Ryūchi Cave

After taking over all of Orochimaru's assets, Hyuga Kei returned to the Land of Rain and gave Pain the second Ring of Sky, also revealing that Orochimaru had already escaped.

The moment he returned home, he saw Hikari and the others, whom he had not seen for a long time. Uchiha Hikari showed how dependent she was on Hyuga Kei.

The moment she saw Hyuga Kei return, she rushed over and hugged him. Karin, watching from the side, became quite jealous and hugged him from behind as well.

Hyuga Kei got to experience being sandwiched between two lolis.

In the end, Izumi and Yuka stepped forward and pulled the two away, finally freeing Hyuga Kei.

After urging Karin and Hikari upstairs to do their homework, Hyuga Kei asked the two about what had been happening at home recently.

Uchiha Izumi had accepted Uchiha Hikari as her little sister, successfully joining the ranks of the parents.

Meanwhile, Hikari and Karin had just made a bet over who could win Hyuga Kei first.

Hearing that, Hyuga Kei's face darkened. Was he being treated as a lolicon? Even if they wanted to do that, they should at least wait until they were adults, damn it.

Besides, he still needed to focus on training. At the very least, he had to wait until his plan was complete.

Hyuga Kei decided not to interfere with this matter. He would just let things take their course.

He once again reminded the two to train diligently, saying that he would be leaving home for a while and asking them to take good care of Hikari and Karin.

Under Izumi and Karin's reluctant gazes, Hyuga Kei activated Reverse Summoning Jutsu.

Bang! Amid a cloud of smoke, Hyuga Kei vanished.

Hyuga Kei only felt the world spin around him. When he opened his eyes again, he had already arrived somewhere else.

Before him stood a magnificent golden palace, its plaque bearing three gilded words: Ryūchi Cave.

A genjutsu? Hyuga Kei decisively activated his Tenseigan, and the illusion before him immediately fell apart. The magnificent palace vanished, leaving only bones scattered across the ground.

Hyuga Kei decisively stepped forward and knocked on the palace doors. They silently opened, revealing a peerlessly beautiful woman wearing a golden crown and white shrine maiden robes. She stood at the entrance and gave Hyuga Kei a graceful bow.

Her voice was as clear as silver bells, without the slightest hint of anything amiss. "Are you the new contractor of Ryūchi Cave? Sorry to have kept you waiting. My name is Tagorihime."

"The White Snake Sage is in the retreat inside. Please rest here for a while and have something to eat. I'll take you to see her shortly."

Tagorihime pointed at the table full of delicacies.

Seeing that Hyuga Kei remained unmoved, Tagorihime frowned.

"Is our guest not hungry? Then please bathe first, and we shall go see the White Snake Sage right away."

Tagorihime extended her hand and slowly untied her sash, exposing shoulders as smooth as fine jade.

With alluring eyes, she said softly, "Allow me to serve you in your bath."

But how could she know that Hyuga Kei had already seen through her genjutsu? The delicacies were rotting flesh and spoiled vegetables, while the bath was a bubbling pool of blood.

"No need." Hyuga Kei shook his head in refusal.

"That means I've passed the test, right?"

Tagorihime was secretly startled. He saw through my genjutsu from the start? What an interesting human. A trace of mischief rose in her heart. "Of course not..."

Before Tagorihime could finish speaking, Hyuga Kei's patience had already run out.

Hyuga Kei instantly appeared before Tagorihime, reached out to seize her by the throat, and violently smashed her entire body into the ground.

Bang! The ground shattered, and the surrounding genjutsu disappeared with it. They were now inside a stone cave, surrounded by dense mist.

Hyuga Kei crouched beside Tagorihime. "Can we go now?"

Tagorihime stuck out her tongue and licked the blood from the corner of her mouth. "Of course."

She stood up, straightened her clothes, and pointed in a direction within the mist. "The second trial is over there."

