"Uh."
Sasuke turned his head and looked at the Yang Power floating above Tsunade's palm.
After thinking for a moment, he answered uncertainly, "I'm not entirely sure either. The Sage of Six Paths transferred the power directly into us through Chakra."
He and Naruto had simply clasped hands with Hagoromo and immediately gained control over the power.
There had originally been a Sealing Jutsu as well, but it disappeared after they sealed Kaguya.
Then again, perhaps that was because they had both lost an arm.
As for exactly how the power was supposed to be used?
Sasuke genuinely did not know.
Tsunade fell silent.
Seiryū, however, suddenly had an idea.
"How about storing it inside the Yin Seal? Yang Power is still Chakra at its core, so the Yin Seal should be able to store it. You're already familiar with that process."
"All right. I'll try it."
Tsunade thought it sounded reasonable.
It was also something she was very familiar with.
At present, Tsunade stored Senjutsu Chakra inside her Yin Seal. That was why she could instantly enter Sage Mode.
Although she felt reluctant to discard the Senjutsu Chakra she had accumulated, Yang Power was clearly stronger and more valuable.
She had no choice but to painfully disperse the stored Senjutsu Chakra.
'Hum.'
Tsunade brought the Yang Power close to her forehead, activated the Yin Seal, and began storing the power within it.
The process went smoothly without encountering any resistance.
After several minutes, Tsunade had successfully stored the Yang Power inside the Yin Seal.
"Yin Seal, Release!"
Tsunade formed a hand seal and released the Yin Seal.
Yang Power immediately flowed throughout her body.
A powerful Chakra fluctuation spread outward, and Tsunade herself began to change.
A milky-white Chakra cloak enveloped her body, resembling Seiryū's Dragon Vein Chakra Mode.
The only obvious difference was the color.
One was purple, while the other was milky white.
Black tomoe appeared across the milky-white Chakra cloak and over her Hokage Haori.
Several black markings also appeared across her body, giving Tsunade a noticeably more sacred appearance.
Combined with her already beautiful features, she resembled a divine maiden, and her charm increased considerably.
"Wow, are you trying to transform into Tiga? You can actually glow?"
The milky-white light was not dazzling. Instead, it was gentle and soft.
Seiryū looked at Tsunade and could not help praising her.
"Not bad. You look really beautiful like this!"
Tsunade had already possessed a beautiful and heroic appearance.
Now, with this transformation layered over her, she carried an additional sacred aura.
She looked even more striking.
The others gathered nearby glanced at Seiryū.
What on earth was Tiga?
Still, they agreed with him on one point.
Tsunade truly did look beautiful in this state.
Jiraiya became increasingly envious of both Seiryū and Tsunade.
Why did this brat give every good thing he found to Tsunade?
Did Seiryū still remember that Jiraiya was his Sensei?
"This power."
Tsunade ignored everyone's stares.
She looked down at her hands and carefully felt the tremendous power flowing through her body.
Then she said to Seiryū, "It feels somewhat similar to your Dragon Vein Chakra Mode."
"Shouldn't the principle be similar?"
"The Yang Power matches your Chakra, but it hasn't actually fused with you. It's more like how a Jinchūriki uses a Tailed Beast's Chakra. So this kind of transformation makes sense."
Seiryū had already formed a theory.
Tsunade had not fused Yang Power into her own Chakra.
Instead, her situation resembled that of a Jinchūriki borrowing Chakra from a Tailed Beast.
She was treating Yang Power as an external source of Chakra.
Combined with Tsunade's exceptional compatibility with Yang Power, it had naturally developed into this Chakra Mode.
Sasuke's method had been different.
He had concentrated the Yin Power into one eye, causing his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan.
It was difficult to say which method was superior.
No matter what kind of power someone possessed, its effectiveness ultimately depended on how it was used.
Sasuke's eyes flashed slightly.
"A state similar to Naruto's? But without Tailed Beast Chakra."
Tsunade's current appearance did indeed resemble several of Naruto's Chakra Modes.
Of course, there were differences.
The most obvious was the absence of Tailed Beast Chakra.
"In this state, the increase in my strength is even greater than what Sage Mode provides."
Tsunade carefully examined the changes in her body.
"My regenerative ability is also extremely strong. I don't even need to use Creation Rebirth."
She paused before making another judgment.
"If I activate Creation Rebirth while using this power, my regeneration will become even stronger."
"I might even be able to regenerate severed limbs."
Yang Power was inherently connected to life force.
If Tsunade used Yang Power to fuel Creation Rebirth, she believed she could regenerate severed limbs just like Seiryū.
As long as the Yang Power was not completely exhausted, she should be capable of recovering from nearly any injury.
Seiryū gave her a thumbs-up.
"Amazing. You finally gained the ability to do something I've been able to do for ages!"
