Shishou had just finished dinner with Pakura.
Anko, having changed into a new dress, emerged from her room, holding a bowl of rice.
"These white snake scales look much prettier than your previous ones," Pakura remarked, touching the white scales on Anko's body, marveling at them.
In the past, Anko's scales turned red when she activated her cursed seal, but now they were white, shimmering with an eerie beauty.
If she hadn't spent so much time with Anko, Pakura might have thought she was a thousand-year-old snake demon.
While Pakura was examining Anko's scales, Shishou observed Anko's upper body, noting that it was still human, with no sign of the strange snake-like features that Sage Kabuto had in the original series.
There were no odd protrusions on her abdomen or snake heads sprouting from anywhere. In fact, her skin had become smoother and fairer, elevating her from a pretty girl to a stunning beauty.
After Anko finished her meal, Shishou curiously asked:
"Is this your cursed seal state, or can you only maintain this form now?"
If the feedback from the White Snake Sage's Sage Jutsu bloodline only allowed her to maintain a snake-like form, Shishou would unhesitatingly abandon it.
Anko used her white, slender tail to pour herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then replied slowly:
"This is just my cursed seal state. I just tested it, and I can return to my original form."
"I feel like I can maintain this cursed seal state without consuming chakra, so I wanted to see if there's a limit to how long I can stay in this form."
"Plus, I really like how I look right now."
Pakura laughed, looking at Anko. "Looks like you're really turning into a snake demon."
"Who knows, but I do like this look," Anko replied nonchalantly.
Originally, she was worried about side effects or becoming uglier.
But to kill Orochimaru, she was willing to endure it.
Unexpectedly, it made her even more beautiful.
This was a huge win for her!
Seeing Anko's satisfied expression, Shishou chuckled.
He then asked Anko to revert to her human form to see if there were any changes as she claimed.
Upon Shishou's request, Anko formed a single hand sign and exited her cursed seal state, returning to normal.
Seeing that Anko hadn't grown any strange features, Shishou was relieved.
Since the feedback awakening the White Snake Sage's Sage Jutsu bloodline didn't produce any adverse effects, Shishou planned to arrange it for himself in a few days.
"Alright, that's enough for tonight."
"I'm heading back."
Since the experiment was successful, Shishou planned to return to Konoha and come back in a few days to check on Anko.
Seeing Shishou about to leave, Pakura hesitated but couldn't bring herself to ask him to stay before he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave. This left her filled with regret.
Anko noticed Pakura's expression and, hugging her arm, said:
"Pakura, you should thank me."
"I stayed in my room until you finished dinner to give you some alone time with Shishou."
"If it weren't for giving you a chance to be alone with him, I would have come out a long time ago."
"I know, I know," Pakura replied impatiently, pushing Anko away to clear the table and wash the dishes.
Hearing Pakura's words, Anko frowned angrily.
"Pakura, you're playing favorites!"
"Why are you so nice to Shishou but indifferent to me?"
"My chakra reserves have increased several times over now. I'll be really strong in the future. If you ignore me now, you won't be able to match up to me then."
With that, Anko raised her chin proudly.
After a brief adjustment period, Anko felt the Sage energy in her body responded to her will, incredibly obedient.
Anko believed that it wouldn't be long before she could successfully activate Sage Mode.
At that time, her strength would surely surpass Pakura's!
Ignoring Anko's chatter, Pakura extended a finger expressionlessly.
"Pakura, I was just kidding, hehe..."
Seeing Pakura's gesture, Anko's expression stiffened, and she started helping Pakura clean up.
To Anko, Pakura wasn't frightening, but the blazing white fireball floating on her fingertip was.
After cleaning the dishes,
Pakura changed clothes and headed to the hot springs to relax and clear her mind.
She also wanted to think about how to win over Shishou.
However,
As soon as Pakura stepped into the hot springs, Anko, who had been waiting behind a rock, swam over and wrapped herself around Pakura.
This wrapping was quite literal.
Pakura sighed, then clenched her fist.
"Ah!!!"
After a few screams echoed through the hot springs, Pakura finally had a moment of peace.
But it was only a moment.
Anko hid behind a rock, blowing bubbles in the water.
Once the pain from the beating subsided, she dived back into the water and approached Pakura again.
Before long, another scream echoed from the hot springs.
Mikoto, Kushina, Hyuga Rimei, and Hyuga Natsu, who had just returned, shook their heads in exasperation upon hearing the screams.
"Why does Anko love pestering Pakura so much..."
...
A few days later, at dawn.
Shishou, who was performing his daily Sage Jutsu training, opened his eyes on time while seated on a lotus platform in front of the giant tree in Ryuchi Cave's sinkhole.
Since he was preparing to train in Ryuchi Cave's Sage Jutsu, Shishou had moved his training site to Ryuchi Cave.
"Master."
The three snake princesses Shin Hime, Island Hime, and Tsun Hime, who were attending to Shishou, immediately came forward with washing supplies to help him freshen up.
After washing up, Shishou stood and stretched.
"Continue your training."
With that instruction, Shishou disappeared.
"Yes." Although Shishou had left, the three snake princesses respectfully responded.
Then, they placed the washing supplies down and sat on three small cushions in front of Shishou's lotus platform, focusing on training Ryuchi Cave's Sage Jutsu.
When the White Snake Sage was in charge, although they were high-ranking, they weren't qualified to practice advanced Ryuchi Cave Sage Jutsu.
They couldn't even dream of techniques like the Inorganic Reincarnation.
As a result, despite having vast amounts of Sage Chakra, they weren't very powerful, with their strength only at the Jounin level.
But since Shishou took over Ryuchi Cave, they gained access to advanced Sage Jutsu training.
This made them genuinely grateful to Shishou, wholeheartedly serving him as their master.
While the three snake princesses were engrossed in their training,
A small stone twenty kilometers away from Ryuchi Cave slowly opened its eyes.
**********
This fanfiction is complete on my Pa treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at patreo n.com Betek.