Although Uzumaki Ashina appeared indifferent to life and death on the surface, he still regarded it as a taboo deep in his heart.
Moreover, living too long was not a good thing. You would watch your loved ones die one by one, and see the once-thriving Uzumaki Village collapse into ruins, eventually turning into a haven for refugees.
That kind of experience was not something ordinary people could endure—his soul had nearly collapsed several times because of it.
Therefore, he didn't want Naruto Uzumaki to go down the wrong path, become some immortal freak, suffer the greatest pain in the world, and end up alone—yeah, basically turning into an overpowered but miserable loner.
Naruto, however, didn't think too much about it. If he didn't find a way to grow stronger, eternal life wouldn't even matter—he'd just get harvested by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and the Ōtsutsuki Clan, turned into nutrients for the God Tree, and come back as a damn White Zetsu.
Shaking off the distracting thoughts, Naruto smiled and said,
"Don't worry, I don't have anyone I want to resurrect for now, and I'm not worried about my lifespan. Old patriarch, are you going to continue the experiments?"
Ashina shook his head lightly.
"Let's take a break for now. I still have a lot of data to process, and I won't be able to start the next external investigation anytime soon."
At this moment, Naruto seemed to remember something and said,
"Oh right, old patriarch, I plan to head out for a while. Please manage Uzushio Village in my place. If nothing unexpected happens, I should be back within a month."
"Where are you running off to this time…" Ashina frowned, clearly annoyed.
"Stop attacking other villages like a lunatic. Huomen has already come to complain to me several times—says the territory is too big to manage."
Naruto scratched his head slightly and replied,
"I'm going to find a way to learn Sage Mode… so next time I can beat Nagato properly."
Mentioning Nagato made Ashina's expression change slightly.
"You youngsters are really strange. You're all from the same clan—why can't you just sit down and talk it out? Instead, each of you starts your own damn faction…"
Naruto's expression turned serious.
"This is a clash of ideals. It has nothing to do with being part of the Uzumaki clan."
Hearing this, Ashina could only sigh helplessly.
Back in his day, the Uzumaki clan just wanted to live peacefully behind closed doors—but still got targeted and beaten into the ground by surrounding villages. Now, decades later, the younger generation actually wants to start wars.
Yeah… times had changed so much it gave old people a headache.
After leaving the Uzumaki Temple, Naruto returned to the Uzushio Village headquarters, informed his subordinates that he would be leaving for a while, told them not to screw things up in his absence, and then boarded a ship out of the Land of Whirlpools.
On the ship, Naruto took out the map he got from Orochimaru. His plan was to locate Ryūchi Cave first, and then head to Mount Myōboku.
According to the map, Ryūchi Cave was somewhere in a small country between Iwagakure and Sunagakure. Even Orochimaru didn't know its exact location.
As for whether Orochimaru tricked him—Naruto considered that unlikely.
After all, Orochimaru and Jiraiya didn't discover the holy lands themselves. It was the summoning creatures who found them and initiated the contracts.
And Minato Namikaze could reach Mount Myōboku using reverse summoning.
None of these methods were "normal travel."
From Naruto's understanding, the three great sage regions were likely separate dimensions rather than fixed locations.
After a week of travel through the Land of Fire, Naruto passed through several small countries caught between major powers. Along the way, he encountered plenty of rogue ninja and shinobi from minor villages.
Honestly, there wasn't much difference between them—they all survived by undercutting prices and taking whatever dirty jobs they could.
Even ninja lived like that, so you could imagine how miserable ordinary people were—barely surviving in the cracks of war, always one step away from getting wiped out.
Ironically, the best conditions among these small nations were in the Land of Rain under Nagato's rule.
From that perspective, Nagato wasn't wrong—the suffering of small countries far exceeded that of the big ones.
But at the same time, Akatsuki itself had become one of the reasons for that suffering.
An organization made up of rogue killers, taking assassination contracts and stirring up wars—yeah, real "peacekeepers," my ass.
Even if they collected all the Tailed Beasts and intimidated the world, true peace would never come. That was the limitation of Nagato—and of Akatsuki.
If Nagato could abandon his fantasy, the Land of Rain might still have a future.
After all, the future of the ninja world wasn't about who suffered more—it was about who could build something better.
A few days later, Naruto finally located Ryūchi Cave.
Or more accurately—a small snake found him.
This little snake wasn't one of Orochimaru's summons, but a messenger from Ryūchi Cave itself. There was faint natural energy around it, confirming its identity.
Naruto wasn't surprised at all.
If the toads of Mount Myōboku could make prophecies, then the snakes of Ryūchi Cave could do similar things. The three sage lands were on the same level—rivals, but not vastly different.
Following the snake, Naruto entered a cave.
There was no wind, no sound—just an eerie silence. After walking for about half an hour, the space suddenly opened up into a massive underground world.
"The smell here… I don't like it."
The Kurama sniffed the air and frowned.
Naruto smirked and said,
"So, Nine-Tails, how much do you know about Ryūchi Cave? Can you beat the White Snake Sage?"
Kurama snorted coldly.
"I've never fought that old snake, but the others? Weak. Their taijutsu is barely passable, but none of them could survive a Tailed Beast Bomb. Too damn weak."
Naruto caught the subtle avoidance—Kurama didn't mention fighting the White Snake Sage directly.
That alone said enough.
Even the strongest Tailed Beast was wary… yeah, this place wasn't something to take lightly.
Soon, Naruto arrived at a temple with the words "Ryūchi Cave" engraved on it.
This was likely the residence of the White Snake Sage.
After sensing his Flying Thunder God Technique mark outside the cave, Naruto became even more certain—this was a separate space.
Still, with Kurama backing him up, he wasn't exactly scared.
If things went south, the two of them together would definitely make even the White Snake Sage think twice.
As Naruto approached the temple, several beautiful snake-women appeared before him.
Judging by the dense natural energy around them, these were sages of Ryūchi Cave.
Naruto walked forward and asked directly,
"Where is the White Snake Sage?"
One of the snake princesses smiled coldly.
"If you want to see her, you must pass our test first. Fail… and you'll be eaten by us."
Naruto frowned slightly, his hands already forming seals.
"…You sure about that?"
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