"I succeeded… just like that?" Senmei Asahi opened his eyes in disbelief, his voice faint and uncertain.
Though Asahi had been confident in his control and his capacity to master Sage Mode, the speed of his success defied reason.
It had taken less than an hour.
Even Asahi himself found it hard to believe that he had already reached the initial threshold of Sage Mode. Yet the subtle transformations in his body and the surge of power flowing within him made it clear — this was no illusion.
He had truly entered the realm of Sagehood.
"Succeeded? Kid, you're still far from it!"
The little white snake flicked its tongue and coiled lazily, though its eyes betrayed a glimmer of surprise. It hadn't expected the human to balance natural energy so quickly, nor to merge it into senjutsu chakra on his first attempt. Still, that didn't mean mastery.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Asahi asked, puzzled.
"I helped you draw in natural energy." the white snake explained. "That's merely the first step in learning SnakeSage Mode — learning to control the energy once it's within you. The next step is far more difficult: sensing the flow of natural energy and drawing it into your body by your own will."
"I see." Asahi said thoughtfully, finally understanding.
Humans, by nature, couldn't directly perceive natural energy. That was why the Three Great Sage Regions — Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest — were so revered.
Each was a sanctuary where natural energy accumulated in extraordinary abundance. Even ordinary mortals, if they stilled their hearts, could faintly sense it there. This was the reason sages throughout history had all trained in such places.
But unlike Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave lacked aids such as the toads' oil. Its methods were harsher — requiring cooperation with the serpents to draw the first traces of natural energy into the body, to survive its corrosive touch, and to refine it into senjutsu chakra.
Once a cultivator succeeded in this first step, they gained a natural sensitivity to that energy and could begin learning to draw it in independently.
"So what should I do next?" Asahi asked sincerely.
"First," said the white snake, "you must exhaust the senjutsu chakra within your body and return to your normal state."
Asahi nodded, forming a quick sequence of hand seals. He released a series of high-chakra ninjutsu in succession, letting the potent energy drain from his system until the natural chakra finally dissipated.
When his body returned to its normal state, he turned back to the serpent.
"Now," it said, "you must practice drawing natural energy by yourself. The key is stillness — calm your mind completely, let all thoughts fade. Only then can you begin to sense nature's pulse."
"Understood."
Asahi sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, closing his eyes.
The steps for learning Sage Mode had been well recorded in history — even the great Uzumaki Naruto had endured endless failures before mastering it.
Asahi drew a slow breath and tried to quiet his thoughts. Yet the more he sought silence, the louder his mind became.
The stillness he aimed for remained elusive. Every attempt to empty his consciousness only invited new thoughts — fragments of his past, flashes of his present, echoes of his former life.
Having lived two lives, his mind was layered and restless. Images surfaced unbidden: the battles he'd fought, the faces of comrades lost, the cities and people of a world that no longer existed.
He tried again. Again, distractions intruded.
By the end of the day, the result was the same — no progress.
"You've been at it all day." the little white snake said at last. "Take a break before your mind tears itself apart."
"Alright." Asahi agreed, sighing lightly. He understood the importance of rhythm — even spiritual cultivation required balance. Excessive strain would only make failure more certain.
Leaning against the cool stone wall, he unwrapped a small bundle of dry rations and began to eat.
"You came prepared." the snake remarked with a flick of amusement, coiling near its own meal.
Asahi smirked. "I've learned from others' mistakes."
He remembered vividly the tales of Uzumaki Naruto's training at Mount Myōboku — how the toads had fed him insects as "training rations". Even now, the memory made him shiver.
The snakes of Ryūchi Cave might not eat insects, but their idea of a meal wasn't much more appealing. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, Asahi had stocked up on enough rations before leaving Konoha to last several weeks.
They were bland but edible — far preferable to eating rats or frogs.
"Are you also a Sage?" Asahi asked between bites.
"Of course." the little white snake replied proudly. "Otherwise, how could I assist you in learning Sage Mode?"
"My apologies." Asahi said politely. "How did you overcome this stage back then?"
"Hmph. We snakes don't have minds as cluttered as you humans." it said smugly. "For us, merging with nature is simple. But you… your thoughts never stop moving. Still, I'll admit, your control over natural energy earlier was impressive. No wonder the White Snake Sage values you so highly. Many humans who came before you died before even reaching this stage."
Asahi gave a small nod. "Chakra control has always been my strength. Natural energy may be volatile, but as long as my emotions stay steady, I can keep it in check."
"Then let me ask you this." Asahi continued, his tone curious. "Absorbing natural energy requires complete stillness. That means Sage Mode can't be maintained indefinitely. So in battle, how is it possible to keep it active?"
The snake's eyes glinted. "You must remain still when absorbing energy, yes. But in battle, you can summon me. I'll draw in natural energy for you and feed it into your chakra flow. That way, you can maintain Sage Mode continuously."
"I see." Asahi nodded slowly.
He already knew about this from the scenes of Mount Myōboku — Naruto (Kurama helped him instead of toads) and Jiraiya had used the same method, with summoned toads gathering natural energy for them mid-fight.
But he'd asked intentionally, curious whether Ryūchi Cave's methods differed. From the snake's answer, it seemed the approach was the same.
Still, Asahi had an alternative plan.
The Yin Seal — a technique capable of storing vast quantities of chakra — might just hold the key. If it could store normal chakra, there was no reason it couldn't store senjutsu chakra as well.
He'd have to test it later.
As for relying on the snakes in battle — that was out of the question. The White Snake Sage gave him an uneasy feeling. Any being that could see fragments of the future was too dangerous to rely on.
Once he mastered Sage Mode, he would sever his ties with Ryūchi Cave entirely. Even summoning Manda was not something he planned to do again.
The days passed quietly.
Each day, Asahi sat cross-legged in the dark cavern, practicing stillness. Little by little, his heart calmed. The rhythm of his breath matched the slow pulse of the earth.
Eventually, he could feel faint traces — a whisper of something vast that brushed against his consciousness.
He was close.
Though he could now remain still for hours, drawing natural energy into himself was another matter. His mind still resisted merging with nature completely.
When Uzumaki Naruto had trained, the birds had perched upon him, sensing his harmony with the world. Jugo could communicate with those same creatures, born as he was from the very energy of Ryūchi Cave.
But Asahi carried too much within him — two lifetimes' worth of thought, emotion, and memory. Every trace of that past created ripples that disturbed the calm he needed.
In his previous life, he had lived in a city of endless noise and temptation. He hadn't realized how deeply it had shaped his mind — until now.
'Even monks in that world struggled to reach stillness.' he thought. 'What chance does a shinobi like me have?'
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ Bleach: In My Second Reincarnation, I Became The Ninth Kenpachi
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]
✓ The Academy's Saint Is Too Popular, But He's Not the Protagonist [R-18]