Tagorihime

"The so-called immortality is nothing but a lie. I only want to ask you one question: who are you, and where did you come from?" The people around him moved stiffly like puppets, their joints making a grating "clack, clack" sound. Their dull eyes stared at Zi Xu without a trace of emotion.

The old man thought the question absurd. He had expected Zi Xu to ask something earth-shattering, but in the end, he had asked something so simple. It was all thunder and no rain, nothing but bluster.

"Heh, what kind of question is that? Everyone here can answer it. But afterward, you'll have to apologize for showing disrespect to Lady Tagorihime..." The wrinkles at the corners of the old man's eyes were deep enough to trap a few mosquitoes. Without changing expression, Zi Xu moved a few steps toward the Stone Gate and nodded.

"Of course. Go ahead. I'm listening."

"Why, we've lived here since time immemorial. To escape the wars raging across the nations, our ancestors brought their families and neighbors here to settle. They never went back out, cutting themselves off from the outside world. With Lady Tagorihime's help, everyone lives in peace and prosperity, with plenty to eat and wear..." The old man spoke with a touch of pride. His face turned wistful, as if he were lost in memories of the past.

"So you're completely cut off from the outside world? You don't know how things have changed out there?" Zi Xu asked unhurriedly, secretly scanning his surroundings. Everyone seemed to have been paused in place; they had stopped what they were doing and were watching them.

"Of course. Everything in the outside world has nothing to do with us. Instead of worrying about the endless wars and chaos out there, it's better to enjoy the peace and quiet before us..."

"Then why are you wearing the same clothes as people from the outside world? And why are there Headbands from outside Ninja villages on you?"

"W-what?!"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Stop lying to yourselves. You haven't been living here all along... You've merely... been trapped in a beautiful dream of your own making."

Zi Xu's words were harsh and merciless. The peace and comfort here were certainly tempting, but they were no more than self-deception. Judging by their clothes, these people were most likely Ninjas who had come to Ryūchi Cave to train in Senjutsu. For some reason, they had simply forgotten who they were.

"What nonsense! We're not Ninjas! We... we..." The silent crowd suddenly erupted into a chorus of confused shouts. Zi Xu's words were like a bomb dropped into the water, shattering the false calm and sending waves rippling across its surface.

"Think carefully. Why did you come here? Is losing yourselves in a false fantasy really what you wanted? Wake up!" Zi Xu showed no mercy. Each word was a sharp blade, striking true and piercing the hearts of everyone present, tearing through their fragile peace.

"...I came here to train... Why did I forget all that? Why?... Did I fail? Hehehe... Hahahahahaha!"

Confusion and doubt spread through the puppet-like crowd like a plague. Quite a few people remembered something important and let out desperate, helpless roars.

"I failed... I'm sorry, Mizukage-sama..."

"Why? Why? Wouldn't it have been better to stay in the dream with us? Why wake us up? Why?"

"It's too late... The village must have been destroyed by now. I'm too late..."

The people around him wore all kinds of expressions, each reacting differently to the shattering of their dream. In Zi Xu's eyes, they were like puppets that had lost their strings. They had gained a brief freedom, but at the same time, they had lost the will to act.

After all, not everyone had the courage to face the reality of having been cut off for decades. It was cruel to make someone who had spent decades living in a dream leave it and return to reality. After all, what outsiders saw as a dream might have been reality to them.

Without caring what the people here thought, Zi Xu slipped away in the chaos. He cared more about whether he could pass the trial than about the secrets of this place. He didn't want to spend a false lifetime in a dream.

The people around him naturally noticed Zi Xu sneaking off, but they had no time to care about him. Each of them was lost in the agony of their dreams collapsing.

Without much effort, Zi Xu reached the familiar Stone Gate again. He pushed it open with all his strength. He had a feeling this might be the final loop.

Zi Xu slowly stepped through the Stone Gate. Before leaving, he turned and took a long look at the people behind him—broken, despairing, relieved. Their various expressions spoke of what they felt at the end. After committing the sight to memory, he stepped fully through to the other side.

That familiar sensation of being transported washed over him, just like when he had first arrived. Zi Xu still felt a little uneasy. What if he'd guessed wrong? Would he have to go back and face those crazed residents again?

Fortunately, when Zi Xu opened his eyes, he didn't see those residents, nor did he hear the familiar, "Hey, big fella, want some ramen? Fresh from the pot, and delicious!" At last, the sight before him actually looked like a cave.

