Green, White, Black, Crimson, Purple.
The supreme serpents of the modern age in Ryūchi Cave. The five known as the Fourth Generation Snake Kings.
'Purple'—the mighty Manda—had perished not long ago. Struck from the list.
The remaining four—Green, White, Crimson, Black—stood before Sasuke now, a wall of living legend.
Green's name was Aoda. In a past life, after sacrificing Manda, Sasuke had formed a pact with this one. In the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Aoda had fought alongside him against the Ten-Tails' spawn.
Crimson's name was Fang. The serpent bonded to Boruto in that other timeline. It had lost an eye to human cruelty. Its temper was a thing of feral, smoldering hate.
White's name was Shirohebi. A great snake formed from countless smaller white serpents. The legend said Orochimaru's own transformation into the 'White Snake' had drawn inspiration from this very creature.
Black's name was Kurosumi. Pitch-black. Covered in plates of obsidian that gleamed with a cold, sharp light. Even its pupils were voids of pure darkness, vertical slits lurking deep within, watching.
"Aoda." Sasuke's voice was soft, almost fond. "Long time."
The massive green serpent's vertical pupil contracted slightly. A flicker of confusion. Its voice rumbled, deep and serious. "Boy. Have we met?"
A faint, knowing smile touched Sasuke's lips. "Perhaps. Maybe we have. You just don't remember…"
"Familiarity won't help you here," Aoda said, tone grave. "Our orders are clear. You go no further. Reaching this place proves your strength. But we will not hold back. If you value your life, turn back now."
"Sorry." Sasuke's voice was flat. "Stopping here isn't an option."
"A pity." Aoda actually sounded regretful. "You're loyal. I'd prefer not to harm you."
"ENOUGH TALK, AODA!" Fang's roar shook the cavern walls, pure rage. "JUST KILL HIM AND BE DONE WITH IT!!"
Sasuke's gaze shifted to the thrashing crimson serpent. "No. My apology… is because what comes next will inevitably hurt you."
"YOU… WHAT!?"
That was all it took. Fang's hatred for humanity, its volcanic temper—it detonated. Its colossal body coiled and launched, a mountain of scale and muscle hurling itself forward.
Beside that charge, Sasuke's skeletal Susano'o looked like a child's toy. Fragile. One impact away from shattering.
Fang's power rivals Manda's, Sasuke thought. Can't underestimate it.
Time for a sharpened blade.
Schiiing!
The blunt edges of the Susano'o's greatsword shimmered, honing themselves to a razor's edge. Sasuke braced, drew back, and swung.
CRACK!
Fang had committed too fully. No time to dodge. The blade bit deep into its flank, shearing through scale and flesh.
"GYAAAAAAAAAH—!! IT HURTS!! DAMN YOU, HUMAN!!!"
The serpent's shriek of pain filled the cavern. It had underestimated this foe. The pain only fed its fury. Maddened, it ignored the wound and slammed its head down like a living comet.
Sasuke and his Susano'o leapt back.
BOOM!!!
Fang's strike cratered the stone floor, its skull burying itself halfway.
Sasuke moved. The Susano'o's sword thrust forward, aiming for the vulnerable scale—the sakabashira—on the serpent's throat.
A blur of green shot from the side wall. CLANG! Fangs of emerald clamped down on the sword's blade, stopping the thrust cold.
Aoda.
"Still as quick as ever," Sasuke remarked, a note of genuine admiration in his tone.
Fang wrenched its head free, snarling. "AODA! WHO ASKED FOR YOUR HELP!?!"
Wrench! Aoda tore the sword from the Susano'o's grip, sending it spinning away. In the same fluid motion, its long body whipped around the skeletal giant, constricting. "This is a task from the Great Ancestor. Nothing more. I dislike you, Fang. But I won't let personal feelings interfere with duty."
"HMPH! DON'T EXPECT MY GRATITUDE!!!"
With a furious hiss, Fang lunged again. Its massive fangs—each the size of a tree trunk—sank into the Susano'o's rib cage.
CRUNCH. CRACK.
Under that terrifying bite force, the Susano'o's bones began to splinter. To fail.
