blogombal Chapter 312 Exploring Sage Mode
Chapter 312 Exploring Sage Mode
Chapter 312 Exploring Sage Mode (Part Two)
Inside Tsunade's tent at the Konoha camp.
Taiichi looked at Tsunade sitting upright on the edge of the bed and couldn't reconcile the current Tsunade with the one from 10 minutes ago.
Sure enough, a woman looks completely different before and after dressing up. Fortunately, Tsunade didn't spend much time getting ready, only about 10 minutes.
Sensing that Taiichi seemed distracted and didn't even answer her question, Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said in a strange tone, "0..."
"Hey kid, are you thinking about something rude?"
"Huh?" Taiichi was taken aback, then quickly shook his head in denial. "No, no, teacher, why would you think that about me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Taiyi realized something was wrong. He had been the one questioning and accusing others, but now the situation had reversed.
Alas, women really can't be reasoned with, even if this woman is a top-notch ninja.
Seeing Taiyi's expression, Tsunade knew to stop immediately and got back to the main topic.
"Alright, tell me why you came to see me?"
Taiyi immediately became serious as well.
"Does the teacher know anything about Sage Mode?"
Tsunade's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression. Sage Mode—this was no safe path to cultivation.
Throughout history, countless brilliant figures have perished on the path of cultivating immortality.
"Where did you learn about Sage Mode? Did the slug tell you?"
"I once read about it in an ancient book, but recently I've had some insights into cultivation and I can sense an energy in the air that I've never seen before. After comparing it with other things, I realized that it should be natural energy."
"What?!"
Tsunade's eyes widened, and she suddenly stood up, carefully examining Taiyi from head to toe. She couldn't figure out what kind of three heads and six arms this kid had, or how he had managed to do this without any help.
"No, you're not being honest. Tell me! How far have things progressed to?"
Tsunade, like a female bandit, grabbed Taichi by the collar and pulled him right in front of her. If Taichi hadn't been quite tall, she would have lifted him up.
Taiichi had an awkward smile on his face and kept slapping Tsunade's hand that was holding him.
"Teacher, calm down, calm down, let's talk about it slowly."
Tsunade realized that she had been a little agitated, so she released her grip on Taichi's collar and kindly straightened his wrinkled clothes.
"You child, you don't even tidy your clothes before going out. If someone sees you like this, you'll embarrass your teacher!"
Taiyi rolled his eyes. This shameless woman really was Tsunade, the one who used transformation jutsu to turn into a little girl to deceive her creditors.
"Alright, go ahead and tell me, but make sure it's the truth, or the teacher will get angry."
Tsunade patted Taichi on the shoulder and spoke gently, but to Taichi it sounded like an ultimatum.
"Ah~ Haha, I was trying to keep a secret, but I didn't expect you to find out, teacher."
Taiyi scratched his head, looking embarrassed that he had been seen through.
"I have tried Sage Mode, but I'm not proficient at it yet and need to prepare in advance."
Tsunade was genuinely shocked. She had only been bluffing, since Taiichi always liked to hold back. She never expected that she would actually trick him into revealing such a shocking secret.
While sensing natural energy is difficult, there are shortcuts, such as the toad oil from Mount Myoboku and the life-giving spring in Shikkotsu Forest.
In Ryuchi Cave, you don't even need to feel it; the snake fangs are injected directly. These are all shortcuts.
If one can cultivate to the Immortal Mode, then there is no shortcut to success; it requires real ability, and the slightest mistake will result in a tragic death.
"You little brat."
"You little brat—"
"You little brat!"
Three consecutive "you brat"s, each with a different tone, still failed to express Tsunade's feelings at that moment.
"Walk!"
She simply grabbed Taiyi's arm and dragged him out of the tent.
"Teacher, slow down, slow down, where are you taking me?"
Taiichi was caught up in the chase and quickly quickened his pace to catch up with Tsunade, asking her about her purpose as he did so.
"Stop being so slow! Come out here and demonstrate your Sage Mode! We'll talk about the rest later!"
The two traveled in a great hurry, attracting the attention of many ninjas along the way.
What are these two putting on now? They were just going in and out of the tent, and now they look so anxious.
Tsunade also noticed the gazes of the surrounding ninjas, and after traveling this far, she gradually calmed down.
She slapped her forehead, looking annoyed, and said to Taiichi, "Use Flying Thunder God Technique and find a quiet place."
Then she instructed the nearest ninja, "Tell Nara Kaoru that Taichi and I are going out on some business and will be back soon."
