"…Uchiha Keizumi!"
Orochimaru's voice warped with shock and absurdity.
The next second, Orochimaru instantly saw through Uchiha Keizumi's method.
The relieved, sinister smile on his face faded.
His expression flickered.
"You used some sealing art of the Uzumaki Clan to forcibly 'bind' your body to mine, tricking the Reverse Summoning Technique's judgment. In other words, you used my jutsu to have me bring you into Ryūchi Cave?!"
"Correct."
Uchiha Keizumi finally spoke; his voice was icy and void of emotion, each word striking Orochimaru's soul: "I can reward you by letting you die more painfully."
The golden chain collapsed in an instant. Uchiha Keizumi raised his magma-dripping arm; killing intent surged forth like a tangible tide.
Orochimaru's face went ashen.
Being stared down by this obsessed, maniacal righteous fool was more nauseating than being bitten by the world's deadliest serpent.
Orochimaru now found himself puzzled: why had the Third Hokage left such a madman in Konohagakure? Wasn't Sarutobi-sensei afraid of being devoured by Uchiha Keizumi's backlash?
This guy didn't seem the type to respect the Hokage.
Suddenly, alarm bells exploded in Orochimaru's mind.
His body unleashed speed beyond its limits; he drove both feet into the ground.
Ignoring the ripping agony in his left shoulder, he fled backward in a ragged, desperate scramble.
At the same time, he shouted to Manda: "Manda! He's the enemy I encountered! Kill this brat with me and I'll immediately deliver the five hundred sacrifices I promised. No—make that one thousand living sacrifices!"
Manda's eyes narrowed, its ferocity instantly ignited.
Its massive tail lashed out like a purple steel whip cutting through the air, shrieking as it struck with speed beyond sight—straight toward… Orochimaru!
[Snap!]
The tail coiled precisely around Orochimaru's waist, yanking him back with crushing force. He grunted from the impact—but it pulled him away from the spot just in time!
The moment Orochimaru was swept aside—
[Boom!!!]
The ground where Uchiha Keizumi stood erupted like a volcanic crater!
A torrent of molten lava burst forth, roaring as it surged ahead, carrying with it annihilating heat and destructive shockwaves that consumed everything in their path.
Where the infernal magma swept across, the slick stone instantly melted into dark red glass; ancient serpent sheds disintegrated into ash.
Even the miasma that had hung in the air for a thousand years ignited in an instant.
The entire stone forest—once covered in moss and strange fungi—became a bubbling, smoke-choked inferno of molten hell!
On the other side, Manda steadied Orochimaru upon its enormous head.
Its cold vertical pupils fixed unblinkingly on the newborn lava inferno—and on the figure standing within it, bathed in molten light.
Manda slowly raised the massive upper half of its body, casting a shadow that covered nearly half the platform, towering above as it looked down at the tiny intruder.
Its deep voice rolled like distant thunder, filled with the serpentine hiss and freezing malice unique to its kind: "Hss… insolent brat! You dare defile the holy ground of Ryūchi Cave with your jutsu?!"
Its forked tongue flickered dangerously; from the tips of its fangs dripped a faint green venom.
Even without Orochimaru's promised "sacrifices," Manda was already seething with fury.
"To cause this kind of destruction to Ryūchi Cave— even if I swallow you alive and dissolve your bones today, the White Snake Sage won't speak a word of blame against me!"
Uchiha Keizumi lifted his head slightly, gazing at the enormous serpent before him.
"You… are a red-marked villain too."
"Looks like I've come to the right place."
Uchiha Keizumi's tone was indifferent.
...
At the same time, deep within Ryūchi Cave, inside a cavern surrounded by colossal stalactites, the air was far thicker than in the outer regions—dense, almost tangible senjutsu energy drifted through the space like mist.
Upon a massive stone seat coiled a gigantic white snake—the White Snake Sage, ruler of one of the Three Great Sage Regions!
From its enormous jaws hung a smoking pipe taller than a man.
Thin blue smoke rose lazily upward, melding into the darkness above the cavern.
Its amber vertical pupils, seeming to contain endless wisdom and the weight of countless years, suddenly opened slightly.
The White Snake Sage's enormous head tilted ever so slightly, as if listening intently to something unseen.
"Heh… a most uninvited guest has arrived…" The voice of the White Snake Sage was ancient and deep, echoing like a sound from the depths of the earth.
The pipe in its mouth gave a faint tap.
And at the very instant its words fell, the mist that filled the cavern stirred as though moved by an invisible force. Three graceful, enchanting figures appeared silently before the great seat.
All three wore light, ornate ancient garments; their faces captivating—one serene and cold, one alluring, one innocent.
Yet those vertical pupils in their eyes, and the cold, serpentine aura surrounding them, were in no way inferior to that of Manda.
This alone marked them as something far beyond human—three high-ranking snake of Ryūchi Cave, capable of taking human form.
"White Snake Sage."
The one in the center—Tagorihime—bowed slightly, her voice soft and airy: "May I ask why you have summoned us sisters here?"
The White Snake Sage slowly exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke. The mist lingered unnaturally in midair, faintly forming the hazy image of a distant battlefield.
"Manda is now fighting alongside Orochimaru—against an 'outsider.'"
Its tone carried an air of calm omniscience.
"Go and take a look."
