Chapter 493: What's With All That Blood-Soaked Passion?
"Alright, please wait a moment, Raikage-sama."
Kakashi agreed and walked over to an open area, preparing to begin.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'll join too! If it's only you, the Raikage still won't fully trust us."
"Only if even someone like me, a newly graduated ninja school kid, can learn it will the Raikage truly relax."
Konohamaru stepped forward on his own initiative.
His words made the Raikage glance over.
"You're the Third Hokage's grandson, right? As expected, you've got guts! You're right. If even you can learn it, I'll fully trust you!"
The Raikage gave Konohamaru his approval.
Don't ask how the Raikage even recognized Konohamaru.
Kumogakure's intelligence on the other great ninja villages, especially Konoha, was absurdly thorough.
Otherwise, during that brief negotiation period back then, they wouldn't have been able to precisely identify candidates for the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, locate the Hyūga clan's young heiress, and confirm that no one would interfere with the abduction.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Purple Electricity!"
"Fire Release: Ash Chicken Burn!"
Kakashi and Konohamaru—lightning and fire respectively—used their signature techniques on their own shadow clones.
"What the—! What are you two doing!!!"
The Raikage had just sat down when he saw this scene and shot straight back up in shock.
He had already prepared himself mentally to watch whatever it was these two were about to do.
But he never expected this kind of "surprise."
The Raikage could only be glad he had dismissed his attendants earlier, and that this was his private training ground—no one else could casually enter.
Otherwise, this brutal scene… no kid would be able to handle it.
"Raikage-sama, you've trained in your clan's Lightning Armor technique. At the beginning, your body must have endured unimaginable pain, right?
"My Purple Electricity and Konohamaru's Ash Chicken Burn are the same!"
"They're both techniques that stimulate the body's vitality through perfectly controlled jutsu!"
"And we don't use them on ourselves—we only use them on shadow clones. Once the clone hits its limit, it disappears and transfers its memories back…"
"We don't have the massive chakra reserves like Naruto."
"So after the shadow clone disappears, if we still haven't met the requirements to enter Sage Mode, we create another clone and go through a second round!"
Kakashi explained with fiery enthusiasm while continuously shocking his shadow clone with Purple Electricity.
Konohamaru was doing the same on his side, just with Ash Chicken Burn instead.
One could only say—thankfully, shadow clones are freshly created each time and don't retain independent consciousness or memories. Otherwise, they would have rebelled against this torture long ago.
"..."
The Raikage stared blankly at the lightning-and-fire chaos unfolding before him.
Eventually, after who knows how long, Kakashi and Konohamaru both emerged in Sage Mode.
One had eight dogs hanging off him, while the other had a toad and a monkey perched on his shoulders.
To the Raikage, those few minutes felt longer than an entire lifetime.
"…That technique really looks pretty wasteful on pants."
The Raikage's mouth twitched.
"Raikage-sama, would you like to test our strength?"
Kakashi formed a hand sign.
Clearly, he was determined to remove any remaining doubt in one go.
"…No need."
The Raikage hesitated, then shook his head.
A test would have been more reliable, but it wasn't necessary anymore.
He could clearly sense the changes in both Kakashi and Konohamaru, and neither of them was hiding their aura.
Although the process was extremely absurd, this was indeed Sage Mode—or at least some method that significantly enhanced their combat power.
What unsettled him more was their current state.
Because of Kakashi's bizarre and somewhat perverted novels, quite a few rumors had spread throughout the ninja world.
One of them claimed that Kakashi's "Chidori" was named because he once "cut off his intelligence window" while using it.
That rumor didn't seem to originate from the novels, but the Raikage still blamed Kakashi for it anyway.
And now, Kakashi and Konohamaru's techniques both targeted "lower-body areas"—even if the Raikage was confident he wouldn't get hit, he still felt uneasy fighting opponents like that.
"I see."
Seeing the Raikage refuse the spar, Konohamaru deactivated Sage Mode with some disappointment.
He was still inexperienced, and now that he had suddenly gained such power, he really wanted to test himself against veteran ninja.
"Raikage-sama, since you've already agreed, in order to be responsible, we must ensure that at least one person in Kumogakure masters Sage Mode before we leave for the next village."
"That way, if anyone in your village runs into problems during training, they can ask the person who has already mastered it."
Just as the Raikage was preparing to see them off, Kakashi spoke again after canceling Sage Mode.
"…Fine."
The Raikage sighed.
There was no helping it—what comes will come.
For the sake of the village, this technique really did need to be spread.
If necessary, they could first master it and then slowly study its underlying principles. Maybe they could even change it into something less… indecent.
This was a necessary sacrifice.
As for who would be the first "volunteer"…
"Preferably someone with a contracted summoning beast, right?"
The Raikage stroked his chin in thought.
"Yes."
"Oh right, Raikage-sama, there's actually a small hidden trick. It's best if certain bodily functions aren't too strong. If they are, it will only extend the time needed to enter Sage Mode."
Kakashi added thoughtfully.
"..."
Hearing this, the Raikage actually felt slightly relieved.
There weren't many well-known summoning beast users in Kumogakure.
If it really came down to it, they might end up abandoning the "summoning beast assistance" shortcut entirely and go straight with Naruto's original method.
Then wouldn't that mean he, the Raikage himself, would have to personally do it?
Of course, the Raikage didn't reject that idea.
He could learn it. He could try to master Sage Arts—but he absolutely could not let it become "public knowledge" that he learned it in such a way.
It would be too humiliating.
If he learned it in secret, then before the Ōtsutsuki arrived, he could just pretend he never learned it.
And if they arrived late enough, and they developed a better Sage Mode method by then, he could even switch explanations and say he used the "proper new method."
In short—he absolutely could not be the first Kumogakure "Sage Arts instructor."
"Can tailed beasts and jinchūriki work?"
The Raikage suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"No way!!!"
Before Kakashi could answer, Killer Bee, who hadn't actually left and had been hiding nearby listening in, couldn't hold himself back and jumped out.
(End of this chapter)