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"A dignified Snake Sage resorting to a sneak attack? Shame on you!"

After a brief exchange, Akio shouted angrily—only to pause a moment later.

The Snake Sage didn't just have thick skin—it seemed it had discarded all skin entirely...

Whatever technique the Snake Sage had used to hide underground had completely bypassed Akio's sensory perception. If he hadn't felt something was off, he wouldn't have died, but a "day trip into a snake's mouth" would've been inevitable.

The Snake Sage's vertical pupils locked onto him coldly.

"Uzumaki Akio, you seriously injured Aoda and Garaga in Ryūchi Cave. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

Akio blinked, surprised the Snake Sage knew his name—but inwardly, he was a little pleased.

"So even my reputation has reached this place…"

"Aoda and Garaga?" Akio muttered, "A blue snake called Aoda, a red snake called Garaga… so the question is: why is the purple one called Manda?"

The Snake Sage froze for a second, and its eyes flickered dangerously. Akio quickly raised his hands.

"Name them however you like—whatever makes you happy."

He really didn't want to fight the Snake Sage. It's not that he was sure he'd lose, but winning wouldn't be easy either. Even his full-power Weighted Rock Fist hadn't broken through the creature's defense. And its skin-shedding evasive techniques were absurdly effective. The whole reason he came here was just to see the Snake Sage with his own eyes—and let Orochimaru begin his Sage Mode training.

"Orochimaru..." Just as Akio thought of him, he realized Orochimaru had already taken a seat on the "throne" and was absorbed in examining a discarded snakeskin.

The Snake Sage noticed too. Akio's face turned grim, mentally preparing for a battle.

"Orochimaru, you traitor…"

To his surprise, the Snake Sage didn't look angry at all. In fact, it watched Orochimaru knocking on its shed skin with great interest.

Akio remained on guard, only to see the Snake Sage casually pull out a cigarette from somewhere and hold it between its lips, repeatedly gesturing at him with its eyes.

Akio's face darkened. This Snake Sage… felt so unreliable. Someone was playing with its skin, and it still had the mood for a smoke. What's more, it was signaling him, the so-called enemy, to light it.

After a moment's hesitation, Akio shouted,

"Orochimaru, stop fondling the snakeskin and come light the Snake Sage's cigarette."

At the word "fondling", the Snake Sage's gaze turned dangerous again.

But Akio wasn't too worried anymore. He felt the Snake Sage had no real intention of fighting him—what happened earlier had just been a test.

Sure enough, after staring at him a bit, the Snake Sage slithered slowly toward the throne.

Orochimaru let go of the snakeskin and instantly appeared beside Akio.

"Did you figure anything out?"

"Time was too short, but the hardness is exceptional—kunai can't even cut through it," Orochimaru replied seriously.

Akio's expression darkened as Orochimaru continued,

"Did you manage to obtain its blood?"

Akio: "..."

He suddenly realized that Orochimaru had come here not to learn Sage Mode—but to harvest the Snake Sage's blood all along.

"Uzumaki Akio, Slug Sage was right—you really are an unpredictable one."

The Snake Sage had returned to its throne and now spoke slowly.

Akio blinked. He hadn't expected the Slug Sage to have mentioned him—and from the sound of it, the Snake and Slug Sages got along surprisingly well. But… why hadn't the Slug Sage said anything good about him?

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Without replying, Akio formed hand seals and released a Fire Jutsu—igniting the cigarette in the Snake Sage's mouth.

However, he didn't control the power well, and the entire cigarette burned to ash.

The Snake Sage exhaled a cloud of black smoke.

"No wonder they described you that way."

Scratching his head, Akio said helplessly,

"A great Snake Sage smoking such low-grade cigarettes? That won't do. Orochimaru, bring some decent ones next time."

"Of course, sensei."

An awkward silence fell. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts.

What the Snake Sage was thinking, Akio didn't know. Orochimaru seemed unsure how to read the mood. And Akio himself was completely confused.

He had finally met the most mysterious of the Three Great Sages, yet the Snake Sage felt completely different from what he had imagined.

Akio had always thought of snakes as cunning, devious, and vicious. But now, even after seriously injuring the three most important snakes in Ryūchi Cave (apart from the Sage), the Snake Sage had only made a token attempt at revenge—then just let it go.

Being the kind of person who asked questions directly, Akio didn't hold back.

"Why didn't you fight me again?"

"It would benefit me nothing," the Snake Sage replied calmly.

Akio was momentarily stunned—then understood.

Snakes were called cold-blooded for a reason. Those three descendants of Manda, however many generations removed, clearly weren't worth risking its life for.

Having gotten his answer, Akio stepped back with a grin. He no longer intended to steal the spotlight—after all, this trip was primarily for Orochimaru to learn Sage Mode.

Negotiations between Orochimaru and the Snake Sage began. Akio didn't bother listening. He wandered around the Snake Sage's lair.

Upon arrival, he had already noticed many intricate carvings on the walls. Now, seeing them up close, he was surprised by what they depicted.

"These are… relics from the Warring States Period?"

He hadn't seen anything like them in Mount Myōboku or the Shikkotsu Forest.

"More like man-made carvings… maybe, long ago, humans once lived in Ryūchi Cave," Akio mused, casting a glance at the White Snake Sage behind him. This time, he chose not to ask.

After all, who knew how long ago that was? If the White Snake Sage had taken over this place by force, asking would only be awkward.

Unexpectedly, the White Snake Sage turned out to be quite approachable and had already begun instructing Orochimaru in Sage Mode. Akio had no intention of staying and waiting around.

"Orochimaru, Sage Mode isn't something you master overnight. Keep working at it—I've helped you all I can."

His tone made it sound like Orochimaru owed his progress entirely to Akio.

"Thank you, sensei."

The White Snake Sage didn't stop Akio from leaving. In fact, all the way out of Ryūchi Cave, not a single snake, large or small, tried to hinder him.

"This trip to Ryūchi Cave… how should I put it? A little disappointing," Akio murmured as he stepped into the sunlight. The Snake Sage had turned out nothing like the fearsome image he'd imagined. He hadn't fought anyone in a long time and had been kind of hoping for a good warm-up.

"Now that I think about it—the Great Toad Sage can see the future, the Slug Sage can heal… so what can the Snake Sage do?"

Akio fell into thought. He had assumed the Snake Sage would be skilled in combat, but now it seemed only marginally stronger than the Slug Sage. He was pretty sure he could beat it.

"Good at survival? Or maybe it's just great at risk assessment?"

"It probably didn't make a move because it knew it couldn't win against me…"

Akio thought to himself with a self-satisfied grin.

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