Thousands of snakes coiled around the massive disc, their scales brushing against the cold metal.
The chilled surface felt strangely comfortable, a stark contrast to the raw energy surging through the machine.
Following the precise requirements, Manda synthesized Senjutsu chakra within its massive body.
As the energy flowed, it thought to itself, Is that all? That was too easy.
Manda's card was already inserted into the metal pole in front of it, glowing faintly with stored energy.
Kabuto adjusted the belt around his waist.
Unlike standard transformation belts, this one had a built-in natural energy furnace with a special card slot on the right side.
Mufasa gestured. "Insert the card."
Kabuto slid Manda's card into the slot.
The belt responded instantly, energy crackling to life.
But there was one final step—the activation command.
Each Rider chose their own transformation phrase.
Mufasa had already prepared one for Kabuto.
"The fate of the weak is mine to change!"
Kabuto shouted with confidence.
The card pulsed with light.
A surge of invisible gravitational waves burst through space and time.
Somewhere within the generator, Manda's chakra signature resonated with the card's frequency.
Before the great snake could react, its stored energy was siphoned away at a rapid pace, converted into quantum waves, and transmitted directly to Kabuto's belt.
Manda's enormous eyes widened.
"Huh?!" It flicked its tongue in confusion, sensing its chakra rapidly draining.
"What the hell just happened?!"
Kabuto, however, had no time to hesitate.
His transformation had already begun.
The quantum energy from Manda's chakra surged into the belt, triggering an instant reaction.
The alloy of the belt expanded, growing and spreading across Kabuto's body, morphing into full-body armor.
In a flash, the transformation was complete.
Kabuto now stood clad in sleek, battle-ready armor.
The design had unmistakable influences from Manda's form—his connection to the snake summon was now visually undeniable.
The armor's primary color was a deep, royal purple, highlighted with black details.
Two sharp, curved horns extended from his helmet, resembling Manda's bony brow ridges.
His massive, pitch-black visor covered most of his face, shaped like a diamond-cut serpent's eye.
His mouthpiece was adorned with jagged metallic fangs.
From his chest to his abdomen, the armor simulated powerful muscles beneath a layer of reinforced plating, textured like snake scales.
The segmented armor around his limbs transitioned from deep purple at the top to jet black at the lower half.
But the most striking feature was the snake head resting on his right shoulder—an intricate, scaled-down replica of Manda's own fearsome visage.
Everything about the design was sharp, efficient, and undeniably intimidating.
Mufasa nodded in approval. "Looks solid. We'll call this series of Riders... Ryūchi Cave Kamen Rider."
He smirked. "Or just Dragon Rider for short."
With the transformation successful, it was time for the real test.
"Kabuto," Mufasa called, "test your strength. Let's start with the basics."
Without hesitation, Kabuto crouched low and launched himself into the air.
Fifteen meters.
A good start.
"Alright, now hit me."
Kabuto twisted mid-air and swung his leg down in a fierce axe kick.
Mufasa raised an arm to block.
BOOM!
The impact rippled through the ground.
Mufasa's muscles tensed, absorbing the force.
Not bad.
He ran some quick calculations in his head.
"About four tons of force behind that kick."
"Again."
Kabuto didn't hesitate.
He followed up with a straight punch.
Mufasa caught it in his palm.
"Hmm… Punching strength is around 1.5 tons."
He grinned. "Not bad at all. A Rider with a jumping power of 7.5 tons, a 4-ton kick, and a 1.5-ton punch—solid stats for a first transformation."
Just as Mufasa was about to test speed, something shifted.
Manda hissed in discomfort, its massive body writhing slightly.
A strange fatigue crept over the great snake, muscles feeling sluggish and drained.
"Wait… why do I feel weak? This was supposed to only extract chakra, right?!"
Mufasa's brows furrowed.
Something was off.
The generator had absorbed more than just chakra energy.
It had begun extracting physical strength as well.
A sudden shift overtook Kabuto's armor.
The snake head on his right shoulder snapped its jaws open, exposing sharp fangs.
