Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 394 Xin Ya, the "Self-Isolation"

Inside the cave, at its deepest point.

A large snake was curled up in a ball, sleeping.

He has red scales, a triangular head, and a scar on his right eye. Even in a peaceful sleep, he is still full of ferocity. He is none other than Shinya, the most violent serpent in Ryuchi Cave.

Xin Ya, who was fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

He sensed that some creature was approaching, and it was quite large.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

The scales made a sound as they rubbed against the ground. Xin Ya used the sound to locate the source and looked up. He saw a large black and purple snake slowly swimming in from the darkness.

Xin Ya recognized the newcomer at a glance, his eyes turning icy as he glared angrily: "Wan She! What are you doing here? Don't you know this is my territory?"

Manda joked, "Don't be so angry, I'm not here to cause you trouble."

Xin Ya scoffed, "Hmph, I knew you wouldn't dare."

Manda also has a bad temper. How could he tolerate such mockery? His fiery temper flared up instantly. Just as he was about to explode, he remembered something, snorted coldly, and restrained his temper: "It's your turn to go on stage."

Upon hearing this, Xin Ya was slightly taken aback, and only then did he notice the short figures beside Wan She, two beasts that walked on two legs.

"Humans?"

Seeing someone, Xin Ya was a little confused. He knew Wan She's temper. When did this guy become a guide?

Xin Ya had a very poor impression of humans and would take any opportunity to mock them: "Wan She, when did you become a human's lackey? You've fallen too."

Wanshe scoffed inwardly, thinking, "Now's your chance to laugh all you want. Just wait until this guy rips out your Achilles' heel. Let's see how you'll still have the nerve to laugh then."

"My name is Uchiha Aokiji." Aokiji gave a brief self-introduction and explained why he was there: "I was commissioned by the White Snake Sage to obtain your reverse scale."

Upon hearing that he was to be targeted, Xin Ya immediately erupted in fury, his roar like thunder.

Aokiji remained unmoved, his expression calm, and said to himself, "Then, you will sign a contract with me. In return, I can find a way to heal your eyes, and in the future, I can also grant you even greater power."

A simple conversation contains reasons, benefits, and threats.

Aokiji explained it very clearly.

Instead of getting angry, Xin Ya laughed, a sign of extreme rage: "You've spouted nonsense! I'll turn you to stone!"

Having said that, he took the venom into his mouth and spat it out.

Seeing this, the ten thousand snakes quickly dodged to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

This is Xin Ya's unique magic. If you are hit by it, you will unfortunately turn into a stone statue. Even a powerful snake like Wan She cannot escape it.

Aokiji slapped down with one hand, summoning an ice wall to block the venom's attack, but he was also petrified into a stone wall.

Aokiji smiled slightly and praised, "Not bad..."

Before the words were finished, a red figure crashed through the stone wall in front of him and rushed towards him: "Die!"

With a roar, Xin Ya opened its blood-red maw, determined to devour.

"boom."

A fist slammed down on Xin Ya's head.

Xin Ya's head made intimate contact with the ground, causing him to feel dizzy from the pain.

Coming to its senses, it was about to retaliate, but the Soul Fire was faster, slamming its head to the ground with a claw and rubbing it frantically.

Now Xin Ya finally understands why Wan She brought Aokiji along.

This bastard came to see me get my comeuppance.

Thinking about this, I can't help but curse in my heart: You beast!

Xin Ya's single eye was wide open in anger, filled with intense hatred.

At that moment, his only remaining eye met a pair of blood-red eyes, and he immediately became disoriented, the Mangekyou Sharingan's pupil patterns appearing on his glasses.

Manda, who was watching from the sidelines, was very surprised. It knew that Aokiji was strong, but it did not expect him to be this strong.

He subdued Xin Ya, who was his equal, in an instant, and a hint of fear appeared in Aokiji's eyes.

Aokiji slowly walked towards Shinya, glanced at it, found a reverse scale on its body, and reached out to touch it.

Suddenly, it was as if something had been triggered.

He saw Xin Ya's past, that deepest hidden memory.

In the scene, Xin Ya was about to break through the encirclement with its master, but unexpectedly it was betrayed by its most trusted master, who blinded it in one eye and even made it faint. When it woke up, its master and the enemy were gone. Whenever it thought of its master's betrayal, its blind eye would ache. This is the real reason why Xin Ya hates humans so much.

The spiritual world is like a lake, where a drop of water falling on the surface creates ripples.

Standing at the center of the ripples, Aokiji looked at the large red serpent standing before him. Combining this with the fragments of his memories, he suddenly realized, "So this is why you hate humans so much."

Xin Ya shouted, "So what if it is, you despicable humans!"

This is why it doesn't want to be challenged.

Aokiji raised his eyes and said with a look of utter disbelief, "I mean, are you an idiot?"

Suddenly, a curse rang out, leaving Xin Ya somewhat stunned: "What?"

Aokiji tilted his head, looking confused. "Did I say something wrong?"

Xin Ya thought the other party was toying with him. "I'd rather die than be humiliated," he thought. "Bastard, don't think that just because you're stronger than me, I'll obediently submit to you. Even if I die, even if I die by the roadside, I will never become your summoned beast."

