Watching Orochimaru sink into thought, the White Snake Sage transformed into an elderly woman, abandoning her enormous body that stretched over a dozen meters long.
She might not have been the largest snake in all of Ryūchi Cave, but she was undoubtedly the oldest.
She had also founded Ryūchi Cave, gathering all the snake Ninja Beasts in the Shinobi World. During those turbulent years, they had defeated the other Summoning Beast clans and become one of the Three Great Sage Lands, renowned throughout the Shinobi World.
A thousand years ago, however, she had been nowhere near as powerful as she was now. She had merely been a little snake capable of speech, with less strength than even a Genin.
But in that era, the humans who could harness natural energy-what was now called Senjutsu-could be counted on one hand.
Then that day arrived. A "horned" clan that had mastered another method of cultivation descended upon the Shinobi World and planted a seed in the planet's earth veins, nearly destroying the entire Shinobi World...
The battle that followed between the Sage of Six Paths and the Rabbit Goddess had shaken the entire world.
From that point onward, the Summoning Beast clans had abandoned their exclusive dominion over their territories and attached themselves to humans instead. Even the Three Great Sage Lands could only influence the Shinobi World from the shadows by selecting "representatives."
The Sage of Six Paths had favored humans. No human or beast could defy his will.
And just now... she had sensed a power distinct from both chakra and Senjutsu.
After passing through cavern after cavern, Zou Hyuga finally arrived in an enormous grotto.
Gazing into the dark cavern, Zou Hyuga could sense the living creatures lurking in the shadows. He then turned to Tagorihime beside him.