Become the God of Ninjas starting from Danganronpa.

Chapter 77 activated! Sage Mode

"How's it, kid? Not bad, right? These are fresh ingredients I specially found. After all, you're Jiraiya's disciple, so you need to be taken special care of." Shima-sensei revealed a smug smile.

"Haha, of course. The mother-in-law's cooking is impeccable. These are all my favorite dishes." Fukasaku patted his round belly and praised sincerely.

Facing the two probing gazes, Dongfang Yao forced a smile and shakily gave a thumbs up.

"I knew you'd like it, kid." Shima-sensei said enthusiastically. "Today was a bit rushed. Wait, I'll make you some super deluxe food later."

Dongfang Yao: ...

His face turned ashen, and he secretly resolved to learn Sage Mode as soon as possible, no matter what.

Otherwise, if it drags on for too long, he fears his taste buds and digestive system will become detached from human capabilities.

"Grandpa, let's begin our cultivation." Dongfang Yao suddenly stood up, clenching his fists, his tone more resolute than ever before.

He risked everything for his own mouth and stomach!

"Oh, very enthusiastic indeed." Fukasaku nodded in satisfaction. Even the kids are so eager; he, as their elder, couldn't let them down!

So he stood up, holding the dog-beating stick, and led Dongfang Yao to the Toad Oil Waterfall, where they began a new round of stick training.

"Ugh, ah, ooh—"

The rhythmic screams continued, echoing among the peaks of Mount Myōboku, startling countless birds into flight. Many toads came to peek nearby, and seeing Dongfang Yao being repeatedly beaten by the hermit Fukasaku's staff, they immediately showed a mixture of sympathy and admiration in their eyes.

"That human... is he training in Sage Mode?"

"Wow, that's amazing. I don't even have the chance to cultivate."

"You have too little chakra."

"I've practiced, but it hurt so much when Fukasaku-sama hit me. That human was amazing to be able to hold out for so long."

"I heard he's Jiraiya-sama's disciple."

"Oh, that explains it."

Immersed in his cultivation, Dongfang Yao had no idea that his disheveled appearance had been forcefully observed, and that it would soon become a regular topic of conversation among the toads of Mount Myōboku.

Life here is carefree, but somewhat dull and monotonous. Now that there's such an interesting festival to watch, I have to come and join in the fun.

And so, time flew by amidst Dongfang Yao's screams and the toads' jubilant cries.

In the blink of an eye, a day has passed.

"It's a success!"

Dongfang Yao suddenly stood up and roared to the sky!

He could clearly feel the vast and powerful chakra. It was as if endless power was surging within him, and Dongfang Yao even felt that he could shatter a mountain with a single punch.

"Kid, try lifting that stone frog statue," said the sage, pointing to the giant stone frog statue that was over ten meters tall next to him.

"Oh." Dongfang Yao had been eager to try for a while. Upon hearing this, he took a step and covered dozens of meters to the foot of the stone frog statue. He grabbed the stone frog with both hands and lifted it up with force!

"Boom!"

With a violent tremor, and under the horrified gazes of a group of toads in the shadows, Dongfang Yao slowly lifted the stone frog, finally raising it above his head.

"Wow...that's amazing."

"He can actually do the same thing as Fukasaku-sama."

Dongfang Yao laughed loudly, feeling more joyful than ever before.

It should be noted that this stone frog is a genuine stone, and its weight is considerable, conservatively estimated to be over a hundred tons! Yet Dongfang Yao can easily lift it with his current physical strength alone.

And this... is far from the limit of his current power.

As Dongfang Yao's Sage Mode improves, his power can be further enhanced.

"Just how far can it go? I really can't wait to find out." Dongfang Yao sighed, then gently put the stone frog down. After all, according to Fukasaku, these were all ancestors from past generations, so he couldn't be too hasty.

Even though it was already abrupt enough to lift someone up.

"Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect him to be able to enter Sage Mode using toad oil in just one day." Fukasaku Sage looked at Dongfang Yao with great admiration. "This kid did even better than Jiraiya did back then."

"Let's try this next." Dongfang Yao leaped over to the edge of a pond and assumed a punching stance.

"This kid is going to..." Fukasaku Sage twitched his eyelids slightly and quickly moved away.

"Destruction Kill - Void Style".

Dongfang Yao unleashed a punch, and the massive air cannon instantly plunged into the water. Immediately afterward, the entire pond seemed to have been struck by a missile, with waves shooting skyward and scattering into a shower of spray.

"He actually possesses such powerful physical skills?" Fukasaku exclaimed in amazement. "His physique is simply monstrous."

Speaking of which, Jiraiya was around this age... well, let's not compare."

In order not to discourage Jiraiya, Fukasaku decisively stopped speculating.

"Not bad, not bad, the power has increased several times over." Dongfang Yao beamed. But looking at the small bumps all over his body, he couldn't help but twitch his lips. "It's this appearance..."

