"Contract? Hahahahaha!"
Hearing Kiyohara's words, Garaga reacted as though he had just heard the greatest joke in the world.
His lone right eye narrowed, the slit pupil reflecting Kiyohara's figure.
"Do you know where the last human who said that to me is now?"
His tail swept across the countless bones scattered around the cave.
"Right here."
The pile of white skeletons rattled loudly.
Ever since he had been betrayed by a human, Garaga had stopped trusting any human being. At the same time, his temper had become increasingly violent and unpredictable.
Seeing this, Kiyohara had no intention of wasting any more words.
Dark green Sage Chakra flowed across the surface of his body, wrapping around him like a long coat.
A phantom serpent gradually condensed behind him, coiling and twisting through the air.
A single horn pierced through the skin of his forehead. It was pure white from base to tip, slightly curved at the end.
Green markings spread around his eyes while his pupils transformed into vertical slits.
Snake Sage Mode!
Garaga's lone eye suddenly contracted.
He could clearly sense the tremendous Sage Chakra hidden within this human's body.
"So you've learned Sage Arts. But so what?"
Garaga immediately opened his enormous mouth.
For humans, cultivating Ryuchi Cave Sage Arts required tremendous effort and danger.
For giant serpents, however, the threshold was incomparably lower.
Fundamentally speaking, these animal Sage Arts had never been created for humans in the first place.
The next moment, Garaga's colossal body shot forward like a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun.
His crimson scales dragged a scarlet afterimage through the dim cavern.
The sharp fangs inside his mouth gleamed coldly as he charged directly toward Kiyohara.
A foul wind carrying the scent of blood rushed forward.
"Too slow."
Kiyohara shook his head.
The Dynamic Vision of the Three Tomoe Sharingan was already powerful by itself. Combined with the vastly enhanced perception granted by Sage Mode, Garaga's movements appeared to him as if they were being deliberately performed in slow motion.
Just as those giant fangs were about to touch him, Kiyohara vanished.
Garaga bit down on empty air.
His fangs slammed together with a violent crash, producing a sharp vibration that echoed throughout the cave.
The terrifying force of that bite was obvious.
Even refined steel or solid stone would have been crushed instantly.
"What?"
Garaga's lone eye darted around, searching for Kiyohara's location.
Then he found him.
Kiyohara was standing atop a massive boulder on the left side of the cave, more than fifty meters from where he had originally been.
He raised his right hand.
His fingers spread slightly.
Dark green Sage Chakra and black Lightning Release Chakra surged together and condensed within his palm.
Sage Art: Lightning Release: Black Panther.
Crackle!
Black lightning exploded from his hand.
Its color was completely different from ordinary blue lightning.
It was a pure, abyssal black.
Yet dark green arcs of electricity danced along its surface.
The lightning twisted and expanded in midair.
A gigantic creature gradually emerged from the black thunder.
It was a leopard.
A massive leopard composed entirely of black lightning.
Its body exceeded ten meters in length, while dark green electrical currents crackled across every inch of its form.
Garaga's eye widened.
He could feel a terrifying sense of danger radiating from the lightning beast.
It was power capable of killing him.
"ROOOAR!"
Garaga released an earth-shaking howl.
The sound waves exploded throughout the cavern, causing loose rocks to tumble from the ceiling.
He refused to believe that a casually cast ninjutsu from Kiyohara could actually threaten his life.
Opening his enormous mouth, a murky liquid gathered deep within his throat.
Petrification Fluid!
The next second, the liquid erupted outward like a tidal wave and surged toward Kiyohara.
The attack covered an enormous area, swallowing nearly a third of the entire cave.
Crackle!
An instant later, the Black Panther collided with the Petrification Fluid.
Its body was made entirely of lightning and possessed no true physical form.
The liquid passed directly through it.
It slipped between the black electrical currents without encountering any resistance before splashing against the rock walls behind, leaving large patches of gray-white petrified stone.
Meanwhile, the lightning leopard had already passed through the attack and arrived directly in front of Garaga.
Its giant jaws opened.
Then they clamped onto Garaga's neck.
Sizzle!
Black lightning poured into the bite wound.
Garaga released a deafening scream.
The corrosive nature of the black lightning was further enhanced by the destructive power unique to Sage Chakra.
His scales began to crack apart.
Blood erupted from countless fractures.
Yet before the blood could even fall, it was vaporized by the scorching heat of the lightning and transformed into crimson mist.
Garaga twisted his body frantically, attempting to throw off the lightning beast.
But the Black Panther's bite was too firm.
An endless stream of black lightning continued flooding into his body, eroding flesh, muscle, and bone alike.
"Hiss...!"
His lone eye began to lose focus.
Everything before him became blurry.
But he could still see that human.
