Orochimaru felt a powerful force of resistance erupting from within Tobirama's body; he was on the verge of losing control over him.
Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead as he immediately knelt before Tobirama. "Lord Second Hokage, please don't do this! I was wrong! I apologize to you, old master!"
Across from them, Female Orochimaru, Anko, and Yamato were utterly dumbfounded.
The enemy had charged in with overwhelming momentum. They had prepared for a major battle, but they never expected their opponents to start fighting among themselves first.
Inside the White Snake Temple, the White Snake Sage exhaled a puff of smoke and said with exasperation, "He really is utterly hopeless."
"Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, bring them inside. Let's all wait for the results of Ryou's trial together!"
"Yes!"
Tagitsuhime and Ichikishimahime exited the temple and stopped Tobirama from activating his second state.
"Everyone, the Ancestor requests your presence. Please come inside and await the results of Uchiha Ryou's trial."
Orochimaru, as if saved from a dire situation, hurriedly ran towards the temple.
Female Orochimaru watched Orochimaru's retreating back, feeling a sense of shame. "How could my main body be so hopeless? I will absolutely never merge with him again!"
"Let's go in, Anko, Yamato!"
Tobirama retracted his curse mark and called out to Kagami and Dan. "Let's go, we're entering too!"
"Yes!"
"Kagami, Dan, later, both of you watch my cues for action. Don't think of the White Snake Sage as some venerable, virtuous Great Sage. It's a millennia-old demon that devours people without spitting out the bones."
"If there's an opportunity, kill it!"
"Huh?!"
Kagami and Dan were dumbstruck.
Inside the White Snake Temple.
As soon as Orochimaru entered, he anxiously looked for Ryou, wanting to exploit any opening he might have.
While Ryou was being infused with natural energy by the White Snake Sage, he would be locked in a struggle against that energy.
That would be the perfect moment to seize an opening and attempt Possession on him.
But one glance was all it took for Orochimaru to become frantic.
Ryou's main body was encased within a tightly sealed turtle shell-like structure.
The outer layer was armor made of iron sand formed by Magnet Release. Inside that was an energy defense—the Susanoo. Behind that were three pairs of wings from the Seven-Tails Chomei.
Two short-trunked Wood Dragons were coiled on his shoulders.
The Wood Dragons seemed to sense Orochimaru's hostility and fixed their gaze tightly on him.
This configuration made Orochimaru dare not take a single step closer.
Because Ryou was wrapped up so thoroughly, Orochimaru couldn't clearly see his condition either.
He looked towards the White Snake Sage on the throne and pointed at the Susanoo, asking, "Ancestor, what's going on with this guy?"
The White Snake Sage exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "He is currently in the stage of adapting to natural energy. His physical aptitude is excellent; he has the best physical constitution among all the trial-takers who have come to Ryūchi Cave."
"A body like this is an innate Sage Body. Even without my help, he would eventually master natural energy and become a sage in the future."
In the original anime, the Sage of Six Paths learned Senjutsu because it was bestowed upon him by the toad Gamamaru.
But according to the original work's setting, Six Paths Senjutsu exists independently of the Senjutsu of the Three Great Sage Regions, even surpassing them.
The Sage of Six Paths's Senjutsu was the Six Paths Power. He was born with the Rinnegan, inherently sacred, a natural-born sage.
Integrating natural energy was as simple as eating or drinking for the Sage of Six Paths.
In the original work, when Six Paths Madara saw Naruto's Six Paths Sage Mode and Sasuke's Rinnegan, he said he possessed both.
This indicates that the Six Paths Power inherently includes Senjutsu; Senjutsu is part of the Six Paths Power.
In the original work, by the time Madara obtained the Rinnegan, he was already old and couldn't withstand the strain of the eyes.
After his resurrection, he also didn't have time to develop Senjutsu, so he could only try to learn it by absorbing Hashirama's Senjutsu chakra.
Otherwise, Madara with the Rinnegan could have researched Senjutsu on his own.
However, after Madara absorbed Hashirama's Senjutsu chakra and manifested the sage markings on his chest, he did learn Senjutsu.
The sage markings that coalesced on Madara's chest were the characteristic of Senjutsu, the fusion of spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy.
All these flashy things were later incorporated into Six Paths Madara's body, becoming part of his Six Paths Power.
