Mayuri Kurotsuchi Card Game, starting from Naruto

Chapter 18 Chongwu

"Natural energy? What is that?" Hongdou couldn't understand her teacher's explanation.

"Natural energy is the power that activates Sage Mode. You don't need to understand that for now," Orochimaru explained simply to Anko. "This place is rich in natural energy, making it a good place to practice Sage Mode. It's a pity it's useless to us."

"Why didn't it work? Is magic really that powerful?" Red Bean pressed.

"Ninjutsu is activated by chakra. What is the source of chakra?" In a good mood, Orochimaru summoned a large snake, threw the unconscious Tensei Jugo onto the snake, and tested Anko.

"Chakra is a product of the balanced mixing of the body's spiritual energy and physical energy," Red Bean answered without hesitation.

"Sage Techniques are a product of the balanced fusion of human spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy. You can think of it as a higher level of energy than chakra."

Ninjutsu activated with Sage Mode energy is more destructive and lethal. And this is just one of its characteristics.” Orochimaru gestured for Anko and the others to follow, explaining to Anko as they left.

Regardless, Orochimaru was quite competent as a teacher. Any child he valued and taught could learn what they wanted from him.

"Isn't this place very important?" Hongdou asked subconsciously. Since this place has abundant natural energy and such powerful immortal techniques, shouldn't we mark this place down?

"Natural energy is very dangerous! You can tell by looking at this boy. His body and mind have been eroded by natural energy so severely that he is unable to maintain his composure."

In fact, the fact that he wasn't assimilated by the natural energy and was still alive already surprised me.

Orochimaru pointed at the boy on the snake's body, "Natural energy is difficult to control. Even the three holy lands with clear lineages of Sage Techniques cannot guarantee that someone can perfectly master them."

"But teacher, you still haven't told me why we don't need this place," Red Bean pouted.

"Because there are better places for us to choose from." Shika Nie poked Anko's arm with his finger. "The three holy lands with the inheritance of Sage Mode are Mount Myōboku, where Jiraiya made a contract, Shikkotsu Forest, where Tsunade made a contract, and Ryūchi Cave, where Orochimaru made a contract."

"Did Orochimaru-sensei mention this?" Anko asked, looking completely bewildered. Could it be that Orochimaru-sensei secretly slacked off and gave Shikagure extra lessons?

This isn't impossible!

After all, Lord Orochimaru had practically let her run wild for a while.

"Shikane is right. But you're still far from mastering Sage Mode." Orochimaru poured cold water on Anko's excitement. The Sage Mode trials at Ryuchi Cave were no benign trials; they were extremely dangerous. Even Orochimaru himself wasn't confident he could succeed.

However, he knew that Jiraiya had practiced the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku and had witnessed its power; that immense power was captivating and enchanting.

The three figures moved further and further away, gradually disappearing into the dense forest.

Two days later.

Inside a hotel.

Red Bean, squatting down, suddenly brought her face close to the face of Libra Shigego, who had just woken up.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Hongdou asked, puzzled.

After waking up, the boy behaved very strangely, remaining silent and withdrawn. He lacked the initial ferocity and madness he displayed when they first met, and he didn't ask who they were, where they were taking him, or what they were doing with him.

Like a puppet that has shut itself off, it didn't try to escape, but blindly followed them.

"Ugh! Why aren't you answering me?! Are you looking down on me?" Red Bean had been repeatedly defeated by Libra Jugo's silence these past two days, and she even thought he was mute! If it weren't for the fact that he had spoken when they first met.

"Stay away from me."

A sudden remark immediately silenced the still-frantic Anko, who looked at the speaker, Jugo, in surprise.

"Why should I stay away from you?" Hongdou asked, getting closer.

"I'm dangerous." Libra Jugo looked at his outstretched hands, his eyes somewhat vacant, and said.

"It was quite dangerous. But Orochimaru-sensei told me that what you did was just an uncontrollable act stimulated by natural energy," Anko said, sitting opposite him and offering words of comfort.

