"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.

"…"

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