Chapter 394: Shinya Matsutani's Sage Mode
After Kanako's figure disappeared, Ishiro asked Han, "Senior Han, your three disciples have all taken on students. How are those children doing now?"
Hearing Ishiro mention the children, Han was very happy. "The nine children are all good. They often come to see me, and Kokuō likes them very much too."
Ishiro glanced at Kokuō, who was surrounded by Little Saiken and Little Chōmei, and thought to himself, It's normal for Kokuō to like them. The disciples chosen by Yui Toda and the other two had been vetted by Ishiro. They were all children who had been investigated early on and had a very positive view of Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki.
Ishiro said, "Is there anything you need? Be generous with these children. If you're short of anything, just tell me."
This wasn't favoritism on Ishiro's part; it was a benefit for the Jinchuriki lineage. He was counting on these children to slowly change the village's impression of Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. This was a major affair. Ishiro was counting on Kokuō to stand up for Iwagakure at a critical moment.
Ever since the Iwagakure Bi-Weekly Report began, Ishiro had not relaxed his propaganda in this area. He had been constantly brainwashing the villagers, getting them to slowly accept Han, the Jinchuriki. It was already showing initial results.
If it was then spread around the village that Han was an exceptionally skilled teacher, and that even his disciples' disciples were growing rapidly, then Han's image would become even more positive.
Getting the village to accept the Tailed Beasts could be considered a national policy. As the Tsuchikage, Ishiro could not be careless.
Han shook his head. "We're not short of anything. I still have a lot of the ninjutsu you gave me last time. Before, Yui and the others had rather singular elemental affinities and couldn't use many of them. Now, they can be given to their disciples."
Ishiro nodded. "Senior Han, in a few days, I have to make a trip to the Land of Demons. I'll have to trouble you to watch over the village again."
Han nodded quickly. "Lord Tsuchikage, rest assured, I will do my best to protect the village."
Ishiro smiled and patted Han's shoulder. "Don't be so tense. In this day and age, no one is going to come to our Iwagakure to cause trouble for no reason. It's just that you are now the strongest combatant in the village besides me and the Third, so I'm just giving you a couple of reminders."
"Mm, I understand," Han said.
After finishing his business, Ishiro went to see Sōkai's trio.
During the period when he was developing his Blaze Release Kekkei Genkai, the three had been entrusted to Ikura's care. He didn't know how their training was progressing.
Ikura's work was actually busier than Ishiro's, so although it was said that the three were under his care, they actually spent most of their time training on their own. It was just that Ikura would take time every day to answer some of their questions about their training.
Ishiro found the three of them directly at the training ground. Chiga and Sasagawa Ayumi were building their foundation according to the training plan he had set. Sōkai had activated his Sharingan and was practicing chakra control.
In over a month, the three had not made any substantial progress. Chiga and Ayumi had just solidified their fundamentals a little more. Sōkai's talent was truly a headache. Although he had activated his Sharingan and his strength had greatly increased, his foundation in all aspects was really poor. Even with the help of the Sharingan, his speed in learning ninjutsu, genjutsu, and even chakra control could not be increased.
So, after not seeing them for over a month, apart from becoming more familiar with each other and having better coordination, there wasn't much change in the three of them.
But Ishiro was not in a hurry. With his rich experience, he knew that this was very normal. Now was not the time to pull up the seedlings to help them grow, seeking a rapid increase in strength.
After checking the training progress of his three disciples, Ishiro stayed in the village for a few more days, waiting until Shinya Matsutani successfully entered Sage Mode for the first time.
The fact that Shinya had completed the introduction to Sage Art training in just over a month immediately attracted the attention of all the high-ranking officials in Iwagakure.
Before Shinya began his training this time, Ishiro and the other high-ranking officials were already standing at the edge of the training ground, watching.
When they saw the sage markings really appear on Shinya's face, everyone was both shocked and excited.
Ikura, who was also practicing Sage Art, felt it the most deeply. In the process of his repeated failed training sessions, he had both felt the power of natural energy and experienced how difficult it was to control. Therefore, he was the one who was most moved among the high-ranking officials.
He was both gratified that the village had produced such an outstanding junior and regretful that he had been surpassed by him.
Ikura had once secretly told Ishiro, "Since Shinya's talent for practicing Sage Art is so good, maybe I should stop practicing it. The Sage Art lineage will be passed down anyway. The village won't gain much with one more sage, nor will it lose much with one less."
"If I give up early, I can save the village a large amount of funds, or I can give the opportunity to practice Sage Art to someone else sooner. Maybe we can train one or two more sages."
But Ishiro had directly refused. His original words were: "Ikura, no matter how great the expense of practicing Sage Art, you must persist. In the ninja world, the Kage level is not the end. Above it, there is definitely a higher level."
"According to my analysis, there are only three paths to go one step further. One is to fuse the two chakras of yin and yang. The second is to fuse the five elemental chakras. The third is to practice Sage Art."
"Don't even think about the first path. The village's Yin Release is still in the research and development stage, and Yang Release is nowhere in sight. Only medical ninjutsu has a tiny bit to do with Yang Release, but it's not pure."