Both Aoda and Fang excel in physical combat, Sasuke assessed coolly. But Aoda's advantage is speed and agility. Fang's is raw, monstrous strength.
On his back, Itachi spoke softly. "Sasuke. Put me down."
"Unnecessary. I can handle this."
Crackle. Rip.
The shattered bones of the Susano'o regenerated in an instant. Then tendons and muscle fibers—violet and crackling with energy—wrapped around the skeleton, reinforcing it.
"Hn—!?"
Fang, ready to finish the crush, felt its fangs meet sudden, immense resistance. It tried to pull back.
Too late.
The Susano'o's massive hands shot up and clamped around the two giant fangs, holding them fast.
"Fang." Sasuke's voice cut through the serpent's rage. "You can hate humans all you want. But never underestimate them. That's my advice to you."
With a surge of power, the Susano'o wrenched Fang's head sideways and smashed it into the cavern wall.
KABOOOOM—!!!
The entire mountain seemed to shudder. Fang's body went rigid for a split second. Then… the immense serpent went limp, slumping to the ground unconscious.
Seeing its ally fall, Aoda didn't loosen its coiling grip. It tightened. It knew—the moment it let go, it was next.
"Shirohebi! Kurosumi!" it bellowed, calling for backup. "I can't hold him alone!"
The passage was too narrow for all four kings to attack at once. The white and black serpents had held back, observing.
Now, they moved.
WHOOSH!!!
Shirohebi, the White Scale, surged forward. Its enormous shadow swallowed the Susano'o whole. Then—it exploded.
Not into gore. Into a living storm.
Thousands of white serpents—each one a giant in the outside world—rained down in a slithering deluge. They buried Aoda and the Susano'o together in a writhing, churning sea of white.
Aoda used its shedding technique in the chaos, slipping free of the swarm and burrowing into the ground.
Squelch. Squirm. Gurgle.
The white serpent-mass covering the Susano'o began to churn and coalesce. They were reforming. Not around the Susano'o, but swallowing it. Shirohebi's body remade itself, its midsection bloating into a grotesque, spherical bulge as it ingested the violet giant whole.
BURP!~
Shirohebi let out a crude, satisfied belch. "Gahahahaha! Such dense chakra! Gonna take me three, four hours to digest this feast! My work here is done~! You lot can scatter!"
"Uh… right. I'll be off then, big brothers."
The most intimidating-looking of them all, the majestic Kurosumi, gave a timid, almost meek reply. It began to turn, ready to slither away.
WHOOSH…
Shirohebi's swollen belly suddenly… deflated. Rapidly.
"Eh? Digested already!?"
ZZZTT—CRACK!
Lightning—pure violet chakra—erupted from the white serpent's back. White cursed wings unfurled. Sasuke, carrying Itachi, shot into the air above the cavern.
Aoda burst from the ground, vertical pupils tracking the flight. "He can fly?! Kurosumi, now! Stop him!!"
Kurosumi stammered, voice trembling. "B-but… if even my big brothers couldn't beat him… c-can I really do it?"
"Believe in yourself!" Aoda roared.
"O-okay… I'll try!"
Shhk-shhk-shhk!
The dense layers of black feathers covering Kurosumi's body rippled. Came alive. They flowed and merged, transforming into a pair of vast, shadowy wings.
WHOOSH!!!
In the next heartbeat, Kurosumi was airborne. It closed the distance to Sasuke in a blink.
"Too fast!!"
Sasuke's eyes widened. The Susano'o materialized around him mid-air, its newly formed greatsword already swinging in a horizontal slash at the black serpent.
CLAAAAAAAAANG—!!!
A sound like a bell shattering. The Susano'o's sword… broke. The blade sheared clean off at the hilt, fragments of violet light scattering.
Sasuke stared, stunned. It shattered the Susano'o's sword? The defensive power of those feather-plates is absurd!
From below, Aoda watched the sky, its voice carrying a mix of awe and grim realization. "That one… is a descendant of the First Generation Serpent King. The one who stood alongside the Great White Snake Sage a thousand years ago. The Feathered Serpent God. If not for its… gentle disposition, it would have led our Fourth Generation long ago."
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