Only after setting out did Shimizu fully realize just how unreliable Orochimaru's directions had been. "The deepest part of the upper layer of Ryūchi Cave"—that was all he had said.
And yet, the moment Shimizu plunged into the cavern, he discovered that every direction looked exactly the same, as though the entire place had been carved from a single mold.
Which way was deeper?
For a fleeting moment, he almost laughed at himself. That illusion of Orochimaru being some thoughtful, dependable confidant—it had been nothing more than a mirage, a reflection on water that vanished the moment one tried to grasp it.
With no better option, Shimizu steeled himself and began searching methodically, probing one direction after another with patient persistence.
The journey was anything but quiet. Countless snakes—large and small—watched him with cold, predatory intent, their eyes glinting in the dimness. Ambushes came one after another, relentless and exhausting. At this rate, he might collapse from sheer fatigue before he ever found Garaga.
Still, it was not entirely fruitless. Gradually, he began to notice a pattern: in some areas, massive snakes gathered in greater numbers, while in others, only smaller snakes thrived.
By that logic, the deeper regions of Ryūchi Cave should be where the larger snakes dwelled.
With that in mind, Shimizu adjusted his course, heading toward the territories where the great snakes congregated.
...
As time passed, the light grew dimmer, the shadows thicker, swallowing detail until even the ground beneath his feet seemed uncertain. If anything, that only reassured him—he was moving in the right direction.
Then, suddenly, everything fell silent.
Too silent.
Not a single snake remained nearby.
Shimizu's instincts sharpened instantly. He had likely entered the domain of a particularly powerful creature—one whose presence alone drove all others away.
And then he saw it.
A colossal snake, even larger than the dark-brown giant he had once summoned, its body a deep, ominous purple. Two pairs of horns rose from its head, curving with a menacing grace.
Manda.
Fortunately… it was asleep.
Holding his breath, Shimizu moved with the utmost care, slipping past like a shadow as he continued deeper into the cavern.
Not long after he had gone, Manda's dark green eyes snapped open.
"Orochimaru's scent… a shinobi of Konoha…" it muttered, its voice low and heavy. "That direction… leads to Garaga."
A slow, cruel grin seemed to ripple through its massive form.
"Good. I've long grown tired of that wretch Garaga."
"Young shinobi of Konoha… do not disappoint me."
"Otherwise… I will devour you."
With that, Manda closed its eyes once more, as though nothing had happened.
It had every reason to be confident.
This region of Ryūchi Cave was its domain—its kingdom. Beneath this vast underground labyrinth lurked an immeasurable number of snakes, coiled in darkness, waiting.
What chance did a single human have against such a tide?
...
Shimizu remained blissfully unaware that he was walking along the edge of a precipice. In fact, he felt a flicker of excitement. In less than half a day, he had found the target Orochimaru described.
Despite the abysmal visibility in the depths, Shimizu could just barely make out the identifying features: a reversed scale, a missing eye, and a crimson hide.
Everything matched.
This was Garaga.
All that remained was to tear away that reverse scale… and return victorious.
"Human… what brings you here?"
Spotted already?
Shimizu's stealth was far from mediocre—in fact, among jōnin, it was considered quite refined. And yet this snake had sensed him with ease.
"I got lost," Shimizu replied quickly, choosing his words with care. "I was wandering aimlessly and ended up here."
The bold declaration—I've come to subdue you—rose to his lips, but he swallowed it back. Such words would only provoke.
Better to talk first.
After all, Orochimaru had made one thing very clear—this creature possessed an extremely volatile temperament.
"Lies," Garaga said coldly. "Humans are creatures of deceit."
"How can you be so sure I'm lying?" Shimizu asked, genuinely curious.
"To reach this place, you must have passed through Manda's territory," Garaga replied, its voice echoing faintly through the cavern. "That creature could not possibly have overlooked your presence. If you stand before me now, then you must have reached some kind of agreement with it."
"I don't know Manda," Shimizu said honestly. "I've never even spoken to it."
And in truth, he hadn't.
Though, unbeknownst to him, Manda had indeed formed a one-sided "agreement" of its own.
