Nextday,

Izuna and Meiwalktowards the center of the island.

"You still have to time reconsiderif you want to follow me or not. If youwant to return, then I can teleport you to Kirigakure… once we reach the center of the island I won't be able to teleport you… the space in the center of the island is isolated from the rest of the world." Izuna warns Mei.

"No need… I will follow you… I can't leave you alone."

Mei hurriedly chases after him.

Whoosh… Whoosh…

Both of them flicker deeper into the forest.

Hisss…

Izuna hears the hissing of a snake.

"Stop!"

He places a hand in front of Mei and stops her from moving forward.

"What's the matter?"

Mei frowns and questions him.

"Look there."

Izuna points towards a giant white snake slithering through the forest.

"What… what are you pointing at?" Mei tilts her head in confusion.

"All I see is an old lady slowly crawling through this forest… wait… what is an old lady doing in this forest?" Mei raises her guard as she takes a kunai from her holster.

"Huh! Old Lady… all I see is a giant ass white snake slithering through the forest."

Izuna turns towards the giant white snake and watches it slithering through the forest.

"Wait… it is clearly an old lady," Mei argues with him.

"I am one hundredpercent sure about it." She argues with Izuna.

Hmm…

Izuna frowns as he inspects Mei's chakra for signs of any genjutsu.

"Strange… There is noproblem with her chakra, which means she isn't under any genjutsu."

Izuna places his hand on Mei's forehead and tries to insert some chakra.

"Hiss… it's futile… My genjutsu can't be broken this easily."

The snakes notice the racket caused by them. It turns its giant head towards Izuna and flickers its fork-like tongue in front of him.

Izuna surveys the appearance of the snake.

The snake is a giant albino Japanese rat snake. Many yellow circular coils with the yellow band are tied around its body. The snake has a turban with two pointed edges and a red orb on top, along with an orange headdress. There is a large chain with a green orb around her neck.

Hiss…

The snake hisses at him.

"Boy… what are you staringat? Thisplace is not meant for strangers like you. You better depart from here."

The giant white snake warns him.

"What if I don't want to?" Izuna places his hands in front of his chest.

"I already warned you once… boy if you take one more step… you will face consequences for your actions. Hiss…" The giant snake hisses at him.

"One thing… I don't want in my life are regrets. As for consequences… I am never afraid of them."

Step… Step…

Izuna steadily walks deeper into the forest.

"Boy… my patience has a limit and you already cross it. Now pay for your recklessness. Hisss…"

The giant snake swings its tails towardsIzuna.

"Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate: Gate of View open"

Izuna immediately opens the sixth gate and blocks the attack with his hand.

Skid…

The force of the tail swings pusheshim back.

'Heavy… that tail-swing was so heavy…'

Izuna successfully blocksthe attack and smirks at the giant snake.

"If this is the best you can do… then don't even bother stopping me in my tracks." He taunts the giant snake.

Humph…

"Some courageous wordsfor a toddler."

The snake swings its tail again.

Swoosh…

'Swift Release: Sonic Steps'

Izuna dodges the attack.

BAM…

The tails collide with a nearby hill and shatter it into dust.

"Wooh… That's some dangerous blow there."

Izuna's eyes widen as he stares at the remains of the hill.

'This snake is dangerous… I have toget serious if I want to fight with him. I don't want to bully him with my Mangekyo or Ninjutsu abilities… I don't want to rely much on my Sharingan. I haven't polished my other abilities in a while.'

Whoosh…

Izuna dashes towards the giant snake and clenches his fist.

"Metal Release: BlackDiamond Claw"

Izuna's hands harden and turn into a black shining claw.

Whoosh… Bang…

He punches the scales ofthe snake.

Ouch…

'That's fucking hard… what are those scales made of?'

Izuna grabs his right hand in pain ashe stares at the scales of the snake.

'They are fucking harder than a black diamond which is supposed to be the hardest natural existing substance.'

Aah…

The giant snake grunts a little as it angrily stares at Izuna.

