Chapter 135: Finally Mastering Sage Mode!

Akira Uchiha didn't feel the slightest bit of regret as he watched one million ryo vanish in an instant. He immediately started up the Life Simulator again.

[You used reverse summoning and arrived at Ryūchi Cave!]

[Due to your connection with Manda, the snakes in Ryūchi Cave already know of your existence and aren't surprised by your arrival.]

[You meet a beautiful young woman, and after you reveal your intention to learn Sage Mode, she doesn't refuse. Instead, she warmly invites you to a meal!]

[You think to yourself that maybe not all the snakes in Ryūchi Cave are vicious—after all, Aoda seems pretty gentle, right? You thank her and enjoy the feast.]

[As you savor the food, you silently congratulate yourself on choosing Ryūchi Cave. You can feast here, whereas in Mount Myōboku, you'd only get to eat bugs!]

[Suddenly, the beautiful young woman opens her mouth wide and transforms into a fierce snake-woman!]

[You get eaten!]

"Damn snake-women!" Akira cursed as he stared at the results from the Life Simulator. It seemed that he had been eaten not long after arriving at Ryūchi Cave. The simulation had made the woman seem beautiful and friendly, but she'd turned on him in an instant and devoured him. Clearly, Ryūchi Cave was far more dangerous than Mount Myōboku!

At least in Mount Myōboku, the danger of turning into a stone statue was real, but the toads wouldn't outright eat you! But then again, having the Life Simulator as a guide made navigating this danger a bit more manageable.

Originally, Akira had planned to quickly use reverse summoning to head to Ryūchi Cave and start his training, but after seeing how dangerous it was, he decided to take his time.

After taking a day to rest and clear his mind, Akira decided to try again. After all, he still had over 20 million ryo left. When he was learning the Eighth Gate, he had spent who knows how much money—spending a bit more to master Sage Mode was well worth it. If he succeeded, he could potentially stop relying on the first seven gates of the Eight Gates technique altogether.

The second simulation began.

[You encounter the same beautiful young woman again and learn her name: Tanshin Hime, one of the high-ranking members under the White Snake Sage.]

[She invites you to a meal again, but this time you keep a cold, wary eye on her, ready to activate the Eight Gates at a moment's notice.]

[After a few minutes pass and she notices you haven't touched the food, Tanshin Hime tells you that you've passed the test.]

[You realize that the meal was actually a test of your vigilance!]

[As you venture deeper into Ryūchi Cave, you meet another beautiful woman named Ichikishima Hime.]

[You remain on guard, but Ichikishima Hime uses a giant boulder to block your way out, forcing you to fill the holes in the boulder with crystals.]

[Your chakra is quickly drained!]

[Once your chakra is depleted, Ichikishima Hime eats you.]

So, do the snakes in Ryūchi Cave really just enjoy eating people, even if they're contracted summoners? Akira found himself wondering if the summoning contract was just a way for these snakes to lure in fresh meals. Orochimaru probably survived because he offered up a thousand human sacrifices every time he summoned Manda, feeding the entire Ryūchi Cave and keeping himself off the menu. No wonder Orochimaru had agreed so easily when Akira asked to sign the Ryūchi Cave contract!

Akira couldn't help but think that maybe these snakes were feeding off their summoners. After being eaten twice in a row, it was hard not to be suspicious. Shaking off these disturbing thoughts, Akira focused on the more important takeaway: he wasn't eaten immediately upon arrival but during the trials. In the second trial, it seemed like his chakra reserves were insufficient.

Was his chakra level, even at the Kage level, still not enough? Fine then, it was time to level up some more!

For the third simulation, Akira decided not to return to Ryūchi Cave. Instead, he focused on training, spending seven years developing his chakra.

In the end, however, he encountered the Akatsuki's plan to capture the tailed beasts and was killed by the Six Paths of Pain, the strongest of the Kage-level fighters. After seven years, Akira's chakra reserves had increased by about 40%.

In the fifth simulation, Akira returned to Ryūchi Cave with his 40% chakra boost, but he still didn't survive the second trial.

The sixth simulation had Akira training for another seven years, increasing his chakra by 35%. Although the percentage gain was lower, the overall increase in chakra was greater than before.

During the seventh simulation, Akira decided to bypass the second trial by activating the Seventh Gate, defeating Ichikishima Hime after a ten-minute battle. But when the third trial began, he was too exhausted to fend off the next challenger, Takitsuhime, and was promptly bitten and trapped in an illusion before being eaten again.

