Even though Manda tried every possible excuse to avoid it, an order from the White Snake Sage was absolute.
With no other choice, he slithered off to meet Mufasa and the others.
Dragging himself forward with a sluggish, defeated demeanor, Manda let out a long sigh. His massive head hung low, his eyes drooping with exhaustion.
Mufasa grinned, stepping forward as if greeting an old friend. "Hey, Manda! What a surprise! It's really nice running into you."
Internally, Manda groaned.
Nice? Not in the slightest.
If I had a choice, I'd go straight to Orochimaru and demand he cancel our contract.
Ever since Mufasa showed up, my life as a snake has been going downhill.
Still, as much as he loathed the situation, Manda was a professional. He forced the kind of strained smile a store clerk would give a particularly annoying customer.
"Ah, Lord Mufasa... welcome."
Mufasa could see right through the act. "Tough job this time, huh? But hey, hang in there—your time to shine will come."
Manda was speechless.
If you really wanted me to thrive, you'd help me get out of this contract.
With no way out, Manda led the group deeper into the vast Snake's Nest. The further they ventured, the stronger the presence of powerful snakes became. Hidden in crevices and shadows, they slithered in silence, their gleaming eyes reflecting in various hues—red, green, blue, white—like a treasure trove of cursed gems.
The air was thick and stifling. The rhythmic sound of countless snakes breathing filled the cavern, a sound that could unnerve even the bravest warriors.
Yet Mufasa and his companions strolled leisurely, completely at ease, as if they were shopping in a bustling marketplace.
Every now and then, Mufasa would comment on a snake's eye color, casually rating them like rare collectibles.
Manda, meanwhile, felt nothing but terror.
Deeper in the lair lay one of the most infamous residents of Ryūchi Cave—a one-eyed crimson serpent known as Zenya.
Unlike the other snakes, Zenya wasn't just violent—it was an uncontrollable menace. It had lost an eye in a brutal battle, and ever since, it lashed out at everything in sight, destroying anything in its path. Even the White Snake Sage had trouble handling it. The other snakes? They avoided it like the plague.
Yet, Zenya possessed immense power. Its body radiated potent Sage Chakra. It was massive, deceptively agile, and packed devastating strength. Its most terrifying ability? The power to turn victims into stone with a single glance.
Even arrogant Manda dared not face Zenya.
As they neared the deepest part of the lair, Manda finally stopped. He trembled slightly before turning to Mufasa.
"Master Mufasa... I think this is where I'll be stopping. You can... uh, find your own way from here."
Mufasa smirked. "Afraid?"
If anyone else had said that, Manda would have swallowed them whole out of spite.
But this was Mufasa.
So Manda hesitated—then nodded. "Yes... yes, I am."
Mufasa sensed Manda's muscles tense beneath his scales.
The big snake really was afraid.
"Alright, alright. No need to push yourself," Mufasa chuckled. "We wouldn't want you dropping dead from shock."
Manda let out an audible sigh of relief.
Mufasa and his team leapt off his back.
"You two stay here," he said to Orochimaru and Kabuto. "I'll handle this alone."
Mufasa strode forward, heading deeper into the cave.
The further he walked, the colder it became. Darkness swallowed the light behind him, and the glittering gems from before were gone.
Then—
Whoosh.
A shadow lunged from above.
It was fast. Lightning fast.
A massive figure shot down from the cave's ceiling like a living missile.
Its sheer speed was so great that the rank stench of blood trailing from its fangs lagged behind its movement.
For any normal person, this would have been the end.
But Mufasa wasn't normal.
He was the Emperor of Electromagnetism. A master of physics itself.
The moment Zenya moved, Mufasa felt its magnetic field shift. Even with his eyes closed, he could see it clear as day—a beacon of power glowing in the dark.
Zenya's fangs snapped shut—
But they met nothing but air.
Mufasa had already vanished, replaced by a flickering afterimage.
Zenya hissed, coiling up in confusion. Its remaining eye gleamed red like a searchlight, scanning the area. The snake's tongue flicked out, sensing for body heat.
Nothing.
No movement. No warmth. No trace of prey.
Zenya's mind reeled.
How?
Suddenly—
A voice rang in its head.
"So, you're the wild card of Ryūchi Cave."
The words echoed ominously, like they had been spoken from within Zenya's own mind.
"I heard not even the White Snake Sage can control you. Let's see what makes you so special."
Then—
"Catch this!"
Mufasa materialized above Zenya's head.
And he punched.
A deafening boom echoed through the cavern.
Zenya's massive head slammed into the ground with such force that the entire lair trembled.
Cracks ran through the rocky walls as dust and debris exploded into the air.
Manda, watching from afar, recoiled in horror. "Zenya... it's showing its true power! I fear that Mufasa might be in trouble!"
Orochimaru gave Manda a sideways glance.
For a snake that prided itself on wisdom, Manda could be incredibly dense.
He sighed, already wondering if it was time to find a new summon contract.
"How embarrassing," he muttered, shaking his head as Mufasa's battle continued.
Zenya reeled from the impact, its massive head smashing into the jagged stones.
The force of Mufasa's punch sent shockwaves through the cavern, making the very foundation tremble.
If Zenya had a human brain, it would've been rattled into mush.
