Chapter 171: Death!!! The White Snake Sage’s Vigilance
Meanwhile, deep within Ryuchi Cave, in a deep cave surrounded by huge stalactites. The air here was even thicker than the outskirts, with Immortal Technique Energy nearly condensing into substance, spreading like thin mist.
On a giant chair, a pure white Giant Snake was coiled at this moment, none other than the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave, one of the three great sacred sites!
In the White Snake Sage’s huge snake mouth was a pipe taller than a person.
Wisps of smoke slowly rose.
Merging into the darkness at the top of the cave.
Its amber vertical pupils, seeming to contain endless wisdom and years, suddenly opened a slight slit.
The White Snake Sage’s huge head slightly turned.
As if listening sideways to something.
“Heh, a… uninvited guest has come…” The White Snake Sage’s voice was aged and low, like an echo from deep underground.
Its pipe lightly tapped in its mouth.
The moment its words fell, the mist filling the cave was stirred by an invisible force, and three graceful and enchanting figures appeared silently in front of the giant chair.
They were all dressed in light and gorgeous ancient attire, with alluring and charming faces, some cold, some seductive, some innocent.
But those pairs of vertical snake pupils and the cold aura surrounding them were no weaker than Manda.
This also indicated they were not humans, but high-level beings of Ryuchi Cave, the three Snake Princesses who could transform into human form: Tashin-no-Hime, Ichikishima-hime, and Tatsuta-hime.
“White Snake Sage.”
The central one, Tashin-no-Hime, with the coldest temperament, as if untouched by worldly smoke, slightly bowed, her voice somewhat ethereal: “May we ask what instructions you have for summoning us sisters?”
The White Snake Sage slowly exhaled a heavy puff of smoke, the smoke weirdly condensing in mid-air without dispersing.
Even faintly showing blurry images of a distant battlefield!
“Manda is fighting Orochimaru and an ‘outsider enemy’.”
Its voice carried a detachment that saw through everything.
“Go take a look.”
The three Snake Princesses’ gazes instantly focused on the smoke image.
But the image was blurry, only showing Manda’s thrashing figure.
Surprise flashed in the beautiful eyes of the three Snake Princesses at the same time.
“If they, one man and one snake, fall into disadvantage…” The White Snake Sage’s pipe pointed at the somewhat disheveled Orochimaru and the angrily roaring Manda in the smoke image, pausing, its amber vertical pupils sweeping over the three Snake Princesses: “You three can step in to help them.”
At these words, obvious astonishment appeared on the stunning faces of the three Snake Princesses for the first time.
They had served the White Snake Sage for long years, knowing well this ancient being’s transcendence and indifference.
Ryuchi Cave followed the law of the jungle, and even internal sacred site struggles, as long as they didn’t threaten the foundation, the White Snake Sage usually watched from the sidelines.
Now, the White Snake Sage proactively asked them to help a contractor and a temperamental Summoned Beast deal with an “outsider enemy”…
This was unprecedented!
What kind of entity was this “outsider enemy” that made the White Snake Sage judge so, even breaking convention to intervene?
“Is it those toads from Mount Myōboku? Or the slug from Shikkotsu Forest?” Ichikishima-hime on the left, with a sweet smile but sly eyes, couldn’t help asking.
This was the only existence she could think of qualified and capable to be Ryuchi Cave’s “outsider enemy”.
Though the three sacred sites outwardly didn’t interfere with each other.
The covert rivalry and vigilance never stopped.
“Neither.”
The White Snake Sage slowly shook its head, the sparks in its pipe flickering with its movement. In the smoke image, a figure wrapped in crimson lava with cold eyes became clearer.
“A human brat called Uchiha Ikeizumi.”
The White Snake Sage’s voice took on an indescribable tone: “He intruded here to carry out his so-called 「Absolute Justice」. Heh, in his paranoid eyes… most creatures in this Ryuchi Cave, their very breathing… is already ‘heavy sin’. If he sees me, he might even entertain the thought of killing me.”
“What?!”
The three Snake Princesses exclaimed in unison, their alluring faces filled with disbelief.
In the Ninja World, there was actually such an arrogant madman, presumptuous enough to charge into Ryuchi Cave in the name of “justice”?!
Even wanting to kill the White Snake Sage?!
……
Boom!!!
A blood-red Lava flood, like a lava giant tongue from hell, carrying the aura of incinerating everything, fiercely swept past Manda’s massive tail covered in hard purple scales!
Sizzle!!!
A scalp-numbing burning sound accompanied by a thick scorched smell instantly spread, Manda feeling an indescribable pain straight to the soul from its tail.
Its proud scales, able to withstand A-rank Ninjutsu bombardment.
In the face of that extreme high temperature, melted and vaporized like butter under a hot knife!
