Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Miss Slug's answer made Masato feel a flutter in his heart!

Magical arts!

Why did he go to such great lengths and take such a huge risk to sign Miss Slug as his summoning beast?

Isn't it just that he wants to learn that magic? But for the past year, in order to let Miss Slug know that he signed her without any ulterior motives, but simply because he thought she was cute, gentle, generous, and kind, and a good match for a gentleman like him, he had never spoken up. Now that he knows he can learn magic, he doesn't care whether he can learn it or not, he's excited first.

He immediately packed up and said goodbye to Chiyo. He didn't know where Sasori's father had gone to meet Sasori's mother again. Just before leaving, he remembered that he had "casually" picked up a banana leaf fan when he was collecting Tobirama Senju's body. It had been dusty in the sealing scroll. He would have almost forgotten about it if he hadn't seen it when he was packing up.

"Who in our village has anything to do with the Sage of Six Paths? That kind of person is either in Konoha or... wait, where are you going this time?"

Chiyo took the banana leaf fan that Shinto threw to her and examined it carefully for a while before she couldn't help but complain. If anyone in their village had bloodlines related to the Sage of Six Paths, they would have been famous long ago. There's a saying in the ninja world: it's easy to make a debut in Konoha, but it's hard to become famous. There are too many talented people there, and only heaven knows when it will be your turn.

However, it's a bit difficult to make a name for yourself in other villages because the conditions aren't good. But once you make a name for yourself, it's easy to become famous. As long as you're not a fraud, the village will definitely notice you and give you a chance.

Anyone even remotely connected to the legendary Sage of Six Paths must at least be a genius, right? But since Shinto and Kei, their village hasn't produced any truly outstanding child prodigies. This is what Chiyo complains about. Since Shinto became famous, Chiyo has placed increasing emphasis on the education of the next generation. Even the Ninja Academy, where only the Kazekage can hold the position of principal, now has a principal in Sunagawa who is merely a figurehead; the real power lies with Chiyo.

However, seeing Masato's posture of packing up and saying goodbye, Chiyo had a headache again. The ninja world had finally had a year of peace, and if this kid went and caused trouble for the village's Kage again, it wouldn't be fun. Moreover, this kid's strength is still pretty impressive. He probably couldn't even beat Sunagawa in a head-on fight. His strength is directly proportional to his ability to cause trouble!

"After training for over a year, it's getting a bit boring, isn't it? Let's go out for a stroll and maybe visit Miss Slug's hometown. Who knows, we might even learn Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode. Then, Sunagakure will truly set sail!"

Shinto nodded in agreement with Chiyo's statement that someone like that is either in Konoha or in Konoha, but there was nothing he could do about it. After all, that person was the protagonist. A supporting character has to be prepared to be a supporting character; you can't be without the desire to steal the spotlight, but you need an opportunity to act on it...

"How long are you planning to stay this time? Jie is about to graduate, and it's not good for him to be with Saori all the time. I was hoping you could go and broaden your horizons, instead of always being with other girls..."

Chiyo ignored his casual remarks and frowned as she spoke to him. She'd recently noticed her precious son spending too much time with Saori. While she tacitly approved of their relationship—more than lovers but not quite married—after all, Saori came from a prominent family and was gentle and considerate, which she quite liked, the prolonged contact inevitably led to gossip in the village. As the son of the first generation, he was always the center of attention, and some rumors were already circulating, saying that her precious son, at such a young age, was neglecting his studies and only thinking about girls…

Moreover, she noticed a slight problem: her son's progress in puppetry had slowed down recently. The period from Chunin to Jonin was the golden age for puppeteers, and their future achievements depended on this time. Although her son was still young, he was already a solid Chunin. If things continued like this, who would inherit her Chikamatsu Ten Ninja? Was she going to wait until her grandson?

"Hey! Although Jie's situation is a bit early, I'm sure he's currently in that teenage phase where he's experiencing his first stirrings of love and is very curious about the opposite sex. Plus, it's their honeymoon period right now. After a while, once they get used to each other's presence, things will be fine. You know how valuable your son is, a legitimate heir of Sunagakure. The black market price isn't low. Let him stay in the village and develop to the maximum level like I did before going out..."

"I can't believe it," Masato said, adopting the air of an expert or professor.

During this period, Handsome Scorpion's dad was indeed a bit too intoxicated. He would run out during the day and not come back until dinner time. Sometimes he would even smile foolishly while eating. Zhen Dou could tell at a glance that this was a child who had been poisoned by love. However, people's marriage is destined by heaven. Handsome Scorpion's dad and mom, he couldn't just break up the couple and abandon Handsome Scorpion just so that his dad could develop in all aspects of physical education, art and labor, right?