"You expect me… to believe such nonsense?"
Garaga's massive form began to emerge from the darkness, its presence pressing down like a physical weight.
Shimizu's breath caught.
That size… it might even surpass Manda.
Then, suddenly, Garaga halted mid-motion. Its single eye narrowed, its voice dropping into a tone thick with fury.
"Human… there is an utterly repulsive scent about you."
Shimizu blinked, momentarily at a loss.
This snake was… disgusted by him?
He raised his sleeve and sniffed cautiously.
…There was a smell.
"Ahem… well," he said awkwardly, clearing his throat, "we've been at war recently, and the camp hasn't exactly had spare water…"
Garaga paid no heed to Shimizu's explanation. Its massive body slowly coiled, tightening upon itself as its grotesquely large head lowered, forked tongue flickering in and out—a posture that spoke unmistakably of imminent attack.
"Are you that person?!" it demanded suddenly, its voice laced with fury. "The one who killed my master!"
Shimizu frowned, confusion flashing across his face. "What are you talking about? I don't even know your master."
A violent gust of wind struck without warning.
"Boom!"
So it attacked at the slightest provocation…
In that regard, Shimizu almost felt a grim sense of familiarity.
Caught off guard by Garaga's sudden outburst, he had no choice but to retreat rapidly, chaining together successive uses of the Body Flicker Technique. Against such wide-reaching, devastating blows, a single hit would be more than enough to cripple him.
He tried to melt into the darkness, hoping to slip beyond Garaga's line of sight.
And yet… every time, without fail, the snake pinpointed his position.
Its thick, powerful tail lashed out again and again like a bolt of lightning, each strike crashing against the cavern walls with thunderous force, sending tremors rippling through the stone.
How is it finding me?
It's not sight…
Then smell? No…
Infrared heat detection?
That must be it.
Shimizu vaguely recalled that snakes relied on thermal sensing to track their prey.
If only he were proficient in Fire Release… If he could flood the cavern with flames, he might disrupt that heat-based perception.
But as things stood...
Hand seals! Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!
Massive chunks of stone tore loose from the ceiling and came crashing down, striking Garaga squarely. The enormous snake staggered, its body pitching forward as it slammed into the ground.
"Boom!"
Unable to catch Shimizu and now struck by falling debris, Garaga roared in rage, its voice reverberating through the cavern. "Human! Is hiding all you can do?!"
"Idiot," Shimizu muttered under his breath, a flicker of disdain crossing his mind.
With a body that size, how was he supposed to face it head-on?
And it had the audacity to tell him not to run.
"What did you say?!"
In an instant, Garaga opened its massive jaws, unleashing a torrent of liquid.
"Poison?!" Shimizu reacted immediately, forming a defensive Water Release technique without hand seals—Water Wall.
But the moment the hastily erected wall came into contact with the liquid, it turned to stone.
His eyes widened.
Petrification?!
Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique again, pulling back to a safer distance. But at this range, his White Lightning wouldn't reach.
Three clones of Shimizu suddenly materialized beside him. "Keep it occupied. Go!"
Two of the clones split off at once, circling from either side, attempting to flank Garaga from behind.
"If I can't get close—and shouldn't—then long-range ninjutsu is my only option."
Meanwhile, the two Shimizus began forming hand seals in perfect synchronization.
Within mere seconds, the first clone was struck and dispersed.
Just hold on a little longer…
Moments later, the second clone was obliterated by a spray of that petrifying liquid.
But fortunately—
The first technique was complete.
Earth Release: Rock Lodging Destruction!
This time, the falling boulders did not target Garaga directly, but instead rained down all around it, hemming it in.
Forced to evade the relentless cascade within a confined space, Garaga could only twist and coil, its massive body restricted to a narrow range of movement.
"I've pinned it in place!"
At last, Shimizu's original body completed its hand seals.
Water Release: Water Severing Wave!
A high-pressure jet of water erupted from his mouth, slicing cleanly through the surrounding stone pillars. In less than a single breath, the structural supports of the cavern gave way.
"Rumble—!"
From above, an avalanche of rock cascaded down like a collapsing sky, engulfing Garaga's massive form in an instant.