Deep within Ryuchi Cave, a huge white snake slithered about in sinuous movements. She took a deep breath from her pipe and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. Her forked tongue flicked out as a hoarse, elderly voice issued from her mouth: "It's been a long time since a new challenger came. How nostalgic..."
The great white snake looked down and ordered: "You three, go and greet the guests."
Under the white snake, three women of exceptional beauty nodded in unison. "At your command, Great White Snake Sage."
Those three women were not humans but transformed snakes. They were high-ranking figures in Ryuchi Cave.
They were in charge of testing the visitors with different methods. If they failed the tests, they would be devoured. Only those who passed the three challenges could meet the White Snake Sage and receive the training of the Sage Mode.
Tagorihime hummed a tune and hurried out, casting a challenging glance at Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime. "First come, first served!"
She smiled mischievously before disappearing. "It's been a long time since I've tasted such fresh chakra and tender meat..."
Ichikishimahime looked at her with disdain and snorted. "Your tricks will be discovered in an instant. That prey is mine!"
But deep down, she didn't have much hope.
In decades, only Orochimaru had managed to pass all three trials and reach the White Snake Sage. Nearly ninety-nine percent of the visitors had failed in the first trial.
"Bah, let her have some fun. Anyway, the next turn to appear first will be mine," Tagitsuhime muttered to comfort herself.
However, at this moment, the White Snake Sage stopped smoking. Her serpentine pupils sharpened with an unusually serious expression.
Thanks to her keen perception, she sensed something strange in the visitor's chakra. It was a vague trace, barely perceptible, but it evoked the presence of those invaders from that ancient era: the Otsutsuki.
"Is it my imagination? No, this is real... Although almost imperceptible. Could it be that old age is playing tricks on me?"
She straightened up and began to look with interest at what she had previously considered a simple, unimportant test.
Meanwhile, Kazuki walked calmly through the entrance of Ryuchi Cave, curiously observing the decorations and layout of the place. Finally, he pushed open the doors before him.
The first thing he encountered was a table laden with exquisite dishes, each one emanating a delicious and intoxicating aroma.
Tagorihime looked at him with a charming smile. She gathered a lock of hair between her fingers and spoke sweetly, "Welcome to Ryuchi Cave, traveler. Please sit down and enjoy these delicacies!"
She winked flirtatiously at him. "My name is Tagorihime, and I have been assigned to attend to you personally."
As she spoke, her gaze filled with desire. She could sense the immense strength of Kazuki's chakra and notice that his body was exceptional. He was a delicacy that even surpassed Orochimaru.
Kazuki smiled calmly. "Really? Then, I won't be polite." His eyes flashed with a crimson glint, and his fingers moved lightly in the air.
If it was a genjutsu battle, Kazuki was more than interested in participating.
In an instant, Tagorihime's technique was replaced without her even realizing it. Before her eyes, Kazuki was simply enjoying his meal...
Kazuki sat on a stone bench and silently watched as Tagorihime remained trapped in the genjutsu, waiting for her to react.
Moments later, Tagorihime felt something was wrong. Her body shook violently, and she quickly gathered senjutsu chakra around her, forcing her way out of Kazuki's genjutsu. Her eyes widened.
"What's going on?!" She couldn't believe that she had failed a test that she had presided over thousands of times.
"Is this how you invite me to eat?" Kazuki said with a smile. His eyes showed his Sharingan, while an electrified bone blade extended from his finger, and he placed it gently on Tagorihime's neck. "Will you give me an explanation?"
Tagorihime forced a tight smile. "I-I was just joking!"
"Animals are born controlled by their desires and are destined to fall into darkness. And you, in order to satisfy your desires, lost the rationality that should characterize a sage..."
Kazuki lifted Tagorihime's chin with a finger, looking at her with a smile. He spoke slowly, "You are disappointing me, young lady. I expected more from Ryuchi Cave."
[A strong feeling of fear has been detected in Tagorihime towards the host. The target has been linked.]
"Show me what you're capable of..." Kazuki patted her on the shoulder and whispered, "I want to see why Ryuchi Cave is considered one of the three great sage regions..."
Tagorihime took a quick step back, feeling a slight tickle on her chin where he had touched her. Then she brought her hands together in a jerky movement.
In an instant, she disappeared into thin air.
Kazuki nodded thoughtfully. "Invisibility technique...?"
"Interesting. I wonder if snakes' perception will be able to detect this technique of mine..."
Kazuki's figure also disappeared on the spot.
Hidden in her state of invisibility, Tagorihime snorted in disdain. As if the techniques of a mere human could compare to the techniques of Ryuchi Cave!
However, when she attempted to locate Kazuki using her sensory abilities, her eyes widened in disbelief.
She couldn't find it.
[From the target Tagorihime, you obtain the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave - Snake Concealment Technique!]
Kazuki sighed and spoke to Tobirama: "Is this all that one of the three great sage regions has to offer?"
Tobirama remained silent.
...
While Kazuki was busy with his test at Ryuchi Cave, somewhere else...
Black Zetsu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At last, White Zetsu had managed to detect traces of Kazuki and confirm that he had left the battlefield in Iwagakure.
With a cold gesture, Black Zetsu tore off the piece of skin where the Flying Thunder God's mark was. Then, he found a suitable place, dug a hole, and buried it.
In this way, even if Kazuki wanted to monitor it through the Flying Thunder God Mark, he would only sense that it did not move.
Now that the war was in a stalemate, it was the perfect time for Black Zetsu to find a stage with little interference and execute his script to perfection.
"Madara has controlled Setsuna with a genjutsu... That's ideal! Now that old man will come to kill me..."
Black Zetsu mentally reviewed the development of the plot. Uchiha Setsuna, whom Obito had considered a master, had mercilessly murdered his loved one for the supposed future of the Uchiha clan...
That was the perfect trigger!
If Obito realized that there was no peace even within his own clan, his despair would be absolute.
And it wasn't just Setsuna who had to kill Uchiha Rin. Other shinobi from different villages had to intervene. The conflict had to reflect the reality of the shinobi world: There was no peace. There never had been.
Black Zetsu slowly took out a diary, in which there were some words he had recently written to Uchiha Obito.
The content was a psychological trap: words disguised as if they had been written by Uchiha Rin, imagining a dream future for them. But those hopes had been shattered by cruel reality.
That was what would generate the strongest emotion...
And with it, the awakening of a more powerful pupil power!
"If I could involve Kazuki in this, Obito's emotional turmoil would be even greater..."
Black Zetsu sighed. "But to ensure the success of the plan, it's best to keep myself away from that unpredictable variable."
What Black Zetsu didn't know was that, at that very moment...
A clone of Kazuki was warming up his muscles, ready to steal the spotlight in his own show.
...
In the vast cavern of Ryuchi Cave, the figures of Kazuki and Tagorihime had completely disappeared.
Tagorihime, still in a state of invisibility, anxiously scanned her surroundings for Kazuki. However, not even her keen sense of snake, nor the use of sage arts, allowed her to pick up the slightest trace of his presence.
The combination of multiple secret techniques made Kazuki's presence, his chakra and even his scent completely hidden, plunging him into a state of practically undetectable invisibility.
'This human is really strange!' thought Tagorihime, growing increasingly uneasy.
From the moment her genjutsu was countered by Kazuki, she had completely lost control of the test.
She took a deep breath and, still invisible, began to float with the intention of fleeing.
Let Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime take care of him. She didn't want to face this dangerous guy anymore.
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