Bone-Binding Princess glared angrily at the ninja who had woken her. When she saw the Shuten-dōji Mask, her fury only grew.
Last time, this ninja had rudely taken over the cave where she slept. She had meant to teach him a lesson and drive him away, but he had actually gone for the kill.
How could she put up with that?
The result had been disastrous.
She hadn't managed to catch him, and he had destroyed her cave, too.
"The Sage was right. Ninjas are all bad guys! Hmph, not long ago, someone even tried to kill me. Luckily, I noticed in time and swallowed them whole."
"When will I have trained enough to return to Ryūchi Cave? There are so many bad snakes in there, and my sisters can't keep them all in line by themselves. The Sage is so merciful, too, and refuses to hurt any snake. If she keeps indulging those bad snakes, they'll only get worse!"
Bone-Binding Princess slithered through the forest, in no hurry to show herself.
"Honestly, it's my own fault. I brought this on myself. I could've trained in Ryūchi Cave, but I just had to come see what the Shinobi World was like. And now look at me—I'm hungry all the time, and I don't even have a place to sleep."
She had chosen this forest in the Land of Rivers because it was sparsely populated. Once her time training in the Shinobi World was up, she could hurry back to Ryūchi Cave and help her sisters.
Gulping down Natural Energy, Bone-Binding Princess slithered along the ground, circling Byakuya as he unleashed his jutsu.
She was waiting for an opening. The moment he let his guard down, she would swallow him whole!
"I'm not scared! There are so many bad snakes in Ryūchi Cave, and they couldn't kill me. You won't be able to, either!"
The so-called training was simply a test of whether she, a snake, could survive for a certain amount of time without relying on her sisters' help.
Compared to Ryūchi Cave, the Shinobi World was far more dangerous and unpredictable.
Then again, if Bone-Binding Princess hadn't heard her sisters talk about how beautiful and carefree life in the Shinobi World was, she wouldn't have ignored the Sage's advice and insisted on coming here to train.
"Bad guy!"
Remembering what had happened, Bone-Binding Princess grew angrier and angrier.
She hadn't appeared directly in the Land of Rivers. She had been hunted by many ninjas before eventually making her way here.
Those ninjas had been especially interested in her scales. Some had even said they could sell her organs to Orochimaru of Konoha for a fortune.
In short, not one ninja was a good person. They were all bad guys!
Huh? Wait!
He seemed to have spotted her!
How had he found her?
Bone-Binding Princess was horrified and hurriedly dodged the beam of light flying toward her. She had no idea what it was, but judging by the force of the explosion, getting hit by one would really hurt!
"It's bright and shiny, but I'm not afraid of bright lights."
"So he's just a kid. Hiss, judging by the smell, he's not even eleven in human years."
"Ow!!! That hurts!! Why is this jutsu so fast? Stop hitting me! I'm not a bad snake. You're the one who destroyed my bedroom and then came to the forest to wreck my home. You're the bad guy! My sisters said justice always prevails. You should be the one I eat!"
"What do I do? I can't get close to him. The moment I get even a little closer, those shiny needles hit me! Hiss! It hurts! They contain both Lightning Release and Water Release. It's a Kekkei Genkai."
"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do? I still can't use Sage Art. The Sage won't teach it to me until I finish my training. Am I going to die? I don't want to die! Sister, one of you, please come save me!"
"Ugh, you nasty ninja, you brat! I'm really angry now. You're finished!"
Byakuya watched as the Azure-Black Serpent suddenly burrowed underground.
The Natural Energy in the forest was no longer merely fluctuating. It was boiling!
He immediately used Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique to keep moving. He was worried the Azure-Black Serpent would burst up from below and catch him off guard.
Byakuya was still in midair.
He sensed the Natural Energy around him, as if caught in a storm.
He looked down.
The ground split open, and trees were flung violently aside.
A huge snake's head, jaws wide open, appeared before his eyes.
It was unbelievably fast.
In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of him.
Its jaws snapped shut.
A flicker of confusion appeared in Bone-Binding Princess's eyes.
There was no solid feeling of human flesh between her teeth. It was like she had bitten into thin air.
Shadow Clone Technique?
"Storm Release: Torrential Lightning Flash."
Lightning like a river of water engulfed her.
The lightning struck her scales again and again, like countless Kunai.
That brat had actually tricked her with the Shadow Clone Technique!
How dare he!
Bone-Binding Princess crashed to the ground and followed Byakuya's scent.
She was already a little injured.
The brat had gotten so much stronger in just a few days.
What a pain.
Byakuya stood on a tree branch, watching the Azure-Black Serpent hurtle toward him.
He formed Hand Seals.
"Storm Release: Thousand Blades."
He held nothing back, pouring out as much chakra as he could to unleash the jutsu at its full strength.
The lasers were shorter and thinner now.
They were about twenty centimeters long and half the width of an index finger.
But their numbers, speed, and power had all increased by an entire level.
This was the true form of the Storm Release: Thousand Blades that Byakuya had developed.
The shorter and thinner the blades, the greater their number, the faster they flew, and the stronger they became.
The Azure-Black Serpent seemed to crash into a dense "curtain of rain."
But this curtain of rain was extremely dangerous. It tore off her scales and wounded her flesh.
She hurriedly retreated, but the ninja pressed his advantage, pursuing her relentlessly.
Bone-Binding Princess gradually began to despair.
It seemed she really was going to die.
"If I'm going to die, then you're coming with me!"
In Byakuya's eyes, the Azure-Black Serpent had been battered beyond recognition by Storm Release: Thousand Blades. Yet her ferocity had only been roused. She endured the Thousand Blades and charged straight at him.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
The Azure-Black Serpent slammed into empty air.
She landed on the forest floor and panted heavily.
Byakuya appeared a thousand meters away.
He was panting just as hard.
Using Storm Release: Thousand Blades like that came at a cost, of course. His chakra was consumed at an alarming rate.
And after accounting for the chakra he had spent using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he was almost at his limit.
While waiting for Pakura to find him, Byakuya hadn't been idle. He had sneaked here during the day and left a Flying Thunder God Formula, all so he could avoid the Azure-Black Serpent's all-out strike at this very moment.
He tossed a few Military Ration Pills that restored chakra into his mouth.
There was no point rushing, so he chewed them slowly.
"Thanks to my Fate Grid greatly improving the quality of my chakra, along with all the other improvements I've gained, I was able to pull this off."
The slight increase in his ninjutsu talent had also been crucial. Only with sufficient talent could he use Senju Tobirama's jutsu as a reference to develop Storm Release.
If he wanted to create a jutsu of his own, a slight increase in his ninjutsu talent wouldn't be enough. It would have to improve significantly.
The benefits of increased stamina and vitality were also clear now.
After half an hour, Byakuya had recovered forty percent of his chakra.
He cautiously made his way over to the Azure-Black Serpent.
He stared at the enormous creature before him.
"Can you talk?"
"Hmph! Evil ninja, do whatever you want with me."
Byakuya froze.
He knew Bone-Binding Princess was a female snake, but that sweet, soft, feminine voice was just...
It was such a drastic contrast.
Who would've thought that the terrifying Azure-Black Serpent had such a lovely voice?
"If I'm going to die, then you're coming with me!"
Bone-Binding Princess saw the evil ninja distracted. Summoning her strength, she opened her jaws and lunged at him.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."
"Ow! That hurts! Why is there electricity, too?!"
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