Chapter Ninety-One: Cultivating the Sage Mode (Additional Update for From Heaven to Hell, I Passed Through the Human World 4/5)

She left in a daze, and when Kahn saw her stumbling as though drunk, he almost thought he had just worked some drunken fist technique on her.

After Yushina had gone, Kahn recalled the moment and concluded that he probably had not done anything too outrageous.

From that day on, Yushina did not come to the dessert shop for two days. Instead, Orochimaru delivered the dragon embryos Kahn had requested. These embryos could not be kept for long; according to the information Orochimaru provided, they were best hatched within two days.

Kahn, however, had a spatial backpack and could preserve them for a very long time, so there was no need to cultivate them within the ninja world. He could simply begin raising his own drake mount after returning.

When Orochimaru had the little white snake deliver the dragon embryos, he also sent a few words along with them. He was likely to be busy with missions lately and would not have the spare time to go to Ryuchi Cave to train in Sage Mode, but he hoped that when Kahn practiced Sage Mode, he would record his sensations and any new insights and lend them to him afterward.

After reading this, Kahn could not tell whether Orochimaru truly had missions to attend to or was simply worried about Sage Mode training. In any case, Kahn was not particularly afraid of natural energy, because the new Ultimate Despair Virus was his greatest confidence.

If he could fuse the powerful genes of the phoenix, the drake, and the First Hokage into one body, then natural energy should not be a problem either. Should it侵蚀 the body too deeply, the Despair Virus would repair it.

Not long after obtaining the embryos from Orochimaru, Kahn received a message from Xiachuan. The medicines sent from the Land of Waves had already been stored in the warehouse at Kawaki Town, and he could pick them up at any time.

After receiving the news, Kahn prepared to leave the Hidden Leaf. He had nearly finished handling the matters here, and only one thing remained uncertain.

On a second message from Yakuushi Nono, it could be determined that the one who had driven a wedge between him and Tsunade was likely one of Mitokado En, Utatane Koharu, and Dan Kato. During that period, only those three had sought out Tsunade, after which her mood had suddenly soured.

Any one of the three was possible, but too much time had passed, and Yakuushi Nono could not uncover any more information. She could only focus her attention on them in the days to come.

Kahn was highly satisfied with her abilities, and only reminded Yakuushi Nono to be careful. After all, none of those people were ordinary ninja, and a moment's carelessness could alert them. Although Kahn trusted Yakuushi Nono's future abilities, she had not yet reached her peak.

After giving Yakuushi Nono his instructions, Kahn left the Hidden Leaf and headed for Kawaki Town.

By the time Kahn arrived in Kawaki Town, Xiachuan happened to still be there. Since being stripped of part of her authority, she had been busy expanding their business. Even managing only the casino and the dessert shop was enough to keep her occupied for a long time.

"Xiachuan, do you have something to tell me?" Seeing that Xiachuan seemed a little unusual, Kahn said directly, "You've been under me for quite some time now. You should know my..."

At that, Xiachuan nodded, then took out a dossier and asked, "Boss, should we expand our recruitment of orphans? It looks like the ninja world is going to war again, and some trade routes are already becoming unsafe. When that happens..."

"Yes. Do as you see fit, but change the place where they're housed."

Kahn did not hesitate much. He would never complain of having too few people. In this era, human resources were far more valuable than those paper-thin currencies. He took out a map of the ninja world and drew a circle on the peninsula at the far south of the Land of Fire.

"Move everyone we've taken in to this place, and use half of our funds to buy up everything from the local nobles and landlords, land, shops, and so on."

The area Kahn had circled lay between the Land of Tea and the abandoned Land of Whirlpool. Though it was nominally territory of the Land of Fire, few people paid it any mind. He intended to seize that place, then develop ports, fleets, artillery emplacements, and missile bases there.

The last of those, however, would require the accumulation of other technologies, and building it up might take a very long time.

"I understand, Boss."

Xiachuan vaguely guessed at Kahn's intentions, but her original purpose had always been to save as many people as possible. So after hearing the order, she would do her utmost to complete it.

