Chapter 506: The Four-Tails Takes the Bait
"Alright, that's enough."
"Since you've already gained the ability to use Sage Art, you don't need to worry about Konoha's Sage Art promotion anymore. Just focus on your duties as Tsuchikage. Leave everything else to me."
Ōnoki waved his hand, taking full responsibility for the matter himself.
He had no intention of looking too deeply into Kurotsuchi's unique version of Sage Art, nor did he think about promoting it to others.
Not everything was suitable for widespread use.
Promoting Sage Art was a case where the benefits clearly outweighed the drawbacks.
But other things, such as his Dust Release—even if there were a way to let everyone learn it, it still shouldn't be made public.
If everyone had access to Dust Release, what were once small-scale conflicts would become battles where people died at the slightest disagreement.
Besides, even if more people mastered Dust Release, it still wouldn't pose much of a threat to the Ōtsutsuki.
On the other hand, if the Ōtsutsuki learned Dust Release themselves, the threat to the ninja world would become enormous.
Of course, according to the intelligence provided by Amegakure, the Ōtsutsuki Clan was completely obsessed with bloodlines. All of their abilities came from their lineage, so they were naturally uninterested in learning.
They had even less interest in learning ninjutsu created by what they considered inferior beings—the shinobi of the ninja world.
Even so, there was always the chance of the unexpected.
So Ōnoki had no intention of suddenly becoming some saint who believed in sharing every secret technique with the world.
Seeing Ōnoki willingly take over the troublesome task, Kurotsuchi was more than happy to let him.
The matter had nothing to do with her in the first place, and it was both troublesome and unpleasant.
Having the old man supervise everything himself was the best outcome.
And so, Iwagakure also launched an enthusiastic village-wide Sage Art training campaign.
Ōnoki, Akatsuchi, and Kitsuchi all began training Sage Art.
The three of them devoted themselves to it wholeheartedly.
Ironically, the person everyone had expected to progress the fastest, Ōnoki, ended up making the slowest progress.
The reason was simple.
A phone that takes forever to turn on, won't turn on easily, or has terrible battery life after it starts are completely different problems.
Jiraiya had an advantage because he could "boot up" quickly. Once he entered the process, he could activate Sage Mode rapidly, even if he couldn't maintain it for very long.
Ōnoki, however, was different.
He was even older than the late Sarutobi Hiruzen by nearly half a generation.
Not only was his "battery life" short, but he was also slow to "boot up" and had difficulty getting started at all, making the entire process take much longer.
On top of that, his back wasn't in good shape. Any movement that was too forceful could easily throw it out.
"Ōnoki, you old fossil! Get out here!"
Just as Ōnoki was trying once again to train in his room, an angry roar from Rōshi came from outside.
The sudden shout startled Ōnoki, causing his painstakingly built concentration to collapse just before success.
Without answering immediately, Ōnoki hurriedly straightened his clothes.
As it turned out, that had been the right decision.
When Rōshi realized he hadn't answered right away, he barged straight in, leaped onto the second floor, jumped through the balcony, and found Ōnoki.
Ōnoki silently thanked himself for reacting in time.
Otherwise, Rōshi would definitely have caught him in the middle of training.
"Ōnoki! So you really were secretly training by yourself! I misjudged you—I didn't think you'd still be this petty!"
Rōshi looked him up and down with obvious disappointment.
"Huh? Rōshi, what are you talking about?"
Ōnoki looked completely confused.
"Still pretending? Weren't you just practicing Sage Mode?"
Crossing his arms, Rōshi glared coldly at him.
"How did you know?"
Ōnoki was stunned.
Only he, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and Kitsuchi knew about this.
He had specifically instructed them to keep it secret until at least one of them had mastered Sage Art, and not mention it to anyone else in the village.
So how had Rōshi found out?
Had those people from Konoha told him?
"Hmph. The Four-Tails told me, of course. But don't change the subject, Ōnoki. Why would you hide something as good as Sage Art training from me?"
Rōshi snorted and continued questioning him.
"The Four-Tails?"
Ōnoki was baffled.
How had the Four-Tails learned about it?
But now wasn't the time to worry about that. If he didn't calm Rōshi down soon, their relationship would fall apart again.
"Rōshi, calm down and hear me out. Since you learned about this from the Four-Tails, then you should also know what's required to cultivate Sage Art."
"If I'd told you about it and invited you to train with us, what would you have thought? Wouldn't you have felt I was insulting you?"
"That's why I didn't tell you. I only brought Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi."
"Once we successfully master it, then we'd come to you. At that point, you'd believe us. Isn't that right?"
Ōnoki sighed.
"So that's how it is. You thought it through well. My reputation really can't be tarnished."
Rōshi considered it for a moment before making a suggestion.
"How about this? Give me a copy of the training method. I'll leave the village and find a quiet place to train alone like I always do."
"With the immense chakra of a Tailed Beast, the amount of natural energy it can control must be incredible."
"Until the day you truly need me to act, keep this a secret. Don't tell anyone else that I'm training Sage Mode. Got it?"
---
In truth, Ōnoki's guess wasn't wrong.
It really had been someone from Konoha who told Rōshi.
Claiming it was the Four-Tails had simply been an excuse Rōshi made on the spot. After all, Ōnoki had no way to verify it with the Four-Tails.
The one who had actually told him was Naruto.
After arriving in Iwagakure, Naruto hadn't forgotten his side objective while carrying out his main mission of spreading Sage Mode cultivation.
That side objective was collecting the power of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails.
Among the nine Tailed Beasts inside him, only Iwagakure's Four-Tails and Five-Tails were still missing.
So Naruto visited Rōshi in his capacity as a fellow jinchūriki.
Surprisingly enough, Naruto's arrival actually helped ease the strained relationship between Rōshi and the Four-Tails.
After speaking with the other Tailed Beasts inside Naruto, the Four-Tails learned that Naruto was the reincarnation of Asura, the son of the Sage of Six Paths, and also the person foretold in the prophecy who would bring happiness to the Tailed Beasts.
Naturally, the Four-Tails gladly agreed and voluntarily gave Naruto a portion of its body.
As a result, it even started looking at Rōshi more favorably.
What the Four-Tails didn't know, however, was that because it had missed the "First Tailed Beast Conference," both it and the Five-Tails had already been mercilessly designated by the other Tailed Beasts as the sacrifices.
None of the other Tailed Beasts mentioned the Great Toad Sage's actual prophecy.
They had even deliberately polished the famous line about "the blue-eyed youth who calls the names of the nine beasts."
Instead, they claimed he would bring happiness to the Tailed Beasts, using that story to lure the Four-Tails into taking the bait.
The moment they sensed the Four-Tails had fallen for it, the original bodies of the other Tailed Beasts all felt it at once.
Their moods instantly improved.
Meanwhile, Yugito, who had arranged to have dinner with Shiromo later that evening, also sensed the Two-Tails' delight and smiled.
Don't blame your brothers and sisters for being heartless, Four-Tails.
You're a monkey, and monkeys are the most human-like of all animals.
So you're obviously the perfect match for Naruto.
(End of this chapter)