Ryūchi Cave is a place of both good and evil. For those who prefer to follow the rules, it's not a very welcoming place. But for a free spirit like Hibari, it's no big deal.
In fact, the snakes of Ryūchi Cave admire "lunatics" like Hibari. They look down on the timid, on those who are afraid to go all in.
If Hibari had changed his mind just now and sought some other "power," the White Snake Sage wouldn't have given him a second glance, even if he was a "person outside of destiny." At most, she would have given him some random jutsu scrolls for passing the trial and sent him on his way, probably never allowing him back into Ryūchi Cave.
As for a summoning contract, he could forget about it. If the snakes of Ryūchi Cave looked down on him, why would they ever give him a blood contract?
Even Ichikishimahime, the snake princess, would have felt she'd been an utter fool, accidentally giving her purity to a guy like that.
Fortunately, Hibari's actions were the opposite. His unbridled madness pleased the White Snake Sage even more.
As the saying goes, "without madness, one cannot become a demon." This kind of "madness" doesn't mean being crazy and unhinged. It refers to a spirit of fearlessness, of not being afraid to die, of having the courage to fight with everything you've got, and never backing down. Only with that kind of resolve can one truly "become a demon."
Looking across the shinobi world, who among those who stand at the top isn't a "demon"? Madara and Hashirama are perfect examples. They both represent two different paths, but both stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world in a similar "demonic" state.
While Hibari might still have a huge gap in strength compared to the likes of them, he genuinely felt his "demonic" resolve was no less than theirs.
Fighting with everything he's got, even throwing his life away—that has always been Hibari's style. He has almost screwed himself over a few times precisely because of this fearlessness.
There was no grand, righteous reason for this. If you asked him why, the answer would be simple: deep down, Hibari is just an unruly mess. He's already died once, so what's there to be afraid of? Maybe if he died, he'd just move on to another world and live a carefree life.
Plus, he only ended up in this world because he took a wrong turn, so every extra day of life is a bonus, every day of excitement is a bonus. Therefore, no matter when he dies, he feels it's a win-win situation. That's why he must live an even more thrilling life and never be timid!
The White Snake Sage was very satisfied with Hibari, so she naturally wouldn't refuse his "insane" request. Since Hibari wasn't afraid to die and wanted to learn their Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu, she might as well teach him.
For some reason, the White Snake Sage felt that perhaps this time, with this Senju Hibari, they could finally break the "curse" of the zero percent success rate for learning Senjutsu in Ryūchi Cave.
This would be a good thing for them. The next time someone came, it would be much easier to fool them. It's not that their Senjutsu is flawed, but that the person isn't good enough. Look, Senju Hibari learned it, so how could our Senjutsu not be suitable for humans to learn?
The White Snake Sage shifted her gaze from Hibari to the three Snake Princesses standing beside him. "Since Senju Hibari is intent on learning Senjutsu here, this sage greatly admires his courage and resolve," she began. "If he wants to learn Senjutsu, then teach him. From today on, you three will be his teachers. Until he either dies or learns and masters Senjutsu, you will be responsible for guiding him in his pursuit of this power."
Ichikishimahime was very happy to see Hibari gain the White Snake Sage's approval, and the other two Snake Princesses felt the same way. If they could be his teachers, their relationship would become much closer, and who knows, they might even get a taste of his deliciousness?
Therefore, all three Snake Princesses respectfully and somberly replied, "Yes, Hakuja-sama."
Hibari didn't say much, as he had already expected this. He had figured that a big shot like the White Snake Sage wouldn't personally teach him. Even the protagonist, Naruto, was taught by Shima and Fukasaku when he went to Mount Myōboku; the Great Toad Sage didn't personally get involved.
Besides, this wasn't his place to make demands. He was lucky enough to have someone teach him. Was he going to act like he was in a position to be picky? Did he really think Ryūchi Cave was a benevolent place? Which of the snakes here hadn't eaten people?
After arranging everything, the White Snake Sage looked at Hibari again and said, "Since you've chosen to train Senjutsu, you can't turn back, just as I said before. It's either life or death. Either you succeed in mastering Senjutsu, or you become a stone like them."
Hibari smiled and nodded. "What a coincidence. I had no intention of leaving here as a failure."
"Good. In that case, you are to stay here in Ryūchi Cave until you learn and master Senjutsu," the White Snake Sage said after a moment's thought. "You cannot leave."
Hearing this, Hibari fell silent in thought. After a moment, he spoke up, "Hakuja-sama, how long does it usually take to master Senjutsu here?"
The White Snake Sage gave Hibari a look. "It's impossible to know for sure. After all, no human has ever truly succeeded. Compared to Mount Myōboku, they use toad oil to help you sense natural energy. Shikkotsu Forest's Slug Sage separates herself into clones that enter your body to help you train. But in the end, these are all external aids.
"For those with a high aptitude, it's not a big deal, but those with insufficient aptitude, even if they master Senjutsu, their Sage Mode is imperfect. So, in Ryūchi Cave, there will be no external help. Be mentally prepared for that."
Hibari was stunned by the White Snake Sage's words. It was true that while the toad oil from Mount Myōboku was risky, it was essentially a cheat code.
For a "protagonist" like Naruto, who was used to cheat codes, there were no side effects. Jiraiya, however, didn't have that luxury. Even though he learned Senjutsu, he would start to turn into a toad when he used the jutsu, resulting in an imperfect Sage Mode.
