I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Each one is more sinister than the last. In comparison, even a place like Kirigakure seems much gentler. If it weren't for the fact that the summoning beasts of the three holy lands need places with abundant natural energy to survive, the ninja world would probably be in complete chaos.

Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Naruto looked at the giant snakes in the distance and walked towards them step by step.

Now that we've come to Ryuchi Cave, we should naturally experience the local customs and culture. It wouldn't be bad to use these giant snakes to practice the power of Ryuchi Cave Sage Techniques and see where our strength limits are without borrowing the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Chapter 167 Immortal Fox Mode

Inside Yongji-dong Temple.

The White Snake Sage, sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, sensed the chakra erupting in the distance and sighed softly: "Sometimes I really envy these humans. In just a few decades of lifespan, they can master power comparable to that of a sage."

Mizuki said from the side, "These humans are powerful, but they don't have the long lifespan of a great immortal. You have lived for several thousand years. You lived on this land before the Sage of Six Paths descended."

"Even after the crisis of the divine tree and the great battle with the extraterrestrials, Ryuchi Cave still exists."

Upon hearing this, the White Snake Sage seemed to remember something, his expression darkened, and he shook his head, saying, "Before the Otsutsuki clan, neither I nor the old toad have the ability to resist, otherwise we wouldn't need to rely on the power of the prophet."

Mizuki fell silent. She had never seen a member of the Otsutsuki clan before, nor did she understand just how powerful they were.

But the fact that even the White Snake Immortal felt inferior to them suggests that the power of this race is probably beyond imagination.

At that moment, a violent tremor came from deep within the earth. Sensing the movement of chakra in the distance, the White Snake Sage smiled and said, "It seems that our guests have mastered Sage Mode and are participating in the hunt in Ryuchi Cave."

"Princess Mizutsu, how about we make a bet: will the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki kill an odd or even number of serpents?"

Mizuki glanced at the White Snake Sage and said weakly, "Lord White Snake, can I refuse this bet? You promised that as long as I cultivate to become a sage, I won't be eaten."

The White Snake Sage snorted coldly: "Am I the kind of person who goes back on her word? If you win, I will teach you a set of sage techniques. If you lose, then sign a summoning contract with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki."

Ruijin-hime was stunned. The Great Immortal could have forcibly commanded her, but instead made a bet. She was truly moved.

……

Meanwhile, Naruto and the giant snake from Ryuchi Cave were locked in a fierce battle.

Without using the Nine-Tails' chakra, Naruto's strength is around that of a Jonin. Even when he enters Sage Mode, he is only just approaching the threshold of Kage level, making it quite difficult for him to deal with this group of giant snakes.

After all, although these giant snakes are not very intelligent, they are all thick-skinned and can cause damage comparable to a Jonin.

Some of the special giant snakes even possess some ninjutsu, and when combined with natural energy ninjutsu, their scale is enormous, making them the kind of combat force capable of altering small-scale battlefields.

Faced with this group of giant snakes, Naruto could only dodge by exploiting the gaps between them, letting them fight each other.

After dodging the giant snake's attack, Naruto quickly unleashed the Rasenshuriken, smashing the leading crimson snake to the ground. He then revealed his Mangekyou Sharingan, directly manipulating the snake's mind and making it attack the other snakes.

With the help of the Crimson Serpent, dealing with the other serpents became much easier.

However, as the hunt progressed, Naruto increasingly felt the strength of Ryuchi Cave. Although these giant snakes were not very intelligent, their numbers were enormous, and they even had a top-notch fighter like Manda.

Above them are three Ryuchi Cave immortals who have taken human form, capable of taking on command roles.

Based on these factors alone, Ryuchi Cave's power surpasses that of small ninja villages, not to mention the unfathomable White Snake Sage. It is an absolute behemoth comparable to the five great ninja villages.

There are two more such sacred sites in the ninja world.

As Naruto stood atop the crimson serpent's head, deep in thought, the other serpents realized his power and swam toward the outer edge of the altar, quickly disappearing into Ryuchi Cave.

Seeing this, Naruto lost the will to continue fighting and released his control over the red serpent.

He had already made a sufficient assessment of his normal strength, which was roughly equivalent to that of an elite Jonin. If he were to use the Kotoamatsukami Eye, he would be able to put up a fight against a Kage-level powerhouse.

