Blood Spot Snake

If he had not guessed wrong, the White Snake Sage had likely just mistaken him for this generation's reincarnation of Indra, then dismissed the idea on her own.

And Uchiha Gen was certain that he was not Indra's reincarnation, because Uchiha Madara was still alive, hiding in some corner of the Ninja World and barely clinging to life for the sake of the Rinnegan and Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.

But he had the Character Card of the young Uchiha Madara equipped.

It was very likely that this was why he displayed some of the traits of Indra's reincarnation and had been misjudged by the White Snake Sage.

Still, that seemed irrelevant to him at the moment.

Sarutobi Enju climbed up from the ground, rubbed his backside, and looked at the pavilion ahead.

"Does that mean we've passed the White Snake Sage's test now?"

"Probably. Let's go find some strong snakes and form summoning contracts."

Uchiha Gen shrugged.

Utsuki Ruri formed a hand seal and sensed her own condition. Then she said crisply, "The Reverse Summoning Technique can be dispelled on its own now. How about we split up? If we run into danger, we can leave Ryūchi Cave directly anyway."

"I have no objections."

Sarutobi Enju raised his hand.

He still wanted to get revenge on that Two-headed Snake that had chased him last time.

After a month of hellish training under Orochimaru, along with the occasional extra lessons from the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Enju's strength had improved enormously compared to a month ago. He was confident that he could now contend with that giant two-headed snake.

"Fine. Then we'll split up here and act separately."

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly.

That would be more efficient.

The three figures flickered away at once, vanishing from where they stood as they raced off in three different directions.

Ryūchi Cave was astonishingly vast.

Nearly countless snakes lived here, forming a unique ecosystem. Combined with the abundant natural energy, it could even sustain powerful summoned beasts like Manda and Garaga, beings capable of interfering in Kage-level battles.

If possible, Uchiha Gen also wanted to contract a powerful summoned beast. But obviously, with snakes at Manda's level, never mind contracting one—even avoiding being swallowed in one bite would be an achievement.

So, regardless of size, whenever Uchiha Gen spotted a snake with decent strength along the way, he captured it. After beating it into submission with his strength, he left behind his personal mark.

Weak snakes could be forcibly summoned outright, while the slightly stronger pythons yielded to Uchiha Gen under the pressure of force and contract.

But what Uchiha Gen truly wanted were large snakes.

Not ones at Manda's level, nor ones as strong as Aoda. Even a large snake at the level of the one Orochimaru had commanded in the Forest of Death last time would already be quite good for him.

Like that Black Scale Serpent from before—although he had used tactics to send it back to Ryūchi Cave within a minute, it could both fight and take a beating.

After all, summoned beasts had limited methods. If singled out and targeted, they naturally struggled against ninjas with more varied techniques. But as a supplement to a ninja's arsenal, working in coordination with them, they could often produce an effect greater than the sum of their parts.

In battle, as long as a summoned beast could restrain an enemy for even ten seconds, it could create a tremendous opportunity for its ninja.

It was just that powerful giant snakes like these were relatively rare. Most of them occupied their own small territories, making them much harder to find.

Fortunately, luck was ultimately on Uchiha Gen's side.

Pushing aside the thick weeds that filled the cave, he came upon a pond.

Beside it rested a giant python over ten meters long, black all over with red spots on its forehead and back. It lazily flicked its tongue.

The moment it saw Uchiha Gen arrive, the giant python immediately raised the upper half of its body, its fist-sized eyes gleaming fiercely.

"Hehe..."

Uchiha Gen grinned at the Red-Spotted Black Python and drew the Ninja Sword at his waist.

From what he sensed, this Red-Spotted Black Python's Chakra presence was several degrees stronger than that of the Black Scale Serpent he had encountered in the Forest of Death last time.

Before, he might not have been very confident. But now...

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Uchiha Style Swordsmanship: One Cut Sever!"

The Great Fireball cleared the way. Uchiha Gen charged forward through the air with Ninja Sword in hand, moving like lightning.

Within his Sharingan, his pupils spun rapidly, precisely catching every opening in the Red-Spotted Black Python's movements as he continuously dodged around it, deflected its force, and blocked its attacks.

This snake possessed great strength and defense. Even after taking a Great Fireball head-on, it retained considerable fighting power. Its combat techniques were fairly refined, but far too primitive and straightforward.

More than ten minutes later.

"From beginning to end, every one of your movements has been reflected in my Sharingan."

Uchiha Gen slowly sheathed his sword and turned to look at the Red-Spotted Black Python, which was already exhausted and covered in wounds.

He had shown restraint. Though the injuries looked frightening, this giant snake had thick hide and the tenacious regenerative abilities of a snake. It should recover in just a few days.

The Red-Spotted Black Python lay limply on the ground.

It could not win, and it could not escape. Yet this guy refused to give it a quick death.

What the hell was this bastard trying to do?

"Now, you can become my summoned beast, right?"

Uchiha Gen looked at the Red-Spotted Black Python with a smile.

"C-can, hiss... But, but... I want... blood food, hiss."

As a giant snake of Ryūchi Cave that had cultivated for over a century, it was vastly different from ordinary snakes and could speak human language. However, unlike Mount Myōboku, where human speech was frequently used for communication, this Red-Spotted Black Python spoke very haltingly, stammering while flicking its tongue between words.

"How much do you need?"

"Sh-sheep, hiss... One sheep, or... hiss, equivalent blood food."

The Red-Spotted Black Python worked hard to straighten out its tongue, trying to convey its meaning clearly.

"Sure. I'll give it to you after every battle. I might not have time to prepare it in advance, and that way your blood food will be fresher too, right?"

Uchiha Gen nodded slowly as he spoke to the Red-Spotted Black Python.

A sheep was worth quite a bit of money, but it was still better than Manda demanding human sacrifices.

Summoned beasts could be regarded as a ninja's combat tools, but they were not slaves—especially not snakes from Ryūchi Cave that he had not raised from childhood.

Besides, the price of a sheep might not even be higher than that of a standard Explosive Tag.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, this was even better.

"Good... then it's settled, hiss. My... hiss, name is Blood Spot."

"Alright, Blood Spot. My name is Uchiha Gen. Do you know where nearby there are any giant snakes about your size?"

Uchiha Gen asked Blood Spot.

As a local, Blood Spot certainly knew this place better than he did. With it leading the way, it would be far better than running around blindly.