"You pesky insect… howdare you to attack me? You have made me mad now… I will chew you alive."

The giant snake closes its eyes. Its body glows with a cyan hue as it swings its tails towards Izuna.

'Shit… this is Nature energy. This snakecan use Senjutsu.'

Izuna's expression turnsugly. He quickly absorbs an enormous amount of Nature energy from his surroundings.

A cyan color cloak with a giant tomoe on back and front appears around him.

"Power Release: Asura's Robe"

Another dark red cloak coats his bodyas red-lightning flickers through his eyes.

"Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder Open"

He stretches out his hand and punchesthe tail.

"Hirudora"

Roar…

A giant white tiger made out of pure aura leaps out from his punch. The body of the tiger blazes with fire as red wings made of fire appear on his back.

Roar…

The tiger roars again and slams intothe incoming tail.

Hmm…

The giant white snake sensesdanger as various alarms go off in its head.

'Looks like I have underestimatedthiskid.'

Whoosh…

The coils around its body untie themselvesand ties near the end of the tail, turning the tail into a gigantic drill.

BOOM…

The tail and the white tiger collide with each other.

Boom…

A gigantic explosion occurs in the middle of the island as white light blinds their vision.

Rumble… Rumble…

The entire island trembles from the attack as the force of the attack throwsIzuna backward.

'Fuck… I almost forgot about Mei.'

Whoosh…

He teleports mid-air and teleports beside Mei. He grabs her hand.

"Susanoo: Yata no Kagami"

He places down his gigantic dark shield of chakra to block the shock waves.

BOOM…

The force of the collision pushes backthe gigantic snake as it rolls a few times before coming to stop.

A gigantic dome of air pressure and chakra covers the entire island as it blows away the leaf of multiple trees.

Silence… deathly silence haunts the entire island as the sound of the explosion buries down every other noise.

The dust and debris settle down to reveal an almost bottomless crater in the middle of the island.

"So… this is the strength of my most powerful taijutsu technique while I am not holding back."

Izuna stares at the giant crater and nods his head.

"…"

Mei silently stares at Izuna and questions him.

"Was it really necessary to beat a frail old lady to death using such a powerful technique?"

"…"

Izuna rubs his forehead in frustration as he reveals the truth to her.

"There is no old lady. It is a giant white snake that has disguised itself as an old lady. I am immune to most of the genjutsu… so it didn't affect me."

"Ok!"

Mei nods her head as she recounts her story.

"What I saw was an old lady crawling through the forest? I saw you having some dispute with the old lady. The old lady raised her stick to smack you and you punched her instead."

Sigh…

Mei sighs and shakes her head.

"I never thought you won't even hold back against an old lady."

"…"

"Wait… she is a giant ass snake… I told you the truth already." Izuna argues with her.

Haha…

Mei chuckles as she points towards Izuna.

"I just wanted to see your flustered expression. You always teased me during this period… it's time for some payback."

Ahem…

A creepy hiss interrupts them.

"If your lover's quarrel is over… thencan we talk about the matter at hand?"

The giant snake slithers in front of them.

Huh!

Mei turns her head and notices the giantsnake.

"So… this is the giant snake you were talking about. It's pretty unique."

Mei curiously inspects the giant whitesnake.

Ahem…

The giant snake clears its throat as it hisses at them.

"Congratulations! You have cleared the first stage of the trial. You can proceed to the second stage."

"Huh!"

Mei and Izuna stare at each other before staring at the Giant white snake.

"What's this all about? I don't wantto partake in any trial of yours. It is too bothersome. Just get out of my way… I only wanted to visitsome ruins."

Izuna waves his hands nonchalantly.

"No… it won't do. This is the rule of the Ryuchi cave and every visiter must follow this rule."

The giant snake hisses at them.

"Huh! Ryu… what? Wait, a sec… Ryu… Ryuchi cave?"

Izuna's eyes widen in surprise as he questions the giant snake for confirmation.

"Yes… Ryuchi cave."

