"Pure Land?"
Orochimaru's expression changed, immediately sensing trouble.
Before, when controlled by the Genie Lamp, he could safely throw it into the Pure Land to get enough pure soul energy.
But now that all restraints were gone, who knew what mess it would cause.
The Sage of Six Paths might not mind him taking a sip or two with a spoon, but if he dared to break the pot, tsk tsk...
Orochimaru was not ready to confront a powerhouse at the Sage of Six Paths' level.
"This guy... wants to escape, but it's not that easy!"
After his eyes flickered intensely, Orochimaru suddenly let out a low roar, "Pure Land Summoning Technique!"
The flesh outside his body immediately emitted spiritual light, erupting with a powerful pull that shot directly into the void, intending to drag out the White Snake hidden deep within the Pure Land.
"Wow... this works too?"
The Genie Lamp marveled at Orochimaru's quick thinking, truly living up to the name 'Konoha Sannin'. After all, he was a seasoned ninja who had fought his way through countless battles, and his on-the-spot reaction was truly extraordinary.
In the past, to enter and exit the Pure Land, Orochimaru had conducted in-depth research on 'Edo Tensei.' For him, using a portion of a deceased person's flesh to pull souls from the Pure Land was as simple as could be.
Thus, in the void, first a small section of its tail, then its body, and then its head... were completely pulled out.
Little White Snake looked down at the source of the pulling force – that charred body. A human-like disgust, and even fear, appeared on its serpentine face as it desperately wiggled its spiritual body, hoping to escape this fate.
But Summoning Technique, though its initial cost might be low, even someone like Guy could learn it. However, its upper limit... currently, Summoning Technique has no upper limit. Even the world-destroying Outer Path Demonic Statue was within its summoning range.
Naturally, Little White Snake could not escape the pull of the technique and was directly dragged into the outer flesh.
"Phew..."
A surge of pure energy flowed into his spiritual body, invigorating Orochimaru. He let out a long sigh.
The energy that Little White Snake had taken when it detached from his body was replenished as it was summoned back, and the interrupted transformation reignited.
However, it was not yet a time to relax.
Golden light flickered in Orochimaru's eyes as he shouted, "Heavenly Permanence!"
Countless child powers erupted from his eyes, transforming into a vortex within the mass of flesh, directly devouring the Little White Snake that was trying to escape again, re-weaving a cage.
Although Orochimaru had not completely finished his transformation, if only comparing the strength of child powers, it was no less than the Rinnegan. What was lacking was only the richness of its abilities.
The reason he had been escaped from earlier was due to negligence, due to Orochimaru's confidence in the Genie Lamp's abilities. He never expected that it could become an independent entity through transformation, bypassing the Genie Lamp's control.
But this time, he would absolutely not be careless.
Maintaining the cage with all his might, Orochimaru began to absorb the abundant energy around him and started the transformation process again.
"Hiss..."
Little White Snake thrashed within the snake ring but couldn't escape the cage like last time. Furthermore, with the disappearance of the Dragon Vein, the massive natural energy from beneath Roran no longer flowed in. This time, Orochimaru was absorbing the energy from within Little White Snake.
"This guy, even though he completed the fungal transformation, still looks like he's stuffed. He hasn't fully digested the previous energy."
As an observer, the Genie Lamp saw it clearly and thought, "If Little White Snake were to become a unified whole, the troublemaker would be Orochimaru."
"Hiss hiss..."
After having its energy continuously drained for a while, Little White Snake suddenly stopped its futile struggle, emitting a series of hisses.
That charred mass of flesh suddenly wriggled, and a large mouth appeared inside, swallowing Orochimaru, who was in a fleshy ball, in one go.
"This guy..."
Orochimaru instantly felt the surrounding energy concentration increase severalfold, but along with it came a crushing pressure from all directions and the pain of burning flesh.
Little White Snake didn't have many tricks, but devouring and digesting was its specialty. Whether it was the thousand-year-old sacred tree of Takigakure Village or the petrified roots underground in Roran, all would be dissolved and absorbed by this digestive fluid.
Orochimaru didn't blame it for trying to kill him. They were already on opposite sides, it was a life-or-death struggle. Even after completing his transformation, he would find a way to completely eradicate this threat, just through different means, whether by destruction or control...