Female Orochimaru walked up with Anko and Yamato. Looking at the White Snake Sage, she said, "Then why is he still like this? Shouldn't he have long since integrated the natural energy and become a sage?"
The White Snake Sage wasn't surprised by the one male and one female version of Orochimaru; it had seen such things many times.
The White Snake Sage gestured for Tagitsuhime beside it to answer.
Tagitsuhime explained, "To become a sage, one must clarify the truest self within one's heart. The Ancestor cast a Sage Illusion on Uchiha Ryou."
"It sent him into the illusion he fears most, forcing him to confront the fears within his own heart."
"Confront the fears within his heart?!"
Female Orochimaru narrowed her eyes. She glanced subtly at the White Snake Sage, suspecting the old monster was deliberately increasing the difficulty of Ryou's Senjutsu training.
Originally, with Ryou's configuration of an acquired Sage Body, he should have been able to easily learn Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu.
Because Ryou had already been exposed to natural energy—the power of the curse mark.
Although not as potent as true Senjutsu, it still belonged to the Senjutsu system.
With Ryou's talent, learning Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu should have been straightforward.
But the White Snake Sage insisted on adding this trial of the heart.
Such a righteous trial of the heart shouldn't appear in the evil Ryūchi Cave!
This was just Female Orochimaru's speculation; only the White Snake Sage itself knew its own thoughts.
But simultaneously enduring the erosion of natural energy and undergoing the trial of the heart—that increased the difficulty immensely.
What was Ryou's greatest fear?
Female Orochimaru pondered for a moment.
Orochimaru was thinking. Candy was thinking. Tobirama, Kagami, and Dan, who had entered later, were all thinking.
Female Orochimaru and Orochimaru thought it was mediocrity. Deep down, Ryou harbored an obsession with not being inferior to others.
He wasn't supposed to become a Shinobi. Everything he did in the first half of his life was a struggle against his own fate.
Whether it was researching human experiments or developing Forbidden Jutsu, it was all about defying fate.
What he feared was being unable to break through fate's blockade—for example, failing to develop a Forbidden Jutsu and falling into utter despair.
Candy guessed it was seeing the person he loved most marry someone else, while he walked alone towards death!
Just like with Tsunade—because he feared Tsunade would be taken by Dan, Ryou crippled Dan.
Anko scratched her little head, thinking it might be impotence. That lecherous old man was so obsessed with women.
Being unable to get hard would definitely be a nightmare for him.
Only Ryou himself knew what his nightmare was. Even the White Snake Sage, who cast the technique on him, didn't know.
They could only wait for Ryou to bloom and bear fruit, or wither completely and become prey for the snakes to devour!
...
First Battlefield, Land of Rain.
After Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate, he kicked Satori flying. This made the entire Allied Forces aware of the existence of Edo Tensei and also filled them with respect for Duy, a Shinobi who relied purely on taijutsu.
Especially the samurai group from the Land of Iron. Upon hearing that Duy, despite possessing such immense power, had remained a Genin his entire life, they were moved to tears.
This was the great righteousness of restraining oneself!
There are some people in this world.
Amidst the clamor, they remain as still as a deep valley.
In the arena of fame and fortune, they are as indifferent as a gentle breeze.
Unknown to all, they do not lose heart, living a life of freedom, unshackled by false reputations, undisturbed by external judgments.
These are transcendent beings, detached from worldly affairs.
But Satori was not so easily defeated.
The Daytime Tiger was a high-pressure air bullet formed by compressing air to its extreme. This move could be considered a super shockwave attack.
In the original work, when Guy used it, the shockwave covered the entire Turtle Island and could blast away Kisame's Forbidden Jutsu, the Great Shark Bullet Technique, which was comparable to the Wood Dragon Technique.
But Duy's Daytime Tiger wasn't as strong as Guy's. Its size was a full half smaller than Guy's Daytime Tiger in the original work.
Satori was only caught off guard by the sudden sneak attack, unable to see into Duy's heart and perform his absolute evasion.
Moreover, Satori's strength far surpassed Kisame's. Even after taking the full brunt of the Daytime Tiger, Satori was still breathing.
He was just in poor condition, with one of his wings broken.
Even a Daytime Tiger with only half of Guy's power wasn't something easy to withstand.