Yeyu shook his head. "No, I just want to find a few giant snakes to be my Summoned Beasts."
Seeing how serious Yeyu was, Anko didn't give it any more thought.
"All right, then."
As she spoke, she took a Summoning Scroll out of her ninja tool pouch.
She placed it on the ground and slowly unrolled it.
Many names had already appeared on the Summoning Scroll, listed in order.
Orochimaru and Anko's names were at the end.
Actually, there were others who had also signed Summoning Contracts with the giant snakes of Ryūchi Cave.
They just weren't listed on this Summoning Scroll.
Some had signed contracts directly with individual giant snakes, so their names wouldn't appear on the Summoning Contract scroll.
Anko wrote Yeyu's name in the blank space at the end of the scroll.
When she finished, she looked up at Yeyu. "All right. Drop your blood on it, then form the Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique, and the contract will be complete."
"You know the Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique, right?"
Yeyu nodded.
Anko smiled. "I almost forgot. You can use Triple Rashomon, so you must know the Summoning Technique."
Triple Rashomon was essentially a Summoning Technique, except that it summoned ninja tools instead of Summoned Beasts.
Rashomon was a ninja tool that existed in another dimension.
Following Anko's instructions, Yeyu began forming the Hand Seals.
He was quick.
He finished the few seals in an instant.
He pressed his bloodied finger against his name.
At that moment, Yeyu felt a blood connection form between him and some distant place.
Somewhere in the Ninja World, the White Snake Sage was sleeping on a stone chair. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
"Oh, someone has signed a Summoning Contract with Ryūchi Cave. I wonder who it is."
The Ninja World was at peace now, and no one had signed a Summoning Contract with Ryūchi Cave for a long time.
The White Snake Sage could sense a contract only when it was formally signed with Ryūchi Cave through a Summoning Contract.
That was what constituted a formal contract.
Those who signed Summoning Contracts with individual giant snakes hadn't formally contracted with Ryūchi Cave, so the White Snake Sage couldn't sense them.
Those people also couldn't summon the other giant snakes of Ryūchi Cave.
After the contract was successfully signed, Yeyu put the Flying Thunder God Kunai into Anko's hand. "I'm going to Ryūchi Cave. If anything happens, send your chakra into this kunai."
"Then I'll be able to sense it, and I'll come back from Ryūchi Cave."
Anko was stunned. "Y-you're going to Ryūchi Cave right now?"
Yeyu nodded. "Yeah. I want to get everything done as soon as possible."
"But what about the mission?"
"We're leaving tomorrow. Are you sure you really want to go?"
Yeyu smiled. "Don't worry. I'm just going to subdue a few giant snakes. It won't take long."
"But Ryūchi Cave is dangerous, and you're not familiar with it."
Anko was worried something might happen to Yeyu.
That was Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Regions.
If Yeyu angered the White Snake Sage in there, who knew what she might do?
Yeyu patted Anko on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Don't forget, I can use the Flying Thunder God Technique. If I run into danger I can't handle, I'll just use it to come back."
Anko glanced at the Flying Thunder God Kunai in her hand and could only agree.
There was no stopping him.
Ever since she learned how strong Yeyu was, he had taken the lead in their team.
And she was willing to follow him.
Still, going to Ryūchi Cave was incredibly dangerous, and she couldn't help worrying.
After learning that Hiruzen planned to groom Yeyu to become Hokage, she knew he couldn't afford to get hurt.
As soon as Yeyu finished speaking, he disappeared in front of Anko.
Anko looked at the empty room and sighed. "That guy does whatever comes to mind without thinking about the time or place."
But Yeyu could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, so at least he was unlikely to encounter anything life-threatening.
Orochimaru had managed to escape Ryūchi Cave back then, so Yeyu could certainly do the same.
Anko put the Flying Thunder God Kunai into her ninja tool pouch.
She lay down on the bed, thinking back over everything that had happened along the way.
She had the strange feeling that she was dreaming.
She was a Special Jonin, yet somehow she'd ended up playing a supporting role in this mission.
"I wonder if that kid can subdue Manda. I hope he doesn't get tempted to learn Senjutsu."
Learning Senjutsu was dangerous. After Orochimaru's failure, Anko had become terrified of what could happen to anyone who tried to learn it in Ryūchi Cave.
But with her strength, she didn't need to learn Senjutsu anyway.
Senjutsu wasn't something anyone could simply decide to learn.
First, you needed an enormous amount of chakra, along with exceptional talent.
Most people who went to the Three Great Sage Regions to learn Senjutsu failed. Everyone except Orochimaru died.
Anko thought Yeyu had gone to Ryūchi Cave mainly to get Manda.
Yeyu had just asked her a lot of questions about Orochimaru.
And since Manda was Orochimaru's Summoned Beast, she'd guessed that Manda was Yeyu's target.
Anko didn't know much about Ryūchi Cave.
She didn't even know how many giant snakes lived there. She didn't know about Aoda or Garaga, or that the Three Divine Princesses existed.
If you weren't learning Senjutsu, you rarely got to see the Three Goddesses.
Yeyu used the Reverse Summoning Technique.
In the next moment, he appeared inside Ryūchi Cave.
In the dim, damp cave, a giant white snake lay on a massive stone chair. Its enormous body looked to be at least 300 meters long.
Yeyu stood before the snake, looking like a speck of dust.
This giant snake was the White Snake Sage, the master of Ryūchi Cave.
The instant Yeyu appeared, she sensed him.
Her enormous head slowly turned toward him.
She even had a huge pipe in her mouth.
She even had hair.
It was bizarre.
A dangerous, terrifying aura radiated from her.
But that aura didn't put any pressure on Yeyu at all.
In fact, Yeyu released his Conqueror's Haki to resist it.
Just a trace of his Conqueror's Haki leaked out, instantly scattering the White Snake Sage's oppressive aura.
The White Snake Sage's eyes widened for a moment.
Then they narrowed slightly.
"Are you the new contractor?"
"Jingwen Yeyu?"
Yeyu raised his head and looked at the White Snake Sage, who was as huge as a mountain. Her shadow completely engulfed him.
The pressure was immense.
Yeyu's expression remained calm. "That's me."
Seeing Yeyu's calm expression, the White Snake Sage said nothing for a long time, watching him closely.
After the human and snake faced off for about ten seconds, the White Snake Sage spoke first. "So, what do you want?"
Yeyu had passed her test.
He hadn't come in through the entrance to Ryūchi Cave. Instead, he had appeared right at its center.
He had arrived in the White Snake Sage's cave.
That alone was extremely strange.
The aura Yeyu had released just now had also shocked the White Snake Sage.
That aura was Yeyu's Conqueror's Haki.
For the first time, the White Snake Sage had been overpowered in terms of sheer presence.
And her opponent was a child.
But she wasn't angry. On the contrary, she was quite interested in Yeyu.
The Three Great Sage Regions had survived to this day not because they were terrifyingly powerful.
It was because they had always searched for contractors in the Ninja World, working with them to strengthen and secure their positions.
When they encountered a talented contractor, their first thought was how to work with them.
Of course, the contractor had to have talent. Those without it, who failed the test, would be devoured by the snakes.
Before you continue