Kakashi stepped into another dimly lit room. Lining the walls were several large, cylindrical containers, though many had already shattered—glass shards littered the ground and strange dried stains marked the floor. Only two of the containers in the center remained undamaged, although they were covered in a thick layer of gray dust that obscured their contents completely.
"This must be where Orochimaru conducted his human experiments. Judging from the broken ones, people likely died inside these chambers."
Kakashi muttered as he carefully made his way forward, his sharp gaze locked onto one of the two intact containers.
"This one looks… different. It's not cracked at all. What did he keep in here?"
Driven by curiosity, Kakashi reached out and wiped the thick dust from the surface. What greeted him from within made his pupils contract sharply.
A massive snake.
It coiled tightly within the container, its pale scales faintly visible in the murky fluid. Even more unsettling—it had hair. Hair.
Kakashi's brow furrowed in disbelief. "Wait… this thing looks just like Orochimaru's true form—the White Phosphorus Snake from the original records."
But something felt off.
"No… the chakra signature's wrong. This isn't Orochimaru. His presence would never feel this faint."
Kakashi sighed slightly in relief, then frowned. "Still… why would something so similar be kept here? A coincidence? Orochimaru wouldn't be careless with anything related to his true form."
His thoughts churned. "Where did Orochimaru's snakes come from, anyway? Were they family summons? The records never explained it clearly. Maybe only the Third Hokage and Tsunade knew the full truth."
Among the Legendary Sannin, each had an iconic summoning beast. Jiraiya had the mighty toads of Mount Myōboku, Tsunade the slugs of the Shikkotsu Forest, and Orochimaru the serpents of Ryūchi Cave. Each holy land was famous across the ninja world and steeped in mystery.
Mount Myōboku's toads were legendary even among the Sage's tales—said to have taught the Six Paths Sage himself. But what about the other two?
Ryūchi Cave and Shikkotsu Forest were on equal footing. If Myōboku taught Senjutsu, then the others likely did too. There was no explicit confirmation about Shikkotsu Forest possessing Sage Mode, but considering Hashirama Senju—the First Hokage—used Sage Mode and Tsunade's summon originated there, the connection seemed strong.
Kakashi considered: "If all three Sannin trained with creatures from these holy lands, and two had Sage Mode potential… Ryūchi Cave must also offer Senjutsu. Which means Orochimaru definitely delved into it."
He couldn't help but think, If I ever got the chance, I'd like to compare the Sage Modes of these three lands… though that's a long way off. I'm not even close to that level yet.
But his musing stopped abruptly.
From within the liquid, the snake's eyes snapped open.
Kakashi's instincts flared. He leapt back immediately, warily eyeing the container.
"Awake already?"
In the next instant, the serpent roared—a low, gurgling hiss—and hurled its body against the container.
Bang!
The container burst apart!
Viscous green fluid flooded the floor.
Kakashi dodged back again, avoiding contact. "No way I'm touching that. It might be venom."
With a flick of his right wrist, his Chidori-infused blade, the Thousand Ting Sword, unsealed from its resting place and landed in his grip. He narrowed his eyes.
No question now. This was a battle.
The snake uncoiled itself, and its pale, uncanny eyes locked with Kakashi's. Its presence was unnerving, almost unnatural.
"Ugh… this thing is nasty."
Kakashi pulled a kunai from his left pouch, spun it briefly, then flung it straight at the creature's seven-inch weak spot.
But the kunai simply passed through. Not because he missed—and the snake hadn't dodged. Instead, the point of impact turned translucent, like liquid or mist, and then immediately reformed.
"What the…?"
Kakashi's mind raced. "What kind of jutsu is this? Not a basic transformation…"
Before he could deduce further, dozens of small snakes erupted from the larger serpent's body, slithering toward him in a wave of hissing flesh.
The floor writhed with motion. Kakashi grimaced. "Disgusting…"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames surged from his lips in a blazing sphere three meters wide, igniting the floor and incinerating the smaller snakes in seconds.
"Fire really is the best against these things."
But the big one wasn't phased. It lunged at him with terrifying speed.
Kakashi vanished in a Body Flicker.
Lightning danced across his blade as he reappeared behind it.
"Chidori Blade!"
The Thousand Ting Sword crackled and plunged through the serpent's skull, pinning it cleanly to the floor.
The snake shuddered, hissed faintly, and fell limp. Its eyes closed.
Kakashi didn't relax. He stared closely, watching for movement.
A minute passed. Nothing.
"Dead," he muttered. "It didn't have much actual combat ability."
Stepping beside the corpse, he crouched down and began inspecting it carefully.
"…What's this?"
His eyes narrowed.
This wasn't a normal snake. Deep within its body, he could feel it—an unfamiliar chakra signature. Foreign, yet… familiar?
"It's different from a standard beast… almost like… nature chakra?"
He activated his Sharingan, revealing his three-tomoe wheel. Instantly, the entire snake lit up in his vision.
"What…?"
Centered in the snake's head was a white-blue chakra glow—thin, but distinct. It pulsed with a natural rhythm.
"This is… Sage Chakra!"
His heart skipped.
That wasn't possible. Was it?
Orochimaru had indeed studied Senjutsu. The records suggested Ryūchi Cave possessed its own Sage Mode. Even in the manga, Orochimaru had Senjutsu chakra in his body—though he hadn't mastered it himself.
But this—this was physical proof.
"Could this be a trial subject?" Kakashi speculated. "A failed vessel for Senjutsu infusion?"
The thought made sense. Orochimaru's obsession with power, immortality, and new abilities was well known. He'd created the Curse Seal, which itself used a fragment of Senjutsu chakra.
"This thing… might've been one of Orochimaru's early experiments with that same energy."
Kakashi's mind reeled with possibilities. If this was a prototype of the Curse Mark experiment, the data would be invaluable.
Without hesitation, he pulled a sealing scroll from his pouch and began weaving hand seals.
"Energy Sealing!"
Runes formed around the snake's head as he extracted the faint trace of Sage Chakra and sealed it into the scroll. The chakra flowed into the parchment like liquid light, and a faint kanji character for "Sage" etched itself onto the surface.
He looked down at it, breath steady.
"This haul's better than expected. I probably can't learn Sage Mode directly from this, but it'll offer insights into how Orochimaru engineered his curse seals… and his connection to Ryūchi Cave."
He tucked the scroll away.
"Time to report back."
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