In the Hokage's office, Uchiha Fugaku was busy reviewing documents.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Jiraiya requests an audience," reported Uzuki Yugao as she knocked and entered the room.
"Let him in," Fugaku said without looking up, his eyes still scanning the papers in his hand.
Before long, Jiraiya entered—accompanied by Uzumaki Naruto.
"Old man! Mission accomplished!" Naruto announced proudly the moment he saw Fugaku.
"Well done. I've already received the report—your mission was completed flawlessly," Fugaku said, setting his papers aside and smiling.
"Hehe."
Pleased with the praise, Naruto scratched the back of his head with a grin.
"However," Jiraiya said, "Naruto's Sage training isn't finished yet. Since the mission's over, I plan to take him back to Mount Myōboku."
"Ah—again?"
Naruto's face immediately fell.
During his last stay at Mount Myōboku, his meals had consisted mostly of insects. The thought of returning to that diet made his stomach churn.
"Sage Mode is a formidable power," Fugaku said with a teasing tone. "If you don't train properly, Sasuke will leave you in the dust."
"Left behind by him? Hmph! Not happening! Just you watch, old man—I'll surpass him for sure!" Naruto shouted, instantly fired up.
Bugs or not, he could endure anything—but losing to Uchiha Sasuke? Never.
He turned to Jiraiya.
"Come on, Pervy Sage! Let's go back to Mount Myōboku—I need to master Sage Mode!"
Jiraiya chuckled, giving Fugaku a nod. "We'll take our leave then."
Watching the two depart, Fugaku rested his chin lightly on his hand.
"Sage Mode, huh? It's about time I learned it too."
Through his Corpse Fusion technique with White Zetsu's body, he had obtained Senju Hashirama's complete physique—granting him the aptitude for Sage Arts. Not just any aptitude, but an exceptionally high one.
Hashirama's Sage Mode was known for being perfect—able to activate instantly in battle and last for extended periods. That mastery came from his unparalleled natural energy affinity. Now that Fugaku possessed Hashirama's full physiology, he too carried that same potential.
"I'll train at Ryūchi Cave," he decided.
There were three sacred sites where one could learn Sage Mode: Shikkotsu Forest, Mount Myōboku, and Ryūchi Cave.
Shikkotsu Forest and Mount Myōboku were tied to Tsunade and Jiraiya respectively. Although Fugaku's relationships with both had improved, he wasn't about to shamelessly ask them for help.
Ryūchi Cave, however, was independent of both—making it the perfect choice.
As for whether they'd be willing to teach him Sage Arts? Fugaku wasn't worried.
If they refused, he'd simply make them agree—by force if necessary. He now had the confidence to challenge even the fabled Snake Sage herself.
—
A quiet mountain forest.
Whoosh—
A figure suddenly appeared amidst the trees—it was Uchiha Fugaku, arriving through spatial exile.
He was here because he had learned, through his spore clones' intelligence network, that Ryūchi Cave was hidden within this mountain range.
Fugaku stepped over dried leaves and fallen branches, heading deeper into the forest.
After some distance, he halted.
Before him lay nothing but ordinary trees—nothing unusual to the naked eye. Even a ninja skilled in illusions would see nothing out of place.
But in Fugaku's eyes, a stone gate stood where none should be.
Carved upon it was a massive serpent biting down on a scroll inscribed with the words Ryūchi Cave.
He had found it.
"You actually saw through my illusion?"
From atop a nearby tree, a green-haired girl cloaked in invisibility stared at Fugaku in shock. She wore a golden crown, crimson eyeshadow beneath her sharp eyes, and suppressed her chakra so completely that even an elite jonin would sense nothing.
Her name was Tianxin Shinki—the gatekeeper responsible for testing those who sought entry to Ryūchi Cave.
But before she could initiate the trial, the newcomer had already dispelled her illusion and uncovered the entrance.
"Come out," Fugaku said calmly, his gaze fixed on the cave entrance.
Her concealment was top-tier, hiding both body and chakra presence. Even most Kage wouldn't detect her.
But such stealth was useless before Fugaku's eyes.
"He noticed me?" Shinki's shock deepened. Not only had he seen through her illusion, he'd seen through her prized invisibility as well.
Whoosh—
She appeared before the stone gate, sizing up the visitor—only to freeze in disbelief.
"Rinnegan…!"
Those eyes—concentric circles spreading outward—were unmistakable. The eyes of legend, once possessed by the Sage of Six Paths.
Unaware of recent events in the ninja world, Shinki was stunned to see someone wielding them.
After several moments, she composed herself enough to speak.
"You came to learn Sage Arts?"
"Yes." Fugaku nodded.
"Then you must first pass a trial," Shinki declared.
"A trial? Fine—but send someone worthy to administer it."
Boom—
Fugaku's aura erupted like a tidal wave, crashing outward in overwhelming force.
The impact sent Shinki staggering, dropping to her knees.
As one of Ryūchi Cave's elite, she was strong—near the top among its inhabitants—but before Fugaku, her strength meant nothing. She couldn't even withstand his killing intent.
"What terrifying pressure…" she thought, trembling. If snakes could sweat, she would've been drenched. Even the Snake Sage herself had never emanated such power.
Just then—
Crack—
The stone gate split open, and an elderly woman with orange hair emerged. She gazed at Fugaku and said,
"It seems the ninja world has birthed an extraordinary man."
Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Holy Lands, had existed for over a thousand years.
Throughout that time, powerful shinobi had appeared—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara among them—but even they paled before this man. His strength nearly rivaled that of the Sage of Six Paths himself.
"You're the Snake Sage?" Fugaku asked.
To his eyes, she was not an old woman—but an ancient, white-scaled serpent.
"I am," she replied cautiously.
Having lived for millennia, even Hashirama wouldn't have frightened her—but this man did. She sensed no chance of victory against him.
"I've heard that one must undergo a trial to learn Sage Arts. What kind of trial?" Fugaku asked lightly.
"For someone like you, such trials are meaningless," the Snake Sage said with rare humility. "If you wish to learn, I can begin teaching you right now."
Indeed, Ryūchi Cave traditionally tested all who sought its power—those unworthy often became food. But this was no ordinary man. For him, exceptions would be made.
"Then I won't refuse," Fugaku smiled faintly.
He hadn't come to be tested—he was far beyond such things. Releasing his power had been deliberate—to summon the Snake Sage directly.
Thankfully, she was wise enough to understand.
"The deepest part of Ryūchi Cave holds the densest natural energy," she said. "It is the ideal place to train. Follow me."
Leading the way, the Snake Sage guided Fugaku into the cave's depths.
Teaching a being of such strength didn't intimidate her—it excited her.
For centuries, Mount Myōboku had been revered as the greatest of the three sacred sites because it had once produced the Sage of Six Paths himself.
Now, Ryūchi Cave had the same opportunity.
If this man mastered Sage Arts here, Ryūchi Cave's name would spread across the ninja world—forever.
—
Training in Sage Arts was no simple task. Fugaku began his daily regimen within Ryūchi Cave, but unlike Naruto at Mount Myōboku, he didn't live there.
If Naruto's meals consisted of bugs, Fugaku suspected Ryūchi Cave's diet would involve rats—and that was something he refused to endure.
With his ability to traverse space instantly, he could travel between Konoha and Ryūchi Cave at will—without hardship.
One evening, returning from his training, a spore clone emerged from the ground before him.
"Lord Fugaku," it reported, "the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Mito clans are making unusual movements."
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