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At Qianyu's home.
Orochimaru, playing the part of an OB/GYN, was conducting a physical examination for Kushina Uzumaki.
An hour later, the examination concluded.
Orochimaru scanned the report. "Kushina's health is excellent. At a little over a month, the fetus is still just an embryo. Maintain a regular lifestyle and ensure proper nutrition. I'll prepare a nutritional supplement back at my lab to keep her levels perfectly balanced. Kakashi, come retrieve it tomorrow."
Kakashi listened more intently than Kushina herself. "Understood, Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru stood. "That concludes matters for today. I must return to an experiment in progress. I will return monthly to examine Kushina and adjust the supplements based on her condition."
Kakashi also rose. "Yes. Thank you for your trouble, Lord Orochimaru."
A faint smile touched Orochimaru's lips. "No thanks are necessary. Kushina is Qianyu's wife. It is only right his teacher handles such things. Until Qianyu returns, I leave her in your care, Kakashi."
Kakashi stood ramrod straight. "I will ensure her safety!"
Orochimaru departed. Kakashi turned to Kushina. "It's late, ma'am. I won't disturb your rest any further. I'll take my leave."
Kushina nodded with a warm smile. "Alright. Thank you for today, Kakashi."
"It is my duty, ma'am. Please rest well."
Kakashi left the house—but not entirely. He performed a quick summoning. Several snakes slithered into position around the property, standing guard.
He wasn't the only one. Before leaving, Orochimaru had also quietly summoned a few snakes inside the house to guard Kushina directly.
Safe? Kushina was wrapped in the most secure cocoon imaginable.
…
Meanwhile, the expectant father, Qianyu, was still deep within Ryūchi Cave, wrestling with the natural energy coursing through his veins.
Fifteen days in. Half his body had undergone serpentification.
But now, Qianyu was gradually gaining the upper hand. The violent natural energy was being suppressed, its advance halted. He had passed the halfway point of his Sage Mode training.
The most dangerous phase—being consumed, fully serpentifying, and turning to stone—was behind him.
Now, he needed to generate senjutsu chakra.
The core of senjutsu was to draw in natural energy and then control it, blending it with one's own physical and spiritual energy in a perfect 1:1:1 ratio.
Qianyu gathered his chakra. He added a sliver of natural energy.
Failure. The amount was too small.
First attempt. Caution was key.
Second attempt. He added a fraction more.
Another failure. This time, an overdose. The halted serpentification resumed. Fine scales sprouted along his neck. Though his eyes were closed, his pupils had already shifted into vertical slits.
A cold dread settled in his heart.
His window for attempts was severely limited.
He had to succeed before the transformation was complete.
He became even more cautious. Better to undershoot than to overdo it.
Days passed.
Another seven gone.
Qianyu's attempts to create senjutsu chakra reached a critical point. Only a portion of his face remained human. His chances were running out.
If this failed, Plan B was his only option.
He centered himself. Gathered chakra. Slowly, meticulously, he infused the natural energy.
He could feel it clearly—his chakra and the foreign energy repelled each other, the conflict growing more violent by the second.
Just as he braced for another failure… at the boundary where the two forces met, a new type of chakra flickered into existence.
Not the blue of his own. Not the white of raw nature. A vibrant, electric cyan.
His spirit surged. From that tiny wisp of cyan energy, he felt immense power.
This is it.
His own chakra, fused with natural energy. His senjutsu chakra.
Heart pounding, he doubled down, replicating the ratio. The cyan chakra within him grew.
An itch bloomed on his forehead.
From the White Snake Sage's perspective, two small, budding horns pushed through Qianyu's skin. They grew, lengthening.
The Sage took a long draw from her pipe, exhaling smoke. "Success? Shedding the snake skin, ascending as a dragon."
The fine serpent scales on Qianyu's body began to flake away. In their place, larger, more defined plates emerged. Distinct cyan markings—the hallmark of Sage Mode—spread around his eyes.
Qianyu opened his eyes. The three tomoe of his Sharingan spun, but at their center now rested vertical reptilian pupils.
He rose slowly to his feet. A cloak of cyan senjutsu chakra shimmered around him. From the base of his spine, a long, ethereal dragon's tail, woven from the same energy, unfurled.
He took a deep breath. After over twenty days of stillness, his body should have been stiff. Instead, he felt… light. Unbelievably agile.
Suddenly.
He drove his fist into the ground.
CRACK! The stone floor cratered under the impact. His raw physical power in this state had multiplied several times over.
"Sage Art: Great Fireball Technique!"
He channeled senjutsu chakra into the fire release. A colossal orb of flame, magnitudes larger and hotter than before, coalesced and shot into the distance.
BOOM! It struck, carving out a vast, smoldering pit. The power of his ninjutsu, too, had skyrocketed.
"Incredible," Qianyu breathed, marveling at the surge of strength.
The Sage Mode lasted only about three minutes before dissipating.
The White Snake Sage's voice echoed. "You've only just grasped it. With practice, the duration will extend, and the enhancement to your ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu will grow even greater. Unlike the fools at Mount Myōboku, our Sage Mode has no crippling flaw requiring you to stand still to gather energy. You can fight and generate senjutsu chakra simultaneously."
She leaned forward, her gaze intense. "But now… your true training begins. I will teach you all the secret arts of Ryūchi Cave. Are you prepared?"
Flushed with the triumph of his hard-won power, Qianyu grinned, the thrill of potential thrumming through him. "Absolutely. Bring it on."
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