Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

"There's no particular purpose; it's just to fulfill Orochimaru's wish." Hiruko smirked as he looked at Orochimaru from the parallel world. "You should explain it yourself."

"Since there are multiple parallel worlds, and you are almost identical to yourself in terms of appearance, ability, and power, why not try to merge with yourself in a parallel world and become more complete?"

Orochimaru from the parallel world said with a smile, "Hiruko's Bond Evolution gave me this inspiration."

If it's possible to merge with someone completely different from oneself to become one with a single mind, then what would it feel like to merge with oneself? I'm really looking forward to it.

"Your idea is indeed very creative, but... I refuse!" Orochimaru from the main world coldly rejected.

Fit?

That sounds nice, but it's less of a fusion and more of a one-sided devouring.

Orochimaru, who has already developed the Reanimation Jutsu, has never hesitated to speculate about himself with the deepest malice.

Snakes are cunning and greedy.

Even if what he said is true, and he really wants to try to merge them, Orochimaru from the parallel world has more than a decade more of life experience than him.

Moreover, having had much contact with Hiruko, he is certainly better prepared than he is now. Once the so-called fusion is initiated, there is a high probability that it will directly overwrite his current personality.

"You're still as steady as ever, Orochimaru," Hiruko said with a shake of his head and a smile. Orochimaru's thoughts were exactly what he had anticipated.

After all, he is somewhat similar to Orochimaru in some ways. They are both extremely self-centered people. There is no such thing as fusion. Devouring all resources to grow and evolve is the truest thought in their hearts.

"Oh dear, you're scared. Well, there's nothing I can do about it then."

The Orochimaru from the parallel world revealed a playful expression and deliberately provoked, "However, you are not my only choice. Since I am interested in fusion, there must be other parallel worlds where I am also interested in fusion."

Orochimaru from the main world's world grew increasingly grim upon hearing this; this truly was a case of being slow on one step, and slow on every step.

Although the final effect is unknown, absorbing another version of oneself that is completely identical in both soul and chakra will definitely greatly enhance oneself, and may even lead to evolution, making it possible to extend lifespan again.

Seeing his old classmate's furrowed brow, Hiruko asked curiously, "Could it be that you haven't perfected the curse seal yet?"

Why is Orochimaru in a parallel universe able to act so recklessly?

That's because he left behind many contingency plans for resurrection in another world, so he wasn't afraid of any problems arising.

"This kind of thing isn't suitable to be discussed here," Orochimaru from the main world replied coldly.

He did develop the cursed seal, but it was only a theoretical safeguard. He had never actually died, and further experiments were needed to fully understand the function of the cursed seal.

"Well, I see that you are full of Ryuchi Cave's Sage Chakra. You must have made great progress over the years. I imagine the Cursed Seal is not difficult for you. Don't be so wary. You can communicate more with your other self."

Hiruko reassured Orochimaru.

Regardless, this was his old classmate, and he wouldn't help Orochimaru from a parallel world harm his own old classmate.

Just then, Minato, with a bright smile on his face, suddenly raised a game controller and said, "Hey, everyone, wanna play a game together?"

The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.

Aside from a slightly bewildered Jiraiya and an out-of-place Sasori, everyone expertly pulled out their controllers, connected with each other, and activated the projection device in Hiruko's house. Minato was undoubtedly a user of the "Face Fruit" ability.

Hiruko's house has become a game room suitable for all ages.

A conflict may have ended in a very childish way, but the drama of venomous snakes devouring each other has only just begun.

……

Night fell, and the moon and stars were few.

As Hiruko washed the dishes, he gazed at the bright moon outside the window, lost in thought.

A serpentine shadow was creeping silently toward the kitchen on the living room floor.

Just as the shadow was about to disappear into Hiruko's shadow, a sinister-looking creature with a wicked smile suddenly leaped out from Hiruko's shadow.

"Hehehe~" He let out a few eerie laughs, and his body emitted purple-black light waves, directly forcing the moving shadow to freeze and reveal its true form.

A long, exquisite serpent, its body entirely emerald green and resembling jade, coiled up beside Hiruko.

Soon, the long snake transformed into a beautiful woman with a curvaceous figure and long legs.

"Ugh!" The originally domineering and powerfully beautiful older sister type puffed out her cheeks, and her angry appearance made her look extremely cute and adorable.

Damn it! I was the one who first took up residence in Lord Hiruko's shadow, so where did this damned fat man come from?

