After circling the sea for a while, the white dolphin finally came ashore on a beach.
The island was surrounded by numerous small and large landmasses. Without a map, it would have been nearly impossible to locate.
Naruto grabbed Hidan and the green-haired man—one in each hand—and tossed them onto the sand before lightly leaping ashore himself.
"Wait here for us," he told the white dolphin.
It chirped twice in response.
The three of them then made their way into the island's interior.
The moment they stepped onto the island, Naruto sensed something unusual.
Compared to the outside, the natural energy here was incredibly dense.
No wonder the green-haired man had said the beasts on this island were unusually large—it had to be because of this.
As they walked, Naruto activated his Kagura's Mind Eye.
His sensory perception covered the entire island.
Sure enough, there were numerous large creatures living on the island, and each of them carried rich natural energy within their bodies.
Bathed in this energy, they had thick hides and robust bodies.
In a way, this island was similar in nature to the Three Great Sage Lands.
Not long after entering the jungle, a black panther locked onto the trio.
It was about five to six meters long, claws glinting with a cold light, eyes sharp and alert.
It crouched on a tree branch, seemingly hesitating about whether to strike.
Looking at it, Naruto suddenly realized—he still didn't have a summoning beast.
If he could find a suitable one on this island, he could form a summoning contract just for fun.
Still, the panther before him clearly didn't make the cut. At best, it could fight a jōnin.
With a single swipe of Second Form: Claw Blades, the panther was sliced cleanly into pieces and fell to the ground.
The thick scent of blood spread immediately.
The green-haired man gulped at the sight of the panther—cut down without even a struggle.
'Just one casual strike... and this was the result?'
His fear of Naruto deepened even further.
What was once a deathtrap of an island to him and his crew...
Now felt like a leisurely stroll through a garden.
The beasts they encountered came in many shapes and sizes, but not a single one could survive a single slash from Naruto.
What once felt like an impossible distance was cleared in less than ten minutes thanks to Naruto carving a path forward.
According to the map, the marked location was the massive cave now in front of them.
With Kagura's Mind Eye, Naruto sensed a beast inside far more powerful than any of the ones they had encountered.
It emitted a pressure several times stronger than the creatures they'd faced on the way.
Naruto didn't hesitate—he led Hidan and the green-haired man straight into the cave.
As they walked along the narrow tunnel, the space suddenly opened up—an entirely different world inside.
It was as if the path they had just followed was a spatial corridor.
They now stood atop a cliff, overlooking a deep, circular sapphire-blue lake.
The lake was surrounded by the cave walls in a perfect ring—like a jewel embedded in stone.
There was no current; the lake was dead still.
But instead of murky or muddy, the water was impossibly clear and pure.
Thanks to Naruto's keen eyesight, he spotted a platform at the center of the lake.
With his strength grown, he had also become more daring in his actions.
A Flying Thunder God Kunai appeared in his palm, and with a flick, he sent it flying into the center of the platform.
The kunai struck precisely at the platform's heart.
Placing a hand on Hidan and the green-haired man, Naruto activated Flying Thunder God.
In the blink of an eye, the three appeared atop the stone platform.
Both Hidan and the green-haired man grew dizzy from the sudden movement.
Before Naruto could even investigate the platform, ripples began spreading across the lake's surface.
A large disturbance was rising from the depths.
The calm lake began to stir.
Then—a colossal head emerged from beneath the water.
Naruto watched calmly.
What surfaced was a massive serpent—cherry-blossom pink in color.
As it rose, its scales shimmered in the light with a dazzling glow.
Its size alone surpassed even that of the Great Snake Manda in Naruto's memory.
Two small horn buds were even beginning to form atop its head.
Naruto's first thought upon seeing the serpent's glossy pink glow was:
'What a gacha pull.'
Those brilliant pink slit-pupiled eyes revealed clear intelligence.
Evidently, the creature was sentient.
That didn't surprise Naruto. In this world, it wasn't unusual.
But what did surprise him was what happened next.
The serpent flicked its tongue—and spoke with the voice of a young girl.
"Huh? What are you? Why are you here? Did you come to play with me?"
Naruto had been preparing for a serious fight—but this totally threw him off.
This snake clearly had intelligence but seemed to have zero exposure to the outside world.
It probably hadn't even seen humans before.
Naruto waved a hand after a brief pause. "Uh… never mind. Go back to playing."
"Okay~!" the pink snake replied cheerfully and began splashing around the lake joyfully.
Naruto chose to ignore her for now and began searching for signs of treasure.
He activated Transparent World, scanning the platform.
But both the surface and interior of the stone slab seemed perfectly ordinary. Nothing stood out.
Shifting his attention to the lake below—
The lake was extremely deep—at least several dozen meters.
Sweeping his gaze through the water, Naruto saw no other living things besides the pink snake.
And as for the so-called treasure—nothing.
"…If there's no other creature here, what the hell did she eat to grow so big?"
Naruto looked back at the carefree serpent still playing in the water.
Upon a closer look—using Transparent World—he saw strange, unidentified shapes hidden within her body.
Naruto's expression shifted.
Oh. Don't tell me… she ate the treasure?
"Oi! Snake! Mind coming here a sec?"
Naruto called out to the serpent.
She seemed to be in a great mood with visitors around.
She swam back quickly, pink eyes sparkling. Around her eyes, natural markings formed a ring of cherry blossom-shaped "eyeshadow."
Up close, her face actually gave off a strangely graceful beauty… for a snake.
"Snake? Are you calling me?"
Naruto nodded. "Did you eat a bunch of strange things?"
The serpent rubbed her head with her tail, as if trying to remember.
"Hmm... I don't remember~ My memory's not that good! I think I did swallow a few things, though."
"But don't worry about those. Wanna play a game with me instead?"
Naruto gave a slight smile.
"Sure. Let's play a game where you throw up everything in your belly."
Her eyes lit up. "That sounds fun! Okay!"
Then, one by one, the snake began spitting up items—each thudding onto the stone platform with a loud clunk.