The previous one had been Hashirama, but what Hashirama cultivated was the power of Shikkotsu Forest. That terrifying power was not something she could manipulate however she pleased.
But if Kiyohara were to cultivate the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave as well, and continue training it endlessly in the future, then there was an extremely high chance that he would one day possess the qualifications to become a dragon.
As Kiyohara fell into thought, the sound of scales scraping across the ground grew louder and louder within the thick darkness.
The Three Snake Princesses had arrived in the temple hall as well.
They had heard what the White Snake Sage said, and each of them revealed a longing expression toward Kiyohara.
The White Snake Sage swept her gaze across the snake princesses, a trace of displeasure flashing through her eyes.
Kiyohara possessed the Sharingan, which meant he carried the "Eyes of the Sage."
In theory, Kiyohara could also push those Sage Eyes to their absolute limit and obtain the power of Yin Release.
That power could likewise ascend into dragonhood, becoming the perfect vessel.
Thinking this, the White Snake Sage's enormous tail slammed heavily into the ground.
The entire hall shook violently, and the Three Snake Princesses hurriedly withdrew their gazes.
This was a sign that the White Snake Sage was displeased.
Kiyohara was not someone they could covet. He had already been chosen in advance by the White Snake Sage herself.
If they continued to desire him without knowing their place, they would likely be punished by the White Snake Sage.
That was not a consequence the Three Snake Princesses could bear.
Even now, the White Snake Sage remained the true ruler of Ryuchi Cave.
Kiyohara glanced at the White Snake Sage before him, then at the Three Snake Princesses nearby, yet his expression did not change in the slightest.
"Did you understand what I said?"
The White Snake Sage stared directly at him.
"I understood some of it."
Kiyohara deliberately pretended to only half understand.
"You have been using crude methods to explore Sage Arts, while also attempting to come into contact with the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave."
The White Snake Sage's voice carried a faint smile.
"And there are white snake cells within your body."
Kiyohara nodded.
"Orochimaru gave them to you?"
The White Snake Sage looked toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru slightly lowered his head.
"Yes."
"Hehehe... interesting."
The White Snake Sage withdrew her gaze.
"A human mixed with multiple bloodlines wishes to complete his own Sage Art."
She paused briefly.
"Do you know the greatest difference between the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave and the Sage Art of Mount Myoboku?"
Kiyohara pondered for a moment.
"Perception?"
"Correct."
The White Snake Sage nodded.
"The toads of Mount Myoboku rely on power. Their Sage Mode can greatly increase the might of ninjutsu and strengthen taijutsu."
"But the snakes of Ryuchi Cave rely on perception."
Her voice became deeper.
"We can perceive the flow of natural energy, perceive the weaknesses of our enemies, and even perceive... the trajectory of fate itself."
Perceive fate?
Kiyohara immediately focused on those words.
Was this the reason the White Snake Sage could see the fate of Boruto?
Then what would his own fate look like in the eyes of the White Snake Sage?
"That old toad Gamamaru relies on dreams to foresee the future."
The White Snake Sage's tone carried a trace of disdain.
"But Ryuchi Cave relies on listening."
Listening?
"All things possess a voice."
The White Snake Sage slowly spoke.
"The movement of wind, the surging of water, the growth of grass and trees, the birth and death of life. Everything has a sound. The Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave teaches you how to hear those sounds."
Her gaze landed upon Kiyohara.
"Do you wish to learn?"
Kiyohara raised his eyes.
"I do."
What kind of pointless question was that?
Kiyohara thought to himself.
He had come to Ryuchi Cave for two reasons in the first place. The first was to learn the complete Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave. The second was to deal with Garaga and fulfill that will.
If he succeeded, then his path in Sage Arts would advance even further.
The White Snake Sage smiled.
"Then come."
She suddenly opened her enormous maw wide enough that it seemed capable of swallowing the entire hall whole.
Huge fangs emerged within the dim lighting.
At the tips of those fangs, faint white light shimmered.
"Humans are born for desire. They are destined to slowly fall into darkness. Every person who comes seeking me abandons everything in order to satisfy their desires."
"Even Orochimaru was merely a failure upon this path, unable to master the power of a sage."
"But you are different. You have already stepped across the threshold of Sage Arts and are descended from Indra."
"You need not fear. You need not dread the darkness. My power shall help you establish your foundation so that one day you may ascend into a dragon!"
"The time for the great feast has arrived!"
One of the White Snake Sage's fangs instantly pierced into Kiyohara's neck.
In the next instant—
Pshht!
Blood burst from Kiyohara's throat as a horrifying hole appeared there.
