Chiba and Terumī Mei finally arrived at the entrance to Ryūchi Cave. However, before they could even take a single step inside, a furious roar suddenly echoed out from within, carrying overwhelming pressure.
"Who dares trespass upon our sacred land?!"
The massive stone gates of the cave burst open, and one enormous python after another surged outward. At the forefront was a colossal snake with deep purple scales, its body stretching well over a hundred meters in length. Its emerald-green pupils radiated a ferocious killing intent, and from its massive head curved two horns slanting backward, giving it a savage and sinister appearance.
This was none other than Orochimaru's summoning beast,Manda!
Behind Manda, countless snakes of varying sizes followed in a seething tide. Manda was indeed a member of Ryūchi Cave and, more than that, the chief of the summoning snake clan. Like the toads of Mount Myōboku, his lineage was capable of forming summoning contracts with shinobi, something most other inhabitants of Ryūchi Cave would never do.
Of course, Manda did not form contracts out of goodwill, nor out of any desire to maintain peace in the shinobi world. His only motivation was far more primal,he wanted to eat more humans. In fact, under his contract with Orochimaru, every summoning required Orochimaru to prepare hundreds of people as sacrifices.
Terumī Mei stared at Manda's colossal body, unable to hide her surprise. "That snake is huge…"
Chiba smiled calmly. "That's Orochimaru's summoning beast,Manda. The Legendary Sannin are known as a mutually restraining trio, symbolized by snakes, slugs, and toads. Orochimaru's 'snake' refers precisely to this one."
Realization dawned on Mei. "So that's it. A summoning beast of the Legendary Sannin… no wonder it looks so terrifying."
Manda narrowed his eyes in surprise. "Brat, you sure know a lot."
Then his voice turned vicious. "But trespassing into Ryūchi Cave means only one thing,death! Instead of dying by the hands of the White Snake Sage, you might as well let me eat you both!"
He flicked his tongue, his killing intent surging. "I can feel it. The chakra and power inside the two of you are extraordinary. You must taste absolutely delicious!!!"
Mei frowned slightly. "That violent temperament… just like Orochimaru. Treating human lives as nothing."
"Indeed," Chiba replied lightly.
Seeing the two of them chatting as if he did not exist, Manda's fury exploded. With his notoriously short temper, how could he possibly tolerate such disregard? He let out an enraged roar, and his massive body shot forward with terrifying speed and agility, lunging straight at Chiba and Terumī Mei, intent on tearing them apart and swallowing them whole.
"I'll handle this," Mei said calmly. "There's no need for you to take action personally, Mizukage-sama."
Chiba nodded with a smile and lightly leapt aside, effortlessly evading Manda's ferocious strike.
On the other side, Terumī Mei,having only recently gained the power of Hashirama's cells,was clearly eager to test just how much her strength had increased. She stomped down hard, blasting a crater into the ground with a thunderous boom, and sprang backward, narrowly avoiding Manda's attack. While still airborne, she had already begun forming seals.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!!!"
This Water Release technique was not especially profound, nor was it particularly powerful under normal circumstances. However, with Hashirama's cells integrated into her body, Mei's chakra reserves had increased by an unimaginable margin. The water dragon that once required only a single person's embrace to encircle now expanded explosively in size, scale, and power.
In an instant, it transformed into a massive water dragon thick enough for seven or eight people to wrap their arms around, roaring like a living beast as it blasted toward Manda with overwhelming force.
Manda was shocked. He had not expected such terrifying strength from this woman, and for a moment, she even reminded him of Tsunade,the infamous monster of brute force. Still, he did not retreat. With a furious roar, he hurled his massive body forward, colliding head-on with the incoming attack.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!!!
The colossal water dragon slammed violently into Manda's body. Water exploded in every direction, and the shockwaves swept across the area, sending smaller snakes flying through the air. Even Manda himself was blasted backward, his enormous body crashing violently into the cliff face of Ryūchi Cave.
Rumble!!!
The mountain shook, the cliff trembled, and rocks and debris cascaded down in torrents. Manda reeled, his head spinning, but the pain only fueled his rage. He steadied himself, preparing to launch another ferocious assault.
