Chapter 501: Several Schools of Sage Mode
"I... I believe you. But for the safety of our village chief, I have to test it myself before letting her practice it or promoting it throughout Nadeshiko Village."
Tokiwa clenched the scroll tightly, her expression full of determination.
In her eyes, the fact that Jiraiya had given her such a simple way to verify its authenticity meant it had to be genuine. Otherwise, all she had to do was ask around, and the lie would be exposed immediately.
So there was no need to question him further.
Because of Jiraiya, she had already left a poor impression on several of Amegakure's higher-ups. The smartest thing she could do now was keep as low a profile as possible and wait for them to forget what had happened today.
"Good luck. And remember, don't let the shortcut make you careless. If you don't follow the shortcut properly, natural energy is extremely dangerous—especially the first time you try it."
After giving her a serious reminder, Jiraiya stood up and prepared to leave.
This time, Tokiwa did not stop him.
After watching Jiraiya disappear into the distance, she jumped down from the rooftop herself, found an inn, and prepared to begin her own experiment.
She had to make sure she could use it herself before she dared bring it back to the village.
As for how to use the shortcut...
Seriously.
She had been single for who knew how many years.
She lived in Nadeshiko Village, a place inhabited entirely by female ninja.
How could she possibly not know that classic, time-honored "handcraft"?
---
Meanwhile...
After leaving the command tower, Shiromo arrived at Orochimaru's laboratory.
Orochimaru had already received the content of the scroll and begun analyzing it.
By the time Shiromo arrived, he had already reached a conclusion.
"What it mentions about Konohamaru extending the range of Frog Kumite isn't because the Monkey King clan can transform into the Adamantine Staff. At its core, it's simply an application of natural energy."
"Jiraiya practices Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode, and Naruto does as well. However, the shortcut Naruto uses minimizes the characteristics unique to Mount Myōboku's senjutsu."
"Then Konohamaru and Kakashi, who learned it from Naruto, reduced those characteristics even further."
"Senjutsu should be like ninjutsu."
"Senjutsu uses natural energy, while ninjutsu uses chakra."
"There can be different types, but there shouldn't be different styles."
"All styles ultimately lead to the same destination."
"In my opinion, Only Shiromo and even the Sage of Six Paths' pure method of using natural energy directly to attack should be called Sage Mode."
"As for Konohamaru extending Frog Kumite, its essence is similar to Ryūchi Cave's Inorganic Reincarnation. He merged the mechanisms of Frog Kumite and Inorganic Reincarnation together, directly animating and controlling natural energy."
"That kid Konohamaru has both remarkable talent and incredible luck."
"But in my opinion, this still isn't the ultimate form of Sage Mode."
"Oh? That's still not the end? Then do you think my elder brother's Sage Mode is the true pinnacle?"
Tobirama Senju spoke from the side.
Although he couldn't use Sage Mode himself, as a researcher who had created countless forbidden techniques, he had an in-depth understanding of its principles.
"No."
Orochimaru shook his head slightly.
"Do you remember Future Sasuke?"
"Even Inorganic Reincarnation requires the user to absorb natural energy, refine senjutsu chakra, and then consume that senjutsu chakra to activate the technique."
"But Sasuke's Kirin was different."
"At that time, he had even less chakra than Kakashi, yet with only a tiny amount of chakra, he could draw down the natural lightning in the sky and unleash devastating power."
"To me, that is the ultimate concept of Sage Mode."
"With only a small amount of one's own energy, one mobilizes the power of nature itself to attack."
"In other words... directly utilizing the endless, omnipresent natural energy that already exists throughout the world."
As he said this, Orochimaru turned his gaze toward Shiromo once again.
Orochimaru had never personally witnessed the power of the Keystone Shiromo had given Terumi Mei and Kurotsuchi.
But he had seen Tsunade's with his own eyes.
That was exactly what he meant by a Sage Mode powered by inexhaustible natural energy.
The laboratory fell silent.
After a while, Orochimaru snapped out of his thoughts. With a smile, he turned to Amado, who was quietly focused on his work.
"Now that my understanding of senjutsu has reached another level, I can begin adding senjutsu 'traits.'"
"I wonder... does anyone need one?"
"What? Really?"
Amado could no longer hold back.
As a scientist from the Boruto era, Amado was an extremely practical person.
If he were someone ruled entirely by emotion, his attempt to clone his daughter would never have failed. Even if the clone were technically a completely separate individual, she wouldn't have become the foul-mouthed and violent Delta.
It was precisely because Amado understood how dangerous the ninja world was. He knew that even if he brought his daughter back to life, she would still die someday unless she possessed sufficient strength.
That was why he implanted Delta with countless combat genes.
Using Orochimaru and Shiromo's current terminology, they could also be called "combat traits."
As a result, the kind-hearted daughter he once had turned into someone with the exact opposite personality—a rough, tomboyish woman who loved stepping on people.
Amado had created Delta before he created Kashin Koji.
Even after learning the principles of senjutsu through Kashin Koji, he had no way to add them to Delta afterward.
Besides, given Delta's personality, Amado could no longer regard her as his daughter.
So even if it were possible to add traits to a living person, something like an advanced version of Sage Kabuto, he still wouldn't have done it.
In short, Amado was practical.
He saw reality clearly.
When his daughter was gravely ill and on the brink of death, his only wish had been for her to survive and recover.
But now, his daughter Akebi was already receiving treatment.
Moreover, there were successful cases like Ringo Ameyuri and Kaguya Kimimaro, who had both been cured despite suffering from the same terminal illness.
He no longer had to worry about something as basic as survival.
The next thing Amado had to worry about was the threats facing the ninja world...
And the threat of the Ōtsutsuki.
Naturally, his way of thinking had begun to align with that of the Amado from the original Boruto timeline, who still worked for Kara.
The difference was that creating a brand-new cyborg and adding traits from scratch was relatively easy.
Adding them directly to a living person was an entirely different level of difficulty and danger.
Take Yakushi Kabuto in the original story, for example.
At best, he was simply doing everything he could and leaving the rest to fate.
Kabuto had a solid foundation, but it would be impossible to claim he had completely mastered the principles of transplanting other people's cells to obtain genetic power and add traits.
He hadn't even used anesthetic during the fusion process.
He relied on the pain to keep himself conscious so he could detect any abnormalities immediately.
Now, although Kabuto wasn't transplanting cells, the underlying principle remained the same.
Everyone present understood that.
Yet Orochimaru casually brought up the subject, leaving Amado overjoyed.
"We've spent so much time researching the Curse Mark, cells, and all those other fundamental principles. Is it really so surprising that all that work has finally borne fruit in the form of something new?"
Orochimaru shook his head at Amado's excitement.
Then, after a moment's thought, he realized that Amado had only recently joined them. It was only natural that he didn't fully understand yet.
From this moment on, the ninja world now possessed three or rather four, different forms of Sage Mode.
The orthodox Sage Modes of Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave.
Naruto's shortcut-style Sage Mode, a slightly modified version of the orthodox path.
Orochimaru's Sage Mode based on genetic modification and transplantation technology, surpassing the old Curse Mark approach.
And finally...
Shiromo's cheat-style Sage Mode.
(End of this chapter)