In the Sand Village, the clones are everywhere, and the Arkham game begins

Chapter 458 Xin Ya
On a horizontally placed bed, a short, stout, white-scaled snake was coiled up, its tongue not flicking, but rather a pipe dangling from its mouth.

Upon seeing Shimizu arrive, the giant snake transformed into a short old woman and stepped off the bed.

The old woman's two small eyes peeked out from under her glasses, giving the impression of presbyopia, as she scrutinized Qingshui.

"I've long admired the White Snake Immortal."

Shimizu was also sizing up the unassuming old man in front of him, only sensing the immense energy contained within him.

The old woman in front of him gave Shimizu a faint sense of threat, like a hunter encountering a ferocious beast.

Hunters have the potential to kill wild beasts, but wild beasts may also retaliate.

"Hmm... You're quite impressive. Although the amount of Sage Chakra on your body is small, it's still condensed to 1. There's no abnormality on your body, and your strength is not bad. I'm afraid that in a few years, you humans will also have a holy land with a great sage."

The White Snake Immortal puffed on his pipe, gazing at the Clear Waterway.

More than a thousand years have passed before another human has finally emerged who can condense a Sage Chakra that is perfectly suited to himself.

No, the one from a thousand years ago wasn't human, it was an alien.

"You flatter me, Immortal. Whether it succeeds or not, I still need your guidance."

Shimizu bowed respectfully to the White Snake Immortal, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Yes, it is appropriate to offer guidance. My three goddesses were also quite presumptuous just now, and I hope that Immortal Shimizu will forgive them."

what?
I?
Shimizu Senjin?

It seems that in the eyes of these strange beings who can cultivate immortal arts, anyone who can cultivate immortal arts is considered an immortal. After all, even Jiraiya did not call himself an immortal.
He practiced a true immortal technique suitable for humans, and his strength was much greater. The fact that the White Snake Sage personally called him "Sage of Shimizu" made his title several levels higher than Jiraiya's.

"Since you have already learned immortal arts on your own, you are a born immortal. Your future achievements will likely be extraordinary. Humans can also learn the immortal arts of my Dragon Land Cave, but it is dangerous. Ultimately, these immortal arts are more suitable for snakes. If Immortal Qingshui needs to learn from you, you may take a look at the immortal arts in this scroll. If there is anything you don't understand, you can also ask the Three Goddesses. Their cultivation is quite good, and they know what they need to know. If there is anything you still don't understand, you can come and ask me."

After the old woman finished speaking, she suddenly opened her blood-red mouth at a 180-degree angle, stuck out her long tongue, and handed a bundle of scrolls, still covered in some sticky fluid, to Qing Shui's hand.

Why is the White Snake Immortal being so polite?
Do I really have that much influence?
Shimizu took the scroll and placed it at his feet.

Upon seeing this, the White Snake Immortal chuckled.

"If Immortal Qingshui wishes to learn the immortal techniques of my Dragon Land Cave, I will gladly offer them to you. However, you will need to form a contract with the snakes in my cave. Small snakes are fine with me, but for large snakes with a cultivation of over a hundred years, I will need their consent. In addition, I have another request."

really.

"Immortal, you may speak frankly."

"My Dragon Land Cave is barren, and there are countless snakes and pythons in the cave. There are dozens of large snakes that have cultivated for more than five hundred years. Although there are some hunting grounds inside and outside the cave, most of them are still starving. It is only because we snakes can eat one meal to last a year, and I also suppress them, that these guys in the cave have long started to kill each other and eat their own kind."

Orochimaru has become Hokage outside, but you are stronger than him. From now on, while you are alive, offer a thousand cattle and sheep, ten thousand pigs, and one hundred thousand rats and rabbits to my Ryuchi Cave every year to fill the bellies of my children. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?

"Is that all?"

Although there are quite a few of these livestock, it's just a matter of spending some money.

The conditions are definitely not that simple.

"Of course not. I also want you to help me unconditionally once you have mastered the immortal arts."

"One unconditional intervention? To whom?"

Qingshui asked the White Snake Immortal.

"I want you to capture all the toads on Mount Myōboku alive and bring them to me for my enjoyment. Remember, they must be alive. Gamamaru, Gama Fukasaku, and Gama Shima must all be alive."

"Is the immortal afraid that I'll take the benefits and then not do anything?"

Qingshui asked the White Snake Immortal.

"Hey, let me ask you this: in this deal, have I lost out in any way? Without my venom, what use are the immortal techniques of Dragon Land Cave outside, except for you to use them as a reference?"

The White Snake Immortal put the pipe back in his mouth and asked with a chuckle.

