Danzo Shimura and the others saw a huge figure emerge from the distant forest perimeter. Unlike the previous Susanoo, this figure had eight heads, and its body, compared to the majestic warrior-like Susanoo, was closer to some kind of monster.
Danzo Shimura subconsciously thought it was the Eight-Tails—and it wasn't surprising why he thought so. From a distance, the eight heads looked like waving tails, making him involuntarily think of the Tailed Beasts. However, he immediately realized that it couldn't be a Tailed Beast, but something else.
Danzo Shimura took a step forward, his mind filled with uncertainty. He didn't know what it was, but it gave off a similar oppressive feeling to a Tailed Beast; he had almost mistaken it just now.
Recalling Fumori Masaki, who was fighting there, and that Uchiha Kagami seemed to have gone with him, as Danzo Shimura had just seen the light of Uchiha Kagami's silver-white Susanoo, Danzo Shimura was somewhat hesitant. Could the two of them still handle the current situation?
Any powerful ninja, to varying degrees, would possess some ability to sense chakra. While not comparable to a professional, Danzo Shimura's eyes narrowed slightly. If judged purely by chakra pressure, that monster didn't seem to differ significantly from the previous Susanoo.
"How do you all feel?" Danzo Shimura turned his head and asked the other sensory ninjas, instructing them to compare it to the previous Susanoo and assess the monster's power.
"Lord Danzo, the amount of chakra seems to be similar to the previous giant, but the quality of the chakra seems a bit subtle…" the sensory ninja said with some hesitation.
"Subtle? Compared to Susanoo, is it stronger or weaker?!" Danzo Shimura was not satisfied with such an ambiguous answer and pressed for more information.
"Uh, it's still about the same. The reason we say subtle is that we feel there seems to be a large amount of impurities in this chakra," the sensory ninjas briefly discussed, and one representative replied to Danzo Shimura.
Danzo Shimura didn't care about impurities; he only cared about the power of the chakra. Now that he had an answer, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief—the previous Susanoo had been defeated by Fumori Masaki, so even if that guy revealed a state similar to Tailed Beastification, it would just be one more to take down.
Moreover, Danzo Shimura had a vague feeling that certain invisible things were gushing out from the ground, trees, and even the air in this forest. He believed these were the legendary natural energies. Konoha Hidden Village had made some progress in researching the popularization of Sage Mode. According to Fumori Masaki's idea, people could gradually adapt to natural energy by undergoing a baptism of natural energy, thereby indirectly achieving the effect of sensing natural energy.
Fumori Masaki felt that Orochimaru's Cursed Seal in the original work might have had a similar idea,
attempting to use the Cursed Seal's simplified Sage Transformation to make the human body suitable for natural energy, potentially leading to true Sage Mode in the future. With this idea, the village's Sage Mode research team finally developed a jutsu that could guide natural energy. Although its effect wasn't great and there was a considerable gap compared to Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, it was safer.
It's important to note that Orochimaru's Cursed Seal tormented many people, with only the Sound Five, Sasuke Uchiha, and Anko Mitarashi surviving after receiving it. Among them, only Sasuke Uchiha fully adapted to the highest-level Cursed Seal of Heaven. Although Anko Mitarashi also had the Cursed Seal of Heaven, it was sealed by Hiruzen Sarutobi and never truly activated.
And in the process of adapting to the Cursed Seal, Sasuke Uchiha even had to enter a state of suspended animation before fully adapting to the Cursed Seal of Heaven. After all, the Cursed Seal was extracted from the primitive Sage Transformation of Jugo, and its origin was the Ryuuchi Cave, known for its ferocity, completely disregarding the safety of absorbing natural energy, making it overly dangerous.
Fumori Masaki hoped that Sage Mode could gradually become widespread. With the advancement of the ninja world's civilization, the methods for using high-level chakra, or senjutsu chakra, would eventually have to be promoted. Otherwise, in an ever-changing society, relying solely on past chakra training methods might not keep up with the times—the current new chakra ninja tools have already eliminated many ordinary Chunin-level ninjas. If it weren't for Fumori Masaki arranging non-military combat positions, and the new ninja tools not yet being particularly advanced, these people would have long lost their livelihoods.