This opposition was bound to happen after the Genie Lamp forcibly used 'Soul Society' abilities to forge this special Zanpakuto.
Orochimaru couldn't tolerate another consciousness existing within him unless it was completely under his control.
But now that it had completed its fungal transformation and become completely independent, even that possibility had vanished.
Orochimaru himself was troubled by what method to use against Little White Snake.
"Forget it, I'll consider it later... For now, I need to get through this."
Orochimaru multitasked, maintaining his transformation while activating all his chakra.
The fleshy mass instantly began to swell, and the cells on its surface transformed into countless vines and branches, colliding with the digestive fluid, emitting 'hissing' sounds. In almost an instant, they were largely corroded.
However, no matter how much the digestive fluid dissolved the wood and vines, more would grow out the next moment.
"Hiss..."
Little White Snake let out a hiss and suddenly coiled into a ball, forcefully compressing its increasingly distended belly, but it couldn't stop this trend from continuing.
However, these were not entirely in vain. The struggle occurring within the snake ring and inside Little White Snake's belly consumed a large portion of Orochimaru's energy. To maintain his own evolution under these circumstances was incredibly strenuous.
"This isn't working."
Orochimaru frowned, inwardly shocked that the Little White Snake, which had transformed first, was giving him so much pressure.
If this guy were still relying on instinct and lacked combat intelligence, he would have been utterly defeated by now.
"Compromise, Orochimaru."
The Genie Lamp also noticed something was wrong and immediately appeared in the mental space, saying,
"It's no longer possible to have the best of both worlds, to both suppress Little White Snake and complete your transformation... Put the latter aside for now. Before starting the transformation again, if not completely resolving Little White Snake, at least ensure it can no longer cause you trouble."
"..."
After a moment of thoughtful consideration, Orochimaru quickly made a decision and said in a deep voice, "Very well."
The next moment, the child power was withdrawn, the snake ring shattered, and Little White Snake broke free. With happy hisses, it fled again.
Orochimaru glanced in the direction of the Pure Land, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Countless black patterns emerged from his spiritual body, etching themselves inch by inch onto the charred outer flesh.
"What is this?" The Genie Lamp asked, perplexed.
"Pure Land Summoning Technique..." Orochimaru's lips twitched, a smile forming on his face. "Or, you could say, the Pure Land summoning array."
Moreover, to ensure its stability and continuity, he had extravagantly used child power.
This kind of chakra, which was the fusion of eye and body energy with spiritual energy, was currently his highest-grade chakra. Not to mention, the energy consumed to activate the 'summoning array' was the natural energy remaining in the charred flesh.
If only based on rank, this might be the most advanced and extravagant array in the ninja world.
"Come back, little one."
Orochimaru smiled and immediately activated the array.
Instantly, a pulling force several times, even tens of times stronger than before, erupted. Almost immediately, Little White Snake returned to its original position.
But this time, Orochimaru didn't use his snake eye techniques to restrain it. He let the Little White Snake, which had reacted, escape again. However, the moment its body separated, the array, replenished with natural energy, activated again, pulling Little White Snake back.
Again and again. This repeated.
As an observer, the Genie Lamp caught on and suddenly understood, "This is breaking in an elephant."
Giving a young elephant enough experience of failure in its youth means that when it grows up, even with a thousand pounds of strength, it will no longer try to break free from that thin iron chain.
Although Little White Snake's intelligence far surpassed that of an elephant, the Genie Lamp still held a high opinion of Orochimaru's method.
Not everyone was a Sisyphus, able to persistently push a boulder to the mountaintop. A large amount of frustrating experience was enough to destroy most people's confidence.
At the very least, after suffering thousands of failures, Little White Snake would obediently stay within this body for a period of time. This would be Orochimaru's opportunity.
There was no need to use child power to confine Little White Snake, saving his energy to support the transformation.
And the other battlefield within his abdomen... even if Little White Snake went all out, it wouldn't be much stronger than it was now and couldn't exert greater pressure.
"Hiss hiss hiss..."
After more than ten unsuccessful attempts, Little White Snake coiled within the body, its consciousness extremely agitated.
This was not just because it failed to escape, but more so because it couldn't stop Orochimaru, couldn't stop the energy within its body from rapidly draining away.
