Ao, White, Black, Red, and Purple—the finest snakes born in Ryūchi Cave in recent times. These five were honored as the Fourth Snake Kings of Ryūchi Cave!
Manda, codenamed "Purple," had died not long ago and had thus been removed from the ranks of the Fourth Snake Kings.
The remaining four—Blue, White, Red, and Black—were the imposing figures standing before Sasuke!
Ao's name was Aoda. In Sasuke's previous life, he had formed a summoning pact with him after sacrificing Manda. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Aoda had helped Sasuke fight the Ten-Tails' fission beings!
Red's name was Garaga, the summoning beast who had bonded with Boruto in Sasuke's previous life. He had lost an eye because of a human, leaving him especially vicious!
White's name was White Scale, a giant serpent whose entire body consisted of countless small white snakes. Supposedly, the White Scale Serpent form Orochimaru had once assumed had been inspired by the White Scale before him!
Black's name was Black Charcoal. Jet-black from head to tail, the serpent was covered in black feathers that gleamed coldly. Even those eyes were pitch-black, like an abyss, with slit pupils hidden within, watching for enemies!
"Aoda, it's been a long time."
Seemingly hearing this murmured greeting from the unfamiliar boy before him, Aoda's slit pupils flickered with confusion. He asked in a low voice, "Kid, have we met?"
Sasuke wore a faint, ambiguous smile. "Probably. Perhaps we have, but you don't remember..."
Aoda remained stern. "Trying to get friendly won't work on me. Our orders are to stop you from taking even one more step forward. Getting this far proves you're strong, but we won't hold back. If you don't want to throw your life away, there's still time to turn back!"
Sasuke remained calm. "Sorry, but I can't