"Can you duplicate it?"

"Not nature chakra. But everything else, sure - and if Sasuke can get Kabuto to channel nature chakra the way he got him to dismiss that technique, I might be able to do something with it assuming I set up filters first, unfiltered nature chakra's been known to turn people to stone or weirder."

"It may be worth investigating."

"I'd agree. Anything he's up to..." She frowns at it for a bit longer, determines it does indeed require nature chakra, then drafts up a filter and goes to bother Sasuke over it.

She's looking forward to finding out where this 'path' leads.

She gets it open soon enough - "Sasuke needs to stay with Kabuto, Itachi wants to stay with him, you good to explore the mystery path with me?"

"Very well."

Then - through they go.

The pathway is weird, stone and mist swirling around them. "Probably not a good idea to wander off," Karin cautions Ellisaria. "That mist feels - off."

"Mm. Old places often are."

"Can be."

Walking, and the air becomes wet, thick, and then the path widens. They're in what looks like a jungle, vines climbing across old, crumpled stonework, worn images depicting snakes or dragons.

Dragons. Hmm.

"...Hello?" Karin calls out -

And there's movement, deep within the shadows past the enormous stone arch before them, and a serpentine head, taller than a human, peeks out. The scales are pure white, the eyes clouded and unfocused. A tongue flicks at them, and a deep voice rumbles, "Who goes there?"

Ellisaria shifts form.

"Visitors."

"Uzumaki Karin of Sound of the Land of Rice Fields, and Ellisaria of the Mountain's Graveyard. It is our pleasure to make your acquaintance," Karin says, bowing.

The serpent rumbles, flicking their tongue again, and then pulls back. "I do not know your names, but you have made it this far, and I do not like talking upon my porch. Come in."

Karin doesn't hesitate to stop walking forwards, on the general principle that if the serpent wants her dead she's out of luck, so it's best to avoid them wanting her dead.

She enters the archway. They were invited.

Lights swirl as they enter, casting the entryway in a soft blue glow. The serpent seems to only partially fit even here, as cavernous as it is, and settles their head near the back. "Now. Why have you come here?"

"We found a hidden path in the lair of a defeated enemy, and wished to see where it would lead."

"That Kabuto?" the serpent grumbles. "Impatient boy. Unsurprising that he made enemies so fast."

"Who are you?"

"I am Hakuja, the White Sage, and this is my Ryuuchidou, the cave of serpents."

"Are you a spirit?"

"Such a simple classification. I am a snake, or a dragon, or a serpent, or a sage... I have been called a god and a teacher and a spirit alike. Words do not grasp the entirety of me."

"What did Kabuto call you?"

"Teacher, for a short time."

"And what was it you taught him?"