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Kitazawa had just accepted the system mission when he heard it—a dense, faint rustling.
The sound of snakes slithering.
In the next moment, he and Sasuke were completely surrounded by a writhing mass of serpents, scales glinting in the dim light.
Kitazawa immediately activated his Byakugan.
Through the distorted chakra lines and shadowed rock, he quickly picked out three figures lurking in the darkness—the Three Great Snake Priestesses.
They were high-ranking beings of Ryūchi Cave, with a status on par with the Great Toad Sage couple, Fukasaku and Shima of Mount Myōboku. Their role was to test any ninja who tried to be acknowledged by Ryūchi Cave.
Only by passing their trials could one hope to meet the White Snake Sage and gain the right to learn Sage Mode.
Failure meant being eaten.
Eaten in the most literal sense—reduced to food, swallowed alive into their bellies.
Clearly, Kitazawa and Sasuke were being treated as intruders seeking to join Ryūchi Cave.
Although the three great summoning sacred lands were far removed from the ninja world, they were never completely cut off from it.
In the original story, it had been Jiraiya who stumbled by accident into Mount Myōboku.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Without hesitation, Sasuke formed hand seals.
A massive amount of Fire Release chakra surged together, shaping itself into a huge fireball that roared forward. It crashed into the snake swarm like a meteorite plunging into the sea, sending waves of flame surging in all directions.
Countless venomous snakes were instantly reduced to charred husks, but more continued to pour in from every side.
Seeing this, Sasuke immediately drew the sword of the thunder god.
Blinding lightning spread from the blade, crackling outward and forming a barrier of electricity that halted most of the advancing snakes.
Just then, the ground split open with a violent crack. A gigantic python erupted from beneath the earth, rearing up with its jaws stretched wide as it lunged at Sasuke and Kitazawa.
Its massive fangs gleamed with a foul, nauseating stench.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Blade!"
Sasuke flicked his wrist, and dazzling lightning surged along the edge of the Thunder God Sword.
He thrust straight into the python's open maw; the blade shot forward, extending in an instant and piercing through its skull.
With a thunderous crash, the python slammed to the ground, its huge body twitching once before going still.
"You brats actually have some decent strength."
A soft, amused laugh echoed through the cavern.
Three women in white shrine maiden–like robes stepped out into view.
Their appearances suggested one young girl and two young women—but in truth, each of them had lived for hundreds, even thousands of years.
"I am Tagitsuhime."
The red-haired young woman looked Sasuke up and down and said, "Brat, you've passed the preliminary test."
"Are you talking to me?" Sasuke asked with a slight frown.
He clearly didn't like her tone.
"Of course. You're the youngest one here."
Tagitsuhime paused, then added, "Next, as long as you pass the trials from the three of us, you can join Ryūchi Cave."
"Don't fail now. With that tender skin and flesh of yours, I'm sure you'll taste quite good."
Ichikishimahime, in the form of a young girl, stuck out a long, snake-like tongue and slowly licked the corner of her mouth.
Sasuke's grip on the thunder god sword tightened unconsciously.
His first impression of Ryūchi Cave was far worse than Mount Myōboku or Shikkotsu Forest. This place felt downright sinister.
"Sasuke, take this."
Right then, Kitazawa quickly sketched a map for him.
His precise drawing ability granted by the system.
"They're your targets," Kitazawa said, pointing to five marked spots on the map.
Those five marks represented five powerful snakes. Two of them had even appeared in the original story: Garaga and Manda.
Kitazawa had just finished scanning the surroundings with his Byakugan.
Aside from the White Snake Sage and the three great snake priestesses, these five snakes were the strongest beings in Ryūchi Cave.
"After you defeat them, come find me at the temple deep within Ryūchi Cave," Kitazawa instructed.
"Alright, Kitazawa-sensei," Sasuke replied with a nod.
He put away the map and headed down one of the tunnels leading deeper into Ryūchi Cave.
"It seems you have no intention of joining Ryūchi Cave at all."
Hearing their exchange, the expressions of the three great snake priestesses immediately darkened.
"Kill them!"
Ichikishimahime shot toward Sasuke in a blur.
Tagitsuhime and Tagorihime simultaneously rushed Kitazawa.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Kitazawa brought his hands together in a seal.
The ground shuddered violently. In the blink of an eye, towering trees burst forth, and a dense forest sprang up around them.
Ichikishimahime, who had been about to reach Sasuke, halted mid-flight.
In every direction, countless vines and branches whipped toward her like a storm of serpents, hemming her in on all sides.
