In the living room of the Senju Compound.
Looking down at the full cup, Aozora muttered in disbelief, "Tsunade-sama, I haven't even come of age yet!"
With a rosy complexion from drinking, Tsunade handed him the cup and said, "You're already a Special Jonin. It's just a little alcohol!"
"Tsunade-sama!"
Shizune walked in carrying tea, and upon seeing Tsunade trying to get Aozora to drink, quickly stepped in.
She immediately removed the alcohol cup in front of Aozora and replaced it with tea before apologizing, "Tsunade-sama has had a bit too much to drink. Please forgive her for that."
This courtyard held many joyful and painful memories for Tsunade, and staying here always brought back thoughts of those who had passed away.
Resting her chin in one hand and taking another sip with the other, Tsunade insisted, "I'm not even close to drunk yet!"
Aozora couldn't help but steal a glance at Tsunade's exposed chest, then inwardly groaned at himself before using the tea to hide his guilty look.
Although Aozora tried to hide it well, Tsunade still caught on.
"Brat!"
She tugged at her top, trying to cover herself, but with so little fabric, there was no way to pull it up.
Sighing softly as she gave up struggling with her outfit, Tsunade asked, "So what did you come here for?"
Aozora answered bluntly, "To fulfill our bet and learn Sage Art."
Tsunade refilled her cup and asked with a scoff, "Hah! You've already retired. Why bother learning Sage Art now?"
Aozora met her gaze steadily and replied seriously, "Just because I've given up my ninja status doesn't mean I've abandoned my Ninja Way. Changing identities might actually help me achieve my dreams more effectively."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade straightened slightly and slowly drank from her cup.
"You actually arrived just in time. If you'd waited any longer, I would've left already."
Her cup now empty, Tsunade looked up and asked, "Have you met both conditions?"
"Naturally!" Aozora responded confidently.
The surprise in Tsunade's eyes was clear—she hadn't expected Aozora to meet both requirements for Sage Art training so soon.
These two conditions were no small feat; fulfilling them meant Aozora already possessed qualities close to Kage-level potential.
Once he mastered a few powerful high-level jutsu, Aozora would soon have combat strength equal to a Kage.
Thinking about Aozora having already retired, Tsunade couldn't help but sigh over Hiruzen's foolish decisions.
"Tremendous chakra reserves combined with excellent chakra control are essential prerequisites for mastering Sage Art," Tsunade warned again, "Meeting these two conditions alone won't guarantee success. But if neither is fulfilled and one insists on training anyway, the only result will be death."
Aozora gave a solemn nod. "I get it."
"Good then!" Hearing this, Tsunade didn't elaborate further.
She stretched lazily, giving Aozora quite the show.
Then, light green chakra appeared around her right hand, gradually forming a droplet of water at her fingertip.
As the droplet grew larger, clarity returned to Tsunade's eyes and the flush disappeared from her face.
From somewhere, Shizune produced a glass bottle to collect this highly concentrated alcohol, clearly intending it for medical use.
Aozora smirked faintly. As expected, she truly was one of the legendary [Three Ninja Masters (Sannin)].
"Is this how the [Extraction of Minor Afflictions Jutsu] works?"
After purging the alcohol from her system, Tsunade felt clearer-headed and no longer at risk of omitting important knowledge. She was now ready to teach Aozora.
"Before I teach you Sage Art cultivation," she began, "I will first give you a full introduction to everything related to Sage Art. Please listen carefully..."
Upon hearing this, Aozora sat upright with proper posture, assuming the demeanor of a dedicated student.
The concept of Sage Art explained by Tsunade closely matched what he had learned from watching Naruto anime in his previous life—in essence, ninjutsu powered by Sage Chakra.
Sage Chakra itself was formed by absorbing natural energy atop one's physical and spiritual energies.
Thus, as long as one learned how to refine Sage Chakra, they could be considered proficient in Sage Art.
"The key to refining Sage Chakra," Tsunade concluded, "is to harmonize natural energy with your physical and spiritual energies in equal measure, blending them seamlessly together."
Aozora nodded and said, "That doesn't sound difficult."
Tsunade raised her index finger and shook it from side to side.
"It's not easy at all. Natural energy is elusive—most people can't even sense it, let alone control it."
