Shinme Tamayu stared at Chinya, stunned by his actions.
Killing the one who gave him the trial—by that logic, he'd pass any trial.
This was the first time she had ever encountered such reasoning.
When Shinme Tamayu snapped out of her shock, her entire face transformed.
Her pupils turned golden, and her irises stretched vertically into slits. Thick red eyeshadow darkened her lids and swept dramatically down to her cheeks, nearly reaching the bridge of her nose. Her pale skin revealed sharp fangs and a blue tongue as she glared furiously at Chinya.
"Dared to attack me directly?! You'd have been fine just eating the food I provided, wouldn't you?!"
At the same time, the entire palace dimmed and gradually crumbled into ash. In its place emerged human skulls and bones scattered across the ground.
Chinya's eyes narrowed sharply. He muttered under his breath, "[Genjutsu] even the Sharingan couldn't see through?"
Shinme Tamayu's voice grew darker. "Of course! Since I already knew your identity, I naturally accounted for your Sharingan too. This is my unique [Illusion-Type Sage Art]—it's impossible for such a simple eye technique to break through! What an annoyance! If you had just eaten the food I offered, I could've devoured both your physical body and chakra!"
Chinya scoffed, "Is that so? Judging from this, those foods must be part of the trial content. What an... extremely easy trial indeed! Who in their right mind would foolishly eat unknown food from you?"
Hearing Chinya's sarcasm, Shinme Tamayu fumed so hard her hair practically stood on end. "Easy? Look at those skull bones on the ground! Those are all people who ate my food—they were reduced to nothing but bones after I consumed them!"
Chinya scoffed again, "Guess that means those people were just plain idiots."
Shinme Tamayu's expression froze. That actually made sense…
Furious and frustrated, Shinme Tamayu clawed at her hair in frustration. Just as she was about to speak again, a voice came from deep within the forest.
"You've already lost. He wasn't deceived by you."
Shinme Tamayu took a deep breath before turning her head toward the depths of the forest and replied, "I know that already. Our job is merely to screen those attempting to enter Ryuchi Cave."
"Right. Only those who fail the trials may be devoured by White Snake Sage. And he's special. You can't defeat him either, so let him continue with the trial."
Shinme Tamayu turned back around, clearly displeased, and said to Chinya, "You've passed my trial. You may proceed."
Then, she vanished into the forest.
To Chinya's surprise, his [Kenbunshoku Haki] could no longer detect Shinme Tamayu's presence.
Can Sage Art also resist [Kenbunshoku Haki]?
And what did she mean by 'he is special'?
What exactly did that imply?
With no answers to be found, Chinya gritted his teeth and pressed onward.
After walking a short distance, a young little girl appeared faintly through the mist. She glanced at Chinya once before floating onward.
"The second trial?"
Chinya immediately placed his hand on his sword hilt, prepared to strike.
The little girl halted abruptly, spinning around to face Chinya and crying out, "You've gotta pass the trial first! Killing me doesn't count!"
Chinya grunted disapprovingly and relaxed his grip from the sword handle.
The tiny girl let out a sigh of relief. This Chinya was truly out of the ordinary—while others were focused on figuring out how to complete the trial, Chinya was already planning how to kill the one who gave them the challenge.
Chinya followed the little girl into a cave.
In the next instant, a massive boulder dropped behind them, sealing the entrance shut.
On the rock's surface were many uniquely shaped small holes.
"I am Ichikishima-hime," she said. "The trial here is to fill all these holes on the rock. The stones that match the shapes are all inside this room. This is the only way you can leave. Before you fill all the holes, you may try as many times as you like until you collapse from exhaustion."
Chinya turned his gaze toward the ground.
Across the floor lay countless oddly shaped stones. He grabbed one and shoved it into a hole that seemed to match its shape.
The stone and the hole fit together perfectly.
At the same time, Chinya could feel some of his chakra being drained.
So—they wanted to exhaust his chakra through repeated use until he collapsed, then devour him.
"What a boring little game."
With his Sharingan scanning every detail, Chinya quickly found the right stones and slid them into place effortlessly.
Soon, most of the holes had been filled, leaving only one remaining.
But none of the stones on the floor fit the final hole.
Ichikishima-hime offered, "Maybe there's somewhere you haven't checked yet. Since there's no limit on attempts, go ahead and keep trying."
Chinya didn't even look at the ground. He was certain now—the matching stone simply didn't exist here.
Suddenly, he used the Shifting Body Technique to vanish and reappear directly behind Ichikishima-hime, seizing her by the throat.
Her face instantly twisted into a snake-like visage similar to Shinme Tamayu's, and she struggled furiously. "What are you doing?!"
"There's no matching stone, so I'll use you instead. You said all the properly shaped stones are in this room, right? Which means… you count as well. Pressing your flesh against it should also work."
Still holding Ichikishima-hime, Chinya walked to the rock and pressed her head tightly against its surface.
Her cheek flattened against the wall—and perfectly covered the final hole.
Instantly, the entire cave vanished. Chinya released Ichikishima-hime.
She quickly flew away, creating distance between them while glaring at him angrily. "Such a rude human! Using me to plug the last hole—that was beyond excessive!
That's cheating! The correct method is using those stones. Finding the right stone that matches the shape is the proper way to complete this trial!"
Chinya gave an indifferent chuckle. "Heh. Whatever works. As long as it succeeded, right? Since using you worked, then that's also the correct answer."
Suddenly, a figure appeared behind Chinya and opened its mouth wide, aiming straight for his neck.
Chinya took a step forward and instantly drew his ninja sword.
[Sixth Form of Thunder Breathing - Electric Roar] Chinya unleashed a storm of jagged lightning-blades radiating from his body in all directions.
"Ahh!"
A sharp scream rang out as the figure that had tried to bite Chinya's neck was struck by a lightning-style slash. The attacker's body turned blackened with several charred wounds before collapsing to the ground.
Chinya stepped forward, preparing to behead the attacker. But before he could strike, Ichikishima-hime shouted anxiously, "Wait! Don't kill her! It's Tachibana no Musume! She's the one who gives you your next trial!"
Chinya frowned while looking at the fallen Tachibana no Musume and said, "If it's just a trial, why did she have to ambush me?!"
Ichikishima-hime replied awkwardly, "That's because in the past, whenever someone else came, Tachibana no Musume always did it this way."
Chinya asked, "Then what kind of test is it?"
Ichikishima-hime explained, "It will test whether your resolve is strong. Tachibana no Musume will inject her Sage Chakra into your body to induce hallucinations. Once you pass, all the trials will be over."
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