Her heart lurched, and she hurriedly shot higher into the air.
"Sage Art: Transmutation!"
From mid-air, Tagorihime pressed a hand down toward the ground.
The earth rumbled, and a massive stone castle rose up, blocking their advance.
"Sage Art: Binding!"
Tagitsuhime accelerated, her body twisting and coiling with serpentine flexibility.
Closing in on Kitazawa, she opened her mouth and lunged to bite him.
Her Sage Art: Binding could paralyze its target and ensnare them in a powerful genjutsu.
But Kitazawa's reaction was faster.
His fist slammed into Tagitsuhime.
Terrifying power exploded from the blow. Tagitsuhime's body convulsed as she was blasted backward, blood spraying from her mouth in mid-air.
If not for her unique physique and the long years she had spent steeped in natural energy, that single punch infused with monstrous strength would have smashed her to pieces.
"Tagitsuhime!"
Tagorihime's expression changed sharply.
This punch from Kitazawa, both in its power and in its speed, was something she had never witnessed before.
In her memory, no ninja could compare to him.
She instantly understood that Kitazawa's strength was anything but simple.
"Go notify the White Snake Sage!"
Tagorihime ordered at once.
At her words, the swarm of snakes around her scattered.
Ichikishimahime abandoned Sasuke and flashed to Tagorihime's side.
"Sage Art: Invisibility!"
The two exchanged a glance and vanished simultaneously.
Kitazawa quickly realized that even the Byakugan couldn't pick up their presence, so he immediately entered Sage Mode.
A heartbeat later, Ichikishimahime and Tagorihime reappeared within his perception.
"Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode?"
Both of their pupils contracted.
A moment later, anger replaced their shock.
In their eyes, this was an open provocation from Shikkotsu Forest.
They opened their jaws and lunged at Kitazawa from both sides.
Kitazawa didn't move. Just as they closed in, he suddenly thrust out both hands.
"Sage Art: Lightning Release: Double Chidori!"
Lightning cloaked his hands like twin blades, driving straight into Tagorihime's and Ichikishimahime's bodies.
Sage Art: Invisibility was dispelled in an instant. The two priestesses stared at him, stunned.
"H-How… how did you find us?"
As Tagorihime spoke, blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
Kitazawa was about to answer when his eyes narrowed.
A wave of pitch‑black liquid surged toward him.
Without hesitation, he tightened his grip and flung Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime aside.
Just before they were about to be engulfed by the liquid, an old woman appeared, caught them both, and landed lightly on the ground.
"White Snake Sage."
Kitazawa looked at the old woman and spoke calmly.
"You're a contractor of Shikkotsu Forest. Why are you making such a scene in our Ryūchi Cave?"
The White Snake Sage set Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime down and questioned them.
"This has nothing to do with Shikkotsu Forest," Kitazawa replied, shaking his head. "I'm here on behalf of Konoha Village."
"Konoha Village?"
The White Snake Sage's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "So it was Orochimaru who brought you here."
"Konoha Village wants to cooperate with Ryūchi Cave to form a summoning beast unit."
Kitazawa stated his purpose directly.
"As a contractor of Shikkotsu Forest, you should already understand the principles upheld by the three great sacred lands. This is absolutely impossible."
The White Snake Sage's tone dropped, cold and heavy.
As one of the three great sacred lands, Ryūchi Cave had always considered itself above the hidden villages.
Though they were summoning beasts, they were more accustomed to commanding ninja than being commanded by them.
And according to Kitazawa's proposal, Ryūchi Cave would suddenly gain a large number of ninja contractors.
In the White Snake Sage's view, this was turning the natural order upside down—Ryūchi Cave would lose its rightful status.
"I've heard you once met the Sage of Six Paths."
Kitazawa switched topics abruptly.
"I did meet him."
The White Snake Sage admitted it without denial.
In the original tale, it was the Great Toad Sage who guided the Sage of Six Paths and led him to oppose Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
But in reality, the White Snake Sage and the Slug Sage had also been involved.
After all, when Ōtsutsuki Kaguya descended as an invader from beyond, she threatened the entire ninja world—including the three great sacred lands themselves.
"I've always admired the era of the Sage of Six Paths," Kitazawa said, raising his hand as if asking a subordinate. "Please enlighten me."
The Three Great Snake Priestesses immediately lashed out at him.
In all their long lives, this was the first time they had seen a ninja dare to openly challenge the White Snake Sage.
"If you can't reach an agreement, you plan to use force to get your way?"
