Investing in Garaga

What the hell? Why did the White Snake Sage want to see an innocent Uchiha like me?

Yan felt as though he was facing the final boss ahead of schedule, but there was nothing to do now except take things as they came.

Yan and Anko entered the temple. A gigantic white snake greeted their eyes.

Her body seemed almost part of the building, with coils resting on the seat at its center and a pipe held in her mouth.

She wasn't even using a human form?

The White Snake Sage looked down at the two of them and spoke slowly.

"Orochimaru's disciples? To have eyes that powerful at your age... Even your ancestor Madara Uchiha wasn't as strong as you when he was young."

I've got cheats. Old Madara couldn't even do the Uchiha backflip at this age. How could he be stronger than me?

After silently taking a jab at Madara, Yan answered respectfully.

"You flatter me, Sage. What I've accomplished is nothing compared to my ancestor Madara."

"Heh." The White Snake Sage chuckled. "I hear you've come to make a summoning contract. Before that, let me ask you something, Homura Uchiha. Would you like to learn Senjutsu?"

Senjutsu!

The two visitors were startled. Anko had heard Orochimaru speak of Sage Mode. Supposedly, even he had never mastered it.

Yan was surprised too. Learning Sage Mode was part of his plan, but not yet. If he studied it now, he would have to stay in Ryūchi Cave for some time...

Yan took a moment to choose his words, then said, "I'm honored by your offer, but I have urgent matters to attend to. Might I return to learn it another day?"

Ichikishimahime's pupils contracted. What was he doing?

Others had always begged the Sage to teach them Senjutsu. Now that she had offered it herself, Homura Uchiha had the nerve to turn her down!

Given the setting, Ichikishimahime kept her anger to herself.

Yan was uneasy too. The White Snake Sage had appeared so little in the original story that he couldn't read her temperament or tell whether he had offended her.

"Very well. Come back another day. Ryūchi Cave welcomes you anytime. Consider it an investment in you."

To his surprise, the White Snake Sage had agreed!

Ichikishimahime was stunned. Anko blinked and looked at Yan in amazement.

"Thank you so much!"

After Yan thanked her, the White Snake Sage told Ichikishimahime to take them to the snakes to make their contracts.

Once the three had left, Tagitsuhime and Tagorihime emerged from the shadows and asked cautiously, "Sage, he was rather ungrateful. Why let it pass? Is there something special about him?"

The White Snake Sage glanced at her subordinates. "I'm not that petty. Besides, I can't see him."

The two were startled. When the White Snake Sage said she couldn't see him, she didn't mean he was hidden from her sight. She meant his fate was hidden from her.

The three great sage regions each governed the past, present, and future.

Ryūchi Cave represented the present. Through the Natural Energy connected to the earth, the White Snake Sage could instantly learn what was happening in the Shinobi World.

If she couldn't see Yan, his actions would pass beyond her sight and her ability to interfere.

She had felt a power over fate this strong only from Kaguya and Isshiki a thousand years ago.

When Kaguya turned on Isshiki, the White Snake Sage had known nothing about it. She hadn't even had a chance to interfere.

In the end, Gamamaru had foreseen a glimpse of the Sage of Six Paths and helped him in time, allowing Kaguya to be sealed.

"An outsider..." the White Snake Sage murmured. Yan's circumstances were strikingly like those of the Ōtsutsuki outsiders. Fortunately, he lacked their sinister aura.

"Oh well. Let that old toad worry about the future."

After the White Snake Sage's warm reception, Ichikishimahime treated them with considerably more respect along the way.

"This is where the snakes of Ryūchi Cave live. If one catches your eye, call me and I'll help you make a contract."

Ichikishimahime pointed to the fork ahead. Each path led to a different habitat.

Yan and Anko exchanged a glance, then went their separate ways.

Yan knew exactly what he wanted: Garaga, who could petrify people in the original story.

Right now, only Grab and Aura Suppression let Yan pin down an opponent, and both worked only at close range.

Garaga's petrification could make up for his lack of ranged options to some extent.

Hiss!

Yan raced deeper in. The snakes along the way took him for a meal delivered to their door and flicked their tongues at him.

