The Toad Sage hadn't expected that only a few days later, Ryoma would actually return — and he brought two more with him.
His students: Kakashi and Obito.
After months of brutal wartime experience, both had now reached the strength of Chūnin.
Ryoma had originally wanted to bring Kushina to Mount Myōboku for training, but she rejected the idea outright.
Honestly… she found the Mount Myōboku toad markings hideously embarrassing.
Ryoma could only laugh helplessly.
The other women in his life felt the same.
So in the end, Rin didn't come — it was only Ryoma leading Kakashi and Obito.
Thinking of Rin, Ryoma couldn't help but recall the future awaiting her… and he wondered whether he could change it.
Under Ryoma's guidance, Kakashi and Obito signed a contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku, allowing them to return for training whenever they wished.
Just like that, their futures began to shift under Ryoma's influence.
────
A fierce night wind swept across a remote mountain forest, and a tall figure appeared silently at the foot of a cliff.
The next day, while a Ryoma shadow clone supervised Kakashi and Obito's training at Mount Myōboku,
Ryoma's real body had already traveled far away.
Before him stood the mouth of a cavern — above it, crooked and ancient characters were roughly carved into the stone.
This was the entrance to Ryūchi Cave.
Ryoma stepped inside.
The interior was vast and winding, full of branching paths like a labyrinth.
Even Orochimaru, in the original timeline, had needed countless attempts, leaving markings behind to avoid becoming lost, only managing to find the enchantment barrier after a long struggle.
But for Ryoma, this wasn't difficult.
Ryūchi Cave — the domain of the White Snake Sage — overflowed with dense natural energy.
Ryoma simply followed that flow and quickly located the barrier.
A seven-meter-high stone door loomed before him, encircled by a coiled stone serpent.
Its head hovered above the center, tongue flicking out as though silently watching intruders.
Intricate scales and sealing techniques covered the structure, and an invisible barrier guarded the entrance.
This enchantment wouldn't stop the serpentine inhabitants or recognized contractors — only outsiders.
"Break."
Ryoma's dōjutsu flashed, shattering the barrier with overwhelming force.
He pushed open the massive door and entered with bold steps.
He was greeted by a towering rock wall filled with tunnels, dotted like the burrows of countless serpents.
Guided by natural energy, Ryoma headed toward the leftmost path.
It was suffocatingly dark at first… until faint white light began to glow further in.
Snakes of all sizes slithered along the walls.
"As expected. This is the dwelling of the Ryūchi clan."
"Who dares intrude upon Ryūchi Cave!?"
Three voices echoed sharply.
In the blink of an eye, three women descended from above and landed before him.
Each wore a shrine maiden outfit — respectively red, blue, and green — with a magatama ornament on their chests, and golden crowns with shimmering beads atop their heads.
The green-haired one stepped forward, glaring:
"State your name! How dare you trespass into Ryūchi Cave!?"
She was Tagitsuhime, accompanied by Tagorihime and Ichikishimahime — the three elite attendants of the White Snake Sage, charged with judging the worth of intruders.
Ryoma's entry had been loud enough that every serpent sensed the disturbance immediately.
"My name is Ryoma. I seek an audience with the White Snake Sage."
As Ryoma looked at them, he could clearly sense their true forms — serpents of Ryūchi Cave using transformation to take on human shape.
In the words of the Celestial Empire: snake demons wearing human skin.
"The White Snake Sage?"
Their eyes narrowed — yet another human coming to die, or so they believed.
For centuries, many shinobi had come seeking power…
Almost all had failed the trials — and been devoured.
"If you wish to meet the White Snake Sage," Tagitsuhime said coldly, "you will need to prove you are worthy."
With a teasing smile, Tagorihime's expression shifted —
and the three rose lightly into the air.
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
Mist swirled thick around them as their trial began.
A sharp female shout echoed through the cavern as a thick mist suddenly spread outward, shrouding everything in white and trapping Ryoma at its center.
"Sage Art: White Rage Technique!"
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
Three massive white serpents burst forth from the fog, lunging straight at Ryoma.
Simultaneously, the ground churned like rippling water — jagged stone spikes erupted upward to impale him from below.
Yet Ryoma didn't move.
He simply stood there, calm and unshaken.
Ichikishima-hime, now having transformed into the appearance of a petite blue-haired girl, looked at his still figure and scoffed:
"With such pathetic strength, you dare come to Ryūchi Cave?"
Tagitsuhime and Tagorihime both smirked, clearly in agreement.
So many had come seeking power… but rarely did they survive long enough to regret it.
But then—
BOOM!
A terrifying wave of chakra exploded outward from Ryoma, centered on his body.
The mist shredded apart, the serpents dissolved, and the stone thorns crumbled into dust — all in an instant.
"This is your trial?" Ryoma's voice was flat, irritated.
"If so, hurry up and take me to the White Snake Sage. Don't waste my time."
"You're getting ahead of yourself!"
Though shaken by his power, the trio were even more offended by his arrogant tone.
No way were they letting this go easily.
"It seems you need to be taught manners."
Ryoma could clearly sense their hostility.
His Rinnegan slowly began to rotate, patterns deepening.
Tagitsuhime was the first to attack again — hands flying through seals, preparing to unleash another illusion-based Sage Art.
But the moment the jutsu took form—
Her body froze.
Her eyes widened in fear.
"Wh–!?"
A single glance.
A single pulse of ocular power—
And Tagitsuhime's consciousness was already trapped deep inside a terrifying illusion.
Her breath trembled.
Words died in her throat.
An instinctive dread surged from her core, spreading like venom.
Those glowing crimson eyes stared directly into her soul.
And in that instant —
she understood.
This was the power of those eyes.
The power of the Rinnegan.
...
TN:
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