"What are you laughing at?"
The Black Dragon couldn't help but ask as Ryun burst into hearty laughter.
"Haha, nothing..."
Ryun shook his head with a smile.
The taste of his past life as an ordinary salaryman compared to his current life of riding dragons and roaming the rivers—only he could truly understand the difference. Others would never comprehend it.
"Kid, you said earlier that you're a descendant of dragons. Then do you know how I can evolve into a true dragon?" The Black Dragon asked seriously.
"Evolve into a true dragon?" Ryun was visibly stunned.
How would he know how to evolve into a true dragon?
But since he had already boasted so grandly earlier, if he admitted ignorance now, the dragon might just turn on him...
To prove his expertise on dragons, he decided to start spinning tales from Chinese dragon legends:
"Legend has it that all scaled creatures have the potential to become dragons, with snakes being the most likely. The snake clan carries the most dragon bloodline factors, making them the easiest to achieve ancestral reversion and ascend as true dragons."
Ryun glanced at the Black Dragon beneath him. Seeing how engrossed it was, he immediately hatched a plan to scam it further and continued without hesitation:
"A snake takes 49 years to become a python, a python takes 100 years to become a horned serpent, a horned serpent takes 500 years to become a flood dragon, and a flood dragon takes 1,000 years to become a true dragon..."
The moment he said this, the Black Dragon erupted with endless questions:
"What does 'become a python' mean? Isn't a python just a big snake? How does it take 49 years to turn into one? And I'm not even from the python family..."
"Silence!!!"
Ryun suddenly shouted, cutting off its follow-up questions.
"One question at a time. 'Python' refers to a fully grown snake, not its species classification."
"Oh, I see..."
The Black Dragon nodded, then asked another question:
"Why does it take 49 years to become a python? A big snake reaches adulthood in just seven years... By seven years, they're already ready to mate..."
(Note: In the original story, when Naruto first summoned Gamakichi, it was tiny, but within a few years, it grew into a massive summon. This shows that creatures from sacred lands grow much faster than ordinary species.)
"..."
Ryun was momentarily speechless, realizing that Old Black wasn't so easily fooled... But he quickly came up with a plausible explanation:
"You think every place in the world has the dense natural energy and abundant resources of Ryūchi Cave?"
With that, Ryun used his Sharingan's perception to walk on water and grabbed a python swimming alongside the Black Dragon in the river.
The python was as thick as a human leg. Ryun dragged it by its tail and presented it to the Black Dragon. The size difference between the two was enormous—they weren't even in the same league.
"How does this python's size compare to yours? It's already several years old. You said snakes mature in just a few years—then go ahead and mate with this one, huh?"
"Uh... I get your point..."
The Black Dragon awkwardly conceded. Ryun was talking about snakes in the wider world, while the serpents of Ryūchi Cave were indeed exceptional.
"What's a horned serpent?"
The Black Dragon cautiously asked its next question, afraid of being scolded again by the "dragon expert" for asking too much at once.
"A horned serpent is the stage before you became a flood dragon, when you still had horns..."
Ryun sat on its head and answered. Then, as if remembering something, he asked the Black Dragon a question of his own:
"By the way, how old are you now?"
"Me? I never kept track, but I'm definitely around 500 years old..." The Black Dragon thought for a moment before answering.
The White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave and the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku were of the same generation, both over a thousand years old. As the last offspring of the first-generation sage serpents, the Black Dragon was nearly 500 years old.
Snakes didn't celebrate birthdays like humans. They were wild creatures living day by day, surviving as long as fate allowed, so they never bothered counting their age.
"So you see... Even though you became a 'python' and a horned serpent faster than ordinary snakes, you still couldn't escape the rule of taking 500 years to become a flood dragon..." Ryun continued spinning his tale.
"Wait, that doesn't make sense... My mother, the White Snake Sage, is over a thousand years old, yet she's still in her horned serpent form. She didn't become a flood dragon at 500 years..." The Black Dragon widened its eyes in confusion.
"..."
Ryun's smile froze. But after a brief silence, he stubbornly pushed forward with an explanation:
"Not every snake gets the chance to become a flood dragon. Besides, the White Snake Sage's senjutsu chakra reserves surpass even some tailed beasts. She's clearly an immortal serpent—living over a thousand years is normal..."
"I never said evolution was guaranteed just by age. Every step toward dragonhood depends on opportunity..."
At this, the Black Dragon fell silent. But soon, it nodded repeatedly, the more it thought about it, the more it made sense...
Even among the great serpents of Ryūchi Cave, becoming a horned serpent required opportunity. Only a handful had dragon horns, and only by surviving the dragon transformation trial and completing the first major metamorphosis could they assume the form of a horned serpent.
"Fine. Then what's the opportunity for me to become a true dragon? And where is it?" The Black Dragon suddenly became humble and sought guidance.
"I don't know. I'm not a fortune-teller—how would I know where your opportunity lies?" Ryun dodged the question.
"You just became a flood dragon. You still have over 500 years ahead of you. Don't rush to seek evolution opportunities, and don't aim too high... Right now, you should learn senjutsu from your mother, the White Snake Sage, and focus on accumulating senjutsu chakra..."
Ryun seized the chance to lecture. This damn dragon had wasted centuries on female snakes, only remembering to learn senjutsu after 500 years as a flood dragon. What a useless creature...
He wanted the Black Dragon to grow stronger—after all, it was his personal summon and mount. He'd need its help in future battles...
"Also, cut back on the female snakes. Keep your essence strong... Don't exhaust yourself to the point where you lack the energy to undergo the transformation trial when the real opportunity comes..."
This guy had been obsessing over mating earlier, so Ryun figured he should stop it from ruining itself...
"Huh?"
"Learning senjutsu and accumulating senjutsu chakra—I've been working hard on that lately... But giving up females? No way. Ryūchi Cave depends on me to expand the bloodline..."
The Black Dragon would never give up mating. Snakes were lustful by nature, and dragons? Even worse.
Lately, every female snake had been praising its skills, declaring their love for the great Dragon Lord...
"..."
The two chatted idly as they traveled along the river. Ryun told it many dragon legends, some so fantastical they bordered on mythology. But he narrated them with such conviction that the Black Dragon beneath him was completely scammed...
The more it listened, the more excited it became, the more it believed Ryun was a profound scholar with vast knowledge.
Before long, the Black Dragon dropped Ryun off at a relatively safe shore. After swallowing several "grand promises" and gulping down plenty of "inspirational talk," it returned to the summoning realm, thoroughly satisfied.
Once ashore, Ryun headed straight back to the Konoha camp but didn't see Orochimaru around for the moment.