The giant snake nods his head in affirmation.

Hold on a sec… we are in the Ryuchi cave."

Izuna questions the giant snake again.

"Yes… you are." The giant snake answers in annoyance.

"Wait… Ryuchi cave… Ryuchi cave… isn't it one of the legendary places alongside Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest. Together these three places are called the unexplored sage regions.

One can seek forever for these places but could never find them. I am surprised we could come across this legendary place." Mei excitedly stares at her surroundings.

"How do you know about it?"

Izuna questions her.

"Books… haven't you read any books? I found the information about Ryuchi cave and the other sage region in one of the older books of our clan library."

Hmm…

Izuna nods his head in understanding.

He turns towards the giant snake and smirks.

"I wonder what do the 'White Snake Sage' of the Ryuchi cave seeks with us. There is no way… the Snake sage would personally pay a visit to the intruder of the Ryuchi cave."

"Wha… what? Snake Sage…" Mei's eyes widen as she stares at the giant snake.

"… she is the legendary Snake Sage… The legendary leader of the snakes of the Ryuchi cave."

"Yes… I am the Snake Sage of the Ryuchi cave." The white snake nods her head.

She turns towards Izuna and questions him.

"How do you come to know of this fact?"

"Well… as you saw earlier… I am a Sage myself… so with my heightened senses… I can sense the presence of another sage." Izuna states as it a matter of fact.

"Figures… but I have never seen such a unique sage Mode. If my guess is correct… then you didn't learn it in Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu forest." The White Snake Sage asks him.

"No… I leaned my Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest… but I figured out the secrets of my Sage Mode on my own. Then later, I learned the necessary Taijutsu techniques from Mount Myoboku."

Izuna reveals to her.

Hmm…

The giant snake lowers her head and flickers out its tongue near Izuna.

"This stench… it is the stench of those stinky toads and slugs. Hiss… I can't stand their presence."

The Snake Sage lifts her head and shakes it furiously.

"So… what's the meaning of this surprise attack and what's with that trial?"

Izuna crosses his hands around his chest as he questions the Snake Sage.

"Very well… follow me…"

The snake sage slithers deeper into the forest. Izuna follows after her. Mei hurriedly chases them.

While walking through the forest, the Snake Sage lifts her head and explains.

"It was almost millennia ago… when Ryuchi cave came into existence. It was an era before the era of Rikudou Sannin. Together with the Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryuchi cave… the 'Great Traveller found three Sage regions'.

He gave spiritual wisdom to our ancestors and revealed the secrets of the Senjutsu to them. With his downfall, his possessions were distributed among the three Sage Regions as he spilt them accordingly."

The Snake Sage slithers as it lifts her head and looks at Izuna and Mei.

"I am aware of that." Izuna nods his head.

"I came to know of this from the toads of Mount Myoboku." He reveals to her.

"Huh!... the Sage of Six Paths was real. He wasn't a myth." Mei's eyes widen from this revelation.

"Girl!... he was very much a living person like you and me? It is just that with time most of the knowledge regarding him disappeared from the face of the Shinobi World. It is almost like… someone rewrote the entire history and made him a myth instead of a real person.

We Sages aren't allowed to interfere with the mortal world of shinobi according to the contract. Only chosen few could spark our interest."

The Snake Sage turns towards Izuna.

"Oh! Is that so… then what's the contract?" Mei asks her.

"That's a secret. It can't be revealed to anyone…" The Snake Sage slithers away.

"… So where were we… ah yes… about the 'Great Traveller's possession? He sealed away his Fuinjutsu knowledge in Shikkotsu Forest… his techniques into the Mount Myoboku and last but not the least… his weapons inside the Ryuchi cave."

The Snake sage reveals the truth to them.

"… when the chosen person steps into the Ryuchi cave… a trial to claim his weapon will start and it can't interfere unless either the chosen person dies or he completes the trial."

The Sage Snake points towards the sky.

Izuna and Mei raise their head. A thin red barrier appears in their vision.