Aokiji shook his head with pity, as if a teacher were lamenting that a student was still not getting it: "Have you ever seriously considered that your master hurt you to save you?"

Xin Ya was stunned when he heard this.

"To save me."

With a question posed, Xin Ya raised his voice in denial: "What are you talking about? Do you believe I'll kill you right now?"

Aokiji sighed, "To be honest, I don't mean to discourage you, but you're no match for me at all."

"...Bastard, what do you know? He attacked me when I wasn't paying attention, and I lost an eye. He's a despicable and shameless human."

Aokiji countered, "Then why are you still alive?"

"W-what...?"

Aokiji said disdainfully, "Please, use your brain and think about it carefully. At that time, your master had clearly given you the order to retreat with him."

"As a result, you were as stubborn as an idiot, charging forward relentlessly, and no one could stop you."

"If you stay here, both of you will be in mortal danger. Your master staged this self-inflicted injury to prevent you from being sacrificed."

"He deliberately injured you to create the illusion of internal strife, hoping the enemy would shift their focus to him. He calculated that the enemy's target was himself, so they wouldn't bother you, the summoned beast."

"Do you know? In your master's heart, your life is even more important than his own."

"Back then, you were still angry, and I could understand you saying you hated humanity. But after all these years, you still can't wrap your head around it. What else could you be but an idiot?"

After Aokiji finished speaking, he looked at the other person quietly.

He's explained it so clearly; I'm sure Xin Ya's brain can understand it.

Uh, probably...

Honestly, Aokiji is really worried about Shinja's intelligence.

"I……"

Xin Ya was speechless after being confronted.

He understood; he understood everything.

It turns out his master didn't betray him; he was trying to save him.

If he hadn't been so reckless and impulsive, his master wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself.

All that hatred that lasted for so many years now seems like a huge joke, and he himself is nothing but a clown!

Back in the real world, Aokiji dispelled the illusion cast on Shinja and also extinguished the Soul Flame.

Even without the suppression of the Soul Flame, Xin Ya didn't resist much. He lay on the ground, motionless, as quiet as a salted fish.

At this point, Mansakura, who always enjoyed watching things unfold, couldn't understand what was going on.

Huh?

Why did you stop playing?

He also wanted to see Xin Ya get a good beating from Aokiji.

After waiting a few seconds, out of curiosity, Wan She slowly swam over and, seeing Xin Ya's dejected expression, asked in great confusion, "What's wrong with you?"

Xin Ya lay on the ground, responding with a look of utter despair, "I'm an idiot."

"???" Manshe: "Idiot?"

What's going on? Has Xin Ya been turned into an idiot by an illusion?

Xin Ya: "I'm a complete idiot."

◎

Temple, indoors.

Aokiji returned to the White Snake Sage's side, handed over the reverse scale, and said, "I've taken care of the task."

Before the White Snake Immortal could say anything, the three women beside her were already expressing surprise: "So fast?"

Aokiji has only been gone for a short time, yet he's back so quickly.

The White Snake Immortal was unimpressed. With Aokiji's power, obtaining Xin Ya's reverse scale would be a simple matter if he wanted to. Her concern was something else entirely: "How is Xin Ya?"

Aokiji put his hands on his hips, looked up at the ceiling, and thought for a moment: "It probably isn't that great."

"Not too good?"

Hearing this, Tianxin Shenji and the other two guessed that Xin Ya must have refused to obey and was then beaten up by Qingzhi, so he was now recuperating from his injuries.

The White Snake Sage sensed a hidden meaning in Aokiji's words: "Was the contract signed?"

Aokiji bit his finger, pressed down with one palm, and responded with action. As a puff of white smoke rose, a large red snake appeared, which was none other than Shinya.

He was lying on the ground, as quiet as a salted fish, while muttering something under his breath.

"Well……"

Seeing this scene, not only Tianxin Shenji and the others, but even the White Snake Immortal was a little confused.

Is this still the same lawless Xin Ya from the past?

Why do you look so withdrawn after being beaten?

The problem is that the other party didn't have any injuries.

"Shinya, what's wrong?" Princess Tianxin couldn't help but ask, seeking the thoughts of all the snakes present except for Aokiji.

"I'm an idiot, and a clown."

Xin Ya's eyes were dull and lifeless, and his spirits were very low.

The snakes: ...

The White Snake Sage looked at Aokiji: "What did you do to it?"

Aokiji said casually, "It's nothing, I just gave him some psychological counseling."

For a moment, the usually calm face of the White Snake froze.

What kind of psychological counseling could turn the once arrogant Xin Ya into such a withdrawn person?

Aokiji glanced at Shinya, who was currently withdrawn, and thought that it would probably take him a while to recover.

He shook his head and sighed, then asked, "So, I guess I've completed my mission?"

The White Snake Immortal stretched out her hand, and a scroll flew from the mouth of the dragon head statue behind her into her hand: "This is the contract for Ryuchi Cave. Sign yours and write your name down."

Aokiji took it and unfolded it. There were rows and rows of names on it, and Aokiji even found Orochimaru's name among them.

Aokiji used a brush to write his name on the scroll and handed it back to the White Snake Immortal. In this way, he officially signed a contract with Ryuchi Cave.

With the matter settled, Aokiji turned to leave, saying, "Then I'll take my leave."

(End of this chapter)