A second or two later, Minato asked with curiosity, "What does your clan's Sage Mode look like?"
"Actually, I don't know either, meow."
Raj spread his paws in a very human-like gesture.
A cat's Sage Mode was clearly different from a human's, and Rin, who was currently learning it, was still in the adaptation phase.
"What a pity..." Minato looked Rin up and down.
He was very curious about the conditions required to achieve Sage Mode, but he hadn't yet mastered it himself.
Jiraiya hadn't fully mastered it either, so there was no way to study it.
If Rin could master it, she would become a valuable research subject.
He could also study the differences in how different races achieve Sage Mode.
"Meow~ Rin should master it soon. You can study it, but don't harm her body."
"Of course. Thank you, Raj."
Externally, Minato was renowned for his exceptional strength and prodigious talent, hailed as Konoha's most brilliant and youngest Jonin of his generation.
Internally, however, he was simply a man terrified of Kushina.
Lay a hand on Rin?
He wouldn't dare, even if he had the courage.
If Kushina ever found out, the consequences would be worse than death.
Moreover, given his righteous and kind nature, Raj doubted he would ever do such a thing.
Even Jiraiya became serious when training his disciples, let alone Minato.
He genuinely just wanted to study Sage Mode.
This wasn't just about himself; Minato and Jiraiya both knew that their teacher's Sage Mode was far from perfected.
Over the following days, the Third Mizukage and Third Raikage frequently met and bickered, but their interactions with Konoha remained harmonious.
None attempted to escape, and all cooperated obediently in paying their dues.
Soon after, the Kiri Ninja delivered a sum of money, ninja tools, and Exploding Tags.
However, this was only a partial payment.
Additional supplies would be gradually gathered and continuously sent to Konoha, as stipulated in the signed and sealed contract.
Should the Third Mizukage renege upon returning, Konoha retained the right to "retrieve" him or his blade.
After the Third Mizukage was released, he honored the agreement by sending two Ninjutsu Scrolls.
Simultaneously, the Kiri Ninja completely withdrew from the Land of Water.
With this, the eastern war came to a definitive end.
Tsunade reclined in her chair, her expression languid and relaxed.
One against two.
Before it ended, she had never dared to believe the war could conclude so swiftly.
Her initial projections estimated the conflict would drag on for at least three to five years, if not longer.
But Konoha couldn't afford such a protracted war.
A one-against-four war was inherently unfair.
The longer it dragged on, the greater the losses for Konoha and the Land of Fire.
Even victory under such circumstances would be Pyrrhic, potentially leaving the village weakened and vulnerable to being surpassed by other nations.
This was precisely the calculation of Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
But alas, their schemes...
It had failed. The Third Raikage's plans had been forcibly disrupted by the intervention of Raj and Minato.
There was no news from Iwagakure yet, but it was assumed that Orochimaru and Jiraiya could handle the situation.
Tsunade hummed a little tune as she drank her sake, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Suddenly, light footsteps approached the door.
She quickly hid the sake bottle behind her chair and straightened up, assuming a serious demeanor as if she were diligently reviewing documents.
But the lingering scent of sake...
"Lady Tsunade, you're drinking again!"
Shizune pouted, immediately searching for the hidden bottle.
"Ahem, Shizune, is there something you need?" Tsunade cleared her throat.
"Senior Guy got out of bed today and started training with Guy and Raj. Should we stop him or bring him back?" Shizune reported quickly.
'Guy, huh...'
Tsunade rubbed her temples, casually retrieved the sake bottle from behind her chair, and drained it in one gulp.
"I'll go check on him. You and Rin help the medical team tend to the wounded," she said.
"Understood."
Shizune glanced at the empty bottle before turning to leave.
Tsunade watched her retreating figure, sighing softly.
She then put away the sake bottle and went out to find Raj.
She had heard about Raj's training sessions with Guy and the others.
Initially, she had even observed one, but after realizing he was only teaching basic taijutsu, she lost interest.
However, when Guy was involved, her curiosity piqued.
The concept of the Eight Gates had first been proposed by Tobirama Senju, but for some reason, he abandoned the research after only a few days.
She never imagined that someone would independently develop the Eight Inner Gates technique years later.
And this person was just a perennial Genin.
She had only taken a few steps when a burst of flames erupted nearby.
Fire?
Intrigued, Tsunade quickened her pace.
Soon, she arrived at the training grounds where Raj, Senior Guy, and Guy were practicing.
There, she witnessed a towering pillar of fire erupting before Guy, from which fiery fists shot forth like missiles.
Each punch that struck the ground detonated in a massive explosion.
After a barrage of attacks, the small earthen hill before them had been completely leveled.
The destructive power was astonishing.
It was common knowledge that Guy knew no ninjutsu whatsoever.
'What is this...? Taijutsu?'
Tsunade was stunned.
Could taijutsu truly achieve such power?
Even though she had imagined the Eight Inner Gates' potential to be immense, witnessing it firsthand still exceeded her wildest expectations.
Guy immediately deactivated the Gate of Wonder, standing panting heavily.
The exertion had been immense.
But he had finally succeeded.
"Excellent, meow! You've mastered the Morning Peacock. Remember the Front Lotus and Hidden Lotus from before?"
"Teacher, I've mastered both techniques. I'll teach them to my father," Guy declared loudly.
Raj nodded weakly.
He had initially thought teaching the Morning Peacock would be simple - after all, it was essentially just a rapid barrage of punches in Sixth Gate mode.
But Guy's comprehension skills proved surprisingly poor.
It was hard to imagine how he had managed to develop the Eight Inner Gates on his own.
Raj had also planned to teach the Daytime Tiger, but after some consideration...
"Meow~ The Seventh Gate has its own unique property. By rapidly punching the air in Seventh Gate mode, you can compress it into a High-Pressure Air Bullet. This technique has been recorded in our clan's ancient texts."
Raj shamelessly stole the technique right in front of its creator.
Guy's comprehension was exceptional.
Even just imagining it, he could vividly visualize the technique.
He now bitterly regretted not yet being able to reach the Seventh Gate, as he desperately wanted to try it out.
'That's it! If the High-Pressure Air Bullet could be shaped like the Morning Peacock, it could even be formed into a giant cat... Just like Raj's enlarged battle form!'
He was thrilled, convinced his idea was genius.
"Huff... huff... I...