"Great Immortal, Manda has returned!"
Tianxin Shenji's figure appeared quietly in the temple, bowed gracefully to Orochimaru, and reported respectfully.
As soon as the words fell, Manda's enormous purple body slithered in from outside the door.
Upon seeing Orochimaru seated on the immortal throne, Manda's not-so-clever head finally processed the situation, and a surge of wild joy filled his heart.
"Congratulations, Master, on achieving your wish!"
An excited voice came from Manda's mouth. His huge head drooped to the ground, and Manda expressed his heartfelt subservience and congratulations to his master by prostrating his entire body on the ground.
Orochimaru chuckled softly and nodded slightly.
"Mm!"
"Rise."
Slowly standing up, holding the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in his hand, Orochimaru walked up to Manda.
"Manda!"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru, what are your orders?"
Manda responded with a "subservient" tone, his demeanor and voice impeccably respectful.
"Has it been about half a year since we signed our contract?"
"Yes, it's been about half a year!"
"I like subordinates who are dedicated and obedient."
"Manda, your performance this time has not disappointed me!"
Manda hastily lowered his head humbly, his voice somewhat fawning, saying:
"It is what this subordinate should do!"
"It's just that this subordinate's strength is weak, and I haven't been able to help Master much..."
Orochimaru chuckled and shook his head.
"As I said before, with your strength, you wouldn't be able to intervene in battles of this caliber."
"Weakness in strength is not a problem; all I want is your loyalty!"
"Manda, King of Manda..."
Orochimaru murmured, gently raising the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi before him, and asked casually.
"Manda, do you wish for the title of King of Manda to truly live up to its name?"
Upon hearing this, Manda's inner joy almost overflowed. Suppressing the urge to laugh wildly, Manda nodded heavily.
"Master, this subordinate naturally does!"
Orochimaru nodded lightly.
"As the next Hokage of Konoha, I cannot always stay in Ryūchidō to manage these snakes!"
"Therefore..."
"Manda, welcome your new life!"
Manda nodded excitedly, looking at Orochimaru with anticipation in his eyes.
Orochimaru did not delay. Sage Mode's green light surged around him, and he opened his mouth, spitting out his Dragon Ball.
Under Tianxin Shenji's envious gaze, the round Dragon Ball dripped strands of pure Sage Mode power, far beyond her imagination, flowing ceaselessly into the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in Orochimaru's hand.
Only when the divine sword radiated a rich Sage Mode glow did Orochimaru calmly retract his Dragon Ball.
"Take it."
"This Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi has been nourished by my Sage Mode. The power within and the methods of applying Sage Mode should allow your strength to advance further."
"From today onwards, when I am not in Ryūchidō, all matters here will be handled by yourself."
"Do you understand?"
Manda nodded solemnly and obediently opened his large mouth, waiting for Orochimaru to place the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi into it.
As Manda swallowed the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, dense Sage Chakra erupted from the divine sword, instantly spreading throughout Manda's entire body.
Sage Mode energy, from its very inception, was meant to serve the summoning beast clan. With Manda's formidable physical strength, he easily adapted to this Sage Mode power.
Manda let out a satisfied hiss. His body rapidly transformed under the wash of this Sage Mode power.
The hard scales on his body cracked and split layer by layer, and a more colossal purple giant snake with deeper scales appeared before everyone.
After shedding its old skin, its body was almost twice as large as before. Internally, it now possessed Sage Chakra as powerful as that of the three Snake Queens of Ryūchidō.
This Chakra, after assisting Manda in completing his physical evolution, still had surplus energy, continuously enhancing its adaptability to Sage Mode energy.
Tianxin Shenji watched with a pang in her heart.
This young Manda, simply by having a good master, had erased the gap of hundreds of years of cultivation between them in mere moments.
Fate, sometimes, was truly unfair.
"Sage Art - Transformation Jutsu!"
Manda roared excitedly and instantly transformed into a burly man with a ferocious face before everyone.
Naked, with purple skin, scales covered his cheeks down to his neck, and faint green light seeped from the gaps between the scales. Coupled with his mouth full of terrifying fangs and his forked tongue that appeared whenever his jaws opened and closed...
There was no need for him to speak; just a glance at Manda's appearance would evoke a feeling of profound hatred and disgust from the heart.
"Master, this subordinate has succeeded!"
"Thank you for your bestowed gift, Master!"
Nine-Tails grinned wryly, looking away as if unable to bear witness. Orochimaru also found Manda's human form somewhat garish.
Tianxin Shenji, however, gazed at Manda's naked human form with delight, her eyes almost bulging out.
"Manda..."
"This subordinate is here!"
Manda answered loudly and excitedly.
Orochimaru's mouth twitched twice, and he turned his head away with a hint of difficulty.
"In my presence, it's better if you maintain your serpentine form!"
"With that appearance, I might be unable to resist the urge to kill you..."
Manda's eager expression froze on his face. He lowered his head sheepishly and, with a look of grievance, transformed back into his snake form.
Tianxin Shenji looked at Manda, who had returned to his original form, with regret, and silently began to ponder.
"Manda is so valued by the Great Immortal, so if he and I..."
Orochimaru glanced unobtrusively at Tianxin Shenji, who was lost in her fantasies, and did not pay heed to her ambition to use Manda to rise in status. The nature of snakes was inherently lustful, brutal, greedy, and bloodthirsty...
But it didn't matter.
If Manda could use his charm to win over the three Snake Queens of Ryūchidō, it was possible that in the future, Ryūchidō would have a batch of summoning snakes that were innately proficient in Sage Mode.
And these snakes, bound by contract, would be utterly unable to escape his control. Therefore, in the long run, Tianxin Shenji's selfish desires were, in fact, a good thing for Orochimaru.
Desire was the driving force behind biological evolution!
"Great Immortal, this subordinate has returned."
"Shinja is not far behind, and he will be here shortly to pay his respects to the Great Immortal."
Ichikishima-hime and Tsumatsuhime appeared together, bowing respectfully to Orochimaru. After Orochimaru nodded, they glanced with some surprise at the greatly transformed Manda and slowly retreated to Tianxin Shenji's side.
"The strongest giant snake rumored in Ryūchidō..."
"I had no chance to see him last time. This time, I must have a good look at what's so different about the so-called ferocious giant snake Shinja!"
Orochimaru returned to his seat, and Manda followed his master's footsteps. His enormous body coiled around the immortal throne, and a ferocious snake's head was raised to Orochimaru's feet, his gaze sternly fixed on the temple's entrance.
"Shinja, come and meet the different Lord Manda!"
"I have waited a long, long time for this day!"