Over ten meters of the massive snake tail’s end disappeared without a trace in the instant the lava passed, like pencil sketch erased by rubber!
The break was scorched black, not even blood flowing out before being carbonized and sealed by the heat!
The intense pain madly stimulated Manda’s sanity.
“Hiss!!! Damn it!!!”
Manda let out a heaven-shaking painful roar, filled with rage and unbelievable madness, the pain and humiliation of the severed tail driving it completely berserk.
Its massive body twisted and slapped wildly, each roll like mountain collapse and earth crack.
Hard rock walls crumbled like tofu under its violent power, huge stones falling like rain.
The entire underground space trembled violently.
As if about to collapse completely at any moment!
“Orochimaru!!!”
Manda’s vertical pupils bloodshot with rage, it roared deafeningly at the tiny figure above its head, the substantial sound wave making Orochimaru’s hair dance.
“Kill him for me!!!”
Orochimaru, standing on Manda’s head, jostled nearly unsteady, had a face as gloomy as water.
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s control and destructive power over Lava Release.
Refreshed his cognition every time.
His golden snake pupils locked dead on the figure below with lava flowing, hands instantly blurring before his chest, speed fast enough to whistle wind.
“Water Release: Water Surge Wave!!!”
With the last hand seal completed, Orochimaru inhaled deeply, chest visibly bulging, Chakra in his body being madly squeezed.
Water from his mouth surged like a breached dam, with heavy momentum to crush everything, violently rushing toward where Uchiha Ikeizumi stood below.
Wherever the giant wave passed, air exploded from compression!
At the same time, the berserk Manda endured the severed tail pain.
Its massive body, using terrifying kinetic energy from rolling, like a collapsing mountain with crushing force, coordinated with the Water Surge Wave’s impact toward the same spot, smashing down heavily!
However, just as the giant wave containing terrifying Chakra was about to swallow Uchiha Ikeizumi… and Manda’s sky-covering massive body shadow was about to cover Uchiha Ikeizumi’s head.
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s figure ghosted, leaving an afterimage in place, true body already gone.
Boom!!!
Deafening impact and water explosion mixed into a destructive symphony, Manda’s massive body smashing like a meteor at the center of the Water Surge Wave impact.
Violent water blasted in all directions from the huge force, forming water curtains tens of meters high, the terrifying impact finally exceeding the limit of this battered underground cave.
Crack—
Rumble!!!
Supporting dome rock pillars groaned under the strain, then snapped, countless tons of giant stones pouring like heavenly punishment, instantly burying the area below.
“Huff… huff…”
Standing on a relatively safe giant rock afar, Orochimaru panted heavily, left shoulder’s piercing wound bleeding again from intense sealing.
But his golden vertical pupils still stared dead at the area drowned by giant stones and water, trying to sense movement within.
“Did it work…”
Manda’s enormous body burst from the collapsed rubble, kicking up dust. Half its head and severed tail were covered in mud and stones, looking utterly wretched.
Manda’s ferocious vertical pupils scanned the dusty ruins, searching for that hated figure.
“Manda!”
At that moment, Orochimaru suddenly shouted sharply, voice unprecedentedly urgent and alert: “Below you!”
Fatal premonition like ice water, Manda’s huge head jerked low, vertical pupils contracting instantly.
From the seemingly calm rubble ruins beneath it, a terrifying high temperature that made its scales bristle erupted without warning!
Countless stones melted into crimson liquid like thrown into a furnace!
Then…
Boom—!!!
A blazing flood over five meters in diameter, purely destructive lava, like a sleeping volcano’s accumulated rage, erupted violently from below Manda, tearing the ground!
“Hiss!!!”
Manda hissed in shock and fury, massive body exploding with unbelievable agility from survival instinct, twisting like a startled giant python.
Narrowly dodging the core impact of the lava flood.
However, the ultra-high temperature at the lava flood’s edge, enough to melt metal, still whipped like invisible flames on large areas of Manda’s tough abdominal scales.
Sizzle sizzle—
Tooth-grinding burning sounded, scales on Manda’s abdomen in contact with the heat instantly scorched, twisted, even splitting flesh.
A thick smell of charred flesh spread.
Though not directly hit, this extreme heat’s burn pain… was no less than the earlier severed tail pain!
Manda’s vertical pupils crawled with gruesome bloodshot from pain and rage.
Bottomless frenzy nearly spilling from its eyes!
The pain fully ignited Manda’s ferocity, it snapped open its house-swallowing maw, from special holes at the base of its two huge fangs, spewing thick ink-like eerie green gas.
The poison gas coalesced like alive into a thick poison mist flood, instantly enveloping hundreds of meters below.
Wherever the poison mist passed, Ryuchi Cave’s unique moss and fungi resilient in miasma withered visibly.
More terrifying, hard rocks touched by poison mist sizzled horribly on surface.