Hmm…

A frown appears on Izuna's face. He stretches his hand and infuses chakra into his palm.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken"

Izuna creates a giant Rasenshuriken and throws it towards the barrier.

Bam…

The Rasenshuriken slams into the barrier and disperses.

"Humph… I am not done yet."

Izuna creates a shadow clone. The shadow clone and Izuna stretch out their hand as he forms another Rasengan.

"Dust Release: Molecular Disintegration Rasengan"

A small white orb appears in his hand. The orb swirls inwardly as it disintegrates everything around itself.

Haah…

Izuna throws the Rasengan at the barrier.

Boom…

The Rasengan collides with the barrier and creates a tiny hole the size of a pea in the barrier.

"What?"

The eyes of the Snake Sage widen in surprise.

Whoosh…

The barrier repairs itself. Izuna raises his hands in surrender.

"That was my strongest Ninjutsu. I guess… this barrier is unbreakable. Let's go and complete the trial."

Ahem…

The Snake Sage clears her throat to hide her surprise.

"Very well… let's go deeper into the Ryuchi cave. What you just saw was only the surface of the Ryuchi cave. The real Ryuchi cave is underground."

The group reaches deeper inside the forest.

A giant tree with large roots spread out through the island appears in front of them

Slam…

The Snake Sage slams her tail on one root.

Whoosh… whoosh…

The trunk of the tree opens to reveal a cave. The Snake Sage crawls into the opening. Izuna and Mei follow after her.

They continue deeper underground as various pathways and cave openings appear underground.

"Ryuchi cave is like a giant maze… if you aren't a resident of the Ryuchi cave… then you would be forever trapped inside this maze." The Snake Sage warns them.

Another large opening appears in front of them. There is a giant pool of water in front of them.

Splash…

The Snake Sage dives into the water.

"Shall we dive in?" Mei hesitates for a while.

"Let's go. I will protect you if any danger befalls us." Izuna reassures her.

"I can take care of myself. Humph…"

Mei snorts as a blush appears on her face.

Splash…

She immediately jumps into the water to hide her embarrassment. Izuna follows after her.

Huh!

Various water bubbles appear in his vision. Izuna inspects the bubbles with his Sharingan.

"They are not bubbles… but portals… to be exact space tunnels. They are linked to multiple places throughout the Shinobi world."

Izuna curiously inspects them.

"So… this is how these summon quickly travel through space and arrive to assist their summoner."

Izuna follows after the Snake Sage and catches up with Mei.

Humph…

Mei snorts and turns away.

"…"

'What did I do?'

Izuna cluelessly stares at her.

"Anyway… there are other things to prioritize now."

Splash…

The Sage Snake dives out of the water. The group appears in a cavern with a pedestal in its center.

The Snake Sage turns towards Izuna and Mei.

"Your first trial was to fight against me. The second trial would be much harder… so get ready to face it."

Izuna nods his head.

"I am ready. Just throw it my way."

"Very well…"

The Snake Sage takes out a coil from her body and places it on the pedestal. Many sealing formulas appear around the pedestal and creates a portal on top of the pedestal.

"Space sealing technique"

Izuna curiously inspects the giant portal. He turns towards Mei.

"This is my journey. Wait for me."

Swoosh…

He jumps into the portal and disappears from their sight.

Humph…

"Who cares about you?" Mei mumbles to herself as a slight blush appears on her face.

'Father wants me to marry a suitable person…'

Izuna's face appears in her vision.

'He doesn't look much different from his disguise. He looks cooler and manly in his original appearance. If it's him… then… No… no… what am I thinking about? I have to ask him to heal Father after his return.'

Mei shakes her head and stares at the portal.

Ahem…

"You know I am still here." The Snake Sage teases her.

"You are just an old hag… what do you know… Humph…"

Mei snorts at the Snake Sage.

"…"

Whoosh…

Izuna disappearsin the portal.

Hmm…

He appears in a separate,isolated space.

'This space is similar to Kamui's dimension.'

