The Eight Branches Technique before them was simply too shocking. Kushina and Mikoto were so frightened that they could not speak.
One of its snake heads moved closer to them. That head alone was larger than an adult; swallowing both of them whole would have taken no effort at all.
The white snake did not speak. It merely stared fixedly at the two of them, as though examining them.
Kushina swallowed. "Are you... the White Snake Sage?"
One of the snake-headed believers beside the main hall suddenly spoke. "Kneel and pay your respects!"
At those words, boundless reverence instantly surged within the two women, and they knelt before the Eight Branches Technique.
Boom—
Just then, a violent gust suddenly swept in through the doors of the main hall, forcing everyone present to squint.
A figure shot inside, seized Mikoto and Kushina, and prepared to flee.
All eight heads of the white snake hissed at once, the sound piercing their eardrums. The earth began to tremble, and the inside of the hall started changing. White snakes crawled over the floor, walls, and pillars, while rising stone pillars quickly sealed off the main entrance.
The person who had rushed in raised a hand and struck with his palm. The surging force instantly shattered the stone pillars at the entrance, while currents of air swirled around him, keeping the white snakes from approaching.
Whoosh!
The three became a blur and charged out through the dense mass of snakes.
Once they reached the mountaintop outside, Mikoto and Kushina were still badly shaken.
"You're... Ka-Kamado!" Mikoto recognized the man's face and asked in surprise.
"The Hokage sent me to protect you in secret," Kamado said simply. "That white snake can bewitch people's minds."
Kushina was also filled with lingering fear. She had no idea why