Chapter 187: The Second Stage of Senjutsu

"This place is worth at least five billion. Count it carefully."

Looking at the piles of cash covering the floor, Penguin Mani was completely stunned. It hadn't been that long since his last visit, so how had Tōshirō managed to amass such a huge fortune in such a short time? And judging by his nonchalant attitude, it was clear he had plenty more.

Penguin Mani couldn't help but suspect—had this guy stumbled upon some hidden treasure?

With the power of "money jutsu" backing him up, Tōshirō acted like the ultimate wealthy client: "No need to worry about where it came from. Just tell me—do you want it or not?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Penguin Mani laughed gleefully. "The moment I met you, I knew you weren't ordinary!"

Tōshirō rolled his eyes and got straight to the point. "Enough nonsense. I want to start training for the second stage of Senjutsu."

Penguin Mani readily agreed. "Alright, extend the arm where I infused Senjutsu chakra last time."

Tōshirō nodded, rolled up his sleeve, and slowly unwrapped the bandages, revealing the dark markings on his arm.

Penguin Mani waddled forward in his comical way, but as he opened his beak, he revealed a set of sharp, jagged teeth—completely out of place with his normally goofy appearance.

Tōshirō sucked in a breath. No matter how many times he saw those razor-sharp fangs, they still made his skin crawl.

"Alright, let's begin."

Having experienced this once before, Tōshirō mentally braced himself for the excruciating pain he had nearly passed out from last time.

But to his surprise, aside from the initial bite, the pain was barely noticeable.

"It's done." Penguin Mani loosened his grip and stepped back.

"...Huh? That's it?"

Tōshirō remembered the agonizing experience from last time. This was way too easy. Curious, he voiced his doubts.

"It's different now." Penguin Mani explained:

"Back then, your body was still adapting, so discomfort was inevitable. But this time, your body has already adjusted. I just gave it a slight boost. Honestly, for the second stage, even without my help, you could've developed it on your own."

"I see…" Tōshirō nodded in understanding.

…Wait a damn minute.

"Hold on. What did you just say? I could've developed the second stage myself?"

Tōshirō's eyes widened in shock.

"Uh… you must've misheard."

Penguin Mani tried to brush it off.

Damn it! He had gotten too carried away after making such a huge profit and accidentally let that slip.

But Tōshirō wasn't about to let it go so easily. He stepped forward, grabbed the red scarf wrapped around Penguin Mani's neck, and snarled:

"You've got to be kidding me. I risked my life making all this money, and now you're telling me I could've unlocked it myself? Do you think that's fair? Screw that—give me a refund!!"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Penguin Mani tried to sound innocent: "Come on, we've already exchanged the money. Asking for a refund now would hurt our friendship."

Yeah, right. If he didn't say it like this, how else would he convince Tōshirō to willingly pay for power-ups?

But Tōshirō wasn't having it. "Screw your 'friendship.' You tricked me! If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, I swear I'll use Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation to burn all this money before I let you have it!"

"Wait, wait! Let's not be hasty. How about this—I'll help you develop a few super-powerful jutsu as compensation. How does that sound?"

Tōshirō immediately let go, grinning. "See, now you're talking! That's all you had to say from the start. As long as I get some free S-rank jutsu, I won't hold a grudge."

Penguin Mani remained completely unfazed. "Of course. When have I ever gone back on my word?"

Tōshirō stared at him. "Does your conscience not hurt from lying so much?"

Ignoring that, a thought suddenly struck Tōshirō. "Wait a second. You just said I could've developed the second stage myself… Doesn't that mean I might be able to unlock the third stage without your help too?"

Penguin Mani finally dropped the act and admitted: "Yep! You're pretty sharp!"

This Bastard...

Tōshirō gritted his teeth, barely concealing the murderous intent in his eyes as he glared at Penguin Mani.

Penguin Mani, sensing the awkwardness, faked a few coughs.

