Chapter 10

When the smoke cleared, Sasuke found himself by the entrance to Ryuchi Cave, his nose twitching with the scent of damp earth and ancient trees and the thin, sickly sweet smell of rot that always came with the place that the nin-snakes called home. Aoda uncurled himself from around Sasuke and bowed his head.

"They are waiting, Sasuke-sama."

"Hn."

The large serpent led the way. Sasuke walked beside him, the stone halls easily large enough to let them through with room to spare. Sasuke ignored the other snakes that curiously looked in their direction. They were probably just bored, and curious about the human visitor; these nin snakes rarely see human summoners, and aside from Orochimaru, Kabuto, and himself, nobody has recently formed a summoning pact with the snakes of Ryuchi Cave.

"We are here, Sasuke-sama." Aoda bowed his large head and left Sasuke by the entrance to the room where the sage must be.

"Right." Sasuke looked up. The hall opened into one gigantic room, the top of which was covered in darkness. The smell of damp earth and sickly-sweet rot was strongest here. Sasuke refrained from using his Sharingan to see better in the semi-darkness; he did not think the White Snake Sage would appreciate it. After making sure his eyes had gotten used to the dim, Sasuke walked further into the cavernous hall, his footsteps muted by soft moss and earth.

Sasuke walked forward in steady steps, right hand relaxed but ready to pull out Kusanagi for even the slightest hint of danger. He knew the nin snakes rarely attack when not provoked, but they have no love of humans in the same way as the nin toads do, and they would not hesitate to devour people if they see fit. Orochimaru had once told him that the White Snake Sage was a devious individual, and Sasuke had no reason to doubt it. The original Manda had been less than impressed by humans, considering them as nothing more than food. This snake sage was probably the same.

"Ah, our guest has arrived."

The White Snake Sage was a giant of a snake – quite easily bigger than Aoda. Like her name implied, her scales were white, with no markings. Her gold eyes seemed to glow in the semi-darkness, and she wore a ridiculous crown on her head and a thick band of gold near her neck. She was draped on a large throne-like chair, and her long body curled around it. Sasuke realized that he could not see the tail end of her anywhere.

The White Snake Sage lifted her head from the throne and hissed, her forked tongue tasting the air. "Uchiha Sasuke," she greeted. "How kind of you to visit."

Sasuke frowned. "Your invitation left me no choice."

"Ah, do forgive our…eagerness. It has been a very, very long time since we've had any word about the empress." The sage chuckled to herself.

A pair of green snake eyes appeared in the shadows behind the sage's throne. Sasuke fought back the urge to take Kusanagi out anyway, damn the consequences.

Manda's clone appeared from the shadows, head reared up and green eyes focused on Sasuke. He was just as large as the sage, but Sasuke noticed that this Manda-clone never raised its head higher than the sage's, and kept a respectful distance from her.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Manda's voice was a deeper, rolling growl than the original. "How fares my creator, Kabuto-sama? Is he well?"

"I don't know. I left Konoha a few months ago." Sasuke guessed that Kabuto must not have summoned Manda for some time; since he is now being groomed as the new director for the village's orphanage, there was very little reason for him to do so. "He seemed to be doing fine when I left," he added.

The large purple snake nodded. "That is good to hear."

The sage snorted. "I still cannot understand why you worry so much for a human."

"He is my creator. I owe him my life."

"And you owe your power to your predecessor," the white snake answered back. "You are one of the strongest of the nin snakes barring myself—act like it," she hissed.

The Manda clone nodded, and chose not to speak again. He bowed his head slightly in greeting at Sasuke, then slithered back into the darkness.

The white sage turned her large head back to Sasuke. "Where were we? Ah, yes. I was told you were rescued by the Hebi no Kougo."

"If you mean a large snake that is highly venomous, then your spy is correct."

"Hm. A large snake. The impudence of humans never ceases to amaze me," the sage sniffed. "You did not just see a snake, you saw a living legend! Tell me, were her scales as green as the forest, as the legends say?"

"No. The snake I saw had black scales. Smaller than Aoda, but still impressive." Sasuke tried to remember details of the short fight that happened earlier that day. "It—"

"She, human. The Kougo is not a mere thing. Show some respect!"

"Fine. She was pretty fast. And highly intelligent, but she didn't speak the human tongue, so I used a summoned snake to talk to her."

"That is because the Kougo speaks in our own language. She would never deign to debase herself by talking like a human."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You have your own language?" Was Orochimaru aware of this?

"Of course." The sage uncurled from her position on the throne and looked down at Sasuke. "No mere human could learn it, even if you tried and had the lifetime of several centuries."

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "I have no interest in learning it."

"Good. I have no intention of teaching you."

Irritation made Sasuke frown. "Is that all you needed?"

