Under the guidance of Snake Princess Tian Xin Shen Ji, Naruto arrived at a cave deep within Ryūchi Cave.
Although he could already sense natural energy, actually cultivating it still required proper guidance from a Ryūchi Cave sage. Since the White Snake Sage had personally allowed it, Naruto wasn't about to refuse.
Besides… as long as that old snake kept her mouth shut and didn't show her fangs, she actually looked pretty chill.
After leading Naruto to sit at the altar in the center of the cave, Tian Xin Shen Ji began explaining the precautions for cultivating senjutsu. After all, this stuff was dangerous as hell—one wrong move and you either go berserk… or turn into snake food. No in-between.
The White Snake Sage wasn't worried about Naruto dying.
She was worried he'd go insane, lose control, and start wrecking Ryūchi Cave like a Nine-Tails-themed natural disaster.
If the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki went berserk, even she wouldn't be able to stop him. At that point, she'd just have to sit there and watch her home get demolished like some poor bastard watching his house get kicked in.
So yeah—sending subordinates to guide Naruto was the safer option.
There were three conditions for mastering senjutsu:
First, the ability to perceive natural energy.
Second, precise chakra control.
Third, a massive chakra reserve.
Naruto? Yeah… he had all three. Easily.
After listening to the explanation, Naruto began guiding natural energy into his body. In a place where natural energy was this dense, it wasn't hard to absorb—it was more like trying not to choke on too much of it.
Forming hand seals, Naruto created over a dozen shadow clones, each sitting cross-legged around the altar.
Soon, both Naruto and his clones sensed the surrounding natural energy and began absorbing it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few clones exploded almost instantly.
Poor chakra control. Classic.
Naruto frowned slightly, then made a decision—he dismissed the clones and focused entirely on his main body.
Even when natural energy tried to backlash, his chakra easily suppressed and expelled it.
Not long after, Naruto successfully formed his first strand of senjutsu chakra.
It was far purer… and far more violent than normal chakra.
To truly master this power, one either needed a special physique—or undergo some kind of body modification. On top of that, elite jōnin-level chakra control was a must.
A perfect example? Kabuto Yakushi.
With Orochimaru's curse seal, that guy basically upgraded himself from "background nerd" to "discount dragon boss."
Shaking off his thoughts, Naruto stood up and looked at a massive rock formation in the distance.
Clasping his hands together, several Wind Release jutsu formed instantly.
He threw them forward.
The range expanded rapidly, sweeping across the cave like a storm—cutting the massive boulder into countless small fragments.
Tian Xin Shen Ji subconsciously stuck out her tongue, secretly relieved she hadn't tried to fight him earlier.
Even the giant snakes of Ryūchi Cave had spent years adapting to natural energy. Yet only three of them had successfully mastered senjutsu and become true sages.
And Naruto?
This guy was refining it like he was cooking instant noodles.
At this rate, he might become a full-fledged sage in less than a month.
While she was still shocked, Naruto continued refining chakra, calmly evaluating the power of senjutsu.
With senjutsu chakra, the power of ordinary ninjutsu nearly doubled.
As for his Rasengan variant—there wasn't much change. That technique already mimicked a Tailed Beast Bomb and used Kurama's high-quality chakra. Its destructive power was already ridiculous.
But Naruto was more interested in something else.
Senjutsu worked against the Rinnegan.
Sure, the Rinnegan could absorb chakra—but it was far less effective against senjutsu chakra.
In future battles against the Ōtsutsuki, this could be the key to breaking their defenses.
As for Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode?
Naruto honestly wasn't that impressed.
Kabuto had already pushed it to the limit, and even then, it still wasn't as strong as Naruto's own Nine-Tails-enhanced Sage Mode.
After all, Naruto wasn't the only one cultivating senjutsu—
Kurama was doing it too.
Now that was broken.
Still, if he could learn the senjutsu techniques of all three great holy lands and combine them…
Now that would be insane.
Ryūchi Cave had Inorganic Reincarnation.
Mount Myōboku had Frog Song.
Both were ridiculously powerful.
And based on what the White Snake Sage said, Naruto suspected all three systems originally came from the same source—just interpreted differently.
If that was true…
Then the original version of this power must've been absolutely god-tier.
Maybe even something on the level of Hashirama Senju—the so-called God of Shinobi.
While Naruto was deep in thought, the ground suddenly began to tremble.
A few moments later, countless burrowing snakes poured into the altar area, surrounding it from all sides.
Their eyes locked onto Naruto.
Naruto glanced at Tian Xin Shen Ji and asked calmly:
"…What's this?"
She bowed slightly and replied:
"Lord Mianma, today is the Hunting Day of Ryūchi Cave. The great snakes fight each other to compete for dominance. And… this altar is their battlefield."
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"So… they see me as prey?"
Tian Xin Shen Ji smiled faintly.
"If Lord Mianma is interested, you may participate as well. Kill them, test your strength, and practice your newly learned senjutsu."
Naruto chuckled.
"Cruel place."
Then he asked:
"Orochimaru participated in this too, didn't he?"
Tian Xin Shen Ji laughed softly.
"He did… and got his ass handed to him at first. But eventually, he signed a contract with Manda, the strongest snake."
"Unfortunately, he lacks talent in senjutsu."
She looked at Naruto with clear admiration.
"But you're different. You're the most talented ninja I've ever seen. That's probably why Orochimaru gave you Ryūchi Cave's token."
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So you knew I was recommended by Orochimaru… and still tested me?"
She sighed helplessly.
"I had no choice. If we break the rules, the White Snake Sage will eat us too. To her, we're both subordinates… and emergency rations."
Naruto smirked.
"Yeah… sounds like this place runs on 'survival of the fittest' taken way too seriously."
Tian Xin Shen Ji nodded.
"The White Snake Sage is already considered merciful. Look at Shikkotsu Forest—there's only Katsuyu left. Everything else got assimilated."
Naruto blinked.
"…Damn."
Then he asked:
"What about Mount Myōboku?"
She didn't hesitate.
"The toads taste good… but they turn into stone randomly, which is annoying. And those big toads are tough—our snakes suffer against them sometimes."
"As for the White Snake Sage's opinion?"
"She calls them a bunch of delusional fortune-tellers obsessed with dreams."
Naruto went silent for a second.
Then sighed.
"These three 'holy lands'… sound more like three evil lairs."
Honestly, compared to this madness, even Kirigakure looked like a peaceful vacation spot.
If these creatures didn't need environments rich in natural energy to survive, the ninja world would've been completely screwed already.
Shaking off his thoughts, Naruto looked at the massive snakes gathering ahead.
Then he stepped forward.
Since he was already here…
Might as well enjoy the local culture.
And what better way than beating the hell out of a bunch of giant snakes to test his limits—without relying on Kurama?
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