Kiyohara stood calmly in place while dark green flames of chakra flowed around his body.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Above his palm, an enormous sphere of blue chakra began gathering.
The chakra sphere expanded visibly before the naked eye.
From the size of a fist.
To the size of a head.
Then to the size of a millstone.
Kiyohara continued pouring chakra into it.
The Rasengan grew larger and larger.
The gigantic sphere exceeded two meters in diameter and rotated slowly above his hand, producing a shrill whistling noise.
It was the sound of air itself being shredded by the violently rotating chakra.
Sage Art: Giant Rasengan!
Within Garaga's eye was reflected that enormous sphere of light.
His mouth opened slightly.
He wanted to say something.
But the corrosive black lightning had already robbed him of the ability to speak.
Kiyohara disappeared.
In the next instant, he appeared directly above Garaga's head.
The Massive Rasengan came crashing down.
BOOM!
A pillar of light pierced through the cave.
It blasted through the rocky ceiling and shot into the endless darkness above Ryuchi Cave.
The shockwave exploded outward from Garaga's head.
Countless rocks were hurled away.
The petrified marks covering the cave walls shattered and peeled away under the overwhelming impact.
Garaga did not even have the chance to release a final hiss.
His enormous body convulsed violently several times.
Then it went limp.
The gigantic crimson serpent crashed heavily onto the cave floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
The impact shattered countless bones scattered across the ground.
Gradually, the dust settled.
Kiyohara landed beside Garaga's corpse.
The dark green flames around his body slowly faded away.
He lowered his head and looked at the dead serpent beneath his feet.
The lone eye had completely lost its light.
Dark red blood seeped between the giant fangs and flowed across the rocky ground in winding streams.
Dead.
Kiyohara casually shook the blood from his hand and turned away.
To be fair, Garaga was not weak.
In fact, due to his extremely violent temperament, he was arguably even stronger than the Manda contracted by Orochimaru.
But against Kiyohara, killing him was no more difficult than crushing a chick.
One random ninjutsu was enough to leave him critically wounded.
A second one was enough to kill him outright.
At the entrance of the cave stood the Three Snake Princesses.
They stared at Kiyohara, who had just killed Garaga, with unmistakable surprise.
In their minds, Kiyohara should have needed at least several rounds of battle before he could finally subdue Garaga.
Instead, the fight had ended almost instantly.
From their perspective, all they had seen was Kiyohara's figure flash once.
One ninjutsu.
Garaga was severely injured.
A second ninjutsu immediately followed.
Then Garaga, the menace that had troubled the serpent clans around Ryuchi Cave for years, was dead.
"You..."
Tagorihime's lips parted slightly.
"You killed Garaga?"
Kiyohara turned his head toward her.
Several drops of Garaga's blood still stained his face, making his black eyes, freshly returned from Sage Mode, seem somewhat cold.
"I accidentally used too much force."
After a brief pause, he added,
"So what should we do now?"
Spreading his hands, Kiyohara wore an innocent expression.
The Three Snake Princesses exchanged glances.
Accidentally?
Who accidentally beat a giant ferocious serpent of Ryuchi Cave into that condition?
Yet looking at Garaga's completely lifeless corpse, they found themselves unable to argue.
Garaga had slaughtered countless members of his own kind over the years.
Resentment toward him had long accumulated among the serpents of Ryuchi Cave.
Now that he was dead...
It was not exactly a bad thing.
"Well..."
Ichikishimahime lowered her hand and cleared her throat.
"It's fine. Garaga... well... if he's dead, then he's dead. We'll arrange another snake for you."
As she spoke, she looked toward Tagorihime.
Tagorihime nodded.
"There are plenty of powerful snakes in Ryuchi Cave. Ones with much better personalities than Garaga."
Kiyohara's gaze swept across them.
A moment later, he spoke.
"Can I make a contract with you instead?"
The Three Snake Princesses froze simultaneously.
"With us?"
Tagorihime raised an eyebrow.
"You want to form a Summoning Contract with us?"
"Mm."
Kiyohara nodded.
"Now that Garaga is dead, the weaker snakes don't interest me."
He paused briefly.
"You should be suitable."
The Three Snake Princesses exchanged another glance.
Over the course of several hundred years, many snakes had signed contracts with humans.
But among all those years...
Not a single human had ever formed a contract with the Three Snake Princesses themselves.
They were the upper echelon of Ryuchi Cave, the highest-ranking existences beneath the White Snake Sage herself.
Ordinary humans simply did not possess the qualifications to form contracts with them.
But this one before them...
This human who had killed Garaga and successfully mastered the Sage Arts of Ryuchi Cave...
More importantly, they all understood just how extraordinary Kiyohara's talent was.
"I'll do it."
Tagitsuhime was the first to speak.
Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime immediately turned toward her, surprise evident in their eyes.
"Tagitsu, you..."
