Chapter 144: Snake Demon, I Want You to Help Me in My Cultivation
After Jiraiya and Orochimaru reached their bet, his mood became noticeably more cheerful.
Naruto's lips twitched.
The classic combination of an old man and a young girl.
But there were simply too many things to complain about in this harmonious scene.
For a moment, he didn't even know where to start.
As for the duel with Sasuke four years later, it didn't really matter to him.
Given that guy's personality, it would be more suspicious if he didn't seek him out for a match.
His only confusion was what Orochimaru wanted with Tenchi.
Since Sasuke followed along, it likely had something to do with him.
He would go to his place at night to ask.
Naruto originally thought Jiraiya and Orochimaruwould part ways after settling their deal.
But to his surprise, Jiraiya actually extended an invitation to drink, and Orochimaru surprisingly agreed.
The two of them moved to a different location.
Naruto didn't join in the fun.
He called En Yui and Isaribi over.
"Where's Tenchi?"
En Yui looked left and right; she was still thinking about finishing that guy off.
Naruto scratched his head; this was his oversight.
He looked at Sasuke and said, "Return Tenchi to me once he's no longer useful. Don't kill him for now; I still have some use for him."
Sasuke's eyes swept over En Yui and Isaribi, and he asked out of the blue, "Aren't you afraid Hinata will find out?"
"???"
Naruto's face was full of question marks.
What kind of nonsense are you talking about?
Don't just talk nonsense, okay!
I'm going to sue you for slander.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Naruto gave a serious warning.
Sasuke looked at him without saying a word, then left carrying the unconscious Tenchi.
Naruto gave a rough explanation of what had happened.
The happiest person was none other than Isaribi.
She had finally gained her freedom.
She just had to wait two more days.
Perhaps she could even return to the life of a normal person.
"It's fine, even if Tenchi can't do anything, Konohawill help you sort it out."
Naruto gave her some reassurance, "You know Tsunade, one of the Sannin, right? She is currently the Hokage of Konoha."
Isaribi nodded excitedly.
Tsunade, the greatest medical ninja in the Ninja World.
She had naturally heard of her.
If it were her, she would surely be able to cure her.
Regardless, Isaribi no longer had to stay on Mother Island.
She had no other friends or relatives anyway.
She packed her bags and decisively moved into the Inn with Naruto and En Yui.
Nighttime.
Jiraiya returned, dead drunk.
Naruto got him onto the bed to rest.
There were too many grievances between him and Orochimaru.
Meeting again after a long time must have been quite complicated for him.
While eating, Naruto remembered the plot from the original work where Tenchi used Isaribi to find the Royal Gold Transport Ship.
"Isaribi, do you know about the Royal Gold Transport Ship?"
"I do."
Isaribi nodded and said, "It's a gift from the Daimyo of the Land of Sea to the Daimyo of the Land of Water. Tenchi had me keep an eye on it before, but I never discovered the ship's location."
"I see."
Naruto was deep in thought.
So the plot hasn't been triggered yet.
They had arrived a step early.
"Teacher, why are you asking about this?"
En Yui looked at him, her eyes eager to try something.
She felt she had learned some skills and wanted to find an opportunity to test them out.
"What? You want to go commit a robbery too?"
"As long as Teacher gives the order, I'll go!"
En Yui had studied the doctrines of the White Lotus Sect and understood that these so-called gold transport ships were all ill-gotten gains, squeezed from the blood and sweat of the people.
She had no psychological burden about robbing them.
"That's just treating the symptoms, not the cause."
Naruto knew what she was thinking, but then realized he wasn't in his Merlin persona and shouldn't be saying such things.
"Fine, let's pull off a 'Cunning Capture of the Birthday Gifts'."
"Cunning capture?" En Yui's eyes widened. "How do we do it cunningly?"
"Listen to my instructions, like this... and like that..."
En Yui was quite excited after listening. She used to be the law-abiding type in the palace, but now she was actually going to commit a robbery; it was very thrilling.
She turned to Isaribi and asked, "Sister Isaribi, you'll go too, right?"
"Okay." Isaribi didn't know how to refuse En Yui, so she nodded in agreement.
"Before we go to sleep later, I'll tell you why we're doing this robbery." En Yui smiled and patted her head.
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
Good grief.
Joining the White Lotus Sect was really the right move for you.
You come with built-in brainwashing and pyramid scheme skills.
After dinner, En Yui pulled Isaribi into their room.
The two of them shared the same room.
Naruto didn't bother them.
He would let En Yui off for today.
The Merlin persona would take a day off.
Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Techniqueand appeared in Sasuke's room... oh, wait.
He looked around at his surroundings.
My goodness, what a massive white snake.
In front of him was what appeared to be a throne carved from stone.
A giant white-scaled snake was coiled there.
