I refuse...
Hua Yue's clear, blunt words echoed through Ryūchi Cave, lingering for a long time.
The green-haired woman's smile grew increasingly strained. Unable to help herself, she tried to persuade him again.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Just rest here for a little while, and I'll immediately ask the White Snake Sage to send you back. You won't have to go searching so hard..."
"Even if you take the form of a woman, at my age, I can't do anything anyway. Though I've always admired Xu Xian, I'd like to find out what it feels like to bed a snake."
"But at the very least, we'll have to wait six years. Besides..."
In an instant, cold sweat soaked his back and forehead. Those exquisite, intricate eyes, twisted from blood and darkness, brimmed with an immense, ominous, contorted power. They were like the eyes of a god.
"I don't think you can bring that old woman here. Isn't she the highest-ranking being in Ryūchi Cave?"
"Though I don't know what you're playing at, if there's nothing here but snakes, then it's time for me to raise hell again. Here I come."
Black chakra gathered visibly all over his body. His black cloak billowed despite the lack of wind, and the aura of doom and destruction reached its peak in an instant.
"Majestic Attire: Susanoo!"
In the pale-blue inner world, the resting Black Nine-Tails opened his eyes. A rare excitement gleamed in his blood-red demon eyes.
"Ha ha ha ha! We're finally going to raise hell again after all this time, brat!"
"Let's go, Kurama!"
Clad in Tengu Armor, the ferocious Nine-Tails Fox was entirely black. The demon fox, encased in pure-white armor, straightened up and casually swung its nine tails, kicking up countless gales.
"You... You brat, what are you? That terrifying chakra, that power on par with ours when we use Senjutsu—what is it?"
Overwhelmed by fear and sensing a mortal danger unlike any she had faced before, the green-haired woman revealed her true form without hesitation.
A thousand-meter-long python with sharp fangs, a forked tongue, and green hair finally showed her true face. The golden crown and jewel atop her head gleamed brilliantly.
"That's powerful chakra. Even without being enhanced by Senjutsu, ordinary people couldn't possibly wield chakra like this with such ease. I'm Tagorihime, one of those who tests candidates seeking to enter Ryūchi Cave. Do you intend to use force?"
"Even if you're a female snake, I can't forgive you for using genjutsu on me. Instead of taking whatever test you're offering, it'll be faster to make my own way through. So..."
His cold, merciless eyes looked down at the thousand-meter-long snake before him. Pure-white armor, muscles, and veins intertwined with the Black Nine-Tails. His strange, intricate Mangekyo eyes swept across the surroundings, his expression indifferent.
In the blink of an eye, a Famous Sword took solid form in the Nine-Tails' hand and flashed from its sheath, cleaving through the mist with a single slash.
The smoke of war, which should have dispersed with the wind in the Sengoku era, seemed to rise once more, chilling the one who had ignited the conflict to the bone.
With one slash, dust billowed everywhere. Tagorihime was sent flying several miles, and the blood-red eyes lifted the blade again.
"What are you doing, Tagorihime? He's just a human brat! You..."
"What is that? A fox? A human? How did that delicious-smelling human brat turn into something like this? That power is terrifying..."
The next second, a blue python and a brown python, each a thousand meters long, charged in together, only to be sent flying several miles by the nine tails.
"Are you two the same sort as that Tagorihime? Give me your names. You might suffer a little less if you do."
"What an arrogant brat. What should we do, Ichikishimahime?"
"Just as I thought, we should teach this brat a lesson. Wouldn't it be better to make him accept Ryūchi Cave's Sage trials obediently, Tagitsuhime?"
The three long snakes vanished without a trace, blending into the air and dense fog. Their smiles grew wider as the long-awaited warm-up got Hua Yue's blood pumping.
After who knew how long, the shock waves of battle gradually faded. Dressed in black robes, Hua Yue stretched his limbs, feeling refreshed. The three priestesses in charge of Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu test were disheveled and covered in dust.
"Whew, raising hell really does feel better. You lot, get up and lead the way."
"A monster... Is he a monster? He can sense us even when we're invisible, and he can make us, who use Senjutsu..."
Tagorihime trembled all over, completely forgetting that she was the thousand-meter-long female snake. Beside her, Ichikishimahime—whose transformed body was the smallest, with blue hair and blue eyes—huddled behind the other two.
"Scary! What a scary human! That guy's a monster, right? He's definitely a monster!"
"Heh. A monster, huh?"
His exquisite, intricate eyes glanced their way. The natural fragrance of grass and trees, along with the charm in his every gesture, quietly left the three mother snakes, now transformed into human form, dazed and lovestruck.
"Would you please take me to the depths of Ryūchi Cave?"
His voice was soft and gentle. The three female snakes were utterly captivated, their hearts pounding.
"What's this wonderful scent? What is this feeling? This heart pounding away in my chest—is this love?"
"Ahhh! Could it be that I'm in heat? I feel like..."
"This scent, this intoxicating scent, this captivating charm—I can't hold back! Would you mind having a girlfriend a little older than you? A mere thousand-year age gap isn't a problem when there's love!"
After calming their heated hearts, Hua Yue took a deep breath and glanced at the Fox Charm entry beneath Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, feeling a deep sense of dread.
Fox Charm was explained as the pure enhancement of charm and pheromones. Judging from what he'd seen, it seemed to affect creatures other than humans, too.
Well, it was a fox spirit, after all. It made sense for it to affect other species. Fox spirits, whether male or female, could charm the opposite sex, and perhaps even the same sex.
But why had checking in on the Black Nine-Tails given him a trait like Fox Charm? Could it have something to do with whatever was hidden in the Black Nine-Tails' belly?
His thoughts were interrupted. The three female snakes gazed passionately at Hua Yue and pointed toward the temple before them.
"Sweetheart, this is the White Snake Sage's home. Be very careful. If you can't withstand Natural Energy and become a perfect sage, the White Snake Sage will swallow you whole."
Tagorihime looked reluctant to part with him. Ichikishimahime clicked her tongue, hurriedly squeezed forward, and looked at him with hearts in her eyes.
"No! I absolutely won't let my darling become food for the White Snake Sage. We should have a baby together first!"
"What's gotten into you two? If we're having a baby, then I should have one with him first. Isn't that right, husband...?"
Tagitsuhime's words made Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime glare at each other. Just as the three female snakes were about to start fighting, the temple in the dense fog revealed its true form.
"Come in. You really are an interesting young man. The secrets you're hiding don't seem to be limited to your Sharingan!"