Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 389 The White Snake Immortal

The illusion collapsed, and the surrounding environment began to reveal its true form. A thick fog rolled in, and a pile of bones appeared where the food had been placed.

With just one glance, the illusion she was so proud of crumbled, and Princess Tsurugi's defenses were breached.

Filled with resentment, her face twisted in a rage, and a massive amount of Sage Chakra surged from her body, as she intended to reveal her true form and devour her opponent alive to vent her hatred.

"Stop..."

At that moment, a voice drifted over, attempting to prevent Princess Tsuratsu from revealing her true form further.

"Don't get in my way!"

Princess Tsurugi roared loudly at a spot not far away.

Immediately afterwards, two figures appeared in that location.

One of them was of medium build with a sinister appearance. It was Orochimaru.

The other person was petite, cute, and had her hair in a bun.

Her name is Ichikishima-hime, and like Takitsu-hime, she is a trusted confidante of the White Snake Sage.

Princess Ichikishima said calmly, "You haven't forgotten, have you? The White Snake Sage only allows us to eat those who fail the trial."

Tuanjin-hime scoffed, "I know."

Even though he felt intensely unwilling, there was nothing he could do. The White Snake Immortal's orders were absolute and could not be disobeyed.

The狰狞 ​​(zhengning, meaning ferocious or hideous) face of the Tsuratsuhime softened, and she regained her beautiful and charming appearance.

"As expected of Aokiji, he broke through this level of illusion with just a glance."

Orochimaru praised Aokiji highly, saying that his friend hadn't been very good at genjutsu in the past, but now his mastery of genjutsu had reached a level that was difficult for ordinary people to achieve.

Orochimaru stared at Aokiji's eyes with great interest. After the Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan, its power underwent a qualitative leap.

It is said that once the Mangekyou Sharingan is awakened, powerful ocular techniques will be born within the eyes.

What kind of eye technique will be shown next?

Thinking this through, Orochimaru smiled and asked the person beside him, "So... shall we continue the trials?"

Princess Ichikishima didn't fall for Orochimaru's trap, acting as a scapegoat: "How does his strength compare to yours?"

Orochimaru replied without hesitation: "Stronger than me."

Based on her observations and Orochi's reply, Princess Ichikishima wisely declared, "Then let's not waste any more time. I think we should let the White Snake Sage make the choice for the next trial himself."

Normally, to learn sage techniques, one must pass the trials of three high-ranking members of Ryuchi Cave: Princess Tashin, Princess Ichikishima, and Princess Takitsu. Only then will one have the opportunity to meet the White Serpent and learn sage techniques.

However, Aokiji's displayed strength was too great. To bring out something of this level would be, as Aokiji just said, a trivial skill, and to dare to show off one's limited abilities in front of an expert would be extremely humiliating.

Princess Ichikishima gave a fake smile, as if she were a professional in the food service industry: "Then please follow me."

Having said that, he turned around, lifted his feet off the ground, and guided the blue pheasant to drift deeper into the distance.

Aokiji followed behind Princess Ichikishima for a few minutes until they arrived at a temple.

He pushed open the door and found the room to be very spacious, with smooth tiles covering the floor. He walked on them for a while before pausing.

Ahead lay a series of ladders, extending at a 45-degree angle, with darkness on both sides. The candlelight from the lanterns illuminated the ladders, guiding the way.

"The White Snake Immortal is up there."

At Ichikishima-hime's prompting, Aokiji climbed the ladder and followed the red carpet laid out on it, continuing upwards.

It felt like it would take a long time, but in reality, it didn't take long before I successfully reached the top.

As far as the eye can see, in the deepest part, there is a stone dragon head carved with lifelike features, its open mouth holding a white scroll, and the words "Dragon Ground Cave" written on the side.

In front of the dragon head of the stone statue, there is a chaise lounge, on which an elderly woman, looking languid, is reclining. She has a pipe in her mouth, puffing out smoke, and is clearly a heavy smoker.

But no one would have guessed that this seemingly ordinary old man was actually the supreme leader of Ryuchi Cave—the White Snake Immortal.

Besides her, there was another young girl standing beside her. She looked mature and dressed exactly like the two before her. She was also a member of the high-ranking members of Ryuchi Cave, and was named Tanshin Shinhime.

Aokiji stepped forward and asked, "You must be the White Snake Sage."

The White Snake Immortal casually exhaled a white smoke ring, his aged voice responding, "That's right."

Aokiji said calmly, "I won't waste any more time on nonsense. My name is Uchiha Aokiji, and I'm here to learn Sage Mode."

The White Snake Immortal's golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly as he stared at Aokiji, instantly sensing the natural energy contained within him.

"Interesting. This is the first time I've ever seen a human like you. Shall I see the real you?"

The White Snake Immortal nodded and commented, her relaxed tone revealing interest. She mobilized the immortal energy in her body, influencing the surroundings.

Sensing the changes around him, Aokiji frowned slightly.

"Don't be nervous, I mean no harm."

Along with this reassuring voice, Aokiji noticed that the shadows of Ichikishima-hime and Takitsu-hime standing in front of him were changing rapidly at a visible speed, forming snake-like shadows that looked terrifying.

Aokiji's eyes turned blood red. After studying the shadow for a moment, his gaze shifted, and the shadow behind him changed, appearing as if a giant wing had spread out.

Orochimaru, seeing this, exclaimed in surprise, "Aokiji, you...!"

Under the White Snake Sage's technique, a person's shadow will reveal its true form.

For example, the three high-ranking members of Ryūchi-dong appear to be beautiful women, but their true forms are actually snakes.

Through their shadows, one could glimpse that their true forms were three large snakes.

That's why Orochimaru was surprised when he saw Aokiji's inhuman shadow, wondering what Aokiji really was.

"Human beings have limits. In my short life, I have learned a lesson: the more you play mind games, the more you will find that humans have limits... Unless you become beyond human, I will no longer be human, Orochimaru."

In contrast to Aokiji's nonchalant expression when he said this, Orochimaru's heart was already in turmoil.

After a long pause, even he had to admire him:

"I thought I was crazy enough, but after witnessing what you did today, I realized what true madness really means."

After witnessing the Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave, Orochimaru couldn't wait to try it out, but to his dismay, his body couldn't withstand the power of the Sage Art.

Therefore, Orochimaru began to modify his body.

Cultivating immortal techniques can cause the body to develop animal characteristics. For example, in the case of Dragon Cave, snake-like features may appear. This is because the immortal techniques were developed by the White Snake Immortal based on his own characteristics.

If the body cannot withstand the power brought by the magic, the best theoretical method is to transform the body into a snake. To achieve this, in addition to technical issues, there are also psychological issues.

Even someone as mentally strong as Orochimaru remained very cautious about this, gradually modifying the situation step by step.

Unexpectedly, his close friend had already taken a completely leading position in this regard.

"That's really interesting."

After a brief moment of surprise, the White Snake Immortal regained his composure.

Having lived to his age and seen far too many things, it was difficult for anything to pique her interest anymore.

She wouldn't have shown this attitude if she hadn't sensed a new system of sage techniques from Aokiji.

But that's all.

From its inception to its current age, it's quite normal for new systems of immortal arts to emerge over the past few thousand years.

"Where did you obtain this system of immortal techniques?"

The White Snake Immortal saw through Aokiji's immortal technique system at a glance. It wasn't specifically designed for human cultivation; it was clearly developed by some creature from a place like Ryuchi Cave and then passed on to Aokiji.

Aokiji didn't hide much and gave the White Snake Sage a general account.

(End of this chapter)