After at least these two days of interaction, Hongdou could sense a peaceful and kind personality in him. When he saw a small animal in the wild, he would stop and pet it a couple of times, and the animals he petted would be very well-behaved.

He seemed to attract the affection and favor of many small animals. Some even brought out their prey and stored food to entertain him, making Hongdou envious.

I've been trying to communicate with Libra Shigego for the past two days, hoping to find out how he manages to win the hearts of small animals, but I've hit a wall for two days in a row.

"You know about natural energy?" Libra Jugo looked at Anko in surprise.

"Of course!" Hongdou opened her mouth to introduce herself, but after thinking about it, she held back and only picked out some things she could say to prove that she really knew about natural energy.

"I am in great pain. Every now and then my body goes out of control and explodes. In that state, I can't control myself. I want to see blood and hear miserable screams."

In the past, there were people in the village who could control me when I lost control, but later, no one could stop me. The only thing I could do was run out into the forest to vent my frustration when I was about to have an outburst.

Everything that happened during the out-of-control phase is a bit blurry in my mind; it's like there's another version of myself in my head. I didn't attack you intentionally. I'm very grateful that you knocked me unconscious.

Libra Shigego lowered his head, his tone filled with self-blame and pain.

"So, that's why you didn't run away after waking up and cooperated?" Lu Nie's voice came from outside the door.

Anko and Libra Jugo turned their gazes and saw Shikanobu carrying a large bag, walking in with Orochimaru. The bag was full of food.

At this moment, Jugo Tenbin seemed to have lost his ability to speak again and fell silent.

"Is it because you don't want to hurt others anymore, and you want to find someone who can control you when you go berserk? You must be a very kind person." Orochimaru put down the food, his golden eyes looking at the somewhat bewildered Libra Jugo with admiration in them.

He certainly didn't admire Libra Jugo's kind and gentle personality; he only admired the other's constitution, which allowed him to spontaneously absorb and use natural energy and still survive.

Naturally, a kind and gentle person who doesn't want to cause trouble for others is much easier to manage than an unruly person.

"So that's what you were planning?" Hongdou asked, somewhat belatedly realizing.

"I'm sorry." Feeling that he had caused trouble and inconvenience to the other person, Jugo immediately bowed his head and apologized.

"It's alright. My purpose in going there was to find you," Orochimaru replied honestly.

"Looking for me?" Jugo looked up, somewhat bewildered. He didn't know why someone would come looking for him, someone who always brought bad luck and trouble.

"I need your help, Jugo-kun." Orochimaru walked up to Jugo, squatted down to be at eye level with him, and reflected Jugo's face in his golden eyes, his eyes filled with greed and surprise.

"Me?" Jugo, who was being needed for the first time, pointed to himself, somewhat bewildered. He wasn't uncomfortable with the greed and surprise in Orochimaru's eyes.

He had seen far too many hateful and hostile gazes. He could always clearly sense the emotions some people had towards him. Although Orochimaru in front of him was not friendly, he didn't care about Jugo's malice.

What he couldn't understand was that he was being sought after and needed.

"Your body is a treasure, Jugo-kun. Let me study it. I'm sure you'll give me a very big surprise." Orochimaru revealed his purpose to Jugo without any concealment.

Orochimaru doesn't mind deceiving, but he'll be honest enough when there's no need to deceive.

For example, when he saw the three children who gave them flowers in the Land of Rain, he would seemingly coldly tell Jiraiya that the best way to help them was to kill them and free them.

He genuinely believed that in the war-torn environment of the Rain Country, it would be very difficult for these three children to survive, even if they did have some tricks up their sleeves.

The most compassionate thing to do for children living in war-torn areas is not to let them live another day, but to get them out of this hellish life as soon as possible. He didn't think his thinking was cold-blooded.

He just didn't expect that Jiraiya would choose to stay and take care of the three children until they were able to protect themselves.

