Shinju guessed that the "that brat who came last time" the White Snake Sage mentioned must have been Kabuto Yakushi.
Seeing that Shinju, seated below, didn't respond, the White Snake Sage continued,
"I've heard of your deeds—the young Wood Release genius of the shinobi world, the one who single-handedly defeated the wielder of the Rinnegan. Impressive."
"But haven't you already learned the Sage Arts of Mount Myōboku? Why would you come all the way to Ryūchi Cave?"
Even the experienced White Snake Sage showed a hint of confusion as it spoke.
Shinju answered honestly, "It never hurts to learn more."
A flicker of amusement appeared in the Sage's eyes.
"Do you even realize that learning Sage Arts from two different sacred grounds at once can be fatal? If you can't merge and digest the powers, your body will explode."
Shinju said, "Thank you for the warning, Sage."
The White Snake Sage: --003d_--003d
"So, will you still learn it now?"
Shinju nodded. "Of course. I've come all this way."
Hearing this, the White Snake Sage gave a faint nod.
"Very well. Let me explain first. In a moment, I'll inject Snake Sage chakra into your body."
"Whether you can comprehend it, and how much you can absorb, depends entirely on your own fortune."
"Understood."
Shinju nodded, his gaze sharpening.
The next moment—
"Whoosh!"
The White Snake Sage suddenly lunged from its throne, jaws wide open as it rushed toward Shinju!
"???"
Shinju froze for a moment. What was with these Ryūchi Cave snakes and their love of surprise attacks?!
He quickly raised his fist, orange Sage markings instantly appearing on his face!
"Fwoosh!!"
In the blink of an eye, Shinju threw a lightning-fast punch!
The White Snake Sage: (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!
Though old, it was still a Sage—dodging Shinju's punch should have been easy!
But to its surprise, just as it shifted its massive head slightly aside, Shinju's fist suddenly expanded—hundreds of times larger!
Multiplication Technique!
"BANG!!"
The massive punch crashed straight into the White Snake Sage's face!
Since Shinju already possessed immense physical power, and was in Sage Mode to boot, that punch sent the colossal snake's body hurtling backward before it slammed into the wall!
"BOOM!!!"
A massive snake-shaped crater appeared in the temple wall of Ryūchi Cave!
The three goddesses serving nearby gaped with mouths wide open:
(꒪⌓꒪) ;ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!,Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
Nani?! The White Snake Sage got blasted away with one punch!!
The White Snake Sage—actually got blown away by Shinju's punch!!!
Unbelievable! Since when could young shinobi just start pummeling sages like that?!
The three goddesses stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
The White Snake Sage landed with a heavy thud, spat out two bloody snake fangs, and turned furiously toward Shinju.
"Y-you—you!! What do you think you're doing?! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ)"
Shinju shouted back just as angrily,
"Hey! You old snakehead! I came here sincerely to learn Sage Arts, and you try to eat me?! (′д｀σ)σ"
The White Snake Sage retorted,
"Eat you? I was injecting you with Snake Sage chakra! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"
Injecting Snake Sage chakra???
Wait—
Realizing that, Shinju's momentum instantly deflated.
"Well… you could've at least said something first before attacking out of nowhere. ( ´◔‸◔`)"
The Sage's massive tail twisted as it picked up its pipe from the ground, clamped it back in its mouth, took a long drag, and snapped,
"I did warn you earlier! （｀Δ´）!"
Thinking back carefully, Shinju realized… yeah, that did happen. He just hadn't expected the Sage's "chakra transfer" method to involve biting.
"My bad!"
He bowed deeply, sincerely apologizing.
The White Snake Sage flicked its tail, straightening its posture, regaining its dignified air, and said with a calm tone,
"Forget it. You're young—ignorance is to be expected. Just offer me a thousand virgin boys and girls as a sacrifice, and we'll call it even."
Shinju hesitated. "That… might be a bit difficult. Sage, perhaps you could ask for something else instead. (||๐_๐)"
"You've got tailed beasts sealed inside you, right? Let me eat one of those." the White Snake Sage replied smoothly, clearly having expected Shinju's refusal.
"Uh…" Shinju hesitated.
He hadn't collected the Tailed Beasts to strengthen himself—they were to stop Akatsuki.
If the Sage ate one, Akatsuki would never be able to find it again… (•̀⌄•́)
After thinking for a while, Shinju shook his head.
The Tailed Beasts were too important; better to keep them around.
"If not this and not that, then where's your sincerity in apologizing? Do you even want to learn Sage Arts anymore?!" the White Snake Sage snapped angrily.
Since it had attacked first, Shinju sighed and finally made a pained expression.
"Name your price."
The White Snake Sage thought for a moment.
"Then bring me a toad from Mount Myōboku—the older, the better. (ﾉ∇︎〃 )"
Hearing that, Shinju deliberately played dumb.
"A pig, a cow, and a sheep—ten thousand each, right? Got it, Sage. Once I'm done here, I'll make sure you're well fed!"
The White Snake Sage: ←_←
It figured that if things escalated, it wasn't entirely sure it could win against this kid anyway.
A feast of ten thousand pigs, cows, and sheep didn't sound too bad—so it decided to let it slide.
After that, Shinju stood still and closed his eyes.
When the White Snake Sage was ready, it extended its massive head once again.
"Pshhk—"
The sound of fangs piercing flesh echoed in Shinju's ears. Then, he felt a flood of foreign Sage chakra surge into his body…
There was no way the White Snake Sage could be free of resentment after getting punched by some kid. So when it injected the Snake Sage chakra, it maliciously multiplied the dosage—several times over.
Once the chakra transfer was complete, the Sage retracted its head and settled back onto its throne.
Looking at Shinju, eyes closed and motionless, a smug smile curled across its scaly face.
"Let's see if he survives. Ten thousand pigs, cows, and sheep should last me a few days, at least…"
Tagitsuhime glanced at the Sage, then said to the other two goddesses beside her,
"The Sage seems to think highly of that red-haired boy."
Ichikishimahime nodded.
"You don't say. It's been a thousand years since anyone dared to throw a punch at the Sage! (°ー°〃)"
Tagorihime added, "You think this boy can really learn Ryūchi Cave's Sage Arts?"
"And if he dies here… can I have a bite of his corpse? His chakra feels delicious…"
High above, the White Snake Sage puffed lazily on its pipe and mumbled,
"That boy's probably done for."
"I injected him with a hundred times the Sage chakra I gave to anyone else. ❛‿˂̵✧"
Tagitsuhime gasped and took a step back.
"A—hundred times?! Sage, you never meant for him to live, did you? (´°Δ°`)"
The Sage nodded calmly. "He offended me. He had it coming."
Just as they spoke, Shinju's body began to tremble!
Purple Sage markings appeared across his face!