So it turns out...
The real Ryuchi Cave is in another dimension...
Staring blankly at the purplish haze in the sky and the completely refreshed world before him, Yu couldn't help but marvel at the grandeur of the White Snake Sage.
"Hmm... such an interesting human, to defeat both Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime at such a young age."
"The Senjutsu of Ryuchi Cave hasn't been successfully cultivated by anyone for many years. Perhaps you will be an exception."
A ancient and ethereal voice emanated from the White Snake Sage, "Tagorihime, Tagitsuhime, take him to the Dragon Transformation Pool!"
"The Dragon Transformation Pool?"
Upon hearing the White Snake Sage's words, the two injured snake sages, Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime, suddenly looked anxious, "White Snake Sage! But this human just now, he..."
"What?!"
However, before Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime could finish their words, the golden snake pupils of the White Snake Sage flashed, and a terrifying aura surged from its massive white body, "Do you two dare to defy my orders?!"
"Of course not! White Snake Sage!!"
Confronted with the sudden terrifying aura emanating from the White Snake Sage before them, Tagorihime and Tagitsuhime, the two snake sages, immediately became fearful and obedient. With no other choice, Tagitsuhime turned its head and said to Yu "Human, come with me!"
'Just as I expected...'
Seeing this scene before him, Yu became even more convinced of his suspicions. Unlike the toad Clan of Mount Myoboku, which leaned towards the so-called righteous side, the snake clan of Ryuchi Cave evidently leaned more towards the side of evil and darkness.
Snakes have always been cold-blooded and ruthless. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Yu wouldn't be naive enough to believe that the White Snake Sage agreed to let him learn the Senjutsu of Ryuchi Cave simply because it appreciated him.
After a journey of about ten minutes, passing numerous towering stalagmites, Tagitsuhime led Yu to a deep pool that seemed bottomless, surrounded by many snake-shaped stone statues arranged haphazardly.
"This is the Dragon Transformation Pool..."
"Ordinary Chakra is Spiritual Energy + Physical Energy, while Senjutsu Chakra is Spiritual Energy + Physical Energy + Natural Energy. Its power is several times or even tens of times that of ordinary Chakra, depending on the level of cultivation."
Beside the immense pool, due to the command of the White Snake Sage, Tagitsuhime's massive body gradually coiled on the ground, beginning to explain to Yu about Senjutsu.
"To cultivate Senjutsu, first, you need to possess a sufficiently large amount of Chakra. Secondly, you require strong willpower and control. Perfectly balancing these three abilities is essential to successfully enter Sage Mode."
"If you maintain perfect balance among these three energies to truly unleash the power of Senjutsu, your appearance will not change. However, if you cannot control the immense natural energy and ingest even slightly more than one-third of your own energy, your body will start to transform into that of a snake. And when natural energy surpasses your Spiritual and physical energies by far, your body will become part of nature, like a stone."
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As Tagitsuhime spoke, it gestured with its tail towards the many snake-shaped stone statues near the Dragon Transformation Pool. "Do you see these statues? They are all people who failed to cultivate Senjutsu in the past. They couldn't control the natural energy and maintain balance, so they turned into stones like them."
"This is the enormous risk one must bear in cultivating Sage Mode. Are you sure you want to try?"
After explaining the severity of the situation, Tagitsuhime turned its gaze towards Yu, seemingly wanting him to reconsider.
After listening to Tagitsuhime's words, Yu pondered silently for a moment. In fact, he already had some understanding of the concept of Sage Mode himself, but after Tagitsuhime's explanation, he had a more visceral feeling about it.
"No need for words. Let's get started quickly!"
After careful consideration, Yu made a direct decision. After all, with his currently substantial amount of Chakra and almost perfect Chakra Control ability, the risk of cultivating Sage Mode was much smaller for him compared to other ordinary ninjas.
"Hmph, since that's the case, then I'll just congratulate you in advance for your success."
"After all, it's been many years since anyone has successfully cultivated Senjutsu in Ryuchi Cave. Judging from the amount of Chakra, you should already meet the standard."
Hearing this, Tagitsuhime snorted coldly and sized up Yu. After the brief battle just now, it could clearly sense that the immense amount of Chakra within Yu was almost reaching the level of a Kage.
Indeed, although he still couldn't compare to extraordinary individuals like Naruto Uzumaki or the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, Yu's Chakra level had surpassed that of several Kage-level ninjas due to the modification from the Thread Fruit ability and his own relentless efforts.
"Now, let's begin. Come over to the Dragon Transformation Pool..."
"Follow the method I've taught you, sit down here by the Dragon Transformation Pool, carefully feel the natural energy, and then try to control it and merge it with your own Chakra..."
With that, Tagitsuhime instructed Yu to sit by the Dragon Transformation Pool and began to explain to him the specific methods of cultivating Senjutsu Chakra.
Following Tagitsuhime's instructions, Yu slowly sat cross-legged by the side of the Dragon Transformation Pool and began to meditate with closed eyes, simultaneously summoning all of his Devil Puppets from the alternate space to guard around him.
If any abnormal situation were to occur, Devil Puppets like Tyrant and Toshogun, manipulated by Parasitic Threads Manipulation, would immediately attack the enemy and protect Yu's main body.
After silently meditating for a while, utilizing his powerful Sensory abilities through Observation Haki, Yu could distinctly and accurately sense the rich and dense natural energy of Ryuchi Cave, gradually absorbing it into his body.
Due to it being his first time cultivating, and fearing the uncontrollable ferocity of the immense natural energy, Yu dared not absorb too much. Instead, he cautiously absorbed only a small portion of the natural energy into his body.
"This is..."
However, Yu seemed to have underestimated the ferocity of the natural energy. Just as he attempted to absorb a small portion into his body, he hadn't anticipated that the massive natural energy surrounding him would wildly rush into his body as if it had no bounds!
"How could this happen?!"
The balance between physical energy, Spiritual energy, and natural energy was instantly disrupted by the massive and ferocious influx of natural energy into his body. Yu's body immediately began to react.
First, his skin started to turn pallid, followed by the emergence of numerous white snake scales all over his body. Even a snake tail gradually grew from his back, and a pair of white dragon-snake horns sprouted from his head.
"Hmph, ignorance breeds fearlessness..."
"To dare absorb such a large amount of natural energy on the first attempt at cultivating Sage Mode..."
Seeing Yu inadvertently absorb such a vast amount of natural energy at once, causing his body to gradually transform into that of a snake, with the surrounding wild natural energy continuously pouring into his body, Tagitsuhime nearby snorted coldly.
Clearly, in its eyes, it seemed to have already envisioned Yu completely turning into a snake and then slowly becoming a stone statue, just like those around.
"It's over... what 'dragon' aura? I didn't expect even the White Snake Sage to have misjudged this time. Your fate won't be any different from those stone statues..."
Damn it...
Am I also going to turn into stone like them...
I never thought that truly cultivating Sage Mode would be so perilous. Feeling his body gradually turning into that of a snake, and the wild natural energy continuously pouring into his body, a strong sense of unwillingness surged in Yu's heart.
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