Naruto: Starting With Three Tomoe Sharingan, Girlfriend Kushina

"Hehe... you do have some courage. Aren't you afraid I will eat you?"

The Black Dragon brought its ferocious dragon head close to Ryun's face, but its eyes gradually turned cold.

"Have you forgotten the oath you made earlier?" Ryun looked into its eyes and asked calmly.

"Do you think I would believe in something so vague?" The Black Dragon suddenly bared its teeth.

At this moment, the dragon scales on its body had completely hardened over time. Its mouth no longer had just a few snake fangs but rows of sharp teeth.

Its weakened state was gradually passing, and the power within it was continuously surging forth!

"Then you can try. Try the consequences of breaking the oath, try whether the heavens will bring down divine punishment."

Ryun looked at it with a calm expression, his demeanor exactly the same as before coming to Ryūchi Cave.

Upon hearing this, the Black Dragon let out a low, threatening growl.

"What oath did you two make? You damn brat, do you still dare to threaten my son at this point? Are you truly tired of living? Or do you think just because you signed a summoning contract, we won't kill you?" The White Scale Great Snake spoke coldly.

Her killing intent was obvious and intense. Ryun could sense it, but he did not "fear" it. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky.

'Heavens... cooperate a little, strike some lightning or something...'

'If there's no lightning, at least float a dark cloud over...'

The Black Dragon also turned its gaze to the sky. At this moment, the sky was clear with not a single cloud, showing no trace of divine punishment from the heavens...

Neither the human nor the dragon paid attention to the reactions of the other snakes. They simply stared quietly at the sky.

Though there was nothing in the sky, the two of them gazed intently, as if entranced.

After a long while, just as Ryun's neck was about to ache from looking up, the Black Dragon suddenly laughed and said:

"Haha, as expected of the human I took a liking to..."

"I acknowledge the oath I made earlier. From now on, if you need my help, just summon me anytime!"

The Black Dragon's ferocity vanished in an instant, and its tone suddenly softened.

As it finished speaking, Ryun secretly let out a huge sigh of relief.

He had narrowly escaped disaster... If the Three Great Snake Maidens had summoned them just one minute earlier, preventing the Black Dragon from swearing the oath of being struck by lightning, he would undoubtedly be dead today!

"Snake Maidens, escort this lord back to his original coordinates..." The Black Dragon casually ordered.

"Yes!!!"

The Three Great Snake Maidens responded in unison.

"Wait..."

Ryun raised his hand to stop the Three Great Snake Maidens from approaching.

"Hmm? Do you have something else?" The Black Dragon looked at him curiously.

"Yes. I want to learn the Sage Art of Ryūchi Cave!" Ryun stated bluntly.

"What!!!"

All the snakes present showed expressions of shock, including the Black Dragon and the White Snake Sage.

"You insolent fool! Do you think Sage Art is something you can learn just because you want to?" The White Scale Great Snake glared at him fiercely.

Though it didn't understand why its son had suddenly changed his attitude toward this human, it wouldn't give a friendly look to someone who had threatened its son. Learning Sage Art still required its permission...

"You..."

"Do you want to learn it now?"

Instead of disliking Ryun's pushy behavior, the Black Dragon openly showed admiration.

Hearing this, the White Scale Great Snake transformed back into an old woman and rolled her eyes at it.

Ryun fell silent for a moment, then suddenly shook his head:

"I'm still on the battlefield in the Land of Rain and can't leave right now. I'll come back to your cave in a few months to seriously learn Sage Art."

"It's up to you. If you want to learn it, just summon me." The Black Dragon glanced at him.

Earlier, Ryun had used its blood mixed with his own to perform the summoning jutsu. From now on, every time he used a large-scale summoning jutsu, it would summon the Black Dragon without fail...

"Mm..."

Seeing that Ryun had nothing else to say, the Black Dragon ordered the Three Great Snake Maidens to send him back to his original coordinates.

"My son, what oath did you make with him? And why did you undergo tribulation and transform into a dragon in such a short time?" The White Snake Sage finally couldn't hold back and asked.

The Black Dragon fell silent. The White Scale Great Snake then dismissed all the other snakes, leaving only the mother and son behind.

With a grave expression, the Black Dragon recounted everything that had happened earlier, including all its conversations with Ryun.

"Descendant of the Dragon? And with such a clear understanding of true dragons?" The White Snake Sage was so shocked it reverted to its original form.

"At the time, when I compared myself to a true dragon, he got angry and bluntly pointed out the differences between dragons and lesser dragons. I don't think he was lying."

"Besides, I was under the control of his Sharingan at the time. He had no reason to lie to me... Since my life was at stake and I wanted to know how to advance further and become a true dragon, I made a pact with him to serve him..."

The Black Dragon voiced all its thoughts.

"A true dragon... That is an evolutionary endpoint even the ancestors of Ryūchi Cave never reached... How could a human child possibly know about it..." The White Scale Great Snake murmured unconsciously.

The Black Dragon didn't answer its question. Instead, it looked up at the sky excitedly and muttered to itself:

"A five-clawed true dragon can grow large or small, rise or hide. Large, it summons clouds and mist, commands wind and rain, manipulates lightning and thunder. Small, it conceals its form, leaving no trace, invisible to ordinary eyes...

When it rises, it soars between the heavens, roaming freely. When it hides, it lurks within the waves, exerting dominion over the seas!"

"A single roar can shake the heavens and earth. A single swipe of its tail or claw can split mountains and sever rivers..."

"He made me realize that beyond snakes, there are dragons. I was a frog in a well before!"

"Mother, I am tired of this dark cave. I want to soar between the heavens. I want to dominate the seas. I want to become the five-clawed true dragon that commands wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. I want to be the ruler of all scaled creatures from ancient legends!"

"Mother, do you understand me?"

The Black Dragon looked at the White Scale Great Snake with a mix of madness and anticipation.

Ryun's words had ignited its ambition and longing, showing it a vaster "world."

It had already become a lesser dragon and was no longer just a great snake. It yearned for the stormy seas and the boundless sky. Ryūchi Cave was now too small for it!

"Hahaha!!!"

The White Scale Great Snake threw back its head and laughed loudly. Its laughter traveled far, so all the snakes could hear it clearly.

"My son's aspirations are lofty, surpassing all previous sage snakes, comparable to the Ancestral Dragon (the founder of Ryūchi Cave)!"

"That human's first summoning accidentally helped you overcome the lightning tribulation, allowing you to transform from snake to lesser dragon..."

"This shows he is a chosen one of destiny, bound to you by great karma... Perhaps he truly can help you realize your ambitions..."

The White Scale Great Snake spoke its mind. As a sage, it did not believe in coincidences. In its eyes, all of this was arranged by fate!

"Haha, as expected, Mother understands me best!" The Black Dragon also laughed heartily.

Today, Ryun had chosen the Black Dragon, and the Black Dragon had also chosen its summoner.

The Black Dragon might not believe in divine punishment from the heavens, but it firmly believed in the arrangements of fate!

Today, Ryun had indeed brought it tribulation, but it was also because of him that the Black Dragon had successfully transformed into a lesser dragon.

The chance to become a dragon depended on the heavens, but a single "electric therapy" from a human child had drawn out its hidden dragon blood. A casual lightning bolt (False Darkness) from his mouth was akin to a heavenly tribulation... While nearly killing it, it also helped it overcome the lightning tribulation.

Wasn't such a being the legendary chosen one of destiny?