After figuring everything out, a mischievous grin appeared on Hibari's face. He quietly said, "How interesting. So, to gain the power of the sages, you must first pass their trials? It's a fair deal. Win, and you gain power. Lose, and you forfeit your life…"
Ichikishimahime walked over to Hibari, naturally brushing aside Tagitsuhime, who was standing behind him, and put Hibari behind her. Then she said, "That's right, it's very fair, Hibari. What we value most in Ryūchi Cave is 'fairness'."
Whether she was trying to assert her 'claim' or not, Ichikishimahime was already acting as if she and Hibari were very close. She no longer called him 'dono' and simply used his name.
Combined with her earlier request for him to call her 'Ichikishima,' it truly gave the impression that their relationship was quite special.
Before Hibari could say anything, she pointed at the two snake princesses, who were grinding their teeth in annoyance, and introduced them. "These two are also snake sages of Ryūchi Cave. Let me introduce them to you, Hibari. They are Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime."
Hibari wasn't surprised by this. After Ichikishimahime finished speaking, he politely said, "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Princesses of Snakes. I am Senju Hibari."
As soon as Hibari finished, Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime smiled, ready to exchange a few pleasantries to get closer to him.
However, just as they put on friendly smiles and before they could say a word, the loli Ichikishimahime ended the conversation abruptly. She turned to Hibari and asked, "Now that you know the rules, do you still want to meet the White Snake Sage?"
This move by Ichikishimahime angered the other two. It seemed this brat was really planning to hog him all to herself.
But there was nothing they could do. It was their fault for not being the first to come out and greet him. They had already lost the first-mover advantage!
Hibari fell silent for a moment when he heard her question. Then, he showed a confident smile and rubbed the Ame no Murakumo, the long blade hanging at his waist. He spoke with a determined tone, "I'm the kind of stubborn person who won't stop until I hit a brick wall. Now that I've come all this way, how can I leave empty-handed? A trial of life or death? Perfect. I'm very interested in this… I accept this game!"
As soon as Hibari finished, Tagorihime didn't give the other two a chance to speak. She quickly interjected, "Very good. A confident person must have a firm belief. I'll be the one to test you first, Hibari-dono!"
As soon as she said this, Hibari didn't hesitate to say, "Bring it on!"
With the two of them going back and forth, they decided the matter for themselves. Ichikishimahime was completely dumbfounded. She had wanted to be the first to put Hibari through the trial, giving him the most difficult one so that she could eventually eat him. But she had been careless for a moment, and Tagorihime had gotten to him first.
If Hibari turned out to be all bark and no bite and lost the trial, it would be a huge loss for her…
Thinking about this, she was furious.
Tagitsuhime was also a bit stunned, but at least Tagorihime wasn't as 'scheming' as Ichikishimahime, trying to keep him all to herself. So, she looked at the loli Ichikishimahime with a hint of amusement and said softly, "A scheme to steal a chicken that ends up costing you the bait, huh? Serves you right."
This infuriated Ichikishimahime. She looked at Senju Hibari and said, "Hibari, you better give it your all and live up to the name of the Senju clan! Pass this trial well!"
Hearing Ichikishimahime's words, Hibari was puzzled. Could this loli actually have a crush on him? Was she even cheering him on? Just as Hibari was feeling a little smug and about to say something, the loli Ichikishimahime added the rest of her sentence.
"You must make it to my trial! I'm the one who wants to eat you the most!" Ichikishimahime said bluntly without any hesitation.
Hibari nearly suffered a brain hemorrhage from her 'blunt' words, but given the situation, he couldn't get mad. He could only force a smile and say, "Ah… Don't worry."
As soon as he finished, Tagorihime, to stop Ichikishimahime from causing any more trouble, quickly activated the test.
In Hibari's sight, in just a split second, the scenery changed dramatically. The figures of Tagitsuhime and Ichikishimahime disappeared completely, and the environment became a little familiar.
Looking closely, this was a damn internet cafe! Rows of computers were neatly arranged everywhere, and by their specs, they were all top-of-the-line.
Tagorihime was a little stunned by this scene. The test she set up was both simple and difficult. It was to manifest the challenger's deepest desire to tempt them. In fact, the Ryūchi Cave sages didn't think there was anything wrong with having desires. After all, when the three of them saw Hibari, they were full of gluttonous desires, wanting to devour him on the spot.
However, while having desires, it was crucial to maintain clarity. If they became slaves to their desires, they would be worthless. Such a person, even if they learned Senjutsu, would only bring shame to Ryūchi Cave.
Tagorihime was stunned not for any other reason, but because in her haste to get the meddling Ichikishimahime out of the way, she had directly manifested Hibari's deepest desire without even looking, which resulted in the sudden appearance of this internet cafe. And not only had an internet cafe appeared, but she also had no idea what this thing was, leading to a moment of awkward silence.
Tagorihime had lived for thousands of years and believed she had seen everything. Even if she hadn't, she had at least heard of it. As a result, her tests had always been very natural, and she could handle any situation. But at this moment, she was truly bewildered.