But Terumī Mei showed no mercy.
Though her appearance was alluring and elegant, she was no fragile woman. Someone like that could never have survived the Bloody Mist era, let alone rise to become the Godaime Mizukage who reshaped Kirigakure itself. When Mei was ruthless, she was second to none.
In a flash, she unleashed her killing move.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique (Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu)!!!"
One of her kekkei genkai techniques erupted forth. In an instant, a tide of intensely corrosive acid surged forward, blanketing Manda's massive body.
Manda's expression changed drastically. Just the stench of the acid told him how deadly it was. His instincts screamed danger, and he immediately turned to flee. However, empowered by Hashirama's cells, Mei's Lava Release was on an entirely different level,its range and power far exceeded anything before.
Boom!!!
The acid engulfed most of Manda's enormous body. A horrifying sizzling sound filled the air as corrosion ate away at his flesh. The surrounding snakes scattered in sheer terror, hissing and fleeing in all directions. Moments later, Manda's body was completely dissolved, leaving behind only a single thing.
A shed snakeskin.
"Hmm?" Mei frowned, instantly sensing that this was not Manda's true body.
In the next instant,
Boom!!!
Manda's real body burst out from underground in a fury, his rage soaring sky-high. Chiba knew at once that Manda had used his shedding substitution technique, sacrificing a portion of his skin to escape. This was not an ability he used lightly,it consumed immense energy and required a long time before it could be used again. Even so, parts of his body had still been affected by the acid, leaving his scales pitted and corroded, as though eaten away by rust.
With a furious roar, Manda surged forward once more, charging straight at Terumī Mei.
As the massive serpent closed in, Mei,normally unsuited for close combat,showed no trace of panic. A cold glint flashed through her eyes, and an unprecedented level of physical power erupted from her body.
"Monstrous Strength Release (Kairiki)!!!"
Boom!!!
Her fist slammed upward, striking squarely beneath Manda's gaping jaws. Terrifying brute force exploded outward, sending his massive head flying back violently. Manda screamed in agony as his enormous body crashed to the ground once again, utterly disheveled.
Watching Mei's overwhelming display of power, Chiba could not help but smile and nod in deep satisfaction.
After merging with Hashirama's cells, Terumi Mei's body had undergone a fundamental transformation.
It was not merely an increase in chakra quantity, but a qualitative change,her vitality surged, her life force grew dense and resilient, and her physical strength reached a level she had never once possessed in her previous life as a shinobi. The flow of chakra within her coils no longer felt restrained or fragile; it moved like a raging tide, powerful and inexhaustible.
Her Water Release techniques responded immediately to this change. The range expanded, the pressure intensified, and even her Kekkei Genkai evolved alongside her. What was most shocking, however, was not her ninjutsu.
It was her body.
Someone who had once avoided close combat now carried within her muscles a terrifying explosive force. Every movement felt grounded, heavy, and deliberate,like a weapon forged and tempered anew.
This transformation did not simply amplify her strengths; it erased her weaknesses entirely.
Mandā's massive body lay partially collapsed, scales cracked and scorched, his breathing ragged and furious. The Snake King let out a thunderous roar, his killing intent surging once more as he struggled to rise, still unwilling to accept defeat.
Then,
A voice echoed from the depths of Ryūchi Cave.
"Let them enter."
It was neither loud nor forceful, yet the moment it sounded, the entire space seemed to still. The voice carried an ancient weight, layered with the erosion of countless ages, as if it had traveled across history itself to reach this moment.
Chiba did not need an introduction.
This was the master of one of the Three Great Sacred Lands.
The White Snake Sage.
An existence that stood on the same level as the Great Toad Sage and the Slug Sage,a being that had survived since the era of the Sage of Six Paths.
The fury burning in Mandā's eyes vanished instantly, snuffed out like a candle in a storm. His enormous head lowered without hesitation, his body shifting aside to clear a path. He did not dare resist. He could not.
Yet even as he obeyed, hatred simmered deep within his gaze, locked firmly onto Chiba and Terumi Mei.
Around them, the surrounding serpents reacted as well, parting in silence, their massive bodies sliding aside to open a passage.
