"Mom!"
White Snake cried out. She immediately slid off Amane at extreme speed and headed straight toward the battlefield of the two gigantic creatures not far ahead.
It was a Red Snake and a White Snake, both the size of mountains, looking from afar like a confrontation between mythological monsters.
Amane did not recognize the one White Snake called "Mom."
But the Red Snake looked familiar to Amane, especially after seeing the scar on its right eye; its identity was somewhat recognizable.
Although most of the original boruto anime content is garbage, the arc involving the journey to Ryūchi Cave was at least somewhat interesting in its setting, and Amane had specifically watched it.
This Red Snake should be Shin Ya.
According to the anime, it possesses a Sage Art that can turn others into stone.
In the past, it seems to have signed a Summoning contract with someone suspected to be from the Hidden Sand Village. Later, during a battle defending a fortress, it was betrayed by the summoner, who pierced one of its eyes with Lightning Release. Since then, it has grown to intensely hate humans.
Don't ask why the betrayal happened; the anime only provided a scene and a close-up of the character's face.
Anyway, Amane was left full of questions after watching it; only the Shin Ya part of the entire Ryūchi Cave arc was strange, the rest could be rated as decent.
Then there is a key piece of information here: Shin Ya vs. the New Era Rookies plus Sasuke's later Summoned Beast, Aoda.
Shin Ya's combat power won out, and it was practically a complete victory.
That's why Amane had just been sweating nervously.
The great toads appearing from Mount Myōboku and the great snakes appearing from Ryūchi Cave are, based on their performance, at least Jonin-level combatants, including the later Gamakichi and Aoda.
She quickly surveyed the surroundings.
[Sure enough, there are many petrified snake statues. It seems this is definitely Shin Ya. If a fight really breaks out, we need to be prepared.]
Amane immediately retreated backward, then relayed the intelligence about Shin Ya to Kimimaro.
"Where did you learn all this?"
According to Orochimaru's arrangements, Amane was an extremely busy person in the Hidden Sound Village. How could she possibly have obtained intelligence about the great snakes of Ryūchi Cave?!
Sure enough, there was something suspicious about Amane!
But given how calculating she is... why would she leave such an obvious flaw?
Could it be a trap?
Amane has always spoken truthfully and acted practically. But what if, just this once, she was lying?
Kimimaro instantly broke out in a cold sweat. This possibility, combined with what had just happened, seemed increasingly likely the more he thought about it!
[Damn it! Who could have predicted this sudden situation? My attempt just now to take the lead has backfired.]
Seeing Kimimaro's expression, how could Amane not guess the mental shift her companion was undergoing?
Having already been warned by Orochimaru, he had developed distrust toward Amane. After being checked just now, his internal sense of frustration was amplified.
Now, facing this emergency, Amane's sudden, unexplained intelligence had directly produced a counter-effect.
But she couldn't keep quiet either.
If the enemy's strength were a notch lower, Amane could keep silent because they could crush them violently.
But Shin Ya's venom has the ability to instantly kill.
If Kimimaro were to accidentally suffer a mishap, her relationship with Orochimaru might deteriorate.
She had worked hard to reach this point.
However, the problem wasn't huge; the source of the intelligence was too easy to explain away.
Amane and White Snake had been together for over a month anyway, so saying White Snake told her wouldn't be a problem, right.
Who told you, Kimimaro, not to choose a comfortable house to rest in?
However, at this moment, Kimimaro's preconceived notions about Amane took precedence, and he clearly couldn't listen to any explanation.
But the comforting thing was that Kimimaro, at least, felt the intelligence was likely true.
That was enough. Once this matter was resolved, who would still care about this.
If she failed, she would die. If she succeeded, setting aside whether Orochimaru could still overpower Amane with his strength, would he really care about such a minor detail then?
Just as Amane used her quick wit to resolve the issue here, new changes appeared in the non-human battle over there.
Because of White Snake's sudden appearance, White Snake's mother seemed very surprised but also worried. Shin Ya did not miss this emotional shift in its opponent and quickly launched an attack.
In an instant, the two snakes wrestled together!
[So fast! It's more visceral than in the anime, but I can still follow it.]
In the blink of an eye, the two snakes were hundreds of meters apart, having completed their respective attacks and counterattacks.
The destructive power generated between them was enough to flatten forests and shake mountains!
No wonder there was this saying in her previous life: when Naruto was able to summon Gamabunta, his strength, strictly speaking, had basically reached the Kage level.
However, precisely because of this destructive power, Amane immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to grab White Snake, who had been blown away, and quickly move far from the battlefield.
She then moved to a spot where the Great White Snake could see them, placed White Snake aside, and made an OK gesture.
The Great White Snake saw this and immediately halted the attack it was about to launch. Seeing that its daughter showed absolutely no rejection toward this human girl, it understood somewhat and continued to focus on the battle.
But honestly, the battle situation was extremely unfavorable.
Only when Amane focused on observing did she realize that the Great White Snake was clearly no match for Shin Ya.
Not only was the amount of Chakra in its body significantly less, but judging by the damage they inflicted on each other, the Great White Snake's injuries were clearly more serious.
"I remember when you were inside that person, that person possessed regenerative abilities. Doesn't your mom have that kind of power?"
According to the perception of the Kagura Minds Eye, although the Great White Snake had less Chakra than Shin Ya, it should still be relatively abundant right now. There was no need to be so frugal, was there?
"That's not it. That wasn't healing power to begin with. Healing and recovery are Shikkotsu Forest's specialty; we aren't skilled in that area. Mom is probably conserving her strength, preparing a technique for a decisive strike."
[She unexpectedly revealed some very interesting information.]
Since that was the case, Amane nodded toward Kimimaro beside her, signaling to hold their position and continue observing the situation.
At the same time, she subtly made a gesture. The meaning was that it was inappropriate to discuss matters concerning Ryūchi Cave with White Snake right now, and they should wait.
If she didn't give this heads-up, Amane worried that Kimimaro would disregard the situation and demand White Snake reveal the Ryūchi Cave intelligence first.
Now was not the time.
A place that remains such a secret couldn't possibly be explained clearly in just a few words.
Just like that, under the gaze of the two people and one snake, the Great White Snake suddenly inhaled deeply.
In Amane's perception, the white behemoth before them concentrated nearly all its Chakra into a single mass, undergoing a massive change in an instant!
It became more condensed, and its color grew increasingly dazzling.
"Oh no!" Amane immediately deployed four Adamantine Sealing Chains, instantly locking them into the ground around them.
The next second! Amidst a flash of white light filling the world, a powerful sonic boom erupted from the center, sweeping away everything in its path and engulfing the original battlefield of the two snakes.
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