Chapter 180: Sage Mode, and Splitting the Nine-Tails
Inside the underground lab next to the Konoha Hospital, Kinoshita Genichi suddenly appeared.
With his research projects increasing and Tsunade becoming the Hokage, the old lab was no longer suitable. So this more secretive underground base had been constructed. Several of the living test subjects had also been moved here. If he was going to bring out the White Zetsu, this was the only place he could keep it.
He arrived at a lab specifically for researching White Zetsu, where two of his shadow clones were already at work. They merely glanced up at him before continuing their tasks.
Genichi sighed softly. Since becoming the Hokage, Tsunade hadn't been to the lab once. Now that Ina and Shizune were also helping in the Hokage's office, he was short two more assistants.
If only I had Kotoamatsukami, he thought. I could just use it on the White Zetsu.
This was also why he hadn't forced the spores out of his body before. There wasn't much difference between studying a living Zetsu and a dead one. A living one had to be specially contained to prevent it from escaping. So he had just let them stay in his body, to be brought out when needed.
Now, with his progress in Sage Mode being unexpectedly smooth, he had to take them out first, lest they interfere with his training. As for how to force out the spores, it was simple.
Genichi directly drew out the Nine-Tails' chakra from his seal. The next moment, stimulated by this chakra that was brimming with life force, the White Zetsu spores emerged from his body.
"How did you know we existed?" one of them cried out in terror.
There were four spore-Zetsus in total. The Nine-Tails' chakra had made it impossible for them to maintain their spore form. After absorbing the chakra, they grew into their complete forms. The moment they landed, they immediately tried to burrow into the ground. Unfortunately, the lab had been specially constructed; there was no way to escape underground.
Genichi snorted, and the four Zetsus were frozen in place.
"Why did you let them out?" one of the busy clones stopped and asked curiously.
"I can already sense natural energy," the real Genichi said. "You two, lock these guys up properly. They'll be useful in the future. Hmm, you can implant some Hashirama cells into them first to strengthen them a bit."
The clones nodded, and each grabbed a Zetsu and dragged them away. To be honest, for Genichi, these four were a godsend. They could be used for the Spirit Transformation Technique, the Primordial Spirit Technique, the Impure World Reincarnation, and the Reaper Death Seal.
After dealing with them, he teleported back home.
"Ina? Kurenai?" He was a bit confused to see the two women in his living room. When had they become friends?
"Genichi!" Ina and Kurenai stopped their conversation and stood up.
He glanced at the scrolls on the table. "Are you two discussing genjutsu?"
"I was asking Ina for some advice," Kurenai said quickly.
"Kurenai came looking for you, but you weren't here," Ina smiled. "So we exchanged some of our thoughts on genjutsu."
"I had no idea Ina was so skilled in genjutsu," Kurenai said with admiration. Indeed, from their conversation, she was now completely convinced that Ina's proficiency in the art surpassed her own. It was truly astonishing.
Genichi couldn't help but smile. He had held nothing back when he had taught Ina.
"Well, you two continue." He was about to leave.
"Genichi, I still have to go to the Hokage's office," Ina said quickly. "I'll leave Kurenai to you." With that, she ran off.
Kurenai was a little embarrassed, her face blushing. "Genichi, if you're busy, I can come back another time." Ina is getting more and more mischievous.
Genichi felt a little helpless, but he said, "It's fine. I can use a shadow clone."
Kurenai was secretly relieved. She had gotten used to asking him for advice, but Ina's actions just now had made her feel as if she had been seen through. However, her personality was not one to give up or run away easily.
Leaving a clone to continue teaching Kurenai, Genichi's real body leaped to the roof of his house. The feeling of being pursued by women was indeed not bad. But his training could not stop; it was more important than women. A strong man would never lack for them, while a weak one couldn't even beg for them. It had been this way since ancient times, across all worlds.
Creating another clone just in case, he sat down cross-legged and began his real Sage Mode training.
The training was very difficult. The first step alone, sensing natural energy, stopped many people. Tsunade, for example, couldn't even do that. Of course, there was another major prerequisite: a sufficient amount of chakra. Because compared to the vastness of natural energy, the human body was insignificant. If one's own power was insufficient, just absorbing a small amount of it would cause an overload, and one would be assimilated. At Mount Myōboku, this meant turning into a petrified toad. In the Shikkotsu Forest, it meant turning into a plant. Orochimaru's failure at the Ryūchi Cave was probably also due to this first step. That was why he had developed the curse mark through his research on Jūgo, to obtain sage power in another way.
And Jūgo's was a sage transformation; his cells directly absorbed natural energy, and then he would rampage. It was different from Naruto's Sage Mode.
Now, two choices lay before Genichi.
First, the Sage Mode of Jiraiya and Minato, where spiritual energy, physical energy, and natural energy were refined into senjutsu chakra in equal proportions.
