"You're done already?"
Manda tilted his head slightly, clearly confused by Saitama's state. His jaws parted slightly, revealing his uncertainty.
The other two snakes reacted the same way, staring intently at Saitama, trying to spot any change in him.
But unfortunately, without Sage Chakra, they couldn't detect anything unusual about him. All they sensed was an increased pressure—an aura of dominance similar to that of a higher being over lower ones.
Among the guardian snakes, the red giant python named Simba belonged to the violent pythons category. Due to his extraordinary combat strength and relatively gentle temperament, he had been selected as one of the guardian ninja snakes.
"Did you learn Sage Art?" Simba hesitated for a moment, stared at Saitama for a while but still found nothing, so he finally asked directly.
"Yeah!"
Saitama casually nodded with both hands in his pockets, tilting his head back to look up at the three massive snake heads.
"Huh?" The three snakes were all stunned in unison, completely unable to follow Saitama's logic; their massive heads even bobbed involuntarily along with his nodding motion.
But just a second later, Manda was the first to snap out of the bizarre moment.
"You said you learned it?!" Manda nearly bit his own tongue, his two black eyes filled with doubt.
"Well, I did learn it!" Saitama felt puzzled by the snakes' reaction, scratching his head in confusion.
Faced with the still-doubtful giant snakes, Saitama took a deep breath. Then his body seemed like a powerful vortex rapidly absorbing natural energy from the surrounding environment.
Boom! A surge of powerful aura erupted from Saitama. A chakra membrane-like layer of Sage Chakra clung tightly to his body surface.
There were no horns on his forehead because those only appeared when Saitama activated [Perfect Snake Sage Art] and entered [Dragon Transformation].
The instant Saitama activated [Sage Mode], the three snakes sensed something wrong. Sure enough, the next moment, they felt as though encountering Hebihime or White Snake Sage, and slammed their heads onto the ground, too frightened to look directly at him.
This was an intense manifestation of [Snake Sage Art], exerting overwhelming suppression over all snakes.
Mastering [Snake Sage Art] essentially made one the Snake King, possessing the power to summon and lead lesser snakes.
Of course, this ability mainly affected snakes who hadn't mastered Sage Art or Sage Chakra. Its effect on beings like Hebihime was quite limited.
Believe me now? Saitama canceled [Sage Mode], guiding the remaining Sage Chakra inside his body to slowly dissipate into his meridians.
Then he walked up to Manda, who was lying down, and gave his head a gentle pat as he spoke to him.
"Huff!" Simba and the other guardian snake locked eyes for a brief moment before lifting their bodies. Having often interacted with White Snake Sage and Lady Hebihime, they had developed some immunity against such suppression, which allowed them to recover much faster than Manda.
"Congratulations! You've mastered Sage Art. It's been a long time since any human ninja could achieve that! We've been guarding here for nearly a hundred years. During that time, you weren't the first ninja to step into Ryuchi Cave, but you are the only one who successfully learned it!"
Simba's eyes flickered with thought before he lowered his head and approached Saitama, speaking with evident delight, as if it were himself who had mastered the Sage Art.
"So are you heading back to the Shinobi World now?"
Manda had recovered but looked at Saitama with a hint of fear in his eyes. Originally, he had been somewhat unwilling to become Saitama's obedient boss summon, yet now he felt completely willing without any resistance. That kind of powerful ninja partner has always been the ultimate dream for all boss summons.
"Not yet. I plan to find a giant snake named Shinta!"
Saitama glanced around and noticed all three snakes were eavesdropping attentively. He waved his hand to indicate there was no rush before leaping up and landing atop Manda's head.
"You know where this Shinta is, right? Take me to him!"
Sitting cross-legged on top of Manda's head, Saitama exuded an air of ease.
Manda stiffened, puzzled by Saitama's intent, though suddenly he felt a strange sense of being replaced in affection.
"Shinta?"
Beside him, Simba raised his head until reaching the same height as Saitama and leaned in closer to speak. Judging from his name Simba and his crimson-colored body, he likely knew that giant red snake called Shinta.
"Yeah, Shinta. Why?"
Saitama gave a slight nod and shifted his gaze sideways toward the nearby giant red snake head and its faintly visible sharp fangs, showing no trace of fear whatsoever.
"He was banished by the White Snake Sage to the northern side of Ryuchi Cave, living beside a desolate dead lake, forbidden forever from entering the main inhabited areas of Ryuchi Cave."
Simba's expression dimmed slightly, even revealing a tone of regret when mentioning Shinta.
"You're…"
Saitama was somewhat curious about this red giant snake in front of him, who seemingly belonged to the same clan as the Shinta in his memories.
"My name is Simba; I'm Shinta's junior! He once taught me how to hunt. If it hadn't been for the last time he got summoned out by his boss summon ninja to fight someone and lost an eye, he wouldn't have turned out like this!"
Simba hesitated slightly, giving a complex reply to Saitama's question.
"I intend to go find him precisely so we can make a contract, making him my boss summon!"
A smile crept across Saitama's face while he casually brushed off some longer strands of hair that had regrown.
"Oh, Manda should know the way. He can take you there!"
"Manda…"
As Simba spoke, he turned his gaze toward Manda, noticing something unusual—some irritation brewing deep within Manda's eyes.
Simba paused, looking confused at Manda's reaction.
"Hmph, I will take you!"
Manda sounded somewhat prideful. He didn't like the idea of this ninja—just fresh off learning the Sage Art—already chasing after a new boss summon and leaving him behind.
Strangely, a sense of resentment stirred within him! Think of him, Manda-sama—his presence was renowned throughout the entire Shinobi World. Half of Orochimaru's reputation as one of the Sannin came from him. Ninja eager to form contracts with him ranged from Konoha to Sunagakure.
Yet this young man called Saitama, who just days ago flattered him endlessly into becoming his boss summon, was now quickly displaying fickleness and chasing after novelty!
The more Manda thought about it, the angrier he became. His breath flared hotly from his nostrils, growing hotter with every breath.
"Alright then, Manda, let's go find Shinta!"
After listening to Simba's words, Saitama nodded. He reached down and patted Manda on the back, signaling it was time to move out.
He didn't notice the shift in Manda's mood nor did he consider such a possibility, since Manda always had such a terrible personality. Someone with such a bad temper wouldn't let something this small get to him anyway.
"Then take care on your journey!"
Simba and another guardian snake of Manda's kind nodded at Saitama before curling back down onto the ground, resuming their work.
Grumbling under his breath, Manda turned and slithered off in one direction.
Saitama sat quietly atop him, legs crossed and arms folded, watching the stunning scenery pass by.
As one of the sacred sites, Ryuchi Cave possessed an extremely long history. Its stalactites and breathtaking formations had taken millennia to shape naturally—more stunning than any underground cave Saitama had visited in his past life.
Back then, Saitama hadn't been in the mood to appreciate the sights, but now he had all the time—and interest—to enjoy them fully.
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