Crimson energy lines slithered across his body like veins, weaving into the deep purple and black plating.
His visor, once a solid dark diamond shape, now pulsed with eerie red streaks.
The subtle scale pattern on his armor bulged, shifting from an imprint to raised, tangible ridges. His once-sleek design now looked wilder, more feral.
A sudden wave of bloodlust filled the air.
The onlookers—Mufasa, the White Snake Sage, and Orochimaru—stiffened as they felt the energy shift.
Kabuto's voice finally broke through, though it was strained, almost detached.
"My body... and mind... are under immense pressure."
Despite the transformation, he remained eerily calm, meticulously analyzing his own condition.
"Muscle fibers, nerve tissue, and skeletal structure have all strengthened beyond normal limits."
"Physical abilities are increasing exponentially."
"Cell regeneration has accelerated."
"However, the energy expenditure is extreme. Without a steady supply, my cells will begin dying at a rapid rate."
"The mental strain is overwhelming."
His breath hitched slightly.
"There's something else—an intrusive, violent urge pushing against my mind. A primal instinct. I... I want to rip something apart. I want to eat raw flesh."
He clenched his fists.
"At this current rate, I can sustain this transformation for ten minutes. After that… my body will collapse."
Mufasa exhaled slowly.
The generator had forcefully poured all of Manda's energy into Kabuto.
It was as if the mass and essence of a mountain-sized snake had been compressed into a single human body.
The fact that Kabuto could endure even ten minutes was impressive.
But they weren't done yet.
Mufasa's eyes gleamed. "Then let's push those ten minutes to the limit. Keep testing your stats."
Kabuto nodded, his grip tightening.
He leaped again.
This time, he soared thirty meters into the air.
His previous data had just doubled.
Mufasa grinned. "Alright. Now hit me again."
Kabuto twisted in mid-air, descending with another devastating kick.
This time, Mufasa braced himself.
After extensive testing, Kabuto—now in his bloodstreak-enhanced state—demonstrated a punching force of 3 tons, a kicking force of 10 tons, and a speed of 1005.2 meters per second.
The improvements were remarkable.
Mufasa analyzed the results, nodding in satisfaction.
"Double the punching power, one and a half times the kicking force. That's solid."
He was preparing to run further tests when Kabuto, usually calm and collected, suddenly spoke with uncharacteristic urgency.
"This power… it's exceeding our projected limits," he admitted.
"I estimate I can sustain it for a little while longer."
At the same time, Manda let out a deep, exhausted breath, its massive body shuddering.
Mufasa frowned and made a decision.
"Pull out the card and disengage from Dragon Knight mode. We need to figure out what's happening before pushing further."
Kabuto complied, pulling the card from his belt. Instantly, his armor disintegrated into motes of light, leaving him in his usual attire.
He wasted no time swallowing several medical pills to replenish his body.
Meanwhile, Manda collapsed onto the ground, completely still.
Mufasa narrowed his eyes and kicked the enormous serpent's head. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Manda weakly lifted its head. "I… I feel like I've been… entertaining a hundred Sister Snakes for ten straight years."
Mufasa blinked. "That's… an oddly specific analogy."
But he couldn't deny that it was an accurate description.
The giant snake looked utterly drained, practically lifeless.
From Manda's words, Mufasa realized that his generator was even more powerful than he had initially estimated.
Not only could it extract chakra energy, but it also absorbed physical stamina.
Mufasa scratched his head, chuckling sheepishly. "Well… that's a little embarrassing."
Manda groaned, "Kazekage, please… spare me. If this keeps up, I'm actually going to die."
Mufasa considered the issue.
It wasn't just a matter of chakra—it was completely draining the host, body and soul.
The White Snake Sage, who had been observing, hissed angrily. "This is unacceptable! At this rate, we won't have enough descendants to provide energy for your little experiments!"
Mufasa rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, okay, I see the problem now… No worries! We can fix this. Science is all about trial and error."
Without hesitation, he turned to another massive serpent. "Alright, Zenya, you're up next."
Mufasa strapped his own belt on and inserted Zenya's card.
