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Whoosh! Senju Hashirama's Chakra transmission was complete, and the Curse Mark on Sasuke's rear neck had completely turned pure white.
With the White Curse Mark, Sasuke could no longer sense the 'consciousness' residing within the Curse Mark. He had his own insights into this.
The jutsu called Curse Mark and the 'Karma' used by the Ōtsutsuki for reincarnation in later generations shared a similar principle.
And the Karma was divided into 'Black Karma' and 'White Karma'; the former contained the consciousness of the Ōtsutsuki, while the latter was purely used for the entrustment of power.
During Boruto's time, Isshiki had applied 'Black Karma' to Kawaki and 'White Karma' to Code respectively.
Therefore, Sasuke concluded, 'Is the White Curse Mark developed by Orochimaru using the principle of the White Karma? To completely entrust Senju Hashirama's power to me!'
Sasuke immediately tried to release the White Curse Mark!
White patterns were released from the Curse Mark; after covering his left arm, they spread slightly to his left chest and back.
"Ugh..." He couldn't release it any further, and his left half-body, covered by the talismans, was so painful it almost lost all sensation!
"Is Senju Hashirama's Chakra such a heavy burden for me right now? The pain from first using Susanoo back then wasn't even half of this. Just the partial State One of the Curse Mark is like this, and after this, who knows..."
Orochimaru said, "Don't refer to your past experience using the Black Curse Mark. The Black and White Curse Marks are not just a change in color; the jutsu's principles have fundamentally changed. The past Black Curse Mark was always just an external power source, but the White Curse Mark is a carrier of power, storing power that you temporarily cannot bear, and that power will eventually become a part of you!"
"As the White Curse Mark is released, your body will gradually absorb Senju Hashirama's power from within the White Curse Mark. Both your physical cells and Chakra will become like Senju Hashirama's."
"Therefore, Sasuke-kun, what you need to do now is to maintain the Curse Mark state in your daily life. You should be able to figure out the reason yourself."
Sasuke pondered, "Like a taijutsu practitioner's 'weighted training', right?"
Orochimaru nodded, "Exactly. The prerequisite for absorption is adaptation. It will be very difficult at first, but once your body adapts, the absorption progress will increase exponentially. However, your body is too young right now, and Senju Hashirama's power is too immense. It will take at least three years for you to fully absorb the White Curse Mark!"
Sasuke's gaze darkened, "Three years... Just to gain Senju Hashirama's power, it will take a full three years?"
To surpass the difference of thousands of years between him and Yama in thirty years, even if everything is difficult at the beginning, three years is too long!
Orochimaru: "So, we must take some extraordinary measures to speed up the process..."
Sasuke: "Extraordinary measures?"
Orochimaru: "There's nothing that promotes the growth of power more than combat, especially super-intense battles. When facing an overwhelmingly powerful enemy in a desperate situation, when mind and body are pushed to their limits, potential is best stimulated!"
"That's true..."
Sasuke deeply agreed.
The reason why he and Naruto were able to surpass the achievements of Madara and Hashirama at sixteen, besides their inherent potential, was primarily due to experiencing super-intense battles with powerful opponents in a very short period!
Orochimaru said, "Therefore, I have a 'Ten-Battle Plan'. If all goes well, it can shorten the original three-year progress to one year, and one year is the minimum time limit. Any faster would cause irreversible damage to your body and limit your future potential..."
Sasuke said, "Tell me about it!"
Orochimaru: "For the first two months, you will maintain the White Curse Mark release state at all times in your daily life, whether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down, to initially adapt to this power and absorb some of Senju Hashirama's Chakra. Then, starting from the third month, you will undergo a 'super-intense battle' every month. Ten months, well, it coincides with the time a baby is nurtured in its mother's womb. After these ten battles, you will complete your transformation!"
Sasuke listened intently, and after some thought, said, "I see. So, you've already planned out the opponents for the ten battles, right?"
Orochimaru chuckled, "I actually haven't yet~, because fixed opponents don't have comparative value. I will flexibly choose opponents for you based on your growth after each battle..."
Sasuke's eyes darkened, "So, for the first two months... I can't do anything after all?"
Orochimaru pointedly said, "Sasuke-kun, I understand your urgent desire to become stronger after your reincarnation, but anything in excess is detrimental. Being too eager for quick success can actually have a negative effect. Just wait patiently for two months..."
Sasuke felt his left half-body, which was painfully rigid after the Curse Mark transformation.
Indeed... Right now, I can barely move, let alone fight. A two-month buffer period is acceptable. I'll use these two months to adjust my mindset!
Thankfully... I'm not fighting alone.
"Orochimaru, let's do as you say!"
Whoosh!
Orochimaru exited his Shinigami manifestation mode, returning to his original appearance, looking somewhat fatigued.
Sasuke asked with concern, "By the way... The Shinigami's power is quite a burden for you, isn't it?"
Orochimaru: "Of course... Fortunately, unlike the Ten-Tails, most of the Shinigami's oppressive power is borne by the mind. If it weren't for the future me's blessing, I really couldn't bear it~"
"But even so... maintaining the Shinigami's unleashed state, five minutes is already the limit."
By the time the trio exited the underground base, it was already late at night.
Standing in the biting cold wind, Orochimaru considered their next move: "First, we need to settle down. The mission we're on doesn't allow for any mistakes. Our old hideouts can't be used anymore. We must find a place that absolutely cannot be discovered, to serve as a long-term and stable base."
Sasuke gazed at the cold moonlight in the sky: "I do have a place in mind. It's an island located in the outer sea of the Ninja World, adjacent to the Land of Water. Due to a special magnetic field, ships lose their way when approaching it, so it has never been discovered. It's a ghost island that doesn't exist on any map, isolated from the world. I once stumbled upon it by chance using the Rinnegan's space-time ability, and then figured out a way to get there..."
"Oh, I named that island 'Azure Moon Island', because the moon observed from that island is azure blue."
Orochimaru nodded, "Good, let's choose Azure Moon Island as our base. However, before that, we still need to go to one place, after all, there's a 'good eye' that we need to keep in our own hands..."
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses, his eyes dark, "Is Lord Orochimaru referring to 'Ke's' eye?"
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