Fumori Masaki was not worried that the powerful force of Sage Mode would cause any trouble during the social transition, because Sage Mode could not be popularized immediately. Orochimaru's reckless method only produced a half-finished Cursed Seal, and when considering safety, the use of natural energy would naturally be slower. It is estimated that it would take at least several decades to achieve the full power intensity of Sage Mode.
By then, the Fire Country's new system should have stabilized, and new ninja tools would certainly have made leaps and bounds. These new weapons, usable by ordinary people, coupled with the new system, would constrain the potential impact of Sage Mode's powerful force.
If there were any special circumstances, Fumori Masaki could slightly halt the progress of Sage Mode's popularization. Moreover, several decades is only an ideal state. Considering the requirements of natural energy on human aptitude, even if a slow adaptation method is possible, I believe it would take at least a century to truly allow most people to quickly achieve Sage Mode.
Even decades later, perhaps only those whose aptitude for Sage Mode is somewhat distant might be able to practice it.
Of course, even the entry-level stages of Sage Mode—such as Cursed Seal transformation or Jugo's primitive Sage Transformation—would significantly boost combat power. Even without fully obtaining the power of Sage Mode, just touching the tip of the iceberg of natural energy would greatly enhance a ninja's strength.
Natural energy, as a high-level energy, has a very long development space. Even the current Fumori Masaki is far from developing it to its extreme, not to mention the realm of Kaguya Otsutsuki, which is equivalent to natural energy itself, and there is still a considerable gap from Naruto Uzumaki's Six Paths Sage Mode.
This jutsu, which can guide natural energy, has already been used on Konoha's higher-ups. On one hand, their strength is formidable, so even if problems arise, they can suppress them with powerful chakra to prevent natural energy erosion. For those with weaker strength, natural energy is very dangerous, and even safe jutsu might have unexpected consequences. On the other hand, they were very curious and envious of the Sage Power Fumori Masaki possessed and had long wanted to try it. Also, due to the secrecy of natural energy as a high-level energy, the fewer people who knew about it before the results were perfected, the better. After internal discussions, it was decided that the higher-ups and the Sage Mode research team would conduct the experiments.
Such an arrangement, where the higher-ups served as test subjects, was probably rare, and the results were very clear. In terms of safety, the influx of natural energy was incomparable to Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, and the effect was not as pronounced as Cursed Seal transformation. However, subtly, it enhanced the abilities of the higher-ups.
Danzo Shimura can now sense the existence of natural energy. To some extent, he has already passed the most crucial step in cultivating Sage Mode—sensing natural energy. Other high-ranking officials can also sense natural energy to varying degrees.
Now, the natural energy throughout the entire forest has been greatly stimulated. If calculated by concentration, the entire forest would probably become blurred, but for those who cannot sense natural energy, they would not see this change. Danzo Shimura, who had just stepped through the threshold, also had not reached the point where he could perceive natural energy. Only Fumori Masaki, who was in the forest, could see these natural energies that seemed so dense they were almost materializing.
Fumori Masaki's own chakra reserves haven't reached an abnormally vast level; the jutsus he uses with his own chakra, no matter how powerful, will have a limit. However, in this Sage Mode state, he can also use natural energy for assistance, thereby greatly enhancing his own power.
In Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha's final battle in the Valley of the End, facing Sasuke Uchiha, who had obtained the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts and used Susanoo to merge chakra in place of the Gedo Mazo, Naruto Uzumaki unleashed all the natural energy of the entire earth to contend with him.
Although Fumori Masaki couldn't unleash all the natural energy of the entire earth, the natural energy permeating here had elevated his combat energy to an unprecedented level.
