Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

He is seventy-two years old this year, which is the same age as Madara Uchiha.

Back then, he was just a Uchiha ninja with relatively good genjutsu skills, while Uchiha Madara was already the clan leader with unfathomable strength. Even his most prized genjutsu was just a joke in front of Madara's Mangekyou Sharingan.

Even now, even though he has unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan series, he still doesn't believe his genjutsu abilities are stronger than Madara Uchiha's back then.

He was a truly exceptional person of his era. In that era, only the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, could be his opponent. Other people of the same age who could hold out against the two for a period of time were already considered top-tier masters in the ninja world.

For the two of them, the so-called Kage-level powerhouse was probably just slightly stronger than an ordinary ninja, and could be easily dealt with as long as they were a little serious.

The thought of facing such an enemy in the future filled Uchiha Homura with immense pressure.

"But that person is an old man now, and his strength should not be at its peak. Maybe he still has a chance."

Uchiha Homura tried to think of things in a positive light.

At the same time, he learned for the first time about the Third Hokage's feelings, and how much he hoped that the young shoots of Konoha could grow up quickly.

……

As the sun sets and night falls, Kirito, a young leaf of Konoha, slowly opens his eyes in a VIP ward at Konoha Hospital.

"Kirito, how are you feeling?"

A voice suddenly appeared.

Kirito recognized Tsunade's voice and felt relieved. He turned around and saw Tsunade's worried face and the unfathomable cleavage below her collar.

Unfortunately, he's not in the mood to watch the game right now.

His mind was still foggy and a little tingly, and his body felt weak and listless.

It seems that the side effects of his forced manipulation of tailed beast-level chakra to suppress the Nine-Tails using the sealing technique Adamantine Sealing Technique were no small matter. Even after a period of rest, this ninja, who was extremely powerful in both soul and body, had not fully recovered.

"I feel a little dizzy, my body feels weak, and I'm very hungry and thirsty right now."

Kirito glanced at Tsunade's chest, then closed his eyes wearily and spoke slowly.

"Have a sip of water first."

Upon hearing Kirito's words, Tsunade immediately picked up a kettle from the ward, poured Kirito a cup of hot water, and gently fed him the water.

Then, she placed her hand on Kirito's forehead, injected some chakra to quickly check Kirito's physical condition, and found that there was nothing wrong. She smiled and said, "It seems that your mental state has recovered very well. As expected of someone who has mastered the Spirit Transformation Technique, wait a moment, I will prepare some delicious food for you right away."

After saying that, she prepared to get up and go out to buy some supplements for Kirito.

"Wait a minute, Lady Tsunade, how is the teacher?"

Seeing that Tsunade was about to leave, Kirito quickly opened his eyes and asked anxiously.

After drinking a glass of water, his mind gradually cleared up. He remembered the system's voice that had been ringing in his ears before he fainted, and immediately wanted to know Mito's current condition.

The system said he had successfully changed Mito's fate.

Does this mean Mito is still alive?

"Don't worry, Grandma is still alive, and her condition is even better than before. Kirito, thank you so much. You saved Grandma. If you hadn't activated the Yin Seal in time and used the Adamantine Sealing Technique to make Kurama give up some of its chakra and escape from Grandma's body, Grandma might really be beyond saving."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade immediately stopped and expressed her deep gratitude, tears welling in her eyes as she spoke.

To be honest, she originally thought her grandmother was beyond saving this time.

After all, the Nine-Tails had already escaped from Grandma's body. Logically speaking, a Jinchuriki who loses his Tailed Beast is definitely doomed.

As a result, she checked her grandmother's body and found that her grandmother was still alive, and her originally weak body was even showing signs of improvement.

The powerful life force of the Uzumaki clan was constantly nourishing her grandmother's body.

Later, when her grandmother woke up, she told her the reason, and only then did she learn that her grandmother still had a small part of the Nine-Tails' chakra in her body, and that it was a part of the Nine-Tails' original chakra.

Currently, this small portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra is forming a very weak Nine-Tails within her grandmother's body, ensuring that she does not lose her status as a Jinchūriki.

That's why her grandmother didn't die.

All of this was caused by Kirito scaring away Kurama with the Adamantine Lock, which led Kurama to cut off its tail to save itself.

Therefore, Tsunade is now extremely grateful to Kirito.

Thanks to Kirito, she is no longer in the pain of losing her loved ones.

"I see. But there's no need to thank me. I just did what I was supposed to do. It's great that I was able to save the teacher."

Kirito was overjoyed to hear Tsunade's words, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

He was genuinely overjoyed to have saved Mito in this unexpected turn of events.

Because Mito survived, he not only gained valuable enhancement points, but also continued to enjoy the benefits of being protected by Mito. He could continue to develop in peace for a while longer without worrying that he might be forcibly dragged to the battlefield as a laborer after Mito's death.

Finally, he can spend more time with Mito, unlike before when he couldn't be by Mito's side until her death because of Kurama.

This is truly wonderful news; it's the best news Kirito has heard so far.

"What are you saying? The Senju clan always repays kindness. I will definitely thank you properly. A life-saving grace cannot be taken for granted. However, I understand your feelings. You're such a good girl. Grandma has been loving you all this time."

Tsunade gently flicked Kirito's forehead and smiled with satisfaction.

After saying that, she hugged Kirito's head and gave him a grateful hug.

Kirito was so overwhelmed by the hospitality that he almost fainted again.

After delivering a painful yet pleasurable facial cleansing attack to Kirito, Tsunade rushed out of the ward.

After Tsunade left the ward, Kirito closed his eyes again and quietly activated his soul perception and natural energy perception. He immediately discovered that there were several Jonin-level chakra beings around the ward, one of whom had a chakra level that clearly surpassed the Jonin level and reached the Kage level.

