Yo had always been the sort of person who treated others with even greater respect than they showed him.
The Aoda's attitude was gentle. He hadn't demanded a sacrifice or spoken rudely, so Yo treated him with courtesy, too.
"Hello!"
Yo said, "I'm Uchiha Yao. I just received the summoning contract for Ryūchi Cave from Lord Orochimaru!"
"You're the first Summoning Animal I've successfully summoned."
"It's nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you."
The Aoda's pale yellow eyes sized Yo up, skepticism in his gaze.
"This is your first time trying the summoning technique, and you summoned me? Your chakra reserves... are impressive!"
"But!"
"Having lots of chakra doesn't necessarily mean you can summon me."
Yo raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't get angry.
"What? Talk is cheap. Want to find out? We can fight."
He didn't need a Summoning Animal like Manda, who demanded a hundred living sacrifices before he'd agree to work.
So it was worth letting the Aoda see his strength. That would make it easier to work together in the future.
"Good!"
The Aoda answered crisply, his body shifting slightly.
"Let's see what the contract holder Orochimaru chose can do."
"Then forgive me!"
As he spoke, Yo brought his hands together sharply in front of his chest!
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Burial!"
Rumble!
The ground beneath the Aoda shuddered violently. Countless thick, sturdy vines and tree roots burst from the earth.
They wrapped around the Aoda's massive body at astonishing speed.
These wooden restraints were not only incredibly strong; they also held a forceful grip that countered a snake's flexibility and kept it locked in place.
In an instant, they bound the Aoda tightly from head to tail.
The Aoda struggled fiercely, unleashing enough force to crush boulders, but found himself unable to break free.
The wood was harder than he could have imagined, and the restraints only tightened.
An unusual chakra was also suppressing his strength.
"Is this... Wood Release?"
Shock finally appeared in the Aoda's pale yellow eyes.
At last, he understood why Orochimaru had given the contract to this young man. He was no ordinary boy.
After struggling a few times and realizing brute force wouldn't free him right away, the Aoda stopped.
He was mild-mannered, and once he'd seen that Yo really had the strength to overpower him, his attitude changed at once.
"I concede!"
The Aoda said frankly, "Lord Yo, your strength is formidable. I was presumptuous. I look forward to working with you!"
He'd gone straight from calling him a brat to addressing him as Lord Yo. He certainly knew how to handle himself.
Yo willed it.
The Wood Release binding the Aoda quickly loosened and sank back into the earth.
He smiled. "I look forward to it, too. As partners, there's something I'd like your help with."
"Go ahead!"
The Aoda replied respectfully.
"I want to go to Ryūchi Cave and learn its Senjutsu!"
Yo stated his ultimate goal plainly. "I need someone to introduce me, or at least tell me how to get there!"
"Senjutsu?"
The Aoda's pupils narrowed. He fell silent, seemingly weighing the matter—or communicating by some unknown means.
After a while,
the Aoda spoke. "I can't decide this myself. I need to consult the higher-ups. Please wait, Lord Yo!"
With that, he released the summoning technique of his own accord and returned to Ryūchi Cave.
Yo waited where he was.
About half an hour later, an odd pulling sensation came over him.
It was as if an invisible spatial vortex were about to suck him away!
"Is this the Reverse Summoning Technique?"
Yo didn't resist the force. Instead, he relaxed and let the summoning power envelop him.
The next moment,
Yo vanished from where he stood and appeared deep inside a vast cavern.
Damp, chilly air flooded his nostrils, thick with the smell of earth and something ancient and pungent.
The rock floor beneath his feet was slick. Above him stretched an impossibly high ceiling, hung with countless stalactites.
Water dripped and echoed through the vast space, deepening its eerie silence.
Winding passages led off in every direction, their destinations unknown.
In the thick darkness, it seemed as though countless eyes were watching him.
Straight ahead stood a raised platform, clearly shaped by human hands.
The platform was built of rough stone, and a massive snake, its entire body white as jade, coiled at its center.
Even coiled in place, it was like a small hill.
Its body was covered in fine, smooth scales that gleamed with a gentle luster in the faint light.
Rather than the cold, menacing presence of an ordinary snake, it radiated an ancient, sacred, and profound aura.
On either side of its forehead were protrusions like dragon horns, and long white whiskers hung from its jaw.
Its eyes were closed, its head bowed slightly, as if dozing.
It was the White Snake Sage!
A thousand-year-old serpent who had lived from Kaguya's era to the present!
Yo's arrival didn't seem to disturb the White Snake Sage. She remained in that same thoughtful, or perhaps sleeping, pose.
But Yo could feel a vast, gentle, all-pervading gaze surrounding him.
It didn't come from physical eyes. It acted directly on his mind.
Just then, the White Snake Sage's long white eyelashes quivered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
They weren't the vertical pupils of a snake, but clear, luminous, and profound, like the finest amber.
She studied Yo from head to toe.
A moment later, an aged voice echoed through the cavern:
"The powers of Uchiha and Senju are intertwined within you in a rare way!"
"Young contract holder, the threads of fate wind around you, both clear... and chaotic."
The White Snake Sage raised her enormous head slightly, her voice calm and even.
"You've come to Ryūchi Cave to master the power of the sages?"
Yo bowed slightly. "White Snake Sage, I've come to Ryūchi Cave hoping to learn its Sage Mode!"
The White Snake Sage gazed quietly at Yo with amber eyes. After a few seconds, she spoke.
"To learn the Senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave... tradition requires you to undergo a trial."
"Only those who prove their will and aptitude are worthy of learning Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode."
"But... given your strength, an ordinary trial would serve no purpose. You may skip it!"
Yo understood.
He was naturally not like Boruto and the other brats.
Their fighting strength was worlds apart!
Having Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime—the three female snakes—test him clearly wouldn't be enough.
The White Snake Sage knew that, so she simply waived the trial.
"But whether you can ultimately master the wild Natural Energy and perfectly combine it with your own chakra..."
The White Snake Sage continued, "The dangers and obstacles involved are something you must experience and overcome on your own."
"I understand!"
Yo nodded solemnly. He knew the risks of learning Senjutsu.
He'd read plenty of web novels in his previous life. If chakra was like a cultivator's magical power, inner strength, or vital energy,
then Natural Energy was like the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. Controlling that energy came with immense risks!
"Then hold out your hand! First, you need to experience for yourself what... Natural Energy is."
As the White Snake Sage spoke, she leaned her enormous head forward and bit Yo's hand, injecting Natural Energy into him.
"Ugh!"
Before you continue