There are multiple rectangular prisms pedestal scattered throughout the space.

Izuna walks towards the centerof the room.

'What kind of trial was that Snake Sage talking about?'

He presses his hand on the pedestal and waits for the trial to start.

After waiting for a while, nothing particular happens.

"I guess… there must be some another way to start this trial."

Izuna fumbles around the various prisms to look for any clues.

"Hmm… these prisms are arrangedaccording to a Fuinjutsu formation."

Izuna rubs his chin in contemplation as he tries to remember the sealing formation.

"I got it… it is a sealing formation from one of those scrolls in Shikkotsu Forest."

Izuna places his hands on the prism rectangles and arranges them according to the sealing formation from his memories.

Rumble… Rumble…

The large rectangular platformtrembles, and the center pedestal rises in the air.

Hmm…

Izuna walks towards the pedestal and inspects it for a while.

There are some Fuinjutsu seals carved all around the pedestal.

"So… what's next… what am I supposed to do next."

Izuna curiously studies the seal as he tries to decipher them.

He notices a giant tomoe on the center of the Fuinjutsu seal.

'Huh!… this looks familiar.'

He places his hand on the gianttomoe.

"Wait… it looks familiar to my Senjutsu cloak. Maybe I should try using Sage Mode… after all, this person was the one who introduced the Sage Mode."

Izuna closes his eyes and entersSage Mode. He infuses Nature energy into the tomoe.

Woosh…

The Fuinjutsu seal lit up and rearranges itself into recognizable words.

[Only the worthy capable of harnessing the power of Nature and elements to their truest form shall claim this legacy.]

"Well… I can use all the known elements, so just give it to me. Don't bother wasting my time."

He infuses his chakra into the seal. The seal absorbs his chakra, and the glowing words fade away, opening a compartmentin the pedestal.

Swoosh…

The Sin seal heats up, and theGrimoire appears in front of him.

Huh…

"What's going on? Don't tell thereis another Sin eye here."

Izuna notices many Fuinjutsu chains binding a box.

Swish… swish…

The chains shatter, and the box floats in front of him.

[Every being has a sin bound to their soul. It takes a lot of self-knowledge to find the sin that is bounded to you because weall carry every sin deep within us. No being can remain untainted by Sin. But you are also not a sinner when you prolong these. It is only a sin if you take it too far, and it defiles the soul. If you come to be corrupted by your sin, your soul will be drenched and marked as a sinner.]

These words echo through theisolated space as Izuna holds the box in his hand.

"Sins… huh… if I have to sin against humanity to protect my loved one's then I am ready to become the very epitome of a Sinner."

He grabs the box and rips apartthe layer of seals on top of the box.

Whoosh….

Pink light glows from the box as a Sin eye floats out of the box.

The Sin eye is shaped into a heart with two pointed spikes jutting out from the corners.

Whoosh… whoosh…

The pages of the Grimoire flipsopen as the previous two eyes float out from it.

Bzzzt…

Pink lightning crackles from the Sin eye as it attaches to the Grimoire.

'Sin of Lust. The feeble bonds of the heart shatter into mere fragments. Lust is an eternal part of humanity… be it lust for power… lust for knowledge or lust for other beings. No being remains untainted by lust.'

Whoosh…

The Sin eyes fuse with the Grimoire, and another eye appears on the Grimoire.

Swoosh…

Dark Orange black markings crawl from the Sin seals as various totems spread all over Izuna's body. The markings travel towardsIzuna's right eye and fuse with it, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Whoosh… whoosh…

Three Limbo Shadow of Izunacrawls out from the Border Prison world as they rip apart the shadows and treads into reality.

Shoom… Shoom… Shoom…

The Sin eyes fuse with the Limbos, and an eye opens up on their chest.

The Limbo Shadow with the Sin eye of Lust opens its eyes and mumbles some incoherent words.

"What?… Limbo Shadows can talk."

Izuna is flustered by this incoherent mumbling as he listens to the shadow.

