"No, I'm here to see the White Snake Sage," Orochimaru corrected Ichikishimahime.
"No way! You have to pass the trial first before you can meet the White Snake Sage! That's the rule of Ryūchi Cave!" Ichikishimahime shook her head.
"Don't say that. I can sense your malice from a distance. I have something important to discuss with the White Snake Sage."
Orochimaru's tone was cold. He had no interest in talking to the three sages of Ryūchi Cave. He knew very well that these three were mischievous and cruel. If they decided to mess with him, it would be troublesome.
As for the trials… who knew what kind of torment they would come up with?
"Something important? What could be so important? The affairs of the ninja world have nothing to do with Ryūchi Cave! We're not like those old toads of Mount Myōboku, always meddling in the outside world."
Tagorihime, the most mature-looking of the three, stepped forward.
"How strange! Manda, haven't you always looked down on everyone? Why are you acting so obedient today?"
Suddenly, Tagitsuhime shifted her gaze to Manda, who had been unnaturally quiet. Floating in the air, she moved closer and stomped on him a few times.
Manda lunged at Tagitsuhime, snapping his jaws. But even though his attack was fast and unexpected, Tagitsuhime lazily dodged it with just a hair's breadth to spare.
"I smell blood. Looks like you got beaten up," Tagitsuhime sniffed the air and covered her mouth as she laughed.
"Enough!" Orochimaru stomped on Manda and locked eyes with the three sages. "Can you take me there?"
"Leading the way isn't a problem, but…" Tagorihime suddenly pointed at the figure behind Orochimaru.
"He has to take the trial!"
"Looks like negotiations failed."
As the three Snake Princesses spoke in unison, Orochimaru, who understood their intentions, lost his patience. His face was suddenly covered in markings resembling oil paint. A powerful aura condensed into a tangible force, pressing outward in all directions.
The three Snake Princesses, struck by Orochimaru's aura, instinctively revealed their hostility.
Their originally beautiful and delicate faces turned terrifying in an instant.
Snake scales emerged on their skin, and their mouths split open into gaping maws, revealing forked tongues flickering from within.
"Sage Mode! How could you possibly master the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode?"
Tagorihime roared instinctively, sensing the familiar energy within Orochimaru's body.
"No, this isn't the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode!"
Tagitsuhime immediately corrected Tagorihime's mistake. No one knew the power of the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode better than them. While Orochimaru's current form carried traces of that power, it was only a superficial resemblance at best.
A closer inspection made it easy for the three of them to detect the differences.
Moreover, as this power emerged, a strange sensation—both intoxicating and insatiable—spread through them, making it even harder to suppress their urges.
"It's a different Sage Mode... How strange! I didn't think there was another way to wield natural energy in the current ninja world."
As Ichikishimahime spoke, her figure slowly faded into the air.
"Looks like I'll have to prepare something to deal with you first."
Seeing the three Snake Princesses take their battle stances, Orochimaru sighed helplessly.
"Sage Art: Dragon Pearl Technique!"
Forming hand seals, Orochimaru took a deep breath. Tilting his head back, he spat out a glowing pearl—radiant white tinged with pink—spinning at high speed as it soared into the sky.
The moment the pearl appeared, both the three Snake Princesses and Manda, who lay beneath Orochimaru's feet, experienced a brief moment of trance.
Manda suddenly felt an uncontrollable craving surging through its mind!
It wanted that pearl!
It wanted to swallow it whole!
He had a strong premonition and an intense urge—if he could just absorb that pearl and make its power his own, his strength would grow rapidly. He could even evolve from a snake into a dragon!
At that point, he wouldn't just control a single area. The entire Ryūchi Cave would become his territory!
Neither the White Snake Sage, the Three Great Snake Princesses, nor the other giant snakes in Ryūchi Cave would be his match.
Driven by this impulse, Manda even forgot about Orochimaru. He coiled his massive body and leaped high into the air, his mouth wide open, aiming for the pearl that was rising and radiating power.
However, the Three Snake Princesses were even faster. Almost instantly, all three lunged forward, their hands reaching for the pearl at nearly the same time.
In an instant, four snakes clashed fiercely, each fighting for possession of the pearl.
Orochimaru and Kagetsu leaped gracefully from Manda's body and landed steadily on the ground.
"Let's go. The hidden cave where the White Snake Sage resides is just ahead."
Dismissing his Sage Mode, Orochimaru ignored the chaotic battle raging above him and took the lead, walking forward.
Kagetsu followed, curious about the technique Orochimaru had just used.
The way the Three Snake Princesses and Manda were fighting so frantically—it seemed as if their minds had been strongly influenced or manipulated, causing them to lose all composure.
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Orochimaru neither confirmed nor denied it. To him, Ryūchi Cave's environment was far too dangerous.
If he hadn't prepared some trump cards, he wouldn't have brought Kagetsu here so easily to meet the White Snake Sage.
After all, no one understood the cold-blooded nature of snakes better than he did.
He had made ample preparations to deal with the snakes of Ryūchi Cave. The only thing he couldn't fully predict was the White Snake Sage, hidden deep within the Ryūchi Cave.
The two moved swiftly. After spreading out their perception, Orochimaru barely paused as he led Kagetsu forward at high speed in a single direction.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a dark and desolate torii gate.
"It seems the White Snake Sage hasn't refused to meet us."
Seeing the torii gate, a faint smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.
Inside the torii, the atmosphere was bleak and shadowy. The only sound breaking the silence was the clear echo of Orochimaru and Kagetsu's footsteps in the dimly lit space.
At the deepest part of the torii, on a large cushioned platform, they finally saw her—a hunched yet still massive figure. Her face was deeply wrinkled, her skin sagging like aged leather, and her withered hands held a long smoking pipe, exhaling clouds of smoke.
Orochimaru gazed at the elderly woman before him, his tone carrying both respect and wariness.
If Kagetsu had never appeared… if not for Kagetsu's research… perhaps his long-sought ideal form of ultimate life would have been this very woman before him!
In the past, he had tirelessly modified his body and soul, striving to get closer to the White Snake Sage's existence.
"You've finally arrived."
The elderly woman set down her pipe, shifting her head slightly on the enormous cushion, her gaze landing on Orochimaru and Kagetsu.
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