Unlike Manda's knight form, which had been a deep purple and black with chaotic blood patterns, Zenya's transformation took on a different aesthetic.
His armor gleamed in a fierce red and white, accented with streaks of blue when powered up.
Thanks to Mufasa's naturally superior physique, he could handle the full force of Zenya's energy without collapsing.
As he activated the transformation, he analyzed the stages of the knight system.
First Gear: The most basic transformation, granting standard enhancements. Mufasa dubbed this Dragon Knight Form.
Second Gear: The knight absorbs not just chakra but physical strength, exponentially increasing their abilities. However, this form comes with a higher energy drain. Mufasa named this Tempest Form.
Third Gear: A fusion of the knight's physical body and the snake summon's full power. In this state, the knight's armor manifests snake-like characteristics, gaining the abilities of the summoned beast.
For instance, Mufasa in Zenya's Third Gear could use petrification venom, camouflage, and Zenya's specialized ninjutsu. However, achieving this form required a synchronicity rate of 70% or higher between the knight and the summon.
Mufasa examined his new form and grinned. "Looks like things are about to get interesting."
He powered down, removing his belt as he considered the implications. "Seems like those knight apprentices are going to have a rough time."
With that, he made an official declaration. "Alright, I've figured out how to improve the system."
Mufasa modified the Quantum Space-Time Energy Conversion Gravitational Wave Generator, adding three transformation stages to its interface.
Now, knights could manually control their form progression, as long as their bodies and spirits could endure it.
Of course, if they recklessly pushed beyond their limits and died… well, that was on them.
He also took the White Snake Sage's concerns into account.
To prevent overdraining the summoned beasts, he installed a monitoring system that allowed the snakes to oversee their own energy transfer levels.
Additionally, he introduced an automated recovery system, using specially crafted healing baths inspired by Dragon Ball's healing pods.
After each transformation, the snake summons could soak in the recovery chamber to restore their energy and stamina.
With these adjustments, the Kamen Rider Dragon Knight system was finally complete.
Mufasa turned to Kabuto. "I'm leaving you in charge of further research. Keep refining the Dragon Knight system and make sure the knights don't die from overuse."
Kabuto bowed. "Understood, my lord."
Mufasa then addressed Zenya and Manda. "I need you two to register every summonable snake in Ryūchi Cave and turn them into Rider cards."
Zenya's single glowing red eye flashed with authority. "Understood. Anyone who refuses… I'll handle them personally."
With Zenya's reputation, none of the serpents dared disobey. Before long, Ryūchi Cave's full roster of powerful serpents had been converted into Rider cards.
To make things even better, Mufasa later recruited Sai to design intricate card artwork, ensuring that each Dragon Knight card looked as impressive as the power it granted.
With the Dragon Knight system now perfected, Mufasa returned to Suna Village alongside Orochimaru, feeling highly accomplished.
His first order of business? Introducing this new power to the Kamen Rider Academy.
Mufasa rushed into the academy's main training hall, excitement radiating off him. "Students, I have amazing news for you all!"
The gathered students exchanged wary glances.
Yongfeng frowned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this…?"
Mufasa grinned. "We've developed the Dragon Knight System! Now, every single one of you has the potential to become a Ryūchi Cave Rider! Isn't that amazing?"
The students erupted into cheers.
Power.
Transformation.
A chance to stand among legends.
What wasn't there to be excited about?
Mufasa held up a hand. "BUT—"
The room instantly fell silent.
Mufasa smirked. "Naturally, we have higher expectations for those who want to become Dragon Knights."
He lifted ten fingers.
"Ten mandatory courses. Each must be completed with an S-rank grade. Three compulsory subjects: riding, combat, and gymnastics. And now, an additional required subject: mental fortitude training."
Sakyo, one of the students, gulped audibly, his fingers twitching.
"W-We have to rank everything up to S…?"
Mufasa's grin widened. "Yep. Just a little more effort, right?"
The students' collective groan could be heard throughout the entire academy.
And thus, the Kamen Rider Dragon Knight training program officially began.
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Word count: 2101
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