"Don't fail again…"

These words fell in his ears as the Limbo Shadow disappears from reality.

"What… what was that? How come a Limbo Shadow can talk?" Izuna stares at the shadows for a while.

"And… what does it mean by don't fail again…" Izuna mumbles to himself as a deep frown appears on his face.

Izuna shakes his head and looksaround for an exit.

"I have to get stronger… strongerthan anybody. Then only would I be able to live my life according to my rules?"

He notices a space-teleportation formula near the pedestal.

Whoosh…

He activates the teleportation formula and disappears from the small dimension.

Whoosh…

He reappears in front of Mei and the Snake Sage.

"How was it? Did you find anything?" Mei questions him.

"Yes, and No." Izuna shakes his head and turns towards the Snake Sage.

"I have a few questions to ask fromyou."

"Very well… go ahead… since you have completed the trial… you are a member of the Ryuchi Cave now."

The Snake Sage nods his head.

"Then can you tell me more aboutthe Ryuchi cave? I wanted to hear the incident during the Rikudou Sannin era." Izuna asks her.

"Hmm… during that era… the Ryuchicave isolated itself from the rest of the world. We had a small dispute with Mount Myoboku… the Ryuchi cave followed the orders of the 'Great Traveller' to not interfere with the human world but the Toad Sage interacted with a human and taught him the art of the Senjutsuthus breaking the rules of the contract."

Hmm…

Izuna nods his head in approval.

"… Rikudou Sannin and Ten-tails fought against each other. Their battle devastated the earth… changing the terrain of the planet. Rikudou Sannin sealed the ten-tails inside the moon. The Ryuchi cave remained unharmed thanks to the barrier created by the 'Great Traveller'."

The Snake Sage points towards the Red barrier enveloping the entire island.

"Hey! I have a question too."

Mei interrupts them.

"Go ahead…" The Snake Sage waves her tail.

"What happened to the ruins of the Kiri? Where are they? They are supposed to be the secret heritage of the Kirigakure." Mei questions the Snake Sage.

"Oh! That… there is no heritage. Abouta few decades ago… some humans chanced on the location of Ryuchi cave and entered into the weapon storage of the Ryuchi cave.

They just took some failed products with them and left the Ryuchi cave."

Snake Sage waves her tail.

"Great Traveller crafted many weapons, and the one stolen by your Kiri people were failed products. They are incomplete according to the 'Great Traveller'."

"…"

Mei silently stares at the Snake Sage.

'Failed products… so the famous Seven Mist Swords of Kirigakure are defective products. No… I won't reveal this to anyone.'

She shakes her head.

The Snake Sage turns towards Izuna.

"You have already mastered the Senjutsu… so there is nothing that I could teach you… If you are interested, I would teach you the secret art of Genjutsu passed through the Ryuchi cave. It was one of the techniques created by the 'Great Traveller'."

Hmm…

Izuna ponders for a while before nodding his head.

'I have some strong genjutsu techniques like Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami. But genjutsu only serves as deference during a battle… it doesn't have any killing potential. Maybe… I could learn something interesting from them. Their genjutsu technique seems unique.'

"I will take you on that offer. But for now I have some urgent matters to take care of."

He turns towards Mei.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes" Mei clutches her fist.

Whoosh…

He places a hand on Mei's shoulder and teleports from the Ryuchi cave.

The Snake sage looks at the space and then towards the barrier.

"I wonder what miracles would this kid create? I can see countless intangible threads of destiny tied around him. The destiny of many people is centered around him."

Whoosh…

Both of them appear inside the Terumi clan. Mei hurriedly runs towards her father.

"Father… You would be cured soon."

AYear passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside a hidden cave inRyuchi cave,

Izuna is sitting on a pedestal with his eyes closed. He makes some hand signs.

"Nightmare Release"

Izuna claps his hands together.

Whoosh….

He releases a black mist from his hand. The black mist slowly travels through the entire cave and engulfs the area.

"Now I have to search for a test subject. That snobbish snake would do."

