"Eaten early?"
This was something Rasa didn't know about.
He only remembered that in the storyline, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had eaten the Chakra Fruit, but whether she had eaten the complete Chakra Fruit, he wasn't sure. However, upon reflection, there were indeed some clues.
The most obvious one was in the Boruto storyline, when Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki came to Earth searching for Kaguya, nearly a thousand years had already passed.
As the controllers of the Ten-Tails, how could the Ōtsutsuki clan not know the maturation time of the Divine Tree?
This meant that the time required for the Divine Tree to produce a mature Chakra Fruit must be around a thousand years. Otherwise, the Ōtsutsuki clan wouldn't have taken so long to discover that Kaguya had stolen and eaten the Chakra Fruit.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki eating the Chakra Fruit a thousand years early indicated that the Chakra Fruit she consumed was definitely not complete.
Meanwhile, the White Snake Sage continued to explain.
"Yes, after eating the Chakra Fruit from the Divine Tree early, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki merged her will with our world, gaining immortality. Additionally, because she ate the Chakra Fruit prematurely, the natural energy of our world was not fully converted into chakra by the Divine Tree. However, due to Kaguya's influence, it split into two forms: chakra and natural energy."
Now Rasa fully understood. However, he still had a question.
"So, what exactly is the influence of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's consciousness, or rather, the Ōtsutsuki clan's influence, on natural energy? What's the difference between natural energy and senjutsu energy?"
The White Snake Sage was impressed that Rasa had immediately asked the key question.
"It's simple. The reason the Ōtsutsuki clan uses the Ten-Tails to devour the energy of other planets is because the Ōtsutsuki clan has no future."
"No future?"
"Yes. The reason life reproduces is because death is an unavoidable reality. Only through reproduction can life continue and evolve. However, the Ōtsutsuki clan possesses a secret technique that grants them near-immortality."
At this point, the White Snake Sage's emerald-green serpentine eyes glanced at Rasa.
"As the price for obtaining this technique, the Ōtsutsuki clan lost the ability to reproduce and evolve like ordinary lifeforms. This is why they rely on the power of the Ten-Tails. After Kaguya Ōtsutsuki merged with our world, the Ōtsutsuki clan's power also influenced natural energy. As a result, although Ryūchi Cave is one of the three most abundant sacred places of natural energy today, we have lost the ability to practice true senjutsu and the chance to evolve from snakes into dragons."
Here, the White Snake Sage finally revealed its true intentions.
"So, the reason you invited me here is to help Ryūchi Cave eliminate Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's consciousness, isn't it?"
Seeing that Rasa had figured out its true purpose, the White Snake Sage saw no need to hide it any longer.
It openly admitted, "That's correct."
Rasa had no intention of refusing. Just as he had shared senjutsu energy with Pakura and the others, he now urgently needed to expand the group of those who could use senjutsu energy to face the impending crisis.
He couldn't just agree like that.
"Then, what do I get in return?"
The White Snake Sage had anticipated this question and replied calmly.
"You can become the successor of Ryūchi Cave, contract with our summoning snakes, and learn the senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave."
Rasa didn't show much enthusiasm.
"Sorry, but these conditions are a bit underwhelming for me. First, as the Kazekage of Sunagakure, I don't need the title of Ryūchi Cave's successor. I've already solved the issue of summoning creatures. As for Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu, it doesn't seem particularly useful to me now that I've mastered senjutsu energy."
The White Snake Sage, however, wasn't flustered. A hint of human-like cunning flashed in its eyes.
"Don't be so quick to refuse. Don't you want to see the scroll behind me? It contains the unique senjutsu of Ryūchi Cave, as well as a secret technique that can transform you completely—the Dragon Transformation Technique!"
It would be a lie to say Rasa wasn't tempted, but he couldn't agree so easily. He needed to maintain control of the situation.
So, he replied calmly,
"No... It's clear now that Ryūchi Cave isn't unique to me, but I am irreplaceable to you. So..."
Rasa didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present could see that he was preparing to drive a hard bargain.
The three snake maidens looked furious, but the White Snake Sage remained composed and asked,
"So what? What conditions do you have? Feel free to state them."
Rasa thought for a moment and, without appearing overbearing, said,
"In that case, let me take a look at the scroll containing Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu first. If we're going to make a deal, I should at least inspect the goods. I don't think that's an unreasonable request, is it?"
"Not unreasonable..."
As soon as the White Snake Sage finished speaking, a mechanical sound came from the giant beast head behind it. The beast's mouth opened, and a massive scroll with the words "Ryūchi Cave" written on it floated down, landing in front of Rasa with a loud thud.
Rasa looked at the scroll, which was several times larger than himself, and said to the White Snake Sage,
"Please help me open it."
"What a cautious human," the White Snake Sage remarked, glancing at Tagitsuhime.
Tagitsuhime immediately understood and floated over to the scroll. Under her control, the massive scroll unfurled, revealing a series of techniques to Rasa. Rasa skimmed through them and found a few that piqued his interest.
In addition to well-known abilities like the Transformation Technique and Inorganic Reincarnation, there were also techniques for levitation, invisibility, binding, petrification, genjutsu, telekinesis, and more.
At the very end of the scroll, the Dragon Transformation Technique of Ryūchi Cave was revealed.
Rasa only needed a quick glance to notice something interesting.
The Dragon Transformation Technique of Ryūchi Cave bore some similarities to the method of creating a jinchūriki.
In simple terms, it involved turning the practitioner into a jinchūriki of natural energy.
Through a special technique, an alternate space would be created within the practitioner's body. A practitioner capable of sensing natural energy would store it in this space, serving as the source of power and evolution for the practitioner.
As the natural energy in this alternate space increased and the life force grew stronger, quantitative changes would lead to qualitative changes.
These qualitative changes in natural energy would then flow through the body, triggering a chain reaction of evolution for the practitioner.
This was the essence of Ryūchi Cave's Dragon Transformation Technique.
Seeing this, Rasa understood why the White Snake Sage had so generously shown him the scroll.
To master Ryūchi Cave's techniques, two harsh conditions had to be met.