Chap.62 Family feeling

Orochimaru always considered eating as a simple act to keep the body functional and stay alive. But long ago he realized with a simple calculation that the time spent eating throughout his life would be too much and could be used elsewhere, as his researches, so years ago he devised a nutritional solution for only required a few seconds to drink it and supply your body with what it needs. He rarely ate normal food unless the situation demanded it or he had a purpose.

And that was exactly what happened. Kabuto informed him that the ninja groceries from the Kuku shop were sent to the base by his subordinates and Sasuke rushed off to claim some for himself.

Orochimaru couldn't help but gaze with mild interest at his unusual behavior, even if they had already discussed Tony's food.

So he took some ninja grocery scrolls and brought them to the lab. In any case, he needed to wait a few hours for the chemicals to form the reaction he was looking for, he could play a little to relax his mind. He opened one of the scrolls and got a bowl of curry, a bottle of red tea, and two apples.

"The smell is a bit pleasant," Orochimaru contemplated as his nose was stimulated by the curry. He took the bottle and examined it—The tea seems quite ordinary at first glance, a mixture that includes some wild fruits. Not even the apples seem to stand out in any way, except for their perfect shape. Some kind of specialized crop?

Orochimaru was not impressed. He separated a few samples and after making sure the food was drug-free and tampered with, he began to eat.

-Oh? —He raised an eyebrow after chewing a bit— The taste is actually quite, no, much better than he expected. Though perhaps it's simply due to the fact that it's been half a decade since I last ate in this inefficient way.

The curry flavor was thick, but not too strong. It stimulated his papillae and increased the secretion of saliva in his mouth. After a few more bites, he drank his tea and drank some.

"Interesting, the tea is actually interacting with the remaining taste in my mouth to create a new sensation." Clever trick,' he commented.

He alternated between curry and tea, finishing both in a few minutes, which actually surprised him. He hadn't expected to enjoy a meal at this point. He turned his head to look at the apples and shrugged.

"I have always despised wasting resources." She took one and took a bite as he reached out with his free hand to grab a scroll to read while he finished the fruit.

He swallowed and just as he was about to take a second bite, he froze.

-What's this? —Immediately he sensed an anomaly.

It could be said without fear of being wrong that both Tsunade and Orochimaru were true eminences when it came to controlling their bodies. The only difference was that Tsunade had said control thanks to his medical ninjutsu and Orochimaru due to his forbidden technique.

The food including the curry and the red tea were nice and she certainly felt the kick her body got, but she had drugs in the lab capable of achieving similar effects, so while she found it a bit interesting that such effects could happen from cooking a specific mode, it was no more than that.

But the apple made him feel something familiar and strange at the same time.

He closed his eyes and felt every pulse and contraction of his body, paying attention to it all.

"Is the feeling gone?" He frowned in dissatisfaction.

Without waiting another second, he took another bite of the apple in his hand and after chewing it, he swallowed and waited carefully.

Soon, he felt the same again.

A strange energy that circulated through his body so smoothly that if it weren't for his experience it would be impossible to feel it. Orochimaru checked the status of the areas he circulated through and discovered that they had actually been strengthened. Very slightly, but the effect was there. The most extraordinary thing was that it didn't seem like something temporary.

"This must be the effect Sasuke was talking about," he stated without hesitation, "But where I've felt this before..."

It was the first time in a while that Orochimaru needed time to go through and analyze his own memories, trying to find the match he was looking for. After several minutes of silence, his eyes widened in genuine disbelief.

"Ryuchi Cave?"

Long ago, Orochimaru discovered the origin of the Jugo clan's abilities, which led him to visit Ryuichi Cave with Kabuto. There, he managed to comprehend what natural energy was, but he could never fully obtain the ability to absorb natural energy, since his body could not support it.

But the point was that he was exposed to natural energy and the sensation he had was very similar to the energy that ran through his body when he bit into the apple.

That's it. Similar, but not the same!

The natural energy he got from the apple was gentle and beneficial, causing no damage or stress to his body and even strengthening him a little. Natural energy does not usually act like this at all.

Not even the oil from the toads of Mount Myoboku, which could help its practitioners absorb natural energy, could do this in such a beneficial way. After all, practitioners will turn into stone toads if they are not careful when using the toad oil.

"Is it because the amount of natural energy is a small amount or is it a stable trait?" Is it something replicable? What is the upper limit that can be ingested each time?

Orochimaru forgot about his chemicals and spent the rest of the day testing the apples and everything on the storage scrolls. Each test was intended to examine, deduce, or limit the range of possibilities about the strange natural energy.

And the results were scandalous.

"Each dish, drink, and ingredient has varying degrees of the same natural energy?" —The comparisons and the data were in his hands — This… how is it even possible?

How did he manage to keep the natural energy confined without the slightest leak and without seals?

How did he manage to so perfectly eliminate the terrible side effects?

Where did the natural energy come from, its original source?

So many questions and one last one crossed his mind.

Could he… somehow use this so he could finally become a Sage?

"Looks like I'm going to need a lot more of these ninja edibles," he laughed in the lab. "Now that I think about it, Tayuya is with him, right?" Perhaps we can reach some kind of mutually satisfactory arrangement…