The entrance to Dragon Cave lay hidden within year-round poisonous miasma and twisted folds of space. Neji tore through the fog and stepped into this land steeped in cold, cunning natural energy. Unlike the dead silence of Wet Bone Forest or the vitality of Mount Myoboku, every inch of air here seemed saturated with a serpent's chill and greed.
The moment he appeared, several giant pythons as thick as barrels shot out from the shadows. Their fangs gleamed with ghostly blue venom, and their scarlet tongues carried hallucinatory vibrations. Neji did not even pause. The invisible pressure of Three-Phase Immortal Power spread around him like a tide. The savage pythons seemed to have been gripped by invisible hands around their vital points, freezing stiff before collapsing to the ground, trembling and no longer daring to raise their heads.
He headed straight into the depths of the cave. Wherever he passed, the snakes retreated and the poisonous miasma parted on its own. Before long, he reached the massive underground cavern. Three Snake Princesses with immense auras—Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime—coiled atop stone seats, their cold vertical pupils fixed upon him.
"Intruder, halt!" Ichikishimahime's voice was sweet as honey, yet carried bone-deep killing intent. "Dragon Cave does not welcome outsiders."
"I came for Dragon Cave's Sage Art inheritance." Neji got straight to the point, his calm gaze sweeping over the three Snake Princesses before finally falling upon the denser darkness at the cavern's deepest point. "Especially... that inheritance Dragon Pearl."
"Arrogant!" Tagorihime shouted. Powerful Sage Chakra mixed with a mental assault erupted violently, trying to shake Neji's mind. Yet the psychic tide that could have driven a Shadow Rank expert to collapse struck Neji's mental barrier like a clay ox entering the sea, unable to stir even a ripple.
Seeing this, Tagitsuhime exchanged