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Early the next morning, Orochimaru found Akio. He was carrying a large, heavy pack on his back, clearly prepared for a long journey.
Akio was momentarily stunned. "You're bringing that much stuff…"
Halfway through the sentence, he realized—Orochimaru would be training in senjutsu at Ryūchi Cave. It made sense that he'd pack food… and perhaps some of his experimental tools as well.
"If you happen to get into a conflict with the White Snake Sage, please collect some of its blood," Orochimaru rasped. It was clear he'd made additional preparations ever since Akio agreed to accompany him.
"Why would I be fighting the White Snake Sage?" Akio's face darkened. Still, he had to admit he wasn't entirely confident in his words.
"Alright, let's go." Akio waved his hand, motioning for Orochimaru to follow.
He had already assigned a full month's worth of training tasks to his three young subordinates. A trip to Ryūchi Cave shouldn't take that long, Akio figured.
He didn't fly Orochimaru there—mostly because their relationship hadn't reached the point where Orochimaru would feel comfortable being carried. So, the two traveled on foot, heading directly west of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Shikkotsu Forest was southwest of the village, and Ryūchi Cave was somewhere north of that. After extensive calculations, Akio concluded… Ryūchi Cave should lie west of Konoha.
Of course, he couldn't determine the precise location. After two days of travel, they reached the western border of the Land of Fire, near its boundary with the Land of Wind—desolate and uninhabited.
"Is this the place, senpai?" Orochimaru asked uncertainly.
Akio frowned and glanced around before smiling. "It should be within a fifty-li radius of here."
"Fifty li?!" Orochimaru's expression twisted in disbelief.
Akio scratched his head awkwardly and didn't say more. He formed the Tiger hand seal. "Kagura's Mind Eye!"
"Oh? There's actually a village out here?"
Akio was surprised. About five li away, he sensed several weak chakra signatures—likely civilians with just enough aptitude to barely register as shinobi.
"Follow me," Akio said, gesturing for Orochimaru to come along.
After navigating through a few mountain ridges, the pair came upon a small village nestled between the peaks.
"This is…" Orochimaru looked genuinely surprised for the second time that day.
Akio was equally stunned. The villagers were dressed in a style reminiscent of the Warring States Era, as if they hadn't had contact with the outside world for decades.
"Is this the Naruto-verse's version of Peach Blossom Spring?" Akio muttered, as the two approached the outskirts of the village.
The villagers soon noticed them and began gathering, clearly on high alert.
"Who are you people?!"
Their tone brimmed with wariness.
Akio frowned slightly. He could feel the faint chakra pulses drawing closer—it was those earlier signatures he sensed.
"These people…"
The other villagers immediately stepped back at their approach, their faces a mix of emotions.
"I knew this felt familiar… It's them!"
Realization dawned on Akio—this was the clan of the Tenbin (Tenbin Tenbin s) from the Warring States Era. They had once been heavily affected by the senjutsu chakra of Shikkotsu Forest and had pleaded with Akio to seal away their transformation abilities. They later relocated… to this very place.
"I used a bloodline seal back then. It should've weakened across generations. So how do they still have chakra? Judging by their expressions, they must sometimes lose control…"
Akio glanced around, an amused yet helpless smile on his face. "Don't tell me…"
Unexpectedly, Orochimaru didn't attempt to subdue them by force. Instead, he began negotiating. The clan members kept glancing toward Akio.
Akio stayed where he was. Judging by their faces, they had realized he was their so-called "benefactor." He straightened up and awaited their gratitude with confidence.
To his surprise, they did approach—but with hostile intent, surrounding him from all sides.
"Uzumaki Akio, I didn't expect you to still be alive. Have you forgotten what you did to our clan?" the leader snapped.
Akio was dumbfounded. He glanced at Orochimaru, who shrugged with a look that said, Don't ask me.
"I haven't forgotten. But have you?" Akio replied helplessly, disappointed by the unexpected interrogation instead of thanks.
"Then allow us to remind you!"
"Maybe I'm just getting old… my memory's not what it used to be," Akio said wryly.
"Back then, our seventh clan head entrusted you to seal away our transformation ability. But you only took away our shinobi powers—the transformation ability remained!"
Akio sighed. "I did explain that the bloodline seal would cause your descendants to gradually lose their shinobi abilities."
"But you also said you'd seal our transformation powers!" the group retorted angrily.
"That's not really my fault. Let's just say… bad luck on your part."
"Bad luck?!"
Akio didn't know whether to laugh or… laugh.
The Tenbin clan was truly blessed—or cursed—by fate. Fleeing from Shikkotsu Forest's senjutsu chakra, they'd unknowingly relocated right near Ryūchi Cave.
There were countless people in the Land of Fire who sought the Three Great Sage Lands. Yet these people had stumbled upon two of them purely by accident. Talk about unlucky luck.
After some explanation, the group looked as if they'd been struck by lightning—stunned speechless.
"Are you planning to relocate again? If so, avoid the south—Mount Myōboku is down there."
"Senpai, perhaps they can move to the Hidden Leaf," Orochimaru suggested, stepping closer.
Akio frowned slightly. He could tell Orochimaru was eyeing their unique chakra—corrupted by senjutsu.
Still, Orochimaru's idea gave him an alternative.
"You could move to the Land of Whirlpools." Akio smiled. That country still lacked population. Plus, with his current level-nine sealing techniques, he could seal off their transformation abilities without resorting to the harsh bloodline seal. That would give Uzushio a powerful affiliated shinobi clan.
The group clearly wavered but couldn't make a decision right away.
Akio gave them a moment, then smiled. "No need to rush. We'll be staying here for a while. You can take your time and talk it over."
With that, he led Orochimaru toward the back of the village—he had already sensed the entrance to Ryūchi Cave.
Just behind a single mountain peak, Akio found a yawning, bottomless cavern. Activating full sensory mode, his expression gradually turned grim.
"This is Ryūchi Cave. You're going in alone."
His chakra perception was overwhelmed by countless serpents of all sizes, crawling and coiling—a nauseating scene.
Orochimaru didn't flinch. He nodded and entered the cave, his figure soon swallowed by the darkness.
Akio's expression shifted several times. In the end, his curiosity about Ryūchi Cave overcame his aversion to snakes. He hurried in after him—he couldn't waste this opportunity!
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