The wound was nearly the size of half a fist, and bone could vaguely be seen within.
Yet at the same time, the wound rapidly regenerated.
The surrounding natural energy formed into something like a vortex, continuously gathering toward the bloody hole and generating violent currents of wind.
The raging airflow made Kiyohara's clothes flutter loudly while his long black hair swayed like blazing flames.
The White Snake Sage silently observed Kiyohara's condition.
Come.
Treat this natural energy as food.
Then devour it greedily!
"Orochimaru, what is happening?"
Tsunade nearly made a move instantly, only to be stopped by Orochimaru.
"If he can endure it, then Kiyohara will obtain the Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave. If he cannot endure it..."
Orochimaru paused.
"There is no need to panic. He already possesses another Sage Mode. He can simply use his other Sage Arts to exhaust this natural energy."
As Orochimaru spoke, there was a trace of envy in his voice.
If he himself had possessed another type of Sage Art, then cultivating the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave would have given him another path forward.
But in truth, this was practically a dead end.
The thresholds for all Sage Arts were roughly the same.
And precisely because of that, Orochimaru had developed the cursed seal, a lower threshold alternative.
Thinking this, Orochimaru looked toward Kiyohara.
Kiyohara's cursed seal techniques were already superior even to his own.
Tsunade frowned tightly.
At first, she had thought the White Snake Sage suddenly attacked Kiyohara.
Now that the initial surge of fury had subsided, merely seeing the blood on Kiyohara's body made her feel faint.
"Anko, support Tsunade."
Orochimaru spoke.
"...?"
Anko froze for a moment.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
Anko noticed Tsunade swaying unsteadily and quickly moved to support her.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's gaze never left Kiyohara for even an instant.
The Three Snake Princesses were staring at him as well.
Their round pupils had unconsciously reverted back into the vertical slits of snakes due to their intense concentration.
Whoooosh—
Rustle—
The wind howled through the dense darkness, causing the flames to flicker and dispersing some of the shadows.
And wherever the firelight occasionally illuminated, massive white scales could be seen.
Within the darkness, the sound of snake scales rubbing together echoed endlessly.
"Oh?"
The White Snake Sage observed the scene.
The natural energy in the outside world had actually begun forming snake-like shapes on its own.
Was this Kiyohara's... influence?
It seemed that this human had fused with white snake cells far more deeply than expected.
What she did not know was that Kiyohara had directly inherited the bloodline of the White Snake Kiyohara.
"How long is this state supposed to last?"
Tsunade closed her eyes as she questioned Orochimaru.
"That depends on how long Kiyohara can endure."
Orochimaru shook his head.
"The trials of Ryuchi Cave are extremely harsh."
"First come the three trials of the Snake Princesses, and only after that can one accept the final trial, enduring the natural energy infused by the White Snake Sage herself."
"Back then, I failed at this very stage."
Tsunade's brows furrowed even more deeply.
She looked toward Kiyohara.
Kiyohara's expression remained calm. The bloody hole in his neck continuously shrank and healed, yet the winds surrounding him grew increasingly violent.
At this moment, however, a savage torrent of natural energy was rampaging through Kiyohara's body.
It seemed intent on transforming him into a snake.
Yet the instant it sensed the aura of a serpent from within Kiyohara's cells, that natural energy immediately became like swallows returning to their nest, merging into his cells one after another.
Kiyohara's body began trembling.
Beneath his skin, faint white scale patterns slowly appeared.
Green markings emerged around his eyes.
His pupils gradually transformed into vertical slits.
"I'll help you."
White Snake Kiyohara fused into Kiyohara's body and directly refined the White Snake Sage's natural energy for him.
No matter what form it originally possessed, it was all forcibly converted into pure natural energy.
After training in a serpent body for many years, he had already become completely familiar with such things.
Now, using those methods felt as effortless as a master butcher disassembling an ox.
"Why is this taking so long?"
Tagorihime asked in confusion.
"He is not turning into a snake, is he?"
Ichikishimahime noticed the scales appearing on Kiyohara's body.
She crossed her arms over her chest, though due to her petite appearance, there was only the slightest curve visible.
"Let's keep watching. He is definitely not simple."
Tagorihime felt that matters were not so straightforward.
After all, this was someone personally favored by the White Snake Sage.
Kiyohara was clearly different.
While everyone else was immersed in their thoughts, Kiyohara could feel his sensory abilities undergoing a complete transformation.
His nose twitched slightly, and he could smell the damp moss hidden within cracks in the rocks, as well as the rich scent of oil burning within the candles.
Those countless smells intertwined into an invisible web that enveloped the entirety of Ryuchi Cave.
Then his sense of smell expanded even further.