Izuna directs the black Mist towards the biggest cave in Ryuchi caves.

The Black Mist seeps into the ground and travel beneath it.

Woosh…

A giant purple snake with black rings running down its body lies inside the cave with its eyes closed.

Hisss…

The snake is flickering its tongue in and out as it is deep in sleep.

Izuna monitors the giant snake from a distance as he controls the black mist.

"Inhale… inhale it… it is the fear of death which you are inhaling."

Sniff…

The nostrils of the snake twitch as it inhales the black mist.

"Now let me see what kind ofNightmares are you facing?"

Izuna activates his Sharingan and makes some more hand signs.

Whoosh…

He appears inside the mindscape of the giant snake.

Hmm…

'So… this is the mindscape of this snobbish bastard.'

The giant snake is lazily resting on a giant floating island in its mindscape with its eyes closed.

Many other little snakes of the Ryuchi cave are bowing down in front of it as it lazily stretches its body.

Izuna notices the Great Snake Sage serving the giant purple snake in submission.

"Oh!… he has quite the ambition."

The snake turns its body around as the rest of the small snake polishes its body.

Aah…

"This is quite good. This is the kind of life I should live as the boss summons of the Ryuchi cave."

The snake raises his head and looks sideways.

"Hey, you… servant… scratch the itch on my back?"

Whoosh…

A figure of Izuna appears besides Manda.

"Yes… boss."

The Izuna in the snake's dream nods his head and climbs on top of the snake and scratches his back.

"…"

"This bastard… looks like he requires a beating rather than a massage."

Crackle… crackle…

Izuna cracks his knuckles.

'Time to test the genuine power of thisKekkei Tota.'

Whoosh…

Izuna makes some hand signs.

Whoosh…

He disappears and reappears in place of his double.

Bam… bam…

He punches the back of the giant purple snake.

"You want me to scratch the itch on your back… don't you…"

Bam…

He continues to punch the back of the snake.

Argh…

The snake screeches in pain before it passes out.

Whoosh…

Izuna disappears from the mindscape as he opens his eyes in the real world.

He stares at the giant cave in front of him.

"It's a success."

He nods his head in satisfaction.

An extremely battered and bruised snake is lying in front of him. There are variouspunch marks on its back as the snake squeals in pain.

"So… this is the power of Nightmare Release. It is quite useless in a proper battle, but it would be useful in various other circumstances.

It is an extreme form of Genjutsu capable of manipulating the dreams of any personyou would like to. It would reflect any sort of damage dealt by the person in the real world.

Though… it seems to be weaker compared to the Ultimate Genjutsu of the Kurama clan but unlike the Kurama clan's Genjutsu… it doesn't have a limitation.

Nightmare Release is a manipulation of Wind Release, Yin Release, and Yang release paired with the genjutsu techniques of the Ryuchicave. This genjutsu can travel through the wind so it has no limitation on its range and the number of people it can affect."

He stares at the battered body of thegiant purple snake and walks towards him.

"Oh! Manda… how you have been doing?"

Manda weakly lifts his massive head andstares at Izuna with a vicious expression.

"Bastard! Was it you… who did this to me? I will eat you alive."

Manda opens its mouth and bites at Izuna.

Whoosh…

Izuna avoids the bite and pats Manda's head.

"You know what… not even your master Orochimaru can do anything to me… much less you. So… stop dreaming of the impossible."

Izuna walks away from the cave.

'Well… in my first few months here. This snobbish snake pestered me with human sacrifices as payment for learning in the Ryuchi cave.

I am not Orochimaru who will listen to his every demand.'

Izuna shakes his head and approaches the center of the Ryuchi cave.

"It has been a while since I last saw the progress of Kimimaro. When I brought him a year ago… the Snake Sage immediately grabbed him and walked away.

Since then… he has been learning Senjutsu under her. I must check his progress. It is difficult to master Senjutsu."

Knock… Knock…

Izuna knocks at the entrance of the cave.