The White Snake Sage instantly saw through Kitazawa's intent.
"It's just a spar."
Kitazawa answered lightly.
"Then I'll grant your wish!"
The White Snake Sage, ill‑tempered to begin with, was now completely enraged.
With a thunderous boom, a colossal white snake manifested.
The White Snake Sage opened her maw, and an invisible wave of thought blasted outward.
"Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome!"
Kitazawa flashed hand seals.
With a sharp crack, countless fissures spread across the ice wall he had raised.
"Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"
Reacting instantly, Kitazawa formed another set of seals; the moment the ice wall shattered, a wooden barrier rose in its place.
The wooden wall shuddered violently under the impact, but it managed to withstand the thought wave.
Kitazawa had now gauged the White Snake Sage's strength.
There was no doubt she was Kage‑level—and even among Kage‑level beings, she stood at the pinnacle.
Thinking about it, that was only natural.
The White Snake Sage had lived for a thousand years, accumulating an enormous amount of senjutsu chakra, and she naturally possessed Sage Mode.
A foul stench suddenly filled the air.
The White Snake Sage spat another stream of pitch‑black liquid.
It splashed against the wooden wall and corroded it instantly.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
Just as the liquid was about to wash over him, Kitazawa formed hand seals again. A giant Wood Dragon surged up, interposing itself.
The black liquid hissed against its body, eating away at the wood, but the dragon's powerful regenerative ability halted the spread of the corrosion.
The White Snake Sage's eyes narrowed. She realized this was becoming troublesome.
But she had no time to dwell on it—the Wood Dragon was already upon her.
The White Snake Sage met the charge head‑on.
With a deafening crash, the dragon's head slammed into the snake's.
The shockwave of raw power burst outward, tearing open the ground and kicking up a storm of dust.
In the same instant, the Wood Dragon's tail whipped around, coiling tightly around the White Snake Sage.
"Utterly overestimating himself."
The Three Great Snake Priestesses couldn't help but scoff at the sight.
As snakes, constriction is an instinctive killing move.
To them, using a Wood Dragon's coils against the White Snake Sage was nothing more than a newbie woodcutter showing off his axe in front of a master.
But then something unexpected happened.
The moment the White Snake Sage was bound, she let out a cry of pain.
"How is that possible?"
The Three Great Snake Priestesses went pale, stunned.
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reanimation!"
The White Snake Sage roared. The earth itself stirred and rose like a living thing, pressing in on the Wood Dragon from all directions.
Under that crushing pressure, gaps began to open in the Wood Dragon's coils.
Seizing the chance, the White Snake Sage shrank her massive body, slipped through a gap, then whipped around and sank her fangs into the Wood Dragon.
Venom poured from her teeth, hissing as it corroded the wooden body.
The Wood Dragon's regenerative power was formidable, but under the White Snake Sage's full-force assault, it was briefly immobilized.
At the same time, Sage Art: Inorganic Reanimation caused the ground to writhe and clamp down, further pinning the Wood Dragon in place.
"As expected of the White Snake Sage."
Kitazawa clapped slowly, his voice full of praise.
A chill crawled up the spines of the White Snake Sage and the Three Great Snake Priestesses.
If just one wood dragon were this difficult, what would they do if another appeared?
Or worse—what if Kitazawa had a technique even stronger than Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique?
"Sage Art: Myōjinmon!"
Without any hesitation, Kitazawa formed hand seals.
A massive red torii gate dropped from the sky.
Gritting her teeth, the White Snake Sage was forced to release the Wood Dragon and dart away, trying to evade the falling gate.
But in the next instant, more torii gates materialized out of thin air, enclosing her on all sides.
Before she could escape, one of the torii gates slammed down on her tail, nailing it to the ground.
She instinctively thrashed, but it was useless.
"Sage Art: White Shock Technique!"
The White Snake Sage opened her jaws and spat out a blinding red light.
"Wood Release: Hobi!"
Seeing this, Kitazawa instantly summoned a wooden shield shaped like a fanged demon's face, which folded around him and sealed him in.
Light and sound vanished completely; his vision and hearing remained unaffected.
The Wood Release: Hobi also blocked the air vibrations from the White Shock Technique.
Through his Byakugan, Kitazawa watched the White Snake Sage while simultaneously guiding the Wood Dragon to surge upward and slam her down.
The instant she was pinned, all the torii gates fell in unison, stacking atop her and completely suppressing her huge body.
Satisfied, Kitazawa dispelled the Hobi.
