Infinite Anime [231-232] (Patreon)

Chapter 231: Ryuchi Cave

After a brief exchange, Orochimaru had Kabuto take Zabuza and Haku to their room, then turned to the real business with Gusion.

"Gusion-kun, I've already contacted Ryuchi Cave. If you want, you can go there today to learn senjutsu."

Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth and produced a huge scroll, spreading it across the floor—the summoning contract of Ryuchi Cave.

"What's this?"

Gusion feigned curiosity.

"A summoning contract scroll for Ryuchi Cave. As long as Gusion-kun writes your name in blood upon it, the contract will be established. After that, I'll have them use Reverse Summoning to pull us over."

Orochimaru explained, stepping back to invite Gusion to sign.

Gusion crouched down to inspect it and found that this scroll was much like the important master contract Jiraiya once showed Naruto in the original. It had to be the principal contract scroll—something probably reserved for those Ryuchi Cave regarded highly.

Orochimaru himself couldn't master senjutsu, yet he was clearly valued by Ryuchi Cave—there were likely details outsiders didn't know.

Gusion wrote his true name in blood on the scroll. A strange force forged a bond with him, and the Space chimed.

[Pioneer No. 008 has formed a summoning contract with the Sacred Land: Ryuchi Cave. You may summon Ryuchi Cave's summoned beasts via chakra and may be reverse-summoned.]

Once the contract was done, Orochimaru wasted no time. He first performed a summoning to call forth a small snake. "Please go back and inform Tagorihime to reverse-summon us over."

Orochimaru spoke with notable politeness—an indirect sign that the spirit beasts of Ryuchi Cave were not easy to serve.

Before long, Gusion felt the pull of a summoning. He didn't resist; together with Orochimaru he turned to smoke and vanished.

Unlike the feeling when the End Space deployed him to traverse worlds, the summoning transit was virtually instantaneous. With no sense of passage, Gusion arrived and landed.

What met his eyes was a shadowy yet vast underground cavern. He and Orochimaru stood in an open central area like a plaza. At the top of the steps ahead stood a stone shrine.

Inside the hall was an idol of a white serpent—the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave.

Like the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, the White Snake Sage was likewise an ancient monster over a thousand years old, a being who attained the Way on this planet even before Princess Kaguya became the progenitor of chakra.

Gusion glanced with a detection-type skill and saw only a row of question marks. That didn't necessarily mean every one of the White Snake Sage's stats were off the charts—only that its mental attribute utterly overwhelmed his.

Standing directly before Gusion and Orochimaru was a girl as lovely as a flower—long green hair, pallid skin, white robes—Tagorihime, one of the three sisters famed for their over-the-top expressions.

"Welcome to Ryuchi Cave, you two."

When Tagorihime spoke she revealed sharp teeth and a blue tongue. One could only say that once you stepped into Ryuchi Cave, Orochimaru's aesthetic no longer seemed out of place; instead, Gusion looked the odd one out.

"Gusion-kun, this is Ryuchi Cave. I still have research to do, so I'll take my leave."

Smiling, Orochimaru formed hand seals and released the reverse summoning. Having secured a large sum of research funds, he couldn't wait to go purchase new instruments.

Gusion still wanted to ask him a few things, but Orochimaru had already dispersed into smoke where he stood, leaving Gusion speechless. What a damn troll.

He still didn't know the training procedure within Ryuchi Cave. His only understanding came from the sequel he'd watched within the End Space: in it, Naruto's son Boruto passed Ryuchi Cave's trial but ultimately didn't learn its senjutsu, instead later following in his father's footsteps and learning Mount Myoboku's.

Gusion didn't think Mount Myoboku was strong and Ryuchi Cave was trash just because both series protagonists chose the former.

In fact, from performance alone, he felt Mount Myoboku's sage arts had the most drawbacks.

The conditions for Sage Mode at Mount Myoboku were harsh: even Jiraiya couldn't enter a perfect Sage Mode and had to rely on the Sage Toad couple to maintain it. Naruto also resorted to a trick—using clones to gather natural energy and feed it to the main body.

By contrast, the senjutsu of Shikkotsu Forest and Ryuchi Cave didn't involve so many fussy steps. With Shikkotsu Forest you had Hashirama as an example—peerlessly brave in battle with nearly no visible side effects; recovery and endurance were maxed out.