Tsunade glanced sideways at him.
"Are you praising me or yourself?"
"Both. There's no need to distinguish between us."
Seiryū smiled before continuing, "By the way, can this power be replenished? Or is it consumable?"
Seiryū was also extremely curious about that point.
In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, had Naruto and Sasuke already exhausted their Six Paths Yin and Yang Powers?
If the power was consumable, then it could not be used casually.
It would need to be reserved for critical situations.
That would make it far less useful.
Tsunade shook her head.
"I'm not sure yet. This power is enormous. What I'm using right now is only a tiny fraction of it."
"I'll test whether I can continue storing Chakra inside the Yin Seal later."
She was also curious about the answer.
It was an extremely important question.
Sasuke interjected, "It can be replenished, but unless someone becomes a true Sage, replenishing Six Paths Yin or Yang Power using their own Chakra is extremely difficult."
His tomoe-patterned Rinnegan still existed.
Naruto's Six Paths-related abilities had not simply vanished either.
However, neither of them could use those powers as freely as they once had.
They had never truly reached Hagoromo's level.
They had not become true Sages, so replenishing Six Paths Yin and Yang Power through their own Chakra was extremely difficult.
Sasuke used himself as an example.
After awakening the tomoe-patterned Rinnegan, he could no longer deactivate it, and it constantly consumed Chakra.
That was also one of the reasons his Chakra reserves were so easily depleted.
The tomoe-patterned Rinnegan placed a significant burden on him.
Tsunade looked at Sasuke.
"So in other words, this isn't power that can be used freely?"
"That's basically correct."
Sasuke explained, "My tomoe-patterned Rinnegan was created by concentrating Yin Power into one eye."
"Although my own Chakra reserves aren't small, they can't compare to the Senju or Uzumaki Clans. That is one of my limitations."
"Likewise, Naruto from my time is an Uzumaki and possesses far greater Chakra reserves, but even he can't easily replenish Yang Power."
"The problem is the quality of our Chakra. Neither of us became true Sages."
In the end, their Chakra simply had not reached the necessary level.
Even with Naruto's enormous Uzumaki Chakra reserves, as long as he had not reached the level of the Sage of Six Paths, restoring Yang Power through his own Chakra remained extremely difficult.
It was a fundamental difference.
They had not become Sages.
Unless Naruto borrowed Chakra from all nine Tailed Beasts, the Six Paths Yin and Yang Powers they consumed could not be restored to the level Hagoromo had originally granted them.
Compared with the Fourth Shinobi World War, both Naruto and Sasuke had actually become weaker.
Sasuke's tomoe-patterned Rinnegan placed a constant drain on his Chakra.
Meanwhile, Naruto could no longer casually enter Six Paths Sage Mode at full strength.
'No wonder both of them seemed nerfed in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. There actually were some reasons behind it.'
Seiryū thought to himself.
From Sasuke's explanation, he formed his own conclusion.
Naruto and Sasuke still possessed traces of the Six Paths Yin and Yang Powers in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
However, much of that power had already been consumed, and replenishing it was extraordinarily difficult.
As a result, neither of them could display the same level of combat power they had once possessed.
It was effectively another form of weakening.
Well, both of them had been nerfed in their own ways.
In game terms, the version had changed.
Naturally, overpowered characters had to be nerfed.
Nerf the character, nerf the equipment, nerf whatever was necessary.
Anything to stop them from having an easy time!
"Not true Sages?"
Tsunade's eyes flashed as she looked at Seiryū.
"You used to keep saying you wanted to become the Seiryū Sage. Is that what you were aiming for?"
"I have plenty of goals."
Seiryū began counting them on his fingers.
"Become the Heavenly Emperor, become a Sage, become the Soul King, and now I also want to become a Kekkei Mōra."
"That Ōtsutsuki Clan keeps talking about Kekkei Mōra power. I'm curious about it. It should be another classification of strength, right?"
Tsunade felt a headache coming on.
"I shouldn't have asked."
She exhaled and continued, "Do you have any thoughts about this mode? Any suggestions?"
"Suggestions? Hmm."
Seiryū thought for a moment.
"How about I find you a Beta Capsule and see whether you can transform into Tiga and fire a Zeperion Ray?"
"Be serious!"
Seiryū immediately corrected himself.
"First, we should test exactly how much this state increases your strength."
"Also, see whether it comes with any additional abilities. Hollowification allows me to use Cero, so perhaps this state has awakened something similar for you."
In the original story, Naruto had been able to create Truth-Seeking Balls after obtaining Yang Power.
Of course, that might have been because he possessed Chakra from all nine Tailed Beasts at the time.
Tsunade probably could not create Truth-Seeking Balls.
Otherwise, they would likely already have appeared behind her after she activated this mode.
Still, that did not necessarily mean the transformation had granted her no additional abilities.
