Hearing the Slug Sage's comforting words, Hoshiyomi also snapped out of his earlier state of restless gain-and-loss. He had originally planned to reassure the sage that he was fine, but on a sudden impulse, he opened the Sword Heart System first.
He'd already speculated before—if, when Mikazuki Munechika absorbed the Two-Tails' chakra from the "Terrifying Death," the system automatically rewarded him with the Soul-Devouring Ghost Slash, then surely if he comprehended Senjutsu chakra, or even achieved Sage Mode, the system ought to grant him a skill as a reward too.
With that expectation, Hoshiyomi opened the Sword Heart System in advance. The very moment the interface appeared, his breathing grew sharp and quick.
Because on the system's main page, in the experience bar, the displayed value now read:
Current Swordsmanship Level of Host: Master Swordsmanship — 420/500
Hoshiyomi remembered clearly—when he last checked some time ago, the panel had displayed 395/500. Though several months had passed since then, during that time he hadn't fought any major battles. All he had done was daily training and attempts to commune with natural energy. By his usual pace of growth, his exp should have risen maybe five or six points at best.
But now it had jumped by 25 whole points. Such a sudden leap could only mean one thing.
In a rush, Hoshiyomi switched the system to the System Log page. Sure enough, a new entry appeared there:
"Host has, through diligent cultivation, successfully completed the training of Natural Energy Affinity. Hidden Attribute Unlocked: Nature Transformation– Nature. Exp +25.
Note: Fully activating the Natural attribute will reward an additional +25 exp."
Seeing this line of text, Hoshiyomi's breathing quickened again. Even his sword heart, tempered by 20 years of practice, could barely withstand this.
What's called a surprise? What's a real f*cking surprise?
This—this was a surprise!
He still remembered vividly the effects of Nature Transformation. It meant absolute mastery of an element; awakening any attribute under it turned you into the "chosen child" of that element.
So what did Nature Transformation: Nature mean?
It meant Hoshiyomi would truly become a "Child of Nature" surpassing even Hashirama. From now on, he would never need to fear natural energy backlash, nor would he face the issue of "insufficient talent" for Sage Mode.
Once the Nature attribute was fully activated, Sage Mode would be as simple as flipping a hand for him—and not just any Sage Mode, but an absolutely perfect Sage Mode, one even Hashirama and Naruto could not compare to.
Heart pounding, Hoshiyomi switched to the Skills page. Sure enough, under the skill description for Nature Transformation, there was a new entry:
Nature Transformation: Nature (Inactive) — When used, host gains full attribute enhancement (including recovery speed) for 30 minutes. The degree of enhancement scales with host's swordsmanship level.
While in Nature Transformation: Nature state, using sword energy of other attributes reduces chakra consumption by 20% and grants a 10% power boost.
Note: Nature Transformation: Nature is a charge skill. After activation, it has a 12-hour cooldown. (In areas of high natural energy density, cooldown is greatly reduced.)
Current Activation Progress: 5/100 (Progress must be cultivated by host; system will display as numerical value.)
The mere 5% activation progress was like a bucket of cold water that somewhat cooled Hoshiyomi's excitement—but he was still more than satisfied.
Because this was a god-tier skill all the same. Even if it didn't give him flashy, show-off transformations like Naruto's multiple Sage forms, this Nature Transformation: Nature—or rather, Sage Mode boost—was far too powerful to ignore.
All attributes buffed + reduced energy cost + increased power.
In a video game, this kind of buff would cause players to fight tooth and nail for it. In reality—who the hell would ever complain about that?
As Hoshiyomi was still fantasizing about activating Nature Transformation: Nature and slicing through mountains and seas in Sage Mode, a voice from outside yanked him out of the Sword Heart System.
At this moment, the Slug Sage was continuously pouring medical chakra into Hoshiyomi with her antennae. When she saw him finally snap out of it, she let out a sigh of relief.
She had just been debating whether to smack him across the face. She'd heard that when humans suffer a major mental blow, a good slap from a close friend often works wonders. Who would've thought that before she even had the chance, Hoshiyomi snapped back on his own? That left the Slug Sage a little disappointed as she flicked her tail—what a missed experimental opportunity.
"Little Hoshiyomi, what happened just now? Why didn't you respond no matter how I called you? If I couldn't sense that your brain was still intact, I might have thought natural energy went berserk in your head and turned you into a block of stone."
Hearing the Slug Sage's question, Hoshiyomi forced a twitch of his lips. Why do you sound oddly excited about that?
How should he put it… just like he always suspected—though the Slug Sage looked all pure and white on the outside, cut her open and he bet she'd be black inside, with all sorts of strange hidden traits waiting to be unlocked.
But Hoshiyomi, caught up in his own excitement, didn't dwell on it. Or rather—even if he did, what could he do? After all, he wasn't a match for the Slug Sage. Don't be fooled by how gentle and harmless she seemed normally; if she actually spat out that sticky, corrosive acid of hers, with her massive size, even Hoshiyomi's Dance of the Startled Swan probably wouldn't let him dodge it.
Choosing to shelve that thought, Hoshiyomi explained to her:
"I'm fine, Slug Sage. Just now I failed using sage chakra for the first time, so I was a bit discouraged. But I've adjusted my mindset already. Let's give it another try—I'm getting more and more excited about seeing my Sage Mode."
The Slug Sage nodded at his words. As the saying goes, the onlooker sees more clearly than the one involved. From the sidelines, she had witnessed the full extent of Hoshiyomi's earlier transformation.
Even she, the Slug Sage, was humbled by that miraculous change. She could only sigh that humans truly were the most gifted among all creatures.
Now, she too was curious—what kind of miracle would Hoshiyomi create once he fully developed his unique Sage Mode?
They said the Great Toad Sage was busy sending his summoners all over to search for a so-called "Child of Prophecy." But in her eyes, that so-called Child of Prophecy couldn't possibly compare to Hoshiyomi. To her, Hoshiyomi was the one destined to bring about earth-shaking change in the future.
Thinking that, the Slug Sage gently shook her head and said:
"From here on, I won't be helping you anymore. You've already completed your first fusion of sage chakra. Even though it quickly dispersed, it was still a success. I believe your body remembers the process, at least somewhat.
So what you need to attempt next is not how to fuse sage chakra again, but how to make natural energy enter your body on its own, without my aid. Compared to sage chakra, this is the true key."