[Uchiha Clan Grounds]
"…Input chakra at this point to make the sealing technique activate faster," Rengoku was giving Karin a lesson.
As someone who inherited the essence of sealing arts from both the Shrine Maiden clan and the Uzumaki clan, Rengoku was now already the strongest sealing master in the ninja world.
So when he put on the "Senku" disguise, he was especially skilled and smooth with it.
Karin, as his disciple, was also extremely talented.
Although limited by age, and her chakra reserves weren't that large yet, in terms of theory she was already very solid.
Karin had now grown half a head taller; by Rengoku's estimate, she had to be at least twelve years old to reach that kind of height.
By comparison, Sasuke was just a little shorter. No wonder Sasuke wanted to grow taller too.
At this rate, Karin really could only be Sasuke's senior sister.
Rengoku figured that today Naruto would probably see Minato. He wondered if the "punch Dad at first sight" situation would happen.
'Only, the second-time Minato should completely trust me, right?'
Rengoku let Karin practice on her own, then opened the Bond Star.
Minato's bond had already gone from two stars before, to now over three stars.
The first two stars, Rengoku had already drawn from. Now the third star, he was somewhat expectant.
Rengoku suppressed the excitement in his heart.
Opening Minato's third star, Minato's most famous secret art, what could it be if not that.
["Ding, Namikaze Minato's Level 3 Bond has been unlocked."]
["Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Sage Arts (Flawed)."]
'F*ck!'
'So it was all for nothing. I thought it would be Flying Thunder God, but it turned out to be Sage Arts.'
'Looks like I don't even have the aptitude for Sage Arts.'
'There's even a "Flawed" note after it.'
'But does "Flawed Sage Arts" mean it gathers natural energy slowly, or wastes it quickly?'
Rengoku prepared to test it out.
"That's it for today's lesson. Once you've gotten proficient, I'll teach you the next one."
Since it was one-on-one teaching, Rengoku's lessons weren't that rigid.
"I got it, Shishou!"
Although Karin was a bit mischievous compared to her peers, when Rengoku was teaching she was still very obedient.
Rengoku reached out and patted Karin's head, "Head back early."
"Then I'll go first, Shishou."
Since they were doing sealing technique experiments, the place wasn't far from the training grounds.
After sending Karin off, Rengoku headed into the woods at the edge of the training grounds.
He left a clone behind in the classroom he had just been in.
Both clones began gathering Sage chakra at the same time.
After all, it was his golden finger that let him learn Sage Arts. Even though this was his first time, Rengoku still felt it came naturally.
It was just that the speed of gathering Sage chakra was a bit slow.
'At this pace, doesn't it take at least three hours to absorb, what use is it in battle?'
Although the speed was as slow as a turtle, this was an experiment, so Rengoku endured and absorbed for an hour.
On the other side, the clone also absorbed for an hour.
Then both his true self and his clone came together to a corner of the training ground.
They simultaneously entered Sage Mode.
In an instant, Rengoku's eyes changed into a horizontal slit, and orange markings appeared around his eyes.
The true self and the clone looked each other over, this was indeed the sign of Toad Sage Arts.
Rengoku then activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
The pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan didn't change much, except the very center turned into a black horizontal line.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures quickly collided.
They began exchanging blows at high speed.
Rengoku carefully sensed the enhancements to strength and agility within his body.
The effect of Sage Arts really was powerful. In Rengoku's understanding, Sage Arts forcibly boosted his three attributes.
So whether it was strength, agility, or constitution, they all increased.
Other effects included stronger reflexes and faster recovery.
But the time of Sage Arts was running short.
Rengoku and his clone both formed seals at the same time, "Fire Release, Ghost Lantern!"
The two of them transformed into two blazing torrents of fire and violently clashed together.
The collision of firelight instantly lit the previously dim training ground as bright as day.
The commotion was so big it directly drew all the nearby clan members from the training grounds over.
"Whose Fire Release is this strong?"
"Looks like it's the clan head?"
"That technique, it seems to be the clan head's, called Ghost Lantern."
"Let's go see!"
So many people came running. Rengoku's true self and clone both transformed back into human form.
When landing, the clone directly sank into the ground's shadow.
"It really is the clan head."
"Is the clan head training a new technique?"
"Clan head!"
Rengoku wasn't arrogant. Everyone greeted him, and he politely responded one by one, saying aloud, "Just testing a technique, that's all. Disperse."
The clan members exclaimed in amazement, then slowly scattered.
Obtaining Sage Arts had indeed pushed Rengoku's raw strength forward another step.
As for the slow absorption, that didn't matter at all.
Rengoku could imitate Naruto's method, using the power-bank style Sage Arts for endurance.
He sensed that his clone hiding in the shadow could also absorb natural energy just fine.
But that wasn't the key.
The key was that the total amount of Sage chakra one could carry after mixing it into the body was limited.
Rengoku's special clone, however, could store any type of energy. Natural energy Sage chakra could also be stockpiled.
He could completely use this clone as a super-sized power bank.
That way, it perfectly avoided the flaw of slow natural energy absorption and slow Sage chakra blending.
'Looks like Sage Mode Susanoo is worth pursuing.'
Rengoku opened the Bond Star list.
He checked which fruits he hadn't harvested yet.
Clan members who had reached two stars, he had already harvested all of them once.
To wait for the next fruit to grow, it could take ten years and still not be certain.
But now he didn't even need them, since his body's energy was already close to saturation.
Any further chakra or pupil power draws would only be stored in clones.
Or, just like Orochimaru said, use them for genetic completion to evolve the level of life itself.
Only then could Rengoku hold even more chakra and pupil power.
Although there were many people's fruits unclaimed, Rengoku only cared about two.
Kurama.
Uzumaki Naruto.
These past two years, Rengoku had used Kushina's help to buy Kurama quite a few movies to watch.
He had also raised Kurama's Bond Star to level two.
Naruto's had long since passed level two, but Rengoku had only unlocked up to level two.
After all, Naruto was still young. He didn't understand many things yet.
On Rengoku's clone's stomach was also a Four Symbols Seal, that was where he'd taken Nine-Tails chakra from Kurama.
That was the core of the Golden Cicada Shell Escape Plan.
The more pressure he put on Hiruzen Sarutobi, the greater the chance Hiruzen would make mistakes.
Once the Third Hokage was pushed to desperation, Rengoku could directly deal with him.
When the time was right, Rengoku would convene a Konoha high council meeting.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.