It needed to be studied.
They also needed to determine exactly how much power Tsunade could unleash in this state.
"Additional abilities?"
Tsunade carefully sensed her body before shaking her head.
"I don't feel anything obvious."
"However, this state definitely increases the strength of my various Jutsu significantly."
"Especially Medical Ninjutsu and Wood Style."
"That makes sense."
Seiryū nodded.
"In my theory, Yang Power is the ultimate form of Yang Release Chakra."
"Medical Ninjutsu and Wood Style are both closely connected to Yang Release, so naturally they would receive a tremendous boost."
He smiled.
"Try using your strength. I'm curious too."
Just how powerful had Tsunade become after activating Yang Power Chakra Mode?
Everything until now had only been speculation.
They needed an actual demonstration.
"All right."
Tsunade nodded and began testing her abilities.
As she expected, Yang Power Chakra Mode greatly enhanced both her Medical Ninjutsu and Wood Style.
Wood Style received an especially dramatic increase.
Tsunade could clearly feel that its power had risen to an entirely different level.
As for exactly how strong it had become, she already had a rough judgment.
It should be no weaker than the Hashirama Orochimaru had previously summoned with Edo Tensei.
Tsunade felt somewhat unreal.
Had she already reached Great-grandfather's level?
That easily?
"This kind of power is completely unreasonable."
Looking at Tsunade, who was still maintaining Yang Power Chakra Mode, Jiraiya gave a bitter smile.
"She didn't even have to train. She simply obtained another source of power, and her strength increased this much?"
"Then what exactly are the rest of us training so hard for?"
Tsunade's sudden growth felt unreal even to him.
Then came the frustration.
It was simply too unreasonable.
Tsunade had already awakened Wood Style and mastered Senjutsu, placing her strength above Jiraiya's.
Now she had received Yang Power from the Sage of Six Paths and become dramatically stronger again.
She had left him far behind.
Originally, the two of them had both been members of the Sannin with roughly comparable strength.
Now the gap had grown so enormous that Jiraiya could no longer even judge its size.
Fortunately, Orochimaru had not become quite this ridiculous yet.
That offered him at least a little comfort.
Minato, who possessed no Kekkei Genkai, also sighed.
"Compared with this kind of power, Sage Mode really does seem somewhat lacking."
Even geniuses could not compete with people who received miraculous powers.
He felt helpless as well.
Were ordinary shinobi truly destined to fall behind those with powerful bloodlines?
Nagato touched his nose and agreed.
"After all, this is the power of the Sage of Six Paths. The strength of a true Sage has already surpassed what ordinary people can understand."
In a sense, Nagato could also be considered someone who possessed power originating from the Sage of Six Paths.
Although his Rinnegan had belonged to Madara, its ultimate origin still traced back to Hagoromo.
Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, the eyes of a Sage.
To be fair, even he felt the situation was rather unfair.
As time passed, the gap between shinobi with Kekkei Genkai and those without them would only continue to widen.
It was a fundamental difference.
This world clearly favored those with powerful bloodlines, especially bloodlines connected to the Sage of Six Paths.
Sasuke also had mixed feelings.
"I didn't expect the increase to be this great. Wood Style really does make a difference."
"If Naruto didn't possess Tailed Beast Chakra, he might not necessarily be stronger than her."
Both Tsunade and Naruto possessed Yang Power.
Sasuke found that Tsunade appeared to use it more efficiently than Naruto had.
Yang Power also seemed especially compatible with Wood Style.
The strength Tsunade had just displayed was enough to make even Sasuke feel pressured.
After obtaining Yang Power, Tsunade had now reached roughly the same level as him.
'That's what happens in a world where bloodlines rule everything.'
Seiryū complained inwardly as he listened to his Sensei and the others.
The three major Shonen Jump series were all obsessed with bloodlines.
Naruto was especially extreme.
Without a bloodline connected to the Ōtsutsuki Clan, crossing the final threshold was incredibly difficult.
A person's upper limit was practically decided in advance.
The only major exception was the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
However, even that required extraordinary talent, determination, and decades of brutal training.
And after all that effort, the user could only temporarily obtain the power to fight someone at the Six Paths level by burning away their own life.
This world truly was unfair.
Hard work lost to talent.
Talent lost to bloodline.
Bloodline lost to cheats.
And cheats lost to systems.
For ordinary people, it was enough to make them despair!
Fortunately, Seiryū possessed all of them.
He worked hard.
He possessed exceptional talent.
On top of that talent, he carried the Uzumaki Clan bloodline.
On top of that bloodline, he possessed the cheat-like Dragon Vein Chakra.
And on top of Dragon Vein Chakra, he had a system.
That was why Seiryū possessed such overwhelming strength at his age.
If even one of those advantages had been missing, he would never have reached his current level.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)