Some even blocked his path. After Yan gave them a couple of punches, they suddenly saw things much more clearly.

The farther Yan went, the fewer snakes he encountered. Eventually, there wasn't a single one in sight.

Thud, thud, thud.

Yan heard something enormous slithering toward him. A red tail came whipping at him.

Yan dodged and landed on the ground, facing the giant red snake. "Found you, Garaga!"

Garaga glared at the human with his one eye and roared, "Another greedy human. Die!"

Garaga spotted the clan crest on Yan's back. He shut his eye and lunged, jaws wide. Yan drove off the ground and leaped into the air.

His first strike missed. Garaga opened his eye, a cunning glint in it. With Yan unable to change direction in midair, he spat a jet of petrifying fluid at him.

The black fluid closed in fast. It was about to hit.

Hum!

Thud!

An invisible shock wave surged from Yan's body. Aura Suppression slowed the petrifying fluid instantly and happened to trigger Counterattack as well.

Yan landed safely, stamped his foot, and shot toward Garaga like an arrow. Garaga swung his tail across Yan's path.

The red tail filled Yan's vision. Timing it carefully, Yan crossed his arms and let the sweep hit him.

Thud!

The instant Counterattack activated, Yan used a substitution and appeared on Garaga's back with a pop.

Lightning flashed across Yan's body as he activated the Lightning Release Chakra Mode he had copied from a young A.

"Liger Bomb!"

Yan raised his leg and brought it down hard. With two Counterattack boosts and the Lightning Armor, his strength now rivaled Tsunade's monstrous power.

Boom!

The force drove Garaga's massive body into the ground, leaving a depression beneath him.

Roar!

Garaga roared in pain and thrashed wildly, trying to throw Yan off his back.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The giant snake slammed repeatedly into the rock walls. Stone fragments rained from above as Yan focused Chakra into his feet, held his balance, and raced along Garaga's back in search of his reverse scale.

According to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Garaga became gentler once his reverse scale was removed.

Yan scanned Garaga with his Sharingan and spotted a scale on his neck that looked distinctly different from the rest!

There it is!

Yan ran toward the reverse scale. Garaga's movements grew increasingly frantic.

With a roar, Garaga launched his whole body into the air, rolled over, and plunged toward the ground back-first.

Yan didn't panic. The corner of his mouth lifted.

Just before he could be crushed, Yan used a substitution!

Pop!

Yan appeared right before Garaga's eye, catching him off guard. Garaga looked straight into Yan's Sharingan and fell under Genjutsu.

Yan drew Crimson Sky. Electricity danced along the blade as he reached the reverse scale, drove the sword into its edge, and sliced hard. The scale fell to the ground.

"Yan, are you all right?"

The commotion had drawn Ichikishimahime over. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Yan unharmed.

Yan nodded to her and released Garaga from the Genjutsu.

His senses restored, Garaga rolled over in pain and glared viciously at Yan, but he did not attack again.

Yan saw that the savage fury had faded from Garaga's eye and smiled. "Garaga, make a contract with me."

"Tch." Garaga turned his head away. Losing his reverse scale had mellowed his temper, but his hatred of humans still made him reluctant to sign a contract.

Yan persisted, moving into Garaga's line of sight. "I know what happened to you, and I know words alone won't earn your trust. All I can do is promise to heal your eye. If I can't, I'll release you from the contract."

At that, Garaga turned back and stared at Yan for a while before speaking slowly. "If you fail, I won't answer your summons even if it kills me!"

Garaga knew this human could have controlled him and forced him into a contract. Instead, Yan had made him a promise. Garaga had no choice but to trust him.

"Yan, I made a contract with a black snake."

After saying goodbye to the White Snake Sage and the others, Yan and Anko left Ryūchi Cave.

It was time to part again. Anko tugged at the hem of Yan's clothes. "Get to the Iwagakure Front soon. I'll be waiting for you to treat me to Dango."

There was no good Dango to be found at the front. She just wanted the two of them to eat together.

Yan nodded and watched Anko leave reluctantly.

He took a deep breath, then set off toward the Land of Lightning.

His destination: the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning's residence!