The Slug Sage had already witnessed Hoshiyomi's Transparent Release more than once, so normally she wouldn't be surprised. She immediately activated her senjutsu perception to locate Hoshiyomi's presence.
But to her astonishment, this time she didn't sense him right away!
If Hoshiyomi hadn't spoken beforehand to reveal his position, the Slug Sage was certain that relying on perception alone, it would've taken her a while to notice him at all.
The reason was clear: in her perception, Hoshiyomi's body was now cloaked in a thin layer of natural energy. That layer acted like a supercharged optical camouflage.
It not only masked Hoshiyomi's physical form, but also suppressed his chakra leakage—making his already hidden figure even harder to pin down.
At this point, if Hoshiyomi simply stood still, even the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan would struggle to find him. He wasn't just blending into nature anymore—nature itself was actively shielding him.
Hearing the Slug Sage's explanation, Hoshiyomi couldn't help but inhale sharply.
Doesn't this mean that from now on, if I want to hide, only a handful of people in the entire shinobi world would be able to find me?
And then a second thought struck him: If my Transparent Release has reached this terrifying level now, what happens if I combine it with Shunpo?
He decided to test it right away. Hoshiyomi first created a shadow clone, then his true body activated Transparent Release, vanishing from sight, and immediately launched into Shunpo.
After watching carefully through the shadow clone's eyes, Hoshiyomi confirmed it—his theory worked.
With natural energy boosting him, his Transparent Release had undergone a qualitative leap. Before, invisibility could only be maintained while standing still or moving very slightly. The moment he used Shunpo, it would disrupt the Transparent Release and reveal him.
That's why Hoshiyomi had always used it in a limited way: assassinate fodder-level enemies while invisible, then use Shunpo to retreat and re-enter stealth. But against perceptive jōnin or Kage-level opponents, it was almost useless.
Now, however, with natural energy shielding him, even against Kage-level foes, Transparent Release could still be effective.
From his clone's perspective, even when Hoshiyomi used Shunpo at full speed, his invisibility wasn't broken. At most, there was only a faint flicker of a white blur.
But by the time that white blur appeared, Hoshiyomi had already moved to another location. Not only did this not expose him, it also served to confuse the enemy.
In fact, if Hoshiyomi fought someone for the first time, he might not even need techniques—just the combination of Transparent Release and Shunpo alone could be enough to take down a Kage-level opponent.
And sure enough, the system seemed to agree. Hoshiyomi saw two new notifications:
"Through prolonged training, the secret art Assault has greatly improved and evolved into the stance-based skill Moonshadow Step. Reward: 10 EXP."
"Detected an upgradable skill: Crescent Moon Slash→ Heavenly Rift Flowing Light. Would you like to upgrade?"
Moonshadow Step: Allows the user to move at high speed while invisible, leaving behind afterimages to confuse enemies. This invisibility will not break unless struck. (If Moonshadow Step is disrupted, the user cannot re-activate it for five seconds.)
Heavenly Rift Flowing Light: By combining Moonshadow Step with Dance of the Startled Swan, removes the restrictions of Crescent Moon Slash. The user can initiate a dashing strike from any posture. Upon tearing through space, three streaks of blade light will be left along the path, detonating upon landing and inflicting two-stage damage.
Looking at these two skills, Hoshiyomi's eyes lit up
Don't even ask—this was pure gold.
Moonshadow Step alone was a god-tier technique for crushing weaker opponents. Now adding Heavenly Rift Flowing Light, which left blade lights during Dance of the Startled Swan, it was also an AOE clearing skill.
And just by the description alone, he knew one thing: this skill was going to look ridiculously cool.
Hoshiyomi didn't hesitate for even 0.01 seconds before immediately choosing to upgrade.
After upgrading Heavenly Rift Flowing Light, Hoshiyomi's Sword Heart System underwent yet another significant change.
Hoshiyomi's swordsmanship experience was now:
Master Swordsmanship: 480/500.
Of these points, 25 came as a follow-up reward from unlocking Nature Transformation: Nature, 10 came from upgrading Moonshadow Step, and the remaining 25 were the result of Hoshiyomi's accumulation over the past three years.
He was just a single step away from advancing into Grandmaster Swordsmanship.
Most likely, during the upcoming Third Great Ninja War, Hoshiyomi would break through. And once he did—even if he couldn't go perfectly toe-to-toe with Madara or Hashirama—at the very least, it wouldn't be fifty-fifty anymore. A forty-sixty split in his favor sounded just about right.
Seeing that the newly acquired skill Heavenly Rift Flowing Light was now available, Hoshiyomi exited the Sword Heart System and immediately tried it out in Shikkotsu Forest.
He didn't bother looking for a special target. Instead, he aimed at that same artificial mountain. Ever since Hoshiyomi had sliced off its peak earlier, the Slug Sage had given up on it anyway.
When Hoshiyomi mentioned he wanted to test a new move—and swore it would only be against the artificial mountain—the Slug Sage reluctantly agreed.
Facing the mountain, Hoshiyomi drew in a deep breath and assumed the stance of his signature Battōjutsu. But this time, instead of a circular draw, his cut was aimed straight ahead.
His legs bent slightly, eyes fixed on the peakless mountain. As Mikazuki Munechika left its sheath, Heavenly Rift Flowing Light activated.
From the sidelines, the Slug Sage only saw a sudden blur—and in the very next instant, Hoshiyomi's figure was already standing behind the mountain.
Between where he had stood and where he now stood, two streaks of blue-silver blade light shimmered in the air.
Just as the Slug Sage was puzzling over what these lights meant, the two streaks suddenly shifted—one sliding left, the other right.
Click!
Ching!
The sharp sound of the sword guard locking with the hilt and the ringing resonance of the blade lights erupted almost simultaneously.
With a crisp sword cry, the two moving streaks of light snapped apart at the center, and a third diagonal streak slashed across them. Together, the three intersecting blade lights shattered half the mountain into several massive fragments.
The broken rocks tumbled to the ground in a chaotic clatter, revealing Hoshiyomi standing motionless behind them. As he sheathed his blade, the blue-silver sword lights dissolved back into glittering motes, gently circling around him like stars.
For the first time in her thousand years of life, the Slug Sage truly understood what humans meant by the word: "cool."
Hoshiyomi, satisfied as he gazed at the rubble, let a smile cross his lips. Then, dismissing it, he stepped forward and bowed deeply to the Slug Sage.
"Thank you… for taking care of me these past three years."
The Slug Sage blinked at Hoshiyomi's ninety-degree bow, then after a moment, let out a chuckle.
"That's true. Since you've mastered Sage Mode, there's no reason for you to remain here. Return to Konoha. And don't be so formal—I'm Tsunade's summon. We'll be seeing plenty of each other in the future."