The White Snake Sage, without warning, placed her hands in front as the white mist dispersed throughout the temple space surged. With a light stomp of her foot, the ground beneath Orochimaru’s feet instantly came alive, tentacles of rock erupting furiously from the earth, binding Orochimaru’s body firmly in place.
"Heh heh!"
"Even if you have mastered entering Sage Mode, before this old woman, you are nothing more than an infant who has just learned to walk."
A sinister smile played on the White Snake Sage's face as her neck slowly stretched, her fanged maw opening wide to bite down on Orochimaru.
"The Dragon Vein power within you, which shares the same origin as mine, will allow this old woman to advance further on the path to becoming a dragon."
"Heh heh..."
A flicker of killing intent flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. Without any apparent action, powerful Sage Art energies from various parts of his body surged forth, enveloping him completely.
"Is that so?"
"What a coincidence, I also feel that the power within the Great Sage can elevate my strength to a higher level!"
With a shake of his wrist, his formidable Sage Art chakra blasted away the tentacles of Inorganic Reincarnation binding his arms. His hand tightened around the Kusanagi sword, trailing a mournful sword light as he fiercely slashed towards the White Snake Sage’s outstretched neck.
The White Snake Sage’s sinister laughter abruptly ceased. As her neck retracted, she looked at Orochimaru, enveloped in Sage Art chakra, with disbelief.
"How is this possible?"
"How can you, a human, instantly enter Sage Mode?"
"Could it be that you..."
Orochimaru certainly had no intention of explaining to the White Snake Sage that he had transformed his body into a Great White Snake using the Dragon Vein power earlier. From a physical standpoint, as the Nine-Tails had said, Orochimaru could no longer be considered a pure human.
"Without some trump cards, how would I dare to challenge the Great Sage?"
"Sage Art: Snake Gaze Restraint!"
Two giant snakes, conjured from Sage Art power, instantly emerged from Orochimaru's left hand. One coiled around the White Snake Sage, while the other, opening its cavernous maw, bit down hard on her body.
With a swing of his right hand holding the Kusanagi sword, he slashed towards the White Snake Sage’s neck.
"Damn it!"
The White Snake Sage dared not meet the divine sword with her body. With an enraged roar, she instantly transformed into a Great White Snake.
"Screech!"
As the Great White Snake broke free from the Snake Gaze Restraint, the Kusanagi sword also struck its true form, leaving behind a wound nearly a foot deep.
With a pained hiss, the White Snake Sage violently unfurled a large portion of her scales towards Orochimaru, transforming into countless poisonous white serpents that ferociously lunged at him.
"Applying the power of Inorganic Reincarnation to one's own scales, is that the principle behind the Snake Control Art?"
"I see!"
A smile played on Orochimaru's lips. He withdrew the Kusanagi sword from the White Snake Sage and vanished in an instant.
"Your insistence on obtaining the two Kusanagi swords the first time you came to Ryūchi cave was for this very day?"
"Orochimaru, you've truly played a masterful game!"
After repelling Orochimaru with a single strike, the White Snake Sage let out an annoyed snort. Her snake body twisted, reverting back to the form of an old woman. She suddenly clasped her hands together.
"Let this old woman see where you can run!"
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
The White Snake Sage communed with the natural energy of Ryūchi cave, instantly distorting the entire surrounding environment.
Vast quantities of tentacles erupted from the ground and the cave ceiling. Apart from the spot where the White Snake Sage stood, there was no foothold left in the entire temple.
Appearing behind the White Snake Sage with Shunshin, Orochimaru was immediately assailed by countless tentacles as soon as he landed. With no other choice, Orochimaru had to swing his divine sword to carve out a space for himself to stand.
The White Snake Sage abruptly turned, her hand seals unchanged. The Sage Art chakra within her slightly gathered, her cheeks puffing out as she forcefully spewed a concentrated mass of Sage Art energy towards Orochimaru.
"Sage Art: White Stimulus Technique!"
Orochimaru’s heart tightened. The Sage Art energy on his body surged, concentrating at his eyes and ears. Simultaneously, he sheathed the Kusanagi sword at his waist and quickly raised his hands in front of him, aiming at the mass of Sage Art energy the White Snake Sage had spewed.
The mass of chakra, spewed by the White Snake Sage, hovered in mid-air. Under her control, it began to spin rapidly, a faint, illusory dragon shape slowly forming with the rotating chakra.
Once the chakra mass stopped spinning, the illusory dragon shape had completely solidified into a white dragon about a foot long. The dragon’s coiled body slowly unfurled, its small dragon head extending forward to open its mouth and spit a brilliant white sphere of light, like a dragon pearl, at Orochimaru.
"Jiii..."
A piercingly unpleasant sound, worse than fingernails scraping across glass, suddenly rang out. At the same time, an intensely blinding white light, accompanied by the sonic wave, emanated from the dragon pearl.
The sound wave, laced with powerful Sage Art energy, and the light instantly filled the entire temple. Under the effect of these two formidable forces, the space itself seemed to ripple, becoming distorted and chaotic.
However, none of this affected Orochimaru, who was well-prepared.