Not only was she bewildered, but Hibari was too. He scratched his head and thought to himself, 'Before I died, I heard that Blizzard was releasing a classic version of World of Warcraft. I regretted not being able to join in and relive the fun of clearing dungeons with everyone in an internet cafe… I never thought this would become my fixation and desire? This is a little embarrassing to have laid out in the open like this…'
Tagorihime didn't understand any of this, so she could only pretend to be calm as she looked at Hibari and said, "Hibari-dono, you've come all this way to Ryūchi Cave, so of course you are our guest. We don't have much to offer you, but before the trial begins, please use these things to rest. I'll go prepare for the trial."
Tagorihime spoke as if she understood these "things" and as if the trial hadn't started yet. But Hibari knew full well that the trial had already begun.
If it were any other time, he would be very willing to sit down and play a game. But since he already understood what was going on, how could he be tempted?
Besides, this kind of thing was only fun when you were with friends. What was the point of playing by himself? It would be no different from a dead server. The game wasn't just a game, it was his youth!
So, while it was indeed a desire in Hibari's heart, its appeal to him in this situation was… almost zero.
As soon as Tagorihime's words fell, Hibari smiled and waved his hand. "There's no need. I don't need to rest. I'll just wait here. You go ahead and do your thing…"
Tagorihime was stunned. She said, "No need to be so polite. Just make yourself at home. I still need a lot of time to prepare, so you might as well entertain yourself…"
"It's fine. I'm a very patient person. I happen to have a couple of difficult problems I'm working on. Go ahead, Tagorihime. I'll just sit here and wait…" Hibari said nonchalantly. He then pulled out a computer chair, sat down comfortably, and took a scroll from his waist. He unrolled it and began to read it.
He seemed to be genuinely prepared to sit there and study his problems.
This scene completely dumbfounded Tagorihime. 'What the hell? This is your deepest desire! Even though I don't know what these square things are, you could at least have some kind of reaction, right? Why are you so indifferent? Where's your desire? Can't you have some aspirations?'
Tagorihime didn't give up. She tried to persuade Hibari multiple times, trying to get him to take the bait. But the "bait" was truly unappealing. Hibari put on a stubborn face, acting as if he was immune to her efforts. No matter how much she said, he wouldn't move his butt.
After all that effort, Tagorihime completely broke down. She had lived for so many years and had never met such a difficult person. She nearly burst into tears, feeling incredibly wronged.
She really wanted to eat Hibari, but the White Snake Sage had given a special warning. So, as long as Hibari didn't make any mistakes in the trial, she would not dare to defy the White Snake Sage's command and forcefully devour him, no matter what she wanted to do.
Since Hibari didn't show any flaws, it proved that he had passed the illusion test she had set up. With the White Snake Sage's command, Tagorihime could only reluctantly admit that Hibari had passed the trial after her futile efforts.
"You faced your inner desire without any wavering, remaining as firm as iron. Over the years, many people have attempted this trial, but you are the most bizarre of them all… While I am very disappointed that I can't eat you here, you have truly opened my eyes and given me a new understanding of you humans…" Tagorihime suddenly said, looking at Hibari, who was reading his scroll.
Hearing this, Hibari put away the scroll in his hand and smiled. "So this was the trial? I was truly tempted, but doing this alone is just not fun. That's why I was able to remain as firm as iron…"
In truth, if all of his buddies from before had been there, he might not have been able to resist joining them for a game.
Tagorihime just thought Hibari was being modest, but she was still very curious. She asked, "Since you passed the test, I'm also very curious to ask, what are these square things? I've seen people's desires for mountains of gold and silver, beautiful women, delicious food, secret scrolls, armies, and power… But I have never seen this before…"
Hearing Tagorihime's confusion, Hibari showed a nostalgic smile and said softly, "This thing is called 'internet addiction.' But I've already graduated from it. To me, it's not so much a desire as it is nostalgia. I have to thank a divine doctor from my world for that, a man named 'Professor Andersson'…"
"'Internet addiction'?" Tagorihime murmured, but still couldn't figure out what it was.
However, she didn't press the issue and simply waved her hand to dispel the illusion. In the moment the illusion shattered, she saw a hint of reluctance in Hibari's eyes, which made her feel a little better. At least he wasn't completely unaffected.
As soon as Hibari came to his senses, he saw that he was still standing in the same spot. Before he could say anything, he heard Ichikishimahime say excitedly, "Amazing! That was so fast! Did you get rid of your inner desire in such a short time? You truly are the man I, Ichikishimahime, have my eyes on!"
"Haha, I told you. I'm very confident in myself!" Hibari laughed loudly.
"Don't get too happy too soon. Now I'll show you that our Ryūchi Cave's trials are quite difficult." Ichikishimahime quickly said.
Then she opened her arms, ready to take Hibari somewhere. But as soon as she extended her hand, Tagitsuhime suddenly said, "I'll go first…"
Tagitsuhime then didn't give Ichikishimahime a chance to speak. She suddenly bit into Hibari's neck and injected a stream of chakra into him…
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