The moment Manda realized the one who had summoned him was Kaguya Ren—the same monster who had just beaten him senseless—his first instinct was to run.
He didn't know how Ren had hijacked his summoning contract with Orochimaru.
He didn't know how Ren had impersonated Orochimaru and dragged him here.
But he knew one thing clearly—
If Ren decided he wanted Manda dead, Ren truly had the ability to kill him before the summoning time ended.
This was something whose insides were unknown, a monster wearing human skin.
Manda had no reason to believe Ren would feed him and pamper him the way Orochimaru did.
"So eager to leave?" Ren chuckled as he casually grabbed the torn, still-unhealed scales where Manda had been injured. His smile was gentle. His tone was not. "At least let me finish speaking before you go."
He leaned in slightly.
"Or… would you prefer I open a few more holes in you, so I can follow you back to Ryūchi Cave?"
"You damned—" Manda hissed, pain flaring through his body as if the old wound had been struck again. Then his eyes narrowed as he caught the key phrase in Ren's words.
"…Wait. Ryūchi Cave?"
"Yes," Ren said, enunciating with deliberate emphasis. "Ryū. Chi. Cave."
He bit down on each syllable as if branding it into Manda's mind.
Manda's tail struck the ground once, confusion seeping into his furious voice.
"Why would a monster like you—basically a human-shaped tailed beast—still chase senjutsu?"
"Because I'm not strong enough," Ren answered calmly. "Is that reason sufficient?"
"Not strong enough!?"
Manda's head dipped, eyes staring hard, as if trying to confirm Ren wasn't mocking him.
After a long moment, he sputtered in humiliation and rage.
"If you're 'not strong enough,' then what does that make me!? A harmless earthworm!? Don't mess with me, you freak!"
"Tch." Ren clicked his tongue and pressed a hand lightly against Manda's mouth, silencing him like a pet. His voice remained leisurely.
"You don't understand, Manda."
"The definition of 'strong' changes with a person's status, position, and dreams."
"For a civilian with no chakra, becoming a shinobi is 'strong.'"
"For a talentless genin, reaching chūnin—or jōnin—becomes 'strong.'"
"For an elite already standing at jōnin… becoming a Kage who bears a village is what validates 'strength.'"
Ren's eyes sharpened, ambition burning without pretense.
"For humans with endless desire, the pursuit of strength is endless."
"And you, Manda—have you never wanted to surpass the White Snake Sage and become Ryūchi Cave's master? Never wanted to stand above the nine tailed beasts and be the strongest creature alive?"
"…Hmph." Manda's tongue flicked. He didn't deny it.
His tightly coiled body loosened slightly.
And after a moment, he asked in a lower voice,
"So you want Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu… so you can chase a bigger ambition. Is that it?"
"I'd rather call it…" Ren smiled. "Indulgence."
His hands clasped behind his back, the pride of continuous victory written openly across his young face.
"I have too many ideas people would call unrealistic. Too many beliefs this era would call reckless, even insane."
"And every step I take forward, the entire world pushes back."
He lifted his chin slightly, voice steady as a blade.
"My greatest indulgence is shaping this world into my form."
"And to carry that indulgence through, I must become strong enough to crush every person who opposes me—even if the whole world becomes my enemy."
Manda listened in silence.
Then, slowly, as if he were tasting the madness in those words, he said,
"…You really don't want to give yourself a pair of Sharingan?"
"If it were you, you'd awaken Mangekyō quickly."
"Sharingan is out," Ren replied without hesitation. "A bloodline that burns your life. One Shikotsumyaku is enough."
He paused, then added almost thoughtfully,
"If I ever reached the point where I had to swap eyes… I'd choose the Byakugan. Less burden. Better insight."
Ren hopped up in a single motion and stood atop Manda's head as if it were a natural place for him.
"Now," he said, voice easy, "take me to Ryūchi Cave."
Manda let out a low, unpleasant chuckle.
"Ha… ha… ha… A lunatic who chases power like you? The White Snake Sage's gonna love you."
This time, Manda didn't resist.
With a reverse summoning technique, he carried his new "master" back to his homeland—
One of the three great sanctuaries.
Ryūchi Cave.
…
Almost the instant Manda and Ren arrived.
Far deeper within Ryūchi Cave, a massive white serpent coiled on a throne-like seat slowly lifted her head.
A cigarette pipe hung from her mouth, smoke curling around her ancient gaze.
A smile—interested, hungry—formed.
"…"
One of the higher-ranked attendants, Tagitsuhime, drifted forward respectfully.
"White Snake Sage… did you see something again?"
"Manda," the White Snake Sage murmured, voice like stone sliding against stone, "brought back a very… very… very interesting boy."
The White Snake Sage rose, her colossal body lifting like a mountain awakening. The amusement in her voice was so intense that the other higher-ranking sages felt a chill.
"Very, very, very interesting…?" Tagitsuhime's eyes widened slightly. "That's a level of praise you've never given before, White Snake Sage…"
"Never seen?" The White Snake Sage chuckled. "Indeed. Because that boy's fate… is something I have never seen before."
She flicked her tail lightly.
"Go."
"Tagitsuhime. Tainoshin-jō. Ichikishimahime."
"Prepare the trial for that boy. Let us see whether he has the qualification to accept Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu."
"Yes, White Snake Sage."
The three sages moved at once.
After they vanished into the tunnels, the White Snake Sage exhaled a long stream of smoke and laughed to herself—an eerie, delighted sound.
"He clearly already knows the barest skin of Myōboku's senjutsu… yet he didn't go to the old toad for deeper training."
"And instead, he came to me?"
"Interesting… truly interesting."
"If the old toad has seen his fate in a dream… then his expression must be priceless."
She leaned back, eyes narrowing with greed.
"But since you chose Ryūchi Cave, I won't be stingy."
"A boy whose fate differs from the so-called Child of Prophecy…"
"Show me your capacity."
"Show me how far a man with no 'destiny' clinging to him can walk—after receiving senjutsu that can defy gods."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Inkveil_