Besides this scroll, what else did the White Snake Immortal give up?
Are they the snakes in Ryuchi Cave?
Snakes are the most abundant thing in Ryuchi Cave.

If Shimizu can deliver those livestock as blood offerings every year as promised, then Ryuchi Cave will have already made a profit. If they actually manage to catch one or two toads from Mount Myoboku, then they will have made a huge profit!
As for why the White Snake Sage wanted the toads of Mount Myōboku who had mastered immortal techniques...

Shimizu naturally understood that, of the three types of snakes, the one that eats toads was the one that ate toads!

If a snake can fill its stomach by eating a toad, then if a snake immortal were to swallow a toad immortal, it would most likely benefit greatly as well.

only……

"White Snake Sage, if I were to actually capture a toad sage from Mount Myōboku, I'm afraid the price you're offering wouldn't be enough."

Qing Shui smiled slightly at the White Snake Immortal.

Need more money!
"Oh? Master Shimizu is quite the businessman."

The White Snake Immortal, with his pipe dangling from his lips, puffed out smoke for a while, seemingly genuinely considering what he could offer to increase the price.

It seems there really isn't.

"In my Dragon Cave, besides a celestial technique that's somewhat worthwhile, all I have are snakes. The only ones that can rival the toads of Mount Myōboku are those three. If you can really catch one of them, I'll give you one, what's wrong with that?"

The White Snake Immortal took out his pipe, held it in his hand, and pointed it at the Three Goddesses.

Shimizu was immediately stunned.

The three goddesses were even more confused.

"White Snake Immortal, we..."

"No! White Snake Sage!"

"I don't want it either!"

The three goddesses immediately floated to the White Snake Sage's side, one massaging his shoulders, another rubbing his legs, and yet another patting his back, all while acting coquettishly towards the White Snake Sage.

It's likely that those toads on Mount Myōboku are really that important to the White Snake Sage, so important that these three goddesses could easily give them up.

Or perhaps the old snake is deceiving him. He can never take away the ownership of the Three Goddesses. In the end, the Three Goddesses will nominally belong to him, but will ultimately belong to the White Snake Immortal.

After all, the White Snake Immortal has ruled Dragon Land Cave for a thousand years, and his prestige is deeply ingrained. If I were to clash with the White Snake Immortal, I fear the Three Divine Maidens would still obediently side with him. Perhaps the White Snake Immortal even possesses some hidden trump card that allows him to control the Three Divine Maidens.

It's likely that it's both.

This old woman, and most of the snakes and pythons in Dragon Cave, are no benevolent beings. Don't be fooled by the White Snake Immortal's current kindness; it's only because my strength is considerable, surpassing that of ordinary Kage-level beings, and I've developed immortal techniques suitable for humans, making me unfathomable and leaving the White Snake Immortal uncertain of my abilities. Hence, he shows me some respect.

If there were a real conflict of interest between the two parties, things wouldn't be so harmonious.

In fact, if I didn't have some skills, I might have fallen into the illusion of the Heavenly Princess as soon as I entered, and ended up in the snake's belly.

“Hey, you three, there are so many interesting things out there. If you don’t believe me, go ask Manda what kind of offerings Orochimaru gives him. The things in human towns are even more wonderful, with all kinds of food, drinks, and entertainment that you can’t find in Ryuchi Cave. Manda couldn’t see them because he couldn’t take human form. If you three can go out, you’ll have that opportunity too.”

The White Snake Immortal put the pipe back in his mouth.

The three goddesses' movements stopped instantly. The person who was being pinched on the shoulders, rubbed on the legs, and pounded on the back turned into Shimizu. The goddess Tianxin even used the magic technique Inorganic Rebirth to create a stone bench for Shimizu to sit on.

Shimizu: ...

Is it really that fun outside?

"Tianxin Shenji's eyes lit up."

"Is there anything good to eat?"

While massaging Shimizu's shoulders, the loli snake-like princess asked, drooling.

"Are there a lot of people outside? Really?"

Even as she said this, Princess Tsurugi was drooling.

Shimizu then remembered that the snakes in Ryuchi Cave were man-eaters.

tsk...

Fortunately, he didn't have any ambition to become a self-made hero.

I can't get down.

In their view, humans, cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs are all the same kind of livestock.

"You three are traitors! They haven't even caught the toad yet."

The White Snake Immortal looked at the three goddesses and said dejectedly.

Tianxin Shenji, however, flicked her tongue and opened her mouth wide, laughing.

"It's not that we can't sign a summoning contract, but Orochimaru doesn't know Sage Mode, so we don't want him. If we miss out on Shimizu Sage, how long will we have to wait before we can go out and have some fun?"

