Ryūchi Cave.
It had once been an ordinary cave in a dense forest, hidden deep in the mountains.
The only thing unusual about it was that it lay in a place rich in Natural Energy.
Because of the White Snake Sage, it had later come to be known as a Sacred Land.
Natural Energy was a force unique to the planet of the Naruto World.
Even without Chakra, this power alone could transform native creatures into extraordinary beings.
There were three such nodes in the entire world, each occupied by one of the Three Great Sage Lands.
Ryūchi Cave, home of the White Snake Sage, was one of them.
There were many places rich in Natural Energy around the world, such as the land where the Dragon Vein lay, Jugo's Hometown Sage Transformation Village, the place where the God Tree had taken root, Nara Deer Forest, Forest of Death, Naka Shrine, Central Mountain Range, Former Site of Uzushiogakure, Hoshigakure Meteorite Crater, Land of Hot Springs Spa Town, and others...
But there were only three Sacred Lands.
It could be said that the White Snake Sage had made Ryūchi Cave what it was, transforming it into a secluded paradise.
It was cut off from the strife of the outside world.
At first, when Orochimaru had brought him up, the White Snake Sage hadn't planned to accept Uchiha Ao.
One of Ryūchi Cave's initial requirements for selecting an agent was to exclude the bloodline of Otsutsuki Kaguya.
She hadn't planned to take in any human carrying Otsutsuki blood as a successor.
It was only because Orochimaru had insisted again and again,
and explained that Uchiha Ao had exceptional research abilities,
that she had made an exception and given him a chance.
She hadn't expected that, beyond his research skills, the boy also had such a ruthless streak.
The White Snake Sage leaned back in her chair, pipe in her mouth, eyes narrowed as she watched the boy emerge from the bedroom.
He was only around ten years old...
If Manda, that worthless descendant of hers, had been his age, he probably wouldn't even have been able to speak clearly.
Yet this human had managed to manipulate her.
Hiss...
The tip of her tongue slid out, brushing her sharp lower fangs, then flicked lightly against the pipe.
The ember went out.
The White Snake Sage kept the pipe in her mouth, her gaze growing profound.
"Greetings, Sage."
Ao walked into the front courtyard and bowed, neither humble nor arrogant. Though every inch of his body ached,
he showed no disrespect.
"You're very bold! You actually dared to manipulate this old woman."
"In a thousand years, you're the first!"
"I've always been the one manipulating others. I never thought that today I'd be caught in a trap laid by a brat like you and have to step in."
"How did you know I would definitely help you?"
The White Snake Sage opened both eyes fully, her oppressive presence swelling to its limit. The dense fog behind her churned violently, now and then revealing a glimpse of the temple.
Ao lowered his head, but the corner of his eye caught something unusual.
His heart stirred.
It was a mural, and it recorded the process of an experiment...
Was the White Snake Sage researching some kind of secret, too?
Ao couldn't help recalling some theories about the White Snake Sage that he'd seen on a mobile game forum in his previous life after finishing an experiment, along with information from a setting book.
Ryūchi Cave was the only Sacred Land in the entire Naruto World devoted entirely to cultivation.
It was purer than the other two Sacred Lands.
The Toad Sage was forever guiding the Child of Prophecy, trying to interfere with the fate of the human world. His main responsibility was to protect the balance of the world, guide the "Child of Prophecy," and pass down the Toad Clan and its Senjutsu.
The Slug Sage had always stayed out of worldly affairs, hidden in Shikkotsu Forest, purifying the Natural Energy throughout the Ninja World and ensuring its purity. She possessed the purest forces of life, healing, and symbiosis within Natural Energy. Except when she appeared during large-scale threats to life, she rarely interfered in the affairs of the Ninja World.
The Slug Sage could be called the embodiment of a selfless saint. Apart from fulfilling her own responsibilities, she spent her time in Shikkotsu Forest as a seasoned shut-in...
Unlike those two Sages, the White Snake Sage pursued immortality and the secret of transforming life.
