Inside Shiraishi's mental space, the massive dark consciousness manifested by the White Snake Sage loomed like a gargantuan storm cloud, threatening to swallow his entire world of awareness.
Faced with such overwhelming pressure, Shiraishi showed no sign of alarm. On the contrary, he offered a thin smile.
"Sage, are you truly so impatient to strike? You haven't even seen what kind of Sage Mode I've perfected."
"Save your breath, boy! It's not as if you've mastered the Sage Mode of Mount Myoboku!"
The old serpent was a creature of singular focus. With a look of pure greed, he lunged forward.
Shiraishi evaded with fluid grace, but the world around them began to warp and twist. The White Snake Sage's form grew more titan-like by the second, spewing a torrent of venom intended to dissolve Shiraishi's remaining consciousness.
There was a subtle difference between Orochimaru's Reincarnation Jutsu and the Sage's. Orochimaru's technique relied heavily on the caster's mental strength being superior to the victim's; otherwise, a backlash would occur.
The White Snake Sage's method was more sophisticated. The Dragon Ball it had provided served as a catalyst for cellular erosion and assimilation.
The moment Shiraishi perfected his Sage Mode, the Sage's own cells and "marks" were meant to saturate Shiraishi's body.
This was similar to Orochimaru's later Cursed Seal resurrection, but without the need for cloning technology.
The Dragon Ball had "tempered" Shiraishi's flesh to achieve a perfect compatibility with the Sage's soul.
Usually, if a soul and body are mismatched—as seen with Orochimaru's rushed transitions—the side effects are catastrophic, and the caster's power is severely diminished.
The White Snake Sage had spent weeks ensuring Shiraishi's body and mind were in high-frequency synchronization.
Now, it believed the "little guy" in this mental space was nothing more than a flickering candle in a hurricane.
However, Shiraishi's consciousness remained steadfast. He looked at the Sage with a touch of mock confusion. "Sage, why do you wish to eat me?"
"You moved too slowly in your cultivation," the Sage hissed, its body splitting until it possessed eight heads. "It made me quite irritable."
The Sage's true form in the mental realm was terrifying. Each of the eight heads pulsed with a different elemental chakra, and they were linked in a complex sequence. Unless severed in the exact right order, the old snake was effectively immortal.
As the Sage charged, a violent surge of purple Senjutsu chakra erupted from Shiraishi, filling the mental world. Suddenly, a frost-blue flame—the Extreme Cold Flame—ignited across the Sage's body, searing its ethereal flesh.
The appearance of the cold flame startled the Sage. In that instant, it realized a terrifying truth: it had been led into a trap.
If their body and soul were truly synchronized, Shiraishi shouldn't have been able to use the Extreme Cold Flame to suppress him. The only explanation was a deliberate rejection response; Shiraishi still held absolute control over his own vessel.
The Dragon Sigil in Shiraishi's eyes flared. Enveloped in a draconic purple aura, Shiraishi thrust a palm forward. A massive Dragon Claw manifested from the energy, slamming into the Sage with a thunderous impact.
Walking toward the Eight-Headed form of the Sage, Shiraishi's gaze was indifferent. "Perfecting the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode did indeed minimize the rejection between my body and your soul... but only to give you the illusion that the vessel was ready for the taking."
The Extreme Cold Flame was merely a nuisance to a being of the Sage's level, and it quickly used a specialized skin-shedding technique to escape the fire.
But the residual power forced the life-cherishing old snake to retreat several steps. It stared at Shiraishi with newfound wariness. "What... what are you?"
Shiraishi's momentum continued to climb. "White Snake Sage, are you quite certain that the state I've achieved is the 'Ryuchi Cave version' of Sage Mode?"
Suddenly, Shiraishi's chakra reached a crescendo. A draconic roar shook the foundations of his mind, and the pressure became so great that the Sage's consciousness could no longer maintain its presence. Both were violently ejected back into the physical world.
The Birth of a New Power
Back in the reality of Ryuchi Cave, the White Snake Sage looked ghastly. The backlash from the failed possession was excruciating. "Was that breakthrough... a completely new type of Sage Mode?"
To master the complete Ryuchi Cave technique was one thing, but to transform it into a personalized, exclusive power at the moment of completion was a feat of talent that left the Sage stunned.
The Dragon Sigils glowed brightly as Shiraishi stepped forward. "Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode likely wasn't the 'standard' version from the Shikkotsu Forest either, was it? If he could do it, so can I."
Shiraishi could feel it—his body was fundamentally altered. His connection to the world's natural energy was clearer and sharper than ever before.
Fury, shock, and anxiety flickered across the Sage's face before it forced itself to calm down. "Heh... it seems I have benefited you for nothing."
The Sage had no intention of fighting further. Killing Shiraishi now would achieve nothing, and it wasn't even sure it could win.
While the Dragon Ball had lost a significant amount of natural energy, it could be repaired over time. As for the inheritance of Ryuchi Cave, Shiraishi already possessed it.
As a thousand-year-old monster, the Sage adjusted its mindset quickly to avoid the pitfalls of obsession.
"What is the nature of this Sage Mode you created? Your foundation was Ryuchi Cave—how did it change?"
Shiraishi, sensing the giant serpent no longer held murderous intent, briefly explained the difference. His Dragon Sigil Sage Mode discarded the serpentine physical traits in favor of a human-centric foundation, specifically optimized to utilize Dragon-type skills.
In Shiraishi's internal system, the "Dragon" skill category began to unlock, card by card. Even if the Sage knew the secrets, it couldn't use them; they required the specific "Dragon" framework provided by the System.
Among the newly unlocked cards, one Golden Dragon Card shone with an especially blinding light.
"Sage, though I've mastered the mode, I'd like to come back tomorrow to ask a few more questions," Shiraishi said with a grin. "By the way, can I borrow the Dragon Ball again in the future?"
"NO!"
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