In the hearts of Konoha's higher-ups, they believed that if Fumori Masaki were in an environment rich in natural energy, his explosive combat ability would be no less than that of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju in their prime. If Fumori Masaki were to give an answer, he would reply: This is correct.
As long as he was in such an environment, even Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju at their peak might not be able to gain any advantage against Fumori Masaki.
Looking at the bizarre creature before him, Fumori Masaki felt that this guy should be similar to Moryo from the movie. This would explain why the opponent could collect souls, and the Mangekyo Sharingan probably only provided a space for soul storage, which also fit his impression of the Mangekyo Sharingan; its own abilities must be limited.
It seems that the reason Uchiha Kokuya could be resurrected was because an unwelcome soul, not meant for this world, had invaded that body. Through repeated schemes, the opponent concentrated a large amount of will into their own body, giving birth to such a monster from that body, revealing their true form.
Originally, Uchiha Kokuya's body should have just been a vessel.
"It should have something in common with Tailed Beastification. I wonder if you can still speak, Uchiha Kokuya, or whatever I should call you." Fumori Masaki looked up and said.
The eight-headed demon in front of him emitted sounds that humans couldn't identify. It might have been speaking, but at least Fumori Masaki himself couldn't understand it. That was fine; he didn't expect to understand what the monster was saying. Now, he would make up for his mistake in the Land of Demons. This time, he must make this soul completely disappear from this world.
Suddenly, the eight-headed monster's originally blank white eyes glowed with a blood-red hue, and Mangekyo Sharingan appeared on them. Sixteen Mangekyo Sharingan stared intently at Fumori Masaki and Uchiha Kagami on the ground, giving off a chilling sensation.
A layer of deep purple chakra covered its body, as if the monster was encased in thick armor, operating on the same principle as Armored Susanoo.
"Although I prefer to call it the Calamity of the Demonic Beast." Facing the opponent's appearance, Fumori Masaki showed no fear. The chakra flames on his body swayed backward due to the rising winds, like a cloak.
"Masahiro, that guy, what exactly…" Uchiha Kagami could barely speak at this point. The previous exertion had taken too much out of him, and although natural energy was flowing in to replenish his stamina, he couldn't recover immediately.
"Don't worry, Kagami, everything will end here." As soon as Fumori Masaki's voice faded, the opponent's eight heads charged towards him.
The strong winds that had gathered due to the Azure Dragon did not completely disappear after the Azure Dragon dissipated, let alone the strong winds stirred up by the eight-headed monster. Fumori Masaki plunged his Wind Cutter into the ground, formed hand signs, and then gripped the hilt with both hands. Using the Wind Cutter as a medium, the nearby strong winds, along with natural energy, were drawn in and condensed into a giant air barrier in front of him.
Boom—
Like the resounding clang of a giant bell, the power unleashed by the eight-headed monster was immense. Yet, even so, facing the condensed air barrier, it seemed to hit an insurmountable wall, being blocked outside.
—Sage Art: Wind Release: Genbu.
The air barrier seemed to awaken like a living creature, rippling visibly. The eight-headed monster, covered by Susanoo, was thus flung backward, crashing heavily to the ground. The scattered air currents had not stopped, striking directly at the eight-headed monster. The immense air pressure pinned it to the ground, and with the amplification of natural energy, the eight-headed monster couldn't get up for a while.
Fumori Masaki took a deep breath, as if absorbing the natural energy diffused in the air into his body. The chakra glow around his entire body intensified, and the swaying flame cloak behind him expanded accordingly—
"Standing, Striking, Slicing!" Fumori Masaki let out a low growl, and the air seemed to rumble with thunder. All the light from his body and the swaying cloak suddenly retracted, condensing into a luminous disc in his palms.
Like a blooming white lotus, the luminous disc thrown from Fumori Masaki's hand grew immensely with the wind, then exploded into nine, slashing through the eight heads and body of the eight-headed monster, finally vanishing like snowflakes.
Then, the heads and body of the eight-headed monster slowly slid down, followed by countless air currents gushing from the wounds, completely pulverizing the body.