Upon hearing this question, Yugito didn't answer immediately. Instead, she gave an inscrutable look and countered with a question of her own:
"Kaguya-sama, during our battle, I occasionally saw traces of Kumogakure's ninjutsu techniques in your moves. But those are secret techniques never meant for outsiders. How do you know them?"
"I've already told you long ago—I'm not on the same level as you. What's so strange about that?"
Kaguya said calmly, showing no sign of guilt or nervousness.
"If you're truly a higher being, shouldn't you look down upon things like the techniques we lowly ones use?"
Yugito tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Kaguya let out a cold snort.
Hiroki shook his head, no longer paying attention to the war between these two women. He planned to check how Tsunade's situation was progressing.
Konoha.
The perpetually slouched Kakashi entered the Hokage's office. His voice carried weariness but also a trace of excitement.
"Hokage-sama, those things you mentioned—detecting and resonating with Natural Energy—I've managed to accomplish them."
Tsunade startled slightly.
Hyuga hadn't reported anything yet. Kakashi was the first person to inform her about completing the first step.
She felt somewhat surprised, involuntarily observing Kakashi closely for quite a while.
At first, she thought he'd keep being trapped in his past the way he used to.
It seems he's finally pulled himself out of the past...
Unexpectedly, this lazy guy with no ambition showed greater talent in Sage Art than others.
As thoughts whirred through her mind, Tsunade seemed to grasp something.
Maybe there were two types of people particularly gifted in Sage Art.
One type were those like her grandfather, Minato, and Jiraiya—who could always preserve innocence and pure aspirations within their hearts regardless of external chaos.
Or maybe someone like Kakashi, who suffered many blows yet remained unbroken; repeatedly fell into despair but persisted, growing into someone hard to sway emotionally from external influences.
She herself belonged to this category...
A sudden pang of bitterness filled Tsunade's heart.
Viewed this way, perhaps Yugao and Izumi needed more time to progress.
Yugao lacked personal aspirations.
Izumi had goals and obsessions, but mostly suppressed hatred.
Kakashi wondered why Hokage-sama had suddenly gone silent.
Scratching his mask, he said, "Hokage-sama, I can demonstrate it for you..."
"No need, I..." Originally intending to find time later to teach him what came next, Tsunade then reconsidered—if everyone kept coming back every few days asking for re-explanations, wouldn't that mean repeating this tedious process over and over?
Too tiring, and too much wasted time.
"I'll take you to the Hyuga Clan." Pausing momentarily, Tsunade added.
Leaving the Hokage Building together, although confused by her intentions, Kakashi silently followed her lead.
At this moment, nothing else really stirred his emotions. The only thing capable of instantly reviving his spirit remained those "Uncle Stories."
Feeling the Make Out Paradise hidden in his pocket, Kakashi recalled Anko's earlier words.
Jiraiya-senpai is most likely already dead...
What a shame. I'll never even get to read the next volume of Make Out Paradise...
Kakashi was caught up in these random thoughts when, at the Hyuga compound, Hinata stood stiffly at the center, surrounded by a dozen adult clan members who had activated their Byakugan, observing the flow of chakra within her body.
Hiashi Hyuga was among them.
Seeing this scene, Tsunade and Kakashi looked at each other, clearly confused by what was going on.
"Hiashi, what exactly are you doing?" Tsunade stepped forward, asking curiously.
Hiashi took a moment to examine her internally before deactivating his Byakugan.
He explained, "Lady Hokage, we're recording how Hinata's body reacts and how her chakra flows when she uses Sage Chakra. That way, if others show any unusual signs during training, we can detect it quickly."
Tsunade considered it for a moment before nodding approvingly. "That actually makes sense. If we sense natural energy guidance about to spiral out of control, we could seal that person's tenketsu points in time to prevent accidents."
Thinking about it, the Hyuga clan really was ideal for support roles, Tsunade mused.
Kakashi listened intently, realizing this was exactly the path he needed to take next.
With the arrival of the Hokage, the clan members stopped their observations, and Hinata stepped out from the center.
Suddenly recalling something, Hiashi spoke up voluntarily:
"Lady Hokage, based on our daughter's cooperation and demonstration techniques over the past few days, combined with our clan's observations and calculations, Sage Chakra seems to enhance standard ninjutsu by approximately 30%."