Second, the sage transformation of the Slug Sage of the Shikkotsu Forest, where the cells directly absorbed natural energy, causing one to become a sage. Genichi didn't know about the situation at Mount Myōboku or the Ryūchi Cave, but he suspected that Gamamaru, Gamabunta, and the other toads used sage transformation. This could be seen from their ability to rapidly increase their size. And the long lifespans of the three great sages… Sage Mode didn't have that benefit. The information about the Slug Sage's transformation had come from the sage art data left by Hashirama.
"It's hard to say which method is better for now, but in terms of difficulty and danger, Sage Mode is simpler and relatively less dangerous," he thought. After passing the hurdle of sensing natural energy, the most dangerous part of Sage Mode was controlling it so it didn't go out of control. So he had left a clone nearby. If he failed to control it, the clone would disperse the absorbed energy to prevent him from being assimilated.
As for the sage transformation path, if the cells directly absorbed natural energy, a loss of control would probably lead to the same fate as Jūgo: a rampage.
"I'll take the Sage Mode path first. As for sage transformation, I can first use senjutsu chakra to in turn nourish my cells, letting them gradually adapt to the natural power…"
After careful consideration, he lowered his eyes and officially began his training.
After closing his eyes and clearing his mind of all miscellaneous thoughts, his perception was filled with the colorful natural energy of the world. He carefully began to absorb this energy, like breathing. It was a very metaphysical thing. But he had the Art of Sha: the spiritual power of all things, let me connect with it.
Wisps of natural energy entered his body. The moment they did, they immediately tried to combine with his physical body, to influence it. When the amount was small, the influence was minimal. But once the amount increased, the natural energy was like a foreign invader, changing the body's original system and destroying its independence. And so, rampages occurred.
Genichi could feel some hidden things in his body stirring, such as various suppressed emotions, which were stimulated by the natural energy. His cells and genes were also affected. What he had to do now was to restrain these negative effects, to control this energy, and to combine it with his own physical and spiritual energy to form senjutsu chakra.
Time passed, bit by bit. Soon, the afternoon was gone, and the sky began to darken. Kurenai took her leave. After walking some distance, she couldn't help but look back at him on the roof, then left with a sense of wonder and curiosity.
As night fell, Genichi suddenly opened his eyes. The clone watching him asked, "Did you fail?"
"No, I succeeded," he smiled. "Sage Mode… it doesn't seem as hard as I thought."
"You did it?" the clone was taken aback, looking at his face.
"I did," he nodded.
"How come you don't have the markings?"
"Does the Sage of Six Paths have markings?" Genichi spread his hands.
"Are you comparing yourself to the Sage of Six Paths?" the clone rolled its eyes.
Genichi directly dispelled it. How dare a mere clone talk back to the main body?
For Sage Mode, the fewer the physical changes, the more perfect the control over natural energy and sage power. In this aspect, Minato and Naruto had even surpassed the First Hokage. Now, Genichi had no changes at all, which meant that his control over natural and senjutsu chakra had reached an astonishing level.
"My understanding of chakra is very deep," he said. He didn't think he was any less than the Sage of Six Paths. People should not revere the past and belittle the present. Of course, the Sage had learned it in half a day. It seemed that he had taken even less time, but in reality, he had spent a very long time just sensing the natural energy.
"Sage Mode, plus the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, which I can use for quite a while. Should I be able to fight Madara head-on now?" He stood on the roof, looking in the direction of the Mountain's Graveyard, feeling an urge to act. But had Madara unplugged himself from the tubes yet?
"Genichi!" Suddenly, Ina appeared on the roof. "The Hokage has an urgent matter for you!"
"An urgent matter?" He came back to his senses, grabbed her, and then appeared in the Hokage's office.
"Eh, Minato-san, Sister Kushina, you're here too." He was slightly surprised, then his gaze fixed on Kushina's stomach.
"Hahaha, I knew you would guess it right away, Genichi!" Kushina laughed.
"Ina, you didn't secretly tell him, did you?" Tsunade complained.
Ina quickly shook her head. She had wanted to hint at it, but she hadn't had time.
As expected. And at this time, way ahead of schedule. Sasuke hasn't even been conceived yet. Numerous thoughts flashed through his mind. "Minato-san, Sister Kushina, congratulations," he smiled.
"Thank you," Minato said with a smile. He was very happy to be a father soon. But he was also worried, since Kushina was a jinchuriki.
Tsunade also put aside her playful mood and said solemnly, "Genichi, you know that the seal weakens when a jinchuriki gives birth, right?"
"Are you worried about Madara Uchiha?" he nodded.
"The White Zetsu you mentioned before," Minato said in a deep voice, "their intelligence-gathering ability seems to be very astonishing. Kushina has also sensed them before with her negative emotion sensing. I'm afraid the news of her pregnancy can't be hidden, can it?"
"It's very difficult to completely block such information," Tsunade said. "For now, we can only consider whether we can keep the delivery date a secret."
