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Sage Arts Chakra!
Shirō collected his bounty without any complications. After all, twenty million ryō wasn't a particularly large sum.
Naturally, this was also because he immediately slipped into a secluded corner and flew away the moment the payment was finalized.
With funds secured, Shirō returned to his tech-heavy routine. After repairing several puppets, he plunged headfirst into constructing his Workshop.
Half a month later, the isolation chamber was finally complete, and most of the Workshop was now operational.
The remaining two experimental zones couldn't be finished anytime soon—their costs were simply too high.
Still, Shirō couldn't proceed with attribute enhancement yet. One final, critical issue remained unresolved.
White Zetsu.
White Zetsu clones were scattered across the entire shinobi world and were notoriously difficult to detect. Shirō refused to attempt a breakthrough while they still existed.
The problem was that he didn't have a White Zetsu specimen on hand. Without firsthand data on their chakra and ninjutsu characteristics, he couldn't design proper isolation or exclusion magic.
Shirō knew the solution from the original timeline—but he lacked confidence in executing it.
He barely met the minimum requirements for Sage Mode, and its training was extremely dangerous. A single mistake could lead to petrification or severe physical mutation. If something went wrong and affected his magic circuits, the consequences would be catastrophic.
So traditional Sage Mode training was off the table. Moreover, aptitude was essential—without natural talent, one would never master it.
Shirō didn't want to gamble his future on something so uncertain.
After thinking it over carefully, however, he realized he'd been approaching the problem from the wrong angle.
To deal with White Zetsu, what he actually needed wasn't Sage Mode itself.
It was Sage Chakra.
There was a fundamental difference.
If Sage Chakra was the key, then it could theoretically be synthesized outside his body—much like Orochimaru's Cursed Seal.
Simple and direct: obtain Sage Chakra without risking himself.
But that raised another problem.
Orochimaru only developed the Cursed Seal after discovering Jūgo. At this point in time, Jūgo hadn't even been born yet. Forget the Cursed Seal—its foundation didn't exist.
So how was Shirō supposed to get Sage Chakra?
…Wait.
Jūgo?
Shirō froze slightly.
A distant memory surfaced, hazy and incomplete.
He frowned, thinking hard, but couldn't grasp it immediately. Finally, he sat down cross-legged and entered meditation.
Meditation sharpened his thoughts. Even long-buried memories often resurfaced in this state.
Moments later, realization struck.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Jūgo had forced White Zetsu out of a host without even activating a Cursed Seal.
That meant Jūgo's clan naturally possessed Sage Chakra. The only issue was that when its concentration rose too high, it caused violent mental instability.
In other words, their bodies produced Sage Chakra innately.
Although Jūgo himself hadn't been born yet, his parents should still be alive.
All Shirō needed to do was find them, capture them, and—
"Slap!"
Shirō smacked himself across the face.
"I'm such an idiot."
He only needed Sage Chakra.
There was no reason to go through all that trouble.
How much simpler would it be to go directly to Ryūchi Cave?
It was literally just a summoning away.
Tracking down Jūgo's parents would be tedious, and he'd still have to conduct extensive research. Their natural Sage Chakra likely wouldn't be as refined as Jūgo's later condition, which Orochimaru had deliberately cultivated.
Ryūchi Cave, on the other hand, specialized in Sage techniques.
Much cleaner. Much easier.
With that settled, Shirō immediately drew some blood and formed the summoning seal.
"Summoning Technique!"
Gray Snake appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Shirō, did you need something?"
"Gray Snake, do you know about Sage Arts?"
Gray Snake's pupils narrowed slightly.
"Where did you hear about Sage Arts?"
"From Minato. He's already started Sage training at Mount Myōboku, so I figured that since Ryūchi Cave is also one of the Three Great Sage Regions, you should have it too."
Naturally, this was a lie.
Minato was currently buried in Flying Thunder God refinements, sealing techniques, and advanced Rasengan research. He had neither the time nor the leisure to train in Sage Mode yet.
But Gray Snake wasn't close to Minato, and communication between the Three Sage Regions was limited. Shirō wasn't worried about being exposed.
Gray Snake studied him for a moment.
"You're not qualified yet. You're still too young, and your chakra reserves aren't sufficient."
"I know. I don't want to learn Sage Arts—I just want to understand it."
"I haven't begun training in it myself. Why? Do you need something?"
"Hehe. I want to research Sage Chakra."
Gray Snake frowned.
"That's dangerous."
"Don't worry. I'll only work with it externally. I won't absorb it."
"Hm…"
After a brief pause, Gray Snake nodded.
"Alright. When do you need it?"
Shirō glanced at the two unfinished experimental zones, sighed helplessly, and spread his hands.
"Not just yet. I need some more preparation time."
"Very well. Let me know when you're ready. I'll bring it to you."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Just remember to summon us more often in battle."
Shirō blinked in surprise, then smiled and nodded.
The reason Gray Snake and the others were so willing to answer Shirō's summons was simple: he treated them exceptionally well.
Compared to Orochimaru, it was like night and day.
If Shirō hadn't existed, their acceptance of Orochimaru would have remained fairly high. Snakes were cold-blooded by nature and didn't particularly care about casualties among their own kind. Moreover, Orochimaru felt less like a contractor and more like one of them—his aura and methods were deeply serpentine.
So before Shirō appeared, they had little reason to object.
But nothing in this world is more frightening than comparison.
Next to Orochimaru, Shirō was practically a doting parent.
He never threw them into unwinnable battles. He provided excellent food and treated them with respect. From their perspective, he was a model contractor.
Aside from Manda's faction—which preferred devouring humans—most of the snakes actively hoped to be summoned by Shirō. The fights were manageable, the待遇 was generous, and the contractor was considerate. Who wouldn't want that?
That was why Gray Snake had agreed so readily.
Though they were cold-blooded, they weren't mindless beasts. They were intelligent beings with their own thoughts and dignity.
Like anyone else, they wanted to be treated as equals—not disposable tools.
Over countless years and many contractors, very few had treated them the way Shirō did.
And since Shirō met them with sincerity, they returned it in kind.
…As long as the food kept coming.
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