The ways in which the three great sanctuaries choose their summoners vary. Compared to Mount Myoboku, Ryūchi Cave and Shikotsu Forest rarely have summoners appear outside their domains. The current generation of the Three Sannin can be considered a coincidence.
Although Hyuga Mirai signed a summoning contract with Ryūchi Cave, he rarely summons beasts for combat. He only selected and nurtured Small Purple. As for Sage Mode, he developed his own version, so there's little need for him to seek assistance from Ryūchi Cave.
The White Snake Sage is a colossal white phosphorus snake. According to Orochimaru, the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave involves the White Snake Sage injecting natural energy into the practitioner through her fangs. After that, it's up to the practitioner's will and abilities. If they can't endure the invasive natural energy of Ryūchi Cave, they will be devoured by the Three Snake Sisters.
When Mirai arrived, he saw three women of varying forms standing by. Their eyes, which were almost identical to human ones, continuously observed him. It wasn't until their inner greed could no longer be contained that the Three Snake Sisters revealed their true serpentine features.
The Three Snake Sisters hadn't expected that Small Purple's summoner would be such a compelling young man.
Since Mirai had already signed a contract with Ryūchi Cave, he didn't need to undergo the Three Snake Sisters' trials. The White Snake Sage didn't appear in human form in front of him either.
"I didn't expect that Small Purple's summoner would have eyes just like those who stopped the Goddess of the Moon a thousand years ago. It seems you are his descendant," the White Snake Sage remarked.
After hearing this, Mirai asked, "White Snake Sage, did you experience the events of the Otsutsuki clan a thousand years ago?"
"The Otsutsuki clan? I don't know about that, but the Goddess of the Moon bringing the God Tree to pacify the wars is well known to all the summoning beasts. The God Tree absorbed natural energy that was closely tied to the summoning beasts, and many of us could sense it."
The White Snake Sage slowly began recounting the events. "The God Tree absorbed natural energy so aggressively that it almost endangered the survival of all summoning beasts. However, the Goddess of the moon was too powerful for us to stop. In the end, it was Gamamaru who came up with a plan and convinced the Goddess's two sons to learn our training methods. With that knowledge, they were able to defeat the Goddess and seal the God Tree."
"I didn't expect that Small Purple's summoner would have the same eyes as one of those sons from back then."
Mirai casually commented, "I am a descendant of the people from Hamura. So, White Snake Sage, why did you summon me?"
"Well, this is a bit embarrassing," the White Snake Sage said slowly. "Recently, Small Purple's appetite has increased significantly. Though he learned to absorb natural energy to reduce his food intake, he sometimes fights with other giant snakes over prey. This time, it was over a hunt for the Sinya."
"Oh." That didn't quite match what Small Purple had told him.
Mirai looked down at Small Purple, who had closed its eyes. If Mirai hadn't been standing on its head, it would likely have buried its head into its body in embarrassment.
"Another reason I summoned you here is to introduce you to another summoner of Ryūchi Cave. If you need it in the future, not just Small Purple, but other giant snakes of Ryūchi Cave can also be summoned to help you in battle."
Mirai raised an eyebrow and pointed at the Three Snake Sisters below the White Snake Sage. "What if I want to summon them?"
"Naturally, you can. But first, you'll need to leave their Sage Chakra in your body, so you can summon them using the summoning technique. With Small Purple, the assistance of other giant snakes might not be that significant. But as you said, let's proceed with that."
"I've heard that Ryūchi Cave has two types of Sage Jutsu. Can I learn them?"
"As a summoner of Ryūchi Cave, you can naturally learn Ryūchi Cave's inherited Sage Jutsu. These two techniques are learned by all the sage serpents of Ryūchi Cave. You may ask any one of them for guidance," the White Snake Sage replied.
Sending over the Snake Sisters and Sage Jutsu—Mirai didn't believe for a second that there were no ulterior motives behind this.
"Then, White Snake Sage, is there anything you need me to do?" Mirai asked directly.
The white phosphorus snake shook her enormous head. "Not for now."
"I understand," Mirai said. "Not for now, but there will be something in the future."
After the White Snake Sage's gesture, the Three Snake Sisters left their chakra with Mirai, enabling him to summon them for battle in the ninja world whenever needed.
Summoning any one of the three great serpent princesses from Ryūchi Cave would cost Hyuga Mirai nearly a third of his chakra reserves. However, considering their immense power—practically surpassing Kage-level in combat—it was more than a fair trade.
"Mirai-sama, I didn't expect the White Snake Sage to treat you so favorably," Kohaku's voice called out from below as Mirai, led by the serpent, returned to the territory once claimed by Shinya.
