Tōshirō saw through everything in front of him, and even saw through Orochimaru's little trick. A mocking smile appeared on his lips: "You really love to find entertainment."
Orochimaru didn't deny it, laughing openly: "Oh, you saw through me. Do you want me to tell you the answer?"
"No need. It's not bad to have some entertainment before officially meeting the White Snake Sage."
The so-called trial was not even worth Tōshirō's attention. Even a casual glance would make him seem cheap.
He could already sense three figures on a large tree not far behind him, using the cover of the fog to quietly watch his every move.
It's about time they showed their true forms.
Hehe, I'll play along with you guys...
The corner of Tōshirō's mouth turned up slightly, holding a playful smile.
"Let's go."
He said it lightly and took a step, walking towards the depths.
On a large tree not far behind, three figures stood:
"Hey, there's a familiar presence among the two."
"It seems to be Orochimaru, while the other one is quite unfamiliar."
"Then let's play with him. If he doesn't... hehe... then don't blame me."
As he spoke, the owner of the figure extended a long, forked tongue from his beautiful red lips, dripping with saliva.
The deeper they went, the thicker the fog became ahead. The visibility was so poor that even Orochimaru, who was right next to him, completely disappeared.
"Orochimaru..."
Tōshirō called out, but his voice was instantly swallowed by the dense fog, with no response whatsoever.
Tōshirō spread his hands, as if nothing had happened, and continued walking forward nonchalantly.
What a cliché plot. A twist should be coming next.
Otherwise, if he waited any longer, Tōshirō would lose his patience to play along.
As he expected, after Tōshirō continued walking for a while, a light suddenly appeared in the dense fog, standing out like an oasis in a dry desert.
Finally?
Tōshirō slowly walked towards the light. The closer he got, the brighter the light became, and the outline of the source was ready to be revealed.
It was a temple, but calling it a temple seemed a bit inappropriate.
The temple's scale and splendor were in no way inferior to a magnificent palace.
Lanterns were hung with colored ribbons, and the golden snake statues wrapped around the door pillars roared silently. On the huge plaque above the vermilion gate, the three characters "Ryūchi Cave" were embossed in a bold, cursive style.
The next second, the vermilion gate opened left and right, and a golden light appeared. A woman stood within.
She had a beautiful face, with her hair piled high in a bun, wearing a golden crown and a luxurious outfit. The silken scarf wrapped around her shoulders floated gracefully, like a fairy in a celestial dress and moon-like cloak.
"Welcome to Ryūchi Cave."
She bowed, her eyes narrowed and crescent-shaped, and welcomed him with a clear and pleasant voice.
"My name is Tagitsuhime, one of the gatekeepers of Ryūchi Cave. You're here to see the White Snake Sage, aren't you?"
Tōshirō nodded in affirmation, then asked: "Where's Orochimaru? He's a contractor of your Ryūchi Cave, I don't need to say more, do I?"
"Orochimaru has gone ahead to seek an audience, to ask the White Snake Sage if she is willing to see anyone."
"I see..."
"Orochimaru might not be back for a while." Tagitsuhime's voice was soft and considerate: "You must be tired from walking for so long. While you wait, would you like to have something to eat? I will call you to see the White Snake Sage once permission is granted."
"That works."
Tōshirō followed Tagitsuhime into the hall. The interior was spacious and magnificently decorated, very impressive.
A fragrance wafted by and entered his nose. Tōshirō sniffed: "It smells very good."
Tagitsuhime moved her hand to gesture towards the plates of delicacies: "Of course, this is a meal specially prepared for you."
With that, she had Tōshirō sit on a chair and considerately brought him a delicious meal: "Please, help yourself."
Tōshirō thanked her, grabbed a fragrant meat bun, put it to his mouth, and was about to take a bite.
A hint of slyness appeared in Tagitsuhime's eyes. What a gullible brat.
Just as she was full of expectation for him to eat the food she had carefully prepared, Tōshirō suddenly didn't take a bite and put down the meat bun in his hand.
