Uchiha's personal opinion

The snake flicked its tongue, seemingly savoring the delicious taste of the egg.

"……I see."

Orochimaru hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

Although he didn't know why the so-called White Snake Sage summoned him in the middle of the night, Orochimaru still decided to find out.

"That's fine then. I'll activate the reverse spirit summoning in twenty minutes. Don't refuse..."

The flower snake flicked its tongue and said, "By the way, you should also change your clothes. You need to be more dignified when you meet the White Snake Immortal!"

Orochimaru glanced down at his white bathrobe, too lazy to argue about such trivial matters, and nodded.

"boom!"

The flower snake transformed into a wisp of smoke and disappeared, while Orochimaru returned to his bedroom to change his clothes and then went to his study to sit quietly.

"boom!"

After a while, Orochimaru also responded to the summoning of the Reverse Summoning Jutsu, transforming into a wisp of smoke and heading to Ryuchi Cave.

"Ouch~"

A pitcher plant, clearly black and white, emerged from the corner of Orochimaru's study.

"Hey! Kuroko!"

The white part of the pitcher plant's body twitched incessantly. "Your illusion magic doesn't seem to work very well~ This guy's completely out of control~"

"By the way, what kind of 'dung' is that snake that looks like poop talking about, Ryuchi Cave? Is it a poop storage facility?"

"……Shut up!"

The black part of the pitcher plant cursed viciously, "How could you, such a foolish piece of trash, possibly understand my profound plans as the embodiment of Lord Madara's will!"

"Huh~ Did he get beaten up by a brat and lose half his body like Lord Madara?"

Although the white pitcher plant spoke jokingly, its eyes flashed with murderous intent.

"Let's go, let's go!"

The black pitcher plant forcibly dragged the other half of the white pitcher plant underground.

Chapter 284 The Secret Meeting in the Snake Cave

Ryuchi Cave, which is as famous as Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest, is a sacred place founded by the so-called three living sages, the White Snake Sage, and is also a paradise for snakes in the ninja world.

Led by the flower snake, Orochimaru calmly passed through the gloomy tunnel of Ryuchi Cave and arrived at a cave temple under the watchful eyes of countless venomous snakes of all shapes and sizes.

The three goddesses floating in mid-air showed no sign of making things difficult. After the flower snake simply nodded in greeting, the leading goddess, the goddess of the field, waved her hand, and the heavy stone gate of the temple opened silently.

Beyond the stone gate lay a deep, dark maw that seemed poised to devour anyone who might enter.

The flower snake was the first to move its body into the stone gate, and its form was immediately swallowed by the darkness, with not even a trace of its shape or scent remaining.

Orochimaru stepped through the stone gate without hesitation and entered the temple where the White Snake Sage resided.

Princess Ichikishima, one of the three goddesses of Ryuchi-dong, also waved her hand, and the stone gate of the temple closed silently once again.

"...Why does the great immortal want to see this monster?"

Among the three goddesses, Tsuratsuhime is the youngest and the most impulsive, so she asked Takoshi no matter what, "Besides, I remember that this fake snake doesn't have mastered the secret techniques of the Ryuchi Cave lineage, right? Why would the Great Immortal value this mediocre mortal so much?"

"The great immortal naturally has other intentions, and this is not something a junior like you should know..."

Princess Ichikishima replied listlessly, "It's been so long since any trainees have entered Ryuchi Cave. I've almost forgotten what a ninja smells like..."

"That's right, that's right!"

Princess Tsuratsu also grinned and said, "That fake snake only summons that Manda guy, and doesn't even bother to offer us any sacrifices!"

"Shut up!"

Seeing that the two snake women's conversation was getting further and further off-topic, Princess Tianxin reprimanded them, saying, "Don't make wild guesses about the Great Immortal's intentions, and don't violate the principles of seclusion!"

"Honestly, they're so young but they act like they know everything..."

After being scolded, Tsurugi-hime muttered in a low voice, but loud enough for Tashin-no-Hashi-hime to hear, "I don't understand why the Great Sage won't let us go hunting. There are so many ninjas in the ninja world, even if we ate a hundred a day, we couldn't finish them all in a year..."

"If you dare to talk nonsense and break the rules of Ryuchi Cave again, I won't be polite to you!"

Without hesitation, Princess Tianxin revealed her venomous fangs and snake eyes, threatening him.

……

Walking in the darkness, Orochimaru followed his instincts and kept walking forward until he saw a glimmer of candlelight ahead.

As the footsteps drew closer, the scene in the candlelight gradually revealed its true form.

