Konoha: You're letting me build up my bonds, but you're offending the entire ninja world.

The green snake dared not resist and obediently dragged Shimura Gengetsu deeper into Ryuchi Cave.

Chapter 124 Princess Ichikishima, Gengetsu Shimura's Sage Mode

Myobokusan, Yongchi Cave, Shikotsu Forest.

It's hard to say which of the three holy lands is stronger or weaker, since they are all ancient forces with a long history of immortal arts.

The old toad of Mount Myōboku is cunning and shrewd, with two great immortals under his command and a bunch of enormous toads, who can even briefly contend with the capital.

The Ryuchi Cave is home to a large number of snakes, some with two heads, some with three, and so on. During the Konoha destruction plan, these snakes alone nearly caused the village to collapse.

The most inconspicuous one is probably Shikkotsu Forest.

Don't be fooled by the slug's soft and polite appearance; it will call anyone "sir" or "master."

But no matter who it is, what is summoned is actually a part of the Slug Sage's body; no one has ever been able to fully summon her true form.

This also indicates how troublesome the giant slug is.

But if we're talking about which holy site is the most brutal, the answer is undoubtedly Ryuchi-dong.

The giant snakes here are not only ferocious towards enemies, but also risk turning on those who have signed contracts. Some snakes, even if they can communicate with spirits, will only obey orders if a living person is offered as a sacrifice.

The blue snake that Shimura Gengetsu is sitting on is named Blue Snake. It is the gatekeeper snake of Ryuchi Cave and can be considered one of the high-ranking members.

The reason I'm being so polite isn't because I'm good-tempered; it's just that Shimura Gengetsu came before, and he wasn't so polite then, almost turning me into dried snake.

The other high-ranking members of Ryuchi Cave fared no better; the three goddesses, including the elders, were almost wiped out, causing quite a bit of trouble.

Shimura Gengetsu sat on the blue snake's head, drinking a bottle of milk intermittently. The white snake sage's residence was in the innermost shrine of Ryuchi Cave, quite a distance from the entrance.

It's a winding, labyrinthine place; it's easy to get lost if you walk around on your own.

He had left two Flying Thunder God marks last time, but this time he couldn't sense them.

That old white snake is indeed something special.

After walking for a while, the green snake suddenly stopped, looking warily at a passage to its right and adopting a defensive posture.

Gengetsu Shimura had finished his milk and was now munching on an apple.

"Why are you here?"

A large, crimson snake with one blind eye crawled out of the cave. Its cold, indifferent eyes looked at the green snake, only showing a hint of warmth when it looked at Shimura Gengetsu.

“I smelled your scent, so I came to check on you.”

"Are we going to see that old man?"

"Yes, I'm going to learn immortal arts."

"I'll take you there."

After the red snake finished speaking, it stared straight at the green snake. The green snake was also in a dilemma, but fortunately, the man above made a choice and jumped onto the red snake's back.

"Xin Ya is still the most comfortable to sit on. Green Snake, your skin is too slippery. Focus on your training and grow your scales quickly."

The green snake dared not refute, apologized, and returned along the same route.

Red Serpent Shinya resumed his journey with Shimura Gengetsu, the two chatting idly.

In Dragon Cave, the Red Serpent Xinya's strength is second only to the White Serpent Immortal, and is almost on par with the three Serpent Princess Elders. Moreover, he is extremely unsociable, which even the White Serpent Immortal finds troublesome.

In its early years, Shinya was actually a very qualified summoning beast, but it lost an eye after disagreeing with a summoner's orders. From then on, it developed a hatred for humans and a bad attitude towards its own kind.

One of the trials that the White Snake Sage set for Gengetsu Shimura was to appease Shinya, the problematic giant snake.

While Shimura Gengetsu wasn't good at verbal persuasion, he was adept at physical soothing. After befriending the snake, he took away Shinya's Achilles' heel, finally subduing the giant serpent.

After an unknown amount of time, Shinya finally brought Shimura Gengetsu to a magnificent temple and stopped.

"You won't go in?"

"No, I don't want to see those guys."

"Alright, go and subdue those snakes for me. Tell me about the tricky ones, and I'll reason with them."

"understood."

After letting Shimura Gengetsu go, Shinya left.

Shimura Gengetsu entered the shrine and saw the white phosphorus serpent sitting cross-legged at the head of the table, as well as the three beautiful goddesses standing in front of him.