Tagorihime wanted to say something.
Hadn't they agreed to be sisters for life?
Yet Tagitsuhime had jumped out first!
Neither she nor Ichikishimahime had even gotten the chance to speak.
"Sorry. It looks like this opportunity belongs to me."
Seeing that Kiyohara showed no sign of objecting, Tagitsuhime smiled and walked toward him with graceful, alluring steps.
Then she extended her right hand.
Her hand was fair and delicate, her fingers long and slender, her nails neatly trimmed.
"Then let's form the contract."
After a brief pause, her voice softened slightly.
"But you should remember one thing. I'm not a wild snake like Garaga. I won't allow myself to be ordered around at your whim."
Kiyohara took her hand.
"Of course."
A smile appeared on his face.
Although, when it came to summoning beasts, weren't they basically assistants anyway?
There was an old saying.
When there's work, the secretary handles it. When there's no work, you handle the secretary.
With enough training and interaction, a summoning beast might not be all that different.
Kiyohara did not mind becoming a legendary rogue hero of the shinobi world.
In the distant temple hall...
The White Snake Sage's pipe paused slightly.
The smoke lingered at her lips for a moment before slowly drifting outward.
She had heard everything clearly.
Garaga was dead.
That serpent who had slaughtered his own kind had died at the hands of that young man.
"He acts decisively."
She murmured softly, her golden vertical pupils gazing toward the depths of the cave.
Although she did not understand why Kiyohara had insisted on killing Garaga, the result did not bother her.
Dead was dead.
That snake had accumulated grudges throughout Ryuchi Cave for years.
Had he not still been one of Ryuchi Cave's serpents, she would have dealt with him personally long ago.
Now that Kiyohara had removed him instead, it saved her the trouble.
She withdrew her gaze, held the pipe between her lips, and closed her eyes once more.
Orochimaru stood to one side of the hall, his golden slit pupils directed toward the entrance.
Behind him, Anko squatted beside a pillar, absentmindedly counting pebbles on the floor.
Tsunade leaned against a stone pillar with her arms crossed.
Her brows remained slightly furrowed as she stared at the passage leading deeper into the cave.
Why had that brat been gone for so long?
Meanwhile...
Tagitsuhime produced a Summoning Scroll, bit her finger, and began carrying out the summoning contract ritual.
"Done."
She released her hand and stepped back.
"When you need me, use blood as the medium for the summoning. I will answer your call."
"Thank you."
Kiyohara raised his head.
The Three Snake Princesses were all looking at him.
Each with a different expression.
"Let's go."
Tagitsuhime turned around.
"The White Snake Sage is still waiting for you."
As they traveled back, a familiar voice suddenly echoed within Kiyohara's mind.
"You defeated Garaga much more easily than I did."
The spirit of White Snake Kiyohara floated out from the urn containing his ashes.
His soul had become much more transparent than before.
The serpent-shaped figure coiling around him was slowly dispersing.
"Other me, you've fulfilled both of my last wills."
Kiyohara's footsteps paused briefly.
Then he felt countless particles of light flowing out from White Snake Kiyohara's spirit and entering his body.
The sensation...
First came his blood.
It surged through his veins.
Something indescribable seemed to have been added to it.
That mysterious power flowed throughout his body and merged into every single cell.
Then came his skin.
It became noticeably fairer than before.
After that, his bones.
And finally, his senses.
His sensory abilities began increasing at an astonishing rate.
He could hear droplets of water falling deep within the tunnels.
He could smell the faint serpent scent lingering around the Three Snake Princesses.
He could even sense the flow of chakra belonging to Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Anko inside the temple hall.
The Snake Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave became even more complete within him.
His affinity with natural energy became clearer and stronger than ever before.
The final thing to enter him was spiritual energy.
An immense amount of Yin Release Chakra exploded within his mind.
Yet instead of damaging his consciousness, it was slowly absorbed by him.
Kiyohara's mental world expanded once more.
He could clearly feel it.
His spiritual power had increased significantly again.
His Sharingan emerged involuntarily.
A strong premonition surfaced within him.
Its next evolution was not far away.
"Congratulations."
White Snake Kiyohara's voice grew increasingly faint.
"Live on, other me."
"Walk to the end that I could never reach."
As those final words faded, White Snake Kiyohara's spirit completely dispersed.
His entire existence transformed into the last few particles of light and merged into Kiyohara's body.
Kiyohara paused for a moment.
Then he continued walking forward.
The tunnel ahead appeared clearer than ever before.
And he could sense something else.
His lifespan...
Had increased.
It was an instinctive feeling.
He could not tell whether it had increased by decades or by centuries.
But he knew with certainty that it had become longer.
"What is it?"
Tagitsuhime suddenly turned around.
Her gaze landed on Kiyohara and her brows furrowed slightly.
