"Being a bodyguard? No danger? You little liar... How can you spout such nonsense with your eyes wide open without even blushing???"
"So eager to play the hero, huh? Then don't bother coming back... I'll just pretend I never gave birth to such a little brat..."
"If you dare come home, I'll break your legs and tear your mouth to shreds..."
After reading the letter filled with nothing but "motherly love," Ryun wiped his forehead unconsciously, only to realize his palm was drenched in sweat...
"How can reading a letter make you sweat so much?" Tsunade asked curiously.
At the moment, the Sannin, having nothing better to do, had all gathered in Ryun's room to relax a little, planning to sneak some drinks behind everyone's backs.
Daring to drink and gamble during wartime—probably only these four reckless individuals in the entire Konoha army would do such a thing...
"Let me see..." Tsunade snatched the letter without waiting for permission.
"Give it back, why are you so nosy..."
Ryun tried to grab the letter back, but Tsunade held him off with one hand on his head.
"What's the hurry? Let your big sister take a look, it won't kill you..." Tsunade said while scanning the letter.
"Pfft—HAHAHA! This is hilarious!"
"You actually dared to lie to your own mother about coming to the Land of Rain? Just wait till you get home, kid, you're in for a beating! HAHAHA!"
Reading the letter filled with deep resentment, Tsunade nearly laughed herself to tears...
"Let me see what's going on..." Jiraiya walked over, wanting to check the contents as well.
Tsunade quickly passed the letter to Jiraiya, eager to share the "rebellious son's" misfortune with everyone. She even pinned Ryun's arms to prevent him from snatching the letter back.
"Bastards, let me go... Why do you have to meddle in everything?!"
Ryun struggled fiercely, but against Tsunade's monstrous strength, his efforts were utterly useless...
"HAHAHA... It seems your mom really loves you, Ryun... HAHAHA!!!" Jiraiya burst into laughter before passing the letter to Orochimaru.
Fortunately, his teacher had some decency. After reading it, Orochimaru merely shook his head with a faint smile, unlike the other two shameless idiots who were roaring with laughter...
"Two damn busybodies..."
Ryun quickly took the letter back from Orochimaru and glared at them resentfully.
"Hey hey, Orochimaru read it too, so why call us two busybodies and not three?" Jiraiya teased with a grin.
"Because I'm not as shameless as you two," Orochimaru retorted with a smirk.
"Tsk tsk, looks like the little brat's gonna get spanked by mom when he gets home..." Tsunade sighed exaggeratedly.
"HAHAHA!"
"Pfft—"
Even Orochimaru couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.
"You guys..."
Ryun's face flushed red with anger. The next moment, he rushed up to the gambling addict and thrust out his palm:
"Pay me back!!!"
"..."
After the playful banter, the four of them each took a seat around a low table.
Notably, Orochimaru and Tsunade sat in the traditional kneeling position, while Jiraiya and Ryun both sat cross-legged.
Jiraiya sat this way simply because he had never cared for formalities since childhood, coupled with his carefree personality. Ryun, on the other hand, sat cross-legged because in his homeland, kneeling wasn't customary, and cross-legged sitting was far more comfortable.
At the moment, the table held only four cups of tea. The alcohol and gambling tools Ryun had brought out earlier had all been put away.
"What's this about? Don't ruin my mood, or the consequences will be severe..." Tsunade scowled darkly.
"No rush. Since we all have time today, let's discuss a certain topic," Ryun said calmly, sipping his tea.
"Just spit it out already... Quit dragging it out..." Tsunade glared at him impatiently.
The hot-tempered gambler was eager to start betting...
"What do you want to talk about?" Jiraiya asked, intrigued.
Instead of answering, Ryun dipped his finger in the spilled tea at the edge of the table and wrote a single character in the center.
"Immortal?"
The Sannin all exclaimed in surprise.
"Exactly. All of us here are heirs of the Three Great Sage Regions. The concept of 'immortality' shouldn't be unfamiliar, right?" Ryun gave Jiraiya a mysterious smile.
"You... You even know about immortality? Did Orochimaru tell you everything about me?" Jiraiya frowned.
Orochimaru glanced at him but didn't bother responding.
"Teacher only mentioned a little. Jiraiya, you must have heard of Sage Mode, right? Or maybe you've already started learning it?"
Ryun dropped a bombshell.
"You even know about Sage Mode?!"
Jiraiya was genuinely shocked this time. He had never mentioned Sage Mode to Orochimaru or Tsunade.
Moreover, he hadn't even mastered it yet. If he could learn Sage Mode, he wouldn't have been so thoroughly outclassed by Hanzō of the Salamander...
"So you've also come into contact with sage arts... Does Ryūchi Cave have a similar Sage Mode?" Jiraiya asked solemnly.
"Only the name 'Sage Mode' is the same. In reality, there are major differences. That's exactly what I want to discuss today—I want to understand the distinctions between each region's Sage Mode..."
Ryun stated his purpose outright.
With all three Sannin present, if he could uncover some of the secrets of Sage Mode, it would greatly benefit his future training.
Ryūchi Cave's Snake Sage Mode required being bitten, and the risks were far greater than Mount Myōboku's Toad Sage Mode. Even Orochimaru failed to master it—after being bitten, he turned into a half-human, half-snake monstrosity.
In the original story, the White Scale Great Snake that Uchiha Sasuke killed was actually Orochimaru's true form—the consequence of failing Ryūchi Cave's Sage training.
According to descriptions, Snake Sage Mode becomes more perfect the closer one resembles a dragon, while Toad Sage Mode becomes more perfect the closer one resembles a human. The differences were vast. If possible, Ryun would much rather learn Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode.
After all, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi—both of whom attempted Snake Sage Mode—ended up as grotesque, snake-like abominations. Ryun had been pondering this issue for a while. To put it bluntly, he wasn't mentally prepared to turn into such a freak...
Rather than agonizing over it alone, he figured it'd be better to discuss it openly. Perhaps the three Sage heirs could help him find a Sage Mode suitable for humans?
"Have you already found the entrance to Ryūchi Cave?" Orochimaru finally spoke up—Ryun had never mentioned this to him before.
(Note: According to Kabuto's explanation, Ryūchi Cave refers to the territory of the snake clan. The true entrance is usually hidden, and the snakes rarely reveal it. Orochimaru only found the entrance after defecting from Konoha, through Jugo's connection.)
Orochimaru had been searching for Ryūchi Cave's entrance all this time. At this point, he hadn't even met the White Snake Sage and knew nothing about Sage Mode.
"Sorry, Teacher. I didn't mean to hide this from you. But I thought it'd be easier to explain with Jiraiya and Tsunade present..."
Ryun had no intention of keeping Sage Mode a secret from Orochimaru.
"The snakes of Ryūchi Cave have permitted me to learn their sage arts. But because their Sage Mode has major flaws, I wanted to consult all of you..."
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