Hinata and Shikamaru's Shogi Battle

Ryūchi Cave, several stone pillars, each requiring five or six people to encircle, support the ceiling. On a huge stone chair, a slightly aged white snake coils around it.

The white snake has orange hair and yellow eyes, wears a green cat's eye stone on its chest, a purple silk ribbon as Forehead Protector, a pipe in its mouth, an extremely long body, and two golden rings on its tail.

Above the stone chair is a huge dragon head statue, with a scroll in its mouth holding the three large characters "Ryūchi Cave".

'Da da da...'

A series of footsteps sounded, and three 'people' who looked like human women slowly walked over.

The White Snake Sage's body slowly writhed, and in an instant, it transformed into the appearance of a human old woman with a very kind face.

Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime, as high-ranking members of Ryūchi Cave, are elders and trusted confidantes of the White Snake Sage. They possess powerful Senjutsu Chakra and are responsible for managing the affairs of Ryūchi Cave and selecting humans to enter the Ryūchi Cave Trials.

Before the three could speak, the old voice of the White Snake Sage Immortal came over. "I know everything."

"The White Snake Sage..."

Tagorihime's face showed resentment. Her originally beautiful face instantly turned ferocious. Her gentle eyes turned into the sinister snake eyes of Orochimaru, with sharp fangs and a long, dark green tongue sticking out.

The White Snake Sage sighed softly and said indifferently, "Human affairs are none of our business. You only need to protect Ryūchi Cave."

Ichikishimahime said discontentedly, "But they've already extended their reach into Ryūchi Cave. If we just ignore it..."

"Cough cough cough..."

Before Ichikishimahime could finish speaking, the White Snake Sage interrupted her with several coughs.

"It's been a thousand years..."

"You were born relatively late and are unaware of what happened back then."

"Someone wants to release that person. The situation in the Shinobi World is very volatile right now. If we intervene rashly, I'm afraid Ryūchi Cave will be doomed!"

Tagorihime frowned slightly, her tone arrogant yet somewhat incredulous as she said, "With the strength of our Ryūchi Cave, are we afraid of humans?"

Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime also looked on with approval.

The Three Great Sage Regions hold a transcendent position in the Shinobi World. They control Natural Energy and have been high above all beings in the Shinobi World for many years.

Although humans are the protagonists of this world, Tagorihime, with her lifespan of hundreds of years, looks down on the lives of all living beings over a hundred years, and naturally would not take mere ninjas seriously.

The White Snake Sage slightly opened his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping over the three (snakes). In a calm tone, he spoke with an air of unyielding authority, "Don't easily interfere in human affairs. As for Akaboshi's matter... I will seek justice for it in the future!"

The three (snakes) of Tagorihime dared not refute, and lowered their heads, saying softly, "Yes!"

"Go!" The White Snake Sage's tone was somewhat weary.

Having lived through the Kaguya era and witnessed the development and changes in the Shinobi World over the past thousand years, the White Snake Sage naturally knew the power of humanity and understood its potential.

However, the Shinobi World today is more dangerous than it was a thousand years ago.

Although the White Snake Sage never leaves his home, he is aware of the events that have occurred in the Shinobi World in recent years.

The Three Great Sage Regions may seem to be connected, but from a species perspective, humans, frogs, Katsuyu, and snakes are actually four completely different life forms.

Although humans refer to all living things other than themselves as 'animals', the White Snake Sage, being a snake, would not consider frogs or Katsuyu as his own kind.

Shikkotsu Forest is weak and isolated, Mount Myōboku yearns for peace, Ryūchi Cave reveres strength.

Compared to the other two places, Ryūchi Cave has the ambition to replace humans as the protagonist of the world, but due to the problem of the population size, it has to lie dormant for the time being.

In fact, just by looking at the fact that Ryūchi Cave treats humans as food, it is clear that they have never taken humans seriously.

"The Child of Prophecy..."

The White Snake Sage muttered to himself.

Someone in the Shinobi World has extended their reach to the Three Great Sage Regions, which clearly indicates that the secret of Natural Energy has been exposed.

A few years earlier, the White Snake Sage would certainly not have let this matter pass so easily. However, the Genin in turmoil, and if Ryūchi Cave were to rashly step forward, it would likely become a target for various factions immediately.

Especially now that Kaguya Otsutsuki is about to be resurrected, human civil war is inevitable. The Three Great Sage Regions are connected to human society through the Summoning Contract, and will naturally choose their own stance.

Ultimately, humanity is a species, and the threat of human civil war is different from that of an invasive species.

"Since Orochimaru has chosen to betray us, it seems we will have to choose a new person to contract with."

"And then Hinata Hyuga... what exactly is her background?"

Hinata, far away in Konoha, was completely unaware of what had happened at Ryūchi Cave.

Hinata has been in a very good mood lately. After confirming her cooperation with Orochimaru, Hinata went into space that very night and retrieved Urashiki's eyes.

However, since Orochimaru still needs to conduct further experiments, Hinata has not yet made a deal with Orochimaru.

Nara Clan.

Hinata and Shikamaru sat facing each other on either side of a table with a shogi board on it, their pieces locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle.

Although Shikamaru is a genius with an IQ of over 200 and is a first-rate shogi player, he can't stop Hinata from cheating and taking back moves. He has now lost three games to Hinata in a row.

Seeing that Shikamaru was about to eat another piece, Hinata immediately called a halt.

"Hey! I went to the wrong place, that doesn't count!"

Hinata regretted her move and scratched her head in deep thought for a long time before changing her strategy.

Shikamaru looked utterly helpless, rubbing his swollen cheeks and aching stomach, and gritted his teeth to accept Hinata's stubbornness.

There was no other way; it was either get beaten up or accept it. Hinata didn't give Shikamaru a third option.

"By the way, you didn't call me over today just to play shogi, did you?"

Hinata had once again utterly defeated Shikamaru, and she was no longer interested in continuing... Winning too easily was no fun!

Shikamaru looked distressed and sighed, "The Lord Hokage put me in charge of the Joint Chunin Exam. After all, we need to contact Sunagakure, and I don't know much about that place."

Hinata understood.

Hinata has been to Sunagakure twice and has had contact with the Sunagakure's higher-ups. Shikamaru has come to ask for information.

"Gaara is quite easy to talk to, but he is still young, and there are many high-ranking officials in Sunagakure ... Moreover, this Joint Chunin Exam is mainly for Sunagakure to promote their reputation, and we in Konoha shouldn't steal their thunder."

Shikamaru felt even worse after hearing this.

"That's exactly why I don't know what to do!"

Shikamaru said weakly, "We can't steal the limelight from Sunagakure, nor can we let Konoha lose face. The risks are too great, and they're beyond our control."

"If this isn't handled properly, I, as the person in charge, will have to take responsibility!"

In the end, Shikamaru looked at the blue sky outside with a distressed expression, wishing he could be as free as a cloud!