With that appearance, he looked more like a toad spirit that hadn't fully transformed than an immortal.

"Don't worry, as long as you can cultivate Sage Mode to a certain level, these characteristics can be controlled and disappeared," Fukasaku reassured him.

Dongfang Yao could only suppress his urge to complain and continue his cultivation.

After using the toad oil a few more times to get the hang of it, Dongfang Yao followed the immortal Fukasaku to a high mountain peak.

The mountain's slope was exceptionally steep, almost perpendicular to the ground. The highest point was as narrow as a needle's point, where he would meditate using a wooden plank.

"Your next training will depend on entering Sage Mode on your own," Fukasaku said. "And the most crucial key to achieving this is—immobility."

"Kid, don't confuse this 'not moving' with your kind of daydreaming." Fukasaku said seriously, "It's about achieving a state of perfect tranquility, one that merges with nature."

"It's what's called the unity of heaven and man..." Dongfang Yao nodded. This is very similar to the traditional Chinese Taoist philosophy.

"The unity of heaven and man, huh? That's a very insightful understanding." Fukasaku's smile widened. "However, it's easier said than done. Not everyone can reach this level. Jiraiya took quite a while to achieve it; I wonder how long it will take you."

"Then let's give it a try." The other person stepped onto the cliff face and walked up to the mountaintop, placing the wooden plank on the needle-like tip, assuming a posture with the five hearts facing the sky, and then tried to calm their mind and concentrate their energy. Referring to the "eyes-nose-heart" posture in fantasy novels, they tried to enter a state of complete absorption in the world.

It was incredibly difficult at first, of course.

The hardest thing for a person to control is their own heart and mind; otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying "the mind is like a restless monkey." Even the slightest disturbance can cause a person's mood to fluctuate and fall.

It's fortunate that the immortal Fukasaku was reliable, otherwise Dongfang Yao would have been smashed into a pulp long ago.

For several days in a row, Dongfang Yao welded himself to this place, constantly exploring the way to enter Sage Mode with his shadow clone.

His frenzied energy even frightened Fukasaku. As the saying goes, haste makes waste; being too persistent can harm both the body and the mind, so he tried to persuade him in various ways.

Dongfang Yao outwardly agreed, saying that it was time to eat and sleep. However, after Shen Zuo and the others fell asleep, he climbed out of bed and continued his cultivation.

I'm fucking rolling!

Strangely enough, despite his relentless cultivation, Dongfang Yao showed no signs of lethargy or kidney deficiency; on the contrary, he seemed to be gaining even more energy. As a result, the Immortal Shenzuo couldn't detect anything amiss and genuinely believed that Dongfang was simply resting.

This hellish training finally yielded fruitful results after seven days—he finally entered the Immortal Mode through his own efforts.

What delighted Dongfang Yao even more was that, apart from his eyes becoming toad-like horizontal pupils and orange eyeshadow at the corners of his eyes, there were no other changes to his appearance.

With a leap, Dongfang Yao jumped off a mountain peak hundreds of meters high, crashing to the ground and shattering rocks, but he himself was unharmed.

This is what makes Sage Mode so terrifying: the entire body is greatly activated, not only increasing its resistance to blows by leaps and bounds, but also making its recovery ability incredibly strong.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Your control over Sage Chakra is quite impressive." Fukasaku praised, but inwardly he was once again shocked by Dongfang Yao's performance.

In less than ten days, Dongfang Yao successfully mastered the Immortal Mode.

Such an exaggerated rate of progress is unprecedented in the entire history of Mount Myoboku.

If a white-haired toad immortal who had cultivated for years before finally entering immortal mode knew this, he would probably cry himself to sleep in the toilet.

"Little Jiraiya..." Fukasaku stopped himself just as he was about to speak, deciding that he should try not to talk about this in front of Jiraiya in the future, so as not to hurt the little Jiraiya too much.

After calming himself down, Fukasaku looked at Dongfang Yao, growing more and more fond of him. He beckoned to him, "Next, I'll teach you how to use Sage Chakra in battle. Now, unleash your taijutsu and attack!"

"Oh?" Dongfang Yao raised an eyebrow, but didn't immediately agree, instead hesitating. "But Grandpa, with my current strength, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of! Afraid of hurting me?" Fukasaku snorted, unleashing a powerful aura befitting a sage. "I am Fukasaku the Sage of Toad Mountain. You mere brat, you think you can hurt me with your physical skills? Bring it on!"

"But..."

"There's nothing to complain about. I'm also in Sage Mode, and my physical condition is no worse than yours!" Fukasaku was very dissatisfied with Touhou Yao's hesitation and decided to let Touhou Yao experience the power of the Frog Kumite in a while.

"Okay!" Dongfang Yao finally stopped arguing and rushed forward with a single step!