"Huh, teacher, are you going to use him for an experiment?" Anko subconsciously looked at Orochimaru, then glanced at Shikanobu beside her, who seemed to be on the same page. Feeling excluded by the two of them again, she pouted and felt resentful.

"I'm willing." Jugo raised his hand: "As long as you can stop me from killing anymore and stop me when I go crazy, I'm willing to cooperate."

"Don't worry, maybe we can find a way to calm you down," Lu Nie added.

"Really?" Upon hearing Lu Nie's words, Jugo's eyes lit up, and his face was filled with excitement and joy.

"If we have enough data about your body, we can give it a try. The reason you're going crazy is because you can't control that enormous natural energy. But as long as you can control it, you can control your madness," Lu Nie yawned, rubbed his eyes, and comforted him.

Orochimaru glanced at Shikanobu but did not deny anything.

In fact, according to his own wishes, he didn't care at all whether Jugo could control himself. He was a pragmatist, and it was enough for Jugo to cooperate and allow him to conduct research.

Other minor details are just additional costs. The ever-cold Orochimaru has no time or energy to waste on a test subject.

Even if the test subject is important, he doesn't need to take care of the other person's psychology or help them solve any problems unless it's necessary.

Jugo's mood brightened for a moment, and he seemed more energetic. Although he couldn't quite believe Lu Nie's promise, the fact that the other party had given him such hope made it worth looking forward to.

Even without that promise, he would still cooperate with them willingly, wouldn't he?

……

Three more days have passed on the journey.

boom!

A loud noise suddenly came from inside a forest.

"I'll kill you all!" The mutated Jugo threw a punch at Anko.

Hidden Shadow Snake Hand!

As Anko dodged in an instant, a snake with bared fangs emerged from her sleeve, its teeth snapping at Jugo.

Just as Jugo was about to swing his arm to knock away the snake that was lunging at him, his body suddenly froze, his raised arm hanging in mid-air, and his yellow eyes swept towards Nara Shikane, who was using Anko as cover to block his view.

Shadow imitation technique.

As the deer maintained the seal, the control of the Shadow Technique was greatly hindered by Jugo's violent natural energy. It seemed that Jugo could regain control of his body at any moment through a burst of energy.

But Lu Nie didn't need to control it for long, because in the next instant, the snake summoned by Anko had already bitten the skin on Jugo's neck.

The hardened skin was no match for the snake's fangs. After the snake injected venom into its fangs, Jugo's resistance suddenly plummeted.

puff!

The snake connecting Jugo and Anko vanished into smoke. Shikane also dispelled his Shadow Imitation Technique.

However, Jugo remained motionless on the field, like a stone statue.

"Your neurotoxin actually worked!" Seeing Jugo unable to move, Anko breathed a sigh of relief.

Orochimaru transformed Jugo's tendency to go berserk every two or three days into a trial for them, requiring them to use different methods each time they reached their destination. This was to cultivate their combat skills and teamwork.

To be honest, if she hadn't mastered the Bloodstained Armor, she felt she wouldn't have lasted long against the berserk Jugo.

Although Jugo doesn't understand ninjutsu and relies entirely on brute force in battle, his fighting style is sharp and savage enough. With the support of natural energy, his body can transform into various modes to resist the attacks of the two.

Last time, she delayed Jugo for a long time before finally subduing him at the last moment with the help of Shikane using the Naraku-sight technique. This time it was easier, thanks to the neurotoxin Shikane had concocted and cultivated using a type of venomous snake from Ryuchi Cave.

Just a tiny bit is enough to render a huge wild boar incapacitated, and without immediate medical attention, it will suffocate.

"Is he alright?" Seeing the potent toxin, Red Bean looked at Jugo with some concern.

"Based on the data from last time, the dosage I set won't harm him. Right now, the natural energy in his body is fighting with the neurotoxin for control of his nervous system. Once the neurotoxin is mostly cleared out, the excess natural energy in his body should also dissipate completely."

After observing for a while and examining Jugo's physical condition with medical ninjutsu, Shiro Nie drew his conclusion.

(End of this chapter)