"I am walking the second path. You must have seen the difficulty of this path. With my chakra control, up to now, I have only fused three Kekkei Genkai and one Kekkei Tōta."
"Moreover, in terms of the Light Release Kekkei Tōta, I, like the Third, have only reached the point where I can perform the jutsu. I have not yet fused these three energies in my body. The Kekkei Tōta has not yet elevated my life level like a Kekkei Genkai has."
"For no other reason than that the body simply cannot withstand the fusion of these three energies. Three chakra natures are already this difficult, so what about four, or five? The peril of this path can be imagined."
"Fortunately, we still have the third path. The practice of Sage Art is also very difficult, but we have already found a safe, gradual path, haven't we?"
"Practicing Sage Art now is a waste of money, time, and energy. It sacrifices the time to practice ninjutsu and improve our strength. But once we succeed, we will raise our own upper limit. Our future will no longer be limited to the Kage level."
"So, don't worry about how much money is spent on practicing Sage Art. No matter how much is spent, it's worth it! The village producing a ninja whose strength surpasses that of a normal Kage is far more useful than saving an astronomical sum of money."
Thinking of Ishiro's words, Ikura still felt they were deafening. His previous impatient attitude in practicing Sage Art was wrong. Especially after seeing Shinya's training speed, his confidence had wavered, and he had even had the thought of giving up, which was really inappropriate. One should practice Sage Art without any distracting thoughts, without thinking too much, and certainly without getting hung up on the money consumed.
Saka did not notice Ikura's expression. He said to Ishiro in a low voice, "Ishiro, does Shinya Matsutani have a chance to become Kage-level?"
Sage Mode was strong, but if he couldn't become a Kage, his contribution to the overall strength of the village would still be lacking.
Ishiro thought for a moment. "It's hard to say right now. With his personality, it will be difficult to find a Ninja Way that can lead him to the Kage level. But sage chakra is very magical. Maybe one day he will naturally advance, just like when he became a Quasi-Jonin. Who can say for sure?"
Saka nodded, a little disappointed, yet a little expectant.
Bella, on the other hand, was silently calculating how many more resources the village would have to invest in Shinya's Sage Art training.
Ishiro said to Shinya, who was not far away, just having entered Sage Mode and still observing the patterns of his sage markings in a puddle of water, "Shinya, try out your Sage Art."
"Yes," Shinya replied listlessly.
Then he began to perform ninjutsu enhanced by sage chakra. The current Shinya was just like Ishiro when he had first entered Sage Mode; the proportion of sage chakra transformed in his body was not high. After a round of testing ninjutsu and taijutsu, it was quickly used up.
Ishiro and the others nodded.
Ishiro said, "That's right, it's Sage Art, no doubt. Maintain Sage Mode more in the future and strive to achieve it in a normal state as soon as possible."
Ishiro called Shinya's current state, where only a part of his physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy were fused, the first stage. The first stage had a high risk of being turned to stone by natural energy.
As for Ikura, he hadn't even reached the first stage; he could be considered as not having even started.
Before his trip to the Land of Snow, Ishiro was at the second stage. The mark of the second stage was the fusion of the maximum amount of natural energy, meaning the ninja's own physical and spiritual energy conversion rate was 100%. At this stage, there was basically no possibility of being petrified. That was why Ishiro would often set up a natural energy seal outside the village by himself and then enter Sage Mode alone.
The third stage was Ishiro's current stage: being able to enter Sage Mode directly in a normal environment without relying on a natural energy seal. At this time, entering Sage Mode did not consume resources.
The fourth stage was the perfect Sage Mode: being able to enter it instantly without a long period of preparation. This was still a long way off for the current Ishiro.
What Ishiro had just told Shinya, to "achieve Sage Mode in a normal state," was this third stage. He planned to let Shinya go to the Land of Snow branch to study the energy under the Rainbow Ice Wall after he had reached the third stage.
"Alright, Shinya's Sage Art is on the right track. I have to make a trip to the Land of Demons as well. Megumi has been getting along well with the Priestess of the Land of Demons this past month. The Priestess has already agreed that as long as we can really help them completely solve the problem of that monster, Mōryō, she is willing to let the Land of Demons, like the Land of Snow, support us in establishing a branch," Ishiro said to the few advisors around him.
Ikura glanced at him and said grumpily, "Don't just make the decision. It wasn't said that you, the Tsuchikage, have to go."
Ishiro couldn't hold it in and looked a bit sheepish. He said in a low voice, "This Mōryō in the Land of Demons has abilities related to spiritual power. I plan to take Katsumata and Natsuki along to study it properly. Only I am suitable for this matter. It's not suitable for you to go, Ikura."
"Hmph. Go on, go on. Even if I were suitable, you would just come up with another reason," Ikura said helplessly.
"Hehe, then I'll set off tomorrow?" Ishiro looked carefully at the others.
Bella and Saka looked at each other, sighed, and said in unison, "We have no objection."
Ishiro was overjoyed. As if afraid they would go back on their word, he hurriedly said to Shinya not far away, "Shinya, alright, that's it for today. Go back and get a good rest. Just practice more after this. Dismissed, dismissed, everyone's dismissed."
After speaking, Ishiro was the first to slip away.
(End of Chapter)
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