraiya's "research."
He knew the idiot wrote porn novels. But as for the specific content of the monster-girl spin-offs? He truly had no idea.
Orochimaru was a man of science; he didn't have time for porn.
"...That Jiraiya," Orochimaru said slowly, calculating his response. "Ever since childhood, he loved peeping into women's bathhouses. He has... diverse kinks."
"Makoto and I recently saw Jiraiya too. He hasn't changed at all. Still the same pervert."
"If the content inside is obscene, disorderly, and targets non-humans... then nine times out of ten, it's definitely his work."
Orochimaru threw his old teammate under the bus without hesitation.
After all, Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave had always been rivals.
Adding one more reason for the snakes to hate the toads wouldn't hurt.
It might even be hillarious.
Sure enough, after Orochimaru confirmed it, the White Snake Sage showed an expression that said "That explains it."
Clearly, even without Orochimaru mentioning it, the Sage had heard rumors about the Toad Sage's depravity.
"This is like a toad wanting to eat white snake meat—disgusting," the Sage spat.
She picked up the book from the floor with two fingers, as if it were coated in poison, and disdainfully threw it onto a nearby table.
"Dispose the trash later," she muttered.
(She didn't burn it immediately).
With this "crisis" handled, they could finally return to the main subject.
The White Snake Sage crawled back onto the bed and found a comfortable position to recline.
"Since that's the case," she sighed, "let's complete the final trial here... Tagitsuhime!"
The Sage paused mid-sentence.
She saw Ichikishimahime excitedly taking out a box of tangram puzzles and a coloring book.
"Put that away!" the Sage barked, her face darkening. "He's not a toddler!"
Among the trials, only the final test was truly important.
The puzzles and riddles were just to weed out the idiots.
The crucial point was simple: Can you withstand Natural Energy?
The Sage Art inheritance of Ryuchi Cave began with the White Snake Sage using her fangs to inject pure Natural Energy into the contractor.
If their body couldn't handle it, they turned into a snake and were eaten.
However, since the Sage was currently "indisposed", she delegated the task to the princess.
"Tagitsuhime! You do it!"
Tagitsuhime froze.
She had been sneakily reading a few pages of the book the Sage had thrown on the table.
She saw the illustrations.
She finally understood why Tagorihime had screamed.
The "Penetration" looked... painful.
And strangely intriguing.
"W-White Snake-sama," Tagitsuhime stammered, blushing furiously. "I-Is this really necessary? Doesn't he already have Natural Energy in his body? Can't we just skip the biting?"
"Just do as you're told!" the Sage roared.
"Y-yes! As you command!"
Under the pressure of her boss, Tagitsuhime reluctantly walked up to Makoto.
"Trial-taker," she whispered, avoiding eye contact. "Focus your spirit. I'm... I'm coming."
In the past, Tagitsuhime would have instinctively chosen to bite the most lethal spot—the neck—to inject the venom/energy swiftly.
But now? She was terrified of getting too close to this degenerate.
She very cautiously grabbed his hand.
She didn't even reveal her snake form. She merely let her two fangs grow slightly longer, looking more like a vampire than a serpent.
Chomp.
Tagitsuhime bit down gently on Makoto's hand.
"What are you afraid of?" Ichikishimahime floated over, looking bored. "It's not like he could act recklessly in front of White Snake-sama, right? Stop shaking."
After mocking her teammate, Ichikishimahime turned to look at Makoto with sadistic glee.
"The venom creates a Genjutsu of your deepest fears," she explained.
"What do you think he'll see? Giant toads? Naked grandmas?"
"What will he see?" Makoto asked calmly, looking at his bitten hand.
"Huh?"
Ichikishimahime blinked. She floated closer. "You're... you're talking?"
"You're not under Genjutsu?"
"What's so strange about that?" Tagitsuhime retorted, wiping her mouth and backing away quickly.
"Those who can break free from Genjutsu have the talent to cultivate Sage Art. He's already brimming with Natural Energy, so it's normal for him to be unaffected by me, right?"
"Orochimaru," the White Snake Sage waved her hand, signaling the three useless princesses to step aside. "I never expected you to bring such a special existence this time. He eats Natural Energy like air."
"White Snake-sama," Orochimaru chuckled, his golden eyes gleaming. "Makoto-kun might be even more special than you imagine. That's why we're here."
"Oh? How so?" The Sage grew curious.
"White Snake-sama, you know about Jugo," Orochimaru began to explain. "As someone born with the ability to continuously absorb Natural Energy, he undergoes mutation and becomes violent. He loses his mind to the power. My Cursed Seal was developed from studying him."
"I'm aware," the Sage nodded.
"But in this one's case," the Sage pointed her pipe at Makoto. "There is not a trace of rage or mutation."
"This is his 'instinct'," the Sage mused. "Just like the sacred lands from a thousand years ago."
What the Sage referred to was the era before Kaguya Otsutsuki.
A world before Chakra.
Back then, creatures relied on pure Natural Energy.
"I'm not referring to his control," Orochimaru interrupted. "But rather... the cells in his body that accommodate this energy."
"Cells?" The Sage frowned.
"Correct," Orochimaru grinned, revealing the results of his earlier test. "The biological activity and inherent strength of his body's cells... are pitifully weak."
"WHAT?!"
The White Snake Sage sat up straight.
She had initially thought Orochimaru was going to say Makoto had the body of a god—super-cells that could handle the strain of natural energy.
Why was it the opposite?
"Weak cells?" The Sage hissed. "That completely defies logic! If his cells are weak, the Natural Energy should have torn him apart instantly! He should be a statue of stone right now!"
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Bonus chap, another one coming up once we reach 400 stones!