"Just one Manda was enough."
"But that makes sense; Manda is one of the top snake kings in Ryuchi Cave and possesses an enormous amount of chakra."
"One Manda is sufficient."
Shishou didn't immediately choose to evolve but instead moved towards the other large snakes. He used a storage scroll to collect the bodies of those snakes and the remaining part of Manda's body into the scroll.
Shishou wasn't about to waste so much energy.
The number of evolved phosphorescent bugs would drastically decrease, and he could use these snake corpses to feed and breed them.
This storage scroll was something Shishou had acquired from Danzo the last time he disguised himself as Orochimaru.
There were also several Uchiha jonin corpses inside.
Storage scrolls were extremely rare on the market and not something that could be bought with money.
Even Shishou currently had only this one scroll.
After storing the remaining snake corpses in the storage scroll, Shishou headed towards Orochimaru's experimental base.
Although Orochimaru had abandoned this base,
Shishou still wanted to see if there was anything else valuable inside.
Seeing the corpses scattered across the hall, Shishou frowned.
Orochimaru was indeed ruthless, eliminating everyone before leaving.
"Well, let's not waste it."
Shishou released some of his phosphorescent bugs to devour the corpses until they were clean.
"Is this the cursed seal experimentation lab?"
Looking at the dead experimental subjects in the lab, Shishou frowned again.
These subjects had died horribly.
He found some information about the cursed seals in the lab and let the bugs devour the corpses.
Then Shishou looked into his insect breeding space.
[Phosphorescent Bugs, Epic Insect Species, Evolved Five Times, Ready for Evolution]
[...]
[Choose Evolution Path]
[Evolution Option 1: Enhanced Toxicity]
[...]
[Evolution Option 4: Enhanced Speed]
[...]
[Ding! Evolution Option 7: Special Evolution, Mimicry (Insect Type)]
[Mimicry (Insect Type): Allows phosphorescent bugs to mimic the appearance and basic abilities of devoured insect-type creatures.]
Hearing the long-awaited system prompt, Shishou was delighted.
Another special evolution!
And it was a very practical mimicry skill!
Without much thought, Shishou chose Evolution Option 7.
[Selection successful, phosphorescent bugs evolved successfully]
[Placed in breeding space for continued cultivation; can evolve further after reaching a certain number]
"Phew~"
"Next, I just need to wait for the phosphorescent bugs to complete their evolution."
"Once they evolve, I can draw my next reward."
Exiting Orochimaru's base, Shishou thought happily.
...
Evening.
Horyuen Castle Residence.
Returning from Orochimaru's experimental base, Shishou enjoyed a nice bath.
Then he headed towards Uzuki Yugao's room.
He hadn't forgotten how Yugao had wiped mucus on him today.
This stubborn girl needed proper discipline.
Arriving at Yugao's door, Shishou saw her just coming out of the bathroom, drying her purple hair.
Seeing Shishou standing outside her room, Yugao shivered and looked at him warily:
"What do you want?"
Shishou smiled but didn't answer.
He took out the Kusanagi Sword he bought yesterday, playing with it as he entered Yugao's room.
This guy is definitely up to no good!
Definitely up to no good!
Warning herself, Yugao followed Shishou into her room, eyes fixed on the Kusanagi Sword in his hand.
She wanted to stay away from Shishou to save her life, but the Kusanagi Sword was too tempting.
"What do you want?"
Entering the room, Yugao's eyes never left the Kusanagi Sword in Shishou's hand.
"Last time you failed the mission in the Land of Grass."
"And as we agreed, failing the mission means punishment."
Shishou smiled as he looked at Yugao, her face still slightly red from the bath.
"What about Aunt Mikoto and the others? Have you punished them too?"
Yugao raised an eyebrow, questioning him.
"Of course."
Thinking about Uchiha Mikoto in her skimpy ninja outfit, Shishou felt a rush of heat.
"And Uchiha Izumi?"
Yugao frowned.
"She hasn't."
"Because she accompanied me to the Land of Demons afterward, her merits offset her faults."
"She doesn't need to be punished."
Of course, the main reason is that I haven't figured out who I want her to cosplay yet.
Once I decide, her merits won't matter.
Seeing Yugao's beautiful frown, Shishou added in his heart.
"Hmph!"
"What kind of punishment?"
"Beat me up?"
Seeing no way out, Yugao snorted, glaring at Shishou.
She still remembered how he had punished her after she snatched the Kusanagi Sword yesterday.
"Here."
"Wear this."
Shishou handed a box to Yugao.
"What kind of clothes are these?"
Yugao was puzzled but still entered her dressing room.
A bet is a bet, and she would honor it.
A moment later,
Yugao, blushing, came out and threw the box at Shishou, cursing:
"You pervert!"
Pervert?
How am I a pervert?
Heaven and earth are my witnesses.
He had given her a proper cosplay outfit, a white dress with no revealing parts, just like Athena from Saint Seiya.
"Uh..."
Shishou glanced inside the box and scratched his head, laughing awkwardly.
"Sorry, wrong box."
He had accidentally given her the 'new outfit' for the third stage.
"Here, this is the right one."
"See, it's a normal dress."
Shishou handed the Athena Saori dress to Yugao.
"Hmph!"
"You pervert!"
Confirming there was no issue, Yugao took the box and reentered the dressing room.
When she reappeared, wearing the dress,
"Beautiful!"
Shishou's eyes lit up.
Wow, I have to say,
Yugao cosplaying Athena from Saint Seiya is perfect.
Same hair color, same beauty.
"Hmph!"
"Pervert!"
Hearing Shishou's compliment, Yugao snorted and cursed again, but her voice was much softer.
"Here, take this."
Shishou handed her a golden staff.
Of course, it wasn't real gold, just painted.
"Tch."
Yugao took the golden staff, pouting.
Then, at Shishou's request, she stood on the table, looked ahead, and raised the golden staff:
"For love and justice!"
Click!
Shishou quickly took a photo of the moment.
Stage one, complete!