Konoha's Mission Master

"Sigh, if you're not willing to give up, you can try again, but don't waste too much time... I'll let you in on a secret: Orochimaru also doesn't have the potential to become a sage. He spent several months secretly practicing, but unfortunately, tsk tsk, he ended up failing."

Jiraiya smiled and winked, as if to say, "I'm only telling you this secret, so please don't tell anyone else..."

"So...that's how it is."

Yakumo nodded.

"Then I'll be going now. If you're leaving, go find Master Fukasaku," Jiraiya said.

"Okay, no problem."

Yakumo sat back down in the stone pool, letting the toad oil coat his entire body, and slowly closed his eyes.

Concentrate and calm your mind.

Five seconds later, he sensed the alluring natural energy again; the green specks of light danced in the dim world, attracting Yakumo's spiritual senses.

In this peculiar state, Yakumo formed hand seals.

"The fluctuations of the heart."

With a whoosh, an invisible chakra wave spread out. With the help of the magic of toad oil and the rich natural energy of Mount Myōboku, and with the power of a master-level mental wave, Yakumo began to observe the flow of natural energy throughout Mount Myōboku.

A panoramic view of Mount Myōboku appeared in my mind. It was like a small world, surrounded by a misty void that blocked the spread of chakra fluctuations.

Natural energy surges towards the summit of Mount Myoboku like a tidal wave, with only a portion flowing into the mountainside and even less into the foothills.

The higher you go up Mount Myoboku, the more concentrated the natural energy becomes, while the energy at the foot of the mountain is somewhat thin. Unlike Ryuchi Cave, where the strong are respected, there is a clear hierarchy here.

Ten minutes later, Yakumo withdrew his senses and focused more on capturing natural energy. The green natural energy seemed to be tugging at Yakumo's heartstrings.

This time, Yakumo focused his mind on a very small portion of natural energy and began to increase the output of his spiritual energy. Since they were unwilling to cooperate, then don't blame me for being rude and hurting them.

Catalyzed by toad oil, spiritual energy, like an invisible hand, tightly envelops the natural energy within a small area, causing the natural energy to rebel and resist on a small scale.

Ten minutes later, Yakumo opened his eyes, his face pale. He was already very tired after just ten minutes. After a moment's thought, Yakumo got up and put on his clothes.

That evening... Yakumo arrived at the Hatake residence.

In the training ground, Yakumo and Kakashi were locked in combat, their swords flashing and a dense whistling sound of air being torn apart, like the roar of a fierce tiger.

On the other hand, Masako Mori was sparring with Obito in close combat. It seemed that Masako Mori had gone into a frenzy again, causing Obito's arms to bleed and turn purple with bruises, but she showed no sign of stopping.

“Alright, Masako Mori,” Yakumo said.

Under Obito's ghostly gaze, the red lines in Mori Masako's eyes gradually disappeared, and her expression returned to calm.

Then... he gave an apologetic smile.

Yakumo immediately began treating Obito.

In the days that followed, Yakumo traveled between Mount Myōboku and Konoha Village, and would also go to the Hatake Mansion at night to complete missions.

After Yakumo spent ten consecutive days training in Sage Mode, Jiraiya once again reminded him... Some things are destined to be impossible... Even though Yakumo had created many miracles, Jiraiya still sentenced him to death in this matter.

Faced with Yakumo's continued obstinacy, Jiraiya could only shake his head and sigh. In his view, the more talented a person is, the less they can tolerate failure and the less they can tolerate having weaknesses, just like his close friend Orochimaru...

By the end of May, Yakumo had completed his monthly limited-time event and added all the attribute points he obtained to Strength, since Agility could be improved by upgrading the Hatake Secret Manual.

Myoboku Mountain, Toad Pond.

Yakumo, enveloped in toad oil, closed his eyes and controlled the clash between his spiritual and natural energies. This time, his manipulation was more refined, using less natural energy, which increased his chances of victory...

Resistance and encirclement... continue.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... fifteen minutes.

Yakumo opened his eyes again. He failed again, but there was no sign of defeat on his face. From only being able to last ten minutes at the beginning to fifteen minutes now, his improvement was not just a little bit. He was confident that he could master Sage Mode within ten days!

Unable to further improve his intellectual attributes, he can only refine his spiritual energy into a substance harder than steel through day-to-day training, so that he may have a chance to conquer the energy of nature.

That's right... it's about conquest.

At this point, he no longer considered taming or integrating natural energy, but rather wanted to conquer it. Since the energy that had entered his body... only he could decide its fate.

As for... passive fusion, that's definitely not what a real man does!

As Yakumo thought this, he estimated the time in his mind, then stood up and waited for the toad oil to evaporate. After changing his clothes, he found the hermit Fukasaku who lived on the mountainside.

"Sage, I want to return to Konoha."

Yakumo spoke politely.

"it is good."

Master Shima replied indifferently.

During this time, also out of good intentions, he tried to persuade Yakumo several times, roughly meaning that...

Some talents are predetermined at birth and cannot be changed no matter how much effort is put in. I advise Yakumo to give up as soon as possible and not waste more time on Sage Mode.