As for Ryuchi Cave, take Kabuto: ugly, sure, but he could maintain Sage Mode indefinitely. Judging by Tagorihime and the others' outward traits, Gusion felt Kabuto hadn't cultivated the perfect Ryuchi Cave senjutsu—that was why his appearance changed so drastically.

All in all, senjutsu is just natural energy—the training methods vary by lineage, but the end result shouldn't differ that much.

Gusion hadn't come here to learn a Sage Mode that turned him into a snake-man. He wanted to understand the principles behind absorbing natural energy in this world and see if he could upgrade his current system.

"Oh? A visitor. Tagorihime, bring him forward."

In the shrine above, the White Snake Sage stirred from slumber. Its gaze upon Gusion was strikingly human—though a serpent, its eyes were like those of a kindly old grandmother.

Gusion wouldn't be fooled by appearances. If, among the three great Sacred Lands, Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest were lawful good, Ryuchi Cave was chaotic neutral.

In the ninja world, anyone who could find Ryuchi Cave could come to learn senjutsu, but if one failed to satisfy the White Snake Sage and pass the trials it set, they would be eaten by the trio of expressive priestesses.

"Gusion-sama, this way please."

Tagorihime bowed. If she didn't reveal her true nature, she could pass for a normal ancient-style beauty.

Gusion followed her up the steps to stand before the White Snake Sage, waiting for it to speak.

He realized, unlike Boruto, he hadn't come through the usual process and was meeting the White Snake Sage directly—likely thanks to Orochimaru's face.

"Oh… Let me have a look…"

The White Snake Sage leaned out slightly, scrutinizing Gusion. As it looked, a trace of surprise appeared in its vertical pupils.

It fell silent a moment, as if calculating something; then the surprise in its eyes turned to fright. "I cannot divine it. Could he be the one from the prophecy… No, I can see nothing of his road ahead…"

It muttered to itself, clearly flustered, which in turn flustered Tagorihime at its side.

She had served the White Snake Sage for hundreds of years and had never seen it lose composure like this. Could Gusion be the child of prophecy?

But judging from the fear in the White Snake Sage's eyes, that didn't seem right either. She couldn't help asking, "White Snake Sage, what is it that you saw?"

The White Snake Sage fell silent, its expression complicated as it looked at Gusion.

Under the oppressive mood, even Gusion couldn't help speaking. "White Snake Sage, I'd like to learn Ryuchi Cave's senjutsu. What trial must I take?"

"You want to learn our senjutsu?"

The White Snake Sage seemed a bit surprised, which Tagorihime found strange—after all, almost everyone who came to Ryuchi Cave came to learn senjutsu.

"May I?"

Gusion asked.

The serpent's lips drew back, as if in a smile. "Of course—as long as you can pass my trial."

"What must I do?"

Gusion wasn't surprised; he was only puzzled by the White Snake Sage's complicated emotions at first sight.

"In the depths of Ryuchi Cave, beyond the great serpent herd, there's a rift that connects to a magma abyss. I want you to go down—to the very bottom—and tell me what's there."

Its tone was subtle. "Remember, you may not kill any snake of Ryuchi Cave along the way."

Gusion frowned. He knew of the great serpent grounds deep within Ryuchi Cave—colossal monstrous snakes dozens of meters long roamed there, ninja beasts that could wield chakra and, in the case of the strong, even senjutsu.

To pass through such an obviously unfriendly serpent territory and not kill any snakes—that was much harder than Boruto's trial.

What puzzled him more: as the master of Ryuchi Cave, who knew the past and could divine the future, the White Snake Sage was asking him to go check some abyssal rift and see what was there. That didn't add up.

"That is the trial. Do you accept?"

The White Snake Sage fixed its gaze on Gusion to confirm.

Just then, Gusion received a prompt from the Endspace—a new side quest.

[Side Quest, Ring One: The Trial of Ryuchi Cave]

Quest: Traverse the perilous Ryuchi Cave and reach the deepest place no one has ever reached. Explore the truth within the abyss.

Difficulty: Normal ~ Hard

 Reward: Unlock Ring Two of the side quest; receive a mysterious reward.

