After slipping out of Orochimaru's sight, Shishou led Anko to the ninja black market.
After releasing a notice seeking information on Uchiha Itachi at an intelligence house, he took Anko back to Fire Source City.
"Get some rest."
Shishou guided Anko to her room, took the scroll from her hands, and then vanished from the spot.
Watching him leave, Anko pursed her lips and walked toward the training room.
Now that she had a lead on Orochimaru, all that remained was to strengthen her own abilities.
Meanwhile...
After leaving a bug clone in Konoha, Shishou followed the information given by Orochimaru and began his journey to Ryuchi Cave.
After several days of travel, he finally arrived near Ryuchi Cave.
Looking at the valley teeming with snakes, Shishou smiled slightly.
His parasitic bugs had already evolved eight times, and with one more evolution, they could aspire to become legendary insect species.
The swarm of parasitic bugs, disguised as various insects, appeared around him and swarmed into the valley, devouring the mass of snakes entirely.
Shishou approached the entrance of a cave filled with snakes and walked inside.
As he moved forward, he continued to let his bugs devour the snakes, progressing about a hundred meters until he saw the words "Ryuchi Cave."
Glancing casually at the inscription, he continued his journey.
After a few more minutes, his view expanded into a huge cavern where a castle stood prominently.
"Heh, the trials of the Serpent Princesses of Ryuchi Cave?"
"Too bad, I prefer the Snake Princess from Amazon Lily."
Muttering to himself, Shishou approached the castle and pushed open the grand doors.
Inside the castle, three long tables laden with a variety of sumptuous foods awaited, looking incredibly tempting.
He picked up a piece of roasted meat and popped it into his mouth.
Hmm, not bad.
While evaluating the taste, Shishou suddenly reached back and grabbed the neck of an attacker.
"How did you detect me..."
With green hair and a golden crown, Tianshin Hime revealed herself, looking at Shishou in disbelief.
She had used a concealment technique unique to Ryuchi Cave, capable of hiding one's chakra presence completely.
Yet, Shishou had seen through her stealth attack effortlessly.
This was the first time in her hundreds of years of existence that something like this had happened.
Without answering her question, Shishou released a swarm of parasitic bugs from his hand, quickly enveloping Tianshin Hime's body.
"Ah!!!"
Tianshin Hime screamed in agony, struggling in Shishou's grasp as the castle around them vanished.
"Submit to me, or die."
Shishou spoke calmly as he watched her struggle.
Orochimaru's scroll on Ryuchi Cave had clearly stated that it operated on the law of the jungle: the strong prey on the weak.
Just as the Serpent Princesses could devour practitioners who came for trials, those practitioners could also kill the Serpent Princesses.
Additionally, the stronger Shishou demonstrated himself to be, the more he would earn the favor of the White Snake Sage and gain access to the cave's sage techniques.
"I submit, I submit."
"Master, please stop..."
Hearing Shishou's words, Tianshin Hime nodded frantically, even beginning to call him Master.
Her entire body was being gnawed on by the parasitic bugs, causing immense pain and draining her sage chakra rapidly. She genuinely feared for her life.
With a casual motion, Shishou tossed Tianshin Hime to the ground and headed deeper into Ryuchi Cave.
"Lead the way."
"Yes, Master."
Tianshin Hime quickly scrambled up and respectfully walked beside Shishou to guide him.
Purple-black bugs continually emerged from her body and vanished around Shishou, a bizarre sight that made her shudder.
Suddenly, she felt an anomaly in her chest. Pulling her clothing aside, she discovered a purple-black coiled snake mark at her heart, slowly sinking into her body.
Her eyes widened in horror as she realized she could never escape his grasp.
"Take me to the other two Serpent Princesses and subdue them."
Seeing that Tianshin Hime was thoroughly subdued by his parasitic bugs, Shishou gave his first command.
"Yes, Master!"
Resigned to her fate, Tianshin Hime fully accepted Shishou as her master.
Deep down, she even hoped Shishou would also subdue the other two Serpent Princesses. Only then would she feel balanced.
When someone is down on their luck, they always wish others to share the same fate.
This sentiment applied to Tianshin Hime as well.
"Shin Hime, how dare you help an outsider against me!"
The young-looking Ichikishima Hime yelled angrily as she was ambushed by Tianshin Hime.
"Heh, Hime, it's your good fortune to serve our master."
Tianshin Hime grinned at Ichikishima Hime.
This dragging-others-down feeling was oddly satisfying.
"Pah, you spineless wretch."
Ichikishima Hime spat in disgust, glaring at Tianshin Hime.
Anger flickered across Tianshin Hime's face as she tightened her grip on Ichikishima Hime's arms.
Shishou walked up to the restrained Ichikishima Hime, placing his hand on her neck.
Screams, submission.
One minute later, another person behind Shishou was calling him Master.
With the help of both Shin Hime and Ichikishima Hime, Shishou quickly subdued the final Serpent Princess, Tagitsuhime.
Deep within Ryuchi Cave...
"You are impressive."
"They will follow you from now on."
The enormous White Snake Sage, puffing on a pipe, looked at Shishou and praised him.
Breeding a Serpent Princess was easy for the White Snake Sage and not worth breaking its own rules over.
Then, a platform rose before the White Snake Sage, holding a long scroll.
"Master, use your blood to sign your name here, and you can command all the snakes of Ryuchi Cave."
Tianshin Hime glanced nervously at the White Snake Sage, noticing it had no intention of helping them, and whispered to Shishou.
Ichikishima Hime and Tagitsuhime also approached the platform, unrolling the scroll in front of Shishou.
Glancing at the name Orochimaru written on the scroll, Shishou remained indifferent. He looked up at the White Snake Sage.
"I want to learn Ryuchi Cave's sage techniques."
The White Snake Sage looked at Shishou and slowly said, "After signing the contract, defeat Shinya in the Great Serpent's Nest, and you will gain access to Ryuchi Cave's training chamber, where the sage techniques are taught."
Nodding, Shishou bit his finger and signed his name, 'Shishou of the Aburame Clan,' on the scroll.
With his parasitic bugs, he didn't fear any so-called Shinya or whatever other obstacles lay ahead.