The Three Goddesses could use Senjutsu.
They really could switch freely between their Great Snake and human forms.
And in their human forms, they looked exactly like ordinary humans.
All of this could be achieved by using Senjutsu Chakra.
That was why they'd been so embarrassed and angry when Yeyu said that.
But Yeyu hadn't asked that question to tease them. He was genuinely curious.
He'd thought they were using genjutsu to do it.
Seeing how uncomfortable Yeyu looked, the Three Goddesses were delighted.
The White Snake Sage, however, didn't see it that way.
It furrowed its brow as it watched Yeyu.
"Is this guy's talent too extraordinary?"
"He still hasn't shown the slightest sign of turning into a snake."
"I wonder what his Senjutsu form will look like."
The Three Goddesses had no idea that Yeyu had skipped the most crucial transformation stage, bypassing the most painful part entirely and going straight to the fusion stage.
Yeyu was in such discomfort not because he was about to fail, but because the chakra in his body was rapidly turning into Senjutsu Chakra.
The White Snake Sage could feel Yeyu's body greedily absorbing Natural Energy from the world around him.
The speed of his absorption was nearly equal to its own.
After all, it was an animal, and animals naturally absorbed Natural Energy more easily than humans.
It was also the White Snake Sage, whose Natural Energy absorption rate was far faster than that of almost any Summoned Beast in the Ninja World.
Only the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku and the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest could match its speed at absorbing Natural Energy.
And yet Yeyu was absorbing Natural Energy almost as quickly as it was.
Yeyu was indeed in intense pain.
His sweat had already soaked through his clothes.
His consciousness was growing hazy.
Yeyu sat cross-legged and gritted his teeth, enduring the transformation of the Senjutsu Chakra inside him.
He even forgot to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport away.
The White Snake Sage watched Yeyu with a furrowed brow.
The Three Goddesses were already licking their lips, wondering whether to swallow him whole once this was over.
A full hour passed.
Yeyu's clothes were completely drenched.
At last, he opened his eyes.
For an instant, his eyes became snake-like.
Black-and-red Senjutsu Chakra, dense as a Tailed Beast Shroud, appeared around him.
Black-and-red lightning crackled across it.
Yeyu gulped down air.
"I nearly died!"
Yeyu gasped.
The White Snake Sage stared at him in shock. "A perfect Sage Mode, and not the slightest sign of turning into a snake."
"What kind of monster is this kid? Is he a god reincarnated, with talent like that?"
Yeyu slowly got to his feet. The sweat on his clothes had been dried by his own Senjutsu Chakra.
He looked up at the White Snake Sage. "Does this mean I succeeded?"
The White Snake Sage nodded mechanically.
"Looks like I do have a bit of talent for Senjutsu training."
The White Snake Sage's mouth twitched. "A bit of talent? Your talent is practically that of a god reincarnated."
It couldn't say that aloud, or Yeyu might become arrogant and complacent.
But its eyes were full of admiration as it looked at him.
Once Yeyu could absorb Natural Energy, he realized that the amount of chakra he had had skyrocketed.
"This is strange. Why does my chakra increase several times over when I enter Sage Mode?"
"White Snake Sage, what's going on?"
The White Snake Sage patiently explained, "Because all your chakra has turned into Senjutsu Chakra. Normally, your chakra would double after you enter Sage Mode."
Yeyu furrowed his brow. "But it feels like mine has increased by more than double."
The White Snake Sage fell silent.
What was it supposed to say?
That he was a freak of nature?
"Maybe it's because your original chakra reserves were so large that the increase feels different," the White Snake Sage said.
Yeyu didn't question it.
Ever since he'd inherited all of Akainu's power, he'd found that he learned every ninjutsu exceptionally quickly.
He'd always thought it was because of Akainu's talent.
He'd even wondered why Akainu hadn't learned more abilities in the Pirate World.
With his talent, learning a few more abilities would have taken him beyond the level of an Admiral.
He just didn't know that his own talent was already several times greater than Akainu's.
It was like how his strength was several times greater than Akainu's in the original story.
The Three Goddesses floated in the air, staring at Yeyu in shock. "H-He learned it?"
"How is that possible? Why can this shameless fellow use Senjutsu?"
"We trained so hard for over a thousand years to master Senjutsu, and this shameless fellow learned it in just one hour?"
"How unfair can the heavens be?"
"It's a shame we can't eat him."
The Three Goddesses still wanted to eat Yeyu.
Not because they liked eating people, but because they hated him.
Yeyu looked at himself in Sage Mode and frowned. "This color... Why do I feel like I look like some evil villain?"
Yeyu's Senjutsu Chakra was black and red. It was a little like a Tailed Beast Shroud, but more like the color of the lightning that appeared when he unleashed Conqueror's Haki.
His Senjutsu Shroud really was wrapped in arcs of black-and-red lightning.
Hearing Yeyu's words, the White Snake Sage was at a loss. "How does that make you a villain? It looks great. You look imposing."
The White Snake Sage liked Yeyu's appearance in Sage Mode.
It was imposing.
The Three Goddesses floated over to Yeyu.
They circled him once, then nodded. "That's true. It's imposing and looks great."
"It's very intimidating."
Yeyu looked at them, knowing there was no point trying to explain.
He actually thought it looked pretty good, too, but that color really was used by villains in stories.
Yeyu sighed. "Fine. I'll be a villain, then. The color does look pretty cool."
"By the way, I came here to find a Summoned Beast."
"White Snake Sage, can you take me to see the Great Snakes of Ryūchi Cave?"
"I'm looking for a strong one."
The White Snake Sage glanced at the Three Goddesses. "The three of you, take him there. I'm tired and need to rest."
It really was tired.
Infusing Yeyu with Senjutsu Chakra had used up a lot of its strength.
The Three Goddesses had been circling Yeyu, inspecting his Senjutsu Shroud.
They weren't happy about being sent to take him to find a Summoned Beast.
But seeing how tired the White Snake Sage looked, they didn't say anything.
"Come on, you shameless fellow."
Yeyu followed the three of them to the entrance of a cave.
"There's a Great Snake in here. It's the strongest Great Snake in Ryūchi Cave, but it hates humans. Let's see if you have what it takes to subdue it."
Tagorihime floated beside Yeyu and spoke into his ear.
Before entering the cave, Yeyu asked Tagorihime curiously, "Why do you keep calling me a shameless fellow?"
"I didn't mean anything by it earlier. I was genuinely just curious."
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