"Favorably? Not quite. This is just mutual benefit. If the White Snake Sage isn't making demands now, it only means there will be more in the future," Mirai replied with a shake of his head. "But no matter. Now that I know where they stand, I can allow others to sign summoning contracts with Ryūchi Cave as well."
A strong summoning beast could be a tremendous asset in battle. The giant serpents of Ryūchi Cave, some exceeding fifty meters in length, were foes that even Chunin-level ninjas couldn't handle. And if a serpent surpassed a hundred meters, even elite Jonin would struggle against it.
All a summoner had to do was provide chakra, and in return, they gained a powerful ally—far more efficient than expending chakra on jutsu.
After taking some time to check Kohaku's condition and record its biological data, Mirai released the Reverse Summoning Jutsu and returned to his base.
Upon arrival, he immediately prepared for his next mission.
Now that he had confirmed Sasori of the Red Sand's whereabouts, it was best to make contact quickly. With Sasori's cautious nature, if left alone, he might disappear again—retreating to some hidden location to craft puppets, vanishing from the shinobi world for a long time.
"Mirai-sama, can I go with you?"
As soon as she heard that Mirai was leaving, Ayaka Uzumaki ran over, eyes filled with anticipation.
"Next time, Ayaka. The Uzumaki Trade Association still needs you here for now."
Mirai lightly flicked her forehead, then left the base without hesitation. With the association preparing for another major expansion, Ayaka's presence was essential. Furthermore, since Orochimaru and Mirai's defection from Konoha, Kushina Uzumaki had been reaching out to Ayaka more frequently, making it unwise for her to be absent for too long.
Utilizing his armor's propulsion system, Mirai reached the Land of Crafts in a matter of moments. According to his intelligence, Sasori had come here to purchase tools for crafting puppets.
He should still be in the area. However, since the Land of Crafts was outside the Uzumaki Trade Association's sphere of influence, gathering information there was more difficult. Even the lead on Sasori's location had come from a black-market intelligence network.
Once 18 launched a few more satellites, monitoring the shinobi world's movements would become much easier.
Still, the Land of Crafts wasn't particularly large. With Mirai's Byakugan, locating a single person was relatively simple.
Before long, he found Sasori's hidden base in a rocky desert cave.
"Biological-mechanical integration, huh? The execution is a bit crude, but solidifying flesh with chakra to preserve its abilities… that's an interesting self-created sealing technique. However, relying solely on chakra threads for transmission components is too simplistic. A nanotech interface would drastically improve the speed of command transmission."
Observing from five kilometers away, Mirai used his Byakugan to watch as Sasori completed work on his Third Kazekage human puppet. Only after the final adjustments were made did Mirai make his approach.
Deliberately triggering the barriers Sasori had set up, he waited at the entrance of the cave. Moments later, Sasori emerged.
Though Sasori was four years older than Mirai, his short stature and youthful face made him appear even younger.
"A Konoha ninja? You actually managed to track me down?" Sasori eyed Mirai warily. He wasn't wearing a headband, but the Byakugan was unmistakable.
Mirai corrected him with a calm expression. "Not a Konoha ninja. I left the village. You'll be hearing about it in the shinobi world soon enough."
"Oh? A rogue ninja, then?"
Sasori's eyes flickered with interest as he noticed the absence of a Caged Bird Seal on Mirai's forehead.
He had always wanted to collect the unique abilities of the shinobi world, turning bloodline limits into his personal arsenal of human puppets. To find an unrestricted Byakugan user standing before him—what luck.
"You came to me willingly? Then do me a favor and become part of my collection. The Byakugan is said to be one of the most difficult bloodlines to obtain… Seems like today's my lucky day."
With a cold smirk, Sasori retrieved a scroll, summoning the freshly completed Third Kazekage puppet.
Mirai, unfazed, tilted his head. "We're fighting already? You're a bit impulsive, aren't you? Don't you even want to ask why I came looking for you?"
Sasori extended his chakra threads, linking them to the Kazekage puppet. "No need. I'll give you plenty of time for last words before you die."
"Last words?" Mirai glanced at Sasori's puppet, his expression unreadable. "You're putting all your confidence in that flawed creation?"
There was something in Mirai's gaze that struck Sasori—a look of superiority. The same look he had given other shinobi in Sunagakure who couldn't grasp the art of puppetry.
"You bastard—"
Before Sasori could finish speaking, a stream of liquid silver-like mercury flowed from Mirai's hand. As it touched the ground, the liquid reshaped itself into a humanoid metallic puppet. Under the sunlight, its black and gold surface gleamed with an elegant, refined finish.
"If you want to fight, then so be it," Mirai said with a smirk. "And since you insist, let's make this a true puppeteer's battle."
(End of Chapter)
=========================================================
DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE
SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS
PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).