Taiyi understood instantly, grabbed Tsunade's arm with his right hand, and the two of them disappeared from the spot, leaving behind a large group of ninjas staring at each other in disbelief.
The ninja who had been ordered by Tsunade looked completely innocent. He pointed at himself, looking left and right, utterly at a loss for what to do.
It was a kind-hearted Jonin who noticed his predicament and stepped forward to help, saying, "Let's go, I'll go with you to find Nara's advisor, as a way of witnessing this."
Ignoring the mess left by Tsunade and Taichi, on the other side, when the two reappeared, they were already on the seashore, the very place where Taichi had tested Sage Mode yesterday.
As soon as Tsunade appeared, she scanned her surroundings and discovered numerous traces left by ninjutsu.
The glass-like sand, the thick and tall earthen walls, and the crisscrossing wind-style cutting marks on the earthen walls all demonstrate the effects of the previous ninjutsu.
Tsunade gave Taiichi a meaningful look, but instead of exposing him, she calmly said, "Come on, Sage Taiichi, let me see your Sage Mode."
Taiyi wasn't embarrassed at all. Since it had already been said, this discovery didn't matter. Hearing Tsunade's urging, he nodded and sat cross-legged on a platform.
"The preparation time is a bit long, so don't rush!" he added.
"Get ready, stop nagging!"
Taiyi closed his eyes, held his breath, and focused his mind. Natural energy reappeared in his perception. Practice makes perfect, and now Taiyi's body is his home. He has become quite accustomed to the arrival of natural energy.
Tsunade looked at Taiichi, who was meditating with his eyes closed, and guessed that he was absorbing natural energy and condensing Sage Chakra, so she didn't dare to disturb him.
For her, who can't feel any natural energy, all she can do now is wait here idly.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait too long. In less than four minutes, Taiyi opened his eyes, jumped off the earthen platform, and walked to Tsunade's side.
He spread his arms wide to show himself, and even spun around so that Tsunade could see him more clearly.
"You... this is Sage Mode?" Tsunade asked incredulously, her forehead creases almost forming a mountain of fur. She felt humiliated.
Sage Mode?
As for your changes, if not physically, then you should at least have the Sage Mode mask, right? She has seen her grandfather, Hashirama Senju, in Sage Mode, and he still had the Sage Mode mask around his eyes.
As if sensing Tsunade's confusion, Taichi didn't keep her in suspense any longer. He leaned closer to his face, pointed to his eyes, and boasted to Tsunade, "Look, look, my eyes, my eyes."
Tsunade then noticed that Taichi's eyes were indeed different from usual, as if golden light was emanating from the depths of his pupils, dyeing his entire eyes a faint gold.
Tsunade was shocked. "It really is Sage Mode, but the appearance is so subtle!"
Tsunade jumped back a few steps, creating some distance, and beckoned to Taiichi with one hand outstretched.
"Come on! Charge in and let me see just how powerful Sage Mode really is!"
Taiyi was also eager to try. He hadn't fought anyone yet after mastering Sage Mode, and testing himself alone lacked comparison. Now that Tsunade, a top-tier ninja, was here, it would be a good opportunity to test his abilities.
"Then you'd better be careful, teacher. I've tested it, and the Sage Mode boost is huge."
After saying that, he flashed and disappeared from the spot in an instant.
"So fast!"
Tsunade didn't even realize how Taiichi disappeared; she only felt a gust of evil wind coming from her left, and she quickly raised her arm to defend herself.
"Bang!"
Taiichi's kick was blocked, but Tsunade was sent flying 10 meters away.
However, she managed to stabilize her body by relying on her formidable physical skills.
"Okay, let's do it again!"
Taiyi cheered and moved in an instant, delivering a straight punch to Tsunade's left shoulder.
Only then, with her eyes completely focused, did Tsunade manage to catch a glimpse of Taiichi.
Facing this direct punch, she was also aroused with the desire to fight.
Chakra gathers, granting immense strength.
He met Taiyi's fist with a punch of his own.
"boom"
A spherical shockwave rippled out from where the two men's fists met, sending dust and stones flying everywhere.
One punch, two punches, three punches.
With just three punches, Tsunade's stance was broken by Taiichi. She could no longer defend against the fourth punch and was hit in the right arm by Taiichi's punch, sending her flying again.
This time she wasn't as lucky as last time. She was already in so much pain in the air that her whole body was stiff and she didn't have the strength to adjust her body. As a result, she rolled solidly on the ground more than ten times before she finally stopped.
"Ah—Tsunade-sensei, are you alright?"
Taiichi also stopped his pursuit and looked at Tsunade, who was struggling to get up not far away, and asked her apologetically.