The surging Sage Art chakra insulated him from both sound and sight. This attack, which had forced even Itachi Uchiha, capable of Edo Tensei, and Sasuke Uchiha, who had awakened Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, to join forces, was effortlessly nullified by Orochimaru.
"How is this possible?"
The White Snake Sage, looking at Orochimaru standing calmly within the White Stimulus Technique, was filled with shock.
"How could you possibly know how to counter Ryūchi cave's Sage Arts?"
Orochimaru had no interest in explaining. The Sage Art chakra between his hands was ready.
"Sage Art: Dust Release: World Creation Stripping Technique!"
With a low shout, the recently learned Dust Release, amplified by the potent Sage Art power within Orochimaru, silently hurtled towards the roaring little dragon.
"Chirp!"
With a soft sound, the dragon pearl at the core of the White Stimulus Technique was instantly annihilated by the Sage Art Dust Release. The remaining power of the Dust Release, its momentum unabated, shot directly towards the White Snake Sage.
"Great Sage, who has lived for a thousand years, must possess more than just these 'small tricks', right?"
"Let me see how you plan to dissolve a Kekkei Tota, powered by Sage Art!"
The White Snake Sage had certainly heard of the prowess of the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure's Dust Release.
Ordinary ninja releasing Dust Release was one thing, but this Orochimaru wielded Sage Art. Dust Release generated by Sage Art energy of the same nature was something the White Snake Sage dared not intercept with her own body.
"Damn Orochimaru, to have learned Dust Release!"
Cursing with fury, the White Snake Sage’s figure flickered and merged into the earth veins of Ryūchi cave.
"Heh heh!"
"Just as you said earlier, where else can you run?"
His dark perception perfectly discerning the White Snake Sage's movements as she lurked beneath his feet, Orochimaru sneered. He formed the Tiger hand seal, and the chakra within him instantly grew hot. With a light press of his hand onto the ground, he shouted:
"Sage Art: Lava Release: Flower Fruit Mountain!"
The original Lava Release power from the Four-Tails, amplified by Orochimaru’s Sage Art, erupted with apocalyptic destructive force.
With tremors akin to mountains collapsing and the earth cracking, the entire Sage temple instantly transformed into a lava hell. The tentacles conjured by Inorganic Reincarnation were instantly melted by the intense heat. The White Snake Sage, who was preparing to ambush from beneath Orochimaru’s feet, let out a scream as she frantically burrowed deeper into the ground.
"Ah!"
"Damn Orochimaru, to have destroyed my temple!"
Frustrated by Orochimaru's inexplicable methods of countering her time and again, the White Snake Sage could no longer maintain her dignity as the Great Sage of Ryūchi cave. Her form abruptly transformed into a Great White Snake, and ignoring the searing heat of the surrounding lava, she ferociously lunged at Orochimaru.
"Hmph! A dying struggle!"
Orochimaru sneered. A sealing jutsu flashed on his left hand, while his right hand drew the Kusanagi sword from his waist, pointing directly at the enormous serpent head of the lunging White Snake Sage.
"Sealing Technique: Four Symbols Seal!"
Dark patterns instantly spread from Orochimaru's outstretched palm. Before the White Snake Sage could react, her entire body was covered in the sealing runes.
The Sage Art power flowing within her stagnated. The White Snake Sage's massive body suddenly became listless, and she fell softly in front of Orochimaru.
This sealing jutsu, developed by the Uzumaki clan specifically for large entities like Tailed Beasts, combined with Orochimaru's activation using the Dragon Vein power, which shared the same origin as the White Snake Sage, exerted an unimaginable suppression on her when she had transformed into her true form.
"Sealing Technique: Eight Trigrams Seal!"
Fearing it might not be secure enough, Orochimaru's hand seal glowed anew. The sealing runes, previously imprinted on the Great White Snake, were layered with new ones.
The chakra within her body became virtually stagnant. No matter how the White Snake Sage tried to mobilize it, her body and Sage Art chakra remained completely immobile.
Looking at Orochimaru, who stood with his sword drawn, with utter despair, the White Snake Sage could never have imagined how a human who had only been exposed to Sage Art power for less than half a year could have discovered so many ways to counter her in such a short period...
"So then..."
"Great Sage, what you refused to give me, I shall take by my own means."
Orochimaru's gaze was cold as he looked at the Great White Snake before him, murmuring softly.
"Hiss!"
With a soft sound, Orochimaru casually thrust the Kusanagi sword through the White Snake Sage's lower jaw.
Releasing the hilt, Orochimaru's Sage Art power surged. To the White Snake Sage's horrified and despairing gaze, he transformed into a Great White Snake.
Except for a slightly smaller size, its appearance and color were almost identical to her own true form.
"Orochimaru, what must I do for you to spare me?"
"Whatever you say, no matter what you desire, this old woman will satisfy you!"
The Great White Snake, Orochimaru's transformed state, flicked its forked tongue twice, a mockery in its eyes.
"What a pity!"
"If only the Great Sage had had this resolve when I first arrived at Ryūchi cave."
"But now, by devouring your true form, everything in Ryūchi cave will be mine."
"And besides..."
Orochimaru sneered, his snake mouth opening to its maximum extent as he swallowed half of the White Snake Sage's true body.
"Who would believe a venomous snake filled with resentment?"