Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and the Shikkotsu Forest.
In terms of overall strength, it's hard to say which of the three sacred places is superior. Each is an ancient force with a long lineage of Sage Mode inheritance.
The old toad of Mount Myōboku is cunning and shrewd. He has two Sages under him and a group of massive toads. Even capital cities can only resist them for a short time.
Ryūchi Cave houses numerous giant snakes, some with two or even three heads. During the Konoha destruction plan, just these snakes alone nearly brought the village to collapse.
The most inconspicuous of the three is probably the Shikkotsu Forest.
Don't be fooled by Katsuyu's soft and polite demeanor. She addresses everyone as "sama" respectfully, but no matter who is summoned, it's always just a fragment of Katsuyu's body. No one has ever summoned her complete form.
This alone shows how terrifying Katsuyu truly is.
But if we talk about which of the three sacred lands is the most brutal, Ryūchi Cave is undoubtedly the answer.
The snakes here are cruel, not only toward enemies but even toward those who sign contracts with them. Some snakes will only follow orders if a living human sacrifice is made, even when Summoned.
The green snake Yami was riding was the gatekeeping snake of Ryūchi Cave and one of the higher-ranking ones.
The only reason it was being so polite was because it had encountered Yami before. Last time, it got a little too arrogant and was nearly roasted into snake jerky.
The other high-ranking snakes in Ryūchi Cave fared no better, including the three princess-class elders, who were nearly wiped out and caused quite a bit of chaos.
Yami sat on the green snake's head, sipping a bottle of milk. The White Snake Sage's dwelling was located deep inside Ryūchi Cave, at the heart of a shrine, a great distance from the entrance.
The path was long and winding, and it was easy to get lost on foot.
Originally, he had left two Flying Thunder God markers here during his last visit, but this time, he couldn't sense them.
That old white snake was something else.
After traveling for a while, the green snake suddenly stopped, eyeing a passage to the right with caution and shifting into a defensive stance.
Yami, who had finished his milk, was now munching on an apple.
"Why are you here?"
A red snake with one blind eye slithered out of the cave, casting a cold glance at the green snake before looking at Yami with a trace of warmth.
"I smelled your scent and came to see you."
"You're heading to see that old thing?"
"Yeah. I came to train in Sage Mode."
"I'll take you."
After the red snake finished speaking, it glared directly at the green snake. The green snake was clearly embarrassed, but before it could speak, Yami had already leapt onto the red snake's back.
"Sitting on Garaga is way more comfortable. Green Snake, your skin is too slippery. Train harder and grow some proper scales."
The green snake didn't dare to retort and slithered back along the original path, hissing in grievance.
The red snake, Garaga, carried Yami further in, and the two chatted casually.
In Ryūchi Cave, Garaga's strength was second only to the White Snake Sage, and on par with the three princess-class elders. However, he was highly antisocial, to the point that even the White Snake Sage found him difficult.
In his early years, Garaga had been a top-tier Summoning beast, but after a disagreement during a Summoning, he lost one of his eyes and has hated humans ever since. His attitude toward his own kind wasn't much better either.
The test that the White Snake Sage gave Yami included pacifying Garaga, the problem child.
Yami wasn't great at verbal persuasion, but he was very good at using force. After defeating Garaga and taking his reverse scale, the snake finally submitted.
After an unknown amount of time, Garaga finally brought Yami to a grand temple and stopped.
"You're not going in?"
"No, I don't want to see those guys."
"Alright, keep training those snakes for me. If any are too much trouble, let me know. I'll talk to them."
"Got it."
After dropping Yami off, Garaga left.
Yami entered the shrine and saw the White Snake Sage sitting cross-legged at the main seat, with the three princess-class snakes standing in front, each one as beautiful as a flower.
At that moment, the three snakes were clearly tense.
The White Snake Sage didn't even bother puffing from her pipe.
Seeing Yami approaching, she quickly raised her hand and said, "Yami boy, just stand there. I'm not that old toad. I can hear you perfectly fine right where you are."
The three princess-class snakes each took a discreet step back.
To learn Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode, one must pass the tests of the three princess-class snakes.
Tagorihime uses genjutsu to create a feast-filled castle. Eat anything, and you'll be eaten instead.
Ichikishimahime locks the examinee in a cave and tasks them with filling pits using crystal stones. Fail to complete it in time, and she'll devour you.
Tagitsuhime bites the examinee's neck like Orochimaru, flooding their body with hallucinations and heat to test willpower.
This is the normal procedure for seeing the White Snake Sage.
But Yami…
He stormed in atop a Wooden Golem, Dust Release in hand.
Castle? One punch from the Wooden Golem smashed it to bits.
Puzzle game in a cave? Dust Release erased everything.
Bite me? If the snake princess hadn't revealed her true form, he might've considered it—after all, they were beautiful. But once the true form came out, he was grossed out and passed through with Dust Release.
Somehow, Ryūchi Cave passed Yami's "test."
Ryūchi Cave still had value to survive, but the cost was high, nearly a third of the territory was destroyed and hadn't fully recovered.
Now it was easy to understand why the green snake had been so polite.
The White Snake Sage, who governed all of Ryūchi Cave, was already aware of Yami's purpose. Before he could even speak, she said, "Yami boy, you're indeed ready to train in Sage Mode now. But why did your chakra suddenly increase so dramatically?"
Under the perception of senjutsu, Yami's chakra was now four to five times stronger than it had been three years ago.
The sheer amount was enough to make even the White Snake Sage tremble.
Yami casually replied, "Puberty. Development speeds up. What's the issue?"
"…Sure. If you say so."
