Uchiha Yuan had only been back in Konoha for a few days when he suddenly received a message from Shadiao.
Shadiao brought him a letter from Hyuga Asana. In it, she said she was going to Ryuchi Cave to study Sage Mode.
After reading the letter, Uchiha Yuan immediately rushed to the Land of Fields.
Hyuga Asana's Byakugan had undergone a mutation. Although it was still far from becoming a Tenseigan, it had already evolved far beyond the ordinary Byakugan and could even use two of the Tenseigan's basic abilities.
At her current stage, Hyuga Asana's overall strength was not inferior to a typical Kage-level ninja. However, she still couldn't hold her own against elite Kage-level shinobi like Namikaze Minato or the Third Hokage—let alone be compared to Uchiha Yuan.
Therefore, she wanted to raise her strength as quickly as possible. She didn't want to be left behind by Uchiha Yuan. That was why, when she initially left Konoha with Orochimaru, she proposed going to Ryuchi Cave to learn Sage Mode.
Naturally, Orochimaru agreed readily—he was also curious to see if someone who had been injected with the cells of Hashirama Senju would have an advantage in mastering Sage Mode.
However, after arriving in the Land of Fields, Orochimaru and Hyuga Asana focused most of their energy on constructing a new base and capturing bloodline limit ninjas to serve as test subjects.
As a result, Hyuga Asana didn't have time to train in Sage Mode.
Now that the base was nearly completed—and with the chaos caused by the Mist's bloodline massacres—they had captured many kekkei genkai users from the Mist. Orochimaru now had enough research material to keep him occupied for some time.
So Hyuga Asana decided it was finally time to begin her training in Sage Mode.
By the time Uchiha Yuan arrived at Orochimaru's base in the Land of Fields, Hyuga Asana had already packed everything and was ready to enter Ryuchi Cave.
When it came to Sage Mode, Uchiha Yuan could confidently say that—aside from the summoning beasts in the Sacred Lands—no one knew more about it than him. After all, he had read the script.
In the original story, there were three and a half types of Sage Mode.
One was the Toad Sage Mode of Naruto and Jiraiya—this was Mount Myoboku's Sage Mode. It greatly increased chakra volume and boosted the power of ninjutsu, while also providing strong sensory abilities.
Another was the Snake Sage Mode used by Kabuto—this was the Ryuchi Cave version. It allowed the user to sense chakra or life forms via natural energy and even granted the special ability to animate inanimate objects.
Then there was Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode—straightforward and overwhelming in its simplicity. Clap your hands, and anything was possible.
There were two common theories about the origin of Hashirama's Sage Mode: one, that it came from Shikkotsu Forest; the other, that Hashirama had discovered and developed it on his own.
Uchiha Yuan personally leaned toward the latter, because both Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave's Sage Modes had strong regional traits.
As one of the three Sacred Lands, Shikkotsu Forest surely had its own Sage Mode, which should also have unique regional characteristics.
But Hashirama's Sage Mode—apart from the eye shadow—had nothing distinguishing about it. It didn't feel like something from Shikkotsu Forest.
And the last "half" Sage Mode was Orochimaru's Cursed Seal—or more accurately, the special ability of Jugo's clan to absorb natural energy.
Why "half"? Because strictly speaking, it wasn't true Sage Mode. It was extremely difficult to control—Jugo himself often went berserk early on due to natural energy overload.
That said, of the three and a half Sage Modes, Uchiha Yuan thought the one from Ryuchi Cave was the most suitable for Hyuga Asana.
He believed her Byakugan would continue to evolve. Once he completed the construction of the mini-Ten-Tails, it wouldn't be impossible to attack the moon and help her awaken the Tenseigan.
The abilities of the Tenseigan and Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode complemented each other well—especially the Ryuchi Cave's power to animate inanimate objects and the Tenseigan's puppet control ability.
The only real concern was whether Hyuga Asana could successfully learn the Snake Sage Mode, and whether she'd be able to return safely if she failed.
"Asana, do you want me to go with you?" Uchiha Yuan asked.
"No need. I've already prepared in advance. Lord Orochimaru also explained to me what trials I'll face to learn Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode. I think I can handle it."
"Even if I fail in the end, I'll be able to retreat unharmed."
After listening to her, Uchiha Yuan fell silent for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Hyuga Asana then summoned a small snake. After communicating with it, the snake nodded and disappeared. A few minutes later, with a ripple of spatial energy, Hyuga Asana was reverse-summoned to Ryuchi Cave.
Orochimaru's eyes flickered with a strange gleam when he saw this. He licked his lips and smiled excitedly.
The scene shifted to Ryuchi Cave. In front of Hyuga Asana appeared a grand castle filled with exquisite dishes. She glanced at the food and said blandly, "I'm not a member of the Akimichi clan. I'm not interested in food."
The castle vanished. In its place appeared a giant snake that opened its bloody maw to bite her. What made things worse was that Hyuga Asana suddenly lost all mobility.
She had previously gotten a "walkthrough" from Orochimaru and knew this snake was most likely an illusion cast by one of Ryuchi Cave's elders—Tagitsu-hime.
But with her current abilities, she had no way to break the illusion directly. Helpless, Hyuga Asana closed her eyes and activated her Byakugan. Through its vision, she could confirm with 100% certainty that the giant snake didn't exist at all, and so the illusion collapsed on its own.
"This little brat's not bad! She actually passed both our tests. Ichikishima, do you want to keep going?" Tamano-no-Mae asked Ichikishima-hime beside her.
"The White Snake Sage allowed her to enter Ryuchi Cave and even reverse-summoned her here—that means she has the talent for Sage Art. You two were just being redundant."
"Heh, true enough. Then let's take her to the Sage." With that, Tagitsu-hime dispelled the illusion.
The scene in Hyuga Asana's vision changed again. The three elders of Ryuchi Cave appeared beside her.
"Congratulations. You have passed our tests. Now you may meet the White Snake Sage."
Hyuga Asana was a little surprised. Orochimaru had told her there would be three trials in Ryuchi Cave—so how did it end after just two?
Of course, she kept that thought to herself. This wasn't the time to ask pointless questions.
(To Be Continued...)