Not only did they not allow her to rush into the shadows, but they also stood here like a mentally challenged child, jumping around and making faces to mock her. It was infuriating!

Moreover, there seems to be a little bitch hiding in the shadows. What's going on?

"Oh~ It's only been four short years, strange... no, it should be said that it's strange that you can actually transform into human form. It seems that you haven't slacked off in your training at Ryuchi Cave these past few years."

Hiruko caught a glimpse of the strange creature making faces and acting strangely, as well as the angry strange creature, and couldn't help but chuckle.

There is no such thing as a "transformation tribulation" in this world. However, demons, also known as spirit beasts, can indeed transform into human form in this world through cultivation.

For example, there are several trusted confidantes under the command of the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave, such as Tashin-hime, Ichikishima-hime, and Takitsu-hime.

After they transformed into human form, they could all be considered beauties by normal standards of beauty. From innocent and lovely lolis to beautiful young girls to stunning mature women, each one could be described as a rare beauty.

When Hiruko was cultivating in the Dragon Cave, he often relied on these demons for his training. However, they couldn't maintain their beautiful human forms all day long; they would often reveal some of their serpentine characteristics, such as scales appearing on their faces or gaping mouths revealing fangs. In the parlance of the Xianxia world, this was called untamed demonic nature, which was quite a downer.

Unexpectedly, the strange creature she left behind in the original world made such rapid progress in her cultivation. Although the amount of Sage Chakra in her body was not as much as that of the three fairies, it was still far superior to that of ordinary summoning beasts.

Transforming into human form fulfills the ultimate dream of countless silly netizens—"Quickly, transform for me.jpg."

Perhaps when creating the artificial summoning beast, she should have made a cat as well. Maybe now she could have another catgirl who can transform into a human. Although Yugito, after being resurrected, was able to partially transform into a tailed beast again after borrowing some of Matatabi's chakra, and could obtain a form that was almost like a catgirl, she was not a real catgirl after all.

"Lord Beiluhu, it..." The strange creature pointed at the laughing and joking strange creature with a very aggrieved expression.

"Don't take the eerie thing too seriously; it's just a playful kid."

After washing the dishes, Hiruko grabbed the strange creature and vigorously rubbed its round face, laughing, "It can draw strength from your negative emotions; the angrier you are, the happier it is."

"Ah, is that so?" Upon hearing this, the eerie creature's eyes widened, and it looked at the cunning little fat boy in its master's hand with a wary expression, as if to say, "I won't fall for your tricks."

Hiruko released the strange creature, which then smoothly merged into Hiruko's shadow and disappeared without a trace.

“Come here, Weird. Let me examine your body.” Hiruko beckoned to Weird.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she encountered the strange thing, her fair and smooth face turned bright red, as if she had thought of something.

"Oh, are you shy now?" Hiruko teased.

"Lord Hiruko, I...I..." He turned his head away strangely, his face flushed with embarrassment. Thinking of the night he grew and evolved, he stammered in a very low voice, "Actually, what Lady Tsunade can do, I can do too."

"What are you thinking? I just want to check what level you've reached in your cultivation. Also, I know a little about the immortal techniques of Dragon Land Cave, and I want to see if I can give you some more interesting abilities."

Hiruko said with a wry smile, "However, now that you're back, you can stay by my side and help me with some chores. There's no need for you to go back to Ryuchi Cave to cultivate for the time being."

"Sigh, what a headache. If only Ryuchi Cave could have a less chaotic management system like Mount Myoboku," Hiruko sighed.

Ryuchi Cave, Mount Myoboku, and Shikkotsu Forest are all rich in natural energy, making them sacred sites for cultivating immortal arts, and also ideal places for cultivating fruit. Hiruko cannot be satisfied with just growing fruit on Mount Myoboku; he will definitely find ways to expand the planting area in the future.

However, although the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest had a good relationship with him and Tsunade, the slugs were too big, so there was simply no space to grow fruit in Shikkotsu Forest.

Besides, since everyone is so familiar with each other, he felt embarrassed to squeeze the slugs' living space.

However, Ryuchi Cave, despite its abundance of snakes, can also serve as a place for cultivating and planting extraordinary fruits.

However, most of the snakes in Ryuchi Cave are violent, greedy, and selfish. Some of the hot-tempered snakes are so bad that even the White Snake Immortal can't handle them.

Chapter 288 Unorthodox Paths

The location for planting extraordinary fruits is fine, but ensuring a harvest is quite difficult.