Shimizu felt a little disgusted when he saw the few snake scales that involuntarily showed at the corners of the mouths of the three goddesses when they smiled, and he quickly stood up.

"If you sign this psychic contract, you'll have to listen to me outside. You can eat, drink, and have fun, but you have to follow human rules. You're not allowed to kill anyone without my permission."

"Those rival ninjas are always easy to kill and eat, right? Manda often brags in the cave, saying that Orochimaru has to prepare at least a hundred sacrifices for him each time. Those are ninja sacrifices with firm flesh and strong bones, and the best taste..."

Tuanjin-hime kept babbling on and on.

It would actually be a good thing if these three goddesses could sign a spirit communication contract.

The three snake sages, skilled in illusion and sage techniques, are unlikely to be weak; they are at least comparable to Fukasaku and Shima of Mount Myōboku, and can provide some assistance.

Even if they can't interfere with a position of power at their level, they're still much better than ordinary ninjas.

At least based on the genjutsu that Shinji used when they entered, it wouldn't be easy for ordinary Jonin to break free, and even Kage-level experts would be affected.

We need to manage this properly to avoid trouble.

Moreover, with them around, at least half of Orochimaru's snake-type ninjutsu related to Ryuchi Cave would be rendered ineffective.

At least those snake swarms summoned through Hidden Shadow Serpent Hands and Ten Thousand Serpent Formation are completely ineffective against snake sages like the Three Goddesses.

The White Snake Immortal looked at the three goddesses, then at Qing Shui, and said:

"Then it's just a summoning contract. It'll be your summoned beast, but it'll still be a snake from my Ryuchi Cave. I won't cheat you. Orochimaru asks for a hundred blood sacrifices to make Manda fight once. The three of them, including Tsutsumi, know the Sage Arts of my Ryuchi Cave. Their strength is no less than that of Manda, a thousand-year-old monstrous snake. They also have more methods. They'll ask for a hundred and fifty blood sacrifices to make it fight once... Never mind, I'm afraid you'll feel uncomfortable if they eat people. If you refuse to summon them in the future, then I'll change it to two hundred sheep."

The meaning of the White Snake Immortal is very clear.

The three snake immortals went to Shimizu as mercenaries. As long as Shimizu failed to capture a toad immortal to exchange for them, the ownership of the three snake immortals would remain with Ryuchi Cave.

Of course, this is true before you catch the toad. What to do after you catch the toad depends on the situation at that time.

The White Snake Immortal felt he was not at a loss, but only at a profit, and Shimizu also felt he was not at a loss.

Anyway, I've already gotten my hands on the Sage Techniques from Ryuchi Cave for free, and I even managed to trick the Three Goddesses into joining me as well...

It wasn't exactly a scam; these three silly snakes asked for it themselves.

"Then it's settled."

Shimizu then picked up the scroll from the ground and threw it into the food pouch.

Seeing this, the White Snake Sage knew that it was probably some kind of space-time ninjutsu that could store things. Although he was curious, he didn't interfere. In any case, once the summoning contract was signed, the communication between the two parties would naturally increase, and there would be plenty of opportunities to learn about each other's methods.

"Well, you three, take the Water Immortal to see Xin Ya. I'm tired and need to rest."

The White Snake Immortal waved his hand and sat back down on the bed.

"Then we'll take our leave, White Snake Immortal."

Shimizu nodded slightly to the White Snake Sage, then turned and left with the three chattering goddesses.

Once the clear water had gone far away, the White Snake Immortal transformed back from the old woman's appearance back into the stout white snake with a cat's eye stone hanging around its neck.

"It's a pity that this brat has risen too quickly. I didn't have time to observe him carefully in the past. Otherwise, I might have been able to find out the secret of his mastery of immortal arts. Unfortunately, he has already become an immortal and can sense natural energy. My methods of investigation are probably useless to him now."

The White Snake Immortal sighed softly, flicked his tongue, wrapped the cat's eye stone hanging around his neck, and held it up to his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Shimizu, unaware of what the White Snake Immortal was thinking, simply followed the three goddesses to a grotto filled with red stones. Beside the grotto was a large pool where two giant snakes, one red and one purple, were fighting.

"Manda and Shinya are fighting again!"

Princess Tsurugi cried out as she looked at the two enormous snakes churning the water in the large pond.

"Is the red one Shinya?"

"Yes, the Clear Water Immortal, the two of them are fighting for territory. This large pool connects to the river outside the cave, and it is full of fish and shrimp. It is the best hunting ground in the cave. Because of the water source, other creatures will definitely have to come to the banks of this large pool if they want to drink water, so the banks are also the best hunting grounds."

(End of this chapter)