Ryūchi Cave

Uchiha Kō chuckled, quickly stopping his girlfriend, "Alright, Tsunade, Nawaki is here on a mission this time. Grandma probably has important business to attend to, so don't hit him."

Tsunade nodded after hearing this. Although she was unhappy that her ambiguous relationship had been interrupted, Owl King was right. Nawaki had come with a mission, and it would be unreasonable for her to continue fighting.

Senju Nawaki quickly gave Uchiha Kō a grateful look, and Uchiha Kō smiled before going to find Uzumaki Mito.

Pushing open the door, one sees Uzumaki Mito kneeling on the ground, staring blankly at the portrait of Senju Hashirama.

Hearing the door being pushed open, Uzumaki Mito snapped out of her daze, and her expression softened.

"Xiao, come here." Uzumaki Mito beckoned to Uchiha Kō.

Uchiha Kō nodded, then approached Uzumaki Mito. Uzumaki Mito smiled and said, "I heard everything. You're going to train in the Senjutsu Mode of Ryūchi Cave, right?"

Uchiha Kō was taken aback, but then he suddenly remembered Uzumaki Mito's sensory abilities, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's right, Grandma, I'm going to Ryūchi Cave to train in Senjutsu in three days."

Uzumaki Mito nodded. "Good child, Grandma believes you can succeed. Once you master the Senjutsu, your strength will increase dramatically."

Uchiha Kō nodded, and the grandfather and grandson chatted for a long time. Uchiha Kō gave a detailed account of how the Three Great Sage Regions had come to find him, and Uzumaki Mito's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Finally, Uzumaki Mito was satisfied and allowed Uchiha Kō and Tsunade to have three days of fun.

Uchiha Kō nodded, and for the next three Uchiha Kō and Tsunade were inseparable, sticking together Tenten.

Three days later

Tsunade looked at Uchiha Kō with reluctance in her eyes, wondering when they would see each other again. She tugged at Uchiha Kō's sleeve.

Uchiha Kō kissed Tsunade's cheek. "Take good care of yourself while I'm gone. Eat your meals." As he spoke, Uchiha Kō tucked Tsunade in and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Think of me when I'm not around." Uchiha Kō smiled slightly; his eyes held deep affection even when looking at a dog, let alone when looking at Tsunade.

Tsunade was completely mesmerized. "I'll miss you, but you have to miss me too! Come see me as soon as you finish your training!" With that, Tsunade looked up and kissed Uchiha Kō.

A moment later, the two embraced. At Uchiha Kō's signal, Tsunade stepped back. Once Tsunade was far enough away, he slapped the ground, Summoning Jutsu patterns spread outwards.

Then, with a loud bang, a large amount of white smoke appeared. After the smoke dissipated, the enormous figure of Manda appeared, flicking its tongue as it looked at Uchiha Kō. At the same time, it also sensed the scent of the Shikkotsu Forest.

It quickly searched and spotted Tsunade not far away. It was taken aback; it seemed to recognize the girl. She must be Orochimaru's teammate.

Seeing her staring at Uchiha Kō with reddened eyes, Manda suddenly understood, and looked at Uchiha Kō with a hint of surprise.

The successor of Ryūchi Cave has acquired the contractor of Shikkotsu Forest, but now is not the time to think about that. It looked down at Uchiha Kō.

"Is everything ready?" Manda's voice was extremely respectful as he looked at Uchiha Kō. This also shocked Tsunade. She knew Manda, but its attitude towards Orochimaru was never this kind.

Uchiha Kō nodded. Seeing this, Manda lowered its head and said, "Come on up." It gestured for Uchiha Kō to step on its head.

Uchiha Kō didn't mince words. He turned around and waved to Tsunade waved back. Then, Manda used a Reverse Summoning Technique, and both he and the summoned beast vanished into white smoke.

Tsunade felt a pang of melancholy, sighed, and walked home alone, hoping to see Owl Lord again soon.

Uchiha Kō's vision blurred, and he was taken to a cave by Manda.

Above the entrance to the cave is a stone plaque with the three characters "Ryūchi Cave" written on it.

Manda suddenly said, "Let's go, the White Snake Sage is waiting for you inside." After saying that, Manda led the way in front of Uchiha Kō.

Uchiha Kō wasn't one of Moji's men either. He followed Manda into the cave.

Upon entering the cave, Uchiha Kō did not feel any dampness; instead, he was greeted by a refreshing fragrance that soothed his soul.

As if sensing that guests were coming today, the torches on both sides of the cave lit up one by one as Uchiha Kō approached.

Manda sighed as he lit the way for Uchiha Kō. He had never seen such a grand ceremony before, even though he had entered so many times. Snakes' eyes could see in the dark.

Therefore, whether there is light or not is not important to them, but that doesn't mean that the Manda don't envy this treatment. It's clearly controlled by the White Snake Sage himself.

When the White Snake Sage sensed that Manda had brought in a ninja, his eyes lit up. "Here he comes! Here he comes! The treasure successor of Ryūchi Cave has arrived!"

Hiss~ Why is it so dark? No, I have to send my Senjutsu Chakra along to light the lamps, I can't scare my precious successor.

They encountered many snakes along the way, but they dared not stop Uchiha Kō. Instead, they observed Uchiha Kō from afar with respect in their eyes.

Uchiha Kō was taken aback. "Manda, are you of such high status? Why do your kind look at you with such respect?"

Manda blushed. This wasn't showing him respect; it was looking at him, little ancestor!

Manda is only second to last in strength here. It's usually in charge of guarding the gate. If it weren't for Uchiha Kō, it wouldn't be so arrogant.

Manda coughed and said, "Perhaps it's because of you. Ordinary people who want to come here to learn Senjutsu need to pass the test of the Three Snake Princesses. Those who fail will have no chance to see the immortals."

"And you, my friend, are the human whom the immortals specifically requested to see. You can cultivate Senjutsu without undergoing any tests. You're the only one like that in thousands of years. Don't you think they're curious?" Manda continued.

Uchiha Kō nodded, never expecting that he would become someone who received special treatment in his lifetime.

The man and the snake traveled through Ryūchi Cave and finally came to a stone door. The stone door was tightly closed, but it slowly opened after Uchiha Kō arrived.

Manda said, "You'll have to walk the rest of the way yourself. I'm going out now." It wasn't qualified to enter the immortal's room; it was only allowed in last time because the immortal assigned it a task.

"Alright, Manda, thank you for your hard work." Uchiha Kō smiled, while Manda snorted coldly, "If you think I've worked too hard, then hurry up and master my Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu, and spread the fame of Ryūchi Cave throughout the Ninja World in the future!"

Having said that, Manda quickly crawled towards the cave entrance. As Uchiha Kō turned to enter the sage's abode, it glanced back at Uchiha Kō. "The prophet? Don't disappoint me and become food for the sage."

After saying that, it continued to crawl towards the cave entrance, with the Three Snake Princesses, Garaga, and the Aoda following closely behind. They also wanted to learn from Manda what kind of person this cultivator was who could make an exception for the immortals.