I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 33

"Go! Pikachu!"

"Hiss! Hiss!"

The female snake excitedly swung her body.

She charged forward almost barbarically, ramming into whoever stood in her way. A group of giant snakes were sent flying by her headbutts and tail lashes, clearing out the surrounding area in the blink of an eye as she carried Uchiha Shingen toward the depths of the cave.

This enraged the other giant snakes.

Perhaps those snakes had other lovers, but in any case, they no longer intended to give this beauty of their clan any face. They surrounded her again and bit down viciously.

But that was no challenge for Uchiha Shingen.

The female snake might not have been able to evade them, but his reactions were far faster than hers.

Under his control, the female snake made a slick, slippery maneuver, dodging every attack from the giant snakes.

Then she lashed out several times in midair, giving each snake a slap across the mouth.

Don't ask. If you did, the answer was fairness.

"Hahaha!" Watching those giant snakes roll away just like Manda had, Uchiha Shingen laughed delightedly. "Have a nice roll! No need to see you off!"

Suddenly, two more giant snakes rushed out from the entrance, attacking from the left and right.

However, before the female snake could react, the snake on the right was bitten by a larger member of its species, blood spraying everywhere.

It was Manda.

With one bite, Manda seized its own kind. Its gaze was icy as it viciously flung its head, tossing that giant snake into the abyss of the cave.

The other giant snake was probably shocked by Manda's outrageous move of turning on his own brother for a girl. It froze for a moment, then made an even slicker evasive maneuver than the female snake had and slipped far away.

Even Uchiha Shingen was stunned.

Unable to hold back, he shouted, "Old Manda, you really are the warmest snake in Dragon Cave!"

Manda was utterly unappreciative and immediately cursed, "Give me back my wife, you bastard!"

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the one man and two snakes. A giant snake that had somehow coiled itself on the cave ceiling opened its jaws and attacked from above.

It was hard to say what would happen to Uchiha Shingen if that bite landed, but the female snake's head would definitely burst open.

Manda flew into a rage at the sight. Its body rapidly coiled up, ready to spring.

However, at that moment, Uchiha Shingen leaped up and, under the giant snake's disdainful gaze, drove a punch into its jaw.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A string of explosive blasts shook the cave as though it were about to collapse.

Uchiha Shingen's punch sent the giant snake straight back into the ceiling. Its entire body was embedded in the rock, and large amounts of snake blood poured from its mouth.

That giant snake had been killed by a single punch from Uchiha Shingen.

Senju Great Strength—an Uchiha deserved to have it too.

Within the deep, secluded cave, cool gusts rushed toward them. Shadows darted nimbly through the stone forest—the figures of giant snakes.

Uchiha Shingen sat atop the female snake's head, enjoying the breeze, while the Hannya Group jonin had been tossed beside him.

The female snake carried the two of them as she sped onward. Giant snakes continuously emerged from the darkness, but none tried to stop Uchiha Shingen anymore.

It seemed that he had passed Dragon Cave's "test."

More and more giant snakes entered his field of view. They moved alongside them, advancing together.

These giant snakes, which had grown by absorbing natural energy over countless years, possessed extraordinarily powerful bodies. Despite their massive size, they were astonishingly agile. Riding a giant snake was far more comfortable than riding in a car back on Blue Star.

What convertible could compare to the giant snakes of Dragon Cave? They were pathetically inferior.

As they traveled deeper into the cave, the scenery before them gradually grew richer.

Dragon Cave was not a single cavern, but a vast network of caves within caves, lower levels connected to upper ones—majestic and magnificent.

Stone stalagmites reflected in pools like mirrored springs.

Accumulated karst formations resembled arhats seated upon the ground.

Stalactite pillars stood in dense rows, gathering like a city of towers.

Uchiha Shingen treated himself like a tourist. Dragon Cave's scenery perfectly suited his tastes, and he felt the trip had been worthwhile—worth the price of admission.

Though he had not spent a single coin or bought a ticket.

The only thing that somewhat spoiled the atmosphere was the peerless simp snake beside him.

Manda followed closely behind the female snake the entire way. Whenever another male giant snake approached, it immediately bared its fangs at him.

Apparently, it was not merely a simp snake—it was also an extremely possessive snake.

Still, Manda had the strength to back up that possessiveness. So far, Uchiha Shingen had not seen a single male giant snake larger than it.

Dragon Cave was clearly different from Mount Myoboku. There were no buildings resembling human towns here; everything remained in its natural state.

Nor had he seen any giant snake use techniques. These giant snakes all fought with their formidable bodies.

Uchiha Shingen understood.

Hand seals were not strictly necessary for controlling chakra, but that was only in theory. In Uchiha Shingen's memories, he knew of only one person who could cast techniques instantly without hand seals: Senju Hashirama. Even then, that applied only to ordinary ninjutsu.

Could these brainless, reckless snakes compare to Senju Hashirama? It was not that they did not need hand seals—they simply could not form them.

They were snakes, not toads with limbs. How were snakes supposed to make hand seals?

They could probably only tie themselves into knots and make their enemies laugh to death.

Their bodies were their finest weapons.

Clearly, the senjutsu inheritance of Dragon Cave followed the path of physical enhancement.

If so, it was simply perfect for Uchiha Shingen.

