In the dim depths of Ryuchi Cave, a massive crimson serpent sped along, its body pressed low to the ground. Seated atop its head was a man.
"Hey, brat, what exactly are you going deeper for? Any farther and it's the earth-fissure."
Even with a contract signed, Garaga's tone toward Gusion was anything but friendly—at least, that's how it sounded.
"You'll have to ask the White Snake Sage. This is the trial he gave me. I have to complete it before I can learn your cave's Sage Arts."
Gusion said, eyes already picking up a faint red glow ahead in the darkness—that had to be light from molten lava.
"Learn Sage Arts? Since when did learning Sage Arts involve a trial like that? Isn't it enough to pass those little bitches' games?"
Garaga sounded puzzled. As an elder of Ryuchi Cave, it of course knew the cave's affairs.
"How would I know? Maybe the White Snake Sage doesn't know what's down there either. What I'm really curious about is what your cave's forbidden abyss is hiding."
Gusion smiled. This was a secret place never mentioned in the original story, and it stirred a powerful urge to explore within him.
Garaga moved incredibly fast, and in no time they reached the end of Ryuchi Cave.
Here, the temperature of the air rose noticeably. Garaga's speed slowed, clearly reluctant to go any farther.
"Brat, it's too hot here. What's there to see?"
Garaga complained. Snakes are cold-blooded and can't regulate their body temperature; places like this made it extremely uncomfortable.
"Go a little bit farther. I'll handle the rest on my own."
Sensing Garaga's discomfort, Gusion didn't force it to go deeper.
After traveling about ten more kilometers, Garaga came to a stop. The air temperature here had exceeded 70 degrees Celsius, making its crimson scales flush even redder, as if they might burst.
Gusion jumped down from Garaga's head. "Head back somewhere cool and wait for me. I'll share the interesting bits with you later."
Garaga tilted its head aside with a snort. "Hmph, I couldn't care less what's down there. You, on the other hand—try not to die in the fissure."
The earth-fissure at the end of Ryuchi Cave was like an abyss. Due to the nature of serpents, none had ever set foot there; there was only a legend that demons lurked within that chasm.
Now that the White Snake Sage was sending Gusion down to investigate, Garaga was curious too—though it would never show it.
After parting ways with Garaga, Gusion headed north. The scorching air made him start to sweat.
As he neared the fissure, the heated air had climbed past two hundred degrees. Only because his current physique was extraordinary could he barely endure it.
The temperature was truly abnormal. He hadn't even descended into the fissure yet, and the air alone was this searing. That could only mean the magma below wasn't ordinary—the scale must be enormous.
Forcing himself to endure, Gusion reached the edge and looked down. The glow of molten rock surged upward to meet him.
A river of lava flowed below, hellfire winding along like a blood-red serpent, shimmering here and there with sulfur-yellow light.
Scalding magma coursed between rock walls, its roar like thunder, like some great beast bellowing in the earth's depths. Waves of heat rolled upward, the air thick with the acrid sting of sulfur, making Gusion hold his breath on instinct.
The magma moved slowly, now and then a liquid chunk of stone tumbled down from above, splashing sparks that fanned out like fireworks blooming in a night sky.
Such a spectacle—pity there was no one but him to appreciate it.
Amid the gorgeous river of lava, Gusion swept his gaze and noticed something unusual.
By the naked eye, the magma river was flowing backward—not from high to low, but from low to high.
He wasn't highly educated, but he knew fluids flow downhill under gravity. If something abnormal happens, there must be a third force at work.
Curiosity piqued by the strange phenomenon, he decided to follow the river against the current, heading upstream to take a look.
During the journey, he had to stop several times because of the heat, grumbling that this place was definitely not meant for people.
No wonder Ryuchi Cave had no idea what was going on here. Snakes likely couldn't stand this environment. Even powerful shinobi wouldn't be able to survive here.
His physique was high, and his gear was treating the extreme heat as magical damage, shaving off some of the negative effects—only that allowed him to remain here.
Even so, he couldn't stay for long. He judged his maximum operating time here was two hours; anything beyond and he might overheat.
If he jumped into the fissure proper and faced even higher temperatures, he probably couldn't last a few minutes.
His physique attribute wasn't high enough yet, and his Haki training wasn't fully mature. If his Armament Haki and body were stronger—say, on Kaido's level—then soaking in lava might not be a problem at all.
After about an hour, just as he was preparing to head back and report to the White Snake Sage what he'd seen, he noticed the path had ended.
He had reached the uppermost reach. Before him was no longer an endless river of magma, but a dark red rock wall. The reversed lava seemed to be absorbed by some force upon touching the wall.
He thought for a moment and decided to risk a closer look. Enveloping himself in his strongest Ryuo, he stepped off with Shunpo and dropped from above.
Reaching the rock wall, the temperature around him had pushed close to a thousand degrees Celsius. Even with Ryuo active, it was hard to endure; the edges of his outer garments were starting to curl from the heat.