He could smell what lay beyond the hall.
He could smell the traces left behind by giant snakes as they slithered past. Some carried a fishy stench, some had the sickly sweetness of rotting flesh, while others possessed the cold scent unique to serpents.
He could distinguish the distance and size of every snake, and could even vaguely sense their condition.
Then came his hearing.
Kiyohara could hear his own heartbeat.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
He could also hear the faint rustling of snake scales scraping against the rocks outside the hall. What had once been nearly inaudible was now amplified hundreds, even thousands of times over.
Then those sounds began constructing images within his mind.
He no longer needed his eyes.
Relying solely on hearing, a three dimensional image of the entire temple appeared inside Kiyohara's mind.
It was like the instinct of a bat.
A form of sight that surpassed vision itself.
And finally came sight.
Kiyohara slowly opened his eyes.
His pupils had transformed into the vertical slits of a serpent, while three black tomoe swirled within them.
The world before him changed.
New colors appeared, shades Kiyohara had never seen before.
Gradually, those colors began blending together.
Red melted into orange, orange into yellow, yellow into green. The seven colors intertwined and merged layer upon layer until they ultimately condensed into a hue that words could not describe.
That was the true appearance of the natural energy within Ryuchi Cave.
Dark green chakra seeped out from beneath every inch of his skin. At first it was only a faint glow, but it quickly became brighter and brighter, hotter and hotter, until it finally condensed into a complete cloak of blazing light around his body.
That luminous aura flowed slowly, as though he were draped in a green mantle.
Behind him, the natural energy was drawn toward him and began gathering of its own accord.
A phantom serpent gradually took shape.
Its enormous body coiled through the air, scales clearly defined, a dark green tongue flickering from its mouth. It circled around Kiyohara, making his entire figure appear sinister and demonic.
A single horn also emerged from Kiyohara's forehead.
Silence filled the hall.
The Three Snake Princesses stared at this scene, their pupils completely transformed into elongated snake slits. The desire in their eyes only deepened further.
The gaze of the White Snake Sage pierced through the drifting smoke and landed upon Kiyohara.
Within those orange yellow vertical pupils, his burning figure was reflected clearly.
A long time passed.
"How interesting..."
She muttered inwardly.
This little brat was even more extraordinary than she had imagined.
Kiyohara stood where he was.
"So it succeeded?"
Kiyohara asked inwardly.
This appearance was similar to the Sage Mode of Mitsuki, except the color was much darker.
"Yes, it should have succeeded."
White Snake Kiyohara nodded, though his body had become considerably more transparent.
"You should adapt to it first."
Hearing that, Kiyohara began moving his body.
He adapted himself to the dramatic enhancement in his hearing, vision, and sense of smell.
Kiyohara casually thrust out a palm strike, and a layer of natural energy vaguely shaped like a giant serpent baring its fangs wrapped around his hand.
Snake Kata!
The air exploded with a thunderous boom as a massive compressed air blast shot directly out of the temple, causing dust and debris to erupt in the distance.
This was Kiyohara using his current Sage Chakra to power the Toad Kata.
It had merely changed into the form of a serpent.
"Not bad, brat."
Tsunade looked at Kiyohara.
The bloody hole on Kiyohara's neck had long since healed, and beneath the concealment of the green chakra cloak, Tsunade could no longer see any traces of blood.
"Kiyohara-kun, how do you feel?"
Orochimaru stared at him closely.
Since he himself had failed in the training, he assumed this appearance was simply what a successful Snake Sage Mode looked like.
"I feel great."
Kiyohara nodded.
However, he noticed that this mode amplified ninjutsu and taijutsu far less than the Toad Sage Art of Mount Myoboku.
Of course, compared to ordinary ninjutsu, the enhancement was still quite significant.
After a while, the strange phenomena surrounding him gradually faded away.
Kiyohara released the Snake Sage Mode.
The dark green flames extinguished themselves.
The horn on his forehead receded beneath his skin.
The phantom serpent surrounding him dissipated into the air.
The green markings around his eyes faded, and his pupils returned from vertical slits to the round shape of a normal human.
The White Snake Sage stared at him for a very long time.
Smoke drifted upward from the pipe in her mouth, obscuring her face, yet it could not conceal the satisfaction within her eyes.
"You succeeded."
Her deep voice echoed throughout the great hall.
"From this moment onward, you are one of the inheritors of Ryuchi Cave's Sage Arts."
Kiyohara bowed slightly.
"Thank you, White Snake Sage."
Kiyohara spoke respectfully.
Then he continued speaking.
"White Snake Sage, I would like to contract a summoning beast here in Ryuchi Cave."