"But we're unsure whether this percentage applies universally or might even be higher; my daughter simply demonstrates around a 30% increase..."
Tsunade was even more surprised, not expecting the Hyuga clan to have produced such data. She couldn't help but comment:
"You Hyuga really are quite suited for research work."
Internally proud, Hiashi maintained an outwardly calm expression.
If it weren't impolite to activate the Byakugan on others without reason, they could monitor people hundreds of times a day, clearly seeing every individual's weaknesses.
At this point, Tsunade finally remembered why she had come here in the first place and asked, "Hiashi, does anyone from the Hyuga clan currently qualify as having completed the first stage?"
After a brief pause, Hiashi replied, "Karin has progressed ahead of us and already achieved it. Children may simply have an advantage over adults in being completely focused on one thing."
Karin's experience closely resembled someone suffering various setbacks without being defeated—forced into growth. While surprising Tsunade, it also reaffirmed her earlier suspicions to some extent.
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In fact, Kimimaro originally had the ability to complete the first stage as well, but because he carries the Three-Tails within him, the beast constantly interferes with his practice, making it much harder for him.
"Kakashi has also completed the first stage."
Tsunade turned to Kakashi and said, "I'll write down the second step of the training process. Kakashi, remember this—you must have a Hyuga clan member present during training. That also goes for Karin."
She turned to Hiashi and added with a solemn tone, "Hiashi, if you sense anything unusual, immediately send someone to seal all their chakra points to prevent natural energy from entering their bodies. Don't hesitate. If you're even a moment too late, they could be consumed by nature itself and lose their lives."
Her grave tone chilled Hiashi, Hinata, and the other Hyuga clansmen.
Kakashi sensed that the later stages of the training would be unusually dangerous. He gave a serious bow toward Hiashi and others, saying, "I leave them in your capable hands, Lord Hiashi."
After giving out all her instructions, Tsunade stepped out of the Hyuga compound.
A white creature suddenly appeared at her feet.
Without missing a beat, Tsunade quipped, "Don't you think it's rather impolite to crawl up people's pants?"
White Zetsu stepped back slightly, releasing Hiroki from within.
He began talking about how Kumogakure already had ninja who'd mastered the first stage of [Sage Art] cultivation.
Tsunade first wore an expression of surprise. Those brutes from Kumogakure actually behaved themselves properly?
"That person is called Samui..."
After listening to his report, Tsunade proposed two options: "Let her stay in Konoha, or send a Hyuga clan member to Kumogakure."
After their conversation, Tsunade sighed and returned to the Hyuga clan compound to hear their thoughts.
When he learned that Tsunade wanted to send some Hyuga clan members to Kumogakure to assist the Kumogakure ninja with their training, Hiashi firmly and immediately rejected the idea.
The other clan members didn't voice their opinions outright, but clearly shared his sentiment.
Come on! Kumogakure was practically a lair of wild beasts. The village always took what it wanted by force.
This philosophy had been most extreme during the tenure of the Third and Fourth Raikages.
Even though the village currently maintains friendly relations with Konoha, who could guarantee they wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics behind their backs?
Kumogakure had always coveted bloodline limits from other ninja villages.
Once they went there, could they even return safely?
Meanwhile, Hiroki relayed Tsunade's two suggestions to Yugito.
Yugito remained silent and returned directly to Kumogakure.
In the Raikage's office, after waiting for quite a while, a tall, shapely woman with short golden hair entered upon being summoned.
"Raikage-sama." Calmly glancing at Yugito's eyes, Samui greeted as usual.
Yugito got straight to the point: "Samui, I've obtained methods for further [Sage Art] training. But this isn't something one can accomplish alone—it requires assistance. Konoha has more comprehensive procedures."
"I came up with two plans: First, sign an agreement with Konoha to have Hyuga clan members help us. Second, you personally travel to Konoha..."
Before she finished speaking, Samui cut in: "I choose option two."
Seeing her so firm in her decision, Yugito hesitated, pursing her lips while a flicker of disappointment flashed through her heart.
Was the Fourth Raikage really that unforgettable to them?
Samui waited quietly for Yugito's response.
After hesitating for a moment, Yugito asked, "Is it because of The Fourth Hokage's death that you..."