Rapidly corroded into dense pits.
Like doused in strongest sulfuric acid.
Even Orochimaru on the distant giant rock paled, clearly feeling skin prickle and burn like needles, breathing difficult.
“Damn it! Manda! You idiot!”
Orochimaru shocked and furious, quickly pulled a special purple pill from his Ninja Tool Bag and swallowed it, snarling darkly at Manda: “Didn’t I tell you to warn me before using this? Want to take me out too?”
Drug dissolved, the invasive numbness receded slightly, but skin burn remained obvious.
“Hmph! I’m desperately helping you kill the enemy, and you’re still whining!”
Manda’s huge head’s vertical pupils filled with impatience and ferocity: “Keep talking, and I’ll ditch you now, let you deal with that Lava Monster yourself!”
Its patience for Orochimaru seemed at limit.
However, the instant Manda’s words fell, change reborn.
On the battlefield ground covered in lava and poison miasma, thick giant trees burst from soil at illogical speed.
Ignoring deadly poison miasma, ignoring scorching heat, roots deeply into Ryuchi Cave’s ancient ground veins, trunks crazily growing upward.
In a blink, a dense primitive forest exuding thick life aura sprouted on this death battlefield.
Each giant tree over a hundred meters tall, lush branches, even exceeding Manda’s raised head height.
“Wha… what?!” Shock and incredulity first appeared in Manda’s bloodshot vertical pupils.
More shocking, on these giant trees’ thick branches, countless colorful giant flowers emitting odd glows bloomed instantly.
Petals unfurled, releasing visible pollen floods.
The pollen swept toward Manda’s released green poison gas.
Hiss hiss—
Poison gas and pollen constantly dissolved in mid-air, emitting harsh sounds like cold water in hot oil.
“…Wood Style?!”
Extreme shock and horror humanly appeared on Manda’s rough snake face.
“Orochimaru! Why didn’t you tell me this intel!”
Manda roared.
Next moment, the countless towering giant trees, like manipulated by invisible giant hands, creaked teeth-grindingly.
Thick trunks, knotted branches twisted and merged like living giant pythons, until a Wooden Golem even larger than Manda appeared before Manda and Orochimaru.
The Wooden Golem’s head slowly lowered, two huge wooden orbs in eye sockets suddenly opened.
That gaze emotionless, instantly locking below on Manda and Orochimaru on the giant rock.
Before Manda could react, the Wooden Golem raised its fist of dozens of giant trees entwined.
No fancy techniques, only purest, most violent power.
Fist tore air, whistling like falling meteor, at speed beyond visual capture, smashing toward Manda’s huge head!
Bang!!!
A muffled boom heart-stopping, like sky collapsing, Manda’s hard-scaled huge snake face, on contact with Wooden Golem fist, visibly caved and deformed like watermelon hit by battering ram.
Facial scales shattered inch by inch, blood and flesh flying!
A man-taller huge fang snapped, spinning into distant rock wall.
“Hiss—!!!”
Indescribable pain drew Manda’s most shrill wail! Filled with pain, fear, and disbelief.
Under the Wooden Fist world-destroying force, its massive head was unhesitatingly smashed into the already shattered ground below, entire snake body rolled backward by the force, plowing a terrifying gully meters deep on the ground.
Massive dust rose like sky-sea tsunami.
Orochimaru atop the giant rock, under this world-destroying punch, blown away like leaf in gale by violent shockwave.
He tumbled wretchedly in air, barely landing on another fallen giant stone, blood trickling from mouth.
And the Wooden Golem’s assault was far from over.
Just as Manda’s head was smashed into ground, painfully struggling to lift…
On the Wooden Giant’s thick right arm near shoulder, large clumps of sticky crimson lava suddenly surged.
Like alive, lava rapidly wrapped and flowed down the arm of entwined giant logs.
High-temp lava contacting vital giant wood hissed violently, wood visibly charring.
Just before the entire wooden arm was incinerated.
The Wooden Golem’s right arm fully wrapped in crimson lava and blazing flames smashed toward still dizzy and pained Manda!
In Manda’s bloodshot vertical pupils’ periphery, reflected the enlarging lava giant fist filling vision.
Eyes finally filled with boundless fear and despair.
“No—!!!”
Rumble!!!
A boom ten times more terrifying than all prior explosions combined shook entire Ryuchi Cave, blinding red light illuminating nearly all dark corners, violent shockwave sweeping instantly.
Surrounding remaining rock walls, giant trees, even pervasive dust all crushed and blown away by shockwave!
At the lava giant fist’s center impact, Manda’s enormous head vaporized under extreme force and horrifying heat!
Even large segment of connecting neck body erased, leaving a bottomless giant pit with dark red lava flowing at edges and blazing fires burning.
Air still thick with scorched and sulfur smells.
Manda…
Death!!!
……
……
