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"Manji, this Sage Art is treacherous... PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!"
The White Snake Sage—still in her youthful girl form—looked at Manji with genuine worry.
By now, the two of them had grown quite familiar with each other.
Manji had also learned that this little white snake was, in fact, the future White Snake Sage herself.
Currently, she was still in her maiden state—not the wizened old crone she'd become in later centuries.
It was genuinely hard to imagine that this bright-eyed, lively girl would one day become that ancient hag.
"White Snake—I've never been afraid of training in Sage Arts."
"Hit me with the next stage."
Manji sat cross-legged on the ground, his voice perfectly calm.
Seeing his resolve was absolute, the White Snake Sage relented with a small nod. "Alright, Manji. Don't worry—I'll stay right beside you the whole time. If anything goes wrong, I'll intervene immediately."
"Appreciate it."
Manji dipped his head.
The White Snake Sage opened her small mouth—and bit into the side of Manji's neck, injecting natural energy to guide the process.
And with that, Manji's training in the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Arts officially began.
In a mere three hours—the unmistakable aura of Ryūchi Cave Sage energy was radiating from his body.
"You—you've already mastered it??"
The White Snake Sage's pupils contracted in shock.
She had never seen a human successfully learn the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Arts before. And the first one she'd ever witnessed had done it at 'this' speed??
"Hmm—not bad, but nothing extraordinary."
Manji thought to himself, a faint smirk tugging at his lips as he felt the Sage markings materialize across his face.
Notably, he hadn't developed scales or serpentine features like Kabuto had in canon.
According to the established rules—the more pronounced the physical transformation, the worse one's mastery of Sage Mode. Jiraiya's heavy toad-like features, for instance, were proof that he'd never perfected his Sage Mode.
Naruto, Hashirama, and Kabuto had all achieved much cleaner results—just the Sage facial markings and little else.
But Manji had surpassed even them.
He hadn't just mastered Mount Myōboku's arts—he'd added the Ryūchi Cave on top of it.
"This boy's talent is monstrous… What kind of freak did White-Brow take under his wing?"
The Black Snake Sage, who had been quietly monitoring Manji's training through a water-mirror projection from afar, murmured in disbelief.
And then—while the Black Snake Sage was still watching intently—Manji slowly opened his eyes and looked directly at the mirror. Directly at him.
"He can sense that I'm observing him??"
The Black Snake Sage flinched, forced to completely reassess Manji's sensory capabilities.
"With perception like that… perhaps this one truly could deal with the alien woman outside."
The ancient serpent fell into deep contemplation.
.....
Roughly one month later.
Manji had—as expected—fully mastered the Ryūchi Cave's Sage Arts.
The one drawback? He hadn't yet managed to fuse them with Mount Myōboku's and the Monkey Clan's techniques.
Whenever he activated Ryūchi Cave Sage energy, Mount Myōboku's Sage energy shut down.
Whenever he switched back to Myōboku, the Ryūchi Cave energy went dormant.
The two were like rival predators—one mountain couldn't hold two tigers.
Fortunately, Manji's control was strong enough to keep both systems from actively fighting each other. Anyone else would've had an internal war tearing them apart.
"Leaving so soon? Won't you stay a little longer?"
"Manji… if you go, there'll be nobody to keep me company…" The White Snake Sage clung to his arm, looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes.
"I can't... But White Snake—this isn't goodbye forever."
Manji smiled gently and eased his arm free.
He noticed the way she gazed at him—those lingering, affectionate eyes.
'Don't tell me this little snake has actually fallen for me?'
Over the past month, the White Snake Sage had sought him out constantly—probably because the Ryūchi Cave was populated entirely by serpents, and having a human around was a novelty she'd never experienced before. Somewhere along the way, her feelings had shifted into something deeper.
"Fine… but if you ever want to come back, you have to visit me. Promise?"
A shadow of profound disappointment flickered in the depths of her eyes.
"I promise."
Manji offered one last smile, then headed toward the Grand Hall.
'The future White Snake Sage… has a thing for me?'
That's a bit much.
Though there was that old saying about women being like fine wine—better with age. But dating a snake? Adam would have some opinions on that.
Ah, forget it. If the White Snake Sage ever grew too old and frail in the future, Manji figured he wouldn't mind lending a hand to manage the Ryūchi Cave.
.....
"Manji—your talent is unprecedented. I doubt anyone will ever match it."
The Black Snake Sage regarded Manji with genuine admiration, then shifted tone. "Before you go—would you like the cherry on top? Choose a serpent from the Ryūchi Cave and form a summoning contract."
"Well, since the Grand Sage is offering…"
"I'd be a fool to refuse."
Manji understood perfectly well that the Black Snake Sage wanted to bind him more closely to the Ryūchi Cave.
But he'd already learned their arts—no reason to say no.
"Manji! Pick me! PICK ME!"
Before Manji could even speak, the White Snake Sage's hand shot up, practically vibrating with excitement.
Looking at the eager young girl who wanted to be his contract summon—
"You, huh…"
Manji sighed with helpless amusement. But honestly—at this point in history, the only named entity in the Ryūchi Cave was the White Snake Sage.
"Is that acceptable?"
Manji directed a questioning glance at the Black Snake Sage.
After all, this was the future master of the Ryūchi Cave he'd be contracting. Better to get the "current chairman's" approval first.
The Black Snake Sage considered briefly, then nodded. "Permitted."
"YES! Manji—whenever you need me, just summon me! And even when you don't need me, feel free to summon me anyway. We can just talk! It gets so lonely here…"
The White Snake Sage bounced with delight, her eyes sparkling.
Manji's composure barely held. 'I just signed a summoning contract with the future Grand Sage of the Ryūchi Cave…'
"One more request, Grand Sage—could you tell me the location of the Shikkotsu Forest?"
The Black Snake Sage blinked, mildly caught off guard. "What do you want with that place?"
"I want to learn the Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Arts."
Manji saw no reason to dance around it.
"WHAT?? Manji—you're going to learn their Sage Arts too??"
The White Snake Sage's eyes went wide as saucers.
The Black Snake Sage's ancient frame actually trembled. An incredulous look crossed its features as it stared at Manji. "You've already mastered Mount Myōboku, the Ryūchi Cave, and the Monkey King Clan's techniques. That alone should make you virtually unrivaled. There's no need to add the Shikkotsu Forest on top of it."
Manji shook his head. "The enemy out there is too powerful. I'd rather have one more layer of insurance than not enough."
The Black Snake Sage studied him for a long moment, then conceded with a nod. "With talent like yours… it would be a waste not to pursue it."
It tossed Manji a scroll.
"This contains the Shikkotsu Forest's coordinates. But understand—the Shikkotsu Forest is different from Mount Myōboku and the Ryūchi Cave. Strictly speaking, there is only one being there—the Slug Sage…"
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