In the forest.
The stone that had opened its eyes surveyed the surroundings.
Finding nothing amiss,
Cracks appeared on the stone's surface, transforming it into a palm-sized white coiled snake.
The white snake then raised its head and gazed in the direction of Ryuchi Cave, muttering to itself.
"If I hadn't been clever and left behind a clone, I would've truly fallen into that brat's hands this time."
"Losing my thousand-year-old sage snake body... I will remember this grudge."
This small white snake was none other than the White Snake Sage, who Shishou had thought he had eliminated.
Before ambushing Shishou, the White Snake Sage had placed a portion of her soul into this stone, using the Inorganic Reincarnation technique to transform it into a clone as a backup.
When her main body was destroyed, she used the Reincarnation technique to transfer herself into this stone, transforming it into an ordinary stone to sleep.
Using the stone's properties, she evaded multiple searches by Shishou.
Only today did she awaken.
The White Snake Sage glanced at her palm-sized body and sighed.
"Forget it, this body has no chance for revenge. It's too limited being made of stone."
"I need to find a new body and regain my strength."
Chakra is derived from physical and spiritual energy. Without a proper body, even the White Snake Sage's powerful spirit couldn't train.
The White Snake Sage prepared to summon the nearby snakes.
However, after a glance at Ryuchi Cave's direction, she lay down again.
In her current state, being discovered by Shishou or the three snake princesses would mean certain death.
So, although she wanted to find a new body immediately, she decided to escape first.
After crawling for over ten kilometers, well out of Ryuchi Cave's range, the White Snake Sage stopped and raised her head, opening her mouth.
An invisible sound wave emitted from her, summoning the snakes within several kilometers.
However, after waiting a long time, no snakes appeared.
"Huh, why isn't there a single snake?"
"...That little brat must have killed all the snakes within a hundred miles of Ryuchi Cave."
Realizing the cause, the White Snake Sage was nearly driven mad with rage.
She hadn't expected Shishou to be so thorough!
Furious but determined, she continued moving, summoning snakes as she went.
The next day, the White Snake Sage finally saw a one-meter-long black snake responding to her call.
Seeing the silly little black snake, the White Snake Sage was overjoyed.
These past two days had been extremely tough!
The black snake, seeing the small white snake before it, flicked its tongue and coiled around her, signaling for a mate.
The White Snake Sage: "..."
"You dare!"
Furious, the White Snake Sage opened her mouth and bit the black snake, transforming it into her new body.
In the next second, the small white snake turned into a stone statue and crumbled into dust.
The black scales on the black snake began to turn white.
"Finally, a body not made of stone. This will do for now."
Satisfied with her new form, the White Snake Sage nodded.
"Let's see if I can use this body to practice Sage Jutsu."
With that thought, she coiled up and tried to absorb the natural energy around her.
A few minutes later.
The White Snake Sage opened her eyes and looked at the small stone patch on her tail.
"Although I have a body, it can't absorb much natural energy."
"Absorbing too much risks turning to stone."
"I'll have to find a better body before continuing my Sage Jutsu training."
Muttering to herself, the White Snake Sage slithered off to continue her journey.
After several days of traveling through mountains and rivers, the White Snake Sage finally reached a human city.
During these days, she had changed bodies several times, now appearing as a large white snake, several meters long.
"This woman looks quite nice, curvy in all the right places, a blend of innocence and allure. She'll do."
Eyeing a beautiful woman in a large mansion, the White Snake Sage nodded in satisfaction.
She slithered into the woman's boudoir.
A scream sounded from the room, but it was quickly silenced.
"This human body is really good!"
The White Snake Sage stood in front of the mirror, admiring her new form.
At her feet, the body of a large white snake was slowly disintegrating into dust.
"From now on, I shall be called Shirayuki."
Giving herself a new name, the White Snake Sage dressed in the woman's clothes and sat cross-legged on the bed, attempting to practice Sage Jutsu.
She needed to master powerful skills to seek revenge and reclaim Ryuchi Cave.
Half an hour later,
The White Snake Sage opened her eyes, satisfied.
With this body, she finally had some means of self-defense.
"Next, I need to find Orochimaru and take his body."
"After all these years, it's time to collect some interest."
"Unfortunately, the contract scroll was part of my thousand-year-old snake body, so I can't track Orochimaru through it now."
"What a pity."
With a sigh, the White Snake Sage walked out the door.
...
Evening.
In the Land of Fire, at Fire Source City.
Shishou, having finished his classes at the ninja academy, once again visited Anko's room.
After tying Anko up and checking her over carefully,
He confirmed that her body, in awakening the White Snake Sage's Sage Jutsu bloodline, had no issues, and then released her.
"You finally made your move on me."
Anko sat up on the bed, covering herself with a blanket, and pretended to cry.
Seeing Anko's dramatic act, Shishou rolled his eyes.
He had only used the Chakra Bugs to examine her body and hadn't even touched her.
Yet, Anko was acting as if something inappropriate had happened.
If it weren't for the fact that Sage Jutsu training required a calm mind and avoiding arrogance, Shishou would have been tempted to give Anko a good beating.
Peeking through her fingers and seeing that Shishou didn't seem interested in her act, Anko pouted and slithered over to him like a snake, wrapping around him.
"Shishou, have you found any trace of Orochimaru?"
"No."
Shishou glanced at Anko wrapped around him, then extricated himself and disappeared.
Since Anko was fine, it was time for him to awaken his own Sage Jutsu bloodline.
**********
This fanfiction is complete on my Pa treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at patreo n.com Betek.