For a glutton who hoarded resources, the most painful thing was to have its reserves raided, watching its stored possessions being emptied bit by bit. This was more unbearable than death.
In the mental space, the increasingly violent and restless Little White Snake suddenly stopped moving at a certain moment. It let out a roar to the heavens, and flames suddenly ignited on its body, "Hiss hiss hiss..."
Amidst the hissing sounds, the charred remains once again glowed with fire.
Orochimaru and the Genie Lamp witnessed this change, both stunned and unable to hide their shock.
"This guy..." the Genie Lamp exclaimed, "He actually used Sun Breathing voluntarily..."
Before, when Little White Snake was still a part of Orochimaru, he had used its body countless times to perform Sun Breathing. It wasn't strange for Little White Snake to learn it during this process; in fact, it was almost inevitable.
What the Genie Lamp truly admired was Little White Snake's spirit of self-perseverance.
— Even if it meant burning to death, it would do so after being full and bloated.
"This stubbornness... I suppose it's fitting for a part of Orochimaru," the Genie Lamp licked its lips. "If Orochimaru's wish is for eternal life and to explore endless possibilities, then Little White Snake's wish is probably just to devour and digest, then devour and digest again."
A monotonous wish was, in a sense, quite interesting.
"Tsk tsk... Regardless, I should thank you, Tail-Eater. If there was another option, I would find a better way to coexist."
The golden light in Orochimaru's eyes grew brighter, and the aura of his spiritual body became even more condensed, easily surpassing Hashirama and others in the Pure Land, heading towards the level of a Shinigami and Otsutsuki Hamura.
Little White Snake's self-destructive approach greatly accelerated his transformation speed. Soon...
Orochimaru, who was immersed in the pleasant sensation of evolution, suddenly felt a heat. It wasn't burning his spirit, but merely a warmth on his body.
"What's going on?"
Almost as soon as Orochimaru had this question, the Genie Lamp warned him, "Orochimaru, something is wrong with Little White Snake's body..."
Perhaps because it had completed its fungal transformation, the charred flesh burned at an unusual speed, disappearing by seventy percent in just a moment.
Not only was it burned to ashes, but most of the fragments shattered into spore-like dust that scattered in all directions.
And from the Genie Lamp's perspective, Little White Snake in the mental space was also gradually shrinking, with those spores carrying White Snake's consciousness.
"So it's not just using 'Sun Breathing,' it's also using this energy to activate 'fungal transformation' to escape."
The Genie Lamp stroked its chin. "A good escape route. Even Orochimaru couldn't summon all the split spiritual bodies, but..."
"Did you miscalculate?"
The dispersed spore dust was still performing 'Sun Breathing' like the Little White Snake from before. The excessive solar energy directly incinerated these small life units, making it much easier than before.
"Good luck..."
The Genie Lamp sighed softly and turned its gaze to Orochimaru. "So, what are you going to do?"
Now, Little White Snake's body had lost more than eight-tenths of its mass and was rapidly dissipating. It was clearly no longer usable as an energy source.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Orochimaru suddenly said in a deep voice, "This situation allows for no retreat."
He was just a step away from success. He absolutely would not allow himself to give up at this moment.
"Use my body to perform it!" Orochimaru stated resolutely. "Just a little more, just a little more... I can last."
"..." The Genie Lamp fell silent for a moment, abandoning the idea of persuasion. "Then let's begin!"
Fire and screams descended upon the body almost simultaneously. Although different from Little White Snake, that mass of flesh also began to shrink, solidify, and darken...
After an unknown amount of time, a piece of charred flesh the size of an adult fell from the sky, landing heavily on the sandy ground, creating a crater.
"Alas, why go through such trouble? You didn't need to risk your life..."
The Genie Lamp floated in the air, sighing softly.
From a purely rational perspective, Orochimaru could have temporarily stopped just now and then made a comeback later, as he was no longer bound by a lifespan.
"It's just that you were lucky, which left a sliver of hope."
The Genie Lamp's gaze suddenly turned to the southeast, its eyebrows slightly raised. "That guy seems to be lucky too..."
A gentle breeze blew, carrying tiny spores that flew into the distance.
And after it fell, it suddenly formed a snake body with gravel as its flesh.
It looked up at the sun and crawled slowly, like the most devout believer.
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