Ninja Weapon... capture complete.
The half-dead Ichikishimahime was retrieved, and the Summoned Beast returned to Konoha.
That was equivalent to obtaining a second Snake Spirit Ninja Weapon.
What exactly was the difference between them and the little fish-girl Yohibi?
Hyuga Sho was eager to find out.
"Even Tagorihime failed..."
The White Snake Sage's closed eyes opened once more, gazing into the void.
As the ruler of Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Lands...
The White Snake Sage had lived for a thousand years, witnessing countless events unfold throughout the Shinobi World.
Although the White Snake Sage did not possess as massive a body as the Slug Sage...
Nor could she predict the future like the Toad Sage.
But...
The White Snake Sage had her own way of observing the Shinobi World.
It was highly possible that...
A little White Snake slipping past unnoticed was actually an informant of Ryūchi Cave.
It could be said that...
The White Snake Sage's spies were spread throughout the entire Shinobi World.
"What a pity..."
The White Snake Sage sighed.
This left Orochimaru completely baffled.
Not long after... Orochimaru learned why the White Snake Sage had said that.
"Third stage. I am Tagitsuhime."
Tagitsuhime, with the air of a mature woman, appeared before Hyuga Sho.
Her pair of bright eyes made her look exceptionally refined and dignified.
She looked like a girl from a kind and respectable family.
Unlike the subtly alluring Tagorihime and the cutesy Ichikishimahime...
Tagitsuhime looked like a thoroughly proper woman.
However...
Having experienced the previous two trials...
Hyuga Sho could tell without even thinking that this refined woman, dressed much like the other two, was also a Snake Demon beneath the surface.
"For the third stage, you will face a trial of the heart... in other words,