Ever since a moment ago, she had begun feeling strangely close to him.
That sense of familiarity had become much stronger than before.
It was almost as if...
He belonged to the same species.
"Nothing."
Kiyohara shook his head and continued walking.
At the same time, he carefully examined the changes occurring within his body.
The White Snake bloodline felt less like a bloodline and more like a symbol of Ryuchi Cave Sage Arts.
After all, he had not undergone any additional snake-like transformation.
It was similar to the toad bloodline he had previously inherited.
Kiyohara felt that perhaps what he had inherited was the underlying essence behind it.
And after combining those two bloodlines, he could vaguely sense subtle changes occurring within his blood.
His body already contained numerous Kekkei Genkai, making its internal structure extraordinarily complex.
Now it had become even more complicated.
"The Blood of All Living Things?"
Kiyohara pondered silently.
In theory, he should be capable of inheriting the bloodlines of all things and eventually encompassing everything within himself.
Unfortunately, the process was incredibly complicated.
Furthermore, he could sense that the White Snake and Toad bloodlines within him were like fundamental essences undergoing some kind of chemical reaction.
Something seemed to be slowly taking shape.
As for what exactly that thing was...
Even Kiyohara did not know yet.
By the time they returned to the temple, the White Snake Sage was still coiled upon her enormous throne, holding her pipe.
Her orange-gold vertical pupils rested upon Kiyohara before narrowing slightly.
"You've returned."
"Yes."
Kiyohara walked to the center of the hall and bowed slightly.
"My thanks, White Snake Sage."
The White Snake Sage nodded.
"I'll summon you again in a few days."
"I understand."
Kiyohara nodded.
As they left Ryuchi Cave, the surrounding mist gradually thinned.
Anko walked at the rear of the group, occasionally glancing back toward the temple disappearing into the fog.
Curiosity filled her eyes.
"Lord Orochimaru, Ryuchi Cave is amazing."
She spoke quietly.
"Those Snake Princesses... are they really snakes that transformed into humans?"
"Mm."
Orochimaru responded with a simple nod and offered no further explanation.
His thoughts were still focused on Kiyohara.
He had noticed it when they left.
Kiyohara's aura had changed again.
The sensation was similar to that of a snake that had just shed its skin and emerged even stronger than before.
Tsunade walked beside Kiyohara.
She glanced sideways at him before suddenly reaching out and patting his shoulder.
"You didn't lose any arms or legs, did you?"
"No."
Kiyohara smiled.
"Don't worry, Sensei."
"Hmph."
Tsunade withdrew her hand and crossed her arms.
"Who said I was worried about you?"
Several days later...
The group returned to the Kumo front-line camp.
Something felt off.
The atmosphere throughout the camp was noticeably different.
The shinobis moved with unusual urgency, and every face carried a heavy, suppressed seriousness.
No sooner had they entered than someone hurried over.
"Lady Tsunade, Captain Kiyohara, Lord Hokage has summoned you immediately."
It was a shinobi from the Nara Clan, Nara Shiosui.
His brows were tightly knitted together, dark circles visible beneath his eyes.
"Iwa has made its move."
Inside the command tent, the atmosphere was even heavier than outside.
More than a dozen jonin sat along both sides.
Some were familiar faces.
Others were strangers.
"News has arrived from the Land of Earth."
Nara Shikaku stood before a map and pointed at several newly marked red locations.
"Iwagakure suddenly reinforced its forces along the Grass Country front and launched five large-scale assaults within the last three days."
He paused briefly.
"They have already broken through Konoha's first defensive line."
Silence filled the tent.
"Iwa... is making its final struggle."
Shikaku spoke calmly.
"Their supply lines have long since reached their limit, and they've already suffered massive losses among their shinobi forces. This offensive feels more like a desperate gamble than anything else."
"If we can withstand it, there's a high probability that Iwagakure will voluntarily seek peace negotiations."
Finally, Shikaku's gaze settled on Kiyohara.
"Kiyohara-kun, you've carried out missions in the Land of Grass before. You're the most familiar with that region."
"This reinforcement mission to the Iwa front will be placed under your command. Lady Tsunade may accompany you as well."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"We're going again?"
"Yes."
Shikaku nodded.
"The war is nearly over."
That was his conclusion.
At this point, even if Iwagakure mobilized every remaining soldier it possessed, it would not be capable of inflicting significant losses upon Konoha.
Kiyohara's eyes fell upon the map.
Those red markings.
Those arrows.
They stretched from the borders of the Land of Earth deep into the heart of the Land of Grass.
The final struggle...
Kiyohara stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The Land of Earth had always favored overwhelming numbers during the early stages of war.
They had once been capable of sending ten thousand shinobi against the Third Raikage.
And now...
They had become the military power with the most severe manpower shortage among the Five Great Nations.
(End of Chapter)