Chapter 21: Two Faced

The python took the contract scroll, and with a puff of white smoke, disappeared from Orochimaru's room.

Orochimaru looked down at the snake skin in his hand, murmuring to himself, "I felt the aura of this white snake skin, and couldn't resist coming up from the basement? How fascinating… Could this snake skin have belonged to the White Snake Sage?"

The White Snake Sage, ruler of Ryūchi Cave, was one of the three legendary sages, alongside the Slug Sage and Toad Sage. The snake skin in Orochimaru's possession exuded a unique aura, one that could only be associated with a creature as powerful as the White Snake Sage.

But as far as Orochimaru remembered, the White Snake Sage was enormous far beyond the size of the snake skin he held in his hands. The pieces didn't seem to fit together.

"Forget it," Orochimaru shook his head, dismissing the thought. "I can't access Ryūchi Cave now anyway. Thinking too much won't lead to answers."

With no clear direction to investigate the mystery, Orochimaru decided to shelve the matter for now. After all, Ryūchi Cave was a sacred and hidden place accessible only to those who knew its location. Unlike the toads of Mount Myoboku, the snakes of Ryūchi Cave couldn't use reverse summoning techniques to bring others to their domain.

In the end, Orochimaru knew that if he wanted answers, he would have to find Ryūchi Cave himself someday. For now, he could only wait and focus on his current goals.

His next issue was the Kusanagi Sword, which he had recently acquired.

While he wasn't particularly skilled in swordsmanship, Orochimaru recognized the sword's immense value as a weapon. He had obtained it and didn't intend to just hand it over to someone else for free.

However, a new problem arose: where to store it?

The idea of storing it inside his body, like the original Orochimaru did, crossed his mind. But he quickly dismissed the thought keeping a sword inside his body felt both unsightly and unnecessary at this point in time. The Kusanagi Sword wasn't as critical to him now as it might have been later in his life.

Sealing it in a scroll was an option. But scrolls were external objects if lost, the Kusanagi Sword would be lost too. This was clearly not an ideal solution.

Then, he considered placing it in the system warehouse.

This option seemed promising. However, it had one drawback: when retrieving objects from the system, the process involved a spatial fluctuation something akin to the space-time ninjutsu used by Uchiha Obito, not the white smoke seen with conventional space scrolls.

While the spatial principle was intriguing, using such a technique at his current age might draw unwanted attention. People might become suspicious if a six-year-old was suddenly able to access another dimension.

Orochimaru pondered for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

"It doesn't matter. I don't need to use the Kusanagi Sword often, so where I store it isn't important for now."

With that decision made, Orochimaru waved his hand. A ripple in space occurred, and the Kusanagi Sword disappeared into the system warehouse.

---

After securing the summoning technique contract and the Kusanagi Sword, Orochimaru felt much better. His mood improved, as he now possessed tools for future growth.

He knew that all three sacred lands Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave taught senjutsu (sage techniques). Senjutsu was essential for dealing with the Ōtsutsuki clan in the later stages of life.

In the original series, Orochimaru's body was too damaged from his numerous experiments, and his repeated body-swapping through Living Corpse Reincarnation caused rejection between his soul and his physical form. This made it impossible for him to learn senjutsu, leaving him dependent on absorbing senjutsu chakra from Kabuto.

But now, everything was different.

This younger version of Orochimaru still had plenty of potential. His body was untainted by the severe side effects of his future experiments, and he was filled with endless possibilities.

He had big plans, plans to surpass even the Orochimaru of the original timeline.

---

The next morning, Orochimaru headed to the training grounds, continuing his usual routine. But before he even arrived, he could already hear a familiar voice bickering in the distance.

"I'm telling you, Orochimaru doesn't know how to summon anything! You didn't believe me yesterday, so do you believe me now? I asked him myself, and he said it!"

"How can that be? Even you, an idiot, can summon! There's no way Orochimaru can't!" Tsunade's voice retorted, disbelief clear in her tone.

"Idiot…? Did you just call me an idiot, you flat-chested washboard!?" Jiraiya shot back, clearly offended.

"Flat chest!? Say that again if you dare!" Tsunade's face contorted with fury as veins bulged on her forehead. Her fist clenched tightly, her anger bubbling over.

Jiraiya wasn't backing down. "Yeah, you heard me! You're just a flat-chested, un-feminine"

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

Bang!

Tsunade's punch shot out like a missile, but Jiraiya was already prepared this time and dodged it, grinning as he taunted her.

"Did you really think you could hit me again? You blockhead! Nyah-nyah!" Jiraiya made faces as he sprinted away, trying to stay one step ahead of Tsunade's wrath.

Seeing that she couldn't catch him, Tsunade kept up her chase, clearly frustrated.

But then…

"Oh, Orochimaru?"

Tsunade's eyes landed on Orochimaru, who had just arrived at the training grounds. She came to a halt, surprise evident on her face.

"Orochimaru! You're here! Tell her, you can't summon anything, right?" Jiraiya ran up to Orochimaru like a man pleading for backup.

Tsunade, now equally interested, turned her gaze to Orochimaru. She, too, was curious about the answer.

Orochimaru remained calm. "I can."

"Hahaha, Tsunade, you heard it—wait… what?" Jiraiya's triumphant smile faltered as his brain caught up to what Orochimaru had just said. "You can?"

"But… but that's not what you said yesterday!" Jiraiya exclaimed, feeling as though he'd just been played.

Orochimaru glanced at him. "I couldn't summon anything yesterday. But today I can."

"What…?" Jiraiya and Tsunade stared at him, stunned. Learning to summon creatures overnight? What was going on?

Ignoring their bewilderment, Orochimaru looked around. "Where's Hiruzen-sensei?"

"Oh, Hiruzen-sensei isn't coming today," Jiraiya replied, finally snapping out of his shock. "He told us to wait for you and then head to the Konoha Hospital to help out."

"The hospital?" Orochimaru paused, his mind racing as a thought came to him. "I see. Let's go, then."

Without waiting for the others, he turned and began walking toward the Konoha Hospital, his mind already planning his next steps.

The hospital… A perfect place to obtain blood samples from various ninjas.

"Hey, Orochimaru! Wait for us!" Tsunade called after him.

"Man, this guy really doesn't understand teamwork, does he?" Jiraiya grumbled as he hurried to catch up.