The barrier peeled back, and the White Snake Sage's miserable state came into view.
Her massive serpent form was crushed under layers of red torii gates, pressed helplessly against the ground.
The Three Great Snake Priestesses started to step forward, but Kitazawa shot them a single cold glance. They froze where they stood, trembling.
They were not humans, but snakes who had taken human form. More than anyone, they understood the law of the jungle.
Now that Kitazawa's strength so clearly eclipsed theirs, their earlier arrogance evaporated.
"White Snake Sage."
Kitazawa approached her and asked calmly, "Can we talk about cooperation now?"
"I truly did not expect another powerhouse like you to appear in the Ninja World."
The White Snake Sage fell silent for a moment, then asked, "How do you want to cooperate?"
If she refused, she would die here. Having lived for over a thousand years, she had no intention of throwing her life away.
And even if she died, it wouldn't stop Kitazawa. With his strength, he would simply force Ryūchi Cave into submission anyway.
The other snakes of Ryūchi Cave had no backbone. They all feared death above all else.
"It's simple."
Kitazawa's tone was casual. "Ryūchi Cave and Konohagakure will form a ninja unit of Ryūchi Cave contractors."
"I agree."
The White Snake Sage nodded.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
As Kitazawa spoke, he released the Myōjinmon and the Wood Dragon.
The White Snake Sage's form shrank and twisted, returning to that of an old woman.
She immediately produced a contract scroll and handed it to Kitazawa.
"Just have them sign their names on this," she explained. "When the time comes, we will respond to their summons and fight for them."
"Thank you."
Kitazawa stored the contract scroll away.
As for who would join the Summoning Beast unit, he would need to return and discuss it with Tsunade.
These were Ryūchi Cave's summon beasts; he couldn't just choose contractors at random.
On top of that, he could also have them attempt to learn Sage Mode.
The odds of success were low, of course—but if someone did manage it, all the better.
In any case, there was nothing to lose.
"Take me to your temple," Kitazawa ordered.
The White Snake Sage turned at once and led the way.
The Three Great Snake Priestesses followed behind. Though heavily injured, they were ancient monsters who had survived countless years; they wouldn't die so easily.
Before long, Kitazawa arrived at the temple where the White Snake Sage usually resided.
There was nothing remarkable about it. He gave it a single glance, then lost interest.
He remained where he was, quietly waiting for Sasuke to return.
A moment later, three lines of text appeared before his eyes:
[Current Mission: Conquer Ryūchi Cave.]
[Mission Reward: Ryūchi Cave Sage Arts.]
[Host has completed the mission. Reward issued.]
A flood of information surged into Kitazawa's mind.
After digesting it, a satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
Along with the Sage Arts used by Kabuto, he had obtained the Sage Arts just displayed by the White Snake Sage and the Three Great Snake Priestesses.
Sage Art: Inorganic Reanimation and Sage Art: White Shock Technique were impressive enough.
But among the White Snake Sage's and the priestesses' techniques, the one Kitazawa found most valuable was Sage Art: Invisibility.
Its effect was exactly as the name implied: it rendered the user completely unperceivable and unseen.
Just now, Kitazawa had only managed to see through Sage Art: Invisibility by combining Sage Mode with his Byakugan.
In the entire Ninja World, the only shinobi who might possibly pierce that concealment would be Nagato with his Rinnegan.
At most, one could add the Uzumaki Clan's Kagura's Mind Eye and Kyuubi's ability to sense good and evil intent.
A deep rumble echoed through the cavern.
Kitazawa looked up to see a gigantic red snake slithering toward the temple.
Standing atop its head was Sasuke.
"This brat actually defeated Garaga?"
The Three Great Snake Priestesses exchanged shocked looks.
Were all the children in the Ninja World this powerful now?
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Sasuke jumped down from Garaga's head. "I beat them all up."
Kitazawa nodded, unsurprised.
If Sasuke couldn't defeat Garaga or Manda after awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, then he truly would have been a disgrace to the Uchiha.
In the words of his past life, he might as well have committed suicide.
"White Snake Sage, sorry for the intrusion. We're returning to Konoha now."
Kitazawa looked at the White Snake Sage. "Once the Summoning Beast unit is formed, I'll come back to inform you."
With that, he left Ryūchi Cave together with Sasuke.
"Space–Time Ninjutsu?"
The White Snake Sage's pupils narrowed slightly as she watched the two of them vanish into thin air.
During the battle just now, Kitazawa hadn't used any Space–Time Ninjutsu at all.
In other words, he still had strength to spare.
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