A colossal serpent with orange hair, yellow eyes, and white phosphorus coiled on a high platform, puffing out smoke from a huge pipe in its mouth, while a green cat's eye stone on its chest shimmered with something.

As Orochimaru approached, the first thing he saw was the shimmering scene in the green cat's eye stone on the White Snake Sage's chest, which made his heart skip a beat.

—The scene in the green cat's eye stone was almost exactly the same as the scene in his dream!

"Greetings, Great Immortal White Snake..."

Orochimaru's expression quickly returned to normal, and he bowed to the white phosphorus serpent on the throne.

"Orochimaru……"

The pipe in the White Snake Immortal's mouth was still puffing out smoke. "You saw that too, didn't you?"

"...Could tonight's dream actually be a message from a great immortal, giving me some kind of advice?"

Orochimaru guessed.

"It was not my doing..."

The White Snake Immortal, Shen Ying, was unexpectedly gentle, like an ordinary old farm woman, her voice plain yet slightly hoarse, like a snake flicking its tongue.

Orochimaru remained silent.

"The past of the ninja world is in my grasp, whether in reality or in the virtual world..."

The White Snake Sage explained, "But there will always be places I cannot reach, such as Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and some special areas..."

Orochimaru still didn't reply, but just lowered his head and stared blankly at the throne where the White Snake Sage sat.

"You are a contractor of Ryuchi Cave, and also a ground traveler representing the will of Ryuchi Cave, so I will pay a little more attention to you..."

The White Snake Immortal continued, "Furthermore, some unusual things have happened to you, which is indeed worth paying attention to..."

"...Then, White Snake Immortal, what is the meaning of dreams?"

Orochimaru asked a question, while also raising his head to stare at the White Snake Sage's huge, topaz-like snake eyes.

"...the power of Yin-Yang Release."

The White Snake Immortal uttered an unexpected answer.

Orochimaru was shocked inside, but he maintained a calm exterior.

Someone's up to no good...

This was Orochimaru's first thought.

"...In the plans of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as the Sage of Six Paths, the future will bring about the end of a thousand years of accumulated grievances."

The White Snake Sage's voice grew increasingly shrill, "And that self-important, stinking toad from Mount Myōboku was the mastermind behind Hagoromo's scheme..."

Orochimaru remained silent once again.

He thought of that big idiot with whom he had a complicated relationship.

"Who possesses the power of Yin-Yang Release... and is attempting to influence me through my dreams?"

Orochimaru remained silent for a while before speaking softly.

He is an extremely arrogant person.

He is also a person with a strong will, who believes that no one can influence his true self.

Now, however, a dream has influenced his mind by connecting his past and inner self, which is an absolute disgrace for Orochimaru.

"...Although I possess knowledge of the past of the ninja world, I am not omniscient or omnipotent."

The White Snake Sage also frankly admitted his shortcomings: "There are still many places in the ninja world that I cannot reach..."

Unlike the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, who can foresee the future, the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave controls the "past," and theoretically, everything that happens in the ninja world will reach the White Snake Sage's ears.

Of course, this is only in theory. There are still quite a few forces capable of countering Ryuchi Cave's perception.

"I only sensed something was wrong with you, so I called you over to take a look. Now that you're alright, I'm relieved..."

The White Snake Immortal continued.

"Is there anything Ryuchi-dong needs me to do?"

Orochimaru asked in a deep voice, "Otherwise... the Great Sage's concern is truly perplexing..."

"Hehehe..."

The White Snake Sage let out an enigmatic laugh: "You only need to act according to your own heart. Ryuchi Cave doesn't need your humble power. Your existence is merely a stick to stir up the stagnant waters of the ninja world. No matter how the ninja world changes, it won't affect Ryuchi Cave, hidden deep beneath the earth..."

"I see……"

Orochimaru replied with mixed feelings.

Orochimaru then added, "May I ask a few more questions?"

"Go ahead and tell me~"

The White Snake Immortal seemed to be in a good mood after confiding in someone, and even the smoke from the pipe in his mouth seemed to increase.

Why is Ryuchi Cave unwilling to interfere with the direction of the ninja world? And why is Mount Myōboku sending its earthwalkers in the name of prophecy to try to find a so-called savior to end the war?

This is also what Orochimaru finds most perplexing about Jiraiya's behavior.

"The stinky toad of Mount Myōboku thought it could predict the future, but its predictions were often wrong and could be changed by external forces..."

The White Snake Immortal replied, "Ryūchi Cave represents the power of the earth and the past. Too much involvement with the mundane world is not in Ryūchi Cave's interest."

"...Is that so?"

Orochimaru didn't completely believe the White Snake Sage's answer, but he didn't ask any further questions.