"Orochimaru!"
Manda roared in fury. Its massive fifty-meter-long body became a terrifying weapon of destruction.
The surrounding area was instantly thrown into chaos, turned upside down by Manda's violent movements.
However, Orochimaru remained unfazed. He simply extended the blade of his Kusanagi Sword and continued clashing against Manda's massive body.
To physically confront such a colossal creature with pure strength was unimaginable for most ninjas. If not for the countless modifications Orochimaru had made to his body, allowing him to surpass human limits, the sheer force from the sword's impact would have been enough to overwhelm him.
Before long, Manda noticed something was wrong.
A strange numbness spread through its body. Its once agile and powerful form began twitching uncontrollably, as if suffering from convulsions. Soon, Manda collapsed to the ground, struggling desperately like a fish out of water.
But its struggles were in vain. Its body felt unbearably heavy, completely out of its control.
"Damn it… it's salamander poison!"
Manda lay belly-up on the ground, its golden eyes locked onto Orochimaru, who stood before its massive head, calmly sheathing the Kusanagi Sword.
"It's Hanzo's poison," Orochimaru said as he stood before Manda's piercing gaze, raising a finger. "Of course, I know you've developed resistance to it. So, I added a few extra ingredients."
"A neurotoxin specifically targeting the nervous system. It disrupts neuromuscular transmission, causing muscle paralysis. Without timely treatment, it leads to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest, resulting in death."
"Of course, I didn't create this poison myself. I merely… made a few modifications, adding some special components."
Manda suddenly lashed out, its massive head lunging toward Orochimaru in a final attempt to bite him.
But before it could get close, its head weakly slumped back to the ground, completely powerless.
Orochimaru, standing nearby, didn't even make an attempt to dodge.
"Still trying to struggle? The dosage I gave you was precisely calculated. Your earlier outburst will only cause the poison to spread faster," Orochimaru's face reflected in the eyes of Manda grew darker.
"Help me!"
Manda, feeling its body losing sensation rapidly, almost instinctively, struggled to beg Orochimaru for help.
It never expected the poison to be so powerful! Normally, it had a high resistance to most poisons, but the poison Orochimaru had smeared on his sword far exceeded its body's tolerance, as if it was specifically designed for it—or for the serpents of the Ryūchi Cave.
Arrogant as it was, when it sensed death approaching, it instinctively gave in. Because if it didn't beg for help now, the next moment, it might not even be able to speak.
"Remember, you're only alive because you're still useful," Orochimaru said, pulling out an antidote syringe, and injected it into Manda' wounds.
Manda felt like each second of waiting for death dragged on endlessly. When it regained its sense of pain and itching, and slowly regained control over its body, it turned over with a shudder.
"Take me to see the White Snake Sage."
Once the poison was removed and it regained control over its body, Orochimaru and Kagetsu stood on its head and gave the command.
Manda' eyes flashed with hostility for a moment, but then it bowed its head in obedience, moving its massive body quickly in a direction, its movement loud like a train rumbling ahead.
"Manda can save us a lot of travel time and help us avoid many troubles," Orochimaru explained to Kagetsu, who was looking around. "The environment in the Ryūchi Cave is harsh, but with Manda, there usually won't be any obstacles along the way."
Crack, crack!
The speed of Manda was incredibly fast. Soon, it left the dense forest where it had lived and arrived at a desolate land filled with a misty poison fog. As it moved, its massive body crushed numerous objects that looked like the bones of creatures.
"The Ryūchi Cave has some hidden connections in the Ninja World. Sometimes, people and beasts get lost in those connections and end up in the Ryūchi Cave, where they become food for the snakes.
In addition, there are also sacrifices prepared by those who have made contracts with certain snakes, as well as ninjas who failed their training in Sage Jutsu and became food."
Orochimaru, sensing they were nearing their destination, explained to Kagetsu as they traveled.
"Those?"
Kagetsu looked toward a specific spot within the mist. The fog affected ordinary people, but for ninjas with chakra, especially medical ninjas, staying there for long periods wouldn't cause any harm.
"Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagorihime. They are three Sage Princess under the White Snake Sage, who oversee the trials of the Ryūchi Cave. They can transform into human form and use illusions to tempt you.
If you fail to maintain your focus in their illusion, they will consider you to have failed the trial and will devour you as food."
While Orochimaru was explaining to Kagetsu, he suddenly stopped, and, like Kagetsu, he looked toward a spot in the mist.
"Hehe! Long time no see, Orochimaru!"
A crisp, young female voice echoed from the mist. From the sound of it, she seemed like an adolescent girl.
"The little child from back then has grown up... and gotten older now!"
Another voice followed, younger and sounding more like a little girl, filled with dissatisfaction, as if she were unhappy about Orochimaru's aging.
"Another Ryūchi Cave contractor? Is this your disciple, Orochimaru? Just like you, he carries a tempting food scent within his body!"
A more mature voice followed the previous two, carrying a hint of maturity.
At that moment, Manda stopped too and watched as three figures slowly emerged from the mist, floating in mid-air.
One of them had brown hair, wore a white robe, and had white ribbons floating behind her.
The second one was slightly shorter, with her hair tied in a bun, and a crown resting on her deep purple hair.
The third one had long green hair, and the golden crown she wore had a golden orb on it, giving her a slightly more mature appearance than the other two.
These three, who appeared to have human-like features, were the three Snake Princess of the Ryūchi Cave that Orochimaru had just mentioned: Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagorihime.
"You're too close, Ichikishimahime!" Orochimaru said to the loli girl Ichikishimahime, who suddenly appeared in front of him. Her nostrils flared slightly as she looked at him with a somewhat greedy gaze.
"What's the big deal! Have you finally figured it out, and are you planning to continue the Sage Trial that you interrupted before? Or perhaps," Ichikishimahime said as she turned her gaze toward the man standing next to Orochimaru, her finger almost itching with excitement at the sight of him, "are you here to arrange for him to undergo the Sage Trial instead?"
****
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