A deadly, suffocating silence settled over Ryūchi Cave.
And then his killing intent hit. It was raw, suffocating, unfiltered bloodlust that rolled off Naruto like a tsunami.
The air grew cold. The cave itself groaned, as if the ancient walls sensed the disturbance in the balance.
Even the chakra-rich mist began to recoil from him.
Orochimaru, who had faced death, dismemberment, and worse, shuddered. His heartbeat quickened. This wasn't just bloodlust. It was an instinctive, primordial malice that came from something deeper and older.
Something that existed not just to fight, but to annihilate.
Naruto's grin widened again, brimming with chaos and destruction.
"Let's see how dangerous this place is..."
Naruto and Orochimaru strolled deeper into the heart of Ryūchi Cave, the cavern widening around them with every step.
The further they went, the more alive the cave seemed to become. The very walls pulsed faintly with chakra, the air shimmered like heat haze, and unseen whispers danced around their ears like ghostly murmurs of ancient serpents long dead.
The atmosphere was humid and heavy, yet filled with intoxicating vitality... natural energy practically oozed from every surface.
They chatted idly as they walked, Naruto tossing in the occasional joke or sarcastic jab, while Orochimaru answered with the faintest of smiles and his usual cryptic calm.
Despite the unnatural environment, they walked with the ease of old travelers who'd long since grown used to standing in places where gods and monsters roamed.
It didn't take long before the shadows shifted ahead.
A rustling echoed from the walls and ceiling, and from the crevices emerged several enormous serpents, guardians of the deeper chambers.
One was a brilliant crimson-scaled viper, with twin horns spiraling backward from its skull like a crown. Its eyes glowed yellow, vertical pupils dilating as it recognized Orochimaru.
Another snake was snow-white, its body coiled with eerie grace and its tongue split into three tips, flickering the air like it could taste every drop of chakra around. Its scales shimmered like frost under moonlight.
A third was covered in obsidian-black armor plates, more akin to a dragon than a snake, with rows of bony ridges along its spine and a tail tipped with a jagged blade.
Each of them paused upon seeing Orochimaru. Their eyes narrowed, and their tongues flicked. Then, in a show of acknowledgement, they bowed their massive heads in a graceful arc, their deep voices rumbling through the stone:
"Orochimaru..."
"Snake Sage's favored one…"
"Welcome…"
They slithered aside, making room without hesitation.
Naruto chuckled, his hands behind his head, flashing a grin. "Heh… look at that. Even the big guys are treating you like royalty. Got a whole serpent fan club, huh?"
Orochimaru gave a small, amused smile. "It's nothing much. Mutual respect… and a few favors repaid in blood."
But then, a voice cut through the cave like a whip of steel.
"Step no further."
It wasn't loud, but it didn't need to be. The tone was commanding, filled with arrogance that reeked of superiority. It halted both man and snake in their tracks.
Naruto's grin froze. Orochimaru's expression shifted, a flicker of realization blooming in his eyes.
The ground trembled beneath them, faint but unmistakable. The serpents that had greeted them lowered their heads further, not in respect, but submission.
From the darkness ahead, the sound of scales dragging across stone echoed like thunder. Dust rose, and from the shadows emerged a monstrous figure that made even the giant serpents around them seem like children.
Manda.
He was colossal.
At least eighty meters long, his body was thick enough to crush stone fortresses beneath a coil. His scales were a deep, ominous amethyst-purple, each one edged with darker streaks of indigo, like the skin of a serpent that had bathed in abyssal poison.
His head was broad and angular, shaped like a royal spearhead, with long, curved horns protruding from the back of his skull—twin blades of bone that crackled faintly with latent chakra.
His golden eyes were cold, calculating, and merciless as they locked onto them like a predator weighing its prey.
Fangs the size of greatswords glistened in his maw, and his massive tongue slithered out, tasting the air with a hisssss that sent ripples through the cave walls.
On either side of his body, spiked ridges jutted out like a row of monstrous armor, and along his back slithered jagged, vein-like patterns that pulsed in rhythm with his chakra—ancient, primal, and heavy.
His voice rumbled again, deep and disdainful.
"Orochimaru… you return. And you bring a child with you?"
Orochimaru bowed slightly. "Manda… It's been a while."
Manda's tongue flicked again, his massive body coiling upward like a living mountain, scales scraping stone with a sound like grinding swords. He leaned forward ever so slightly, his head now looming above Naruto and Orochimaru like a judgmental god peering down from his throne.
Naruto tilted his head up, completely unfazed by the pressure. If anything, his smile widened.
Manda narrowed his eyes.
"That one reeks of arrogance… can I eat him? He looked tasty..."
The tension thickened like molasses.
Naruto stared at Manda, his grin widening as his golden eyes gleamed with mischief and quiet menace. With his hands tucked casually behind his head, he turned to Orochimaru and said lazily, "Oi, Orochimaru… your pet's got no manners. Did you forget to teach him how to bark properly?"
Orochimaru sighed dramatically, a theatrical frown curling on his lips. "Mmm… sadly, no matter how many scrolls I gave him, he refuses to read. Terrible student. Can't even master basic courtesy."
The cave fell silent for a heartbeat. Manda's massive body trembled—not from fear, but unfiltered rage. His vertical golden pupils narrowed into deadly slits, and his tail cracked the ground behind him like a whip of thunder.
THWACK!!
Dust and chunks of rock exploded into the air. The other snakes scattered backward, hissing nervously. They knew what was coming.
"INSOLENT WORM!!!" Manda roared, his voice booming like an earthquake. "I'll TEAR YOU APART AND DEVOUR YOUR BONES!!"
His enormous mouth gaped open, revealing rows of dagger-like fangs dripping with venom, each one large enough to skewer a human whole.
SHHHRAAAAAAAAH!!!
With a ground-quaking lurch, Manda lunged forward like a coiled avalanche. His jaw unhinged wider, a black shadow descending upon Naruto, only for Naruto to chuckle and casually raise his hand, his fingers relaxed, as though swatting away a fly.
Fwoooom!!
In an instant, something unseen, a dense, invisible force, crashed down on Manda's skull. The air itself shuddered with pressure.
Crack
BOOOOOOM!!!
The massive serpent's head was slammed into the stone floor like a meteor smashing into a mountain. The ground cratered with a deafening shockwave, stone and dust exploding outward in a violent blast. The entire cave trembled, the very walls moaning under the weight of the impact.
Manda's face was buried halfway into the earth, his horns cracking against the ground, fangs snapping against his own jaw.
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Spoilers for the next three chapters!
Chapter 149: The Snake Sage
Chapter 150: The Trials
Chapter 151: Second Trial
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