Over a month later, deep within the temple of Ryūchi Cave.
Even Ichikishimahime, the small azure snake, showed signs of fatigue on her face.
Her slender tongue flicked out from the corner of her mouth, giving her an oddly playful and cute expression, like a mischievous young girl sticking out her tongue.
By now, her gaze toward the human before her had shifted to one of admiration and respect.
In front of Ichikishimahime, two Sōmi sat cross-legged on the ground.
As for why there were two Sōmi, it naturally stemmed from the Shadow Clone Technique he had acquired while "excavating" the remains of the Uzumaki Clan.
Aside from this, Sōmi had also gained a wealth of foundational sealing technique runes from the Uzumaki Clan, including various combinations and applications of these runes, as well as numerous special-purpose basic sealing techniques.
As for advanced sealing techniques, after thoroughly studying all the remains, Sōmi had managed to acquire the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Even so, Sōmi was already quite satisfied. After all, what he valued most were the Uzumaki Clan's foundational knowledge and techniques. With a solid foundation, he could build an unshakable mastery in sealing arts!
As for higher-level techniques like the Four Symbols Seal, Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and Torii Seal, opportunities to learn those would surely come in time...
Having mastered the Shadow Clone Technique, Sōmi immediately applied it to his Sage Mode training after becoming accustomed to the infusion of Natural Energy.
Sōmi had initially tried creating three or four shadow clones to train simultaneously, but the moment the clones were dispelled, the overwhelming feedback of exhaustion and weakness nearly caused him to faint on the spot.
That profound sense of emptiness, as though his body had been completely drained, left Sōmi incapacitated for half a day before he recovered.
It was then that Sōmi understood why the Child of the Prophecy could master Sage Mode in just half a month—it wasn't without reason.
Using a large number of shadow clones to accelerate training was a method only viable for someone with an extraordinary reserve of stamina and energy, like the Child of the Prophecy. For others, attempting to imitate this method was simply beyond their capabilities.
However, Sōmi quickly devised a more effective approach: he would create just one shadow clone and entrust its control to Shukaku.
This way, both Sōmi and Shukaku could train simultaneously. When the shadow clone was dispelled, their shared experiences would merge, significantly enhancing the efficiency of their training.
Here, the advantage of being a Jinchūriki became evident, especially with a Tailed Beast like Shukaku, who was eager to learn.
If it were the Nine-Tails, it would likely scoff at the idea of mastering Natural Energy. After all, thanks to the Sage of Six Paths' "fair" distribution of Chakra, the Nine-Tails' sheer Chakra reserves alone were enough to overpower all the other Tailed Beasts combined.
Sōmi hadn't forgotten that during battle, Tailed Beasts could assist in gathering Natural Energy—quickly and in large quantities.
Bang!
With a soft sound accompanied by a puff of white smoke, the two Sōmi merged back into one.
Ichikishimahime could clearly sense Natural Energy beginning to converge around Sōmi.
"This is...!"
The azure snake's face displayed an exceptionally vivid expression of surprise. At this moment, faint purple eyeshadow began to appear around Sōmi's eyes.
The purple hue deepened rapidly, and at the same time, a bone-white horn slowly began to "grow" from the center of Sōmi's forehead.
The tip of the horn was accented with a deep green hue. If one were to trace the horn's position straight into Sōmi's brain, they would find it aligned with the location of the pineal gland.
Whoosh...
A gentle breeze stirred from an unknown source. In the sunless depths of the underground, the wind carried an eerie chill.
Sōmi's hair floated upward in the breeze, and his collar began to flutter lightly.
Rich, primordial vitality, buried deep within the earth's crust, transformed into green Natural Energy that began to coalesce around Sōmi.
Suddenly!
The green Natural Energy seemed to be guided by some mysterious force. It began to stretch and reshape itself, forming into the shape of a snake. A serpent's head, eye sockets, and fangs gradually materialized...
At that moment, Sōmi abruptly opened his eyes!
They were a pair of golden slit pupils!
The vertical slits radiated an icy indifference, devoid of any trace of human emotion.
A powerful aura, accompanied by gusts of wind, rippled outward from Sōmi's body.
"Well now..."
This transformation startled even the White Snake Sage, who sat on the massive stone throne.
"To think that the collaboration between a human and a Tailed Beast could achieve this level... This is beyond—"
However, just as the White Snake Sage began to express its amazement—
Pop!
Like a bubble bursting in midair, the green Natural Energy surrounding Sōmi's body suddenly dissipated.
The changes on Sōmi's face quickly receded. As he blinked in surprise, his golden slit pupils reverted to their original dark black.
"Huh?"
Sōmi was equally stunned. He couldn't quite understand why he had failed again this time.
"Heh heh..."
"I suppose I overestimated you!"
"Still, you're just one step away from mastering Sage Mode!"
The White Snake Sage chuckled. Its massive head lowered from the throne, scrutinized Sōmi for a moment, and then retracted back to its original position.
"Thank you for your guidance, great Sage!"
"And thank you, elder sister, for your patience and teaching these past days! I truly appreciate it!"
Sōmi stood up and bowed respectfully to both the White Snake Sage and Ichikishimahime.
As for Shinga, after confirming that Sōmi's life was not in danger, it donned its "majestic armor" and went off to challenge the creature that had dared provoke it.
It had returned once, strutting proudly, only to find Sōmi still sitting motionless in meditation. Feeling bored, it had wandered off again.
During this period, with Ichikishimahime's permission, Sōmi was summoned to Ryūchi Cave each time via the Reverse Summoning Technique for training.
Since Sōmi himself had not physically traveled to Ryūchi Cave, the Reverse Summoning Technique had time limitations, necessitating this back-and-forth training arrangement.
After each Sage Mode session, Sōmi would return to the Gobi Desert, where he would immerse himself in the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques like a sponge absorbing water.
Sōmi firmly believed that once he fully digested this knowledge, the gap between his sealing techniques and those of Minato Namikaze would shrink to an almost negligible distance.
Of course, this excluded Forbidden Techniques like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
When comparing the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques to those of Sunagakure, the latter seemed synonymous with inefficiency, complexity, and time consumption.
For the same sealing effect, the Uzumaki Clan might require only a few dozen runes, whereas Sōmi's previous methods would have resulted in a dense and sprawling array of symbols.
This had been a necessary compromise for Sōmi in the past—when quality was lacking, quantity had to make up the difference.
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