Yamato had a nightmare, a past he was unwilling to remember.
It was the nightmare of the past when Yamato was used as a Wood Release experimental subject.
He witnessed his companions dying one by one in the Hashirama cells experiments with his own eyes.
He also saw Orochimaru's dissections of those experimental subjects.
The cold blade slicing through skin, the subtle sound of flesh separating from bone was exceptionally clear, and the smell of blood mixed with the chill of the instruments wafted through the air...
Despair and intense pain intertwined, making even his trembling weak; this was hell.
The most hellish part was when Orochimaru discovered that Yamato had successfully integrated the Hashirama cells and obtained Wood Release.
From then on, he was treated by Orochimaru as a tool to be dissected, modified, and made to lose his sense of self.
Female Orochimaru walked over with Anko, looked at Yamato, and said, "Yamato is probably thinking about the days when I used him as an experimental subject."
"This child was the only survivor among those sixty Hashirama cells experimental subjects; he saw people just like him turn into cold corpses with his own eyes."
"That is a kind of despair where all struggling becomes futile, where one can only watch everything fall into the abyss, unable to grasp even a single ray of light."
Yamato woke up, and the moment he opened his eyes, he saw Female Orochimaru.
He immediately fell to the ground in terror, trembling as he backed away: "Don't come over here, don't come over!"
Although Female Orochimaru differed greatly from the main body Orochimaru in both clothing and appearance, the person was still the same.
That cold, eerie, calm, and treacherous temperament could not be changed.
"..."
Female Orochimaru looked at Yamato silently, neither moving forward nor backward.
Toward Anko, Female Orochimaru felt immense guilt.
But toward Yamato, she merely acknowledged the harm she had caused him.
She couldn't sever her connection to everything the main body was; could she say that being Orochimaru's 'good' clone meant she could discard the evil deeds Orochimaru had committed?
Could she say that because she saw the truth of the world, she could harm her relatives and companions without limits?
A person is a person; as long as the essence of the soul remains unchanged, then everything done is on you.
Female Orochimaru admitted her harm to Yamato, but she wouldn't feel guilt; what was done was done.
So what, you're not satisfied?
She felt guilt toward Anko because Anko was Orochimaru's disciple, raised by him.
Yamato was also a disciple, but the time was too short, and no feelings had been cultivated.
Ryou stepped forward to comfort Yamato: "Yamato, don't be afraid anymore, everything you just experienced was a dream!"
Yamato looked at his hands and slowly realized—it was a dream, it really was a dream.
Yamato remembered.
He and Anko had successfully passed the first and second trials of the Three Great Snake Princesses, and when they reached the third trial, Tagitsuhime gave each of them a bite.
Then, showing that being young is great, he just fell over and slept.
After falling asleep, Yamato had a very realistic nightmare.
Fortunately it was a nightmare, but Yamato never wanted to see such a nightmare again.
He now possessed power; as long as he could successfully practice Senjutsu, he could obtain the power of a Sage to protect more of his companions.
Yamato stood up to look at the person comforting him.
With a high bridge to his nose, a cold face, and black eyes as sharp as blades, he was a handsome young man.
But the moment Yamato saw him, he fell to the ground again in fright, his face full of horror: "U... U—Uchiha Ryou!!"
Yamato was a Shinobi of the Root, so he naturally knew what Ryou looked like!
His fear of him was natural because Ryou was the second biggest villain in the Shinobi World besides Madara.
Yamato's fear of Orochimaru stemmed from past experiences, but for Ryou and Madara, it was an instinctive fear.
Like a mouse meeting a cat, or an incompetent husband meeting a successful middle-aged company president.
This was absolute suppression.
Yamato quickly formed hand seals to use Wood Release, wanting to attack Ryou.
Ryou's speed was faster than his; with a single seal, he summoned vines that bound Yamato's entire body, specifically targeting his hands.
With the vines binding Yamato's hands, he couldn't form seals anymore.
Ryou stepped forward and first slapped Yamato twice: "Yamato, I finally try to be a good person for once, why are you so afraid of me?"
"Am I going to eat people?"
Yamato was somewhat panicked; he felt his chakra being absorbed by the vines.
Ryou's Wood Release was different from Yamato's.
This was the highest level of Wood Release, a Wood Release capable of absorbing chakra.
Hashirama's Wood Release techniques that could absorb chakra were only demonstrated in the Wood Dragon Technique.
Other techniques, such as Deep Forest Emergence, Great Forest Technique, and True Several Thousand Hands, did not exhibit the characteristic of absorbing chakra.
In the original work, during the Chunin Exams, when Hashirama's Edo Tensei body activated Deep Forest Emergence to bind the Third Hokage, the opponent's chakra was not absorbed.
It wasn't that it couldn't absorb, but that there was no need to, because the large-scale restraint and sealing of Deep Forest Emergence alone could eliminate the enemy.
This move was only suitable for clearing out small fry; it was useless against elite Shinobi.
And to deal with elite Shinobi, high-level Ninjutsu like the Wood Golem Technique and Wood Dragon Technique were needed.
Only the Wood Dragon Technique demonstrated the chakra-absorbing property of Wood Release, which was particularly effective against Tailed Beasts.
Besides that, neither the Wood Golem Technique nor the True Several Thousand Hands exhibited the characteristic of Wood Release absorbing chakra.
They belonged to absolute numerical superiority, overpowering with sheer force; one punch would clear the map, so there was no need to absorb your chakra at all.
But Hashirama's Wood Release traced back to the God Tree; as long as the God Tree's Roots touched a person, they could absorb chakra.
Hashirama could too.
He just rarely did so.
Yamato was different; he only inherited Hashirama's techniques. To display the chakra-devouring property of Hashirama cells, he would need to perform stronger techniques.
Like the Wood Dragon Technique.
But Yamato's chakra wasn't enough; the Wood Dragon Technique is an S-rank Wood Release Ninjutsu, and Yamato did not possess the chakra to perform high-level Wood Release.
In fact, Ninjutsu being able to devour chakra is not particularly rare; many Ninjutsu have the characteristic of devouring chakra.
For example, Kisame's Great Shark Bullet Technique, which is an S-rank Water Release.
This technique attacks the enemy by condensing chakra into a giant shark-shaped water bullet. It has the property of absorbing chakra from the opponent's Ninjutsu, becoming stronger as it encounters strength.
If used against a Tailed Beast, this move is like the Wood Dragon Technique, becoming stronger when facing a Tailed Beast.
But Kisame's Great Shark Bullet met Guy's Daytime Tiger—a high-pressure air bullet formed by compressing air—which could not absorb the storm-like shockwave.
So Kisame lost to Guy.
Ichikishimahime said to Ryou, "Ryou, Orochimaru and Tagorihime have come looking for us. Let's leave here first!"
"Since Tagitsuhime didn't give you a trial, it means you've passed. Next, I'll take you to see the Patriarch!"
Ryou nodded.