However, he has never fought alone; he also has the strongest tailed beast, Kurama, inside him.

After breaking free of the illusion, the crimson serpent did not flee, but instead scrutinized Naruto at its feet, seemingly considering something.

At this moment, Princess Tianxin floated over and said, "Did you have fun, Lord Menma? Shinya seems to want to sign a summoning contract with you. Do you want to agree?"

"Master Menma? Isn't he the challenger from Ryuchi Cave...?" Shinya immediately became alert; there aren't many people who can be addressed as "Master" by immortals.

Princess Tianxin glanced at Xinya and said with a smile, "Lord Menma is a guest of the Great Immortal White Snake. His strength is enough to earn the Great Immortal's respect, so I should naturally address him as 'Lord'."

Shinya fell silent, then said to Naruto, "Lord Menma, I am willing to sign a summoning contract."

Upon hearing the name Shinja, Naruto was stunned. Wasn't that Boruto's summoning beast? How could he have encountered it, and why was it even willing to become his summoning beast?

After a moment's thought, Naruto did not refuse Shinja's summoning contract.

Large summoning beasts like Shinya are only produced in the three holy lands; other places simply don't produce them. It was precisely because of these summoning beasts that Konoha gained a significant advantage on the main battlefields during World War II and World War III.

For the rest of the time, Naruto continued training in Sage Mode.

As Naruto's understanding of Sage Mode deepened, he finally understood why Minato Namikaze said he wasn't talented enough: the key to Sage Mode wasn't instant activation, but rather its endurance.

Activating Sage Mode in one second, and then being forced to deactivate it within ten seconds, is worse than not being fast at all.

In his Edo Tensei state, Minato Namikaze's chakra was virtually inexhaustible, allowing him to unleash Sage Mode without restraint, and even activate Kurama Mode after a fist bump.

As Naruto's training progressed, he began to develop eye shadow, and scales inevitably appeared on his body.

These are all side effects of the incomplete Sage Mode.

Seeing that a bulge was about to appear on Naruto's head, the Nine-Tails inside the sealed space snorted coldly and then manipulated Sage Chakra to directly expel the natural energy from Naruto's body.

"Nine-Ra, you have finally succeeded in cultivating immortal arts!"

Nine-Tails turned its head away, looking displeased, and said, "I've said it before, Sage Mode is a piece of cake for me. With my power, you don't need to come to Ryuchi Cave at all."

How can you learn Sage Mode without coming to Ryuji Cave?

Naruto didn't expose the arrogant Kurama, and said with a smile, "Great, we can finally activate Sage Fox Mode. Kurama, you are really amazing."

"Fox Spirit Mode?"

Nine-Tailed Fox's focus is always unusual: "You know I can master immortal arts, so you specially thought of names for the modes in advance? But I prefer the name 'Immortal Fox,' it sounds better than 'Demon Fox.'"

Chapter 168 Anyone who hinders Konoha's development is an enemy.

Unlike when he mastered Sage Mode, Naruto did not rashly activate Sage Fox Mode.

Firstly, Ryuchi Cave is too small and prone to collapse. Secondly, he wanted to hold back in front of the White Snake Sage. Although both sides have a common enemy, the Ten-Tails, they still need to maintain necessary vigilance.

After chatting with Kurama for a while, Naruto stood up and looked at Tashin-hime, asking, "Tashin-hime, does Ryuchi Cave have any matching Sage Techniques or Secret Techniques?"

Princess Tianxin nodded: "Of course, but I am not qualified to teach ninjutsu. I need to apply to Lord White Snake. Besides, these secret techniques should be of little use to Lord Menma."

"Mastering more secret techniques might come in handy in the future."

Princess Tianxin did not answer directly, but said ambiguously, "What Lord Menma said is true. However, if you can master the immortal technique within a month, it will be very easy for you to learn other secret techniques."

"A month has passed?" Naruto frowned slightly.

Princess Tashin replied respectfully, "The flow of time in Ryuchi Cave is different from that in the outside world, and there is no sun as a reference point, so it is perfectly normal for Lord Menma to have such doubts."

After understanding the situation, Naruto did not linger in the area of ​​the altar and headed towards Ryuchi Cave Temple.

Inside the temple, the White Snake Immortal remained seated cross-legged, a large pipe dangling from his mouth, occasionally puffing out clouds of smoke.

