Hearing such explosive information from the White Snake Sage, Ren Uchiha stood frozen in shock. This revelation felt entirely inconsistent with the descriptions he remembered from the original story.
The White Snake Sage seemed to be telling him one thing:
Senjutsu, too, had a hierarchy!
In the Sage's eyes, the Senjutsu mastered by Hashirama Senju was undoubtedly of the highest tier. Below that were the "Animal Senjutsu" of the Three Great Sage Regions—Ryūchi Cave, Shikkotsu Forest, and Mount Myōboku. At the very bottom were the Curse Mark Senjutsu techniques that Orochimaru had crudely replicated through scientific research.
Ren looked up at the gargantuan snake before him and asked in astonishment:
"The First Hokage's Senjutsu... was it not inherited from the Shikkotsu Forest?"
"Shikkotsu Forest?"
The White Snake Sage let out a disdainful sneer.
"That slug doesn't have nearly enough capability for that!"
Ren felt a wave of sudden realization. The original records only mentioned that the Three Great Sage Regions possessed complete Senjutsu legacies, which had led him to subconsciously assume Hashirama's power came from the Shikkotsu Forest. While Hashirama's Sage Mode was undeniably overpowered and its source was never explicitly confirmed, there had been no other logical explanation—until now.
The White Snake Sage's words effectively nuked that theory. If it didn't come from the Three Sage Regions, then where did Hashirama get it?
If he thought about it carefully, Hashirama's Senjutsu was indeed suspicious. For instance, during the sealing of the Nine-Tails' chakra, the Sage Art: Gate of the Great God had descended from the sky. At that moment, Kurama had roared in shock: "This is the Sage of Six Paths'..." Though the beast was cut off, it confirmed the technique was Six Paths-level, capable of suppressing even the Ten-Tails.
Furthermore, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Tsunade and Sakura had pooled their strength to summon only a tenth of Katsuyu. If Hashirama were truly a disciple of the Shikkotsu Forest, his immense chakra reserves would have allowed him to summon the majority of the Great Slug Sage to create an even more powerful healing zone. Yet, Hashirama had never interacted with Katsuyu once.
It was more likely that Hashirama, as Asura's reincarnation, had encountered a "bug" in the cycle. Instead of needing to unite others to match Indra's reincarnation, he had received a genius-level script. He pushed the Sage Body inherited from the Sage of Six Paths to its absolute zenith, spontaneously awakening Wood Style and Senjutsu on his own.
Ren frowned deeply.
Hashirama Senju was a self-taught Sage!
Moreover, his cultivation had reached a level that even the White Snake Sage envied: the realm of "Becoming a Dragon." Ren took a deep breath and looked at the Sage with newfound respect.
"Then, White Snake Sage, the 'True Senjutsu' you mentioned... what exactly is it?"
Having gained night vision, Ren noticed that the opal necklace the White Snake Sage usually wore was missing. Combining this with his recent near-death experience, he deduced that the "Grandmother" before him had sacrificed that gem to save his life.
The White Snake Sage shifted its massive body, its golden pupils slanting as it revealed an ancient secret:
"Before the era of Shinobi, there was a war among gods. In that conflict, the Divine Dragon worshipped by the people was killed in a sneak attack by the Goddess of the Rabbit while it slept in exhaustion."
"With that, the age of myth ended. The era of Shinobi began within the revenge plan of Gamamaru. My establishment of Ryūchi Cave was to trace the shadows of that past and achieve transcendence."
"True Senjutsu is using this body to reach that body. It is about accepting the self born from the heart to reach the 'Yin-side' of the world, and then seizing the root—the body of the True Dragon that fell in the divine war!"
"In the end—Yin and Yang unite, and one usurps the Dragon! Only then can one obtain the power of myth!"
The White Snake Sage flicked its tongue and lowered its head, asking Ren in a hollow whisper:
"Do you understand?"
Ren blinked his eyes, appearing lost and confused. However, in his heart, a storm was raging. To someone who knew the original plot, the White Snake Sage might as well have written the answer on the wall.
Why did the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru, hate Kaguya so much? Why did he guide Hagoromo to betray his mother? The answer was exactly as the Sage said: before the Ōtsutsuki arrived, another supernatural system existed, which they destroyed.
The White Snake Sage sought the body of that fallen Divine Dragon. It wanted to wear the dragon's skin and swallow its soul to replace it. And the only place in the ninja world that fit this description was the Land of Wind—specifically, the Ryūmyaku (Dragon Vein) that contained infinite chakra. The barren desert was likely the scar left by that "Divine War."
The Dragon Vein was the fallen Dragon itself! The earth was its flesh, the stone its bones, and the vegetation its scales.
If Hashirama's extreme Yang Release allowed him to touch this "Dragon" level, then Ryūchi Cave's infinite natural energy represented the extreme Yin Release—the Dragon's lingering will. "Yin and Yang unite, Usurp the Dragon." The plan was clear.
Ren felt a chill. A Sage capable of fighting Kaguya would possess power far beyond any Kage. This was a path to a "Six Paths-level" existence. In a world where the plot was already broken, this was a direction worth pursuing. Yet, dealing with an ancient entity that had lived since the dawn of time required extreme caution.
The White Snake Sage, seeing Ren's "dazed" expression, felt a glimmer of greedy success. It coiled its body tighter around him, its white scales pressing against him with a force that made his spine tingle with cold.
Its face shifted into a "charitable," almost grandmotherly expression. Its voice softened, sounding strangely kind.
"It is fine if you do not understand now. You only need to know this—"
"Do not suppress the evil thoughts in the depths of your heart, for they are your inescapable true self! Do not fear losing your identity, for they shall become the foundation of your ascension into a Dragon!"
"Using this body to reach that body... this is the Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu I shall bestow upon you—"
The White Snake Sage lifted its tail and tapped it against Ren's forehead. As it hissed, the tail flared with a brilliant white light. It slanted its golden eyes and spoke meaningfully:
"Sage Art: Transmission of the Distant Shadow!"
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