Are you absolutely sure you're not joking with me?!
If the First Hokage Senju Hashirama hadn't actually learned Sage Mode...
Then where did "Sage Art: Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands: Buddha on Top" come from?
Did it just materialize out of thin air?
Shihouin Naraku stared at Tsunade with complete disbelief. This explanation didn't make any sense no matter how he thought about it.
"I knew you wouldn't believe it." Tsunade said helplessly. "I didn't believe it back then either, but Grandfather truly didn't learn Sage Mode from Shikkotsu Forest!"
"But—"
"Grandfather definitely knows how to use Sage Mode!"
Don't you feel there's any contradiction in what you're saying?
Naraku felt utterly speechless.
"Hahaha..."
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore."
Tsunade suppressed her amused smile and explained more seriously, "When my grandfather went to Shikkotsu Forest, he only learned the basic fundamentals and encountered some significant problems during his training."
"In addition, Konoha was not politically stable at that time, and Uchiha Madara was preparing to make his move, so my grandfather made the decision to give up practicing Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest!"
"But strangely enough, my grandfather later managed to master Sage Mode through some other means."
"However, I can be absolutely certain that my grandfather did not master the traditional Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest, or at most only learned a partial version of Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode!"
"I asked the Great Slug Sage directly, and my grandfather never returned to Shikkotsu Forest after that initial visit."
What?
So how exactly did Senju Hashirama master Sage Mode?
And judging from how incredibly powerful Senju Hashirama's senjutsu techniques were, his mastery was absolutely phenomenal, which meant he must have achieved perfect Sage Mode somehow.
So what was really going on?
It seemed impossible that Senju Hashirama had learned just the basics and then automatically mastered perfect Sage Mode on his own!
This was genuinely puzzling!
"So, I'm telling you these hidden details because you should be able to understand their significance." Tsunade reminded him with complete seriousness. "It doesn't matter if you fail to master the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest. You wouldn't be the only person who has encountered this problem."
"You can take this opportunity to develop new ninjutsu and abilities on your own. There's absolutely no need to insist on learning traditional Sage Mode if it proves impossible."
"I understand!"
Naraku nodded thoughtfully. No matter what challenges lay ahead, it was still absolutely necessary to go to Shikkotsu Forest first and attempt the training.
"Then I'll prepare to depart for Shikkotsu Forest. If there's any emergency or any urgent mission that requires my attention in the village, you can directly contact the Great Slug Sage, and I'll rush back as quickly as possible."
"You don't need to tell me that—I already know how to do it."
After saying goodbye and leaving the Hokage Tower, Naraku made some simple but important arrangements for what should be done after his departure.
Currently, he had no idea how long it would take to practice Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest, so it was much better to prepare in advance for an extended absence.
Since no one had ever succeeded in mastering Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Arts, it meant that training there would definitely not be easy or straightforward.
Even though Naraku felt very confident in his own abilities, he couldn't guarantee that he would succeed where everyone else had failed.
Apart from informing a few trusted people of his whereabouts and plans, Naraku decided not to tell anyone else about his temporary absence from the village.
After arranging these important matters, Naraku summoned the Great Slug Sage directly in the privacy of his own home.
"Summoning Technique!"
With a loud bang and rising smoke, a human-sized Katsuyu appeared in his yard.
"Lord Naraku, what do you need from me?"
Since there was no active fighting here and no casualties requiring medical treatment, Katsuyu—the incarnation of the Great Slug Sage—felt somewhat puzzled about the purpose behind Naraku summoning her.
"I'm planning to go to Shikkotsu Forest to practice Sage Mode!"
"Of course that's no problem at all! Lord Naraku will definitely be able to accomplish it!"
"Good. After returning to Shikkotsu Forest, please ask the Great Slug Sage to perform the Reverse Summoning Technique so that I can reach Shikkotsu Forest much faster."
"Leave it to me, Lord Naraku."
