The same day the negotiations concluded, the master and disciple did not continue their journey as originally planned.
This was because Jiraiya was utterly drunk, dead drunk.
After returning, Jiraiya had Naruto take him to Mount Myōboku, then requested several barrels of sake and carried them away.
This time, he didn't seek out Gamabunta. He drank alone in a corner, drunk to the point of unconsciousness.
During this time, there was wild laughter, sorrow, loss... all sorts of emotions.
After so many years, he finally had an exchange with Orochimaru.
Even if... it was only a few sentences.
Even if... it was across a corpse.
Even if... he still didn't understand Orochimaru's actions.
Perhaps he didn't not understand; perhaps his heart still dwelled in that time when the three of them fought side-by-side.
Naruto didn't disturb him, cultivating at Mount Myōboku until the next day.
Of course, quiet was impossible. The thumping sounds of the ground being pounded made Fukasaku Sage feel like countless black rods had been plunged into his heart.
At noon, after lunch, the two returned to the Mo Xie Treasure Brick. Guided by Shunfeng, they continued their journey.
Along the way, Jiraiya was radiant, as if he had grown several years younger. He hummed little tunes, occasionally taking a small sip of sake.
His joy was evident.
Naruto didn't bother him; he understood the situation. Even a dork who hadn't spoken to his goddess in years would react this way after suddenly getting a few words with her.
In the evening, just as Naruto was about to send a clone to sign in, Jiraiya called out to him.
"Wait." Wiping oil from his lips, Jiraiya formed a hand seal: "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"What now?"
"Take me with you," Jiraiya's clone said.
You can use Shadow Clones to go play at Orochimaru's base, so why can't I?
Naruto was dumbfounded.
Holy crap, you pervy old man, you're really going for the full-court press.
"What's with that expression? Aren't you going to research that chain? Perfect, I'll go help out," Jiraiya explained.
A shameless person truly is invincible. There was nothing Naruto could do but send him off.
As Naruko, pulling Jiraiya's clone, arrived at Orochimaru's base, the duty-bound Edo Tensei corpse exclaimed in surprise, "Jiraiya?"
"It's a clone."
"Oh."
Jiraiya's clone scanned the surroundings, then sat on the ground and said to Naruko, "Sake, food."
Naruko laid out a table of dishes and provided him with a sofa, then ran to Karin's side.
Jiraiya's clone held up a cup to the Edo Tensei corpse: "A drink?"
On the other side, Kabuto, who was controlling the corpse, turned to Orochimaru, who was currently experimenting: "Lord Orochimaru?"
"Drink with him."
That night, a clone drank with the dead.
The two sides exchanged less than five sentences in total, but the next day, Jiraiya was even happier.
The next day, in the afternoon, Ryūchi Cave.
Sasuke sat on the ground, panting. His consumption was considerable.
When Natural Energy was forced out of the body, it would take some of one's own chakra with it. Naruto had a lot of chakra and didn't care, but Sasuke couldn't afford that.
The Uchiha were not a clan known for abundant chakra; their base reserves weren't high. Even after strengthening with dragon meat, Sasuke's chakra couldn't compare to even a twentieth of Naruto's.
Others might be able to slowly recover their chakra before training again, but Sasuke was in a hurry.
Controlling this power would give him the capital to fight Itachi; he couldn't afford not to be in a hurry.
Reaching for the stone bucket beside him, Sasuke prepared for his next training session.
The stone bucket contained a white paste. Mount Myōboku had toad oil, and Ryūchi Cave also had snake oil, but Ryūchi Cave's had solidified into a paste, a snake oil paste.
"You will die," the White Snake Sage warned.
Logically, its nature dictated it wouldn't say such things, but it had a good impression of Sasuke.
Not because he was handsome.
It was because it sensed a draconic nature in Sasuke, different from the dragon one evolved into when cultivating Snake Sage Mode, more like a dragon from another world.
It could sense that this draconic nature was primarily concentrated in Sasuke's stomach.
And like the Great Toad Sage, the White Snake Sage also possessed strange abilities, similar to causality manipulation.
An ability to immediately know the outcome of whatever it thought of.
However, it was hit-or-miss.