Tōshirō casually asked, "Under normal circumstances, how do you train for the third stage?"

"It's simple. Just keep using Senjutsu, and your body will naturally develop toward the third stage. You might even grow some... strange physiological features."

Tōshirō was startled. "Wait, if that's the case, then the more I use Senjutsu, the more my body turns into a monster? Why would I keep using it, then?"

Penguin Mani nonchalantly replied, "Relax. With a human's lifespan, you'll die of old age long before that happens. So go ahead and use Senjutsu as much as you want. Of course, if you're crazy enough to use it every single day, then just ignore what I said."

Tōshirō: "..."

Penguin Mani suggested, "Since you can already activate the second stage of your Senjutsu state, why not give it a try? If anything goes wrong, I've got your back."

After a moment of thought, Tōshirō found the suggestion reasonable and nodded in agreement.

By now, he had become skilled enough with Senjutsu that he no longer needed to form hand seals. With just a thought, the markings on his arm began to spread across his face.

After entering the first stage, he pushed further, allowing the markings to continue expanding.

As the chakra within his body stabilized, Tōshirō realized he had officially stepped into the second stage.

He raised his arm to inspect it—his entire arm had turned pitch black, as if it had been soaked in ink for ages. Meanwhile, the original markings had transformed into a stark white.

Curious about his own appearance, Tōshirō conjured an ice mirror using Ice Release. One look, and he nearly jumped. The entire right side of his face had turned completely black.

Not the deep brown of someone with dark skin, but the pure, ink-like black of something that had just been submerged in dye.

Seeing his once-handsome face reduced to this, Tōshirō couldn't help but complain, "This second stage is way too ugly."

However, thinking back to how Orochimaru's Curse Mark transformed people into unrecognizable monstrosities by the second stage, he felt slightly better. At least he still looked somewhat human—just with half of his face completely blacked out.

Clenching his fists, he felt the surge of power coursing through his body. Unable to hold back, he immediately tested out an Ice Release jutsu. With a single-handed slap on the ground, thick ice spikes erupted vertically, stretching out in a staggered formation for nearly twenty meters.

If he kept progressing like this, in three years, his strength might "hopefully" reach the level of White Robe Sasuke.

This wasn't false modesty, nor was he trying to flatter Sasuke from that period. If anything, their overall power levels were comparable...

After all, anything Tōshirō had, Sasuke had as well. But what Tōshirō lacked, Sasuke still had—especially those spare Mangekyō Sharingan and Indra's chakra, ensuring he always had an overpowered buff ready for the next stage.

Meanwhile, Tōshirō was in a bit of an awkward situation.

Whether it was evolving the Sharingan into the Mangekyō or developing the third stage of Senjutsu, both came at an immense cost.

Even if he somehow managed to unlock them, the side effects alone would be enough to give him endless headaches.

Unless he had a stroke of incredible luck, his future strength would only continue to increase at a steady, controlled pace—never exceeding the limits of what could be considered "human."

Letting out a sigh, Tōshirō pushed these distracting thoughts aside. For now, he should just focus on improving his Ice Release techniques.

"You said earlier that you'd help me develop new jutsu. You're not going back on your word, right?"

Penguin Mani patted his chest confidently. "Of course not. I always keep my promises!"

Tōshirō raised three fingers. "I won't be greedy. Just help me develop three jutsu."

Penguin Mani wiped a bit of sweat off his brow. "Damn, you're fast..."

Tōshirō then listed three types of techniques he had always wanted to create. "First, I want a powerful offensive Ice Release jutsu—preferably a ranged attack that can directly freeze the enemy upon impact."

His current long-range Ice Release attacks mostly involved hurling ice projectiles at enemies, which weren't particularly lethal. He had always wanted to create a technique that could freeze opponents from a distance.

He had even come up with a badass name for it:

Ice Release: Goddess of Dawn's Mercy.

(End of Chapter)

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