Before a magnificent yet faintly sinister palace.
Bang!
A cloud of white smoke rose out of nowhere, and Sage Fukasaku appeared.
He looked around and could clearly sense that the Natural Energy field here was extremely chaotic, creating a deeply unpleasant feeling.
The words "Ryūchi Cave" were written above the palace.
This palace was merely the entrance to Ryūchi Cave. Though it was, like Mount Myōboku, a sacred land of sages, it was completely different from Mount Myōboku.
Moreover, toads and snakes had always kept out of each other's way and rarely interacted. Sage Fukasaku himself had only come here a handful of times.
His child, Gamabunta, did know a great snake in Ryūchi Cave named Manda, though the two did not get along either.
Sage Fukasaku carefully investigated the area, pulled his cloak tighter around himself, and prepared to sneak inside to find out what was going on.
But the moment he pushed open the main hall's doors, countless furious hisses suddenly rang out in his mind. There was no avoiding an assault that struck directly at the spirit. Sage Fukasaku's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes widening as though he saw countless savage faces in endless darkness, hissing and roaring as they all lunged at him.
Bang!
He turned into a plume of white smoke and vanished from the area.
The main hall's doors slowly closed as well.
When Sage Fukasaku came back to his senses, he found himself back at his home on Mount Myōboku. His mate, Sage Shima, was looking at him with concern.
"Kids' mom..."
"How are you?" Sage Shima asked.
Still shaken, Sage Fukasaku recalled what he had just experienced with lingering fear.
Was that Genjutsu...? No, it was nothing like it!
Sage Fukasaku swallowed. "I... think I saw ghosts."
"Ghosts?" Sage Shima was utterly