The Man-Eating Tree of Snake Cypress Valley
"You're from Mount Myoboku, aren't you?"
Long Ye looked at the Toad, which was twice his height and covered in green skin, and asked.
Hearing the words from below, the Toad snapped out of his grief and looked down at Long Ye:
"My friend from the human realm, thank you so much for your righteous rescue. If it weren't for you, I would have died in Snake Cypress Valley."
Long Ye was unsurprised by the Toad speaking human language, and smiled as she said:
"You don't need to thank me. The reason I saved you is so that you could help me get out of this Mysterious Land. Without your guidance, I might have been lost for a long time."
The green Toad seemed quite pleased with his words, and its gaze towards him softened considerably.
"By the way! How did you end up in Snake Cypress Valley? That's not a place for humans. If it weren't for this opportunity, I would never have wanted to go there in my entire life."
The Toad asked curiously.
Long Ye didn't hide anything and confessed that she had been chasing bats and then brought here by a strange vine through the "Summoning Array Gate".
"Friends of Mount Myoboku, have you ever heard of this bat?" Long Ye full of goodwill.
Since he had come here by chance, he naturally wanted to achieve his goal, which was to reclaim the Blood-Origin Cells of the Yuki Clan.
The cell has now been sucked away by the bat. To get it back, we must first find out the details about this bat.
The Toad shook its head:
"I've never heard of this bat before, but from your description, its method of sucking blood is similar to the Ghost-Hand Snake Vines of Snake Cypress Valley..."
"How about this? You did save my life, after all. I'll take you back to Mount Myoboku to meet our chief. He might know about the bat you mentioned."
"To Mount Myoboku?"
Long Ye perked up and quickly nodded in agreement.
As far as he knew, Mount Myoboku was one of the three great heritage sites, where some powerful Toad even possessed Senjutsu Chakra.
Besides, there is a Great Toad Sage can predict the future. If one is fortunate enough to receive his guidance, everything about the "bat" will become clear.
Led by the green Toad, he transformed into a Flowing Lightning, traversing the mirror-like surface of the lake.
Although Long Ye already knew that Mount Myoboku was a country in itself, and in every respect it was no weaker than Konoha of the Land of Fire, he was still deeply attracted when he actually arrived there.
This feels like a secluded paradise.
Its prosperity is no less than that of Konoha.
The only difference is that here there is a dazzling array of all kinds of Toad, in different sizes.
"Truly worthy of being called the Toad Country!"
Long Ye walked along both sides of the street, she attracted countless curious glances, and whispers could be heard from time to time.
"If I'm not mistaken, this human is Jiraiya made a contract with Gamabunta, right?"
"What kind of look is that! It's clearly not the same person."
"Really? Why do I feel like they all look the same?"
Under the gaze of the Toad, Long Ye felt like a monkey trainer, being judged and teased about his appearance.
For the Toad of Mount Myoboku, unless they sign a contract with a human and enter the ninja world through spirit communication, they will hardly ever see any humans in their lives, so they naturally feel curious about everything.
This is similar to how, in Konoha, if a Toad twice the size of a human, speaking human language and swaggering around, would also attract a crowd of onlookers.
Long Ye was led to the back of Mount Myoboku, to the foot of a waterfall that cascaded down a thousand feet.
There sat a giant Toad, which, in Long Ye's eyes, was the size of a fortress.
This Toad carries two swords on its back, its whole body is emerald green, and although it is large, it is not bulky; instead, it gives people a sense of power.
"Chief! I have brought someone with me. This man saved my life in Snake Cypress Valley. He has some things he wants to ask for help with, but my knowledge is limited, so I have brought him to see the chief."
The green Toad's words caused the Toad leader, who was sitting on the cliff, to slowly open his eyes.
"So you really did go to Snake Cypress Valley after all?"
The Toad leader's voice was somewhat stern.
The green Toad shrank back, looking somewhat timid.
"I heard from down below that you and Giant Arm went to Snake Cypress Valley. You've been rescued, but Giant Arm hasn't returned. It seems he's already died inside."
Upon hearing this, the green Toad lowered its head even further.
Seeing his gesture, the leader took a deep breath and closed his eyes, which were as big as washbasins.
After a good dozen breaths, seemingly having calmed down, he opened his eyes again, his gaze falling on Long Ye for the first time, his eyes filled with scrutiny:
How did you get to this secret realm?
Oblivious to the Toad leader's questions, Long Ye patiently repeated everything she had told the Toad beside her.
To avoid wasting time, I took the opportunity to state my purpose.
The Toad leader frowned deeply.
"White Night Bat? What kind of creature is that? I've lived for almost a hundred years and have never heard of such a thing. Are you sure it's a creature from my secret realm?"
Long Ye was taken aback.
Even the Toad leader didn't know, and he increasingly felt that things weren't so simple.
He nodded. "That's inevitable, because I came here through its Summoning Array Gate..."
A thought flashed through his mind, and he asked:
"Even the Great Chief hasn't seen it. Could this thing exist deep within Snake Cypress Valley, like those Snake Vines, unable to easily leave the valley, and therefore unknown to others?"
He gleaned some useful information from the conversation between the two Toad, one big and one small.
That is the Snake Cypress Valley, which seems to be a forbidden area of the Summoning Secret Realm.
The level of danger inside certainly confirms this, so it's somewhat understandable that Mount Myoboku didn't know about the creatures inside.
"Absolutely impossible!"
The Toad leader shook his head decisively.
"Snake Cypress Valley has never had any living beings, and it could never have, because..."
As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly realize something, his brow furrowing slightly, as if he were beginning to have some doubt about his earlier resolute words.
After a long while, his gaze became serious:
"Since you saved my people, I might as well tell you the truth: in the heart of Snake Cypress Valley, there exists a man-eating tree covered in tentacles, like an octopus..."
"Since you've been to Snake Cypress Valley, you must have encountered the Ghost-Hand Snake Vines. These Snake Vines are branches of its tentacles, covering every corner of Snake Cypress Valley."
"This tree is called the Nine-Headed Snake Cypress. It has never been sentient since ancient times; all its killing actions are driven by the instinct to hunt..."
Long Ye understood the meaning behind his words.
Since it lacks sentience, it cannot distinguish its prey. Therefore, it will attack any living creature that appears within the reach of its tentacles.
Under such circumstances, it is clearly impossible for any living being to survive.
By the same token, the White Night Bat shouldn't exist in the first place.