She gawps like a fish, and Minato clears his throat.
"Is that wise, Orochimaru-san?"
Sensei shrugs—he shrugs!
"The formula is simplified and specific. Only a snake from Ryūchi Cave will respond. And, as there are no hand seals required for the summoning, there is no risk of Honōka-kun being reverse summoned by another compatible domain."
"I suppose that's true… and it might not even work—she hasn't signed the summoning contract, right?"
"She has not." Sensei replies. "The snakes keep their contract under lock and key at Ryūchi Cave. They expect potential summoners to seek the cave out on their own power."
Minato relaxes.
"Oh, I see. If that's the case, I doubt anything will happen if Honōka-chan tries to activate the jutsu-shiki. It's probably meant to be an invitation to come find them, or something like that."
Kakashi doesn't look convinced. He turns to her and shakes her by the shoulders a couple of times.
"Don't summon a giant one, or a venomous one, or a weird one, or a—"
She shoves Kakashi away.
"Okay, Okay! I'll try to summon a totally normal, nonlethal, one!"
Sensei chuckles, and Kakashi turns pleading eyes on her.
"Do not summon Manda, Honōka, I'm begging you here."
"Honōka-kun does not yet have the necessary chakra reserves to summon Manda, Kakashi-kun."
Kakashi still doesn't look convinced.
She looks at the mark, then at her sensei. He's waiting patiently for her to decide if she really wants to try summoning a snake.
"Kakashi uses hand seals and blood to summon Pakkun… so the hand seals dictate the technique formula, and Kakashi's blood is the catalyst that calls his summons to him. Since I have the jutsu-shiki already, I just have to activate it with my blood?"
"That would be correct." Sensei thinks her hesitation is just the littlest bit endearing. "Would you like a demonstration first?"
She shakes her head. Knowing Sensei, he might summon a really scary snake just to see her reaction. She doesn't want to chicken out before she even tries.
Honōka considers biting her thumb like she's seen Minato do for his toads, but she's currently missing most of her incisors because she's seven years old and no one ever told Kakashi it's rude to punch a lady in the face. She decides against it—it would totally lack dignity.
She takes Kakashi's lucky kunai out of her back tool pouch and taunts him with a wink. He gives her a dirty look for it.
She sticks her thumb on the wicked sharp point and puts the kunai away again, then takes a deep breath and smears the blood across the coils of the mark.
She has a promise to keep; she thinks.
Honōka disappears in a crack of smoke.
There's absolute silence as Kakashi watches his teachers go through the five stages of grief in a brief moment.
Denial in a dead-eyed stare from them both; anger in a couple of rapid blinks from Orochimaru-sensei; bargaining as Minato-sensei looks up at the heavens through the layers of tarp above them; depression as they simultaneously sigh.
Finally, acceptance.
"I'm not even surprised anymore." Minato-sensei says.
"We should call Honōka the jutsu-crusher," he votes.
Orochimaru-sensei closes his eyes and exhales through his nose. "I suppose I should go make sure no one eats her."
"E-eats her?!"
Minato-sensei staggers, leaning heavily against the folding table.
"They would eat Honōka-chan?!"
Orochimaru-sensei doesn't respond, just bites his thumb and draws a line down his summoning tattoo.
A small… ish snake appears. The yellow and red spotted serpent is longer than Kakashi is tall, but is only a little thicker than his forearm, so it probably can't eat him. He hopes.
Orochimaru-sensei frowns at the snake, which means it's safe to assume it's not who he was expecting to summon, or what he was expecting to happen.
"Jorō," he greets, crisply. "I do believe Daitenja-sama gave me permission to 'come and go' as I pleased."
The snake flicks their tongue and coils their body a little tighter. Kakashi isn't familiar with snake body language—but he's willing to bet the snake is nervous. Pakkun shrinks up when something frightens him, too.
"Daitenja-sama is not accepting any more visitors today."
The snake's voice is young and feminine. Orochimaru kneels in front of her, and Kakashi can practically smell the killing intent coming off him.
"Would you care to repeat that, Jorō?"
"…Daitenja-sama is not accepting any more visitors today…?"
"Am I a 'visitor', Jorō?"
"N-no, Orochimaru-sama, of course not!"
"What do you think will happen if I request another reverse summons, Jorō?"
"…" the snake hides her face in her coils. "…no one will answer, probably…"
Orochimaru grabs her by the… tail? And she flips over, belly up. Submitting? Playing dead? He isn't sure.
"Now, now, Jorō—enough with the theatrics. Take me to Ryūchi Cave."
Big tears well up in her round eyes, which Kakashi is certain are from a genjutsu. He doesn't break the illusion, though—it seems kind of heartless to. She's clearly distressed, and he doesn't think snakes can make many facial expressions on their own.
Then her tongue rolls out of her mouth and x's appear in her eyes. Kakashi has to turn away to quell his laughter. Minato-sensei elbows him and gives him a stern look.