The air was damp, cold, and dark. "Hiss, hiss" whispered through the gloom, and stone stalagmites of varying heights jutted out like jagged snake fangs...

There was one difference, though: countless crooked, human-shaped stone pillars stood before him. Everything below their heads had turned to stone, and cracks like those in rock had appeared on some of their faces.

Dark green moss writhed over every part of the human-shaped pillars like fungi. Even more horrifying, a small snake was coiled atop each one. Its jaws gaped unnaturally wide, and though the little green snake was only as long as a person's forearm, it had swallowed more than half of each person's head.

Zi Xu didn't act rashly. He noticed that several of the stone figures looked like people he had seen in the city. Directly in front of him was a pile of shattered stone, with red matter mixed among the rubble. It looked like blood. He knew those fragments belonged to Ramen Uncle, the man who had first warned him.

The houses and food he'd seen earlier had also revealed their true forms. The so-called houses were enormous stone pillars, with several thick, giant snakes coiled around them. As for the food, it was easy enough to guess: plates piled with rat carcasses mixed with blood-red stone fragments. There were also quite a few small green snakes of the same kind as those perched on the human-shaped pillars. They glared at Zi Xu, their tongues flicking in and out as if they hadn't eaten in ages.

"Isn't it better to lose yourself in a world of Genjutsu? Isn't a peaceful world, with plenty to eat and wear, what you Ninjas long for?" As Zi Xu looked around, a clear, ethereal female voice drifted slowly from behind him. It appeared without warning, as if it had suddenly materialized from nowhere.

Zi Xu stiffly turned around, and at last saw who the voice belonged to.

She was a beautiful young woman with blue-green hair and a golden crown adorned with a golden orb and green ribbons on either side. Her pupils were pitch-black, framed by black eyeshadow; her skin was pale, and she wore a simple white robe with a green, magatama-shaped ornament on her chest. She had sharp teeth and a blue tongue.

Zi Xu's pupils contracted. Her appearance immediately brought to mind the Tagorihime the residents had spoken of.

"False peace is still false. What's real is real, and what's fake is fake. If you truly turn your back on reality, that doesn't mean the fake will descend upon this world..." Though Tagorihime showed no sign of hostility and merely floated casually in the air, he didn't dare let his guard down. He could clearly sense the terrifying Chakra within her. It was far beyond what a human could possess.

"Mm... Think whatever you like. In any case, you've passed this trial. I only hope you won't regret not hiding away in a dream someday." Tagorihime spoke lazily, stretching languidly in midair.

Zi Xu looked at the red stains, still wet, on the fragments scattered across the ground, then at the endless rows of human-shaped stone pillars in the distance. He felt that he'd be wary of Genjutsu for the rest of his life.

"Since I passed the test, can I leave now?"

"Not so fast. Either continue the trial and complete your Senjutsu training, or become nourishment for Ryūchi Cave. Those are the only two ways out." As Tagorihime said this, her expression turned savage. Her black pupils narrowed into long, golden slits; her mouth stretched to her ears, revealing four sharp fangs and a blue, forked tongue. Fine scales appeared on her skin, making her look terrifying.

"Uh, all right. I'll continue the trial..." Though the sight before him was horrifying, Zi Xu showed no fear. Conqueror's Haki gave him powerful willpower.

"Just keep walking forward and push open that Stone Gate." Tagorihime instantly returned to her earlier appearance as a young woman. She casually pointed Zi Xu in the right direction and paid him no further attention.

Zi Xu walked toward the Stone Gate, still half-suspicious. When he saw that Tagorihime really wasn't stopping him, he relaxed and strode onward.

"Such a powerful presence... Can training really make you this strong?" Zi Xu couldn't help feeling a little eager to learn Sage Mode. If he could combine such immense power with Demon Power... he was determined to master Sage Mode! At first, the threat from Orochimaru might have been the reason, but now he genuinely wanted to learn it.

Tagorihime watched Zi Xu walk away, a playful smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

"To be so strong at such a young age, with such a powerful physique—and even a hint of Dragon Might, so faint it's almost negligible... This little one is no simple child. With a body like that, he's naturally suited to training in Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu. I hope he succeeds. It would give me a little variety in my life after several thousand years."

With that thought, she slowly vanished into thin air. Because of Zi Xu, the residents from earlier had awakened to their memories of reality. She would need some time to brainwash them again. After all, watching the dreams of those who had failed was one of her few hobbies.