Mad Fang

Whoosh—

The night wind swept through the dark valley, carrying echoes that sounded like sobs and cries.

The once-tranquil forest at the valley floor had long since been reduced to a complete mess. The land around the central pool looked as though it had been plowed over entirely, scarred and devastated.

Beside the pool lay an enormous giant snake. Its massive body was collapsed on the ground, a savage wound marking its head. It lay motionless, no longer able to struggle.

After an unknown amount of time, something suddenly wriggled beneath the giant snake's belly. Then a figure crawled out from under its body in a sorry state.

Because the giant snake had been severely injured, the Sage Chakra in the air began to gradually dissipate. Enkō dropped onto the ground. Though he had not suffered any serious injuries, he was completely drained. He sat there gasping for breath, still shaken as he looked at the giant snake before him.

"Cough, cough..." A weak cough suddenly rang out. The giant snake twisted its body slightly. Though it was not quite dead, it no longer had the strength to rise. Its scarlet snake eyes moved as it said unwillingly, "If I hadn't yet recovered, how could I have lost to a brat like you?"

"But the final result is that you lost." Seeing that the giant snake could no longer fight, Enkō spread his hands and lay flat on the ground. "Hey, what's your name? From the sound of it, do you have a grudge against the White Snake Sage?"

"Brat, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you defeated me. Believe it or not, I'll use—"

"Sure, sure, sure." Before the giant snake could finish, Enkō cut him off helplessly. "Anyway, we're both exhausted now. Why not chat a little? Hey, I'm Uchiha Enkō. What about you?"

Whoosh—

The valley floor fell silent once more. Enkō smiled and did not mind it. Just as he was about to close his eyes and seize the time to recover, the giant snake's rough voice sounded beside him. "Brat, remember this. I am Mad Fang, one of the strongest beings in Ryūchi Cave..."

"Oh?" Enkō became interested. "What kind of grudge do you have with the White Snake Sage?"

"Hmph, that dead old hag was simply afraid I would surpass her." A flash of hatred appeared in Mad Fang's eyes. "Just because I cultivated a forbidden Sage Art, she wanted to strip me of my Sage Chakra. Hmph, naturally, I refused, so I fought her for three days and three nights. Hmph, and that was why I was left with these severe injuries."

Then Mad Fang slowly turned his head toward the great tree at the center of the pool. During the previous battle, he had deliberately avoided that area, leaving the surroundings of the giant tree undamaged.

"After that, I discovered this treasured place. The fruit borne by that tree contains an enormous amount of life force, but it only grows one every hundred years. I finally waited another hundred years, only to encounter a brat like you. But speaking of which, how did you withstand my Sage Chakra?"

"Just consider me lucky. I truly couldn't have made it here otherwise." Enkō gave a vague explanation, braced his hands against the ground, and stood up. "How about we make a deal? I won't take that fruit, and you teach me Sage Art."

"You want to learn Sage Art?" Mad Fang glanced at Enkō. "I can't teach you Sage Art. The Sage Art of Ryūchi Cave requires that dead old hag to inject natural energy into you."

"Tch. So that's how it is? Then sorry, but I'll be taking that fruit." As Enkō spoke, he walked toward the ancient tree.

"Wait!" Mad Fang suddenly called out to Enkō. His enormous snake eyes flickered, revealing his inner struggle. After a long while, as though he had finally made up his mind, he said, "Although I cannot teach you Sage Art, I can lend you mine."

Enkō halted. "Lend it to me? How?"

Mad Fang recovered a little strength and slowly propped up his head. "I possess a Contract Sealing Technique. Once we form a contract, I can be sealed inside your body. That way, I can directly help you condense Sage Chakra within your body. It would be equivalent to you possessing Sage Art."

Enkō thought for a moment. "It sounds good, but you must want something too, right?"

"Hmph, naturally." Mad Fang snorted. "Since it is a contract, you must also help me search for treasures capable of restoring life force."

Enkō raised a brow and said with interest, "Oh? You trust that I can find them?"

Mad Fang raised his head and said proudly, "It's not as if I never leave this valley. I know something about your human world. With the influence of your Uchiha Clan, you will always be faster than me alone. We would simply be helping each other. What do you say?"

Enkō lowered his head in thought. Though borrowing Mad Fang's Sage Art did not count as learning it himself, it would still allow him to use Sage Art. Moreover, judging from their earlier clash, Mad Fang's combat strength was extremely high. At his peak, he was probably stronger than Big Brother was now!

Even with his combat strength diminished, Enkō likely could not have defeated him without the medicinal wine's help. In other words, until Mad Fang recovered his peak strength, Enkō would effectively gain a super summoned beast!

Thinking of this, Enkō readily agreed. "No problem. I'll help you find things that can restore your strength, but I also hope that when I need you, you'll help me."

Mad Fang replied, "That depends on my mood. After all, this isn't a summoning contract. But if you sincerely help me find treasures, it isn't impossible for me to help you. Of course, if you do nothing, I can leave you at any time."

Enkō nodded. "Deal."

Mad Fang looked into Enkō's eyes and said in a deep voice, "Hmph, I don't have enough chakra to perform the Sealing Jutsu right now. I need to eat that fruit first. If you're worried or afraid, then just pretend I never said anything."

Enkō said nothing. He slowly walked toward the giant tree in the pool, leaped up to pluck the fruit from its branches, and threw it toward Mad Fang from afar.

"Hmph." The corners of Mad Fang's mouth curled upward slightly as he opened his jaws and swallowed the fruit in one bite!

Boom—

In an instant, immense chakra erupted from Mad Fang's body. The wound on his head visibly began to heal. Mad Fang let out a satisfied groan, then activated the Sealing Jutsu. A pillar of light shot out from his body and connected directly to Enkō.

"Hey, Enkō, squeeze out a drop of blood!"

Enkō did not hesitate. He bit open his right thumb and flicked a drop of blood onto the pillar of light.

Boom—

As the contract formed, dense runes appeared across Mad Fang's body. All the runes burst forth with dazzling light. Immediately after, Mad Fang's originally massive body transformed into a streak of light and entered Enkō's body along the pillar of light. A snake pattern appeared clearly on the back of Enkō's right hand.

A voice sounded directly in Enkō's mind. "All right, the contract has been formed. I need to digest the life force of that fruit. If there's nothing important, don't disturb me."

After saying that, Mad Fang fell completely silent.

Enkō looked at the pattern on the back of his hand and discovered that after entering his body, Mad Fang had shared a little life force with him. His originally weakened body became lively and vigorous once again.

"Well. Not bad."

Enkō nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly became somewhat puzzled. "Wait, why do I feel like I forgot something...?"

Then his expression changed drastically. "Oh no! I forgot to save someone!"