He did not lack techniques. What he lacked was a way to further unlock his body's potential.

After training Yang Release for so many years, he seemed to have hit his limit.

Training Yang Release had never been the goal, only a means. The goal was to use it to draw out the hidden power within his body.

Pure Yang Release or Yin Release was, in essence, merely an auxiliary secret art.

Using it to strengthen and wield physical energy was Yang Release.

Using it to strengthen and wield spiritual energy was Yin Release.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about it. The various schools merely differed in emphasis and efficiency.

When it came to physical energy, the Uchiha were ultimately inferior to the Senju. Uchiha Shingen was certain that, by cultivating Yang Release to develop his physical potential, he had already reached the ceiling of the Uchiha Clan. There could be no further qualitative improvement.

The extent to which he had developed his body's potential was this—so much chakra that it would never run dry unless he kept spamming his ultimate moves, or "Tailed Beast-level" for short; chakra condensation and control that had reached the "perfect" level by Hidden Leaf Village standards; and significant boosts to his Sharingan and conventional ninjutsu.

Casting ordinary ninjutsu without hand seals? No chance!

His stamina was decent, but nothing exceptional.

His recovery ability? He had some of that. For example, his injuries healed somewhat faster than others', but that was all.

In terms of strength, he was indeed stronger than he had been in his first life. But in terms of the power of physical energy, his first-life self had been far stronger than he was now. Though the total time of both lives differed when his original body's own cultivation time from the first life was included, the results were completely different.

And this was the physique of the Senju Clan without Ashura reincarnation chakra!

People in the world of Naruto could never escape the law of bloodlines.

Yet without truly developing the hidden physical energy within the Uchiha Clan's bloodline, it would be impossible to even touch the threshold of Yin-Yang Release. At best, he would end up tied to the God Tree as a battery.

Whether he lived or died would depend entirely on some so-called Child of Destiny.

Screw that!

Uchiha Shingen would never place his fate in someone else's hands.

The strength he possessed today had been built step by step through more than a decade of unbroken, almost self-abusive training. It was simply the result of long accumulation finally bearing fruit, without a shred of luck involved.

He had been willing to put in that effort only because he was stubborn by nature and refused to believe in fate.

Who knew how much time passed before the temperature around him began to change, shifting from cool to warm. The light also grew brighter.

Uchiha Shingen saw in surprise that traces of artificial construction were beginning to appear around him.

He rose and looked ahead.

There were almost no shadows left around them now, and a massive source of light lay ahead.

Countless giant snakes gathered nearby. Upon seeing the female giant snake charge over, they hastily moved aside.

The female giant snake plunged straight toward the light source.

The view suddenly opened up before them. It was an enormous plaza.

Even under Uchiha Shingen's mental control, the female giant snake's emotions were still filled with deep reverence. It slowed down and crawled forward gradually.

Uchiha Shingen turned to look. Dragon Cave's number one simp snake, Manda, had followed them in as well. The same reverence filled its gaze, along with an extra measure of determination.

Good grief! If you two did not get married on the spot, I would not accept it!

Shaking his head, Uchiha Shingen had the female giant snake stop. He picked up the Hannya Group jonin and leaped down from its head.

Stone slabs lay beneath his feet—the exact sort found in human towns.

They were just ridiculously huge, clearly sized to fit the giant snakes' bodies.

Manda hesitated for a moment, but still slithered closer, wanting to approach the female giant snake.

The female giant snake ignored it.

Manda looked at Uchiha Shingen, and there was even a faint trace of pleading in its gaze.

It truly liked this female giant snake.

For the sake of winning her heart, it fought other snakes in Dragon Cave every day.

As a result, it did not have a single snake friend and was terribly unpopular among snakes.

Uchiha Shingen had never imagined Manda would be this kind of snake.

It reminded him of his own long-lost youth.

Out of sympathy for a fellow sufferer, his tone became much gentler.

"Old Manda, let me give you some advice: sucking up like this won't end well for you."

"Hiss... y-you... don't talk nonsense." Under the gaze of that towering figure ahead, Manda kept his voice low. "Is that enough? Can you release the genjutsu now?"

"Sure. You escorted me all this way, and I'm a man of loyalty."

Uchiha Shingen released the genjutsu.

The female giant snake violently shook her head, her sense of self returning.

But like Manda, she did not dare act recklessly here.

Lowering her head, she reflected Uchiha Shingen's figure in her golden pupils and etched this human deeply into her memory. Then, for the first time, she spoke.

"Human, when you fail, I will ask the Sage to let me eat you."

Her voice was actually quite captivating.

Yeah, the mature big-sister type.

Then Uchiha Shingen watched as the female giant snake raised her head and rubbed it against Manda's face a few times.

It seemed to be the spot where she had slapped him earlier...

The two giant snakes simply rubbed against each other with soft hissing sounds before leaving the plaza, inseparable as glue and lacquer.

Uchiha Shingen found it rather astonishing.

He had thought this was some spare-tire situation, but they were actually a couple?

These giant snakes were really interesting.

Turning around to face the enormous, towering body ahead, fused with the earth itself, Uchiha Shingen politely bowed. "White Snake Sage, my name is Uchiha Shingen. I have come to learn senjutsu."