Rescuing wandering orphans could be left to her subordinates, but the almost predatory purchase of resources from the southern peninsula of the Land of Fire would require her to handle it personally.

After leaving the bookstore, Kahn went to his own pharmacy. Though it was somewhat out of the way, it still had a very high reputation in the capital of the Land of Fire. Houses here were not easy to buy. The richest nation in the ninja world was the Land of Fire, and more than half of its merchants and nobles lived in the capital.

If he had not sought help from the bookstore, Kahn would probably have had to stay in an inn for the time being.

Some time ago, the medicines in Kahn's pharmacy had been transported over, but they had sold out before long. Things were a little better now, though sales were still brisk.

As for the new medicines, he explained them to the shop assistants here, then went to a nearby residence. Kahn intended to go to Ryuchi Cave to attempt Sage Mode training. As for the pharmacy in the capital, once the new medicine made its name, that would be enough. After it spread, the curiosity and purchases of the nobility would surely follow.

Besides, the capital of the Land of Fire was one of the safest places in the ninja world. Even in the midst of ninja slaughter, no one would dare harm the daimyo. Should anyone do so, almost no nation would dare shelter those rogue ninja, and they would be hunted by the Five Great Nations together.

That was the bottom line for the daimyo and the nobility. Small countries meant little to them, but the nobles and daimyo of the Five Great Nations absolutely would not permit ninja to lay a hand on them.

A country's hidden village might decline or even vanish, but the daimyo's domain would endure forever.

Just like the Sand Hidden Village in the events of the Leaf's downfall plan: because the Wind Country's daimyo handed all his nation's commissioned missions over to the Leaf, that act was essentially the ruin of the Sand Hidden Village's future. Yet Rasa still did not dare do anything to the daimyo or the nobles. Instead, they chose to attack the Leaf.

Such was the influence the daimyo and nobles held over ninja.

Kahn summoned a snake from Ryuchi Cave and had it relay a message to the Three Snake Princesses, asking them to use Reverse Summoning to bring him there.

Not long after, Kahn felt the summons of the technique. He did not resist, and in the next instant he appeared inside Ryuchi Cave, with the Three Snake Princesses standing before him.

"Are you here to train in Sage Mode? If so, I will assist you."

Before the other two could speak, the youngest-looking of the three snake princesses opened her mouth first. She was Ichikishima-hime, and her favorite pastime had once been eating corpses. But after tasting the drake, she had abandoned that old habit.

"I am Ichikishima-hime, one of the Three Divine Princesses. Nice to meet you, contractor."

Kahn nodded and said to her, "Just call me Kahn. Then I’ll be in your care. Please explain to me the Sage Mode and senjutsu of Ryuchi Cave."

After he said this, the other two snake princesses floated away into the air, presumably to return to their quarters or report to the White Snake Sage.

Ichikishima-hime slowly drifted behind Kahn as well, and in a gentle voice said, "Without the aid of the Three Divine Princesses, training the Sage Mode of Ryuchi Cave is extremely difficult, because wild natural energy is not something ordinary ninja can control.

"But with my help, you can train freely in Sage Mode. All you need to do is keep the natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy within your body in perfect balance at a ratio of one to one to one."

Kahn already knew that much, but as for sensing and absorbing natural energy, he still did not know how to proceed.

Ichikishima-hime seemed to see his confusion and brought her face close to his neck, saying, "Leave sensing and absorbing natural energy to me as well. All you need to do is keep the proportions in balance, and that will be enough..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly opened her mouth, revealing two sharp snake fangs, and bit down on his neck.

Feeling her movement, Kahn merely frowned slightly and did not strike back or defend himself, because it did not feel like an attack.

In the next instant, he felt a wildly domineering energy surge from her snake mouth into his body. It directly disrupted his chakra, scattering it into physical energy and spiritual energy.

At that moment, Kahn also sensed that countless identical energies from the outside world were continuously pouring into his body.

This was natural energy.