When Sasuke first arrived, this ability worked once. The answer it received was that if it ate this child, it would evolve a pair of... black and red wings.
This greatly intrigued the White Snake Sage.
Sasuke had no choice but to give up. After a moment's thought, he placed his hand on the sealing jutsu on his wrist and asked, "Excuse me, may I call someone?"
What if I run out of chakra? Replenish it!
"You may," the White Snake Sage genuinely liked Sasuke. "Only one."
"Thank you," Sasuke said, lighting an oil lamp and drawing an 'x'.
This was Naruto's signal: 'o' for safe, 'x' for unsafe nearby.
On the other side, sensing the 'x', Naruto immediately knew who it was.
Oil lamps had been given to four people in total: Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hinata, and Sasuke. The first two were safe wherever they went. Hinata would always find a safe place before contacting him.
Only Sasuke would draw an 'x'.
Because it was a call from Sasuke, Naruko snatched the spot.
As soon as she stepped out of the teleportation gate, Naruko exclaimed, "My goodness, Ryūchi Cave!"
"A clone?" Sasuke asked.
"Yep," Naruko nodded.
"Are you sure?"
"Yep," Naruko said. "Come, Sasuke, I'll sing you a song."
Naruko hadn't forgotten her love for singing: "West Lake..."
Since she hadn't transformed, she was exceptionally off-key.
Before she could even sing the third word, Sasuke, crackling with lightning, raised the sword in his hand.
Naruko's pupils constricted: "Wh—"
"Body coming?" Sasuke's sword fell.
Thump.
Sasuke knew the characteristic of Naruto's clones: they press 'B' and refuse to recall, never leaving until they're dead.
They wouldn't stop messing around until they died, and most of their deaths were by self-detonation. This was Ryūchi Cave; letting a clone explode would affect the White Snake Sage, so Sasuke took matters into his own hands.
At the same time, he was also giving the choice to Naruto: the clone had scouted it out, now it's up to you whether to come or not.
When the clone died and its memories transmitted back, Naruto instantly felt a surge of resentment rush to his head, a resentment so profound that three Ju-on films wouldn't be enough to capture it.
He quickly split Naruko out again and sent her to Mount Myōboku to cleanse her mind.
Then, Naruto teleported to Ryūchi Cave.
"Main body?"
"Yeah," Naruto replied grumpily.
Sasuke said nothing, a small electric spark dancing in his hand.
Naruto instantly understood.
You're how old and still haven't weaned?
Naruto felt that Uchiha Mikoto hadn't nursed as much as he had.
So, after I die, do I need to ask Mikoto for some 'nanny money'?
His mind was filled with numerous thoughts when suddenly, a sense of oppression enveloped his entire body.
The White Snake Sage unfurled its serpent body, a pair of snake eyes staring directly at Naruto. Its unique ability was back online.
If eating Sasuke would evolve wings, then this one was even more impressive.
If it ate him, it could... lay eggs!
And they would be tricolored eggs: black, white, and red!
The White Snake Sage's gaze was too explicit, full of oppressive power. Naruto instinctively channeled Nine-Tails' chakra, his eyes also turning into vertical slits, staring back at the White Snake Sage.
At this moment, he remembered his name from his previous life.
My name is Xu Xian, and I'm currently being stared at by a thousand-year-old White Snake Demon. From its eyes, I can tell it wants to lay eggs with me. What should I do? Waiting online, it's urgent.
Meanwhile, at Mount Myōboku, Naruko sat at a piano, randomly banging on the keys, then sang: "...'s water, my tears!"
The feeling of having a song stuck halfway was exceptionally uncomfortable; she had to finish it.
Because of the pent-up frustration from being cut down by Sasuke, she was so off-key that no one, let alone a toad, not even a god, could tell what she was singing.
The White Snake Sage coiled back into its original position, its expression returning to normal. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, that toad's successor?"
"Mm." Seeing the White Snake Sage return to normal, Naruto also retracted his vertical pupils.
"Interesting. That toad is still alive, huh."
Naruto was stunned.
Are you two competing over who lives longer?
🚨 Note : Consider to Support this Story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access +400 advance Chapters & 2 Chapters Daily and To Support The Daily Update