"Did you see her eyes?"

"No. She had her eyes covered. It was tied with a cloth around her head."

"I see." The sage smiled. "No wonder you are still alive."

"What do you mean?"

The white snake laughed. "The Hebi no Kougo's eyes are her deadliest weapon, not her venom, although it is the most potent and lethal poison in the world. One look from her, and you will drop dead on the spot."

Sasuke's frown deepened. "That's impossible."

"Possible," the sage replied. "And it is the truth. So have a care next you meet her, human. No matter how powerful you are, with just one look the kougo can strip you of your life."

If that was true… "Then how come I've never heard anything about this empress of yours?"

The sage laughed, her voice echoing in the hall. "We do not owe you humans anything, let alone knowledge of our innermost secrets. I can write on hundreds of scrolls about the things you have no knowledge of, and still have some left over to fill the pages of your Bingo book!"

"Still, a powerful and deadly snake like her should be here…so why isn't she?"

"She has her reasons, no doubt. I've already had an invitation extended to her—she is of course most welcome to live here, by all means." The sage smiled.

Sasuke snorted. "If her invitation was anything like mine, she might take offense."

"How rude of you," the sage lifted her chin in the air. "Every snake, every serpent, whether born as a nin snake or not, defers to her authority. We would do everything to make sure she is happy, and her every whim appeased."

"Just make sure this empress of yours doesn't start eating humans, and the next time I do meet her she won't have to deal with me."

"Ah, then we have a problem."

Something in Sasuke's gut told him he would not like where this was going. "What do you mean?"

"The Kougo is a picky eater," the white snake sage said, slithering closer. "She has a preference for human flesh, you see. Perhaps that is why she is in Lightning? There are hardly any humans close to this place."

An image of the quirky scavenger in the hooded cloak appeared in Sasuke's head. The one he left behind, alone and completely defenseless against a giant snake.

Sasuke glared at the sage. "Return me to Lightning Country. Now."

"And what do I get in return for this favor?" the sage hissed, predatory smile making her fangs visible.

One slice. It will only take one slice, and this damn albino snake's head will roll. I can find Aoda and have him reverse summon me so I can leave before anyone finds out.

Sasuke's hand was slowly inching towards Kusanagi when Aoda suddenly appeared behind him. "Sage-sama. I will return Sasuke-sama to Lightning Country." He bowed his head, nose almost touching the ground.

The sage seemed to consider it for a moment before she settled back on the throne. "Fine. Do as you wish. Killing this human seems like too much trouble anyway."

"As you wish, Sage-sama." Aoda bowed his head again, then turned to Sasuke. "This way, Sasuke-sama."

Sasuke followed Aoda silently, shooting a final glare at the snake sage, who only chuckled and watched him leave. Once Sasuke was sure he was out of earshot, he glanced at Aoda. "You did not need to interfere."

The large blue snake shook his head. "If I did not interfere, the sage would have killed you before you could slice her head off." He lowered his eyes to be level with Sasuke's face. "This place is filled to the brim with nature energy. Sage-sama is adept at using it—do not underestimate her skills, or her power. She was the one who taught Yakushi Kabuto senjutsu."

"Ah." The tension in Sasuke's shoulders eased the more distance he puts between him and the snake sage. "Have you heard of this…Hebi no Kougo?"

"The empress of the snakes. Most call her the Emerald Empress, for the color of her scales that is rumored to be a green as deep as a forest canopy. But then again, those are legends passed on from however many years ago. Nobody has seen the empress that I know of."

"Hn. Your sage seems very intent on finding her."

"The legend also says that the empress can grant great power."

"Ah. That would do it."

They were back at the entrance of the cave. Sasuke noticed that the other snakes that had been there were now gone, and it was only the two of them in the area. Sasuke looked up at his summons. "Aoda. If what the White Snake Sage says is true, your empress preys on humans."

"Yes, that is quite possible. Most of us here have tasted human flesh. The Kougo is most likely the same."

Sasuke frowned. "If this empress becomes a nuisance to people, then I have no choice but to kill her."

The giant serpent bowed its head. "Do as you see fit, Sasuke-sama. But please take care; the sage will not be happy if she hears that the empress is dead, and by your hands no less. She will come for you."

"I'd like to see her try."

"Of course." Aoda had no doubt that Uchiha Sasuke could stand head to head with the White Snake Sage, but not here in Ryuchi Cave, where the sage had the advantage. "Would you like me to send you back now?"

"Yes."

Aoda gathered nature chakra and did the reverse summoning. In a poof of white smoke Sasuke was gone. Aoda sighed. "Be careful, Sasuke-sama."#

A/N: It's still Wednesday somewhere in the world, my dudes. Feel free to leave a review after reading, as always.