Eating the Fruit

Not long after he drank it, the rates at which he healed and took damage reached a strange balance. He knew he was courting death, but he had to force out his potential this way.

The Dragon Transformation Pool could be called an opportunity—a chance to merge three different Sage Modes into one.

The water in the Dragon Transformation Pool was made of liquefied Natural Energy, which showed just how immense the energy within it was.

He could use all that Natural Energy to speed up his transformation and merge the Sage Modes.

Fei Shi endured half a month of inhuman pain.

Over those two weeks, the horns on Fei Shi's head had completely transformed into horns like those of the divine dragon from the country of his previous life.

The eight snake heads had turned into dragon heads, and the last one had also fully transformed, though it was a size larger than the other eight. Golden, vertical pupils gleamed deep in its eyes, and it radiated such a powerful aura that the other eight dragon heads dared not challenge it.

Another week passed.

All the snake-like features on his body disappeared, replaced by features like a dragon's.

This made Orochimaru's disciple, Kabuto Yakushi, look like nothing in comparison to the original.

Kabuto Yakushi was covered in snake-like features, yet claimed he had shed his skin and become a dragon. He'd probably have died of shame if he saw Fei Shi like this.

The strongest and most perfect Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave was complete!

Only Tajitsuhime remained beside the Dragon Transformation Pool. The other two had already gone back.

The snakes had grown numb at the sight of this human who had endured the pool.

Only Tajitsuhime, who had been left grinding her teeth in anger after Fei Shi called her "Big Mom," stayed behind to see how he would turn out.

Fei Shi could now withstand most of the pain caused by the Dragon Transformation Pool. The remaining pain was about as intense as when he used Fire Release to scorch his Sage Body.

It still hurt, but he could bear it without much effort now.

Fei Shi left Sage Mode, and the pain intensified. But he could still endure it.

Fei Shi used the Shadow Clone Technique, but his clone vanished with a poof just seconds later.

"As expected, the damage from the Dragon Transformation Pool is too much for a shadow clone to withstand. I'd better get ready on the bank."

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Fei Shi used the Shadow Clone Technique again. His clone sat cross-legged beside the Dragon Transformation Pool, preparing to enter Sage Mode.

Fei Shi planned to use the same method Naruto had used during his fight with Pain: have shadow clones ready to put him into Sage Mode in an instant. He would use it to enter all three Sage Modes.

After about five minutes of preparation, all three shadow clones entered Sage Mode.

One had golden toad eyes, one had a Sage marking, and one had dragon horns and nine dragon heads.

Poof!

The shadow clones vanished in puffs of white smoke, and all three Sage Modes appeared on Fei Shi's body.

As the features of three different Sage Modes appeared on his body, a powerful sense of discomfort seized him. The three Sage Modes rejected one another, clashing wildly inside him.

Fei Shi was in trouble once again.

He had to merge the three Sage Modes into one and create a new Sage Mode.

Under Fei Shi's careful control, the three Sage Modes' chaotic struggle reached a stalemate. To protect himself, he entered Tenseigan Chakra Mode.

His immense power let him control the different Sage Mode energies, but it had little effect. He needed to become stronger, then use his own power to merge the three forces into one.

Fei Shi looked once more toward the System Space, where several Chakra Fruits were stored.

Three of them were of the highest quality.

Fei Shi took one out. Whether they belonged to the Otsutsuki Clan or another clan, people could eat only three Chakra Fruits. He could wait to eat the other two; one would be enough for now.

Fei Shi looked at the Chakra Fruit. No one else knew, but he had seen how obsessed Kaguya Otsutsuki had become with chakra after eating one.

It was as if the fruit carried a curse, turning whoever ate it into a slave to power and chakra.

But they couldn't forget that this fruit came from the system. It hadn't grown from the God Tree, so it didn't have those drawbacks.

"Power, here I come."

Fei Shi murmured, then ate the Chakra Fruit.

Tajitsuhime, watching beside him, stared intently as he ate it. She felt an urge to snatch the fruit and eat it herself.

Chakra! She sensed an incomparable amount of chakra from that fruit—more than even the White Snake Sage had!

What kind of monster was this Fei Shi?

The White Snake Sage, who was teaching Orochimaru in the front hall of Ryūchi Cave, also sensed a familiar aura—one it had felt an incredibly long time ago.

Its instincts told it that this aura should never have appeared again.

But the White Snake Sage couldn't remember what the aura was.

Boom! A powerful aura surged into the sky, and all of Ryūchi Cave shook violently.

Vast amounts of chakra covered all of Ryūchi Cave. Every snake inside it was forced to prostrate itself, unable to resist at all—except the White Snake Sage.

The White Snake Sage was shocked. It hurried toward the Dragon Transformation Pool, sensing an unimaginable presence, one that had never appeared in the Ninja World before.

Meanwhile, with Fei Shi—

A blood-red Rinne Sharingan with nine Tomoe appeared on Fei Shi's forehead.

He had also awakened a personal space: Amenominaka.

But now wasn't the time to check what abilities the Chakra Fruit had given him. Fei Shi used his own power to forcibly merge the three forces inside his body.

He gradually eliminated their repulsion while preserving some of their individual features.

The Mount Myoboku Sage Mode barely changed. Its eye markings stayed the same, with toad pupils and golden eyeshadow.

In the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode, the black facial markings connected with the orange eyeshadow, turning the markings gold.

As for the Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode, he removed the dragon horns but kept the dragon scales and nine dragon heads.

The white dragon scales and heads were flecked with gold. It seemed he could strengthen them further.

The different forms produced by the three forces all appeared on Fei Shi's body. Using the chakra within him, Fei Shi guided the three forces through his body, making them circulate and merge.

Slowly, time passed.

By the time the White Snake Sage arrived, Fei Shi had closed his eyes.

The White Snake Sage could only set aside its doubts and wait for him to wake. It could tell that Fei Shi had already succeeded halfway.

After sensing that power from earlier, the White Snake Sage knew Fei Shi had surpassed it.

It realized that the only thing capable of causing such a transformation was the fruit borne by the God Tree after it bloomed—a Chakra Fruit that had appeared over a thousand years ago.

The fruit had brought chakra to this world, but it had done so by consuming much of the world's vitality.

How had this child obtained that fruit?

The Ten-Tails hadn't appeared in the Ninja World again, had it?