Nearly a month had passed since Ryun began his training in Ryūchi Cave. Unfortunately, he couldn't master the Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave in such a short time.
However, as time went on, he not only gathered natural energy within his body core (where the Dragon Pearl was forming) but also concentrated the senjutsu chakra previously imparted to him by the Black Dragon into the Dragon Pearl.
As a result, his body no longer displayed obvious draconic features when not using senjutsu chakra. Currently, only the arm that had been bitten still bore black scales, while the rest of his body had returned to its original state.
The conditions for learning Ryūchi Cave's sage arts were stricter than those of Mount Myōboku's sage arts. However, if one could pass the trials, the time required to master Ryūchi Cave's sage arts would undoubtedly be much shorter than that of Mount Myōboku's.
In the original story, Kabuto Yakushi followed the White Snake Sage to train in Ryūchi Cave's sage arts. The exact duration wasn't specified, but it was certainly much faster than Jiraiya's progress, possibly even comparable to Naruto's speed.
From the time he inherited Orochimaru's legacy after his death until the Fourth Shinobi World War, the time span wasn't very long. This showed that Ryūchi Cave's sage arts didn't require an excessive amount of time to learn.
However, Ryun simply didn't have enough time. Before he could master Sage Mode, Konoha had already sent a message through the communication snake at his home, urging him to return!
While training in sage arts, he couldn't use shadow clones to improve efficiency because natural energy was highly unstable. Using shadow clones could easily lead to energy loss of control, especially since Ryūchi Cave lacked tools like Mount Myōboku's special black rods to disperse natural energy.
Additionally, the formation of the Dragon Pearl required a stable and continuous state.
In one month, Ryun's Dragon Pearl had barely taken shape. If he had more time, the White Snake Sage would have taught him the subsequent steps of Ryūchi Cave's sage arts.
However, the Third Hokage had ordered him to return to the village. As a subordinate, Ryun had no reason to disobey.
He couldn't just refuse the Hokage's order by saying he was too busy training in sage arts, could he? Even Orochimaru wouldn't dare to reject the Hokage's orders during wartime…
"You've formed the Dragon Pearl in just one month. With three more months, you could have mastered it completely, becoming the fastest human in Ryūchi Cave's history to achieve Sage Mode. Are you really leaving now before learning the rest?"
Faced with Ryun's farewell, the White Snake Sage spoke with a hint of regret.
"The Hokage's orders cannot be ignored. I'll have to leave the remaining Sage Mode training for another time… I'll return to trouble the Sage again when I have the chance."
Ryun bowed respectfully. Anyone who taught him skills—whether human or serpent—was a mentor deserving of respect.
"Hmph. Someone like you actually submits to others? That so-called Hokage—just kill him or take his place. Then you wouldn't have to obey anyone."
The Black Dragon crossed its arms and offered its own suggestion.
"..."
"It's wartime now. Konoha needs manpower. The Hokage summoning me back is perfectly reasonable." Ryun smiled and explained.
As one of Konoha's heroes, he couldn't just hide in a safe place training while avoiding the war. Whether for public or private reasons, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to recall his disciple's disciple to serve.
"Fine. Since you've made your decision, let the Snake Maidens send you back to the Land of Fire." The White Snake Sage waved its hand, no longer trying to persuade him to stay.
Hearing this, Ryun turned to the Three Great Snake Maidens nearby and bowed politely. "I'll trouble the three sisters."
"Ryun-kun is leaving? When will you come back?" The youngest, Ichikishimahime, looked somewhat reluctant.
Over the past month, with some smooth-talking and his handsome face, Ryun had successfully befriended the Three Great Snake Maidens.
In the lonely and desolate Ryūchi Cave, having a beautiful young man to chat with was a rare pleasure. If Ryun hadn't been focused on training and had little free time, the Snake Maidens would have loved to hover around him constantly.
"I'm not sure… Probably not until after the war ends." Ryun smiled.
"How long is that?" The youthful-looking Ichikishimahime asked foolishly.
"Idiot, the war just started. How would he know when it'll end?" The eldest Snake Maidens lightly tapped Ichikishimahime's head.
"Enough. Send him off." The White Snake Sage exhaled a puff of smoke and ordered.
"Yes!"
The Three Great Snake Maidens nodded in unison, then surrounded Ryun and performed a special reverse summoning technique.
In less than ten seconds, Ryun's body turned into a puff of smoke and vanished completely.
In a snake-filled valley within the Land of Fire, Ryun's figure suddenly appeared.
"Such a powerful space-time technique!" Ryun couldn't help but praise.
Ryūchi Cave was extremely far from the Land of Fire. The fact that the Three Great Snake Maidens could teleport him here in one go was an ability that even Ryun had to admire.
"This sealing formula on the rock must be the key to performing ultra-long-range space-time techniques."
Looking at the large sealing formula carved on the flat rock beneath his feet, Ryun concluded that this was a space-time formula.
As a transmigrator familiar with the original story, Ryun knew about space-time formulas. The most typical example was the Flying Thunder God formula developed by the Second Hokage, which was the key to the Flying Thunder God Technique's spatial jumps.
In fact, summoning techniques were a type of space-time ninjutsu. When the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, created the Flying Thunder God Technique, he extensively studied summoning formulas, drawing his initial inspiration from them.
Ryun took out a blank scroll from his tool pouch and copied the ultra-long-range space-time formula on the rock, planning to study it in his free time.
After finishing this, he briefly surveyed the snake valley before leaving.
Upon returning to Konoha, the filial son didn't immediately report to the Hokage's office. Instead, he went home first to let Asuka know her precious son was still alive.
Then, he sought out his beloved "Little Tomato" and spent some time doting on her before leisurely making his way to the Hokage's office.
"You brat, you've been gone for a month. How's your sage training going?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile.
In truth, he knew Ryun couldn't have mastered sage arts in just a month.
After all, his student, Jiraiya, had spent years training in Mount Myōboku's sage arts and still hadn't fully grasped them. Even if this disciple's disciple was a genius, he couldn't possibly master a sage art in just one month.
During wartime, Konoha couldn't afford to let a powerful combatant spend too much time training instead of fighting. That was why he had recalled Ryun without hesitation.
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