Chapter 42: Great Sage Equal to Heaven
Speaking of monkeys, one naturally thinks of Hiruzen Sarutobi's Summoned Beast, Enma.
Possessing an indestructible body, it can transform into various weapons.
But Enma is an ape, while the monkey in front of him should be a macaque.
Its fur was yellowish, its face thin, and its body small; this one looked only thirty centimeters tall and was in its infancy.
Naruto was a bit puzzled: where did this macaque come from, and where was it going?
But regardless, stealing his peaches was unforgivable.
Just as he was about to drive the little fellow away, he suddenly stopped.
After the macaque finished gnawing on the honey peach, a faint red light emerged on the surface of its body.
From a distance, it looked like a red-haired old monster.
Natural Energy?
Naruto sensed a familiar aura and couldn't help but be a bit surprised.
It seemed that only the Summoned Beasts of the Three Great Sage Regions could use Natural Energy.
He became interested, formed hand seals, and set up a barrier around the peach tree to prevent it from escaping.
"I opened this road, and I planted this tree."
Naruto appeared before it and smiled, "Stealing others' things doesn't make for a good Ninjabeast."
The macaque didn't seem afraid and looked at him with its eyes.
After a long time.
"Can't you squeak? Saying nothing makes me look quite foolish."
Naruto couldn't help but complain.
This time it seemed to understand, opening its mouth to let out a series of squeaks.
"You can't talk?"
Naruto was a bit surprised; Ninja beasts should all be able to speak.
Unless it was an animal that had only just come into contact with Chakra or Natural Energy.
He thought of a possibility.
There was something wrong with this peach tree.
He picked a honey peach and took a bite.
[The host ate a honey peach and obtained 0.01 Ka of Sage Chakra.]
Polite Kakashi: Are you kidding me?
Good grief, System, when did you learn to use 'Ka' as a unit?
Naruto smiled; it really was because of the honey peaches.
Feeling the Sage Chakra that suddenly appeared in his body.
Since it was only one percent of a Kakashi, it wasn't much.
But it meant he could use Sage Mode.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Naruto performed a C-rank Ninjutsu toward the sky.
The Wind Release, which originally didn't have much power and could only serve as a distraction, increased in speed fivefold in an instant.
But the Sage Chakra in his body was also exhausted.
It seemed a bit like a white elephant.
He frowned; with nearly a hundred honey peaches on one tree, eating them all would only grant one Ka of Sage Chakra.
But if it disappeared after use, wouldn't eating them be for nothing?
However, he could try to refine it himself.
He was quite familiar with the theory mentioned in the original work.
The only thing missing was the assistance of toad oil.
Could this be considered getting on the bus before buying a ticket?
Naruto picked another honey peach from each of the other peach trees and gave them to the macaque.
But it shook its head repeatedly, indicating it wouldn't eat them.
"So these don't have any special effects."
Naruto took a bite out of twenty honey peaches, but there was no system notification.
"Then I'll keep you as a detector."
He turned and went to Konoha to buy a Summoned Beast scroll and signed a contract with the macaque.
Anyway, there's no limit on a Ninja's Summoned Beasts.
Signing one more doesn't matter.
And it can help watch the peach orchard.
Wait, this thing would probably steal from what it's guarding.
Thinking of this, Naruto picked all the honey peaches from that tree and counted them; there were a hundred and thirty.
Not too many, not too few.
"I'll give you a name."
Naruto looked at his new Summoned Beast; speaking of macaques, he naturally thought of Sun Wukong, and then... double blossom.
"I'm afraid you can't handle the name Sun Wukong, so how about calling you Liu'er?"
The macaque was a bit downcast because it lost its honey peaches.
It didn't react much to his words.
Naruto handed it a honey peach and told it to guard the peach forest.
Meanwhile, he went to Konoha to buy another seventy saplings and spent a day replanting them.
The moon reached the middle of the sky.
Naruto, who was sleeping in the Treehouse, suddenly woke up.
Through the window, he saw Liu'er standing on top of that bare peach tree, gazing at the moon.
Do you think you're the Second Senior Brother?
Just as he was wondering, he saw the cold moonlight slowly merging into its body.
Good grief!
Has it become a spirit?
Luckily, this isn't my past life.
Naruto sensed it slightly; this moonlight was actually Natural Energy.
Interesting.
He felt that signing this Summoned Beast wasn't a bad deal after all.
Naruto observed its breathing and the changes in the Sage Chakra within its body.
He didn't stop until the next morning.
[Congratulations to the host for achieving the 'Civilized Monkey Watching' achievement; you have gained one ordinary card draw.]
The system, with its strong sense of presence, popped up.
Naruto twitched his lips.
Following this logic, could I also achieve a 'This Monkey is Not for Sale' achievement?
[Drawing card... Congratulations to the host for obtaining one Character Card.]
Holy crap, a golden legend.
Naruto's indifferent expression suddenly turned into one of shock.
Could it be that my luck has finally changed?
[Character Card: Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.]
[Description: A one-time special Character Card. Upon use, you can gain the abilities of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, for a duration of one second.]
[Note: The specific effect depends on the user's Chakra.]
When Naruto saw the first half, he almost stood up, thinking it was a god-tier cheat, but the second half made him deflate; it turned out to be a 'one-second cheat'.
One second?!
What's that enough for? Enough for me to take off my pants?
And it's one-time use.
Naruto put away the Character Card and looked at the macaque on the tree again.
Maybe one day this fellow will allow me to possess the true Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
When that time comes, what would the God Tree even be?
This monkey will pee directly on it and write 'Uzumaki Naruto was here'.
Naruto observed Liu'er for about a month and finally mastered its cultivation method.
He called it Moon Breathing.
Nighttime.
Naruto woke up the Nine-Tailed to safeguard him.
He had only obtained this privilege by intentionally losing several card games and bringing it up while it was in a good mood.
"Big Fox, if I start to petrify, you must wake me up."
"Kid, you're so annoying."
The Nine-Tailed said with some dissatisfaction, "You've already said that once."
In fact, even if Naruto hadn't said anything, it would have helped.
After all, turning into stone would do it no good.
I'm just afraid you're getting senile, you old fox.
Naruto smiled and closed his eyes; gradually, his breathing became rhythmic.
The key to Liu'er's cultivation method lay in the breathing.
A moment later, his whole being seemed to blend into the night, with faint moonlight enveloping him, rising and falling with his breath.
The Nine-Tailed inside him was slightly startled.
It could be considered well-traveled and knowledgeable.
It had once listened to the teachings of the Six Paths Sage.
Though it had slept through it all, only Shukaku, that good student, had listened attentively and eventually learned Ninjutsu.
This breathing method is quite unfamiliar.
It's not a cultivation method from the Three Great Sage Regions.
The Nine-Tailed watched the changes inside Naruto's body as Natural Energy was slowly injected, beginning to combine with spiritual and physical energy under his control, and then Sage Chakra was born.
Of course, it wasn't without its failures.
Whenever his body showed signs of petrifying into a macaque, the Nine-Tailed would interrupt him.
Autumn went and winter came.
A heavy snow arrived driftingly.
Atop the Treehouse, Naruto opened his eyes, feeling his body enter a brand-new state.
Sage Mode cultivation was officially successful.
The only change was in his pupils, which had turned a faint white, resembling a full moon.
This is great; now I can roll my eyes back and forth with my future wife, Hinata.
Some cards have had rather buggy uses discovered by the reader big shots; the big shots are truly impressive. On this point, I apologize to everyone; it's because I only considered serving the plot when I designed them and didn't think comprehensively. I will add some appropriate restrictions.