The enormous serpent's black scales shimmered faintly in the dim cavern, eyes gleaming with arrogance as it coiled lazily before Uchiha Shigure.
"I told you already," the Black Scale Snake drawled, voice swelling with pride. "My Black Blaze Technique blocks an enemy's vision and hearing at once. With its field, I can suppress all five senses around me—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. In my domain, no one sees, no one hears. They can do nothing but stumble in silence and blindness."
It gave a throaty laugh, fangs bared in satisfaction. "If not for the fact that it's useless against immortal beings, Bai-lin would have been crushed long ago. That white-scaled hag wouldn't dare show her face."
Shigure's Sharingan eyes widened slightly.
"A field that seals the five senses…?" he muttered, stunned. "Isn't that almost broken beyond belief? Ineffective against Sages, maybe, but in the world I know only a handful can achieve Sage Transformation. If I could master this technique… I would be nearly invincible."
Even as his heart raced, Shigure tempered his expression. His teacher within Ryūchi Cave had warned him many times: never bare your true fangs before an immortal.
He shook his head, feigning doubt. "Let's put that aside for now. I heard that White Scaled Serpent has another technique… Inorganic Reincarnation, right? To grant life to lifeless stone and metal statues, to make them fight for her? Surely that's more terrifying than blinding a few senses."
The Black Scale Snake snorted, scales rattling like iron plates. "That trick? Yes, she can make rubble crawl like puppets. Dangerous for those who can't get close enough to destroy it at the source. But in the end, mere stone soldiers cannot compare to true overwhelming power."
It leaned forward, voice thick with challenge. "Boy, pay attention. I possess something far greater—the immortal art known as the Eight Dragon Reincarnation Technique!"
Shigure's eyes flashed scarlet. The way it said those words… They resonated in his chest like distant thunder.
"This move," the serpent hissed, "lets me draw in every grain of natural energy, burn it, and awaken the strength of eight Yinglong dragons within me. For a short time, my flesh becomes unbreakable, my power transcends immortality. Inorganic soldiers are nothing compared to that storm."
Shigure tilted his head. "And yet with all this supposed power, you still couldn't defeat the White Scaled Serpent?"
The Black Scale Snake's coils tensed, then relaxed with a heavy sigh. "The transformation burns bright, but not for long. In a battle dragged out, the flames gutter out. My Sage body reverts, and then I fall behind once more…"
Shigure lowered his gaze, thoughts racing.
Eight Dragon Reincarnation… a time-limited transformation, fueled by burning senjutsu chakra, granting near invulnerability until collapse. It sounds unstoppable if used at the perfect moment. If I chained it with the Black Blaze's sensory field... would anyone survive the strike? Even a monster like Uchiha Madara might be undone if stripped of sight and sound, then torn apart by dragon force.
The idea thrilled him, and frightened him at the same time.
A heavy tap on his shoulder snapped him back. He looked up into the glinting eyes of the serpent.
"Boy," the Black Scaled Immortal said. "You've been daydreaming long enough. These arts are not for everyone. Do you even want them—or do you think my words are a lie?"
The corner of Shigure's lips curled, but he kept his voice neutral. "…"
Seeing his silence, the serpent's expression soured. "So that's how it is. You doubt me? Fine, fine! I'll force-feed the truth into you! Today I'll carve these techniques into your bones. We'll see who laughs louder—my sorcery or that white-scaled witch's!"
Shigure hid his smirk, feigning reluctance. Inside, though, his Sharingan glittered. Perfect. Exactly as planned.
The serpent slammed its tail into the cavern floor like a drum beat. "Listen well. The first of my immortal arts you already sampled—the Six Ding Divine Fire, scarlet flames tempered with natural energy. But your control is shallow. In true battles, you must give more chakra to the blaze, let it sear the soul itself."
It opened its maw and coughed black fire into the cavern, thick and clinging like molten tar. The glow burned in midair without fuel, devouring every spark of light.
"The second… Immortal Technique: Black Light. Through the Black Dragon within you, the field of pitch sweeps across the world. Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste—all senses are swallowed. To the enemy, the world ends in darkness."