This is a bit inappropriate. He admires the dedicated artist like Handsome Scorpion far more than his father, who is essentially poisoned by his father...

"You seem quite experienced, but I've never seen you hanging out with any girls. Is it that the girls in our village don't meet your standards, or are you simply not interested in girls at all?"

Listening to Masato's rather professional analysis and explanation, Chiyo glanced at him sideways. It was really strange, really. The kids in the village usually knew how to flirt with girls and handsome guys when they were three or four years old, but she had watched this kid grow up since he was little. Apart from some strange behavior when he was younger, she couldn't recall ever hearing him say that he liked any girl. That was very problematic. If the girls in the village didn't catch his eye, that would be okay, she could accept it. But if this kid wasn't interested in girls at all, then that was a big problem!

I wonder if Liedou will climb out of the coffin...

"Don't worry, I'm male and I like women. I don't have the kind of bad habits you're thinking of. It's just that the girls I like are a bit... difficult to get. Let's talk about this later."

"I can't believe it," Masato said irritably. He knew exactly what this "old woman" was thinking just by looking at Chiyo's eyes. But he really couldn't say anything about wanting to flirt with Tsunade. Damn it, putting aside the distance between villages, Tsunade was only four years old—enough to get Chiyo to hang him...

83. Miss Slug smells the best!

"Shinto-kun, you should know that ordinary chakra is obtained by completely fusing one's physical and mental energy. Ninjas can release ninjutsu by consuming a certain amount of chakra. Sage chakra, on the other hand, is formed by absorbing natural energy on top of physical and mental energy. Ninjutsu released by consuming Sage chakra is called Sage Technique. However, to use Sage Technique, one must enter Sage Mode. Now you need to learn how to sense the energy of nature and maintain a balance between your physical and mental energy and natural energy, keeping them in a one-third ratio, thus entering Sage Mode. However, absorbing natural energy is a very dangerous thing..."

After a year of being brainwashed by fairy tales by Masato, and because Tsunade was still young when she signed the contract after Hashirama Senju's death and probably hadn't summoned it for a long time, and no one had spoken to it, when Masato arrived at Shikkotsu Forest, this slug sister was incredibly enthusiastic. Even though he knew that sensing and absorbing natural energy required maintaining calmness and controlling his physical and mental energy to keep them in balance with natural energy, when Masato sat down at his training spot to meditate and recite the Tranquility Mantra... a little slug appeared in his ear and kept chattering incessantly.

If it weren't for the fact that this young lady's true form was too magnificent, and he suspected he couldn't defeat her, he would have already turned on her. Doesn't she know that absorbing natural energy is very dangerous? (▼へ▼メ)

The three great sacred sites of Sage Mode in the ninja world—Mount Myoboku, Chiryu Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest—each have their own unique characteristics. Overconsumption of natural energy at Mount Myoboku will turn you into a stone toad. Overconsumption of natural energy at Chiryu Cave will turn you into a madman, prone to fits of rage and capable of slaughtering entire families...

The Shikkotsu Forest wasn't mentioned in the original story. He only learned its characteristics when he arrived. It was far more dangerous than Mount Myōboku or the Earth Dragon Cave. If you consumed too much of the Shikkotsu Forest's natural energy, you'd turn into a puddle of water, and when the sun shone brightly the next day, there wouldn't even be a trace left...

After suppressing his urge to punch someone, Masato listened to Miss Slug's nagging for over two hours about precautions, then began to hold his breath and concentrate on sensing the energy in nature...

To be honest, when I heard the slug sister say that if you consume too much natural energy or fail to cultivate the immortal technique in the Wet Bone Forest, you will turn into a puddle of water, I really wanted to give up at first. After all, the risk of this thing is too damn high. It would be better to wait a few years until Snake finds the arrogant snake and then trick Snake. Turning into a snake madman is better than turning into a puddle of water, right?

Even a psychopath can at least get the first blood...

However, the slug sister's next words caught him off guard. So far, the only mortal who had mastered Perfect Sage Mode was Hashirama Senju from their Shikkotsu Forest. Neither Mount Myōboku nor the Chiryū Cave had achieved such a glorious record. The Sage of Six Paths aside, even his mother was an alien; was he still considered a mortal...?

