Ryūchi Cave.
Deep within.
Kaede sat quietly in a cross-legged meditation, the natural energy within Ryūchi Cave gradually flowing into his body.
Ten days had passed since he began training in Sage Techniques.
That was ten days in the outside world, but for him, moving at five times normal speed, fifty days had actually elapsed.
Training in Sage Mode was truly difficult, especially given that his chakra reserves were not abundant, just barely at the level of a Shadow Ninja, making the challenge even greater.
It took him more than twenty days before he could even sense the presence of natural energy, and that was only possible because Ryūchi Cave was an environment saturated with such energy.
Crackle!
Suddenly, Kaede's body began to change.
His form started to swell strangely; his clothes stretched and tore, revealing skin that no longer looked human, it had transformed into petrified scales, like hardened armor.
Whoosh!
At the next moment, Kaede's eyes snapped open, a flash of light passing through his gaze. His expanding body suddenly froze, then quickly returned to normal.
"Controlling this is still very difficult... No, maintaining that form is the real challenge..." Kaede muttered.
The earlier transformation was the result of losing control over the natural energy, a "snake transformation."
Like the Sage Technique of Mount Myoboku, the Ryūchi Cave's Sage training carried its own risks. If natural energy spiraled out of control, the user would turn into a petrified giant serpent, completely merging with nature.
So, compared to Myoboku's Sage Technique, Ryūchi Cave's was equally challenging. Even just passing the tests of the three Snake Sages was no easy feat, each test was tailored for different types of people. For example, Rin, accompanied by the Three-Tails, was sent away immediately.
Kaede faced trials that ordinary ninja could hardly pass.
To absorb chakra, one needed at least a Kage Rank or higher to even push open the stone gates; similarly, only those at or above Shadow level could challenge the three Snake Sages.
And even after passing their tests, standing before the ancient White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave granted only the method to cultivate Sage Mode itself.
Want the three Snake Sages to spar with you?
You'd first have to earn their approval!
Without it, you were left to train alone. Without the ability to rewind time, this was incredibly dangerous, any failure could mean death on the spot. Nearby, there were dozens of giant serpent stone statues, remnants of those who had failed.
The situation was much the same at Mount Myoboku. Naruto was a special case, a 'privileged student.' For ordinary people, how could Jiraiya personally teach and spar with them? Most trained on their own, and those who failed became stone statues. That's why so many statues littered the mountain.
Kaede wasn't about to drag Ichikishimahime and the others over for sparring.
Because it was pointless.
Thanks to his ability to rewind time, he didn't need their help to stabilize natural energy when it went out of control, he could handle it himself.
"The three Sage Techniques differ not only in their method of flow but probably also in the chakra-to-natural energy ratio..." Kaede murmured, then resumed his training.
He didn't intend to master Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode completely, just enough to grasp its essentials. His real goal was to cultivate a Sage Body.
At last,
After several more bouts of losing control,
Kaede's eyes suddenly snapped open. His body was slightly swollen but hadn't turned into stone. His appearance was a bit comical.
He looked down at a nearby puddle and saw his reflection showing slight snake-like features, with deep shadows around his eyes, resembling Orochimaru's form.
"This is the initial stage of Sage Transformation..." Kaede said.
He stood up, feeling his body had become softer than before, capable of flexibility beyond human limits.
"A soft body isn't good..." Kaede twisted his body, muttering, "Myoboku's Sage Technique hardens the body, Ryūchi Cave's softens it. Hardening is definitely better... Hmm, but the perfect Sage Body should be the most natural form."
"Just as I suspected. To attain a true Sage Body, I'll need to combine the Sage Techniques of both Ryūchi Cave and Mount Myoboku to balance each other... and probably use the technique from Shikkotsu as a harmonizer."
After a moment's thought, Kaede checked for other changes.
At this early stage of Sage Transformation, this shallow Sage Mode, his senses had become thousands of times sharper than before.
Not in terms of sight or hearing.
But in a different kind of perception, a heightened awareness of life itself.
Standing there, he could sense nearly half of Ryūchi Cave. He detected the countless giant serpents deep inside, the presence of the White Snake Sage, and the three Snake Sages, each emanating unique energy waves unlike the others.
"Did I succeed?" he wondered.
"There's a power inside me that I can't fully understand."
At the same moment Kaede achieved this initial Sage state, the White Snake Sage exhaled a plume of smoke and glanced toward Kaede.
As the highest-level Sage Technique master here, the White Snake Sage's perception covered the entire Ryūchi Cave and could detect everything happening inside, including Kaede's breakthrough.
"That human really is a monster..." Ichikishimahime opened her eyes and looked toward Kaede. Remembering how Kaede's chakra had overwhelmed her before, she shuddered.
In the past several centuries, no one had ever reached Sage Mode here without the personal guidance and aid of the three Snake Sages.
Although it seemed anyone could learn Sage Techniques by passing the trials, the truth was that the technique was tightly controlled by the White Snake Sage, only those truly approved could master Ryūchi Cave's Sage Technique.
And Kaede...
Training entirely on his own, without help from any of the three, yet still managing to master Ryūchi Cave's Sage Technique!
This was the first time in centuries since their origin.
"A monster."
Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime muttered quietly as well.
Originally, they had agreed not to guide Kaede, thinking that if his Sage Mode went out of control, they could deal with him afterward. But they never expected Kaede to master the technique all by himself!
"His sensory ability really is impressive, any life within a kilometer can't escape his perception. And with chakra locking targets, it gets even more precise..." Kaede showed a trace of satisfaction.
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