Aozora deeply empathized. His struggles to progress in both the Tian Xin Meditation Method and Embryonic Breathing within Tai Hua Yi Xing were due precisely to his inability to perceive natural energy.
Natural energy was like air, something people breathe every day—they knew it existed, yet couldn't feel its subtle components.
"So then," Aozora asked, "how should I learn?"
Tsunade raised two fingers. "I have two types of Sage Art for you—one is simple but dangerous, and the other is difficult but safe. Which do you choose?"
"Huh?" Aozora exclaimed in surprise.
He hadn't expected that Tsunade, who didn't know Sage Art in the canon story, actually possessed two Sage Art inheritances.
No wonder she was called the Konoha princess—she's absolutely loaded with techniques!
Thinking again about how Tsunade also mastered countless jutsu and medical ninjutsu, Aozora nearly gave up on trying altogether.
After recovering slightly from the shock, Aozora regained his composure and asked, "Can you tell me more about them?"
Tsunade nodded. "The first method originates from the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art cultivation technique. It requires special liquid created by Sage Katsuyu for training.
Once you apply the slug-derived liquid to your skin, a surge of natural energy will flood your body, naturally making it easier to perceive this unique force."
After explaining the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art cultivation method, Tsunade revealed its danger.
"However, such overwhelming natural energy can easily alter your physical nature. If you don't master Sage Mode before your body begins to petrify, you'll become a sluggish statue and perish."
Aozora wasn't surprised by the first method—it was indeed the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art, similar to Mount Myoboku's approach.
Having listened to the explanation of the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art, Aozora became even more curious about the second method.
Could it be that either Jiraiya or Orochimaru had passed on the Sage Arts of Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave to Tsunade?
Looking curiously at Tsunade, he asked, "What about the second Sage Art method?"
Instead of answering directly, Tsunade posed a question: "Have you heard of the Immortal Clan Talent for chakra?"
Frowning in thought for a while, Aozora hesitantly replied, "Fire Temple?"
Tsunade gave a slight nod of her jaw and remarked appreciatively, "Not bad. Though you're young, you've got some insight."
Aozora recalled the Chiriku from the original story and the Hisanobu they'd met previously, expressing confusion: "Wasn't that Hisanobu using the Xian Clan's chakra talent? That's all Sage Art can do?"
Although Chiriku would later become very powerful, likely reaching elite jonin or even kage-level strength, he still didn't live up to the legendary status of Sage Art.
Shaking her head, Tsunade replied, "The Xian Clan's chakra talent is just an emasculated version of Sage Art. It's not truly considered Sage Art."
"Emasculated version?"
Aozora repeated the phrase, then his eyes lit up. "So you have the full version?"
[Wooden Statue Summoning Technique], [Thousand Hands Manipulation Force: Thrust], and [Thousand-Hand Killing Formation]—these techniques looked very similar to what he'd seen before. Now he suspected there might be deeper connections between them.
Nodding then shaking her head, Tsunade explained, "It's more comprehensive than the Xian Clan's chakra talent but still incomplete. If it were truly complete Buddhist cultivation methods, one couldn't cultivate them without understanding Buddhist principles."
"That makes sense!" Aozora nodded. "But why did you say this Sage Art was difficult yet harmless?"
"Practicing a second form of Sage Art," Tsunade explained, "requires a serene mind and merging oneself with nature to personally perceive natural energy. Even though there's already a meditation method for sensing natural energy, actually cultivating it is still incredibly difficult."
After hearing this, Aozora roughly understood how hard it would be to cultivate the second Sage Art. He'd been practicing the Tian Xin Meditation Method for months, but still hadn't felt any Natural Energy.
After finishing her explanation about the two forms of Sage Art, Tsunade picked up her tea for a sip while waiting for Aozora to make his choice.
Aozora carefully weighed the differences between the two options.
Besides the advantages and disadvantages mentioned by Tsunade, Aozora noticed other important factors.
Compared to Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Art, clearly the second type seemed much more suitable for humans to cultivate.
However, Aozora didn't want to waste so much time sensing heaven and earth energies.
After deep consideration, Aozora lifted his head to look at Tsunade, raised his right hand and made a fist: "Kids pick sides. I'm taking both."
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