Upon seeing Naruto, the White Snake Sage nodded in satisfaction: "As expected of the person the old toad has chosen, you have mastered Sage Mode so quickly. Although your condition is not perfect, I estimate that you will master the perfect Sage Mode within half a year."

"Then we must thank the great immortal for providing the cultivation method and the venue."

Naruto first expressed his gratitude, then said with a smile, "White Snake Sage, I've heard that Ryuchi Cave has a few special secret techniques. I wonder if I could learn them?"

The White Snake Sage stared at Naruto for a while, then said, "Menma is really greedy. But these secret techniques are of no use to me. However, you must grant me one request."

"What are the conditions? Is it to become a hermit of Ryuchi Cave again?"

The White Snake Sage smiled knowingly and said, "From the moment you learned the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode, you have been a sage of Ryuchi Cave. I want you to sign a summoning contract with Mizuki-hime so that she can go and see the ninja world."

Naruto said with some surprise, "The Great Sage's body is one with the earth, does he still need his subordinates to observe the ninja world? He should know the ninja world inside and out."

The White Snake Immortal gently shook his head, then said:

"The world we perceive is different from the world we see with our own eyes; the world changes too fast."

"Decades ago, battles between ninjas were fought in the form of clans, with only a few dozen people dying or being injured in a single battle. But after the era of ninja villages began, a casual battle between ninja villages could result in thousands of deaths and injuries. How can you not see the ninja world for yourself?"

"Besides, aren't your actions and those of the Rinnegan kid also changing the world?"

Faced with the White Snake Sage's prophetic words, Naruto began to suspect that this great sage might also possess a prophetic technique similar to Gamamaru's.

But thinking about it, it makes sense; the great immortals of the three holy lands have all lived for over a thousand years.

Even if their abilities are not as great as the Otsutsuki who traversed the starry sky, they are probably not far off. If the Divine Tree had not threatened their survival, perhaps Gamamaru would not have made a move.

After agreeing to the White Snake Sage's conditions, Naruto obtained the Ryuchi Cave Sage Technique, and a Mizuki appeared behind him.

According to Mizuki-hime, she became his summoning beast because she lost a bet, but this is just a story to be taken with a grain of salt; it was clearly arranged by the White Snake Sage.

After returning to the altar, Naruto opened the Ryuchi Cave Sage Technique Scroll.

The scroll records many ninjutsu techniques, all of which directly utilize natural energy and Sage Chakra formulas. Most of them are related to ninjutsu, which corresponds to the claim that Ryuchi Cave is skilled in ninjutsu.

Among them, the Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation Technique caught Naruto's attention.

This technique can imbue surrounding inorganic matter with life, then activate it to attack nearby enemies. This technique is essentially a super-enhanced version of Earth Release.

However, this ninjutsu poses little threat to ninjas with Kage-level strength.

What Naruto values ​​more is the ability to freely shape inorganic matter. If one can manipulate the shape of inorganic matter at will, wouldn't that be an infrastructure marvel even stronger than Wood Release, a surefire way to quickly become a real estate tycoon?

……

While Naruto was training in Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode, Jiraiya was on a mission at the border of the Land of Fire.

Disheartened by the Third Hokage, he chose to leave the village. However, this time he did not run away, but instead used the excuse of carrying out a mission to find helpers to support him.

In the years since becoming one of the three legendary ninjas, he has had many loyal subordinates.

However, due to their undisciplined nature, these subordinates did not occupy important positions and were unable to form a force that could rival the three generations of teachers and Danzo. Relying on them to change the village would be counterproductive.

His chosen ally was none other than Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, who was also known as the Slug Princess.

Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage and a Jonin who established Konoha's medical system. With her help, the village was able to officially confront the Third Hokage and change its dire situation.

With a soft sigh, Jiraiya casually knocked out the active spy squad on the border and looked towards the town.

Tsunade has never concealed her whereabouts, so finding her would be a piece of cake for him. However, he doesn't know how to face her, nor does he want to appear weak in front of her.

He is Jiraiya, a hero of Konoha, how could he possibly seek Tsunade's help?

Besides, they were even asking Tsunade to help them fight the Third Hokage...

Jiraiya grabbed the spy squad leader by the collar, used illusion magic to obtain the intelligence needed for the mission, and then buried the spies in the ground, giving them a peaceful rest.