Failure Penalty: All stats -1

[]

It had been a while since he'd seen a quest with penalties. The reward description was vague too—what was a "mysterious reward"?

Thinking it over, he figured it likely had to do with the truth in the abyss. Perhaps he'd inadvertently triggered a serious chain quest.

Maybe this journey to learn senjutsu would unfold very differently from his expectations.

With that thought, Gusion said, "I accept. Do you have a map? Which way should I go?"

The White Snake Sage turned its head and pointed out a direction. "Head due north. The end of that path is your destination."

Seeing there would be no map forthcoming, Gusion didn't waste words. He turned and set off north.

After he left, Tagorihime couldn't hold back her curiosity. "White Snake Sage, is there really a place like that beyond the serpent herd? What's inside?"

The White Snake Sage gave her a meaningful look. "I don't know either."

"What? Something even you don't know?"

Tagorihime was astonished. "But this is Ryuchi Cave."

To her, the White Snake Sage was the oldest living being in the world. It might not know everything under heaven, but surely it knew everything within Ryuchi Cave?

 The White Snake Sage only looked at her with those ancient, wise eyes. "You're right. This is Ryuchi Cave."

Tagorihime didn't catch the riddle. After pondering, she thickened her skin and asked, "Is there any story about that place?"

The White Snake Sage was silent for a moment. "I founded Ryuchi Cave. But have you ever wondered why it's called Ryuchi—Dragon Ground—and not Snake Ground?"

Tagorihime thought, then answered, "Isn't it because of your beautiful aspiration, White Snake Sage—that we might one day evolve into dragons?"

As she understood it, in the serpent herd deep within Ryuchi Cave were snakes even more powerful and brutal than Manda, snakes that had already evolved some draconic traits.

"That is part of it. But the most important reason is…"

The White Snake Sage seemed filled with emotion. "…I have seen a dragon."

Tagorihime was thunderstruck. A dragon? Do dragons truly exist in this world?

Where? Could it be that a true dragon once appeared in Ryuchi Cave itself?

 Was it because the White Snake Sage had seen a true dragon that it founded Ryuchi Cave and pursued evolution, hoping one day to transform into a dragon too?

 If so, why is none to be seen now?

Could it be… Tagorihime looked north. In that never-before-reached death ground—does a true dragon exist?

Chapter 232: Summoned Beast

Boom—

Within the underground cavern, a moving natural disaster descended upon the serpent horde. Wild thunder flashed, dropping the snakes lunging at Gusion in twitching heaps.

Gusion modulated the output of his lightning—enough to paralyze but not kill—thus meeting the White Snake Sage's stipulation for the trial.

All he could say was, the Raijin Fruit was insanely useful. If he were brute-forcing his way through with a blade, it would be hard to hold back enough not to kill any snakes.

And hacking a path would be exhausting. With AOE lightning blanketing the field, the road cleared itself.

Ordinary snakes couldn't withstand his lightning at all—they'd stick out their tongues and flop over, motionless.

But as he pushed deeper into Ryuchi Cave, the serpents grew larger, and their resistances were beyond what normal snakes could match.

Just now, for instance—he'd struck a forty-meter serpent with a bolt, and after the hit it still dared lunge to bite him.

Gusion found that the larger the snake here, the more abundant its chakra. Among those over forty meters, some even had senjutsu energy condensed within.

The snakes of Ryuchi Cave weren't creatures of the wild but intelligent spirit-serpents, all capable of human speech.

They knew how to use their power. Facing Gusion's lightning, they would try to wrap themselves in chakra or natural energy to reduce the damage.

Given their massive bodies, these ninja beasts were usually far more durable than humans. By the end, Gusion had to go all out with his lightning to bring down the ultra-giant pythons.

Half a day later, Gusion reached the depths of Ryuchi Cave. After he'd just zapped a few snakes numb, a fierce gale shot at his back.

His Observation Haki warned him in advance. Stepping on air, he flash-stepped away and dodged the strike.

Boom—

His assailant wasn't so nimble. Its head shot out too fast, slamming into the rock wall ahead of Gusion and blasting shards in every direction.

Gusion turned. In Ryuchi Cave's dim light, he saw a ferocious, crimson, one-eyed serpent.