As for Shikkotsu Forest, only Hashirama had ever learned Senjutsu there. Hashirama, being someone who already had cheat codes of his own, naturally didn't experience any side effects. On the contrary, with the help of the Slug Sage, he mastered the power of Senjutsu at an incredible speed and to a perfect degree.
Hibari believed he had some aptitude himself, and having some help would be great. But judging from what the White Snake Sage was saying, Ryūchi Cave didn't seem to offer that kind of service. No wonder no one had ever successfully learned Senjutsu here. It turns out they were doing "brute force training," teaching you the method and then leaving it all up to you?
Although Hibari had a lot of complaints about this cheat-code-free training, he couldn't say any of this directly to the White Snake Sage. It would make him seem unconfident, as if he couldn't master this power without help.
By now, Hibari had a general grasp of the White Snake Sage's temperament and the nature of Ryūchi Cave. Compared to the other two locations, Ryūchi Cave was a place with "no rules." The inhabitants liked lunatics and a certain kind of stubborn intensity. They were completely without pretense, doing whatever they wanted. It was a very "savage" place, seemingly valuing "self-reliance" above all else.
So Hibari knew that if he asked for any of these "cheat codes," he'd likely get an eye roll. It was better not to even ask.
With no one to help him, Hibari looked at the stone statues placed along the cave walls. These were proof that while the three Snake Princesses might be highly skilled and beautiful, they were probably terrible at teaching Senjutsu. If they could just clearly explain the principles, Hibari would be grateful enough.
Therefore, Hibari believed that his journey to learn Senjutsu would be an arduous, self-reliant struggle. He couldn't count on anyone else for help. However, Hibari was already used to figuring things out on his own, and he didn't complain or even consider backing out. He just let out a helpless sigh and mumbled, "Looks like this is going to be a long-term fight."
In his current "cheats-free" state, Hibari felt it would be impossible to learn the power of Senjutsu and lay a solid foundation in Ryūchi Cave in just two or three years. He even felt that Ryūchi Cave might not have a systematic learning method at all, and he would have to spend time creating one himself.
Realizing that he couldn't learn Ryūchi Cave's Senjutsu in just a few weeks, Hibari looked at the White Snake Sage and said with some awkwardness, "Well, Hakuja-sama, staying in Ryūchi Cave is fine, but not being able to go out is a bit unbearable. Not only do I have many things to attend to outside, but I also have to return to the Konohagakure in a month.
"On the one hand, I need to let my family and friends know I'm okay so they don't worry about me. On the other hand, a very good friend of mine is getting married in a month. This is a very important event in a human's life, and I have to be there to see it."
The White Snake Sage frowned slightly upon hearing Hibari's words. "Training Senjutsu is already a very dangerous pursuit. Why would you allow yourself to be distracted by these mortal attachments?"
"It's a matter of circumstance," Hibari said with a somewhat helpless smile. "I was born into this mortal world, and the worldly dust I've collected can't be washed away. I'm inevitably tied down by these mortal affairs. I can't be like you, a sage who doesn't eat mortal food."
The White Snake Sage stared at Hibari with her cold, vertical pupils, and then said, "Ryūchi Cave is in a remote location. If you constantly come and go, you'll waste countless hours on the road alone. It would be impossible to get into the right mindset to learn Senjutsu. It'll take five or six years, at least. Have you thought this through?"
A smile appeared at the corner of Hibari's mouth. "Hakuja-sama, you don't have to worry about the journey. I have a space-time ninjutsu called the Flying Raijin Technique. This jutsu allows me to instantly travel across time and space to any location where I've left a mark. So, as long as I leave a mark in Ryūchi Cave, it'll be a breeze to come and go, just the blink of an eye."
The White Snake Sage didn't doubt Hibari's words. She nodded slightly and flicked her tongue, but she still seemed to be considering something. She didn't immediately agree to his request.
Hibari watched the White Snake Sage, thought for a moment, and then a look of sudden realization appeared on his face. "Could it be, Hakuja-sama, that you're worried I might run away mid-training?"
Although the White Snake Sage didn't respond, the look in her eyes seemed to confirm his suspicion.
While she greatly admired Hibari and felt he probably wouldn't do something so shameless, there was still a risk. What if this kid realized that Senjutsu wasn't so easy to learn and just bolted? That would be a huge disgrace to Ryūchi Cave.
Their rule was in place: once you draw your bow, there's no turning back. Choosing to cultivate their Senjutsu was a matter of life or death, and there was no way they would let him run away halfway through.
So the White Snake Sage was indeed concerned about this. Before, she had only thought she needed to guard the cave entrance to keep this kid from running away. But now she knew he had a space-time ninjutsu.
This made things difficult. And from the sound of it, he was planning to travel all over the place. Why was this person so troublesome? Why hadn't she noticed how much of a nuisance he was before?
While the White Snake Sage was thinking about this, Hibari smiled and said, "By the way, I won't hide it from you. Another reason I came here was to sign a summoning blood contract with Ryūchi Cave. This way, I can gain the power of Ryūchi Cave, and you can also be at ease, can't you?"
Upon hearing this, the White Snake Sage's eyes lit up. "That's excellent," she said softly. "This sage thinks highly of you. Ichikishimahime, bring the highest-grade summoning blood contract we have in Ryūchi Cave."
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