It wore purple ribbons, had a red luminescent pearl on its head, orange long hair, and was puffing on a tobacco pipe.
Without a doubt, it was the White Snake Sage.
And Sasuke was sitting not far from it, shirtless and covered in snake oil.
But that wasn't the point.
Mount Myōboku had toad oil, and Ryūchi Cave had snake oil; that wasn't surprising.
The point was that a green snake was coiled around his body.
A sentence immediately popped into Naruto's head:
"Bold snake demon, I want you to help me in my cultivation!"
What on earth is going on!
Brother Sakura would faint if she saw this.
The body she had coveted for so long was actually claimed by a snake first.
Naruto watched for a while and roughly understood the principle.
Sasuke was using the green snake to sense Natural Energy.
He immediately thought of Jiraiya.
His Sage Mode required relying on the two toads, Fukasaku and Shima.
Does this mean Sasuke has also taken this path?
A strange expression appeared on Naruto's face.
You Uchiha brothers really can't get away from snakes, can you?
Orochimaru's capture of Tenchi also had an explanation now.
It was most likely to make it easier for Sasuke and the green snake to communicate or merge?
After all, Tenchi's research was on the fusion of humans and beasts.
While Naruto was deep in thought, he felt a shadow cover him.
He looked up and saw the massive head of the White Snake Sage.
"Brat, you have quite the nerve to trespass into Ryūchi Cave?"
It looked down from above, exerting an immense pressure.
Given its original personality, it would have swallowed Naruto in one bite, but it sensed an extraordinary aura.
As the White Snake Sage, who shared equal fame with the Great Toad Sage, its abilities were not inferior to the Great Toad Sage's.
This person would be a major issue in the future.
"Hello, White Snake Sage. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, the successor of this generation from Mount Myōboku."
Naruto greeted politely.
The signature eye shadow appeared on his face.
"Sage Mode, I see."
The White Snake Sage's eyes narrowed.
This was indeed the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku.
That toad beat me to it.
The Great Toad Sage must have foreseen something; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken this brat as his successor.
It sat back on its throne, its tail swaying subconsciously.
The White Snake Sage didn't speak, and Narutodidn't speak either.
He sensed the massive Natural Energy within its body and couldn't help but marvel that it was indeed a white snake that had lived for a thousand years.
If he remembered correctly, it could apparently take human form—not as a White Snake Lady, but as an old woman.
Besides it, Ryūchi Cave also had several Snake Princesses, true beautiful serpent women.
Of course, they were also very dangerous; one could be swallowed if they weren't careful.
In short, Naruto wouldn't provoke the Summoned Beasts of the Three Great Sage Regions for now; he'd wait for later.
Sasuke opened his eyes.
The green snake on him immediately released his body. Noticing a stranger, it looked at Naruto with some curiosity.
Compared to the hot-tempered Manda, Aoda was undoubtedly much easier to talk to.
Naruto smiled at it as a greeting.
"Naruto?"
Sasuke was stunned for a moment, then remembered it was time for their daily check-in to exchange Chakra.
However, he had found a new method today, so he had gone straight to training with Aoda and forgotten about it.
He felt the sliver of Sage Chakra in his body and put his clothes on with satisfaction.
Though it was very little, it represented his entry into Sage Mode.
He had finally closed another gap with Naruto and felt more confident about defeating him in the future.
"White Snake Sage, Sasuke will take his leave now."
His training for today was complete, and he planned to return to Otogakure.
The White Snake Sage glanced at Naruto; although it wanted to know more about him, it wasn't in a hurry.
It could see that the two of them had a good relationship.
There would be other opportunities to meet in the future, so it sent the two of them out of Ryūchi Cave.
A moment later, a young girl appeared.
She had long green hair, wore a golden crown, and was draped in white robes. She was none other than the White Snake Sage's confidante,
Tagitsuhime.
Her status was roughly equivalent to Fukasaku and Shima of Mount Myōboku.
"Go investigate someone."
The White Snake Sage instructed, "His name is Uzumaki Naruto, the successor of Mount Myōboku. Find out what that old toad's prophecy says about him."
Tagitsuhime was somewhat surprised to hear this.
The White Snake Sage had never paid such close attention to a human before.
Was there something special about this guy?
But she didn't ask; she nodded and turned to leave.
The scenery shifted.
Naruto steadied himself and didn't waste any words, exchanging Chakra with Sasuke.
The feeling of fullness in his eyes became increasingly apparent.
He felt like something might be birthed from them one day.
But it would probably require a catalyst.
Another two days passed.
Tenchi was of no more use.
He was brought back by Sasuke.
Naruto had him use the Sharingan to perform hypnosis.
To avoid wasting words.
Under Sasuke's control, Tenchi performed surgery on Isaribi.
It was a close call but went without a hitch.