"Pah, pah."
Spitting out the dust she had swallowed, Tsunade laboriously raised her right hand and waved it at Taichi to indicate that she was alright.
She could sense that Taiichi hadn't used any superhuman strength at all; he had simply used chakra to power his fist, yet it possessed such power.
"I'm not playing anymore. The gap is too big; I can't keep up."
Taiyi felt embarrassed. Had he been too excited and used too much force? He had only thrown five punches before stopping, which meant he hadn't gotten any credit for his excitement.
"Tsunade-sensei, how about we try some ninjutsu again?"
Taiichi still wanted to try his best, after all, there weren't many ninjas with such strength, and even fewer who could train with him.
Tsunade's face immediately darkened. Without saying a word, she rolled up her sleeves, stormed up to Taiichi, and punched him on the head while he looked completely bewildered.
"You brat, are you trying to make a fool of yourself? Trying your ninjutsu at all!"
Now, Taiichi finally realized what mistake he had made. Tsunade's taijutsu was indeed top-notch, but her ninjutsu was only barely above top-notch.
Taiichi's act of testing his ninjutsu on her was just a way of mocking her.
Taiyi, having figured it out, was speechless. It was all his fault for being too careless. He would definitely be more careful next time. You can't mess with a tiger's backside, and you can't touch a woman's weaknesses either!
After the farce ended, the two sat facing the sea on a raised earthen wall and finally started talking about Sage Mode.
"Sage Mode, well, I don't know much about it myself. All I know is some information I heard from my great-grandfather."
Tsunade gazed at the vast ocean before her, her eyes gradually becoming unfocused, as if lost in memories, and she began to murmur her own story.
Taiichi remained silent, sitting beside her and listening quietly to Tsunade's words.
"Grandpa's magic was originally learned from Shikkotsu Forest, but he soon discovered that Shikkotsu Forest's magic was not suitable for human cultivation, and he could not fully unleash his strength."
So, the great-grandfather improved upon the existing Sage Mode of the Wet Bone Forest, developing a Sage Mode unique to him.
Taiyi raised an eyebrow. It turned out that he wasn't the only one who discovered that the sage techniques of the three holy lands were unsuitable for humans; at least Hashirama Senju was one of them.
"Actually, I also thought about learning Sage Mode. There's no reason why that idiot Jiraiya could learn it, but I just couldn't."
Tsunade's teeth were grinding as she said this, probably because Jiraiya used to tease her about it quite a bit.
"Unfortunately, of the three of us, only Jiraiya managed to learn Sage Mode on his own. Neither Orochimaru nor I met the requirements to learn Sage Techniques. Isn't that infuriating?"
At this point, Tsunade finally snapped out of her reverie. She turned to Taichi, who was listening intently, and asked, "What else do you want to know?"
"Didn't Lord Hashirama leave behind a method for practicing Sage Mode? Shouldn't the method he modified be more suitable for human cultivation?"
'
Tsunade shook her head, denying Taichi's statement: "Grandpa's Sage Mode has too much personal imprint. It was specially modified to be used in conjunction with Wood Release. Moreover, the foundation he learned was the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest, which is not suitable for ordinary people to cultivate."
Tai nodded slightly, now he understood why there wasn't a single Sage Mode practitioner in Konoha besides Jiraiya's lineage.
It turns out that Hashirama's Sage Mode also belongs to the category of the three holy lands, and one must sign a spirit contract to be qualified to cultivate it.
"Does the teacher know that the Immortal Mode of the Three Holy Lands has any negative effects on those who cultivate it?"
Taiyi asked the question he most wanted to ask.
"The downsides—" Tsunade frantically searched her mind, trying to find an answer, but unfortunately, since she didn't know any Sage Mode, her understanding of Sage Mode was indeed limited.
In the end, she shook her head helplessly. "Let's ask the slug!"
However, she noticed Taiichi's hesitation and explained, "Compared to toads and snakes, slugs are more believable. My great-grandfather once said that too."
Taiichi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. After all, Hashirama Senju was the God of Shinobi, and his confirmation undoubtedly increased the credibility of the slug. Moreover, based on Taiichi's own long-term contact with the slug, he undoubtedly agreed with this point as well.
Taiyi glanced at Tsunade, but quickly gave in to her death stare, muttering, "I'll do it then."
Extend your right hand, bite your thumb, smear the blood on your palm, and begin forming a mudra. The whole sequence of movements is fluid and graceful.
Spiritual communication.
White smoke rose, and a slug half a meter long appeared on the earthen wall.