This giant snake had not only a colossal body but also a vast well of chakra—no ordinary serpent by any measure.

"Brat, you're the one making a mess in my territory? Tired of living?"

The red serpent spoke, its single eye cold and vicious as it stared at Gusion.

Gusion used his detection skill and thought, no wonder even the White Snake Sage gets a headache over this one. This was Garaga, who only appeared in Boruto—a far more irascible and vicious creature than Orochimaru's Manda.

In terms of raw power, Manda couldn't compare, being just big and temperamental. Garaga was a millennia-old elder serpent and even used a petrification technique that might be senjutsu.

Gusion's detection returned a row of question marks. Note, to speed his way through the serpents he'd already released his Shikai—his Spirit stat was at 70—yet he still couldn't read Garaga's stats.

That meant Garaga's Spirit had to be at least 75. Judging by that massive body and explosive speed, this snake was likely a six-attribute all-rounder.

Boom—

No need for chatter. Gusion wasn't much for talk-no-jutsu. Faced with Garaga's lunge, he blasted a bolt of lightning straight down.

To his surprise, Garaga's resistance was extraordinary. Even after taking lightning from the Raijin Fruit, the serpent merely stiffened for a heartbeat—then snapped at him.

Gusion triggered his Demon God state. With Mazuko in hand he hewed out a mountain-toppling slash, colliding with Garaga's fangs in a ring of clashing steel.

A huge force ran up his arms. Rarely in a head-on contest did Gusion lose in raw strength—but Garaga hurled him bodily away.

Boom—

Gusion smashed through two rocky knolls before stopping. He dusted off his clothes and bared white teeth in a grin. "Now that's some punch. Worth a good swing."

"Brat, you really have a death wish."

Garaga's voice fumed. He swaggered through Ryuchi Cave, unchecked even by the White Snake Sage. For some outsider punk to boast to his face—

Standing in the rubble, Gusion twisted his neck, bones crackling. He drew a deep breath and vented a torrent of crimson steam.

By his estimate, as a frontal bruiser ninja beast, Garaga's physical stats were sky-high. To put this snake down, he needed more output.

He overclocked the Demon God state. The dark-violet demonic tracery on his skin turned blood-red. The lightning around him went savage and red, interwoven with Conqueror's Haki. The air snapped with crackling arcs.

Gusion sank his stance. The knotted muscles of his calves bulged, like bowstrings drawn to the limit—then he released all at once.

With a deafening thunderclap, the ridge behind him exploded. A ring of dust rippled outward. The sonic boom shrieked through Ryuchi Cave as Gusion became a dark-red streak, surging toward Garaga with blazing fighting spirit.

Even Garaga hadn't expected Gusion's combat power to spike so fast. This blow was in a different league from their earlier exchange, catching him flat-footed.

In haste, Garaga didn't unleash petrification but met him fang-to-blade.

Ting—

The clear note lasted only an instant, then came the fracture of bone. With dark-red Ryuo sheathing it, Mazuko's toughness and keenness rose by more than a grade.

The shock of Haki shattered Garaga's hardened fangs. Mazuko drove on, shearing off the two prominent canines in his mouth; then, with a flash of blade-qi, it split half his jaw.

And that was just the start. As Gusion pressed the attack, the Raijin Fruit launched at full power. Lightning poured in through Garaga's mouth, bypassing his exterior defenses to strike within.

In an instant, the massive current froze Garaga up, aborting his planned attack. His tail managed only half a whip before going limp.

At the same time, Gusion let the momentum flow, shifted his posture, and slashed diagonally down. Ryuo extended Mazuko's reach further—his target: Garaga's head!

On the brink of life and death, some strength surged up in Garaga. He yanked back hard, dodging the killing stroke by a hair.

He lived, but was still cut. A swath of scales at the back of his neck were peeled away, fluttering in the air.

Having largely missed with the blade, Gusion followed the force through, turning with the swing. As he came around he whipped a leg out, booting Garaga across the face.

That spinning kick, powered by Conqueror's Haki and Ryuo, didn't feel any lighter than a blade strike when taken head-on. On impact, the shockwave visibly dented Garaga's cheek; a spray of jagged teeth burst from his mouth.

With the advantage secured, Gusion didn't want to violate the White Snake Sage's injunction. He dismissed Mazuko and stepped forward with Shave.

