Chapter 504: Sage Mode Begins Spreading in Iwagakure
In Amegakure, with the arrival of Jiraiya and Yugito, and with Orochimaru's genetic modification technology now fully developed, a wave of enthusiasm for learning Senjutsu also began to spread.
On the surface, Kumogakure seemed to be the first village where it was promoted.
In reality, however, Amegakure had already taken the lead.
Following the principle of "the rich rely on technology, while the poor rely on mutation".
Anyone with enough contribution points could apply for Orochimaru's genetic modification service.
It would change the acquired ability to learn Senjutsu into an innate talent, making it function like a Kekkei Genkai, allowing people to master it instinctively with ease.
Those who didn't have enough contribution points had to settle for the next best option.
They could choose the Sage Mode shortcut created by Konoha's Uzumaki Naruto.
Aside from being a little shameless, it didn't have any other side effects.
In fact, for most people, even if they had enough contribution points, they still wouldn't choose Orochimaru.
Deep down, they simply didn't trust him.
More importantly, they didn't trust anything Orochimaru created.
It was perfectly normal for a civilization that had never suffered because of technological backwardness to instinctively reject advanced technology.
Meanwhile, this information gradually found its way into the cave where Obito was imprisoned.
After the members of the original Akatsuki had been revived with the Impure World Reincarnation, they had sought out Madara and Obito to settle old scores.
As a result, Madara's whereabouts had naturally been exposed.
To avoid revealing his true objective, Madara claimed that he had come merely to punish Obito.
Obito had been using his name to commit all sorts of crimes throughout the ninja world, and Madara claimed he was extremely dissatisfied with that.
He even volunteered to be imprisoned alongside Obito.
He said he could help persuade Obito to turn over a new leaf.
More importantly, it would keep him from running into the "born evil" Tobirama again and being subjected to further inhumane torture.
Madara believed that once he mentioned that last reason, his story would become much more convincing.
In reality...
Well, in the end, his request was granted.
And so Madara and Obito, the pair of ill-fated companions, once again began living together under the same roof, just as they had in the past.
The only difference was that White Zetsu was no longer around to wait on them.
As with all the previous pieces of information, news about Sage Mode was "accidentally" allowed to reach their prison.
The moment Obito heard that the outside world was beginning to popularize Senjutsu training, an idea immediately occurred to him.
All of his chakra was currently sealed by the Scorch Release: Heavenly Prison.
But the Heavenly Prison only restricted chakra.
It didn't seal natural energy.
In other words, if he could master Senjutsu, he would have a chance to use Kamui again and escape this cursed prison.
Once he got out, removing the Heavenly Prison seal would only be a matter of time.
From then on, Obito became patient.
Every day, he quietly listened to the conversations of the people delivering their food before they left.
In the original Blood Prison movie, Naruto had been sealed by the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison, preventing him from using chakra.
Yet after entering Sage Mode, he was still able to fight.
Obito's line of thinking was correct.
He had only overlooked one thing.
His unusual behavior caught Madara's attention in the neighboring cell.
Madara quickly realized that Obito intended to escape by using Sage Mode.
Madara immediately became uneasy.
If Obito recovered his strength before he did, then Obito might become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki ahead of him.
However...
On the third day, new information finally arrived.
The two people delivering meals had also started training in Sage Mode themselves.
Every day, they compared notes and discussed their progress.
Today, both Obito and Madara finally learned what Naruto's so-called shortcut actually was.
"Hahahahahaha!"
After hearing it, Madara, who was next door, burst into his signature "Four Laughing Uchiha" Laughter.
Obito, meanwhile, collapsed onto the ground in despair.
Naruto was obviously targeting him on purpose!
Why did the shortcut have to be That?
"UZUMAKI NARUTO!!"
Obito let out an angry, despair-filled roar toward the sky.
"Achoo!"
The moment Naruto arrived in Iwagakure, he sneezed violently.
Rubbing his nose, he looked around.
"Why does this place feel so strange? I just can't get used to it."
When he had been in Kumogakure, Naruto hadn't noticed much of a difference.
But after arriving in Iwagakure, the contrast immediately became obvious.
"Strange? That's because Konoha occupies the most fertile land in the entire ninja world. But if we're talking about harsh environments, Sunagakure still takes first place."
A voice came from behind them.
It was Ōnoki.
After his previous trip to Amegakure with Madara, where they had attempted to stop the nonexistent "Uchiha Obito Incident", Ōnoki had returned to Iwagakure.
The whole trip had been a complete waste of time.
He still hadn't managed to uncover Madara's real objective.
The only good thing that came out of it was that Rōshi had finally agreed to return to the village.
"Tsuchikage-sama."
As the only adult among the three visitors, Kakashi immediately demonstrated his polished social etiquette.
"Come with me."
Floating through the air, Ōnoki led the three from Konoha to his residence.
After everyone had taken their seats, Onoki finally spoke: "The current Tsuchikage is my granddaughter, Kurotsuchi."
"But that little rascal hates dealing with trouble, so she only handles affairs within the Land of Earth. Everything outside the country has been dumped onto this retired old man."
"So I'm the one responsible for receiving Konoha's delegation this time. If you have something to say, then go ahead."
While Ōnoki was talking with the three from Konoha, Deidara was next door rummaging through boxes in search of something.
His artistic inspiration had reached a dead end.
Because of that, he had decided to return to his hometown—Iwagakure.
Today, he had come to Ōnoki's house looking for his old ninjutsu records, Dust Release notes, and every other document he could find.
Not because he intended to learn them.
He simply wanted them as references to spark new ideas.
He also planned to bring them back and hand them over to Orochimaru in exchange for contribution points.
Members of the Akatsuki didn't actually need contribution points to obtain what they wanted.
But having them gave priority access.
You could skip the line.
"Hm?"
Hearing voices from the next room, Deidara immediately stopped what he was doing.
The old man came back already?
He carefully sent out a small clay spider to investigate.
After confirming the situation, he stopped searching altogether.
Instead, he pressed himself against the wall and began eavesdropping.
After all, he'd come here looking for inspiration.
Listening to what the old man was talking about might give him some.
Meanwhile...
In the next room...
Kakashi followed the exact same procedure he had used in Kumogakure.
He first handed Ōnoki a copied scroll, then began explaining the purpose of their visit.
"Sage Mode? To fight against the Ōtsutsuki Clan?"
Just as the Raikage had predicted, after hearing the explanation, Ōnoki didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Instead, he immediately began wondering whether he himself could master it.
Ōnoki's love for Iwagakure was no less than the Raikage's love for Kumogakure.
For the sake of their villages, both of them were perfectly willing to throw away their dignity.
"Huh? You can actually do that?"
While eavesdropping, Deidara learned that Konoha had developed such an outrageously shameless shortcut.
It immediately reminded him of Shiromo, the strategist who had always come up with all sorts of bizarre plans for them.
At the same time, Deidara also started wondering whether he could master Senjutsu as well.
He instinctively glanced at his hand.
There was a mouth on it.
...Mm.
Nothing happened.
Someone was definitely overthinking things.
(End of this chapter)