Start with the Mangekyō and leave Konoha with Madara.

In the 36th year of Konoha, deep in the Ryuchi Cave.

Inside the temple hall, beneath the seat of the White Snake Immortal, a young man sat cross-legged, as calm as still water.

He was shirtless, with an expression of neither joy nor sadness, like an old monk in meditation. His pale skin made him look a little thin, and his black hair fell naturally, swaying slightly with the blue-green magatama earrings.

His breathing was long and natural, as if he had just closed his eyes, or as if he had been sitting there for a long time.

Suddenly, the White Snake Immortal on the seat turned his eyes and stared at the young man below him without blinking, revealing a little surprise.

The young man's eyelids trembled slightly, and he opened his eyes slightly. His amber vertical pupils had become crystal clear, as if a layer of water film covered his pupils.

His physical appearance also changed greatly. His originally long black hair turned as pale as snow, his skin was covered with a seemingly thin layer of white scales, there was a hint of purple in the corners of his eyes, and the color of the eyeshadow extending to the wings of his nose became darker.

The most striking thing is his forehead.

The originally flat center of his eyebrows now had a sharp bone horn growing out of it. It was lead black in color, yet it did not look out of place at all.

"Is this... Sage Mode?"

He looked at his hands, clenched his fists slightly, and after feeling the tremendous power in his body, he finally smiled.

This young man is naturally Orochimaru.

Two years have passed since he passed the test in Ryuchi Cave and signed a psychic contract with the great snake Xinya.

During this period, he always followed the arrangements of his master and stayed with the White Snake Immortal to practice magic. After a period of hard training, he finally achieved what the White Snake Immortal called the perfect "Immortal Mode".

"Among the humans I have seen, you are not the first one to succeed in cultivation, nor are you the fastest to do so." The White Snake Immortal spoke, and the powerful sound pressure made the air tremble. "But, you are the one who has the most success I have ever seen."

Beside her, another giant snake also moved. It was red all over, with scales on its neck. It was the big snake Xinya.

"As expected of you who signed a spiritual contract with me, I am very pleased that you have made it this far~"

"Haha, that's not what you said two years ago."

Xinya slowly lowered his huge head. Sitting on top of his head was a handsome man with black eyes and black hair.

The White Snake Immortal turned his head slightly, looked at the thoughtful man, and chuckled:

"Sir Shenyu, how do you think of my immortal method of Longdi Cave?"

"Hmm..." Shen Yu touched his chin, and the red spiritual pattern on his forehead flickered like breathing. "Perfectly blend chakra with natural energy, and at the same time communicate with the heaven and earth, so that the new chakra and the natural energy of the outside world will constantly resonate and form a cycle, so as to maintain the Sage Mode all the time?"

"That's right." The White Snake Immortal blew out a puff of smoke and said in a thick accent, "In fact, the Sage Mode is also divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower."

"It can temporarily harness natural energy, refine part of the body's chakra into senjutsu chakra, and exert its power. It must rely on the assistance of summoned beasts to maintain this state. This is the lowest level of sage mode, and it can only be maintained for a short time."

"The chakra of the whole body is integrated with the natural energy. The more chakra is used, the more it is consumed. This is considered to be an average level. The disadvantage is that in order to enter the Sage Mode, it must be charged for a long time to sense and absorb natural energy."

"Breathing in and out, merging the mind with the heaven and earth, allowing the absorption and storage of natural energy to form a natural reaction. Natural energy exists in the body at all times. This is the best, or perfect Sage Mode. At this stage, you can abandon the disadvantage of needing to charge in advance. As long as your body is in good condition, you can enter Sage Mode anytime and anywhere."

Shen Yu nodded slightly. These were the stages that Orochimaru had experienced before, and he had seen them all.

After all, he had come to Ryuchi Cave every once in a while in the past two years, so he was well aware of the changes in Orochimaru's training stages.

“But, I have to say, this cannot be called perfect.” The White Snake Immortal changed the subject, his narrowed pupils filled with longing: “At this stage of my life, I have achieved the best resonance of natural energy, but I am still stuck at a bottleneck. It seems that there is a hidden shackle that has blocked the upper limit of my further advancement.”

"If I can break through that layer of shackles, my Longdidong's magic will definitely become stronger. Sooner or later, I will shed my snake skin and sublimate into a dragon!"

"Yeah." Shen Yu agreed, admitting that Longdi Cave's magic did have some tricks.

You know, excluding Xinya, the White Snake Immortal, Tianxin Shenji, Ichikishimahime, and Tanjinhime are all great demons in the transformation stage who can transform into human bodies freely. From another perspective, they are all great demons in the transformation stage.

This makes it difficult for the toads in Myoboku Mountain to achieve.

Although that "Toad Ball" lived for many years and had a long lifespan, it was still a toad at the end of its training.

The White Snake Immortal was somewhat pleased with himself, and glanced at Orochimaru below him, "His aura now is more than ten times stronger than it was two years ago. I'm sure that among the Kage-level warriors among you humans, he is considered to be among the best."

Shen Yu showed a thoughtful look and said calmly: "Whether it is strong or not, you have to try it to know."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward and instantly appeared next to Orochimaru. Only a residual shadow remained that slowly dissipated.

"Master!"

"Yeah." Shen Yu patted Orochimaru's shoulder. Just by the touch from his fingertips, he could tell that the layer of smooth and delicate snake scales must be extremely strong.

He smiled softly and said to his apprentice: "Use all your strength to attack me."

"What?" Orochimaru was slightly startled, suspecting that he had heard it wrong.

Shen Yu said earnestly: "Fight with me, so that I can judge your current strength."

"So that's how it is." Orochimaru understood immediately, and the expression on his face became eager to try. The master was evaluating his current value.

"Let's start with Taijutsu first."

"it is good."

The moment these words came out of his mouth, Orochimaru suddenly attacked. His arm was like a spirit snake, leaving a winding and twisting white shadow in the air, and his fingertips pierced Shenyu's eyes.

The air vibrated violently, this simple move actually broke the sound barrier.

Orochimaru knew clearly that when fighting with his master, he must be prepared to kill his opponent, and that only by unleashing all his strength would that be the right approach.

"Snapped!"

The fingertips suddenly stopped in front of Shenyu's eyes, and a big hand firmly grasped Orochimaru's wrist, cutting off the attack, and all kinetic energy was instantly reduced to zero.

"Both the speed and strength are good." Shen Yu commented casually. Although he grabbed Orochimaru's wrist easily, the wind pressure carried by his fingertips still caused ripples in the water molecule barrier on his body surface.

"Orochi-style Substitution Technique!"

Suddenly, the figure of Orochimaru in front of him disintegrated, and turned into twisted white snakes that slipped through Shenyu's fingers, thus breaking free from the restraints.

Shen Yu casually swung his fist, and the back of his hand swung towards the air on the right like a hammer. There was a muffled sound, accompanied by a violent airflow, and a white figure was smashed far away and shot into the darkness.

"continue."