As Motomu advanced step by step,
the footprints within the canyon cave became increasingly distinct.
The target was drawing near, and a sense of tension welled up in Motomu's heart.
'For our first meeting, should I bring a gift?'
'After all, I'm asking her to take a beating just so I can level up. If I just barge in, wouldn't that be a bit rude?'
Amidst the sound of splashing water,
Psychokinesis parted the waterfall, and the Big Eyeball silently carried Motomu through the gap.
The scene inside the cave behind the waterfall came into view.
Simple stone furniture was neatly arranged.
There were no spider webs, geckos, or any of those mysterious little underground creatures.
The place was clean and tidy; evidently, the owner of the stone house cleaned it frequently.
There was a round stone table and stools, along with a stone bed draped with curtains, all illuminated by fluorescent plants.
It wasn't the luxurious palace Motomu had imagined; instead, it was rather simple.
The Big Eyeball's gaze shifted along with Motomu's toward the girl sitting by the stone table. She held a tea set, looking completely dazed and bewildered.
The girl had long brown hair and wore a golden laurel crown. The golden orb atop the crown reflected the image of Motomu and the Big Eyeball. Beneath it, she wore a white robe over her pale skin, with three green tomoe-shaped ornaments dangling at her chest.
On her face, framed by dark eyeshadow, her slitted snake pupils appeared vacant, making her look a bit dim-witted.
Two seconds passed.
Finally reacting, Tagitsu Hime's expression turned ferocious. Her pupils narrowed into vertical slits, and her mouth peeled back to reveal sharp fangs and a flickering forked tongue.
As one of the beings who single-handedly raised the average intelligence of the snakes in Ryuchi Cave,
Tagitsu Hime was on high alert after this sudden intrusion.
"Trial seeker, what on earth are you sitting on?"
She withdrew her gaze from the Big Eyeball, whose long purple tongue and mouth full of fangs made it look exceptionally eerie.
Motomu replied with a straight face, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Don't worry about the details. We're here for official business. You're in charge of the Ryuchi Cave Sage trials, right?"
"Let's get started. I can't wait to experience the power of a Sage."
Tagitsu Hime gently set down her teacup, her pale face tightening.
In all her centuries of life, she had never seen anything like this.
If she wasn't mistaken,
a flying Sharingan was currently blocking her front door. The thing was even dripping disgusting saliva from its tongue all over her floor, leaving a mess.
'Has the ninja world outside really become like this?'
'Or... has my time finally come?'
Not knowing what to say, Tagitsu Hime put down the teacup in a daze.
"You... Fine, that works."
"Are we doing this inside your house? I'd feel pretty bad if I broke anything."
'He looks weird, but he seems like a decent guy.'
Nodding numbly, Tagitsu Hime's human face gradually regained its composure.
As she walked outside with Motomu, who was still riding his Big Eyeball, she began to explain the process of obtaining Senjutsu.
Motomu listened intently, nodding seriously from time to time.
In Ryuchi Cave, the Sage trials were simple and direct—nothing like the social pleasantries found at Mount Myoboku.
To obtain Sage Mode here, one only had to pass three trials and then let the White Snake Sage take a bite out of them.
As for those first three trials, they were the tests of the Three Snake Himes.
Normally, the Snake Himes would seek out trial seekers they deemed worthy.
Never before had someone actively come knocking on their door like this.
With Motomu taking the initiative, the utterly bewildered Tagitsu Hime was clearly being led along by the nose.
They passed back through the curtain of water.
The two of them stood still in a relatively spacious underground cavern.
Looking at Motomu, Tagitsu Hime opened her mouth and spoke with a hint of confusion.
"My trial requires me to inject special Sage chakra into your body. Come down here and cooperate..."
"Oh, I see!"
"Is that all? You just need to take a bite out of me?"
"Anywhere is fine, right?"
"Uh, yes, that's right."
In the original story, that was indeed how it worked.
Tagitsu Hime's trial.
The opponent would first take a bite to test the flavor while injecting venom to prevent the victim from escaping.
The venom would make the victim's body feel hot and render them unable to move.
At the same time, hallucinations would occur to wear down the person's willpower.
If they couldn't snap out of it, they would end up inside the snake's belly.
The danger involved in obtaining Senjutsu was quite high.
However, he wasn't Orochimaru. He wasn't here to learn any damn Senjutsu.
On the contrary, he was here to challenge the Gym.
As it stood, his relationship with his opponent was simple.
Either he beat the snake, or the snake beat him.
The reason he hadn't made a move immediately upon meeting the Snake Hime,
was simply because no system combat prompt had appeared.
According to his deductions, the Snake Hime was his target for the Gym challenge.
In the past, visible encounters could be triggered with just a glance.
But for some reason, the system was being slow to respond.
'Maybe I have to initiate an attack to start the battle.'
Motomu's thoughts raced as his gaze swept over the pair of sharp fangs in Tagitsu Hime's mouth.
'If you want to bite something, go bite the Big Eyeball. If you can even pierce its skin, I'll be impressed.'
Furthermore, he and the Big Eyeball had independent consciousness. Even if someone fell under a genjutsu, it would be the Big Eyeball.
He could still throw a punch to show her what true strength looked like.
His mind made up,
Motomu stood on the ground and ordered the Big Eyeball to fly in front of her.
The wet, long purple tongue gave a lick, sending a wave of revulsion through Tagitsu Hime.
"This thing... is it part of you?"
"Yeah, obviously."
"I'm an Uchiha. Can't you see the obvious Sharingan?"
The Big Eyeball closed its mouth, and the three tomoe on its face began to rotate.
Blood vessels began to crawl across Tagitsu Hime's snake pupils. The feeling of being played for a fool surged in her centuries-old heart.
"Are you mocking me?"
Motomu looked shocked. Then, while Tagitsu Hime watched in horror, he reached out with his right hand and plucked out his own left eye.
"How could I! Look, isn't this my Sharingan?"
"They're quite free this way, with no sense of restraint at all."
Big Eyeball No. 2 flew in front of Tagitsu Hime. Out of curiosity, it extended its long purple tongue, attempting to get a taste of her.
Tagitsu Hime's brain short-circuited. She shook the saliva off her hand after swatting the tongue away. At a loss, she looked back at Motomu, whose eye sockets were empty.
"You come here. I think I'd better just bite your actual body."
Motomu's smiling mouth slowly straightened.
No emotion could be seen on Motomu's calm face.
Two blood-red eyeballs, each the size of a van, locked their crimson pupils onto the girl standing between them.
"Does it really have to be like this?"
"I wanted to have a nice chat with you."
"After all, if I kill you, it'll take me forever to find the next snake."
Hearing the other person say such terrifying things in such a flat tone,
Tagitsu Hime instantly understood his stance.
"Hehehe! You didn't come here for the trials."
"You want to steal the Senjutsu directly. Over the millennia, I've met countless suicidal fools like you!"
The girl's voice turned raspy and sinister as fine white snake scales began to creep up her cheeks.
An eerie white Sage chakra radiated from her. As she stepped forward, the hard granite beneath her feet cracked inch by inch.
'This aura... something's not right.'
Motomu's expression remained calm, but alarm bells were ringing loudly in his head.
'Someone who can take human form really is the real deal.'
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comment means the world!
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