Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

"What did you do, Orochimaru?!"

Jiraiya suddenly snapped his gaze to his left front side.

Amid a swirl of golden, twisting lightning, Orochimaru had already moved close to him within the flash of light.

Fukasaku and Shima's expressions turned grim.

That lightning, with the strange power and movement technique attached to it, made both of them feel uneasy and wary.

That speed… it was even faster than Jiraiya in Sage Mode!

Looking at Orochimaru, who was still cloaked in a layer of colorful aura, Jiraiya's expression turned grim.

Sage Mode was his ultimate trump card — the one power he had that surpassed Orochimaru. But now, it seemed Orochimaru had found a way to counter it.

Even though Orochimaru hadn't confirmed it outright, Jiraiya was sure in his heart: his forced exit from Sage Mode was definitely connected to Orochimaru!

Can't beat me, so you seal my power, is that it?

That's exactly the kind of thing you'd do, Orochimaru!

Jiraiya gritted his teeth in frustration. He feared he might once again become the weakest in the team.

"Sage Poison. It's something Tsunade, Kagetsu, and I created during our research on natural energy. It's a byproduct that makes natural energy in a certain area become more active, unstable, and uncontrollable.

For anyone whose body contains natural energy, it causes immense pain and suffering. If not treated in time, the only outcome is death."

Orochimaru explained without holding anything back.

He and Kagetsu had now shifted their research focus to studying Hollow power — or more precisely, the spiritual particle conversion of energy and matter.

It was a far more complex and slower-moving field than natural energy.

If he wanted to, he could still enter Sage Mode through Ryuchi Cave, but the restrictions were too great. It wasn't perfect. His body also hadn't been fully adjusted for it yet.

"And what about you? You must be using some kind of Sage Mode too, right?" Fukasaku could feel something was off in his own body.

Even though the so-called Sage Poison wouldn't endanger him right away, the fact that it could affect him — even slightly — was surprising.

What shocked him even more was that Orochimaru was also filled with dense natural energy… but he wasn't suffering any side effects!

Was it because he had a way to suppress it?

How did he overcome the effects of this so-called Sage Poison?

Did he experiment on himself beforehand and grow used to the changes?

"This is the power I wanted to show you, Jiraiya," Orochimaru said, offering no further explanation.

"It seems like there are some things you don't want us to know," Sage Fumakusa said, understanding the situation.

However, he didn't seem upset about Orochimaru's secrecy. He wasn't the type to meddle in others' affairs.

"Since the upcoming sparring battle no longer requires us, then let's go, the child's father. I still need to prepare dinner for tonight!"

Sage Shima retracted her tongue and urged. She wasn't interested in the upcoming reunion between Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

After all, they wouldn't be much use staying, and it would only waste Jiraiya's chakra.

It was better to just go home. She couldn't stop thinking about the insect feast she had been preparing.

"Goodbye, Boss, Big Sis!" Jiraiya didn't try to keep them there. He dismissed the summoning and sent the two sages back.

"This is the power of the Hogyoku!" Orochimaru said as he watched the two dissipating clouds of smoke. He continued to Jiraiya, "Hogyoku Mode is a power mode more suited for ninjas than the Sage Mode of the Three Great Sage Regions."

"It has lower danger and a lower training threshold, but its potential and characteristics match the nature of ninjas."

"You want to know why I can maintain Hogyoku Mode under the Sage's poison, don't you? That's because the power of Hogyoku allows the mind to have fine control over natural energy."

"The external layer, this colorful robe, is the power of senjutsu, mixed from chakra and natural energy, all external. It doesn't cause mutation by absorbing natural energy into the body."

Orochimaru didn't go into more detail, such as how the power of Hogyoku could elevate one's characteristics, like how the three-tomoe Sharingan evolves into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

It was a different kind of power, similar to the Kekkei Genkai. It summarized and refined one's desires and characteristics, then manifested them, giving them infinite possibilities.

It was like how each Mangekyo Sharingan would grant different abilities depending on its user's mind and desires.

Orochimaru's power from the Hogyoku is his ability to replicate!

His greatest desire deep down is immortality, and it was the White Snake Sage in the Ryūchi Cave who gave him the possibility of immortality and allowed him to witness the existence of the immortality species.

Therefore, his earliest path to immortality was to explore replication through the White Snake Sage. For this, he made various modifications to his body and soul and developed corresponding soul-based ninjutsu.

Although later, with a better path to immortality, he began to gradually reverse and change his twisted soul and body, turning toward a new path, his original desire and dream never changed.

He wants to master all techniques, wants to uncover every secret of the world, and wants to witness the birth of new life in an immortal form.

The Hogyoku responded to this desire deep within him and transformed it into a certain power, manifesting in the form of techniques he controlled.

He is as greedy as a snake, and Hogyoku's response cannot fully satisfy his desire. Therefore, the manifestation is just an incomplete seed.

Where this leads, and which ability he focuses on, ultimately depends on Orochimaru's choice.

He chooses to evolve into a perfect being!

A being more perfect than the White Snake Sage!

Every choice on this path, and every person or piece of information that could help him, will be absorbed by him.

The power is distributed out, and then, along with the other's strength, it is reclaimed and integrated back into one's own body.

This is a path of plundering and replication.

The former Orochimaru only wanted to achieve this by constantly switching bodies, but now, with the power granted by the Hogyoku, he can do much more.

Of course, the Hogyoku granted to him by Kagetsu only gives changes to the soul.

To truly evolve to perfection, another Hogyoku, one that affects the body, is needed!

This is a path Kagetsu had mentioned to him when he was young, the research and integration of all Kekkei Genkais.

Orochimaru took over this path and, following Kagetsu's method of creating the Hogyoku, began his attempts.

The Hogyoku, which represents the soul, and the Hogyoku, which represents the body, are like the yin and yang of attributes.

When combined, they represent the infinite possibilities of all things.