After an unknown amount of time, the cave inside the Dragon-Sealing Stone finally calmed down.
At this point, Hibari had entered "sage mode" and was in a state of calm. He felt a bit lost. What had he just done?
'I can't believe it. I actually got intimate with Ichikishimahime, a snake princess I just met today?
'This was our first meeting. How did things get so out of hand? This shouldn't have happened. I should have been able to control myself.'
All he could say was that it was a combination of coincidences that led Hibari to just go with the flow.
'A snake… that's a giant snake… and I actually became Hoori… Damn it, what was I thinking?'
Hibari covered his head with his hands. His thoughts, which had just started to calm down, became chaotic again.
While his mind was a mess, Hibari turned his head to look at the somewhat disheveled Ichikishimahime lying next to him.
But he only glanced at her before quickly turning his head back. The reason was simple: Ichikishimahime's appearance was too impactful. He was afraid that if he looked at her a few more times, he would be stuck in this cave forever.
He didn't know if he was being tempted by her beauty, but after that one glance, Hibari smacked his lips and whispered, "Maybe… it's not so bad?"
It had to be said that Ichikishimahime, in her human form, was very attractive to Hibari. But the moment the thought appeared, Hibari raised his hand and gave himself a hard slap.
'What are you thinking? That's a thousand-year-old snake. The combined length of my two lives is less than a fraction of hers…'
Hibari quickly admonished himself.
But as soon as the thought came, Hibari couldn't help himself and turned to look at Ichikishimahime's beauty again. Then he hesitated and whispered, "But even though she's lived for thousands of years, her mental age shouldn't be that old… Maybe the snake princesses of Ryūchi Cave only reach adulthood after a thousand years? Besides, Ichikishima is still a pure snake princess… Would I be a scumbag if I just put on my clothes and pretended nothing happened?"
Just as he thought this, Hibari slapped himself again and said to himself, "Think clearly, Senju Hibari. Ichikishima has always wanted to eat you, and she probably still does. And before you, who knows how many people she's eaten?"
With that slap, Hibari reminded himself again that no matter how cute or charming Ichikishimahime looked, she was still a man-eating snake, a snake princess of Ryūchi Cave.
But when he thought about this, Hibari couldn't control himself and glanced at Ichikishimahime again. He was conflicted for a long time. Finally, he slapped his thigh and said in a low voice, "Damn it, what's a little cannibalism? I, Senju Hibari, have killed a lot of people too. I'll just eat a few snakes later to balance things out. A man has to take responsibility. How can I make a mistake and just walk away? How am I supposed to live in Ryūchi Cave after that?"
In the end, Hibari made up his mind. He couldn't be a heartless scumbag. He wouldn't admit that he was seduced by her beauty, but he knew that what happened next would depend on Ichikishimahime's mindset and whether she could accept the fact that she had been "eaten" by a human.
If they could both accept it, then there wouldn't be a problem. Even if there were flaws, they should understand and tolerate each other, and then make changes. Especially the habit of eating people—if Ichikishima-hime was willing to be with Hibari, he would definitely correct her.
But he thought that this correction was completely possible. After all, with him around, why would she need to eat other people? She could just eat him, right?
Just as Hibari made this decision, Ichikishimahime also happened to regain her senses. She first looked at her disheveled appearance, felt a sore ache and some pain, and then remembered what Hibari had done to her.
Her face instantly turned red. She quickly grabbed some clothes and managed to cover herself up a bit. Then, almost crying from anger, she pounced on Hibari, grabbed his neck, and yelled, "Senju Hibari, do you know what you've done? This snake princess is going to kill you today! Give me back my purity!"
Hibari was pinned to the ground by Ichikishimahime, who was shaking him wildly by the neck. He felt terribly uncomfortable, but he didn't dare to struggle too much. He could only say in a broken voice, "Calm down… calm down… Ichikishima… you're trying to kill your husband… you can't blame me alone… who told you to be so beautiful and charming… weren't you having a good time too? You can't just cross the bridge and burn it after you've had your fill…"
Hibari's words were quite skillful. He first affirmed their "relationship" by shamelessly calling himself her "husband." Then he subtly complimented her beauty. And then he brought up the embarrassing thing that had just happened. This series of words actually made Ichikishimahime feel a little soft.
But even though she felt a little soft, Ichikishimahime was still holding Hibari's neck tightly and said angrily, "What are you talking about? I was forced! You bastard! I told you to stop, but you went on like a crazy bull!"
"My fault, my fault… Let go, I can't breathe. I'm really going to die…" Hibari said, frantically hitting the ground with his hand.
Ichikishimahime had only acted out of anger because of her unstable emotions after seeing the man who had ruined her purity. But now she had calmed down. The deed was done. Even if she killed Hibari, it wouldn't change anything. It would be better to talk things out.
Thinking this, Ichikishimahime looked at Hibari, who was turning red and looked like he was suffocating. Her heart softened. After all, this bastard was now her man. This kind of thing had never happened to her in her thousands of years of life, and Senju Hibari was the first man.
And she didn't know if it was because they had already had this physical relationship or if she just hadn't noticed before, or maybe under the influence of her appetite, she just found Hibari quite pleasing to the eye.
It wasn't as if no other man had ever come to Ryūchi Cave, but she hadn't found any of them worthy of her time, not even to speak to. How could she have been half-willingly brought to this point?
As they say, everything is connected by karma. Perhaps deep down… she had wanted this to happen?