"It's difficult," Genichi shook his head. "The enemy doesn't need to know the exact date. They can deduce a lot just by watching Konoha's movements."
"Could we set up a diversion to mislead the enemy and make them attack early?" Ina suggested.
"That would still be using Sister Kushina as bait, and it's very dangerous," he shook his head. "Because no one is confident they can stop him."
"The initiative is not in our hands," Minato nodded.
"That guy Madara might not even come," Kushina said with a carefree laugh.
"Although there's no absolutely safe method," Minato immediately smiled, "I can protect you and the child!" Even if it costs me my life.
Tsunade frowned, her mood frustrated. Too passive. She didn't like this feeling. Ina and Shizune also couldn't be happy.
Sensing the somber atmosphere, Genichi smiled. "Actually, there are still quite a few options."
Everyone looked at him.
"Let's assume Madara will come for the Nine-Tails," he said. "Then… let's prepare for the worst. Let's assume the Nine-Tails will be taken by him. After all, he has controlled it before, and he has strength on par with the First Hokage. In that case, we can just split the Nine-Tails beforehand."
Split it? Everyone was confused.
"Genichi," Minato was the quickest to react, "are you talking about… the Reaper Death Seal?"
"That jutsu costs the user's life, doesn't it?" Ina's face changed.
"No way!" Tsunade immediately shouted.
"Can you let me finish first?" Genichi said wearily. "It is indeed the Reaper Death Seal. At present, I can only think of this jutsu to split the Nine-Tails. However, it does indeed require the caster's life as a price, but I am an exception."
"Genichi, have you found a way to break that jutsu?" Kushina asked with pleasant surprise. She remembered he had said he would solve its side effect.
He nodded, then shook his head. "I have indeed found a way to release the Reaper Death Seal, but it still requires a life as a price. So I thought of another method. The Spirit Transformation Technique."
Tsunade was stunned.
Minato, who was very sensitive to jutsu, immediately understood. "Use the Spirit Transformation Technique to control someone else to cast the Reaper Death Seal? But to split the Nine-Tails, can it be done from within the seal? I'm afraid that's impossible."
"If the Tailed Beast is extracted from a jinchuriki, they will definitely die, right?" Tsunade said, coming back to her senses.
"No," he smiled. "With Sister Kushina's constitution, she will not die immediately. And in fact, if the Tailed Beast is extracted, as long as it is sealed back in, the jinchuriki will be fine."
Tsunade and the others were stunned. They didn't know this.
"Genichi," Minato said excitedly, "is this information accurate?"
"I am very sure," he nodded. "Don't forget, I am also a jinchuriki, in a sense. And this can be verified with the Nine-Tails."
"I'll go ask it right now," Kushina said quickly.
"Try to bluff it," Minato reminded her.
Kushina's red hair immediately flew up, her hands on her hips. "Minato, do you think I'm stupid?"
"Uh, of course not," he said with an awkward smile. "I was just too nervous."
Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere immediately lightened a lot.
Kushina lowered her eyes, but when she opened them again, she was smiling. "Genichi was right. That guy the Nine-Tails was very surprised when I told him."
"Then there is only one problem left," Tsunade said, her arms crossed. "Genichi, is your method feasible? Using the Spirit Transformation Technique to control someone else to cast the Reaper Death Seal."
"In theory, it is feasible," he said with confidence. "Because in terms of chakra, it won't be using mine. Actually, the Shadow Possession Technique could also do it, but the precision is not as high, and it's difficult to control." If Auntie Snake can exploit a loophole, so can I.
"You've never used it before, have you?" Tsunade said. "Can you test it first?"
"No problem," he nodded. He then formed a hand seal. Summoning Jutsu!
Poof!
A White Zetsu was summoned. It was one of the spore-Zetsus, but it had been enhanced. For a White Zetsu, infusing Hashirama's cells was simple; an afternoon was enough.
"Ina!" he called out.
Ina immediately used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind the Zetsu.
"Hey, I'm sealed right now," it said wearily.
Genichi released its seal. Then, from within his Yin Seal, his Primordial Spirit stepped out.
"Is this the Spirit Transformation Technique?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"No, I call it the Primordial Spirit. It's a modified version," he smiled.
"Your body can still move," she said, surprised. The one who had just spoken was his physical body.
"I can maintain basic movements," he said.
And his Primordial Spirit had already entered the White Zetsu's body, controlling it. Ina also retracted her chains.
The next moment, the White Zetsu's hands flew through seals, finally clapping together. Immediately, the specter of the Shinigami appeared behind and above it. But it quickly vanished. The jutsu was canceled, and Genichi's Primordial Spirit also returned to his body.
"It really is feasible," he smiled. "It locks onto the chakra, so it won't lock onto my soul."
"Then how do we release that jutsu?" Minato asked. After all, if they used the Reaper Death Seal to split the Nine-Tails, it would be sealed in the Shinigami's stomach.
(End of Chapter)
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