"You said this White Ape Sage—does it have anything to do with the Sarutobi Clan?"

"Maybe…"

Boss Black Cat's eyes darted around, as if recalling something, then he added,

"Though the White Ape Clan has always kept to themselves and avoided human affairs, there are rumors that they're somewhat connected to the Four-Tails... and the Sarutobi Clan too."

Hearing this, Uchiha Kirin frowned. The White Ape Clan gave him the impression of playing both sides—acting detached from the world, while secretly meddling in ninja matters.

He didn't like it.

But it didn't matter. If you're strong enough, just bulldoze right through!

Uchiha Kirin shifted into his serpent form, stretched his body slightly within the molten cave.

Though still fatigued, his condition was decent. If he relied solely on his physical body for full-power output, he could keep fighting for two or three months without a problem.

He refused to believe that some random Summoning Beast clan could produce a being stronger than the Toad Sage or the White Snake Sage.

Leaving behind a Wood Clone to watch over Obito and accompany Boss Black Cat, he then soared into the sky at incredible speed, navigating by the map until he found a secluded mangrove forest.

Diving from there and descending deep into the ocean floor, a towering underwater mountain came into view— this was the front half of the Dragon Spine!

Several small sharks, radiating natural energy, swam patrol-like patterns nearby. Strange wave pulses emitted from their gills.

It was the language of Summoning Beasts.

What surprised Uchiha Kirin was that he could actually understand it.

The two little sharks had already noticed him and were debating whether to capture this clueless trespasser to earn some credit, or leave a few behind to block his escape while others went to summon a stronger, larger shark.

Getting spotted was expected—he hadn't even bothered hiding. Chakra suppression only lowered his aura—it couldn't conceal a body this massive.

Soon enough, a few sharks swam toward him, speaking in the language of Summoning Beasts, asking what species he was and what he was doing here...

Uchiha Kirin was still trying to wrap his head around how he could suddenly understand them—possibly a side effect of the merged dragon bloodline.

But he didn't plan to speak. Instead, he pretended not to understand, playing dumb so the sharks would treat him like an unintelligent wild beast.

"He looks kinda dumb... I've never seen anything shaped like this before. Come on! Let's offer him to the Shark Sage!"

The lead shark circled Uchiha Kirin once, confirmed he wasn't dangerous—barely intelligent even—and decided to escort him to the heart of the Shark Clan's territory.

Uchiha Kirin happily went along, swishing his tail as he followed the group into a deep undersea cavern.

...

The deeper they went, the denser the natural energy became. The dominant attribute was water, but it was also laced with fire and earth affinities.

Near the cave's bottom, the water temperature grew scorching, and both pressure and gravity increased significantly.

The walls were no longer rough, bubble-shaped rock.

Instead, the cave had been smoothed and sculpted with blade-like precision, with various entrances linked by intricate passages, and even adorned with pearls...

"This place is incredible."

Uchiha Kirin let every cell in his body soak in the surroundings—the dense natural energy, the intense heat and pressure.

Even just lying still and breathing in the natural energy while sleeping here would boost physical strength.

His physical body had already surpassed even the White Snake Sage's, and yet he could still feel the subtle gains with every breath.

...

Perhaps too confident in their own clan's strength, the sharks brought Uchiha Kirin straight to the Shark Sage.

What stood before him was a truly enormous shark—even rivaling the size of the White Snake Sage.

Upon hearing that a food offering had arrived, the Shark Sage immediately halted his training, rolled away a giant stone with red markings that had been blocking the natural energy outlet, and waddled his bulky frame to the largest chamber.

There, in a giant cauldron over fifty meters wide—entirely forged from chakra metal—lay Uchiha Kirin, curled up like a dead snake, eyes closed, submerged in a boiling, high-pressure hot spring.

Surrounding the cauldron were small sharks tossing in various underwater delicacies—mostly seaweeds rich in natural energy and strange medicinal effects, along with occasional pearls and shells.

"Who would've thought sea creatures had this level of cooking skill? I could soak in this every day..."

Little did they know, Uchiha Kirin was thoroughly enjoying himself.

His body absorbed the medicinal properties and natural energy at an insane rate.

Both his breathing technique and the Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode were operating in sync, voraciously drawing in all beneficial forces while expelling the negative.

In just a quarter of an hour, the fatigue and energy depletion from the Simulation had been mostly wiped away.

Even his physical and spiritual strength steadily improved.

If he could soak in this every day, why bother seeking a new training path?

He could literally grow stronger in his sleep.

...

Sensing the suddenly thinning natural energy around him, the Shark Sage grew nervous—as if the "snake" currently being cooked could take his life at any moment.

Beings like him, who reached this level through flawed sage arts and sheer self-understanding, always had sharp instincts.

As his thoughts spiraled, Uchiha Kirin happened to roll over in the pot—revealing a pair of dragon horns.

"I'm done for!"

Despite the intense heat of the ocean depths, the Shark Sage felt frozen from head to tail.

He poked the "snake" in the pot with a fin, trembling—

It was stiff. Totally cooked.

Originally, he thought maybe there was still a chance to save it—maybe bring it to Ryūchi Cave and apologize.

But now? Dead for sure.

Tears welled up in the Shark Sage's eyes as he looked at the young sharks hoping for praise, and the smaller ones still adding ingredients to the pot.

He had trained in secret for nearly a thousand years to seize this Dragon Vein.

His good days had barely begun, and now he was doomed by his own underlings—he had provoked Ryūchi Cave.

Unless he moved to another planet, life as he knew it was over...

The Shark Sage broke down into loud sobs, and while crying, started looking for a spoon—he'd never tasted serpent meat of this caliber before.

If he was going to die, he might as well die full.

...

"Ptui! What the hell did you boil here?!"

After a single sip, the Shark Sage gagged and dry-heaved.

The cauldron wasn't full of delicious broth—it was full of used bathwater saturated with expelled waste.

"Those who know how to feast are the wise ones. Hey, big guy, mind handing this place over to me?"

In the very next moment, Uchiha Kirin's body coiled tightly around the Shark Sage's neck, shocking every shark in sight.

"Yes! Of course!" the Shark Sage said quickly.

His stubby neck wobbled as he nodded repeatedly.

Uchiha Kirin glanced at his panel—

Unbelievable. Just from soaking in this medicinal bath for a while, his physical and spiritual stats had each risen by 1,000,000 points.

"This cauldron—I'm soaking in it every day from now on!"

"Sure, sure…" the Shark Sage stammered.

The Shark Sage was so obedient that Uchiha Kirin didn't even know how to react.

Even when he proposed a friendly spar, the Shark Sage—despite being dozens of times larger lacked the courage to accept.

In the world of Summoning Beasts, size might represent part of one's power… but it was far from everything.