Inside Ryūchi Cave Temple.
Sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, the White Snake Sage sensed the chakra erupting in the distance and sighed softly, "Sometimes I really envy you humans. In just a few decades, you can master power comparable to an immortal… what kind of bullshit cheat is that?"
Tian Xin Shenji, standing nearby, said, "Even if humans are powerful, they don't have your lifespan, Great White Snake Sage. You've lived for thousands of years—since before the Sage of Six Paths even showed up."
"Even when the Sacred Tree crisis or the invasion of those sky freaks—Ōtsutsuki—happens, Ryūchi Cave still stands."
Hearing this, the White Snake Sage's expression darkened slightly. She shook her head and said, "In front of the Ōtsutsuki clan, neither I nor that old toad can truly resist. Otherwise, we wouldn't need to rely on that damn prophecy nonsense."
Tian Xin Shenji fell silent. She had never encountered the Ōtsutsuki clan herself, but if even the White Snake Sage felt pressured, then those bastards were definitely on another level.
At that moment, the ground trembled violently.
Sensing the chakra fluctuations in the distance, the White Snake Sage chuckled, "Looks like our little guest has already mastered Senjutsu and is now playing 'snake slaughter simulator' in Ryūchi Cave."
"Tian Xin Shenji, want to bet? How many giant snakes will our Nine-Tails Jinchūriki kill—one, or two?"
Tian Xin Shenji gave her a helpless look. "Great Sage… can I refuse? You promised that once we become immortals, we won't be treated like snacks."
The White Snake Sage snorted, "Do I look like some lying fat bastard? If you win, I'll teach you a new Senjutsu. If you lose… go sign a summoning contract with that Nine-Tails brat."
Tian Xin Shenji froze.
She could be ordered directly—but instead, this turned into a bet? Damn… that was actually tempting.
...
Meanwhile, Naruto's fight with the giant serpents of Ryūchi Cave had reached a full-blown chaos mode.
Without using Kurama's chakra, Naruto's strength hovered around high Jonin level. Even in Sage Mode, he was barely scratching Kage-level. Against this swarm of thick-skinned, brain-dead-but-deadly snakes, things weren't exactly easy.
These snakes might not have brains, but they sure as hell had durability. Some of them could even use crude ninjutsu, boosted by natural energy—basically mini battlefield-wreckers.
"Yeah… this is annoying as hell."
Naruto dodged a massive bite and used the opening to reposition.
BOOM!
A Rasenshuriken slammed into a red giant snake, blasting it into the ground. Before it could recover, Naruto's Mangekyō Sharingan activated—
Genjutsu.
"Congrats, you're now my temporary employee. Go kill your coworkers."
The controlled red snake immediately turned on the others, causing chaos.
With internal snake violence underway, Naruto finally had breathing room.
"See? Teamwork. Even if it's forced."
As the battle dragged on, Naruto gradually realized something—
Ryūchi Cave wasn't just strong. It was ridiculously strong.
These giant snakes alone could rival an entire small ninja village. Add in the three Snake Sages acting as commanders, and then the White Snake Sage herself…
"Yeah… this place is basically a hidden boss dungeon."
And there were two more places like this—Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest.
While standing atop the red snake, Naruto narrowed his eyes.
At that point, the remaining snakes suddenly lost their will to fight. One by one, they retreated toward the edge of the arena and disappeared back into Ryūchi Cave.
"…Huh. Guess I scared them off."
Naruto released the genjutsu on the red snake.
"Good. I've got a rough idea of my base strength now."
Elite Jonin level normally.
Kage-level with hax like Mangekyō.
And that's without using Kurama.
Not bad.
The red snake didn't flee. Instead, it stared at Naruto, as if thinking.
At that moment, Tian Xin Shenji floated over.
"Lord Naruto, did you enjoy the fight? Xin Ya seems interested in signing a summoning contract with you. Would you accept?"
"Lord Naruto?" Xin Ya suddenly tensed up. "Wait—he's not just some challenger?"
Tian Xin Shenji smiled. "He is a guest personally acknowledged by the White Snake Sage. His strength alone earns that respect."
Xin Ya fell silent for a moment, then lowered his head slightly.
"Lord Naruto… I am willing to form a summoning contract with you."
Naruto blinked.
"…Xin Ya? As in that Xin Ya?"
What the hell—Boruto's summon just showed up early and wants to sign a contract?
After a brief pause, Naruto shrugged.
"Sure. A giant snake that can fight? I'm not stupid—I'll take the upgrade."
After that, Naruto continued training in Sage Mode.
As his understanding deepened, he finally understood what Minato meant when he said his talent wasn't enough.
Sage Mode wasn't about activation speed.
It was about duration.
"What's the point of entering Sage Mode in one second… if I get kicked out ten seconds later? That's just embarrassing."
Minato, in Edo Tensei form, had nearly infinite chakra—so he could spam Sage Mode without worrying.
Naruto?
Yeah, not so much.
As training progressed, orange eye shadow appeared around Naruto's eyes, and faint scales began forming on his skin.
"...Yeah, that's not good."
Just as a horn-like bulge started forming on his head—
"Hmph."
Kurama snorted inside the seal and forcefully expelled the excess natural energy from Naruto's body.
Naruto instantly snapped back to normal.
"Kyuubi! You finally mastered Senjutsu!"
Kurama turned his head away, looking annoyed.
"I told you already, this kind of thing is easy for me. With my power, you didn't even need to come to this snake hole."
Naruto grinned.
"Yeah, yeah. But now we can finally use Sage Fox Mode. Sounds cool, right?"
Kurama paused.
"…Sage Fox Mode?"
His ears twitched.
"You already came up with the name? Hah… not bad. Way better than 'demon fox.' That name sucked."
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