Board Thread:Theories and Speculation/@comment-1872728-20200725151448/@comment-32685487-20200729230049

He found Ryuchi Cave before he even fought Hiruzen. His arms were fine at that point. He was an imperfect Sage based on the fact his body could not maintain Sage Mode. Again DB4 made it clear that the White Snake Sage would have eaten and killed him if he failed to become a Sage. The only thing that failed was his host body at keeping Sage Mode going.