The White Snake left a deep impression on Kagami.

It had black hair on its head, resembling a snake-form Orochimaru. While it appeared to be a completely white large snake, it was actually composed of countless smaller snakes.

Due to this unique body structure, it could disperse parts of itself to avoid damage from thrown weapons. Similarly, other physical attacks would likely also be ineffective.

Moreover, the White Snake's bodily fluids were highly toxic, and once inhaled after volatilizing, death would come quickly without an antidote.

A failed experiment of Orochimaru's? Even his failures are terrifying.

Even if it's a failed product, it shouldn't be underestimated.

Currently, his abilities were limited to Earth Release ninjutsu, mainly mid-level Earth Release techniques focused on defense. In contrast, Kakashi could use an S-rank attack ninjutsu.

Kagami clenched his fists in frustration. Earth walls and pebbles... What good are they against a creature like that?

It was clear that his current strength was not enough to kill the White Snake.

Thus, he needed to power up before the battle.

He spread out a summoning scroll on the ground and performed the summoning technique, bringing out his spider from the breeding box at home.

With a puff, Spidey appeared.

After spinning around a couple of times and observing the surroundings, the human face on its back showed a puzzled expression.

Where am I?

Looking at the tightly closed laboratory door in front of him, Kagami said, "This will be your home for a long time."

"But before that, we need to take care of the previous tenant."

It was unclear whether it understood his words, as he immediately walked to a corner of the corridor and started weaving a spider web.

Sorry, little guy. You're not here to fight. You're my ticket to something greater, Kagami mused as he watched it work.

He didn't consider Spidey part of his battle power. His real way to increase his strength was to train.

Summoning it was only a precaution, as Kagami feared that its body would suddenly grow at home, causing unnecessary chaos.

According to his plan, once Spidey's rank level reached Level 1, he would be able to gain another deity's power. Atlach-Nacha's ability is quitet powerful...

This new deity would be his key to dealing with the White Snake.

Even if the powers at this level were still some relatively useless powers of the Great Old Ones, Kagami had a way to handle the White Snake.

That was by summoning one of the animal-related deities—the Great Old One known as Yig, the Father of Serpents.

With Yig's powers, he should be able to control all serpentine creatures, and this White Snake should be no exception.

However, Kagami wondered if Orochimaru counted as a snake. But would it work on Orochimaru? Is he more man or snake now?

Of course, Yig was only a last resort, as controlling another type of animal had no significant value for him.

Even if he could control Orochimaru and all the snakes in Ryūchi Cave, it would be of little use later. Controlling snakes is great, but against something like Cthulhu...

Suddenly, Kagami immediately felt a significant increase in the chakra within his body. At the same time, Spidey, who was eating the soul of a little snake in the corner, experienced an instant growth spurt.

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Kagami's body jerked, eyes bulging. The hell? His insides felt like they were being rearranged by a tornado.

Spidey, who had originally been only slightly larger than two joined palms, suddenly grew to the size of a basin.

The distorted human face on Spidey's back, previously a miniature, now became a full-sized human face.

As the face enlarged, Kagami could see more details, such as deformed and twisted folds and creases, all vividly lifelike and terrifying.

Fascinating... and terrifying. Seems like Spidey had reached Rank 2.

After checking the improvements brought by the level up, Kagami turned his attention to the newly unlocked deities by using his special vision.

As he focused, the world around him began to shift. Reality seemed to crack like a spiderweb spreading across glass. From he as the center point, threads stretched out in all directions, leading to what he could only assume were different realities or dimensions.

Is this... the String of Reality? The name came to him unbidden, feeling right somehow.

Fascinated and slightly terrified, Kagami reached out mentally, trying to connect to some of the threads. As he did, most of the webs disappeared, leaving only a few strands.

Then, a multicolored display appeared in his field of vision, providing him compact information. It showed details about various deities, with four new ones now unlocked.

Kagami focused on the first deity on the list:

[Name: Cthaat]

[Affiliations: Great Old One]

[Description: The God of Black Water, one of the entities representing water. Its true form is incomprehensible to ordinary people, usually appearing as a massive water element. It rules over all aquatic creatures.]

[Abilities: Water Physique, Shape Absorption, Mastery over Non-sentient Aquatic Creatures.]

As Kagami maintained this strange, multicolored vision of reality, pain began to build behind his eyes. A warm trickle down his face made him touch his cheek. His fingers came away red with blood.

My eyes... they're bleeding? A moment later, he tasted copper as his nose began to bleed as well.

The pain in his head intensified, becoming almost unbearable. He gritted his teeth, fighting to maintain the vision. My body... it's too weak to handle this. I need to stop, but... just a little longer.

He forced himself to focus on this deity's information as well as the others, trying to absorb as much as he could before the pain overwhelmed him. The abilities listed for Cthaat swam before his eyes:

[Water Physique: A body composed of water, granting immunity to physical attacks but vulnerable to lightning.]

[Shape Absorption: The power to merge with and take on the form of other substances, though at a significant time cost.]

[Mastery over Non-sentient Aquatic Creatures: Control over fish and other non-intelligent sea life.]

As the pain grew stronger, Kagami's concentration finally broke. The multicolored vision shattered and everything snapped back to normal so fast it made his head spin.

His legs gave out. He hit the ground hard, choking on air, blood leaking from his face.

Those deities, those powers... they're real. But my body can't handle it. Not yet.

Somehow, he managed to stand. His hands shook as he swiped at the blood.

Kagami took a deep breath and analyzed the information he had received. The first deity was focused on abilities, with three key powers.

The first ability, Water Physique, allows the user to have a water-element body, much like the God of Black Water.

He was speechless, as this ability was essentially the same as Mangetsu's.

Just like the Hōzuki Clan's Hydrification Technique? Kiri again. Is there a connection to Cthaat?

By that logic, the advantage of this ability would be immunity to physical attacks, but the downside was vulnerability to Lightning Release.

It sounded useful. After all, an ability that grants immunity to physical attacks is quite appealing, but there were still weaknesses.

Aside from being vulnerable to Lightning Release, the bigger issue was that this ability would inevitably be exposed during missions.

How would I explain this to Konoha? 'Oh, I just gazed at the stars and figured it out'? Yeah, right.

That reason was clearly unreliable.

Moreover, if word of this 'secret technique' reached Kiri, Kagami would surely face relentless pursuit from the Hōzuki Clan members.

As for the other abilities, they were equally underwhelming.

Shape Absorption allowed one to merge with substances to create a new form. Upon contact, both the original and the contacted shapes would be destroyed.

After two days of transformation, the user would possess the form of the object they touched, but their essence would still remain water-based.

Uh… Was this just a transformation jutsu that takes two days to activate? That's... not very practical.

The specifics of this ability were unclear—whether it allowed one to fully acquire the body information of the target, such as chakra, or if it was just a simple mimicry of appearance.

The difference between the two would be immense.

The only interesting aspect of this ability was its potential for a mutual destruction scenario. By touching the enemy, both would self-destruct. However, after two days, the user would revive, while the enemy would stay dead.

But it was just a one-for-one trade at best. Once the mechanics of this ability were understood, plenty of powerful figures in the ninja world could kill Kagami without ever making physical contact.

As for the last ability, it was even more mundane.

Mastery over non-sentient aquatic creatures was exactly what it sounded like.

Great. I can be the ultimate fish whisperer. Just what I always wanted.