The White Snake Sage's mouth twitched. Even a pig wouldn't believe that. Yami was clearly just mocking her intelligence.
"To learn Sage Mode, just choose one of these three. If they don't understand something, ask me."
She clearly didn't want to deal with this little monster any longer and passed the responsibility off.
The three princess-class snakes turned even paler, but with the White Snake Sage being the boss, they couldn't object. They just hoped Yami wouldn't choose them.
Yami's gaze shifted between the three, each with different styles, and finally landed on one according to his preference.
"You. Ichikishimahime."
Two of the princesses breathed a sigh of relief, while the third cursed in her heart.
Ichikishimahime floated over with a wronged expression.
"Yami-sama…"
Inwardly, she was screaming.
Damn it.
"Good. Keep your current form. If you dare to show your true form, don't blame me if I can't control my own ninjutsu."
Ichikishimahime's smile turned stiffer than ever.
And so, under Ichikishimahime's guidance, Yami began Sage Mode training.
Sage Mode required absorbing natural energy and fusing it with chakra to form senjutsu chakra.
Once in Sage Mode, speed, strength, and perception are enhanced through natural energy. Jutsu powered by senjutsu chakra receive a massive boost, strong enough to even damage the Ten Tails.
Sage Mode was essentially the only path for ordinary shinobi to reach super Kage-level.
But not everyone could train in it.
First, you had to sign a Summoning contract with one of the three sacred places and be recognized by their Sage. That alone stopped 99% of shinobi.
Next, it required a large chakra reserve. Without it, natural energy would consume you and cause mutations.
Even someone like Namikaze Minato, with his considerable chakra, barely met the threshold. Every time he entered Sage Mode, it exhausted him, and he could only maintain it briefly.
Lastly, talent. Without talent, you'd never sense natural energy, let alone blend it with your chakra in the correct ratio.
Yami not only met all these conditions—he surpassed them.
Ichikishimahime brought him to a dripping cave.
"This place has the most abundant natural energy. It's best for sensing."
She handed him a bottle of purple venom. "This venom is natural energy condensed by the White Snake Sage. You'll need to take a drop before each session. If anything goes wrong, I'll help dispel the senjutsu chakra."
Yami nodded and created five Wood Clones behind him.
Despite everything, Naruto's Shadow Clone training method was a true cheat.
Yami hadn't used it for other jutsu before because they weren't difficult for him, but Sage Mode training needed to be accelerated.
Each clone took a drop of venom as instructed and began guiding the natural energy to blend with their chakra.
Soon after, one Wood Clone turned into a snake. Ichikishimahime flicked her tail and pulled the clone over, dispersing the wild energy.
That was the price of losing control of natural energy. Mount Myōboku's excess turned people into stone toads. Ryūchi Cave's turned them into mindless snakes.
As for the Shikkotsu Forest… The White Snake Sage once told Yami that those who failed there would become part of Katsuyu permanently.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
The sound of Wood Clones exploding echoed continuously.
Even with Sage Arts Affinity upgraded to Excellent, progress was slow for Yami.
His chakra quality was just too high.
Senju and Uzumaki life force, Uchiha spiritual energy… trying to blend that with wild natural energy was like forcing oil and water to mix.
Ichikishimahime secretly enjoyed punishing him.
Time flew.
After more than two months, one of Yami's clones finally succeeded in creating senjutsu chakra. It instantly dispelled itself and transferred the energy back.
Yami's body underwent dramatic changes.
Emerald green chakra enveloped him, a crystalline horn sprouted from his forehead, and several small chakra snakes coiled around him like a Tailed Beast's cloak.
His strength, speed, and perception increased severalfold.
(That brute actually mastered it? Finally, I'm free!)
Ichikishimahime's voice echoed in his mind.
She didn't even need to pretend to be happy anymore.
Yami stepped forward and flicked her on the forehead before she could react.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"If you dare talk smack about me in your head again, that'll be the least of it."
Ichikishimahime was stunned. Yami could hear her thoughts?
She soon realized that was part of Sage Mode.
After attaining Sage Mode, shinobi could sometimes gain unique powers. Yami's was mind reading.
She immediately cleared her thoughts, not daring to think of anything.
"Yami-sama, now that you've mastered senjutsu chakra, the next step is to absorb it on your own…"
Ichikishimahime explained the techniques and methods for sensing natural energy, finally getting rid of her duties.
---
Year 61 of the Konoha Calendar.
Yami completed his training in Ryūchi Cave.
He had mastered Sage Mode. On his own, he could enter the mode within 30 seconds, and maintain it for about five minutes. Heavy ninjutsu use shortened the time.
If he wanted to absorb senjutsu chakra during battle, he'd need further mastery to reach the level of Senju Hashirama.
That part of the training no longer required staying in Ryūchi Cave, so he returned to Konoha.
In one month, Karin's class would graduate. The story was about to begin.
Yami also planned to speak with the Third Hokage and become a lead jōnin, gradually stepping into the public eye.
But before he could visit Hiruzen, Danzō summoned him.
A white snake lay in front of them, and it spoke in human language:
"Yami-kun, it's been a while. How have you been?"
Yami smiled. "Orochimaru-sensei, you finally remembered the way home?"
Danzō wasn't surprised that Yami called him that. He already knew Yami had studied under Orochimaru years ago. He just glared coldly at the white snake.
"Orochimaru, you're an S-rank rogue ninja. Coming here… aren't you afraid I'll track down your real body and capture you?"
"There are no outsiders here, Elder Danzō. No need for pretenses."
Orochimaru wasn't fazed by the threat at all. He continued speaking calmly.
"I came to seek cooperation with the two of you."
(To be continued.)
***
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