Because those greedy snakes in Dragon Cave will definitely swallow the extraordinary fruit whole once it ripens, and even the White Snake Immortal's personal words won't work; that's just their nature.

Therefore, even if a cooperation is reached with the White Snake Sage to plant extraordinary fruits on a large scale in Ryuchi Cave, it would be a blessing if the extraordinary fruits planted in Ryuchi Cave could yield 10% of the harvest from Mt. Myoboku.

Midnight, deep in the Death Forest.

Two giant Orochimarus with human heads and snake bodies rushed hurriedly through the grove.

Although they attacked and probed each other without actually killing, it was still extremely dangerous, and they even used the Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave.

The materialized emerald green serpentine chakra coiled around his body, and then combined with Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation, he manipulated the earth and rocks into sharp spikes that fiercely gnawed at his opponent.

The two snakes fought in perfect harmony. Although they left behind a scene of devastation, with broken trees and withered grass, they did not use any ninjutsu with spectacular visual or auditory effects, so as not to cause panic in the village.

"Ha, is that all you've got? You're more than ten years older than me, yet your mastery of immortal arts is still inferior to mine now."

Orochimaru from the main world sneered, his body shimmering with a glowing light, his chakra materializing and transforming into a terrifying long snake that coiled around him.

Unfortunately, it is ultimately just a snake. If it were a long dragon coiled around its body, it might be called a Great Heavenly Dragon. "However, what we pursue is the art of immortality, the mastery of all ninjutsu in the world. Power... is merely a byproduct of knowledge."

"Orochimaru from the parallel world said calmly, his tone slightly sarcastic, "As my other self, you wouldn't be so short-sighted as to rank people solely by power, would you? Surely not?"

"Hehe~ I see you don't understand at all!" Orochimaru from the main world suddenly laughed, a very bright laugh. "It seems that the relationship between you and Hiruko is just so-so."

"What do you mean?" The Orochimaru from the parallel world put away his mocking expression and looked at him with an air of "Please begin your performance, I'll listen attentively."

"Sage Arts are the closest techniques to us for achieving longevity. The more proficient you are in Sage Arts, the more abundant your Sage Arts chakra will be, and the longer your lifespan will be."

Orochimaru from the main world began to repeat the words that Hiruko had used to inspire him.

"The lifespan of different species of snakes varies. Most snakes have an average lifespan of about 8-16 years, depending on their species and living conditions."

Generally, small snakes live for about 2 to 5 years, medium-sized snakes for about 5 to 12 years, large snakes for 10 to 20 years, and pythons can live for 30 to 40 years or even longer, but ultimately they still do not live as long as normal humans.

However, the snakes of Ryūchi Cave, under the baptism of natural energy, have transcended the lifespan and physiological limits of ordinary snakes and become special species, no longer ordinary snakes. There are quite a few so-called 'immortals' who are over a thousand years old.

Animals can gain long life and great power by absorbing natural energy and cultivating themselves, so why can't humans?

Instead of researching immortal arts, you've gone to great lengths to pursue flashy but ultimately useless things. I imagine... you've taken quite a few detours in your research on the art of immortality."

This time, it's Orochimaru from the main world mocking his parallel world counterpart.

He looked meaningfully at his parallel world self. He had already inquired and found out that this fool in front of him had undergone several reincarnations. His original form was no longer human, but a white phosphorus serpent. The souls in his arms had been sealed by the old man, and he was almost devoured by the vessel he had cultivated. He was a complete mess and a disgrace.

"A detour? Perhaps~" The Orochimaru from the parallel world wasn't angry when he heard this. Instead, he smiled with narrowed eyes. "Snakes are greedy and want everything. Haven't you already started researching those 'fancy' things? But... you haven't completely perfected the Reanimation Jutsu and the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique yet, have you?"

Although it was a question, the tone was very certain.

Through their encounter, Orochimaru gained a general understanding of what stage his younger self was at.

If they don't transform, their attack power ceilings are about the same. However, it's clear that this younger version of himself is not as flexible and adaptable as his current self, and his combat skills and knowledge base are far inferior to his current self.

For example, his most prized technique, the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, is probably not yet perfected by this younger version of himself.

Orochimaru is not weak at all. The idea that he is the weakest of the Sannin is nonsense. If they were to fight, the genius Orochimaru would be the one to have the last laugh.

He was simply outmatched by Itachi, and he kept provoking Itachi, so he always seemed to be getting the short end of the stick, but that doesn't mean that others could bully Orochimaru like that.