Katsuyu's gentle voice carried a note of finality, and with another bang, the summoning was canceled as she returned to Shikkotsu Forest.
In fact, there was more than one way to reach Shikkotsu Forest, but it would take an extremely long time to travel directly from Konoha to Shikkotsu Forest on foot, so it would be much more efficient to use the Reverse Summoning Technique.
Soon, a powerful summoning force descended upon Naraku, completely enveloping his form.
With a whoosh, Naraku disappeared from Konoha and vanished from sight.
Kumogakure Village.
In the medical laboratory, Orochimaru held research data in his hands and looked with obvious excitement at Killer Bee, who was lying unconscious on the hospital bed.
This was the first time he had ever been able to conduct experiments on an actual jinchuuriki.
Of course, the situation was still somewhat unsatisfactory.
For example, there were Kumo shinobi watching his every move both inside and outside the laboratory!
In order to prevent Orochimaru from playing any tricks while treating Killer Bee, Kumogakure had specially dispatched elite personnel to watch him day and night.
However, with Orochimaru's considerable abilities, if he truly wanted to do something underhanded, the Kumo shinobi might not be able to discover his actions.
Even though there were several medical shinobi from Kumogakure among those watching him, the skill level of these people was really not adequate to monitor someone of Orochimaru's caliber.
Although Orochimaru was indeed helping Kumogakure treat Killer Bee, he was mostly conducting his own secret experiments—such as discreetly performing minor procedures on Killer Bee, collecting biological samples, and similar research activities.
It could be said that Orochimaru had really come to the right place for his research.
In the outside world, who would willingly hand over their own tailed beast jinchuuriki for Orochimaru to experiment on?
So Orochimaru felt very satisfied staying in Kumogakure for the time being.
As for actually treating Killer Bee, that was something that should only be considered as a backup plan.
At worst, he could simply escape when his research was complete.
Iwagakure Village.
The Fourth Tsuchikage finished processing a massive pile of administrative documents and let out a long, exhausted sigh. Then he turned to look at Oonoki, who was calmly drinking tea in his office.
"How does it feel, this responsibility?"
Oonoki asked with an amused smile. Han was the candidate he had finally chosen for the position. Unexpectedly, the other man was doing a much better job than anticipated.
At least it was significantly better than Oonoki had initially thought it would be.
"There are so many problems to deal with!"
Han's deep voice carried obvious frustration. "The post-war reconstruction work is not yet completed. We just spent an enormous amount of money to ransom our captured personnel from Konoha. We still have tremendous amounts of work ahead of us."
"Our manpower is stretched thin, and we need to completely redeploy our resources..."
Oonoki hesitated for a moment, then reminded him, "Do you remember the contact information I told you about before?"
"I remember." Han looked up with a frown. "But I don't really like the idea of hiring those people. They always give me an unsettling feeling, somehow."
"In fact, their reputation is quite solid. As long as you can pay their fees, the Akatsuki organization will dare to accept even small-scale war missions!"
Oonoki pointed to the desk in front of Han. "There's a document in the back of the third drawer. It contains a detailed list of all the tasks I hired the Akatsuki to complete over the years. You should take a closer look at their track record."
"Alright, I'll review it carefully."
Han agreed and politely escorted Oonoki out of the office.
"This position is much more troublesome than I originally thought!"
After Oonoki's figure had completely disappeared from view, Han returned to his office, closed the door securely, and sighed heavily.
His role as the Fourth Tsuchikage was proving to be far from easy. He had to deal with the Third Tsuchikage Oonoki and the village elders above him, while also managing various complicated issues arising from their recent military defeat.
These responsibilities took up enormous amounts of Han's energy and left him feeling genuinely troubled.
However, as the Fourth Tsuchikage, Han did possess significant authority, and overall, things were moving in a positive direction for the village.
Sitting back down at his desk, Han retrieved the document from the drawer and began examining it carefully.
"Akatsuki organization..."
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