A guttural roar escaped the crimson serpent as its single scarlet eye burned with fury.
The glow intensified, radiating raw, unfiltered rage.
"Die!" it bellowed, its tail whipping through the air like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
But once again, its strike met nothing but empty space. Mufasa had already vanished, slipping through reality like a phantom.
Zenya's head shot up, its lone eye darting around. It scanned the area, searching for even the faintest trace of its elusive enemy.
Nothing. Not a single movement. Not even a flicker of chakra.
Frustration turned to unrestrained fury. With a guttural hiss, Zenya unleashed a relentless barrage of elemental destruction—fire, frost, venom, and jagged rock spewing from its maw in all directions. The cavern was illuminated in bursts of violent colors, yet the attacks struck only the walls and floor.
Mufasa hovered effortlessly in midair, barely a meter from the beast's head, completely undetected. His electromagnetic field was compressed to such a precise radius that not even the most sensitive sensor techniques could pinpoint him.
He watched Zenya flail in confusion, its power tearing apart its own surroundings in blind rage.
"Impressive," Mufasa mused, nodding as he observed the serpent's terrifying arsenal.
"Even the Great Serpent Sage couldn't tame you, huh? Overflowing chakra, immense physical strength, and a mastery of multiple elements…"
A smirk played on his lips. "Yeah. You'd make a great battle companion."
Zenya's relentless assault began to slow.
Confusion settled in.
It didn't make sense.
If this intruder was invisible, surely he would've been hit at least once by the indiscriminate bombardment.
But there was nothing. No reaction, no sound—just an eerie, taunting silence.
Then Mufasa's voice echoed directly into its mind.
"Good effort, big guy."
A sudden weight pressed down on its skull.
"This time, let's go with a punch and a kick."
WHAM!
Zenya's head slammed into the earth, debris flying in all directions.
Before it could react, another blow crashed against its skull.
For the first time in its life, Zenya—the feared, untamed monster of the depths—felt humiliation.
It had never been toyed with like this before.
Its rage erupted like a volcano.
Scales rattled.
The sheer pressure of its anger sent shockwaves rippling through the air.
The cavern walls quaked.
The ceiling groaned under the strain.
Zenya's body rose, towering over everything. It coiled, muscles bulging, preparing to obliterate everything in its path.
Mufasa remained still, watching.
Then he saw it.
Among the sea of crimson scales, one stood out.
It gleamed brighter than the rest, almost liquid in texture, as if it were dripping with condensed fury.
And unlike the others, it grew in the opposite direction.
His grin widened. "There it is."
Zenya's reverse scale.
Its ultimate weakness.
The serpent thrashed, blindly swinging in every direction. But Mufasa was already moving.
In a blur of motion, he closed the distance.
A sharp yank.
Poof.
The reverse scale came free in his grasp.
Zenya instantly deflated, its towering form collapsing like a crumbling mountain. The blood-red glow of its scales dulled to a muted hue.
The rage that had burned so fiercely evaporated, snuffed out in an instant.
Mufasa landed gently before it, twirling the scale between his fingers.
"Well, you're not so scary now, are you?"
Zenya's eye finally focused on the man who had humiliated it.
"Who… who are you?!" it growled, voice shaky with disbelief.
Mufasa smirked. "The name's Mufasa. And from now on? I'm your boss."
The very word made Zenya's blood boil.
"Boss?!" it snarled, baring its fangs. "You dare—?!"
Before it could finish, it fired a high-speed glob of petrifying venom.
The toxic projectile shot through the air like a cannonball.
WHOOSH.
It struck an afterimage.
The ground where Mufasa had just stood instantly turned to stone.
A laugh echoed above.
"Damn," Mufasa whistled, casually perched on an outcropping above Zenya's head. "Your abilities are sick."
Zenya didn't hesitate. Another blast of venom shot forth.
Mufasa sidestepped with ease, sparks crackling around him. His voice rang out from multiple directions.
"You know what I like to use to educate tough guys like you?"
Lightning flickered.
Everywhere.
Zenya's eye widened as multiple Mufasa clones surrounded it, each radiating a deadly electric aura.
The cavern, once dark, now pulsed with an eerie, blinding glow.
"Thunderclap and Flash."
BOOM!
A massive club of pure lightning struck Zenya's side.
The snake howled in pain, whipping its head and tail wildly, trying to crush the attacker.
But Mufasa was already gone, reappearing in another flash.
Another strike.
And another.
Each blow landed harder than the last, sending shockwaves throughout the lair.
The walls cracked.
The ground trembled.
The air itself felt charged with chaos.
Deep within the tunnels, Manda recoiled at the tremors.
"What… what's happening?!"
Orochimaru merely chuckled, eyes gleaming with intrigue. "You'll see soon enough."
Finally, the relentless assault slowed.
The earth stilled.
The echoes faded.
From the shadows, a battered, dazed figure slithered forth.
Manda's eyes widened in horror.
He could see it.
He could smell it.
Zenya.
But not as the invincible monster he once knew.
No.
This was a defeated beast, humbled beyond recognition.
And standing triumphantly atop its head, hands in his pockets, grinning like he had just won a festival game—
Was Mufasa.
"Yo," he greeted. "Miss me?"