Uchiha Ryun looked at the bridge and the void behind it. He decided to walk forward.
Due to years of disrepair, the wooden planks were extremely loose. As he stepped on them, Ryun worried whether he might fall through.
Creak, creak.
The sound of the wooden planks made him tense. He seemed to have forgotten that he had been bitten by the White Snake Sage earlier, forgotten that he had come here to train in sage techniques.
At this moment, he was just an ordinary person—no chakra, no Blazing Flame Fan, no Demon Flame Necklace.
Just as he hesitated over whether to move forward, he suddenly heard the sound of falling rocks from the cliff behind him. The darkness was rapidly devouring the path he had come from.
Ryun had no time to hesitate. He stepped forward, but the darkness followed closely behind, matching his every step.
Creak, creak.
His right foot stepped through a rotten plank, and his leg got stuck between the old, thorny wood.
At that moment, the darkness behind him not only didn't slow down but instead rushed toward him even faster.
People, when faced with difficulties, always yearn for salvation. They hope disasters will come a little later. But in reality, apart from family, no one will lend a helping hand. Disasters won't slow down just because you wish for it.
What can we do in such times? What should we do? What must we do?
Ryun broke out in a cold sweat. Looking at his trapped leg and the approaching darkness, he gritted his teeth and forcefully yanked his right leg free. The thorns on the old plank tore his skin, leaving countless small wooden splinters embedded in his flesh.
The darkness arrived as expected, about to swallow him whole. But Ryun had no time to scream, no time to mourn, no time to bandage his wound. Dragging his bleeding, throbbing leg, he forced himself forward.
There was no time to scream. No time to mourn. No time to tend to his wounds.
Ryun didn't know what the darkness was, but he understood one thing—being swallowed by it would not end well.
Was he afraid at that moment? Yes. Afraid of his leg being torn open. Afraid of falling into the abyss. Afraid of being consumed by the darkness behind him.
Did it hurt? Yes. The pain of the wooden thorns cutting into his flesh. The pain of his skin being ripped off as he pulled his leg free. The stabbing agony of the splinters still lodged inside whenever he moved.
The darkness didn't slow down because of his fear or his pain. If anything, it seemed to speed up. Ryun had no time to think. He ran forward, his strides swift and unhesitating.
Earlier, he had hesitated, worried about missteps, worried about this and that. But compared to being swallowed by darkness, none of that mattered anymore.
And so, Ryun charged ahead without pause. The creaking wooden planks beneath him now fell silent. His right leg still had splinters embedded in it, the pain flaring with every movement.
But Ryun didn't scream. Didn't mourn. Didn't hesitate. His eyes remained fixed ahead, his teeth clenched. That desperate determination sent his adrenaline surging, and his speed increased even further.
Finally, dragging his injured leg, he reached the rocky ground on the other side. The darkness vanished. The wooden bridge disappeared. Even his leg was healed.
Ryun touched his right leg with his hand. No blood. No pain. A flicker of joy rose in his heart.
Then, his sense of smell suddenly returned. A stench of blood and rot filled his nose. Frowning, he walked forward and saw this scene:
A black snake slithered through the valley ahead, its tongue flicking as it moved among mountains of piled bones, as if swimming through an ocean of skeletons.
A green mist swirled in the air, carrying that acidic stench. Looking closer, Ryun saw the black snake had a piece of rotting flesh in its mouth.
"Ugh!" Ryun, still without his memories of the ninja world, was just an ordinary person now.
The black snake's eyes gleamed. It spat out the rotting flesh and slithered toward Ryun.
Ryun froze, then immediately turned and ran. But the snake only grew faster. Why? Because as Ryun ran, he kept glancing at his shadow.
The shadow grew smaller—meaning the snake was getting closer, blocking the sunlight that cast his shadow.
Driven by instinctive fear, Ryun kept running. Then, the black snake opened its maw wide, ready to swallow him whole.
Ryun reacted quickly. He grabbed a bone and let himself be dragged into the snake's belly.
A single phrase flashed in his mind: Perish to rebirth.
Inside the snake's stomach, Ryun used all his strength to snap the large bone in half. The broken ends were jagged and sharp. His eyes hardened.
Gripping the two bone fragments, he stabbed upward. The snake, which had just eaten and wanted to rest, suddenly stiffened, its eyes bulging. It began to thrash wildly.
Ryun tumbled violently inside its belly, but he didn't stop. If he did, he would die—digested by the snake's stomach acid.
A cornered beast will fight back, let alone a human. Ryun carved open the snake's belly from the inside. Though the snake writhed in agony, it was useless. Every time it rolled, Ryun drove one bone shard deep into its flesh while the other sawed away at its stomach lining. When one hand tired, he switched to the other.
Finally, after relentless effort, chunks of snake meat were sliced away. With one final thrust, the bone shattered, and the snake's hide was pierced. Ryun gripped the torn opening and ripped.
With a shhk, the snake's belly split open. Ryun crawled out, looked at the black snake, and smirked. "Perish to rebirth. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Just as Ryun was about to rest, the black snake suddenly dissolved into light and flowed into his body. At the same time, his memories began to return with the light's absorption.
After sorting everything out, he realized—this was a trial from the sage. Or rather, a test from the Dragon Sage Mode and its chakra.
Now, it seemed he had passed. Ryun smiled. Then, the scenery around him began to crumble and collapse. He simply shook his head.
"The dream is over," Ryun murmured. Finally, his sense of taste returned as well.
Outside, the White Snake Sage had waited for about a day. She hadn't left Ryun's side, though she had dozed off briefly earlier. Now, the familiar surge of sage chakra mode snapped her awake, leaving her stunned—then ecstatic.