The thought of Jiraiya and the future Kabuto Yakushi looking like that... even though he's face-blind and doesn't really care about outward appearances, and what he values ​​more is inner beauty... the thought of himself turning into either a toad or a snake...

Miss Slug smells the best!!!

......

The seventeenth year of Konoha, which is also the sixteenth year of Sunagakure.

It has been almost two years since Masato left. The days of training passed too quickly, and he forgot to send a letter back to Sunagakure. In the two years since he left, people elsewhere have continued to drink and dance. Peaceful days make it easy to forget the troubles of the past, especially for the major villages that played a key role in World War I. Two years may not be enough for them to fully recover, but at least since the first half of this year, Iwagakure has had some extra money to send to Sunagakure to repay the loans from that year. Although the amount is not large, it shows that Iwagakure has recovered from the two major losses during its two years of recuperation.

Meanwhile, Kumogakure... is still trying to increase its population under the Third Raikage's policy of encouraging more births and raising more children, as girls are also a source of labor. They're giving 500 extra births and giving 500 extra births and 500 extra births to the village... After all, the damage they caused to Konoha was too great, and it's not something that can be recovered from in just two years.

Originally, Sunagakure, which profited greatly from the Land of Water during World War I and suffered relatively little loss in the war with Konoha, should have been the most joyful village after Konoha, except for the death of its leader. However, the villagers were quite happy. After their new Kazekage took office, the village prospered even more. It's just that they ate too much seafood in the past two years, and their excrement smelled fishy.

However, high-ranking officials such as the Third Kazekage Sunakawa, the Grand Councilor Kaizo, and the mastermind Chiyo were not happy at all!

Because their great genius, Shinto, who earned the title of "Golden Lion" on the battlefield at the age of ten, has been out of the public eye for two years, even though he said before he left that he was going to learn the Sage Mode that Hashirama Senju had once learned.

But shouldn't someone who wants to learn immortal arts at least let their family know? But there hasn't been a single word from them in the past two years.

And what kind of magical arts would require their great genius to learn for two years?

Two years! He's even mastered divine magic!

If it weren't for the fact that Shinto's reputation as an ominous figure was so widespread in the ninja world, and if someone had taken him down, it would be impossible for the news not to spread and for the new leader to take his place. Chiyo would have suspected that this kid had been taken down by someone.

However, considering that the kid's defenses were so strong that even alloys couldn't break through them, and that he could also fly, the kid was as difficult to kill as Hashirama Senju. This prevented Chiyo from going crazy, but she still worried about him every day.

Although he's not my biological child, I've raised him for so many years, what's the difference between him and my own child? They both bear the surname Gong Lie...

"Mother, is there still no news of my eldest brother? It's been almost two years..."

In Sunagakure, Sasori's father, who was over nine years old and wearing a Sunagakure headband, didn't go on a date with a girl. Instead, he frowned and asked his mother with a bitter face.

He only learned from his mother six months ago when he graduated that his older brother hadn't gone out to have fun; to be precise, he had disappeared. His mother hadn't heard from his older brother for almost two years.

Brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes; at this time, girls can go to hell!

How can I possibly be in the mood for a date? For the past six months, every time he comes home after finishing his daily tasks, the first thing he says to me is, "Still no word from my brother...?"

"Sigh... I hope this kid is as lucky as he says..."

"Huh? What are you guys doing? Did you know I was coming back today and were waiting for me to have dinner? (⊙_⊙)?"

Before Chiyo could finish speaking, a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar came from above, almost making her strain her back...

(Nine chapters today. The new book's sales figures are very important, so I'm begging you all for first-day subscriptions!!)

84. I'll take you to see sharks later.

"Where have you been these past two years, you brat? I haven't heard a word from you. I thought you were dead!"

Chiyo twisted her aching back, which she had almost strained, and pointed at Masato floating in the air, launching into a tirade. She thought he had matured a lot in the two years since she last saw him, and wondered where he had been holed up in the mountains for the past two years. His hair had grown to his shoulders without being cut, and if it weren't for his nonsensical tone, Chiyo would have thought he was someone else's golden retriever.

As she cursed, her eyes began to redden again. He was, after all, the child she had raised. He'd disappeared for two years. What if something really happened to him? How could she face Lie Dou? Lie Dou had entrusted her with raising this child before he died. What if he died before even getting his first child…?

"Oh dear, you're not a child anymore. If Jie put her mind to it, she could be a grandmother. Crying won't be pretty, she's the flower of the ninja world! I've been so engrossed in my training these past two years that I forgot all about it. You have no idea, that old goofball Senju Hashirama's Sage Mode is incredibly dangerous. If it weren't for my extraordinary talent, I'd be turned to water by now..."

