'Naruto' Makes Major Snake Sage Change

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations has reintroduced the Ryuchi Cave to the Naruto franchise as Boruto and the others have gone there in order to find where Mitsuki has gone.

But Ryuchi Cave's been a mysterious place in the series, and the reveal of it in the latest episode also brought about an even more mysterious change for the White Snake Sage as now it seems to be a human woman instead of a giant snake as depicted before.

Ryuchi Cave is the place where ninja go to learn the senjutsu necessary to earn the Snake Sage Mode, and it's where Kabuto once trained successfully during the previous series. In Naruto, the White Snake Sage is depicted as a monstrously sized snake smoking a cigarette while wearing the same type of bejeweled necklace the Toad Sages do. It's introduced in a strange way in Boruto, as Boruto needed to pass three illusory trials in order to even get an audience with the White Snake Sage.

When Boruto finally meets the Sage, it's revealed to be an elderly woman who refuses to help Boruto look over Mitsuki's left behind snake message as she's only there to pass on the sage techniques. This is far and away from the monstrous depiction seen in the original series, and it's most likely a plan on the viewer's eyes as well.

After seeing Boruto fight through the three trials with the guardian snakes of the cave, it's possible that the White Snake Sage has taken on an illusory form to speak with Boruto and the others. The three guardians of the cave looked like priestesses, but each time Boruto made it through the trials they revealed their true monstrous faces in disgust and frustration.

It's possible the White Snake Sage is under a disguise as well, and it's a reflection of the mischievous nature Orochimaru once said the Sage had. Along with this, she's seemingly doomed Boruto and his friends to death as she asked them to defeat the giant snake Garaga looming in another part of the cave.

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows a young ninja with a sealed demon within him that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.