The surgery was a success, and Isaribi was restored to the appearance of a normal young girl.
En Yui's blade fell with a 'crack,' happily sending this mad scientist on his way.
Naruto was actually quite surprised.
This student of his was naturally mentally strong.
She didn't feel any discomfort from her first kill.
This could be considered a talent.
Although the matter was over, they did not leave.
Naruto was waiting for news of the Royal Gold Transport Ship.
Jiraiya was out drinking with Orochimaru.
Isaribi and En Yui became friends and fellow disciples.
That's right, Naruto had gained another student.
Although Isaribi had lost her fish-like abilities, her talent was quite good.
After all, she was valued by Orochimaru and Tenchi and was the only experimental subject to survive.
So, during the day, Naruto taught his two students Chakra refinement, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu, while also taking time to practice Sealing Jutsu himself; at night, Merlin would come online to teach En Yuithe doctrines of the White Lotus Sect.
Life was very fulfilling.
A week passed.
Naruto finally got news of the Royal Gold Transport Ship.
They would set off tomorrow and arrive at the Metropolis of the Land of Water in five days.
Considering his plan, after observing the route, Naruto went straight to Wudi City.
He needed the help of the White Lotus Sect's manpower.
And also to have them transport the gold away.
Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to handle so much gold alone.
Naruto didn't see his Shadow Clone, but Haku instead.
"Lord Guardian."
Haku bowed gracefully; he had already learned his identity from the Sect Leader.
"The Sect Leader is busy and cannot get away, so I will handle it."
"No need for such formalities."
Naruto waved his hand and told him the plan.
"I will make the arrangements,"
Haku nodded and said.
Three days later.
On an island in the sea.
This was a supply town on the route, and the gold transport ship would most likely stop here.
Naruto finally understood the terror of the White Lotus Sect.
In just a few short days, they had replaced all the people in the entire town, just waiting for the arrival of the gold transport ship.
At the largest Izakaya in town.
Naruto, En Yui, and Isaribi used the Transformation Jutsu.
He was the owner, and his two students were the waiters.
Not long after.
An ordinary-looking young man opened the door curtain, said nothing, but made a hand gesture.
Naruto nodded slightly.
It meant the guards escorting the gold transport ship had disembarked.
He walked to the door, thinking about the information on this owner.
His name was Koji, and he knew the guard leader, Kadota.
A minute later, Kadota and his dozen or so subordinates appeared in his field of vision.
They wore red cloth armor; their uniform attire was very conspicuous.
Kadota looked at the Izakaya.
Having been cooped up on the ship for several days, he felt a bit restless.
Seeing Koji, he smiled and said, "Owner, long time no see."
"Lord Kadota is still so polite, please come in quickly."
Naruto put on a professional smile, reached out to put an arm around his neck, and said, "Tonight's expenses are on me, eat and drink as you please."
"Hahaha."
Kadota patted his shoulder and said with satisfaction, "As expected of a good citizen of the Land of Sea."
"Of course."
Naruto immediately shouted to En Yui and Isaribi, "Waiters, bring the wine."
In a moment, the aroma of wine wafted through the air.
But Kadota was still rational.
He didn't let his subordinates drink.
Naruto accompanied him in drinking.
En Yui and Isaribi kept serving dishes to the others.
"Lord Kadota, how many is this?"
Naruto held up one finger and asked.
"Looks like three."
Kadota's head was swaying, and he was seeing double as he looked at the finger.
"It seems your lordship is not very sober."
Naruto slapped him.
Kadota was stunned on the spot. Just as he was about to speak, another slap came.
"Still not sober?"
He delivered another dozen or so slaps.
"Is this wine that strong?"
Naruto couldn't help but ask.
"Maybe... probably... Teacher, it's likely you slapped him unconscious, right?"
Isaribi said, not quite sure.
Naruto looked at Kadota's swollen face, cleared his throat, and said, "Pull in the net!"
En Yui and Isaribi were stunned to hear this.
What net?
Haku walked in with his people.
The scene was immediately cleared out.
At the same time, to their dumbfounded amazement, the entire town was dismantled, as if it had never existed.
"Beautiful sister, who are you all?"
En Yui couldn't help but ask.
Even in the Land of Fire, she had never seen such an efficient demolition crew.
"White Lotus Sect."
"White Lotus Sect?!"
En Yui cried out in surprise, subconsciously looking at Naruto, not understanding what was going on.
"Is there a problem?" Haku asked.
"Do you know Merlin?"
"Naturally, he is the Right Guardian of our White Lotus Sect."
"..."
En Yui looked up at the sky.
Her previous intuition was not wrong.
She had indeed betrayed the Land of Fire.
And she had joined her father's greatest headache, the White Lotus Sect.
Thanks to Big Boss Qingfeng Si for the tip. PS: I'll post four thousand words today.