That you'd rather leave the village and never see me again?
"No," Samui's firm voice shattered her thoughts. "Raikage-sama, I just want to go out and see the world."
Her suspicions somewhat eased, and Yugito let out a breath of relief. "Fine, I approve your request."
In the distant Hidden Mist Village, Terumi Mei was inside the Mizukage building, assisting Elder Genshi and familiarizing herself with various procedures.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed as the door was forcefully pushed open. A ninja burst in, panic evident on his face.
"Senior Genshi, Lady Terumi Mei, something terrible has happened!"
"What's going on?" Elder Genshi's calm authority immediately took control of the situation. His pale, unremarkable face remained completely unreadable.
"The test subjects... they've mutated," the reporting ninja stammered nervously.
"Have they escaped?" Terumi Mei quickly followed up.
"Not yet," the messenger hesitated briefly before answering.
Terumi Mei exchanged glances with Elder Genshi. "Senior Genshi, please allow me to handle this."
Elder Genshi quietly nodded.
Generally speaking, a prison is divided into high-security areas and regular prisoner zones.
Terumi Mei stepped into the general prisoners' section.
They had originally selected twelve [experimental bodies], all spies sent from other factions.
Although the Hidden Mist Village was located in a remote place, it was still one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Even without taking action, its mere presence carried immense weight.
Other factions would still plant spies, although the number was much smaller compared to those sent to other ninja villages.
After capturing these spies and extracting intelligence from them, Kiri would imprison them.
Other prisoners serving lighter sentences might eventually be released, but these spies whose identities had been uncovered would remain imprisoned forever.
Even worse, ninja would sometimes impersonate their identities to spread misleading information meant to confuse our intelligence efforts.
Using outsiders as test subjects didn't weigh heavily on the village's shinobi—they had no qualms about it.
Inside the prison, the cells were arranged in an orderly pattern. Each prisoner occupied a separate metal cage of a few square meters to prevent fights.
As Terumi Mei walked in, she heard only constant bestial roars drowning out any other sounds.
The guard escorting her jerked a thumb forward. "Those three again — they never stop losing it."
Looking closely, Terumi Mei saw three men locked in separate cells. Yet they appeared synchronized—each twisted in expression, bulging veins pulsing, raging wildly, screaming with fury while continuously attacking both themselves and their cages.
Fortunately, these facilities were constructed with special materials; otherwise, these men would have already broken free long ago.
Along the corridor of cells arranged in two rows, numerous clear-minded prisoners sat in silence. They stared at the three frenzied prisoners with varied expressions.
"Hey, can someone shut them up? Some of us are trying to sleep!" a man's voice barked out. A few chuckles followed.
Terumi Mei didn't respond. She continued asking, "What about the other nine?"
The patrolling ninja pointed again.
This time, without needing his explanation, Terumi Mei located the prison cells where those people were held.
Inside the nine metal cages, there were no prisoners. Instead, each cage eerily held a stone statue of a frog-like creature shorter than a person, crouched low to the ground.
"Did they all escape?" Terumi Mei frowned.
The patrolling ninja shook his head, wiping nonexistent sweat from his forehead, and said ominously, "They didn't escape. That's them."
"…" Terumi Mei slightly raised her eyebrows, silently waiting for his explanation.
"Just out of nowhere, they turned into that form."
As he spoke, he let out a rather wistful sigh.
Ordinary [Transformation Jutsu] only affected visual appearance, but these people had strangely changed their species entirely—suddenly and unpredictably.
At this moment, Terumi Mei already had a guess.
That frog version of [Sage Art cultivation] kept emphasizing the characteristics of frogs. It would be impossible to claim it had no effect!
She stepped closer to the patrolling ninja and quietly asked in a voice audible only to the two of them, "The [Genjutsu] on them…"
"It has worn off already," replied the ninja.
Terumi Mei fell into thought.
Injecting Chakra could undo weaker Genjutsu. It was likely that they had regained consciousness the moment Natural Energy entered their bodies.
However, because they failed to achieve balance during the process, they suffered backlash instead.
Thinking thus, Terumi Mei shifted her gaze toward those few individuals who appeared almost crazed.
A strange unease settled over her. Could this really be what mastering Sage Art looked like?
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