Still not strong enough, Akira thought. In the eighth simulation, he spent more years training, this time hiding during the Akatsuki's tailed beast hunt but eventually dying in the Fourth Great Ninja War. His chakra increased by another 35%.

When Akira started out, his chakra reserves were just over 10,000—barely at the Kage level. Now, after three simulations and over 20 years of training, his chakra reserves had nearly tripled, reaching 30,000. He was finally catching up to the likes of the legendary Sannin in terms of chakra.

In the ninth simulation, Akira activated the Seventh Gate and defeated Ichikishima Hime in just two minutes. When Takitsuhime lunged at him, he struck first, preventing her from biting him. She then explained that the illusion test was the final hurdle in learning Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode.

Recalling how she had used an illusion to overpower him previously rather than attacking outright, Akira decided to trust her. He entered the illusion and, upon overcoming it, finally met the White Snake Sage.

The White Snake Sage bit him and injected natural energy into his body, but Akira failed to balance the energy properly and was eaten again. Still, this ninth simulation marked progress—he had finally met the White Snake Sage.

"Yes! It worked!" Akira's eyes lit up as he chose to retain the knowledge, skills, and experience from this simulation. The experiences felt like they were truly his own, and he now understood what had gone wrong when the natural energy was injected into him.

The hardest part of mastering Sage Mode was perfectly balancing spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy in a 1:1:1 ratio. In the original story, Naruto spent a long time training with the toads of Mount Myōboku, who would knock the natural energy out of him if he lost control. It took him ages to finally master Sage Mode.

But here in Ryūchi Cave, the White Snake Sage simply injected natural energy into you and let you fend for yourself. If you couldn't handle it, she'd just eat you. No wonder Orochimaru never mastered Sage Mode—Akira couldn't even imagine how Kabuto managed to do it in the original story!

If training in Sage Mode is like learning to swim, Mount Myōboku is like tossing you into the water but pulling you out if you start to drown, letting you rest before trying again. In contrast, Ryūchi Cave just throws you in and lets you drown. If you die, well, that's just a free meal for them!

Akira silently cursed at how much more dangerous Ryūchi Cave was than he'd expected. But where Mount Myōboku had the toads to pull you out of trouble, he had the Life Simulator. He could "pull himself out" through repeated simulations.

So what if it costs money? He'd keep trying until he succeeded. Mastering Sage Mode was crucial for the long term, especially when it came to dealing with the Rinnegan. So, Akira steeled himself, determined to master Sage Mode no matter the cost.

With renewed determination, Akira poured more ryo into the Life Simulator, repeatedly running simulations and extracting valuable experience each time. Although every attempt ended in failure, he could feel his progress in mastering Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode steadily increasing.

It was like leveling up in a game—his proficiency was slowly but surely improving.

The eleventh simulation failed.

The twelfth simulation failed.

The thirteenth simulation failed.

Finally, during the twenty-second simulation, Akira took a deep breath. He had started with 22 million ryo, thinking he was rich. Little did he know that mastering Sage Mode would drain his newfound wealth entirely.

But he was resolute—if this attempt failed, he was prepared to try again. After all, Sage Mode was essential for fighting against the Rinnegan. If it cost 20 million, or even 200 million, Akira would pay without hesitation.

The twenty-second simulation began.

[You return to Ryūchi Cave to train in Sage Mode, remaining unfazed by Tanshin Hime's attempts to tempt you with food.]

[You defeat Ichikishima Hime with ease, passing her trial.]

[The illusionary trial set by Takitsuhime poses no challenge to you, as your Sharingan is unparalleled in handling illusions.]

[You meet the White Snake Sage, who bites you and injects natural energy into your body.]

[You effortlessly balance your spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy, stabilizing your chakra!]

[The White Snake Sage looks at you in astonishment!]

[With perfect fusion of the three energies, you generate Sage Chakra. You've successfully mastered Sage Mode!]

[Five years later, your chakra has increased by 30%, and you die in a battle against Pain.]

[Please choose a reward from the simulation.]

[Option 1: Retain all the knowledge, skills, and combat experience you've gained!]

[Option 2: Retain the increased chakra reserves!]

[Option 3: Retain the awakened bloodline state!]

"I did it!" Akira's eyes lit up with excitement as he realized he had finally succeeded in mastering Sage Mode.

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>Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 186 at patreon.com/Emik01.>

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