Seeing that the snake had regained consciousness, Rin finished bandaging her and left to make it to the Ninja Academy in time for class.
Obito, who had returned with the meat, saw Rin leaving and stuck to her like glue as he followed her out.
Inside the living room...
Only Motomu and Cobra remained, staring at each other.
A green clock on the wall ticked away rhythmically.
On the table sat a pile of meat and ribs.
Cobra searched for a long time before finally finding her glasses in a corner of the quilt.
Using the tip of her tail, she placed the round glasses onto her snake face.
The light of wisdom flickered in her eyes as her intellect reclaimed the high ground of her brain.
Pulling her tongue back into her mouth...
Recovering from her daze, the snake's attitude clearly straightened up.
Motomu observed this keenly.
Watching her crawl onto the table like a starving ghost and gulp down the meat, he decided not to disturb her.
The battle with the ribs ended in a flash.
With a satisfied smile on her face, Cobra slumped down, showing no intention of correcting her messy posture.
Her black body squirmed against the soft quilt.
Resting her head on her own coils, Cobra glanced at Motomu with satisfaction, noting that he hadn't interrupted her.
"Human, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news for you."
"Good news first."
"I seem to have transcended into a dragon."
Motomu remained silent.
"And the bad news?"
"I don't know what kind of human shape I should take."
Motomu remained silent.
There was too much silence; he needed a moment to process this.
Cobra 'transcending into a dragon' probably meant she had mastered Senjutsu and Sage Mode.
Yeah, that made sense.
Without Senjutsu, she would have been a dead snake by now.
As for that 'human shape'...
It likely referred to a transformation like the Three Snake Himes turning into young girls.
It seemed Cobra had turned a misfortune into a blessing by unlocking a new move.
But this was a good thing.
If she took human form and shrunk in size, the Big Eyeball could easily carry her.
Revenge against Ryuchi Cave was within reach today!
Motomu looked at her conflicted snake face.
While surprised he could even read conflict on a snake's face, Motomu spoke calmly.
"Oh, since you can turn into a human..."
"Can you make yourself a bit smaller? It would make it easier for me to carry you."
Cobra, who was busy pondering what human form to take, was confused by his words.
What the hell did he mean by 'carrying her'?
Did he mean taking her out?
Then again, having a Snake Sage as a summoning partner...
...was enough to make any local ninja who hadn't seen the world brag with pride.
She couldn't go back to her home in Ryuchi Cave.
She might as well live well in the ninja world.
Heh! Heh!
In that case...
'I must become a beautiful person and make this kid head over heels for me.'
Glancing at Motomu, who was staring at her curiously, Cobra pointed her tail toward the bedroom door.
"First, let a snake go inside and think things through."
"Oh, hurry up then."
Suppressing his curiosity, Motomu grabbed a corner of the quilt and dragged Cobra into the bedroom.
"Don't peek."
"Okay."
"Don't disturb me."
"Okay."
"Don't open the door until I say so."
"Yeah, sure."
After repeated warnings and seeing Motomu nodding continuously, Cobra finally closed the door gently with her tail.
"Are you done yet?"
*Creeeeeak!*
Cobra yanked the door open.
"No!"
"How could it be that fast?!"
"I have to think!"
"Oh."
Motomu closed the door himself.
Half an hour passed.
Motomu's ears twitched as he sat on the tatami mat in the living room refining chakra.
Hearing movement, he stood up and went to the door.
Cobra's tail, which had been wrapped around the doorknob, lost its strength and flopped onto the wooden floor with a thud.
Motomu pushed the ajar door open and met Cobra's frustrated gaze.
Her black body, slumped like a dead snake, suddenly started twisting.
"Aaaaah!"
"Human, I'm so frustrated!"
Motomu realized she was suffering from a lack of inspiration.
Cobra was a shut-in snake; she hadn't seen many people, so trying to become one was bound to end like this.
The current situation required some 'high-art' magazines to save her.
As the place where the great author Jiraiya's dreams began, Konoha had no shortage of such things.
Motomu hurried back from the Konoha bookstore, released his Transformation Jutsu, and...
...laid out over a dozen art magazines beside Cobra.
The content of these magazines perfectly suited a normal person's aesthetic.
There were no abstract fashion magazines or skimpy bikinis.
The stars covered various age groups and temperaments.
Motomu felt his selection was very reasonable.
"Human, this is actually helpful."
"I think I've found some inspiration."
"Mhm. Go ahead, I believe in you."
Flipping through the magazines one by one...
Having gained some insight, Cobra nodded in deep agreement with the contents.
The room closed again.
Rustling sounds came from the bedroom—the sound of scales rubbing against each other and Cobra's faint, strange giggling.
Motomu pricked up his ears but couldn't quite make it out.
"Are you done yet?"
"Don't rush me! I'm thinking!"
"My mind is more active than ever!"
Just as she spoke...
Ripples of strange Senjutsu chakra leaked out from around the door frame.
Motomu silently activated his Sharingan and took two steps back.
Several minutes passed.
*Creeak.* The solid wood door opened a crack.
Half of an unfamiliar face peeked out from behind the door.
She had wheat-toned skin with a healthy glow, a delicate and straight nose, and smooth black short hair falling beside her ears, with a purple clip tucked into her hair.
Looking down, her bright eyes flickered under double eyelids, her brownish snake-like pupils turning toward Motomu.
Cobra pursed her lips, a playful little snaggletooth peeking out from the corner of her mouth.
The way she peeked out made her look like a young deer unfamiliar with the human world—both shy and spirited.
Senjutsu was truly miraculous.
Unlike the genjutsu-like nature of the Transformation Jutsu, her body was physical under the gaze of the Sharingan, with no hint of illusion.
It was as if Cobra had always looked that way.
While Motomu was marveling at the magic of Senjutsu...
A snake tail curled around a pair of round glasses and clumsily placed them on her face.
"Human, do you think I should become a mature lady or a little girl?"
Motomu's mind went blank.
"Forget it, I'll figure it out myself."
*Bang!* The door slammed shut again.
Had he... accidentally awakened some bizarre personality trait in her?
The magazines he showed her were perhaps a bit too shocking for a snake who hadn't seen much of the world.
Mature lady or little girl?
I clearly just wanted her to shrink her size so I could protect her when we enter Ryuchi Cave.
Why did it turn out like this?
While Motomu stared blankly at the door, Obito's voice suddenly rang out from the small courtyard.
"Bro! Rin said she can come over again tonight! I'm going to wait for her to come home!"
Without looking back, Motomu said, "Get lost."
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