Having mastered his training and brought his efforts to fruition, Naruto returned to the temple in Ryūchi Cave to bid farewell to the White Snake Sage.
With the wisdom of a thousand years and eyes that perceived the mysteries of sagehood, the White Snake Sage was deeply moved and praised Naruto highly.
"The younger generation truly is formidable. This generation's Asura has once again moved ahead of Indra, as though it were fate..."
"Without the opportunity you granted me, Sage, I could never have come this far."
Rather than grow complacent, Naruto expressed his gratitude.
The White Snake Sage could not praise him enough. "Yes, truly formidable. Truly formidable..."
Naruto asked casually, "By the way, on our way here, we saw an old bloodstain on a mountain wall. It hadn't faded even after a thousand years, so we were curious about where that blood came from..."
The White Snake Sage recalled, "Oh, you noticed it... Nearly a thousand years ago, when Indra visited Ryūchi Cave, that was where he fought my sworn enemy, the Nine-Headed Snake Sage..."
"The Nine-Headed Snake Sage's blood contains Ryūchi Cave's sage power. In an environment filled with sage power, it will not disappear, so it has remained all this time."
Naruto asked in surprise, "Indra dealt with someone who gave even you trouble, all by himself?"
The White Snake Sage said, "My cultivation was still shallow back then. These days, of course, I wouldn't think anything of the Nine-Headed Snake Sage. And although Indra won, he was badly wounded himself. There might even be some of Indra's blood mixed into that stain."
The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.
A thought stirred in Naruto's mind. Indra's blood... wouldn't that mean...?
The White Snake Sage saw right through him. "What