Chapter 41
The White Snake Immortal's Misjudgment
It's not so low that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can enter Ryuchi Cave and sign a contract, nor is it so high that only exceptionally powerful individuals can sign a contract.
Anyone who possesses the most basic mental qualities to become a strong person, or who already has some of the abilities of a strong person, has a good chance of passing the test of Ryuchi Cave.
In the original timeline, there were only four people who officially became contractors of Ryuchi Cave in Shippuden: Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, and Sasuke Uchiha. They were all extremely powerful ninjas. Even the weakest one, Anko Mitarashi, was still a special Jonin. However, she encountered Orochimaru's defection during the most important stage of her growth.
He refused to follow Orochimaru, and because of his status as Orochimaru's disciple, he was politically suppressed by the Konoha leadership and could not be trained. In the end, he was like a wasted talent, becoming an ordinary ninja whose strength was neither good nor bad.
The three holy lands are actually the same in this respect, except that Ryuchi Cave's methods are much more brutal and direct.
A dozen seconds later, Ruri Uzuki opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused for a moment.
"Source? Was that really an illusion?"
"Yes, now we just wait for Flame Falcon."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sarutobi Enjun opened his eyes, just a few seconds later than Uzuki Ruri.
He is slightly less resistant to illusions than Ruri Uzuki, but overall he is still competent enough to withstand the test.
"So now, this should be the final test, right?"
Gen Uchiha raised his head and looked at Princess Tsurugi.
"Tsk, this is boring. Your test is probably useless. You might as well play with your jigsaw puzzle."
The latter looked into the mist and shouted.
"Oh well, why don't you try and see?"
A snake princess in the form of a loli floated out of the mist.
The last of the three great snake princesses of Ryuchi Cave, Princess Ichikishima.
The loli snake princess held her head in her hands, floating in the air like she was swimming on her back, pointing into the mist.
"There is a maze I meticulously designed there. If you can find your way out, you will meet the White Snake Immortal and complete the final test!"
"A maze? That's easy! I remember a trick: just keep going right, and you can get through any maze!"
Sarutobi Enjun exclaimed excitedly.
"Hmph, I've heard of that too. You can always give it a try!"
"The loli snake princess giggled."
Uchiha Gen took a compass out of his ninja tool pouch and noticed that the magnetic field here was disordered, causing the needle tip to dart around erratically. He looked up, carefully checking the direction, and then said:
"Go in and follow my instructions."
The group quickly entered the maze and reached the exit in less than two minutes.
"See? I told you it wouldn't work. Maybe you could get off by using your jigsaw puzzle. At least you've succeeded before."
Princess Tsuratsu spread her hands.
"How could this happen!"
The loli snake princess was sullen.
Although she could freely alter these inorganic substances and easily create a maze by using the Dragon Cave Immortal Technique, it was quite frustrating that it was cracked so quickly.
"Yuan, how did you do that? You got out so quickly!"
Sarutobi Enjun exclaimed in amazement to his companion.
"It's very simple. It's actually an upgraded version of your left-hand rule. After choosing a direction, go in that direction as much as possible. When you encounter a dead end, use your left-hand rule again, turn right and walk along the left wall until you turn into the same direction as you initially chose. Then you can continue the previous operation."
This method may not be able to solve all the mazes, but it is definitely sufficient to handle the vast majority of similar situations.
Uchiha Genjuro closed the map he had just drawn, looked at the pavilion that appeared in the distance, and said to Sarutobi Enjun.
He happened to have seen this maze algorithm called Pledge in his previous life. It can be used to solve most mazes, but it requires the user to have a strong spatial memory and orientation ability.
The former can be compensated for by drawing pictures by hand, and the latter can be compensated for by his perception ability.
Just then, the three goddesses all gathered in front of the pavilion.
This is the core cave of Ryuchi Cave. Although it is not as magnificent as the palace created by Princess Tashin using illusion magic, it is still quite ancient and elegant.
"Squeak..."
The door to the attic was slowly pushed open, and the three Snake Princesses lined up to invite Uchiha Gen and the other two inside, leading them up to the second floor.
Right in the center of the room, a thick white snake is curled up, resting on the stone bed, leisurely flicking its tongue.
Upon seeing the visitor, she slowly straightened her upper body, transforming into a frail old woman.
"You three are Orochimaru's students, huh? Come here and let this old woman take a look."
The three members of the Uchiha clan exchanged glances and slowly stepped forward.
"I've met the White Snake Immortal." ×3
"Hmm... This girl has fair and tender skin, she should taste very good. This little monkey is a bit lacking, but it's definitely chewy and springy. And you... tsk, this generation of Indra's... Hmm? No, I think I misjudged you."
The White Snake Sage wriggled down from the stone bed, flicking his tongue, and circled Uchiha Gen again and again, muttering something under his breath.
Gen Uchiha tried hard to listen, but he couldn't understand.
"Fine, I'm too lazy to bother with you. Do whatever you want. If you're not afraid of death, you can come and learn some immortal techniques from me sometime. Now get lost."
The White Snake Sage muttered as he walked back to bed, waving his hand dismissively at Uchiha Gen and the other two.
The three of them felt a powerful gust of air rush towards them, but it did not harm their bodies and pushed them out of Ryuchi Cave.
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut.
"White Snake Immortal, this..."
"Issue Shinji asked hesitantly."
"I understand that family's affairs less and less, and I don't want to get too involved like that toad. Just treat them like summoners and contractors like Orochimaru. Be careful not to kill that descendant of Indra."
The three goddesses looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
Outside the attic, Uchiha felt he was about to land on his butt, so he nimbly did a side somersault in mid-air and landed steadily in a half-crouch position.
"Yuan, why did the White Snake Sage suddenly change his attitude? And who is Indra?"
Uzuki Ruri asked Uchiha Gen curiously.
"Perhaps it's because I'm from the Uchiha clan. Orochimaru-sensei said that the White Snake Sage lived for over a thousand years, and Indra is the ancestor recorded in the clan as active a thousand years ago. Perhaps this sage has some grudges with the mythical Indra."
Uchiha Gen casually offered a seemingly reasonable explanation.