Seeing that Chiyo's eyes were starting to redden again, Masato quickly landed beside her to comfort her.

"That dangerous? Have you learned it yet? If you can't, don't force yourself. You're strong enough now. What's the use of learning Sage Mode? Hashirama Senju still died..."

Chiyo frowned anxiously upon hearing that this Sage Technique was so dangerous. In her mind, Shinto was already very strong. With his strange ability to turn his entire body black and provide unparalleled defense, plus his mutated Magnet Release, he could easily dominate the ninja world. There was no need for him to strive for perfection and learn Sage Technique, especially since it was so dangerous. It would be good if he could learn it, but if he couldn't, so be it. The Miyako clan only had two heirs, and this kid was clearly much more capable than the genius puppeteer, Jie. If he died, it would not only be a loss for the Miyako clan, but also a loss for the entire village.

The importance of a Double-Flower Red Staff to a village is self-evident, especially a top-tier one like this. There are only a handful of Double-Flower Red Staffs in the entire ninja world. She doesn't expect her child to be invincible like Hashirama Senju or anything like that; she just hopes he doesn't die halfway through his life and can protect the village for the next few decades...

"Look at what you're saying. How could a mere immortal technique be difficult for a prodigy like me? It's just that the process is a bit dangerous. If I didn't want to perfect it, I would have left a year ago..."

When this topic comes up, Shinto gets really excited; Sage Mode is indeed powerful!

Because of the lack of a system and the slug girl's constant nagging in his ear, it took him a while to fully prepare for entering Sage Mode for the first time. But at least he wasn't like the half-baked Jiraiya from the future, who needed two old toads to help him. His first feeling upon entering Sage Mode was that he was strong! He could even feel his five-dimensional attributes greatly improved and his mind becoming incredibly clear, giving him the illusion that he could punch the moon to pieces. Even his Observation Haki had taken a big step forward. Although he hadn't developed any amazing abilities like hearing the voices of all things, it seemed close. He could even sense the slug girl's feelings, which was a very strange feeling. He estimated that he might develop that ability soon.

At this moment, he finally understood why the power ceiling in the Naruto world was so much higher than in One Piece, reaching the point where people casually talk about destroying the world. This guy is already this powerful just by entering Sage Mode. In the future, there will be Six Paths Mode, and the Six Paths mother who is always talking about destroying the world... None of the top-tier characters in the One Piece world dare to say they can destroy the world. At most, they can only cause a tsunami or an earthquake, like Whitebeard.

Destroying the world... we don't have that ability!

However, since it was his first time entering Sage Mode, his control wasn't quite there yet. Although his face didn't have the disgusting features of a toad's face or snake skin, the snot hanging from his nose wasn't exactly elegant either. At this point, he could be pretty sure of the slug's type; perhaps, possibly, probably... it was a slug...

Absorbing natural energy isn't as difficult as you might imagine. As long as you can sense the energy that exists in nature, you can basically absorb it. The only issues are how long it takes to sense natural energy, how much you can sense, and how much you can absorb. In the future, it's possible that the time it takes to sense natural energy is too long, and the time it takes to absorb it is also quite long, which is why you'll need two old toads to help you speed things up.

As long as one can absorb natural energy and maintain a balance with the body's and mind's energy, one can enter Sage Mode. The only difficulty lies in the fact that the density of natural energy is much lower than that of the body's and mind's energy, and it is extremely difficult to control. Entering Sage Mode is easy, but it is very difficult to go from the initial entry into Sage Mode to the perfect Sage Mode or even to the point of instantaneous entry. According to Miss Slug, when Hashirama Senju relied on the massive amount of Yang Chakra that granted him a huge amount of life force, he risked the bald spot and practiced day and night for almost two years to reach the level of perfect Sage Mode.

So, over the next year and a half, thanks to his amazing physique under the rules of One Piece, Shinto finally achieved the perfect Sage Mode, entering it almost simultaneously with Hashirama Senju. He held out for half an hour, activated it for a few minutes, and went from having a snotty nose to instantly entering Sage Mode and holding it for half an hour, with only a small circle with a dot between his eyebrows remaining on his face, making him look like he had three eyes. If we were to be precise, he even finished half an hour earlier than Hashirama. However, since he'd be teasing Hashirama's granddaughter later, and they were all family, Shinto generously forfeited this record...