The White Snake Sage held her pipe in her mouth while her orange yellow pupils shifted slightly.
This request was nothing unusual.
In fact, she would have preferred for Kiyohara to become even more deeply tied to Ryuchi Cave.
"Very well."
She agreed casually.
"After some time, you may use the Reverse Summoning Technique to come here again. I will teach you Sage Arts personally."
Ryuchi Cave naturally possessed its own unique Sage techniques.
"Understood."
Kiyohara answered.
Regardless of what the old White Snake Sage intended, Kiyohara only needed to eat the sugar coating from the poisoned shell and then fire the shell back at them.
"Then let them take you to choose one."
The White Snake Sage glanced toward the Three Snake Princesses standing to the side of the hall.
Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime all bowed slightly at the same time.
"I want to choose a powerful one."
"Powerful?"
"Yes."
Kiyohara raised his eyes.
"The more dangerous, the better. I do not want one with a good temper."
Hearing Kiyohara's strange request, the White Snake Sage took another drag from her pipe.
She slowly exhaled smoke.
"Deep within Ryuchi Cave lies a violent serpent nest."
"There lives a snake called Garaga."
"He lost his left eye in battle, and his temperament became extremely violent afterward. He causes destruction year round and has even killed some of his own kind, causing the others to distance themselves from him."
She paused briefly.
"If you can subdue Garaga, then let him become your summoning beast."
The Three Snake Princesses led Kiyohara through twisting underground passages. The deeper they traveled, the more damp and freezing the air became.
The rock walls on both sides were covered in moss. Beneath their feet were slick limestone surfaces, while water occasionally dripped from the ceiling, creating crisp echoing sounds within the silence.
Tagorihime walked at the front. Her pale green hair emitted a faint glow in the darkness.
Every so often, she glanced back at Kiyohara, curiosity visible within her eyes.
"Are you certain you want Garaga?"
Her voice was soft and seductive.
"That guy is not easy to deal with."
"Mhm."
Kiyohara nodded.
"Do you know what he has done?"
Ichikishimahime cut into the conversation.
She was short in stature, with dark blue hair swaying behind her.
"When that guy goes mad, he even kills snakes that used to play with him."
"Several good natured snakes were bitten to death by him."
Her voice carried obvious disgust.
"And all because they tried to persuade him not to keep destroying the caves."
Tagitsuhime walked at the rear the entire time without speaking.
However, the way she looked at Kiyohara was far more complicated than the gazes of her two companions.
Ever since she first saw this human, she had felt a strange sense of familiarity.
It was difficult to describe.
She shook her head and forcibly cast the thought aside.
After traveling further, the passage ahead gradually widened.
The temperature suddenly rose sharply.
The air was filled with the mixed smell of sulfur and rotting flesh, so pungent that it was almost impossible to keep one's eyes open.
"We've arrived."
Tagorihime stopped walking.
Ahead of them was an enormous cavern.
On top of a gigantic rock rested a snake.
A giant snake.
Its massive body was so thick that several people would be needed to wrap their arms around it. Crimson scales covered its entire form, with darkened edges lining each scale.
Its head hung low as though asleep.
A vicious scar stretched across its left eye socket, completely destroying the eye that should have been there.
Only its right eye remained shut.
Yet even while sleeping, its gigantic body continued rising and falling slowly with each breath, its scales grinding against the stone beneath it.
Countless white bones were scattered around the creature.
Some belonged to snakes, some to unknown beasts, and among them could even be vaguely seen human skulls.
The Three Snake Princesses stopped simultaneously, no longer advancing any further.
Tagorihime turned toward Kiyohara and asked again,
"Are you sure?"
Kiyohara did not answer.
He stepped directly into the cavern.
His footsteps crunched softly against the broken stones.
Garaga's right eye snapped open instantly.
He stared at Kiyohara.
Stared at the human who dared step into his territory.
The massive crimson serpent slowly raised its body, scales grinding together as terrifying hissing sounds echoed through the cave.
"Hissssss..."
Garaga opened his enormous jaws, revealing two rows of ghastly white fangs.
"A human... dares enter my territory..."
His voice was hoarse and low, like two boulders scraping against one another.
"Do you wish to become my food?"
Kiyohara stopped walking.
The powerful gust generated by Garaga's rising body blew Kiyohara's black hair backward while his clothes fluttered loudly.
"Garaga."
"I want to form a summoning contract with you."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
Of course, this was merely a pretense.
Because next, Kiyohara intended to pretend that he had accidentally lost control and kill Garaga, thereby fulfilling the remaining last will.
Then afterward, he could simply find another snake to contract with instead.
(End of Chapter)