Outside the Great Serpent's Nest in Ryuchi Cave.
"Master, from here on, it's all up to you," Tianshin Hime said cautiously, looking at Shishou. "The White Snake Sage's trial is something we cannot and dare not interfere with."
"I understand," Shishou replied.
"From now on, you will be called Shin Hime, Island Hime, and Tsun Hime," he added, looking at Tianshin Hime, Ichikishima Hime, and Tagitsuhime.
"Yes, Master," the three Snake Princesses responded in unison, bowing deeply.
Ryuchi Cave operated on a survival of the fittest principle, and the Snake Princesses had genuine respect for Shishou's command, with no trace of resistance.
Nodding, Shishou stepped toward the entrance of the Great Serpent's Nest.
"Wow, there are so many giant snakes in here," he muttered. "Let's try devouring five of them first."
His parasitic bugs had already evolved eight times, and they were on the brink of the next evolution after consuming a significant amount of chakra and sage energy from the numerous snakes in Ryuchi Cave and the three Snake Princesses.
"Hm? Another human has come for the trial?" A giant red-eyed serpent deep within the nest, named Shinya, raised its head and flicked its tongue.
Slithering out of its lair, Shinya left to confront the intruder.
"Wow, even the snakes here are packed with massive amounts of chakra and sage energy," Shishou marveled. "Looks like the parasitic bugs will evolve today."
As he retracted his bugs from the skeletal remains of a giant snake, Shishou couldn't help but admire the results.
"Ha ha ha," Shinya laughed as it spotted Shishou. "Another human? Today, you'll be my meal."
It had been a long time since Shinya had tasted human flesh.
"Tsk..." Shishou clicked his tongue, unimpressed. "It's my first time seeing someone so eager to die."
As Shinya lunged at him with its massive maw, Shishou threw a few shuriken and vanished.
Moments later, Shinya's screams echoed through the nest, causing the surrounding snakes to scatter in terror.
[Parasitic Bug, Epic Insect Species, Eighth Evolution Complete, Ready for Next Evolution]
Hearing the system prompt, Shishou approached the barely alive Shinya and retrieved his parasitic bugs.
He had already devoured several large snakes here. Now that his bugs were ready to evolve, he decided to spare Shinya's life to avoid angering the White Snake Sage and losing his chance to learn Ryuchi Cave's sage techniques.
"Take me to the sage training chamber," he ordered the three Snake Princesses after leaving the Great Serpent's Nest.
"Yes, Master," they replied in unison, respectfully leading him to Ryuchi Cave's sage training chamber.
"Tsk tsk tsk, the risks of training in Ryuchi Cave's sage techniques are incredibly high," Shishou mused as he browsed through the training methods detailed in the cave's scrolls, his brow furrowing at the illustrations.
The sage training required one to practice the techniques for a period before the White Snake Sage would inject them with sage energy. If one could adapt to the transformation into a snake, they could continue training. If not, they would be devoured by the White Snake Sage.
The success rate was less than 1%.
Even Orochimaru would shake his head at this.
Perhaps Orochimaru's inspiration for the cursed seal came from the White Snake Sage.
"Forget it, I'll just learn how to use the sage energy from Ryuchi Cave," Shishou decided. "I'll figure out a safer way to activate Sage Mode later."
After some thought, Shishou decided against learning Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode for now. Instead, he focused on mastering the use of sage energy, planning to eventually deal with the White Snake Sage directly to learn the sage arts.
Over the next few days, with the assistance of the three Snake Princesses, Shishou quickly memorized the methods of utilizing sage energy from Ryuchi Cave.
Although he couldn't use these techniques without Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode, his understanding of sage training deepened significantly, which was a substantial gain.
Additionally, with three sage-empowered Snake Princesses and the summoning contract with Ryuchi Cave's snakes, Shishou was quite satisfied with the results of this venture.
In Konoha.
In the basement of Shishou's home.
"No special evolution, and it takes a whole week to complete," Shishou muttered, feeling a bit disappointed as he read the system prompt for the parasitic bugs' evolution.
Since he still didn't fully trust the three Snake Princesses, he had refrained from evolving the parasitic bugs while in Ryuchi Cave.
Leaving the basement, Shishou shrank his body, dismissed his bug clone, and sat at his desk to diligently study the genjutsu books recommended by the Third Hokage, preparing to master the art of instant illusions.
Before long, he sensed someone skulking outside his house.
No need to guess; Shishou knew these watchers were sent by Tsunade to find him.
However, after seeing that he was just a kid seriously studying, the watchers left.
"A bit troublesome," Shishou thought. "I shouldn't have made that bet with Tsunade back then."
His original plan was to trick Tsunade back to Konoha to facilitate their interactions and strengthen their bond.
But with his parasitic bugs on the verge of evolving and so many tasks at hand, he had no time for hide-and-seek games with Tsunade.
"Well, whatever," he concluded. "According to the bet, Tsunade can't mention anything about me to others. And if my identity is exposed, no one can stop me from leaving anyway. No need to worry about it."
"With great power, these minor issues are insignificant," Shishou reminded himself, focusing back on his genjutsu studies.
After a few days of intense study, Shishou mastered the foundational genjutsu books recommended by the Third Hokage.
Then, leaving a shadow clone behind, he traveled to Fire Source City, where he continued learning advanced Uchiha genjutsu while resting in Mikoto's embrace.
With the foundational knowledge in place, he could now understand the advanced genjutsu scrolls of the Uchiha clan.
A few days later, on November 18th of Konoha's 59th year, Shishou returned to Konoha and headed to the old Senju residence.
Although the Senju clan had integrated into Konoha at Hashirama's request, the residences of Hashirama and Tobirama were still intact, left to Tsunade.
This was where Tsunade and Shizune resided in Konoha.
In the shadows outside the gate, Shishou released a swarm of parasitic bugs disguised as fleas, directing them to infiltrate Tsunade's residence.
The bugs, perfectly mimicking real insects and undetectable by chakra, were the ideal infiltration tools.
Once inside, the fleas gathered in a corner to form a Flying Thunder God seal.
In the next instant, Shishou appeared inside the house.
Thud!
The sound of something falling behind him made Shishou turn. He saw Shizune, who had dropped her book in shock, staring at him in disbelief.
Shishou reached into his robe, pulled out a small box, and approached her.
"Here, Shizune, happy birthday!"