His upper body was a mass of knotted muscle, skin strained to splitting and beaded with blood. Planting with Shave, he channeled power from the feet up—waist turning, arms driving.

As his straight punch launched, the air itself seemed to cave in. Compared to Garaga he was an ant, but the blow carried mountain-cleaving weight.

 An ancient martial secret—Gusion's reworked fist art: Mountain Collapse!

 Before the fist arrived, the compressed air blasted Garaga's head like a giant shell, furrowing the skin of his face into ripples.

Boom—

Gusion's punch crashed square into Garaga's face, snapping the truck-sized head back, blood spraying and broken teeth flying.

He kicked off with Shave, rose, and brought a leg down like a battle-axe onto the crown.

With a roar, Garaga's head slammed into the ground and sank into a crater.

By the time Gusion landed, the serpent's immense body twitched twice and went still.

Dusting himself off, Gusion turned and continued deeper.

Garaga's numbers were off the charts, but as a ninja beast he leveraged size for strength and durability. In practice he was nowhere near as nimble as a ninja, so bringing him down hadn't taken much.

"Hey… brat… the fight isn't over yet."

To Gusion's surprise, after he'd gone only a few dozen meters, Garaga's voice came from behind.

"You're really a tough one. Definitely stronger than Manda."

Gusion turned. He wondered if he hadn't hit hard enough. If Garaga kept dogging him, he wouldn't be able to explore ahead properly.

"Manda?"

Garaga's face was misshapen, his mouth emptied of teeth. His speech was slurred, but the disdain at the mention of Manda was clear. "That whelp, compare to me?"

Gusion thought: every generation at Ryuchi Cave is more arrogant than the last. Then again, fair—compared to Garaga, Manda really was a youngster.

Garaga had been on the scene since the days of the Sage of Six Paths, a mighty ninja beast who rampaged across the ninja world. In Ryuchi Cave, his seniority was second only to the White Snake Sage. Betrayed by a companion of Asura long ago, he stopped believing in humans and turned violently temperamental.

"Before I came to Ryuchi Cave, I thought Manda was the strongest summoned snake here."

Gusion smiled. He wanted to needle Garaga into challenging Manda and leaving him alone.

"Hmph! You came with Orochimaru, right? What is Manda, to dare call himself the strongest serpent of Ryuchi Cave?"

Garaga knew plenty. He spoke of Manda with utter contempt.

"Judging by our fight, you're definitely stronger. It's just that folks outside have only seen Manda. With you staying home in Ryuchi Cave, how would outsiders know you outclass him?"

Gusion grinned. Sorry, Manda—don't blame me for fanning the flames. A snake-on-snake scuffle shouldn't be fatal anyway.

What came next shocked Gusion for a hundred years. "I'll make the world understand I'm far stronger than Manda. Hey, brat—you've got some chops, going toe-to-toe with me. Form a contract with me. I want to see what the ninja world is like now."

Gusion: Huh???

He wanted to say, Garaga, aren't you the type who's brash outside but a softie inside who needs the tender care of a partner?

 I didn't talk-no-jutsu you, let alone preach the beauty of bonds. How did we get to you asking to contract with me?

Gusion glanced at Garaga's neck. It seemed he'd accidentally knocked off Garaga's reverse scale just now… but that still wasn't a reason to turn into a tsundere giant snake, was it?

 "Brat? Why aren't you saying anything? You've got complaints about contracting with the great me?"

Garaga's tone soured. "Want to go another round?"

Gusion sighed inwardly. He didn't want to keep brawling and burning stamina. Beyond the White Snake Sage's task, Garaga was an elder of Ryuchi Cave. Killing him would cause big trouble.

The guy was thick-skinned and hard to put down. If he didn't kill him, fighting was just a waste of time.

"All right then. I'll make a contract with you. When I need to, I'll summon you to see the outside."

Gusion said. He thought about it—having a summoned beast in this world wasn't a bad idea. In some situations, a large summon was very useful; Garaga was top-tier among summons. He had no reason to refuse.

Garaga turned his head, almost as if embarrassed. "I'm not trying to be your summoned beast. I just want to see the outside and prove I'm the strongest in Ryuchi Cave."