Upon entering the true Ryūchi Cave, a stench from the depths assaulted the senses. Tsubasa trod across the pile of white bones, his boots crunching through snake molts with a crisp sound. The stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling glowed with a ghostly blue light, reflecting off the dark patterns on the white snake scales of the three beautiful women in the distance, making them appear like flowing runes.
"You bastard who dares to run wild in Ryūchi Cave, you must die here today!" The shriek of Tagitsuhime pierced the silence. Half of her body was coiled on a stone pillar, her vertical pupils surging with scarlet killing intent. "You really think you can leave the White Snake Sage's territory alive?" Her serpent tail suddenly lashed out, the air instantly freezing into ice shards, grazing Tsubasa's ears and embedding themselves in the rock wall. The flying pebbles hovered in mid-air—a prelude to her " Binding Curse."
Tsubasa drew his Thunder God Sword from his waist with a backhand motion, the blade tearing through the stagnant air with a thunderous sound. He had anticipated that these Sanjo spirits would join forces, after all, they were rumored to be the White Snake Sage's strongest confidants—a force that even Sage would kneel before. Ichikishimahime huddled behind the rightmost stone pillar, her forked tongue flicking nervously, a pale pink aura of fear seeping from between her scales; this young man gave her an overwhelming sense of power. Tagorihime, on the other hand, was like a statue, her human head and snake body coiled into a perfect circle, the rhythm of her tongue flicking resonating with the cave, clearly brewing a deadly attack.
"You noisy mother serpent." The Tsubasa Sword slashed diagonally, severing the ice shards hanging overhead. The shattered ice instantly turned to dust upon landing. " The White Snake Sage's snake legs dare to claim supremacy before me?" These words thoroughly enraged Tagitsuhime. Her serpentine body swelled to three times its original size, purple miasma spewing from the gaps in her scales, corroding rocks inch by inch in its wake. At the same time, Tagorihime suddenly vanished from her spot, a faint buzzing sound echoing in the air—an invisible ambush.
Ichikishimahime launched the first attack, unleashing a torrential downpour of venom from her mouth. Ten-Yi leaped into Tsubasa air, his Thunder God Sword flashing silver light, deflecting all the venom. However, within the green mist that erupted from the venom's impact, countless illusory snake shadows lunged forward, baring their fangs and claws—this was Ichikishimahime's " Illusory Snake Bewildering Trail." His pupils constricted, and he forcefully channeled his Spiritual Power to dispel the illusion, only to hear a Space Break sound behind him.
Tagorihime's snake tail lashed out with the force of thunder, Tsubasa rolled to the side, sweeping three bottomless ravines into the ground. Before he could even regain his footing, Tagitsuhime Binding Curse enveloped his entire body. He felt as if his limbs were filled with lead, and even breathing became difficult. The Sanjo white snake spirits let out sharp hissing laughter at the sight, and Ichikishimahime even peeked half of her body out from behind a stone pillar, her eyes full of mockery.
"Kill him!" The serpentine tail of the Tagitsuhime coiled around Tsubasa's neck, its cold scales clinging to his skin. "Let this ant know the consequences of offending Ryūchi Cave!" She opened her fanged maw, dripping venom onto Tsubasa's shoulder, instantly corroding it and releasing charred smoke. Tsubasa vanished into the smoke; it turned out they had only controlled Shadow Clone.
"You snake demons, you all must die!" Tsubasa growled, his long-dormant Spiritual Power suddenly erupting. The Thunder God Sword flashed with a blinding red light, and the Binding Ice Curse shattered inch by inch amidst the violent tremors of Spiritual Power. Tagitsuhime tried to retreat in terror, but Tsubasa rushed forward and grabbed her by the neck, plunging the sword into her head. Amidst the white snake demon's shrill screams, purple blood burst forth like a fountain, splashing onto the stone wall and rising in puffs of white smoke. After collecting the snake corpse, he looked at the other two snake demons.
Ichikishimahime was so frightened by this sudden reversal that she collapsed to the ground. Tagorihime, however, reacted extremely quickly, instantly shooting out her snake tongue to entangle Tsubasa's wrist. "You can't kill us!" she roared, her snake body coiling around the Thunder God Sword in an attempt to seize it. "The power of Ryūchi Cave will make you..." Before she could finish speaking, Tsubasa's sudden burst of strength, his Xuanhuang Spiritual Power flowing, severed the snake tongue, and with a backhand thrust, pierced Tagorihime's abdomen.