The cavern seemed to dim, as if the words themselves smothered the lantern glow.
"And at last—my crowning jewel." The serpent's body hummed, trembling with power. "Immortal Technique: Eight Dragon Reincarnation! You draw nature's energy into yourself—not sip, but gorge, until countless streams converge. Then, burn it all at once. Every drop of senjutsu flame, every thread of marrow… consumed to birth invulnerability. As though eight dragon souls inhabit one body, you know only rampage, until time itself drags you down."
Its voice rang with tremendous pride.
For hours they remained there, master and reluctant disciple, repeating the hand seals and chakra flows. The Black Scale Snake corrected every fluctuation, snapping whenever Shigure's form faltered. Slowly, patiently, the Uchiha boy absorbed every word. His Sharingan reflected the serpent's fangs, copying unyielding precision.
Finally, at the day's end, the cavern grew quiet.
Shigure bowed deeply, hands pressed together. "Immortal Black Scale… thank you. I've received your three techniques. I'll meet the White Snake Sage now, to see whose arts reign stronger."
With a flicker of jutsu, he vanished.
Left behind, the Black Scale Snake chuckled softly, more wistful than arrogant. "Stubborn little crow. You have the inheritance now… all three paths of Ryūchi Cave. Senior, was this the boy you foresaw? The one to twist the fate of shinobi? Where will such power lead us…?"
Its massive body shimmered, then dissolved into husks of scale and vapor. The cavern shivered empty, nothing left but an echo.
Shigure reappeared in a blur of yellow light, Flying Thunder God carrying him to the White Snake Sage's lair. The air reeked of incense and venom.
The ancient serpent did not lift its head. "So, boy. You have the blade and armor? I know, I know… everything beneath this cave winds back to me eventually."
Shigure lowered his chin. "Yes."
"Good. Then one last trial." The white-scaled sage's voice carried both authority and amusement, dragging its vowels like silk. "Before I grant you my own arts, you shall accomplish a task in the depths. My rival spoke to you of techniques, I'm sure… but to receive mine, you must tame the untamable."
Shigure's eyebrows lifted. "Tame?"
"In the deepest den sprawls a feral queen among serpents—Xinya. A violent one. Her saliva alone petrifies all it touches; her temper stupefies even my kin. I cannot command her. But you, Uchiha Shigure… you must make her kneel willingly, from the marrow of her scales, and accept you as partner. Only then will I impart Immortal Arts to you."
Shigure had heard the name. Xinya, the Living Stone Fang. Her presence was whispered through shinobi scrolls like a curse.
The White Snake Immortal's eyes gleamed. "You must not harm her. To fight her is easy. To win her allegiance? That is the mountain. Fail, and you leave with nothing."
Shigure raised his hand in a confident 'OK' gesture. "Understood. It won't be easy, but I am not the boy who first stumbled into Ryūchi. I'll return with her cooperation."
With his departure, the cave darkened again.
Shigure pressed forward where the earth grew colder. Fog drifted like a ghost's breath, and trenches carved by titanic scales marred the soil. Trees bore scars, trunks bitten clean through as though by boulders with fangs.
Scarlet tomoe spun to life in his eyes. "Sharingan!" The mist thinned under their gaze, and he saw petrified corpses ahead—entire serpents frozen mid-twist, their bodies turned into stony monuments.
"All these… petrified by Xinya herself," he whispered, shuddering. "So the legends weren't lies. A monster among monsters."
The fog grew thicker, swallowing vision, muffling sound. Shigure squatted, fingertips brushing the damp soil.
"No way around it," he murmured. "Time to cut the haze."
His fingers came together, and natural energy pooled instantly around him. Unlike Naruto or Jiraiya, he had stored vast reserves within Ryūchi Cave itself, nourishing his body in preparation for this very moment.
Chakra swirled into his frame, illuminating his flesh with subtle light. His voice rang firm through the swampy mist.
"Sage Mode—activate."
The forest quaked as a predator's presence awakened in reply.
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