At this moment, the man and the three snakes were all on high alert. The White Snake Immortal could no longer smoke his pipe. Seeing that Shimura Gengetsu was about to walk forward, he quickly stopped him:

“Xuan Yue, just stand there. I’m not that old toad. I can hear you talking over there.”

The three goddesses took a step back imperceptibly.

To learn the magic of Ryuchi Cave, one must pass the test of the three goddesses.

Princess Tianxin can use illusion magic to create a castle filled with delicious food; if you eat the food inside, you will be devoured by a snake.

Princess Ichikishima will imprison the trial participants in a cave and force them to fill the pits inside the cave with crystals. If they fail to complete the task within the allotted time, she will eat them.

Finally, Princess Tsurutsu will bite the neck of the trial participant like Orochimaru, causing the participant's body to heat up and fall under a genjutsu, thus testing the participant's will.

This is the normal procedure for those who want to meet the White Snake Immortal.

But what about Shimura Gengetsu...?

He rode a wooden dummy all the way in, using Dust Release techniques with both hands.

castle?

The wooden figure was smashed to pieces with a single punch.

Playing a jigsaw puzzle in a closed cave?

Wherever the dust escaped, everything turned to nothingness.

Want to bite me?

If Shimura Gengetsu hadn't revealed his true form, he might have considered it, since the Snake Princess was indeed quite beautiful. But once she revealed her true form, he was so disgusted that he immediately used Dust Release to sweep her away.

With barely enough effort, Ryuchi-dong passed Shimura Gengetsu's test.

Yongji-dong has become worth living, but the damage is quite significant; nearly one-third of the area was destroyed and has not yet been fully restored.

This explains why the Green Snake was so polite.

The White Snake Sage, who controlled everything within the cave, naturally knew the purpose of Shimura Gengetsu's visit. Before the boy could speak, he preemptively said, "Gengetsu, you can indeed train in Sage Mode now, but how did your chakra level increase so much all of a sudden?"

Under the perception of the sage's power, Shimura Gengetsu's chakra was almost four or five times more than when he came here three years ago!

The sheer number of them was enough to terrify even the White Snake Immortal.

In response, Gengetsu Shimura casually explained, "It's puberty, people develop quickly, is there a problem?"

"as long as you are happy."

The White Snake Immortal's lips twitched. Even a pig wouldn't believe this nonsense. Shimura Gengetsu was simply insulting him.

"Just find any one of these three to learn immortal techniques. If they don't understand, you can ask me."

He didn't want to have too much contact with the little monster, so he simply passed the buck.

The three goddesses' faces turned even paler, but the White Snake Sage was their superior and dared not disobey her orders, only hoping that Shimura Gengetsu would not target them.

His gaze swept between the three beautiful snake princesses, each with a distinct style, before Shimura Gengetsu finally chose one according to his own preference.

"Ichi-kichi, you're the one."

Two snake princesses laughed, while the other cried in her heart.

The girl whose name was called, Princess Ichikishima, was a cute little girl in loli form. She floated over to Gengetsu Shimura with a pitiful expression and called out in a childish voice:

“Xuan, Young Master Xuan Yue.”

Inside, however, he was screaming wildly.

Damn it, that darn lolicon!

If I had known, I would have transformed into a mature and sophisticated woman like Tian Xin when I took human form.

"Okay, keep your current appearance. If you dare to reveal your true form, don't blame me for not being able to control my hands."

"I understand." The little girl's smile was more like a grimace.

And so, accompanied by the little girl, Shimura Gengetsu began his training in Sage Mode.

The so-called Sage Mode is the absorption of a certain amount of natural energy, which is then fused with the chakra within the body to form a special Sage Chakra.

After entering Sage Mode, one can increase speed, strength, and perception by using natural energy. Ninjutsu performed with Sage Chakra will also be greatly enhanced, and it can even damage the Ten-Tails.

It can be said that Sage Mode is the only way for ordinary ninjas to reach the level of Kage.

However, it doesn't mean that everyone can cultivate Immortal Mode.

The most basic requirement is to sign a summoning contract with one of the three holy lands and gain the approval of the sages within. This alone is enough to stop 99% of the ninjas in the ninja world.

Secondly, there is the requirement for chakra.

Cultivating immortal techniques requires a large amount of chakra; otherwise, one will be devoured by natural energy and undergo various mutations.

Minato Namikaze's chakra was already considered abundant among ordinary ninjas, but he only barely met the requirements for learning it. He could only maintain Sage Mode for a very short time each time he entered it, which is why he said he was not good at Sage Mode.