Thinking about this, Ichikishimahime's face turned red again. Then, in a fit of pique, she squeezed Hibari's neck, almost suffocating him before she let go of her hands. She let out a cold "Hmph," sat down on the ground, and looked at Hibari menacingly. "If you, Senju Hibari, don't give me a satisfactory explanation today, this snake princess will not hesitate to give up my thousand years of training and violate the rules of Ryūchi Cave to swallow you alive!"
"Easy, easy… I'm not an irresponsible man…" Hibari said, rubbing his neck as he sat up.
"Then tell me, how are we going to deal with this? I, Ichikishimahime, have some status and reputation in Ryūchi Cave. If this gets out, how can I continue to train here? So, no matter what else, only we two know about this now. Don't you dare say a word about it once we're out of this cave…" Ichikishimahime said, pouting.
Hibari was stunned for a moment, then said, "Damn it, I haven't even turned my back on you yet, and you're already trying to pretend nothing happened? Are you planning to just use me and leave?"
Ichikishimahime's face turned red at Hibari's "vulgar words." She glared at him again, then said in a broken voice, "What are you talking about? I'm just… just… not mentally prepared yet… Don't think of me as some kind of easy woman… Anyway, I don't care. Only I can bring this up later. You are not allowed to say anything, or I'll eat you!"
Hibari looked at the shy and pretending-to-be-fierce Ichikishimahime and thought she was incredibly cute.
At the end of the day, cuteness was what mattered most. What did he care if she was a snake or if she ate people? Did Lady White Snake grow up eating vegetables for a thousand years?
Hibari didn't argue with Ichikishimahime about this. He also felt a little embarrassed. It was his first time visiting Ryūchi Cave, and he hadn't even said hello to the White Snake Sage yet before he "took care of" her disciple. It would be wrong for him to go out and talk about it.
So Hibari nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do whatever you want. When you're ready to tell others, then we'll make it public. Sound good?"
Ichikishimahime finally nodded. "Mmm, that's what we'll do. Now, tell me, what are you going to do to compensate me? You ruined my thousand years of purity, you bastard. We've only known each other for less than a day, and I don't even know how old you are…"
"It was destiny, so what are you talking about? You're breaking my heart…" Hibari said, feigning a wronged expression, then paused and said, "I'm sixteen this year…"
"Sixteen?" Ichikishimahime was stunned for a moment, then said in disbelief, "I thought you were over twenty. So you're not even an adult yet among humans?"
"Oh, come on, why are we talking about this? Let's get back to business…" Hibari said, feeling a little annoyed. He hated it when people brought up his age because his youth always caused problems.
It took him a long time to change people's impressions of him in Konoha. Did even something as private as this in Ryūchi Cave depend on age? Wasn't it about the size of the "capital"?
Cough cough...
Ichikishimahime seemed to realize that Hibari had a weakness in this area, so she let out a smug "Hmph" and said, "Hmph, you're a little brat!"
Ichikishimahime had lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but she was acting like a little loli, adopting a condescending tone and calling Hibari a "little brat." This made Hibari's teeth itch with anger.
"This 'little brat' still managed to put you in your place," Hibari muttered through clenched teeth.
"What did you say?" Ichikishimahime's face turned red, and she said angrily.
"Nothing, nothing… We're in this kind of relationship now. What kind of compensation do you still want?" Hibari said, feeling helpless.
Ichikishimahime thought for a moment and then immediately said, "Like I said before, you don't have anything else that's attractive to me, so from now on, whenever I want to eat you, you have to obediently let me! Whether it's your blood or your chakra…"
At this point, Ichikishimahime paused, seemingly considering Hibari's feelings, and said again, "Of course, I'll be careful and won't put you in any danger, just like this time…"
Feeling that Ichikishimahime was considerate enough to care about his feelings and health, Hibari's impression of her improved. Maybe besides her beauty, Ichikishimahime has other admirable qualities. But they had only known each other for a day, so even if she had other virtues, Hibari hadn't had a chance to discover them yet.
Hibari was about to agree, as this was already part of his plan. He had no intention of giving up on his idea of "taming" Ichikishimahime. It was still up in the air who would lead the relationship.
But just then, Ichikishimahime seemed to remember something and immediately said, "And, you are not allowed to get involved with Tagori or Tagitsu, and you're not allowed to give them anything to eat. I don't want you to ruin them too…"
Hibari had just played the part of Hoori, and his mental state had almost collapsed. He had no intention of playing the part of Hoori again for two other people. For now, he wasn't going to have any more of these wild thoughts.
So, without any hesitation, Hibari nodded and said quickly, "No problem. Absolutely no problem."
Ichikishimahime was very satisfied with Hibari's attitude. But then she thought about it again. She and Tagori and Tagitsu had been sisters for a thousand years, and their relationship was very deep. She knew how perfect Hibari was as a "food source" because she had already tasted him herself. If this was a one-time thing, she would have kept him for herself. But if this could be a "long-term thing," she couldn't keep him all to herself. She had to at least share a bite with her two sisters.
So, after thinking about it, Ichikishimahime said a little shyly, "I thought about it… Let's change it a little. In the future, under my supervision, if you're willing, you can let Tagori and Tagitsu have a taste of your chakra… But it can only be chakra. Everything else belongs to me!"
Seeing Ichikishimahime's adorable behavior, Hibari reached out and patted her head. "No problem at all."
——————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are 50+ advance chapters available for you to read!