In the future, she would even take part in Yakushi Kabuto's attempt to destroy the world.
She didn't care about the Ninja World at all.
She was a selfish being, devoted entirely to her own goals.
Some people on the forum had once speculated:
The White Snake Sage, who had remained hidden in Ryūchi Cave and stayed neutral, indifferent to the fate of the Ninja World, accepted scientific geniuses like Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto because she wanted to study the secrets of life.
She sought to uncover the secret of merging humans and snakes,
and to completely change the current form of her own bloodline.
Because, at her core, she was a snake.
In the course of evolution, snakes had one eternal goal:
to become dragons!
The White Snake Sage was trying to become a dragon!
And in ancient legends, dragons were creatures that combined the traits of countless different beings.
So, in pursuit of cultivation, the White Snake Sage had chosen Orochimaru as Ryūchi Cave's first human-world agent.
It was for her research.
Orochimaru's pursuit of immortality had moved the White Snake Sage, who viewed humans as food.
He became Ryūchi Cave's first contract holder.
He had even gained the right to command the snakes, becoming the second-most powerful figure among them after the White Snake Sage.
This "immortality" meant eternal life.
It matched Orochimaru's goal of living forever perfectly.
From this, one could conclude...
The White Snake Sage was also researching eternal life and the limits of Senjutsu, and was even quietly investigating how to become a dragon!
"What? Afraid to answer..."
Seeing Uchiha Ao remain silent for so long, the White Snake Sage looked displeased, killing intent surging in her serpentine eyes.
The walls of Ryūchi Cave trembled, and weathered rock kept crumbling away.
Outside the temple,
the Three Princesses were so terrified by their ancestor's aura that they reverted to their true forms and fell flat on the ground, heads buried against their soft chests, not daring to look up.
What was their ancestor doing? How could she give off such a terrifying presence?
It was as if she were about to destroy all of Ryūchi Cave.
It filled them with fear.
Ao came to his senses, clasped his hands, and bowed. "In answer to your question, Sage, I never intended to manipulate you. I'll never forget your help! But my actions were only to pursue the truth and explore the limits of fusing two different bloodlines."
"I'd be willing to die for it."
"Besides, I had a backup plan."
"If my body collapsed, I could still use the Spirit Transformation Technique to abandon it, then use the Soul Body Separation Technique to take another being's body..."
Ao raised his head and looked straight at the White Snake Sage, studying every change in her expression.
A confident smile curved his lips.
"How interesting... You have that kind of ability? Were you planning to possess one of my descendants? I remember the Soul Body Separation Technique doesn't work that way."
The White Snake Sage's terrifying aura receded. She leaned back in her chair again, her tail swishing lightly against the wall with a tremendous thud.
A mass of snakes spilled down from the cliff face, filling the temple in a dense, writhing carpet.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"
Countless snakes flicked their tongues, making a cold, grating sound.
They began to encircle Uchiha Ao.
The White Snake Sage wore a faintly amused expression, as if to say: There, pick a body...
"It was just a new soul-based forbidden technique I developed while helping my teacher with his Cursed Seal research. It has major flaws right now. I can't use it against beings with souls of my own level. After possessing a body, I'll lose at least half my spiritual power, and might even lose all my current memories."
Ao answered honestly.
This was his most fundamental means of staying alive. Even Orochimaru didn't know about it.
He'd gotten the inspiration while researching Cursed Seals, combining the Spirit Transformation Technique with the Soul Body Separation Technique.
"You have a remarkable talent for researching the soul!"
"You actually managed to create an entirely new soul-based forbidden technique in such a short time!"
"Let me see..."
"Your soul is a little unusual, clearly different from an ordinary human's. It seems... unlike a human's... Hiss..."
The White Snake Sage stared at Uchiha Ao with a profound gaze, speaking with slight hesitation, as though trying to figure something out.
She considered it carefully.
But she couldn't find the right way to describe it, and could only express it in that contradictory way.
If he wasn't human, what could he be?
For the first time, a hint of confusion appeared in the White Snake Sage's normally clear eyes.
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