The three snake princesses instantly fixed their gazes upon the smoke-born image.
But the vision was vague and indistinct; only Manda's massive body could be seen thrashing about.
A faint trace of surprise flashed through their eyes at the same moment.
"If either the man or the snake falls behind…" The White Snake Sage tapped its pipe toward the slightly battered Orochimaru and the furious Manda in the smoke. After a pause, its amber eyes swept across the three snakes. "You three may lend them your aid."
At these words, clear astonishment appeared on all three of their faces for the first time.
They had served the White Snake Sage for countless years and knew well this ancient being's detachment and indifference.
Ryūchi Cave abided by the law of survival of the fittest—even internal strife was left alone, so long as it did not endanger the sanctuary's foundation.
Yet now, the White Snake Sage was actively commanding them to assist a mere summoner and an ill-tempered summoned beast against an "outsider"…
This was utterly unprecedented!
What kind of existence could compel the White Snake Sage to break its long-standing principle and personally intervene?
"Could it be those toads from Mount Myōboku? Or the slug from Shikkotsu Forest?" asked Ichikishimahime—her smile sweet, but her gaze carrying a glint of cunning.
They were the only beings she could imagine qualified to be considered Ryūchi Cave's "outsiders."
Although on the surface the Three Great Sage Regions did not interfere with one another, the undercurrents of vigilance and rivalry between them had never ceased.
"They are not."
The White Snake Sage slowly shook its head, the ember in its pipe flickering with the motion. Within the swirling smoke, the image became clearer—a human figure shrouded in crimson magma, eyes cold as ice.
"It is a human brat named Uchiha Keizumi."
The White Snake Sage's tone carried a faint, indescribable note. "He intruded upon this place to carry out what he calls his so-called 'Absolute Justice.' Heh… In those obsessive eyes of his, most creatures within Ryūchi Cave—their very act of breathing—is already 'a grave sin.' If he were to see me, he might even entertain the thought of killing me."
"What?!"
The three snake princesses cried out in unison, their faces filled with disbelief.
Within the shinobi world, there truly existed such an ignorant madman—so arrogant as to storm into Ryūchi Cave in the name of 'justice'?!
And he even intended to kill the White Snake Sage?!
…
[Boom!!!]
A torrent of crimson lava, like a molten tongue stretching out from the depths of hell, swept past Manda's massive tail covered in hard purple scales, carrying the aura of utter annihilation!
[Zzzzz!!!]
The sound of searing flesh, enough to make one's scalp crawl, filled the air along with the stench of burning. Manda felt an indescribable pain erupting from its tail—one that pierced straight into its soul.
Its proud scales, hard enough to withstand the bombardment of A-rank ninjutsu, melted instantly under that extreme heat like butter beneath a hot knife!
Over ten meters of its enormous tail vanished in an instant, erased without a trace as if wiped away by an eraser.
The severed end was charred pitch-black, sealed shut by the heat before blood could even flow.
The excruciating agony drove Manda's sanity into chaos.
"Hsssaaa!!! Bastard!!!"
Manda let out a sky-shaking roar of pain, its voice overflowing with rage and disbelief. The agony and humiliation of losing its tail sent it completely berserk.
Its massive body thrashed and slammed violently—each roll shaking the cavern like a collapsing mountain.
The hard rock walls shattered under its fury, giant boulders raining down.
The entire underground space quaked violently, as if on the verge of total collapse!
"Orochimaru!!!"
Manda's slit pupils were bloodshot with rage as it bellowed toward the tiny figure above its head. The sound waves alone whipped Orochimaru's hair wildly.
"Kill him for me!!!"
Standing atop Manda's head, barely keeping his footing amidst the tremors, Orochimaru's expression was equally dark.
Uchiha Keizumi's control and destructive power over Lava Release—each time, it shattered his understanding.
His golden serpent eyes locked tightly on the figure below amid the flowing magma. His hands moved before his chest, forming seals so rapidly they sliced through the air.
As the final seal completed, Orochimaru drew in a deep breath, his chest swelling visibly. Chakra surged within his body, compressed to the limit.
The torrent of water that burst from his mouth surged forth like a dam's collapse, carrying the crushing momentum to obliterate everything as it roared toward where Uchiha Keizumi stood below.
Wherever the massive wave passed, even the air itself was compressed into explosive bursts!
At the same time, Manda, still in a state of berserk fury, forced itself to endure the agony of its severed tail.
Its colossal body, driven by the terrifying kinetic force accumulated through rolling, descended like a collapsing mountain, carrying crushing power beyond measure, pressing down upon the very same point as Orochimaru's Water Shockwave.
However—just as that chakra-infused torrent was about to engulf Uchiha Keizumi, and Manda's shadow was about to blot out the sky above his head—Keizumi's figure flickered like a ghost. A phantom remained in place, while his true body had already vanished.
[Boom!!!]
The deafening sound of impact and exploding water merged into a symphony of destruction. Manda's enormous body crashed down like a meteor into the heart of the Water Shockwave's impact zone.
The violent current was compressed and burst outward in all directions, forming walls of water tens of meters high. The terrifying force finally exceeded the limits of the already ravaged underground cavern.
[Crack—]
[Rumble!!!]
The rock pillars supporting the dome groaned under the immense strain before collapsing entirely. Countless tons of boulders rained down like divine punishment, burying the area beneath in an instant.
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