Tagorihime laughed heartily as she watched the pale Ichikishimahime struggling to transform back into human form. "Hahaha, didn't expect you'd suffer such a big loss one day. Should've let me go first."
Tagitsuhime mimicked Ichikishimahime's tone with a sly grin: "Hee hee hee, this time it's my turn first. None of you are allowed to snatch any snacks from me, got it?"
"Shut up!" Ichikishimahime trembled with anger. "That thing is definitely not human. It must be some monster disguised as one. Its chakra is even more than that turtle, Isobu… hiss… I probably won't eat for months after this…"
She paused for a moment, then said, "Why are you still keeping him trapped here? Just throw him inside already."
"Oh dear, no matter what kind of monster it is, it all tastes the same in my belly," Tagorihime said with a smile. "We haven't even started yet, how can we admit defeat so easily? Just because you lost out doesn't mean I will. Besides, haven't you already drained a lot of his chakra? After all that, he should be pretty exhausted."
"Heh…" Ichikishimahime scoffed.
In her perception, Kaede's condition had barely changed from start to finish. It was as if no matter how much chakra he released, it didn't even cause the slightest ripple. In other words, his actual chakra reserves must far exceed even what was enough to make her explode.
But she was too lazy to tell Tagorihime that, and besides, she didn't want to be the only one unlucky here, so she shut her mouth and started absorbing natural energy to heal herself.
…
Elsewhere.
After dealing with Ichikishimahime, Kaede walked further into the mist. Suddenly, the fog silently dispersed.
Ahead of him rose a vast palace, gleaming with gold and jade.
At the entrance stood two barely-clad young women, smiling warmly at him.
"Welcome, traveler from afar. Please, come in and 'rest' for a while."
The palace doors opened to reveal a scene bathed in soft pink hues, a spring landscape of beautiful peaks shrouded in white mist, like steam rising from a hot spring, with fleeting visions shimmering all around.
Kaede glanced at the palace, tilting his head. "Quite a display. Just hope it can withstand my power."
"You'll find out once you step inside," the youthful woman at the door giggled, covering her mouth.
"Alright."
Kaede folded his hands behind his back and walked forward, reaching the steps and stepping up.
Tagorihime suddenly appeared silently behind him, smiling as she watched his hand reach toward one of the young women by the door. When his finger finally touched her, she flicked out her snake tongue, bared fangs, and opened her massive python-like jaws, lunging to swallow Kaede whole.
But,
Just as she was about to strike, her movement froze.
She saw that the young woman Kaede touched did not collapse into his arms as expected, instead, she shattered into countless points of light that scattered away.
Then,
Kaede withdrew his finger calmly and continued walking forward.
With every step, the tiles beneath his feet disintegrated into sparks of light that spread rapidly, until the entire palace crumbled and collapsed.
"How can this be…"
"This isn't just a simple illusion, it's my sage chakra…"
Tagorihime stood frozen, her snake-like eyes revealing shock. Then suddenly, she felt herself being grabbed.
Her head had already transformed into a giant snake's form, though her body remained humanoid. Now, a hand crackling with lightning tightly gripped her neck, lifting her off the ground.
Bathed in silver light, Kaede looked at Tagorihime calmly.
"Want to dance too?"
Her pupils shrank violently. With a shriek, her body instantly inflated, transforming into her true massive snake form, trying to fling Kaede away.
But even as her giant snake form writhed, she couldn't shake him off. Kaede's fingers still gripped the scales at her neck and in a flash, he lunged forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
A silver streak gripped the serpent's neck and hurtled forward, crashing into a rock and shattering it to pieces. The momentum continued, smashing through boulders and tearing a huge hole in the mountain peak.
Rumble, rumble,
The mountain cracked and crumbled in massive chunks.
Kaede released his grip, his figure flickering as he appeared back in the mist outside. He lightly clapped his hands, watching the collapsing peak.
"This should count as passing, right?"
No reply came, only the sound of falling rocks.
"Not passed yet…"
Kaede sighed and drew his Kusanagi sword, which began to crackle with lightning.
Just then, a terrified voice echoed from within the collapsing cave:
"Stop! Stop! You've passed! You've passed!!!"
From the blade's power, she felt a deathly threat, to be struck by such a sword, even if one survived, the pain would be unimaginable.
Whoosh!
Kaede flicked his hand, sending gathered chakra shooting into the sky.
The silver blade tore through the mist, disappearing into the clouds.
Clang!
Sheathing the Kusanagi, Kaede turned toward the lingering mist.
Tilting his head, he said, "Where's the last one? No more hiding, come out already."
Silence.
Finally, Tagitsuhime stepped out, glancing upward. Through the torn mist, the sun was faintly visible.
"I am Tagitsuhime… To gain the power of the Ryūchi Cave's sage arts, you must pass my final test. Just answer my question…"
"…"
Kaede met her gaze calmly.
Their eyes locked, and an overwhelming pressure bore down on him. A cold sweat appeared on her brow. After a brief hesitation, she asked,
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"You have passed."
A question mark appeared over Kaede's head.
Then, Tagitsuhime's form became translucent and vanished. The mist around them also faded away, revealing a temple in its place.
"Kaede!"
Rin appeared at the temple's entrance, waving.
Only then did Kaede realize. He glanced around, finding no sign of Tagitsuhime or the other two snake sages. Shaking his head, he walked toward Rin.
"When did you get here?" he asked.
Rin blinked. "Isobu used a bit of his chakra, and I came out from the mist... I was worried about you. The White Snake Sage said anyone who fails the trials gets eaten."
Kaede chuckled. "I'm probably the least tasty type. They likely don't even want to eat me anymore."
Speaking, he entered the temple.
Ahead was a long red staircase leading upward, all the way to the horizon.
At the top stood the White Snake Sage, not in human form, but as a gigantic white phosphorescent serpent, lying there with a long pipe in its mouth, exhaling wisps of smoke.
==========
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