Now, it can be said that once Shinto activates Sage Mode, with his skyrocketing five-dimensional attributes and awesome Armament Haki, he dares to let all the ninjas in the entire ninja world except Onoki bombard him for half an hour without even tearing his clothes!

He had personally witnessed the effects of Onoki's Dust Release; he couldn't really guarantee he could withstand such a bloodline limit change related to physics...

"Phew... Big brother, it's so good to have you back. You have no idea how worried we were about you. Look at me, I haven't gone chasing girls for the past six months, I've been waiting for you to come home every day..."

Seeing the loving mother and son scene before him, Chiyo's father, handsome Scorpion, quickly tried to add his own dramatic flair, lest others think his older brother was the real biological son and he was just a freebie with a phone plan...

"...You really are a good brother! I'll take you to see sharks sometime..."

Seeing that Handsome Scorpion's dad looked like he wanted a hug too, Zhen Dou forced back his disgust and shed a few tears from 1982, pretending to be very touched.

85. Chiyo: Go and kill the head of Konoha's Anbu.

"Phew... It's good that you're back. If you hadn't come back, the Third Generation would have sent people to look for you."

Just as they were about to have dinner, Grand Councilor Kaizo entered the room. Upon seeing Masato, whom he hadn't seen for two years, he breathed a sigh of relief and complained.

"I understand you sending people to find me, but why is the third-generation young master looking for me? I don't owe him any movie tickets..."

While devouring the food on the table without any regard for appearances, Shinto asked curiously. He'd been eating his fill of military rations in the Shikkotsu Forest for the past two years, almost to the point of bleeding from exhaustion. Luckily, he'd read the original story and had some experience. Although he didn't know what a slug actually was, Jiraiya's experience told him that when learning Sage Mode, you had to be well-prepared with food. So he'd taken half of the military rations from his Miyamoto clan's warehouse to avoid having to share dinner with the slug lady...

"Sigh... Although it's a time of peace now, there's still plenty of behind-the-scenes friction between our various villages. This is the time for the ANBU of the major ninja villages to compete. Your old rival, Konoha's genius Hatake Sakumo, joined the Konoha ANBU a year ago. He's very strong. No one can beat him unless they're a Kage. In fact, with the Hatake clan's swordsmanship, even a Kage can be killed by him if they're not careful. Last month, he killed Ramon. Now, there's no one to fill the vacancy of the ANBU captain."

"There are so many geniuses in Konoha! I heard that Hiruzen Sarutobi has taken on three disciples, and besides the Senju clan princess you kidnapped before, the other two are also geniuses!"

After sitting down, Haizo sighed softly. In the end, he couldn't help but complain. His village, Sunagakure, had produced only one decent genius in decades, but Konoha was producing a whole bunch of them. Having Hatake Sakumo wasn't enough, and now they had three more. It was truly infuriating.

In contrast, their Sunagakure village has not produced any geniuses since Jie.

"Really? Uncle Roman himself is a bit weak, but he's good at controlling toys. I didn't expect that Sakumo Hatake would be so good after two years."

"I am surprised," said Masato. "Rammon is from Chiyo's family. He is known as the second puppeteer after Chiyo of Sunagakure. Although he does not have Chiyo's Chikamatsu Ten Puppet Master skills, he can still show off his ability to manipulate six puppets with both hands. However, like most puppeteers, his close combat ability is terrible. He becomes flustered as soon as someone gets close to him."

However... even if Roman is weak in close combat, he's still definitely a Kage-level fighter. Even if his close combat skills are weak, you still have to be able to get close to him. The six puppets aren't the kind of trash that can only hack and slash without any skill. Any puppeteer with a bit of skill can take on several opponents at once.

He remembered that in the original work, Sakumo Hatake rose to fame during World War II. This world, thanks to this little butterfly, allowed him to debut early, which was one thing. But in his opinion, even though he debuted early, his strength shouldn't have increased so rapidly. During World War I, Sakumo Hatake was indeed strong and evenly matched with him, but that was because his Observation Haki hadn't awakened yet and he lacked practical combat experience. Sakumo Hatake was also fast and his attack routes were unpredictable. However, there was a limit to how strong Sakumo Hatake was back then. In his opinion, Sakumo Hatake shouldn't be this powerful now, capable of defeating Kage-level opponents?

Could it be that this little butterfly wasn't in the original story, and Konoha was nurturing him until World War II before he finally emerged? And now, because of him, Tobirama Senju is sending him out early to face him?

Considering his first major crime in Konoha, and taking into account Tobirama Senju's personality, it does seem quite possible...