Everyone was trying to persuade Yakumo to give up, but he had a stubborn desire to tell everyone that he could do it, and most importantly, no one else knew about the unique talent that belonged to Yakumo.

*Bang...* White smoke rose, and Yakumo's body disappeared.

Shima closed her eyes again for a short rest.

In Konoha, Yakumo had already returned to the Senju clan compound. In his final moments, he seemed to see a hint of mockery in Shima's eyes, to which he could only shake his head silently.

Yakumo estimates... that it is possible within ten days...

Sage Mode, Beginner's Guide!

In the training grounds of the Senju Academy, Jiraiya saw Yakumo's figure. After a slight hesitation, he began a new round of persuasion. In his eyes, he could only perceive Yakumo's burning sincerity. He really just didn't want Yakumo to waste his time on Sage Mode.

Jiraiya spoke up.

“I asked the Great Toad Immortal, and there is no precedent in history of anyone with the potential to become an immortal successfully cultivating immortal mode.”

After a moment's thought, Yakumo decided to be honest with Jiraiya. He could ignore the fake concern some people showed him, but he didn't want those who genuinely cared about him to continue doing so.

"Lord Jiraiya, I understand your good intentions."

"I am confident that I can master the Sage Mode within ten days."

Jiraiya was instantly stunned...

Chapter 143 Parents' Memorial Ceremony, Anniversary Celebration

The Thousand Hands Mansion, the training ground.

"Give up in ten days...that's fine too...wait..."

"Wait...you mean the beginner level?"

Jiraiya froze, as if a sharp sword had pierced his chest. An uncontrollable sense of surprise welled up inside him, and his pupils trembled slightly. The next second, his expression became somewhat complicated.

"Ahem, Yakumo... I feel you need to go to the Yamanaka clan for some psychological counseling..."

Jiraiya earnestly advised him.

The profession of ninja is destined to be associated with darkness, living a life of constant danger and immense work pressure.

This directly leads to many ninjas developing serious occupational diseases... such as alienation from family, excessive vigilance, a habit of using impulsive violence to relieve stress outside of missions, and becoming addicted to gambling and womanizing...

In fact, take Jiraiya and Tsunade as examples. Jiraiya's way of relieving stress was his lust, while Tsunade relied on drinking and gambling. As for Orochimaru's scientific research, it was purely out of a spirit of exploration.

In Konohagakure, the Yamanaka clan can alleviate this symptom through a combination of secret techniques and verbal guidance.

With the rise of science, psychological counseling naturally emerged, meaning to alleviate mental illnesses caused by psychological stress.

At this moment, Jiraiya felt that... Yakumo had suffered too much stimulation and setbacks, leading to a mental breakdown.

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

Yakumo was incredulous, unsure whether to laugh or cry, as if five million alpacas were running through his mind. He could only watch Jiraiya quietly.

"Otherwise what? Are you... serious?"

Jiraiya asked in a drawn-out voice.

“Of course,” Yakumo admitted matter-of-factly.

"Throughout history, no one has been able to break the limitation of having the potential to become a sage; even Orochimaru failed."

"I will be the first."

Jiraiya remained silent.

One second... ten seconds... twenty seconds.

"Okay, I believe you... Here, take this."

"bump."

Jiraiya summoned a huge scroll, which appeared on the ground of the training ground. He gestured for Yakumo to pick it up, but for some reason, Jiraiya refused to touch the scroll from beginning to end.

Yakumo roughly estimated that the scroll weighed at least 20 kilograms, was about 50 centimeters wide, and was about 5 or 6 meters long, with at least 3 million words.

"This is Orochimaru's research on Sage Mode. Although they are all failed attempts, they can still provide you with some suggestions."

A wave of emotion washed over Yakumo, but he felt mostly nauseous. At that moment, he finally understood why Jiraiya was unwilling to touch the scroll. As everyone knows, Orochimaru liked to use his modified stomach to store items.

"Damn it!" Yakumo was furious, but had nowhere to vent his anger.

Although Jiraiya kept trying to persuade Yakumo to give up, he secretly contacted Orochimaru for him. After paying an unknown price, he obtained this precious scroll. As for Orochimaru giving it to him for free out of friendship, Yakumo didn't even dare to dream of such a good thing.

This is true care: on the surface, it advises you to give up and not keep hitting a wall, but at the same time, it tries its best to help you succeed.

Jiraiya was really good to Yakumo...

“Lord Jiraiya, I am truly confident that I can master Sage Mode within ten days, so… please return this scroll to Lord Orochimaru.” Yakumo shook his head and refused.

"you sure?"

"of course."

It must be admitted that Yakumo might indeed gain valuable experience or knowledge from this scroll, and even accelerate his learning of Sage Mode, but he didn't want Jiraiya to owe Orochimaru any more favors.

"Okay then, I believe you... Shall we go for a free meal?"

Jiraiya retrieved the scroll and suggested to Yakumo that, seeing Yakumo's confident demeanor, Jiraiya truly believed in his heart that Yakumo would successfully cultivate Sage Mode.

"Orochimaru, why is he so interested in the cult of the Land of Hot Water..." Jiraiya thought to himself.

"Not today... I have more important things to do."