"Come in."

Izuna enters the cave and notices the White Snake Sage.

The White Snake Sage is coiled around a giant seat with some Fuinjutsu scrolls dangling behind her.

"So… how is he?"

Izuna questions her.

"There…"

She points her tails towards a pool filled with green liquid in the center of the cave.

Hmm…

Izuna frowns as he notices the greenliquid.

"Poison!"

He turns towards the White Snake Sage and questions her.

"What's the meaning of this? This amount of poison is enough to kill a hundred shinobis."

The White Snake Sage nods her head.

"Indeed… if it is an ordinary shinobi, then he would have died long ago… but this boy has a special body. He has inherited the genes of the Sage of Six Paths, just like you. Now look closely at the poison."

Izuna turns towards the pool and scrutinizes the poison.

Hmm…

He notices a stream of Nature energy coursing through the poison. Nature energy is then slowly transferred to Kimimaro's body.

The White Snake Sage reveals her fangs to Izuna.

"Nature energy has no elemental nature… it changes itself according to the user's will. I store Nature energy as a potent poison in my fangs.

I inject the people who seek me out to learn the Secrets of Senjutsu with my poison. If they have a strong will and affinity for Senjutsu… then their body will absorb the Nature energy and will secrete out the poison.

But if the afflicted person has no affinity… then he will transform into a snake as the Nature energy has some of my will stored within it."

Slick…

The White Snake Sage flickers out her tongue.

"Then… they can only act as a nutrition for my old bones."

"Very Well." Izuna nods his head.

"This boy will take a while to learn the Snake Senjutsu. He might have a high affinity forthe Senjutsu, but it is only a fraction of your talent in Senjutsu.

He doesn't even have enough talent to compete with that Tsunade Girl from the Shikkotsu Forest." The Snake Sage swings her tail.

"Since… this is the case… I will leave him in your care. I have some matters to attend in Konoha."

Izuna walks out of the cave.

Whoosh…

He teleports from the Ryuchi Cave andreappears in Konoha above the Hokage Monument.

He stares down at the village as he gazes towards the academy.

"Naruto-kun… Sasuke-kun… both of youare so strong?"

A bunch of kids surround Naruto and Sasuke and cheers them.

Humm…

"I am not that good. Dattebyo…"

Naruto scratches the back of his head ashe laughs awkwardly

"It is nothing special…"

Sasuke places his hands in his pocket and walks away.

"Cool… so cool… Sasuke-kun is so cool."

Many fangirls chase after him.

Humph…

Naruto snorts and kicks a pebble.

"Naruto-kun… you were wonderful."

A purple-haired girl with white eyes passes a bottle of transparent liquid to Naruto.

Naruto grabs the bottle and chugs it down.

Gulp… gulp…

"Thank you… Hinata. I was feeling thirsty just now."

"Na… Naruto-kun… that wasn't meant for drinking. It was a medicine for applying to your body. You had a spar earlier… so I thought you need some medicine." Hinata flusters as she speaks.

Growl…

Naruto's stomach growls as he catches his stomach and runs towards the bathroom.

"Out of my way… out of my way… it is an emergency."

Haha…

Izuna chuckles as he stares at Naruto, searching for a bathroom.

Swoosh…

He flickers in front of Hinata. Hinata notices him.

"Izuna Nii-san… Naruto-kun would be fine, right? He drank the medicine meant for external wounds." Hinata has a worried expression on his face.

"Don't worry… he would be fine." Izuna shakes his head and pats her head.

"Hinata… you have to train harder… if you want to catch up with Naruto."

"Yes… I will do my best." Hinata resolutely clenches her fist.

"Well… see you later."

Izuna flickers towards the Uchiha clan.

He enters the Uchiha compound and walks towards his house.

He reaches the entrance of his house and opens the front door.

Whoosh…

A small agile figure jumps on him and hugs him.

"Onii-san… I missed you a lot."

Izuna catches the little figure and pats her head.

"I missed you too… Ayaka."

--