Once again stepping onto the slippery, dark ground of the Ryūchi Cave, Orochimaru walked with unwavering resolve, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
The Nine-Tails, however, was in such a place for the first time. All along the way, its eyes widened, constantly fixated on the wriggling bodies of various snakes in the darkness.
The snakes living in the Ryūchi Cave, nourished by Sage Mode chakra year-round, possessed a far keener sense of danger than wild beasts outside, even without the extraordinary intelligence of the higher-ups in the cave.
Sensing the aura of superiority constantly emanating from the Nine-Tails, they all prostrated themselves, only daring to occasionally flick their forked tongues. Even their usual habit of twitching their tails was completely absent, lest they accidentally provoke the upright-walking fox and bring about their own demise.
After waiting for a long time, no snake willingly came forward to be devoured by the Nine-Tails' sword. With no snakes interacting, what was the point of just looking?
Perhaps it was just the greater number and variety of species compared to other places in the ninja world. After the initial wave of curiosity subsided, the Nine-Tails also listlessly withdrew its gaze.
"Orochimaru, are we going to fight directly, or have a few words first?"
The Nine-Tails, holding its Void Sword upside down, followed Orochimaru in a rather human-like manner. Seeing him remain silent, it couldn't help but ask.
Orochimaru glanced at the Nine-Tails, which appeared eager for a fight, and gently shook its head.
"We'll see."
"If the White Snake Sage agrees to my terms, the fight might be avoidable."
The Nine-Tails twitched its ears and leaned in curiously.
"Terms? What terms?"
A smile crept onto Orochimaru's lips as he softly replied,
"The combat methods under the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode, and..."
"Submission!"
The Nine-Tails grinned and shook its head, appearing skeptical.
"The former might be acceptable; it's just a matter of how to use power."
"Submission..."
"I don't think that old white snake is someone who likes being a subordinate. You two are definitely going to fight!"
Orochimaru nodded slightly in agreement.
"Indeed."
"So, didn't I bring you along to help?"
"I'll handle the White Snake Sage; you can stop the three Divine Princesses of the Ryūchi Cave for me!"
The Nine-Tails puffed out its chest with a booming assurance, readily agreeing.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of whatever 'Divine Princesses' they are!"
...
Deep within the Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage, transformed into a large white-scaled snake, lay lazily coiled upon the Sage's throne.
Its tongue flickered, and a lustrous light emanated from the jewel hanging around its neck, projecting a somewhat unclear image into the air before it.
"No wonder I felt a familiar life force appear. So it was you..."
"And you even brought a fox that can walk upright. This chakra fluctuation..."
"With several tails behind it, it does look somewhat similar to the fox from the legends. However, a fox that walks on two legs is rather interesting."
"Orochimaru, it seems your purpose in coming to the Ryūchi Cave this time is not small!"
Looking at the man and fox walking towards the depths of the Ryūchi Cave in the projection, a cold glint flashed in the White Snake's pupils.
"Tanshin-hime, Ichikishima-hime, Tsumatsuhime..."
"Come to my place!"
With a flicker of its form, the White Snake Sage transformed into its usual elderly human guise, waved its hand to dissipate the image constructed by its mind waves, and sat on the throne, puffing contentedly on its pipe.
"Great Sage!"
Three graceful figures appeared out of thin air before the White Snake Sage, almost simultaneously, and bowed respectfully.
"Great Sage, do you have any commands for us sisters?"
Tsumatsuhime, the youngest, straightened up and gracefully walked behind the White Snake Sage, solicitously rubbing its shoulders and asking with concern.
"Heh heh!"
The White Snake Sage chuckled, enjoying Tsumatsuhime's service, a cold glint in its eyes, and nodded slightly.
"Indeed, there are things I need you to do!"
"We have guests. Go and welcome them for me."
Tsumatsuhime, her hands still busy, tilted her head and asked,
"Great Sage, what kind of guests?"
"Do we even need all three of us to welcome them? Even if the Kage from the great ninja villages of the ninja world came, they wouldn't receive such treatment, would they?"
The White Snake Sage exhaled a long stream of smoke before shaking its head slightly and replying,
"Not the Five Kage!"
"It's Orochimaru, bringing a fox-like summon into the Ryūchi Cave!"
Tsumatsuhime's small fists froze mid-air upon hearing this. The other two Divine Princesses also paused, their eyes flickering with unreadable thoughts.
"Oro... Orochimaru?"
"And a fox-like summon?"
It wasn't surprising that the three Divine Princesses reacted this way.
The last time Orochimaru came to the Ryūchi Cave to sign a summoning contract, Tsumatsuhime had been present throughout. After witnessing Orochimaru's strength and disposition, she had harbored a subtle fear of that ruthless human.
Tanshin-hime and Ichikishima-hime later heard from Tsumatsuhime about Orochimaru's behavior in the Ryūchi Cave, and naturally, they paid special attention to this human, the only one in recent years to pass the Great Sage's test and leave the cave.
The White Snake Sage, naturally sensing the worry of its three attendants, sighed lightly but issued its orders with unquestionable authority.
"He's just a human who's only learned Sage Mode for a few months. Even with a reasonably strong summon by his side, he can't threaten the safety of the Ryūchi Cave."
"You three shall stop that beast under the guise of a trial."
"As for Orochimaru, let him come see me himself."
"Perhaps the Ryūchi Cave will have to wait for its next contractor. It's a shame that such a promising seedling, capable of adapting to the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode, would come looking for death..."
The White Snake Sage mused, then waved its hand at the three Divine Princesses.
"Go!"
The three Divine Princesses felt a slight wave of relief upon hearing they wouldn't have to face Orochimaru directly. Exchanging glances, they bid farewell to the White Snake Sage and walked out of the temple together.
A powerful summon?
Just as the White Snake Sage said, it was merely a beast with a bit more chakra...
The White Snake Sage should have known, but the Nine-Tails had altered some of its form using its chakra. Furthermore, the images presented by her mind waves, interfered with by the powerful chakra fluctuations within both the Nine-Tails and Orochimaru, were not particularly clear.
Because of this, the White Snake Sage merely assumed that the upright-walking Nine-Tails was some kind of rare summon with a considerable amount of chakra.
Heaven knows, it was the Nine-Tails' first time displaying its complete combat form in the ninja world, and no one recognized it.
In fact, her assumption wasn't entirely wrong. The Nine-Tails was indeed Orochimaru's summon at this moment!