Days passed quietly in such a leisurely manner. During this time, besides staying in the wooden building, he would occasionally wander into the nearby Castle Towns mentioned by the Mamedanuki clan to replenish his daily necessities.
More often than not, he immersed himself in the cultivation of Sage Mode. Cultivating Taijutsu and Ninjutsu with an Edo Tensei body yielded minimal results, but he unexpectedly discovered that the Natural Energy of this world was exceptionally active, and the efficiency of cultivating Sage Mode far surpassed that of the Naruto World.
The Sage Mode he had learned was through Jiraiya's teachings at Mount Myōboku. However, his own talent for Senjutsu was not as outstanding as Naruto's; it was roughly on the same level as Jiraiya's. Although he could use it, the toad-like features were quite pronounced, so he rarely used it in battle.
But after arriving in this world, he found the Natural Energy here to be even more active. Not only did the difficulty of entering Sage Mode decrease, but the duration was also significantly extended. However, it still required a certain amount of time to remain still before he could enter Sage Mode.
During this period, when he boredly attempted to enter Sage Mode for cultivation, he wasn't sure if it was because of the difference in Natural Energy.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that the longer he used Sage Mode, the more proficient his control became. The speed at which he entered Sage Mode grew faster, and even the originally obvious toad-like features were gradually fading.
Now, his Sage Mode showed almost no obvious traces of toad-like features, leaving only the frog-like horizontal pupils and the faint orange Senjutsu eyeshadow around his eyes, quite similar to Naruto's state in the later stages.
"Perhaps one day I can be like Senju Hashirama, clapping my hands and entering Sage Mode in a second without any toad-like features." This thought grew stronger in his heart, making him immerse himself even more deeply in his cultivation.
At this moment, Retsu sat cross-legged on the balcony floor, surrounded by a faint swirl of Natural Energy. His entire being merged with the surrounding mountain forest, and his perception extended infinitely. Suddenly, his keen perception under Sage Mode captured a rather powerful demonic aura, accompanied by a group of weak demonic auras, racing toward the valley. The fluctuations of those weak auras were exactly the same as those of the Mamedanuki clan.
"It seems that cat demon has finally arrived." Retsu opened his eyes, the horizontal pupils quickly fading as the surrounding Natural Energy dissipated, and he slowly withdrew from Sage Mode.
He pushed open the balcony window, leaped down from the second floor, and after landing steadily, sped off in the direction he had sensed.
Soon, a red figure in the forest came into view, quickly traveling with several Mamedanukis.
The figure had neat, short red hair, sharp red eyes of the same color, a tall and slender build, and smooth, powerful limbs.
She wore a white short top paired with black trousers, with a brown animal-skin skirt over them. A bright red belt was tied around her waist, and she wore brown fur boots that reached her knees. Most eye-catching was the brown cat tail behind her that swayed unconsciously with her steps.
"Karan of the Panther Clan?" Retsu recognized her at a glance. This familiar outfit and cat demon identity belonged to none other than Karan, one of the four heavenly kings of the Panther Tribe, ranking third in the plot.
Just as he was observing her, Karan's nose twitched keenly. She suddenly looked up and met the gaze of Retsu, who was standing under a tree not far away with his arms crossed. Her eyes instantly became wary.
"Hey, who are you? What are you doing blocking the way?" Karan stopped in her tracks and assumed a defensive stance.
Retsu did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked her up and down with great interest, his gaze lingering for a moment on the cat tail behind her. He said with a hint of regret, "Although you're a cat girl, it's a pity you don't have cat ears. A bit of a shame."
"How annoying! Speak up, who exactly are you? What's your purpose in blocking me?" Seeing this strange human standing there sizing her up and saying things that irritated her, Karan narrowed her eyes. Sharp claws extended from her fingertips as she questioned him again.
If it weren't for the fact that she had come alone to the territory of the Dog Demon Clan to gather information, and the other members of the Panther Tribe hadn't followed, she would have attacked long ago.
Retsu withdrew his gaze and pulled a shard of the shikon jewel from his ninja tool pouch, dangling it between his fingers. The pink fragment glittered in the sunlight, instantly catching Karan's attention.
"My name is Retsu." He spoke slowly, seeing Karan's eyes glued to the shard, a smile playing on his lips. "Kitty, I heard you've been looking for this?"
"Is that... a shard of the shikon jewel?" Karan's eyes lit up instantly, her tone filled with inquiry.
"You don't even know what a shard of the shikon jewel looks like? Have you been searching blindly all this time?" Retsu couldn't help but mock.
"Shut up!" Karan's cheeks instantly turned bright red. She hissed in anger and bared her sharp fangs. "If you know what's good for you, hand over the shard! Otherwise, I'll kill you!"
"Don't be in such a hurry, kitty." Retsu remained unmoved, instead tossing the shard up and down in his hand. Karan's eyes involuntarily followed the shard's movement, and her small head nodded up and down subconsciously.
Retsu suddenly realized that although this cat girl didn't have cat ears, she was still a cute kitty.
"Kitty, I'm curious. What exactly do you want the shikon jewel for?" Retsu asked despite knowing the answer. He already knew the Panther Tribe's goal from the plot, but he still wanted to hear Karan's explanation.
"Kitty, kitty, kitty—you're so annoying! Don't call me kitty!" Karan suddenly snapped out of it, puffing out her chest proudly as she emphasized, "I am of the Panther Tribe, not some stray cat you find on the side of the road!"
She extended her sharp claws again, pointing at Retsu with a fierce tone: "As for what I want with the shikon jewel, it's none of your business! Now, hand over the shard, or I'll kill you right now!"
"Even though you're a cute kitty, still..."
As Retsu spoke, he suddenly caught the shard of the shikon jewel mid-air and tucked it back into his ninja tool pouch. He said, "This thing is too dangerous; I can't give it to you to play with. So, I refuse."
"You bastard! I've put up with you for long enough!"
Karan was completely enraged. This guy had not only been offending her by calling her 'kitty' repeatedly but had also deliberately toyed with her using the shard of the shikon jewel.
She growled through gritted teeth, her demonic aura suddenly surging: "I am a Leopard Cat, not some house cat that catches mice!"
Before her voice even faded, she kicked off the ground, her body turning into a red afterimage. She instantly charged in front of Retsu, her right hand forming a claw with sharp nails glinting coldly as she lunged for his face.
Retsu took a small step back, easily dodging the swift strike.
Seeing this, Karan's eyes sharpened. She kicked off a nearby tree trunk to reverse her momentum, twisting her body in mid-air. Her claw aimed straight for Retsu's neck, the attack both fast and vicious.
But Retsu merely leaned back slightly and once again avoided it with ease, even having enough composure to raise an eyebrow at her.