"Thanks." After expressing his gratitude, Hyuga Kei walked deeper inside.

Tagorihime watched Hyuga Kei's retreating back, her expression utterly wrecked with delight. "What a handsome man! I haven't met such an interesting man in so long. I want to step on him and ravage him mercilessly."

The more she imagined that scene, the more excited she became. "Or being ravaged mercilessly would be fine too."

The mist blocked Hyuga Kei's vision, so he could not see Tagorihime's expression behind him. Otherwise, he would surely have shuddered.

Hyuga Kei continued forward. The stone cave was filled with countless stalactites and stalagmites connected above and below. One careless step, and he could easily lose his way within them.

Just as Hyuga Kei was considering how to get out, a white figure drifted past in the distance.

Hyuga Kei immediately hurried after it, constantly pursuing the white figure.

Not long after, the view before Hyuga Kei suddenly opened up, and he entered a stone chamber.

The moment he entered, the stone door at the exit behind him crashed down.

The white figure also turned around. It was a cute young girl dressed in white shrine maiden robes.

She floated through the air and flew behind Hyuga Kei, leaning close to his ear as she said, "My name is Ichikishimahime. You're the new contractor, right?"

"Come play a game with me!" Ichikishimahime drifted away and sat on the stone wall, stroking the holes in it. "The trial for my stage is simple. It's just a little game."

"You only need to use the stones on the ground to fill all the holes in the door."

Ichikishimahime spun continuously in midair. "But during this process, your chakra will constantly be consumed by this room. I don't like overly active chakra. In the end, I'll eat you."

Ichikishimahime revealed her true form. Her mouth stretched wide, the corners of her eyes elongated, and she flicked out a snake tongue.

Hyuga Kei smiled faintly. "This game is too boring. How about we play something else?"

"What game?" Ichikishimahime instantly appeared before Hyuga Kei and asked curiously.

Hyuga Kei spread his hands and used Wood Release to create a dice cup and three dice. He placed the three dice into the cup and casually shook it twice. "The simplest game: highest roll wins. If I win, after I learn senjutsu, you'll teach me a sage technique."

"If I lose, I'll let you take a bite of my chakra, until you've drained me dry."

Ichikishimahime showed an excited expression. "Okay, okay, okay! Let's play that way. I'll go first!"

Hooked, Hyuga Kei thought. No matter how long she had lived, she was still just a child who had never seen the world.

Ichikishimahime took the dice and cup from Hyuga Kei, shook them vigorously, then abruptly opened the cup.

"Four, five, six!" Hyuga Kei exclaimed.

Ichikishimahime cheered. "Looks like I'm going to win! Hurry, hurry, it's your turn."

Hyuga Kei took it back, casually shook it twice, and opened it again. Ichikishimahime immediately leaned her head over.

"One, three, six! I win! You have to let me eat a bite of your chakra." Ichikishimahime looked at Hyuga Kei excitedly. "You suggested this game, so no going back on your word."

"Of course!" Hyuga Kei indicated that he would not go back on his word. He spread his arms and let Ichikishimahime do as she pleased.

Ichikishimahime leaned close to Hyuga Kei, reached out to pull open his clothes, and bit down hard on his shoulder.

Hyuga Kei only felt his chakra being continuously drained away. Only when Ichikishimahime felt it was about enough did she smack her lips and release him.

"Still want to continue?" Ichikishimahime asked.

Hyuga Kei checked his chakra. The amount he had lost was equivalent to that of a Chunin, but with his Sage Body, it was nothing. It would recover shortly; it was truly just a drop in the bucket. He could play with Ichikishimahime for a lifetime.

"Of course. Let's continue." Hyuga Kei smiled. He would let her taste a little sweetness first, so she would be more at ease when he made his move next.

It was time to let her know what fishing was, what a pig-butchering scam was, and how sinister the human heart could be.

P.S. Please tap the update reminder, everyone. Thank you, dear readers. ＾3＾