Tagorihime stared, aghast, at the man before her.
She was a sage, one who had mastered sage power!
In the mundane world, she could even hold her own against a Kage from one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Yet, against this man, she found herself utterly powerless to resist.
"Last chance. Where is the White Snake Sage?" Naruto asked, his voice icy.
Feeling the killing intent that was so potent it felt almost tangible, Tagorihime shivered and hastily pointed towards a nearby passage.
"Go that way, and you'll find the White Snake Sage."
Naruto glanced at the cave entrance, memorized her chakra signature, and then set her down.
"How many more trials?"
It was the same old story: pass the trials, meet the White Snake Sage, learn Sage Arts.
Truth be told, he wasn't a fan of these kinds of games.
But he was on their turf, seeking their help, so he had to play by their rules.
"T-two," Tagorihime stammered, startled by his question.
Naruto nodded slightly at her answer and said no more.
Watching the man disappear into the passage, Tagorihime sagged weakly against the wall.
"Lady White Snake Sage, should the trials continue?" she asked into the air.
The White Snake Sage knew everything that happened in Ryuchi Cave.
"Continue."
A raspy, elderly female voice replied.
In the deepest part of the cave, a short, elderly woman lay reclining on a stone bed, her eyelids slightly raised as if observing something.
Instead of going to Mount Myoboku, he comes to my Ryuchi Cave to train in Sage Mode. How interesting...
The White Snake Sage mused internally.
Although she didn't quite understand why Ashura's successor would choose her, an opportunity that came knocking was not one to be refused.
Others might fear that old toad, but she certainly didn't.
"Do you see the gaps in the wall?"
The path ahead was blocked. Just as Naruto was about to search for another passage, a melodious voice echoed from above.
"All you have to do is find the right stones from the rubble on the ground and fill these gaps. Do that, and you'll pass this trial."
Naruto looked down at the ground. The countless pieces of rubble were like grains of sand in a desert; searching for them one by one would take an eternity.
Seeing Naruto hesitate, a satisfied smile graced Ichikishimahime's beautiful face. She continued, "Go on, search. Search well. If you can't find them all, I'll eat you."
"It's been so long since I last tasted the chakra of a young ninja."
Crack!
A soft sound.
Ichikishimahime's smile froze on her face.
She watched as Naruto slowly crushed a piece of rubble into the shape of a five-pointed star and fitted it into a star-shaped gap in the wall.
Looking at the perfectly fitted piece, Naruto nodded in satisfaction. A childhood toy, played with as an adult, had a certain unique charm.
His interest piqued, his hands moved with renewed speed.
In less than ten minutes, he had filled all the gaps in the wall.
"Hey! I've completed this trial. Open the door," Naruto called out, looking up. He was quite pleased with this trial.
"No, that's not right at all!" Ichikishimahime materialized before him, her voice tinged with exasperation.
"You were supposed to find the correct stones from the ground and place them in the gaps," she said, demonstrating her point.
"Aren't these stones I picked up from the ground?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the wall now filled with stones.
"They are... but they're not!" Ichikishimahime was on the verge of losing it.
This wasn't the trial she had intended at all. Though the stones on the ground were as numerous as stars, one of the required stones for a specific gap couldn't be found among them.
She wanted to see what kind of true nature a trial-taker would reveal when faced with a desperate situation.
Because only those with unwavering determination, who remained true to themselves, were qualified to pass the trials and learn Sage Arts.
But who could have guessed this guy wouldn't play by the rules at all?
The stones on the ground had been specially selected by her; each one was incredibly hard. Even she would have to spend a great deal of time carving them.
Ninjas with the same idea as this guy had appeared before, but they all gave up because the rocks were too hard, and carving them took far longer than searching.
But this guy... crushing these stones with his fingers seemed no more difficult for him than squeezing a sponge.
What kind of monster is he?
"Are you saying you don't acknowledge my efforts?" Naruto's expression turned cold, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
If she dared to utter a single "no," he would let her experience firsthand what dismemberment felt like.
Feeling his killing intent, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Ichikishimahime's forehead.
She had witnessed what happened to Tagorihime.
Completely unable to resist.
"You pass," she said, her voice laced with reluctance.
As her words fell, an open doorway slowly materialized on the wall.
"You're not bad," Naruto said, patting her shoulder in satisfaction.
Wh-what kind of monster...
From that brief physical contact, Ichikishimahime clearly felt his chakra, vast and boundless like an endless ocean.
She had seen Jinchuriki before.
But whose Jinchuriki possessed such terrifying chakra?
Exiting the passage, a space shrouded in dense fog came into view.
Not far from the passage entrance stood a Hime, her arms crossed. She had long brown hair, a golden crown, pink eyeshadow, pale skin, and wore a white robe adorned with three green tomoe-shaped ornaments on her chest. As he approached, she spoke:
"I am Takitsuhime, the final part of the three trials."
"Defeat me, and you will meet the White Snake Sage and learn Sage Arts."
"Naruto." Kurama's voice resounded. Naruto's expression flickered. He looked up, but the Hime was nowhere to be seen.
"You were caught in a genjutsu just now."
"Your genjutsu is strong," Naruto said, glancing behind him. "But you should know, I'm a Jinchuriki."
Takitsuhime's expression changed slightly, and she shifted her position almost imperceptibly.
"Your concealment skills are impressive, but they're useless against me." Naruto's gaze followed her movements.
The three Hime's invisibility techniques were all potent. If he only had the Mind's Eye of Kagura for sensing, he would definitely be hindered by such abilities.
But unfortunately for them, he possessed more than just the Mind's Eye of Kagura.
Takitsuhime's well-defined figure gradually reappeared. Realizing her invisibility was ineffective, she abandoned hiding. Her body slowly rose from the ground and shot towards Naruto like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
Seeing this, Naruto frowned slightly. If Takitsuhime dared to test a trial-taker with force, it meant she was confident in her own strength.
The lack of objection from others in Ryuchi Cave also indirectly attested to her power.
But...
Naruto flickered, appearing above Takitsuhime, and brought his foot down.
BOOM!
The Hime plummeted to the ground, the terrifying impact creating a human-shaped crater.
"Why are you all so weak?" Naruto asked, perplexed.
"Pfft..."
A mouthful of blood spurted from Takitsuhime's lips.
"Tagorihime being weak, I can understand; she's support staff, after all. Ichikishimahime being weak, I can also understand; she couldn't even crush a rock."
"But aren't you a combatant? Why are you so weak too?"