Chiba and Terumi Mei exchanged a brief glance.
Then, without hesitation, they stepped forward together.
Boom!
The stone gate behind them slammed shut with a deafening crash, sealing the entrance completely. The sound echoed through the cavern like a final verdict.
Entering Ryūchi Cave was permitted.
Leaving it would be an entirely different matter.
As they advanced deeper, Chiba felt it immediately,the overwhelming density of natural energy saturating the air. It pressed against the skin, seeped into the lungs, and weighed upon the senses like an invisible ocean.
This was not ordinary chakra.
This was raw natural energy, refined here into senjutsu chakra.
Chiba understood its danger well. Pure natural energy could not be absorbed freely. Without perfect balance, perfect method, even the smallest mistake would result in catastrophic backlash.
At Mount Myōboku, failure turned one into stone.
In Ryūchi Cave, failure turned one into a monster.
Jūgo was living proof of that truth,his unstable body and fractured mind the result of incomplete cultivation.
Terumi Mei could not directly sense the natural energy, yet the pressure was unmistakable. The air itself felt heavy, oppressive, as if countless unseen eyes were watching her every step. Creatures on Mandā's level were not rare here,and some were undeniably stronger.
Despite being summoned by the White Snake Sage himself, his presence remained unseen as they ventured deeper into the cave's heart.
Then,
Three figures emerged.
They hovered in midair, their forms slender and graceful, radiating an unnatural serenity. They were no longer serpents, but humanoid figures resembling celestial maidens, their presence both alluring and unsettling.
Terumi Mei's breath caught.
"Those snakes…" she murmured. "They've fully taken human form?"
"And they're floating… Is this Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu?"
Chiba nodded calmly. "Yes."
Mandā, for all his ferocity, had never truly grasped senjutsu. His power lay in brute strength,size, speed, and violence. These three were different.
They were the true core of Ryūchi Cave.
In human terms, they stood as elders beneath the supreme ruler.
Chiba recognized them instantly,Tagitsuhime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagonotsuhime.
Terumi Mei steadied herself and spoke. "The White Snake Sage permitted us to enter. Where is he?"
Tagitsuhime laughed softly, covering her mouth. "Meeting him is not so simple."
Her eyes gleamed with quiet amusement. "Many have reached Ryūchi Cave. None have left alive."
Ichikishimahime smiled. "If you wish to see him, you must first pass our trial."
Tagonotsuhime tilted her head playfully. "It's been so long since we've had visitors. This should be entertaining."
The surrounding serpents echoed their laughter,low, distorted, and unsettling.
Terumi Mei felt a chill crawl up her spine.
Chiba merely smiled.
"Enough," he said. "Begin."
The three elders sensed the power within him and refrained from mockery. Tagitsuhime nodded slightly.
"Very well. Face our three trials."
The world shattered.
Buzz,
In an instant, the cavern vanished. Space twisted violently, the ground seemed to flip, and Terumi Mei's vision was engulfed by blinding light.
"This,!" she gasped. "Genjutsu?!"
"Correct," Chiba replied evenly. "A genjutsu reinforced by senjutsu."
The oppressive cave was gone, replaced by a radiant palace. Golden light bathed towering pillars, candles flickered endlessly, and long banquet tables stretched across the hall, laden with exquisite dishes. The scent alone was intoxicating.
Her stomach tightened painfully.
This was not illusion alone,it assaulted the mind, amplifying hunger, desire, and instinct beyond reason.
Chiba knew the truth.
To eat was to die.
The moment Terumi Mei stepped forward, he caught her wrist.
"Careful."
She flushed, biting her lip. "I knew it was a trap… and still…"
"If it were easy to resist," Chiba said softly, "this wouldn't be Ryūchi Cave."
His expression hardened.
"But this level of illusion…"
Crimson light ignited in his eyes.
The Mangekyō Sharingan unfolded, its power flooding the space like a storm.
"Genjutsu,release."
"Disperse."
Reality shattered.
The palace collapsed like glass, the feast dissolved into nothingness, and Ryūchi Cave reasserted itself in a single, violent breath.
The trial had failed.
And the true test had only just begun.
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