Bang! A burst of smoke rose into the air. Shien summoned Taiyi with a summoning seal.
"Take to the skies and keep watch. No one is allowed to come close!"
This experiment was of critical importance — he would not allow any unforeseen variables. That was why he had deliberately come all the way to this barren, lonely island, a place surrounded for dozens of kilometers by nothing but open sea — to ensure there were no risks, no witnesses.
"Guaa!" Taiyi croaked, spreading his wings and soaring upward. With the great toad patrolling the skies, no one could approach unnoticed.
Once the perimeter was secure, Shien swept his gaze around the rocky islet — smooth stone, a few patches of moss, and nothing else. He nodded in satisfaction. Everything was ready.
Step. He leapt up onto a seaside cliff and sat cross-legged on its edge.
The three prerequisites for Sage Mode — he had already met them all. It was time to attempt entry.
He carefully produced a small vial containing a green liquid. Tōnsen — natural energy in liquid form.
Compared to toad oil, Tōnsen was gentler. It wouldn't turn one to stone — at worst, it would "petrify" you in a botanical sense, turning your body into something like a plant.
But Shien had already injected himself with Hashirama's cells, greatly increasing his resistance to such effects. Knowing that, he wasn't worried about danger at all — otherwise, he wouldn't be this reckless.
He carefully poured a few drops of the green liquid onto the back of his hand.
Drip. Just a few drops, yet in that instant Shien felt as though he had stepped into a vast, flourishing forest, the boundless green about to swallow him whole.
Fortunately, the willpower honed through countless hours of fishing kept him from losing himself. He focused his mind, channeling chakra through his body, forcing it to merge with the natural energy in a 1:1 ratio.
It was like forcing two magnets of the same pole to touch — it took tremendous control. Without sufficient mastery, it was impossible. Worse, if natural energy overwhelmed chakra, it would consume the user completely.
The three prerequisites of Sage Mode were all essential — even for a first attempt.
But Shien had the foundation, and he was prepared mentally. The fusion went smoothly…until the very last moment.
Failure!
And when it failed, it was like a tower of blocks collapsing — no matter how tall it had stood, once it fell, everything had to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Cough, cough! He spat up several mouthfuls of blood.
Anyone else would've been long gone, their body already "botanified."
He, but survived — thanks to the natural energy elixirs refined from the Fusang Tree and the regenerative power of Hashirama's cells. Together, they didn't guarantee success, but they did guarantee survival.
Knowing he wouldn't die, he dared to go all in.
Failure didn't matter.
Even with all his confidence, Shien hadn't expected to succeed on the first try. He'd already accounted for failure — this was all part of the learning curve.
He gulped down a dose of his prepared healing serum, then quietly reflected.
In truth, he had already cleared nearly every obstacle to Sage Mode. With repeated attempts, it was only a matter of time before mastery.
It might look effortless now, but that was because all the groundwork had been done beforehand. Reality wasn't a novel — not every critical breakthrough needed a dozen twists and setbacks first. Even novels didn't bother with that cliché anymore.
Hours later!
His injuries had completely healed under the serum's effects.
Once more, he let a few drops of Tōnsen fall from the vial.
A small-scale fusion attempt this time — he wasn't about to overload himself. Once he succeeded, he could slowly increase the amount.
This time, the fusion could be described in two words — silky smooth.
There was no hesitation, no resistance. The natural energy and his chakra merged seamlessly, transforming into a new kind of energy within him — Sage Chakra.
It was like water turning to ice… or electricity becoming nuclear power.
Feeling the change within him, Shien opened his eyes.
They glowed a brilliant golden-red, dazzling to look upon — anyone who met his gaze would feel as though they were staring into a living sun.
"Genshin—Flame God, activate."
He rose to his feet, abandoning the meditative posture. Everything flowed naturally. Having crossed the final threshold, he now embraced a new world.
How could he not voice his exhilaration?
"Then let the flames… purify everything!"
As he spoke, golden-red, flame-like markings spread from his brow across his cheeks — a visible sign of imperfect control. The greater the mastery, the smaller the external transformation.
Right now, his entire body radiated heat like a descending sun.
Sensing the new energy within — Sage Chakra — Shien raised his right hand, bare of gloves.
Whoosh! A platinum flame flickered to life at his fingertip.
Platinum. Different from any normal fire — the color itself spoke of its temperature. Ordinary flames burned at about 700°C. Every hundred degrees more increased their power exponentially. This hue meant the temperature exceeded a thousand.
Just by converting Sage Chakra into flame, he could now melt metal and vaporize stone.
If he were to unleash it through a proper Sage Technique, it could truly devastate heaven and earth.
Chakra and Sage Chakra — the difference between a battery and nuclear power. No wonder Sage Mode users started at Kage level.
Unfortunately, before transmigrating, Shien had been a programmer, not a poet — so he couldn't craft a "scene-setting verse" to express the thrill in his chest.
The Sage Chakra was already starting to deplete, so he extinguished the platinum flame and began forming hand seals.
"Fire Style — Flame Cloak!"
He used Sage Chakra to perform the jutsu. Platinum fire enveloped his body like a thin veil. Unlike before, he felt no searing pain.
It wasn't that the Flame Cloak had stopped burning its user — it was that his body's heat resistance, combined with the insulating nature of Sage Chakra, had advanced beyond that.
This technique couldn't be called a true "Sage Art." Only jutsu created specifically for Sage Chakra could bear that name. Still, even an ordinary jutsu powered by Sage Chakra saw a massive boost — if not quite a qualitative leap.
By Shien's own standard, that was enough.
Even so, with Sage Chakra fueling it, the Flame Cloak he'd personally developed had risen to S-rank power.
Once, its strength was only C-rank — a low-level fire technique. Now, under Sage Mode, it had undergone a complete transformation. Simply approaching him would mean instant ignition and vaporization.
He didn't keep it up for long, though — he hadn't drawn in much natural energy, so Sage Mode would only last briefly.
But since he was already in Sage Mode, he wouldn't let his "first time" end so anticlimactically. He deserved a proper show.
Raising his right index finger high, he drew all the platinum flames of the cloak to it, compressing them into a tiny flame — white tinged with blue, breathtakingly brilliant.
The air itself warped from the heat.
At that moment, a massive wave surged toward the island.
Shien's eyes gleamed.
"Ōrochi Slash!"
He swung his raised right hand forward, unleashing that compressed inferno into the onrushing sea — a strike of pure, annihilating power.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786