The owner of this Kage-level chakra was none other than Sakumo Hatake. Kirito recognized this powerful ninja who could kill Jonin like chickens instantly through his soul perception.

Clearly, this Kage-level expert was protecting him in secret.

As soon as Tsunade left, he immediately appeared at the door and stood guard outside.

"Sakumo Hatake, huh? I didn't expect him to protect me until now. This must be the Third Hokage's order. It seems my status in the Third Hokage's heart has risen considerably."

Kirito sighed.

Being protected by a powerful Kage-level ninja—such treatment is probably rare even in Konoha.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Now that he has such a powerful protector, it seems inconvenient for him to use enhancement points to allocate stat points.

Kirito was already eager to use the two new enhancement points he had acquired.

He also made a decision about where to add points.

Sage Mode is the skill that Kirito will be leveling up next.

This skill appears on the attribute panel after he successfully uses Sage Mode, showing that it is a skill that can be upgraded by adding points.

"Let's keep adding it for now. Besides, I don't need to enter Sage Mode. I just need to try to gather Sage Chakra."

Kirito looked at the Sage Mode displayed on the attribute panel and thought to himself.

I could add points whenever I wanted, but then I discovered that upgrading Sage Mode from level 1 to 2 required 2 upgrade points.

Kirito was somewhat prepared for this.

After all, Sage Mode has already entered the realm of Sage Techniques, which is a qualitative change that transforms a person into a sage. Its value is much higher than most S-rank ninjutsu, and even surpasses all S-rank ninjutsu.

As a result, the difficulty of improving it is far beyond that of ordinary S-rank ninjutsu.

Two precious enhancement points are enough to justify its value for leveling up.

After a brief internal struggle, Kirito decisively used his two enhancement points on Sage Mode.

The next moment, Sage Mode changed from level 1 to level 2.

At this moment, Kirito began to feel a magical change occurring within his body. His perception of natural energy became increasingly clear, and even without entering Sage Mode, he could sense natural energy a kilometer away.

Moreover, the natural energy that was originally very dangerous now gave him a very familiar feeling.

He tried to quietly absorb natural energy and immediately found that the absorption process was nearly twice as fast as before. He successfully absorbed the natural energy into his body with almost no effort.

Not only that, the amount of natural energy he can absorb has increased significantly, and this natural energy is very docile. It doesn't require him to deliberately separate it from his chakra; it gets along well with the chakra and doesn't become extremely aggressive as before when it detects chakra.

The two completely different energies are now as docile as lambs, flowing quietly along different paths within his body without interfering with each other.

Upon discovering this situation, Kirito decisively set up a sealing barrier to block out external perception, and then attempted to condense Sage Chakra.

The condensation process went very smoothly, and the quality of the resulting Sage Chakra was significantly higher than before, with greatly improved stability.

He hasn't activated the Yin Seal yet; he's merely merging his existing chakra with natural energy.

Normally, the natural energy from the outside world would have rushed in, but this time it was calm and quiet. Moreover, the Sage Chakra formed in his body was very stable, and there was no sign of his body collapsing and exploding as before when he did not enter Sage Mode.

It stayed quietly inside his body, flowing slowly along the path of chakra within him.

Sage Chakra is a power that transcends chakra and natural energy; it is the true power of a sage. Each time it circulates within Kirito's body, he feels his body become a little stronger, and all his cells are nourished, making him feel very comfortable. This has greatly restored his physical and mental state.

He had a premonition that if he continued to refine his Sage Chakra cultivation, his lifespan would be greatly extended.

"The toad sage of Mount Myōboku, the white sage of Ryūchi Cave, and the slug sage of Shikkotsu Forest—each of them is an ancient monster who has lived for thousands of years. Their ability to live for so long must be related to Sage Chakra. However, since ancient times, although there have been few people who have mastered Sage Mode in these three sacred lands, none of them have lived long."

What could be the reason for this? Does it mean that the Sage Mode of other beings doesn't have the effect of extending lifespan for humans?

Kirito had this premonition, and couldn't help but think of the humans who had cultivated to Sage Mode in the three sacred lands, and a question arose in his mind.

Without sufficient data for comparison, he finds it difficult to make a judgment. Perhaps in the future he can ask Jiraiya, that half-baked sage, about his experience after entering Sage Mode.

If given the opportunity, he would also try to visit the three great holy sites and the three extraordinary immortals to ask them what exactly was going on.

After all, he should be the first person to figure out a celestial mode that is compatible with human cultivation on his own. After he cultivated the celestial mode, he did not show any symptoms like toads or snakes.

Therefore, strictly speaking, he was the first human immortal.

"Now I don't need to enter Sage Mode to make the Sage Chakra I create stable. Does that mean that this Sage Chakra can now be stored?"

Kirito suddenly had a whimsical idea.

Long ago, he had thought of using the Yin Seal to store Sage Chakra.

Unfortunately, the Sage Chakra he created was extremely unstable and could easily dissipate or even explode. He dared not store this unstable Sage Chakra in the Yin Seal, fearing that it would damage the Yin Seal and cause him to explode.

Now that the stability of Sage Chakra has greatly improved, this idea has a chance of succeeding.

Kirito is always one to act on his impulses; he's always been a man of action.

However, instead of recklessly storing the Sage Chakra directly into the Yin Seal, he created a small secondary pool around the chakra pool formed by the Yin Seal.

He learned this idea from Sakura.

In this way, the newly opened secondary pool can be used to store Sage Chakra, and there is no need to worry about the two types of chakra getting mixed up or harming the Yin Seal Core Chakra pool.