"Jorō, have I ever told you about the aviary in Konoha? It is absolutely filled with hawks."
He leaves the threat hanging in the air for a moment.
"I will feed you to them, Jorō, piece by piece."
"O-o-Orochimaru-saamaaa!" Jorō cries. "I can't! Daitenja-sama will have my scales!"
He stands and Jorō clings to his arm. Her mouth is open and she's silently panting, her body expanding and contracting as she shimmies her coils up Orochimaru-sensei's arm.
"If you do not take me to Ryūchi Cave, the hawks will have your flesh."
"Mou! I give up, I give up! I hope Daitenja-sama swallows you whole!"
There's another pop of smoke and Orochimaru-sensei and the snake disappear.
Minato-sensei's shoulders drop and he lets out a small sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness I ended up with Jiraiya-sensei and the toad summoning contract. No one tries to eat you at Mount Myōboku." Sensei pauses. "They try to make you eat bugs though."
"Sensei, that's gross." Kakashi thanks his unlucky stars that he has the dog summoning contract already. They have a loyalty clause.
"I think it's preferable to whatever craziness goes on in Ryūchi Cave." Minato shivers and rubs his arms. "Jiraiya-sensei told me Orochimaru-san stayed there for an entire month when he was twelve and that he was different when he came back."
"…"
"You don't suppose Honōka-chan will be different when she comes back?" Minato-sensei asks, worrying his thumb.
Kakashi snorts.
"I think Ryūchi Cave will be different when Honōka is finished with them."
"Oh, good point, Kakashi." Minato-sensei rubs his sweaty palms on his pants. "What am I even worrying about? Honōka-chan managed to change Orochimaru-san after all." He laughs nervously and shifts on his feet.
"…"
"Kakashi, I'm still worried about Honōka-chan."
He pats Minato-sensei on the arm.
"Me too, Sensei. Me too."
Orochimaru arrives outside Ryūchi Cave. He glares at Jorō, who immediately drops off his arm and slithers away to find a bolt-hole. He scoffs at her.
A huge tongue whips at him, razor sharp and faster than the blink of an eye. He flickers away as Manda raises his head, earth toned camouflage dissipating to reveal his purple and black ringed snake hide.
"Orochimaru, you little bastard! You dare show your face here now? I'll bite you in half!"
"I do not have time for your nonsense, Manda. Let me through."
Manda opens his colossal mouth and sprays his venom.
He tsks and channels chakra to his eyes, activating his Eye Scale Technique. Fighting giant snakes while needing to blink or shy away from blinding venom is unadvisable. So he doesn't blink or balk from the venom—he adapts by gaining the eye scales so integral to his summons.
Manda lifts his head higher, stabilizing his massive body with his tail. He's preparing to either thrash the surroundings, or possibly feinting and readying to dive underground. Orochimaru won't give him time for either option.
He sucks in a great lungful of breath and weaves the seals for Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, then releases a devastating gale that rips the trees from the ground and rends rock into pieces. The debris pelts Manda as the wind tumbles him like a scrap of cloth.
Manda is blown back only a couple hundred meters, but the uprooted trees and boulders have done damage as well. His scales are cracked and bleeding in places, and he seems to have been dazed.
Orochimaru turns and heads for the entrance to the caves.
"Orochimaru…!" Manda heaves himself over until he finds stability again. "I'm not done with you, you little bastard!"
He glares at Manda, sharpening his displeasure at the so called 'Strongest Colossal Serpent'.
"I told you, Manda—I do not have time for your nonsense. We are finished."
"…!"
He turns again and the ground trembles as Manda clumsily sidewinds over the destruction.
"I ain't done!"
He lets his killing intent surface.
"Manda, I will put you in the ground if you keep trying my patience. I have more important matters to attend to than quarreling with you right now."
"Like what?!" Manda hisses, offended that not everything is about him, no doubt.
"Finding my student, if you must know. Now, if you are quite done, I am going to speak with Daitenja-sama." And give them a piece of his mind while he's at it.
"No, you can't!"
Orochimaru pauses.
"Why can I not, Manda? You cannot stop me from speaking with the White Snake Sage and finding my student."
Manda drops his great head onto the near decimated battleground and his tongue flicks out, catching the air near Orochimaru.
"You've changed, Orochimaru. I don't know what it is, but I can taste it on you."
He rolls his eyes and turns on his heel. Manda's tongue lashes out, once again blocking his way.
"Daitenja-sama is in dialogue with the hatchling. They told us to delay you for as long as possible."
"Remove your tongue, Manda, or I will."
He smartly withdraws his tongue, and the way is finally clear.
"It's a good change, whatever it is. Reminds me of when you were a hatchling."
He snorts.
"Manda, you are as charming as a stone in my shoe."
"Fuck off, Orochimaru. You know I don't understand your worthless human metaphors."
It's a simile but he doesn't correct him. Manda has waylaid him long enough.