Blood stained the white bones scattered on the ground. Ichikishimahime trembled as she crawled deeper into the cave, only to have half of her snake tail severed by the sword energy swung by Tsubasa. She curled up in the pool of blood, watching the Asura approach step by step, and finally realized that she was not facing an ordinary human—but Sage with powerful Spiritual Power.
Just as the Thunder God Sword was about to pierce the heart of the last white snake spirit, the roar of the White Snake Sage echoed from the depths of Ryūchi Cave. Tsubasa wiped the blood from the sword, looked up into the darkness, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. I will not show mercy to snakes.
Both Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime were critically injured and on the verge of death, but Tsubasa ignored the two snake spirits and instead focused on regulating his Spiritual Power. He understood that the real battle had only just begun.
The entire cave began to tremble. Thick, sticky fluid dripped from the ceiling, and a nauseating stench filled the air. A white snake, easily a hundred feet long, slowly emerged, its scales gleaming with an eerie bluish-white light. Its vertical pupils reflected the tiny Tsubasa, as insignificant as ants. It opened its blood-red maw, its voice like muffled thunder. "You bastard sent by the Katsuyu, who gave you the audacity?"
"I've come for the Transformation Secret Technique." Tsubasa gripped his knife tightly, the White Serpent's oppressive aura making his eardrums ache. "Hand it over, or—"
"Or what?" The White Snake Sage suddenly swooped down, his massive jaws swallowing the Tsubasa whole. The Tsubasa sword struck the scales, sparks flying, but it couldn't even leave a white mark. The Thunder God Sword in his hand, passed down from Tobirama Senju, was still a little too weak. "You can't even break through my defenses, do you think you can defeat me? What makes you think you can negotiate with me?"
"Killing snakes is never a struggle for me." Tsubasa wiped the blood from the blade and suddenly plunged the sword into the ground. His Spiritual Power erupted like a volcano, and the snakes on the cave walls began to writhe and struggle. Strange bulges appeared under their scales, and then they exploded with a "poof," sending blood and flesh flying everywhere.
The White Snake Sage's vertical pupils suddenly contracted. This was no ordinary killing; it was a spiritual crushing of the serpent bloodline!
"I can kill every single snake here." Tsubasa stepped over the shards of flesh and approached the white snake, blood dripping from his blade. "But I want to win you fair and square. I only hope that if you lose, you'll hand over the Transformation Manual."
The White Snake Sage remained silent for a long time, then suddenly burst into a deafening laugh, "Interesting! If you can withstand ten of my moves without defeat, the Transformation Secret Technique is yours. If you can't—" It opened its massive maw, revealing its menacing teeth, "I'll chew you up, skin and bones, and feed you to my children!"
In the Setsuna that the flash of swords and the shadow of snakes intertwined, a roar from the depths of Ryūchi Cave startled all the animals dwelling in the crater. This was a powerful adversary that the White Snake Sage had not encountered in a thousand years, and the White Snake Sage was also the most powerful being that Tsubasa had encountered since arriving in the Shinobi World.
The White Snake Sage is the founder of Ryūchi Cave. He is a white-scaled Orochi has lived for over a thousand years since the Kaguya era, and possesses extremely powerful Senjutsu Chakra within his body. According to Tsubasa's perception, this serpent has the strength of Half-Step Golden Core cultivator.
At this moment, deep within the Ryūchi Cave, a massive volcano crater was shrouded in dark clouds and swirling mist, with a suffocating pressure permeating the air. This place, as one of the Three Great Sage Lands, has always been a forbidden zone for humans, but today, it is witnessing an earth-shattering battle that will shake the entire Shinobi World.
Tsubasa was on high alert. His gaze was sharp, and his body exuded a fierce aura. His opponent White Snake Sage, was coiled on a huge rock. His body was hundreds of feet long, and his white scales shimmered with an eerie light, like a piece of armor made of nature. His blood-red vertical pupils were filled with coldness and arrogance, as if all things in the world were like ants in his eyes.