He didn't dare dawdle. Carefully probing the rock face, he finally spotted a round, smooth object where the magma churned below.
He froze for a beat, then, forcing himself to bear the heat, went lower, launched a palm gust to force some magma aside, and finally saw what it was.
A crimson oval, its surface etched with scarlet spiral patterns. Judging by its appearance, Gusion couldn't shake the feeling it looked like… an egg.
An egg?
An egg buried at the end of a lava river? Shouldn't it have been roasted long ago?
Yet it didn't look cooked at all. On the contrary, it was absorbing the lava—both its matter and energy—devouring it whole. The suction was so strong it drove the reverse flow of the entire magma river.
He instinctively backed away a bit. He'd covered distance at great speed; this river spanned hundreds of li.
An egg that could reverse the flow of such a long river—how immense must its suction be? It violated basic physics as he knew them. Even with supernatural forces involved, this was beyond the level of any lifeform he'd imagined.
He thought of Ryuchi Cave's name. Could this really be… a dragon egg?
The thought made him itch with curiosity. He wanted to know what it was.
Cautiously, he lowered himself again, pushed aside some lava with a palm wind, and inched closer. Slowly, he stretched out his hand.
He didn't intend to take it away—he just wanted to use Appraisal to see what it was.
[Warning: Pioneer has entered a hidden map and is attempting to awaken the nirvana-born Flame Dragon!]
The stern alert from End Space rang in his ear the moment his hand touched the egg, and he jerked his hand back immediately.
Rising, he frowned. This was the first time he'd encountered such a situation—End Space issuing a special warning. It didn't seem concerned for his safety so much as… worried about something else.
Curious as he was, and tempted to take the egg, he understood that anything End Space felt compelled to warn him about was absolutely not simple. With his current strength, messing with it would be asking for death.
He silently committed the dragon egg to memory, hoping that next time he came to the Naruto world, he could figure out a way to secure it.
Just as he was preparing to withdraw and complete the White Snake Sage's trial, he noticed some patterns exposed on another rock face being battered by magma.
Intrigued, he Shunpoed over, pushed aside some lava, and took a closer look.
A series of panel drawings and ancient script he couldn't read. The drawings depicted the true dragon—soaring skyward, spitting flame, ascending toward the stars.
There were other diagrams as well—looked like some kind of inheritance. But he couldn't read the text, so he didn't know the details.
The temperature here was too high. Even End Space's high-grade pad couldn't be brought out for use. Gusion wrapped lightning from the Raijin Fruit over the rock face, and with a sort of rubbing technique, formed a net of thunder.
Then he sprang upward swiftly, returned to the top of the fissure, and while the lightning mesh still held the imprint, pressed it against a fresh slab of stone to copy what was below.
Here, his End Space pad could finally be used. He snapped photos, then destroyed the imprinted rock and left the area.
…
"Brat, you were down there so long I thought you'd died."
Garaga yawned lazily when it saw Gusion return.
One had to admit, the recovery abilities of a summoning beast were no joke. Garaga had been beaten all over by Gusion before, but the wounds around its mouth had already healed, and new teeth were growing in.
Though for some reason, the one blind eye it had had for a thousand years still wouldn't recover. Gusion could only assume the power that had injured Garaga was… special.
"Took a detour and had a look at the end of the fissure."
Gusion said. He had no intention of mentioning the dragon egg. That thing was extremely dangerous—not just to himself, but possibly to the entire world.
If Ryuchi Cave got greedy and awakened the Flame Dragon, the Naruto world might well be doomed.
For the report, he'd just mention the anomalies he'd seen within the fissure.
"What's down there?"
Garaga asked, unable to hide its curiosity. Living in Ryuchi Cave so long, it would be impossible not to be curious.
"I found some ancient text and murals, but I can't read them. Garaga, can you help me decipher them?"
Gusion had an idea and took out his pad for Garaga to see.
He wasn't keen on showing the murals to the White Snake Sage, but showing Garaga was fine—not only because they had a contract, but because Garaga wasn't the type to blab.
It didn't even get along that well with the White Snake Sage. If Gusion didn't say anything, Garaga wouldn't go reporting to her.
"Brat, you really are illiterate, huh? Can't even read."
Garaga bared its fangs in a grin, delighted to mock him.
A vein throbbed on Gusion's forehead. "So do you recognize it or not?"
"Of course I do. This is the earliest script used in Ryuchi Cave. Later the White Snake Sage created a new script and abolished the old one."
Garaga sounded quite pleased with itself. "Brat, you really asked the right snake. In all of Ryuchi Cave, only me and that old hag know this script anymore."
Gusion was speechless. Only the two of you know it—how does that make me illiterate?
He held it in and asked, "What does it say?"
Garaga lowered itself, its one good eye studying the tiny characters on the pad with effort. After a while, a rare solemn expression appeared on its serpentine face. "Brat, did you really see these murals down in the fissure?"