171 - Foam at the Mouth, Fire in the Heart
In Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage awoke from a deep slumber. His murky eyes, usually clouded with age, shone with an unprecedented clarity and wisdom at that moment. He recalled the chaotic scenes from his dreams.
Gamamaru pondered for a long time before ultimately abandoning the idea of sending the toads to investigate the current state of the shinobi world.
Everything in this world was in constant flux, and fate itself was never unchanging. Since the future was unknowable, making excessive preparations would only lead to unnecessary worries.
As Hagoromo, once said: "From ancient times to the present, the protagonists of this world have always been humans. The key for us is to understand our role and maintain our stance and principles."
Currently, the toad clan served as the summoning beasts aiding humans in battle—nothing more, nothing less.
The future of humanity should be left in their own hands. As long as humanity was not completely wiped out and shinobi still exist, the toad clan would continue to survive and thrive.
---
"Huff~ Ha~ So how exactly are you planning to rapidly increase my strength? Is it through that weird remedial ninjutsu of yours?"
Tsunade lay sprawled on the grass, gasping for breath, feeling pain in every inch of her body.
After the intense sparring session just now, if not for her incredible regenerative abilities granted by the Strength of a Hundred Technique, she might have already reunited with her grandfather—playing cards together in the Pure Land.
"That's part of it. The other part is teaching you senjutsu."
Kei absentmindedly used Earth Release to restore the damaged training grounds. After all, this was a place built with great effort and expense by Minato and Jiraiya. Borrowing the site for a battle was one thing, but leaving it in ruins afterward would be disrespectful.
"Senjutsu? Sage Mode? But Katsuyu told me I don't have the talent for it." Tsunade frowned slightly.
Among the three great summoning sanctuaries, the Slug Sage was the easiest to talk to—gentle and kind in nature.
She had asked about senjutsu a long time ago, but Katsuyu had made it clear: Practicing senjutsu required natural talent, and she simply did not possess the aptitude for it.
"The senjutsu of the three sacred lands was never truly meant for humans. Mine is different." Kei finished restoring the broken trees using Wood Release, then looked down at Tsunade, who was still lying on the ground.
The previously restrained senjutsu chakra flared up once more, enveloping him in a sacred white glow.
A chakra dragon horn formed on his forehead, and as his robes billowed, nine majestic chakra white dragons roared and coiled around him.
"I... I can learn this?" Tsunade stared at the mark on Kei's forehead, feeling the overwhelming aura radiating from him, and swallowed hard.
"Try it and you'll find out." Kei retracted his aura and casually sat down beside Tsunade. Then, without warning, he leaned toward her neck.
"Y-You-You-You...!"
Tsunade, despite her aching body, flailed her limbs in an attempt to back away. Even though... Even though those horns looked kind of cool... But-But-But...!
"Don't move. This technique comes from Ryūchi Cave's inheritance. I haven't modified it yet. My neck can't stretch like a snake's, so bear with it—it might hurt a little."
"N-Neck?"
"You really need to stop reading those weird novels." Kei bit down on the chakra pathway in Tsunade's neck.
There was no exchange of bloodline information or impurities—only pure senjutsu energy, slowly merging into her body.
As the direct descendant of the Senju clan, she seemed to have inherited little of the Sage Body's power on the surface. But in reality, those dominant genes had simply become recessive.
Kei's goal was to awaken the hidden power within her, granting her the Sage Body and mastery over Sage Mode!
"AHHHH!! Knock me out! Quick!" Tsunade's pupils contracted into needlepoints.
The senjutsu energy, flowing through her chakra pathways, felt like a monstrous beast devouring and reshaping her very cells. The unbearable pain was like countless files scraping against every nerve in her body. And worst of all—she couldn't even pass out!
Bam!
"Yeah, I guess it does hurt a little." Kei's left hand glowed with Yin-Yang Release energy, pressing against Tsunade's lower abdomen to stabilize her chakra flow.
He continuously restored her body as it was being torn apart and reshaped, while also replenishing the life force she was burning through at an alarming rate.
Even though Tsunade was unconscious, her body continued to convulse. After thinking for a moment, Kei slightly increased the power of the healing, treating it as a painkiller.
"Mmmrghhh~" Tsunade's head tilted to the side, and she suddenly started foaming at the mouth.
Kei was so startled that he flinched.
Over an hour later, by now, Tsunade's body was completely covered in a mixture of plasma and various impurities. However, her heartbeat and pulse had stabilized.
Through the continuous cycle of destruction and regeneration, her body had become even stronger, brimming with vitality, and was now gradually adapting to the senjutsu energy.
Kei spoke to the system in his mind, System, grant Tsunade [Seductive Acrobatics], [Bandit's Excite Fist], and [Rift-Sitting Titan].
Although these traits weren't as powerful as the [Magical Girl Transformation] trait he had given Kushina, their combined effects were nothing to scoff at.
With her improved physique and now possessing Sage Mode as well—if Tsunade still couldn't pummel Hiruzen into the ground, then Kei's efforts would have been in vain.
This is a huge sacrifice! I only have 13 trait gifting left! Kei grumbled to himself, vowing that he would make sure Tsunade properly repaid him for all he had done today. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
After checking on her condition for a while, he noticed that some of her traits were now flickering in and out of existence. The three newly granted traits had also disappeared from her status interface.
Kei smirked.
The traits had begun to fuse.
With the acceleration effect of genjutsu, she would likely finish the entire fusion process and adapt to her new power within three days.
Perfect.
He hoisted the unconscious Tsunade over his shoulder, locked onto the Flying Thunder God mark at his home, and teleported directly to his living room.
After tossing her into the bedroom and ensuring she could fully integrate her new traits in a controlled genjutsu environment, he went off to the kitchen. There, he joined Kushina and the two little ones, helping to prepare lunch.
Time passed quickly without notice. Beneath the peaceful surface, the undercurrents in Konoha surged restlessly.
---
As the morning sun rose over the horizon, Hiruzen, who hadn't closed his eyes for two whole days and nights, paced irritably back and forth in his Hokage office.
For three consecutive days, he had received absolutely no information from the front lines. Moreover, during this time, many of Konoha's prominent ninja clans and several elite ninjas had been secretly gathering in private for unknown reasons.
But every time the ANBU caught wind of these movements and went to investigate, those people had already dispersed without a trace. It was as if countless eyes were watching his every move, feeding information to his enemies the moment he acted.
Even after switching out multiple messengers and communication channels, the situation had not improved at all.
A deep sense of unease crept into his heart, making him feel as though sharp thorns were pressing against his back. It was as if everything was slipping out of his control.
"Hiruzen, if we can't find concrete evidence, then we should just summon all of them and interrogate them face-to-face!"
Koharu tapped the armrest of the couch, her expression just as grim.
"Summon them all at once, and question them separately in different rooms. Someone is bound to slip up," Homura added.
The idea that the Hokage himself was losing control over the village, that even his direct ANBU forces were being played for fools—this was a crisis that needed to be resolved immediately.
If they didn't act soon, Konoha was bound to spiral into complete chaos!
BANG!
Just as Hiruzen was about to speak, the doors to the Hokage office were suddenly kicked open with force.
Standing in the doorway was Tsunade, clad in a short-sleeved light green top, her long light-blond hair tied up with a red ribbon. She tilted her chin slightly, one hand resting on her waist, and declared, "Enough talk! Sensei, let's fight! The position of the Fourth Hokage—I'm taking it!"