"What's wrong?"
Tagitsuhime tilted her head, confused: "Is it not delicious?"
As she spoke, a meat bun was handed to her: "You eat first."
Tagitsuhime's expression froze for a moment, then she shook her head and laughed: "I'm not hungry, and this was specially prepared for you. How could I bring myself to eat it?"
"You said it yourself, if it was specially prepared for me, I can do whatever I want with it, can't I?" Tōshirō laughed: "I'm a man of principles. When someone treats me to food, I always let them eat first."
Seeing Tōshirō's serious expression, Tagitsuhime steeled herself. You can't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den. She gritted her teeth and took a bite.
This was part of the trial.
Afterwards, she pretended to be fine, and said with a smile: "I ate it, so now it's your turn."
Tōshirō hummed in agreement, picked up the meat bun, and put it to his mouth.
Tagitsuhime wanted to see him eat, muttering in her heart, Eat quickly, eat quickly...
Unexpectedly, this time Tōshirō still didn't take a bite. He put the meat bun back where it was, slowly stood up, let his hands hang, and exhaled a breath of stale air: "Sorry, I'm a bit tired of this game."
Tagitsuhime's expression froze: "Uh, what are you talking about?"
The corner of Tōshirō's mouth twitched, and he said mockingly: "How much longer are you going to keep up the act?"
"I don't quite understand what you mean."
Tagitsuhime made her last attempt at an argument.
"Bold fiend, I can tell you're not human at first glance."
Tōshirō suddenly let out a stern shout, turned hostile, and punched Tagitsuhime's beautiful face directly.
Tagitsuhime didn't expect Tōshirō's sudden sneak attack. Being sent flying was minor, the key was that her face was completely caved in.
"You little brat, how dare you mess with me."
Tagitsuhime got up from the ground, her face completely caved in, covered in cracks. Her cherry-red lips were stretched open like the Slit-Mouthed Woman's, and a forked tongue hung near her chin. She was so terrifying that she no longer had any of the fairy-like aura from before.
"Gyaaaah... I'm going to eat you."
Along with this eerie roar, the atmosphere of the space became strange. The magnificent golden walls began to writhe, transforming into a bizarre dimension made of countless small gray snakes, looking truly sinister and terrifying.
Tōshirō glanced down indifferently, his eyes reflecting the sight of several pythons coiling around his body.
Tagitsuhime watched Tōshirō, who couldn't move in this space, and slowly licked her lips, drooling, looking impatient to have her meal.
She showed no mercy at all, despite Tōshirō being brought by Orochimaru.
However, she forcibly suppressed her desire to eat. Tagitsuhime wanted to fully enjoy the look of terror on Tōshirō's face before he died.
In her eyes, Tōshirō had closed his eyelids, seemingly having given up resisting.
Hehe.
It was too late for regrets now.
But soon, she suddenly realized something.
Wait.
If he had given up, he wouldn't be so calm, or even disdainful.
"Hmph, a petty trick. How dare you show off in front of me."
With a cold snort, Tōshirō's eyes snapped open, turning blood-red.
In an instant, the space above the bizarre dimension seemed to respond to something, tearing open a long, narrow crack. Then, this crack ripped open vertically, and a giant, blood-red pupil emerged, its gaze cold and proudly looking down on everything.
Sharingan!?
No, that strange pupil pattern, different from the three tomoe, is...
Mangekyō Sharingan!!!?
Impossible, how can such an eye still exist in this world?
Tagitsuhime's eyes were wide open, and she looked in disbelief at the blood-red eye with the snowflake-like pattern above.
Tagitsuhime felt as if a great mountain was pressing down on her, and she couldn't breathe.
In an instant, as if a mirror had been struck by a hammer, the bizarre dimension suddenly cracked.
Then, with a "CRACK," the bizarre dimension burst into countless specks of dust that fell to the ground.
(End of Chapter)
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