"Not bad."
Hagoromo felt that he would have a much easier time fighting Might Guy again now.
"Hmm, it has the aura of a pseudo- High-Level Great Yokai." Cat San San jumped near Hagoromo, circled around a few times, and nodded.
"Pseudo-high-level?" Hagoromo asked doubtfully.
"Yes, our demon race has a hierarchy of low-level, mid-level, high-level, and divine-level."
The Cat San San, nodded and explained to Hagoromo.
So my current 'Sage Mode' isn't perfect?
Hagoromo asked curiously, after all, he wasn't familiar with Sage Mode either.
"That's not what I meant," said Cat San San, shaking her head.
"What I mean is, the energy contained in your current Sage Mode only reaches the level of a 'pseudo-advanced' Great Demon."
"It's probably due to your body's current energy saturation level. If you can take it to the next level in the future..."
"Then they can reach the level of High-Level Great Yokai below the 'Divine Realm', just like me."
With the Cat San San's explanation, Hagoromo gradually understood.
His current 'Sage Mode' is the most perfect Sage Mode, since there are not many traces of demonization.
However, my physical body's energy absorption threshold is not yet high enough to reach a higher level.
"What kind of existence is a god-level demon?"
Hagoromo looked at the Cat San San with curiosity and asked, after all, she now had the blessing of Sage Mode.
He was even more able to sense how much power the Cat San San contained, which was at least much greater than that of the Sixth Gate Might Guy.
"God-level?" Upon hearing this, Cat San San unconsciously narrowed her eyes, shook her head, and said, "I don't know."
"I was sealed away before I came here, and I haven't seen any other powerful demons for a long time."
"However, I saw it once from afar when I was young, and that power was beyond the reach of even High-Level Great Yokai."
Hagoromo nodded; his mastery of Sage Mode made him even more curious about what the higher levels were.
However, having Sage Mode means that he won't be so passive in the future.
"Why don't you try out your 'Sage Mode' abilities?"
"Humans should have little resistance to such novel abilities, "the Cat San San asked curiously.
"Huh? Isn't Sage Mode something you have to learn?"
Hagoromo blinked and asked.
"Your current 'Hazy Moon' Sage Mode is actually Symbiosis Technique formed by Natural Energy and the 'Fate Power' of yokai."
"Therefore, it possesses abilities that are somewhat similar to those of a yokai (supernatural being)."
In other words, you don't need to learn how to use it; it's something you're born with in this mode.
Cat San San patiently explained.
"Innate..."
Upon hearing this, Hagoromo Yi closed her eyes.
Sure enough, as he calmed his mind, methods for using Senjutsu appeared in his mind.
The next second, Hagoromo opened her eyes, her eyes bursting with intense excitement.
"They can actually fly through the clouds!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Hagoromo lightly lifted her feet, and a cloud of mist gathered around her, causing her figure to slowly rise.
"Yoho--!"
Hagoromo shouted and then began to drift in the air.
Amidst the clouds and mist, Hagoromo released her hands, immersing herself in the feeling of flying.
"It's just a technique called 'Hazy Moon Cloud Soaring,' is there any need to be so happy?"
A voice rang out, and the Cat San San had transformed into a giant white beast, soaring through the clouds beside him.
He asked with a helpless expression.
"You don't understand, this is flying!" Hagoromo shook her head and laughed loudly.
For a demon who is born with the ability to fly, this skill is hardly something to be happy about.
But Hagoromo was not like that; he was just an ordinary person who, just six months ago, was terrified of losing his life at any moment.
"Alright, but you should be more careful." The Cat San San's enormous demonic head gave a warning look.
"Huh?" Hagoromo was taken aback, not quite understanding what he meant.
"Based on the energy you just absorbed, the Hazy Moon Sage Mode can only last for a maximum of five minutes."
As soon as the Cat San San finished speaking, the clouds and mist beneath Hagoromo's feet dissipated.
"Holy crap!"
Just before her Hagoromo was about to fall, she grabbed a hair from Sansan beside her.
After finally climbing to the top of the Cat San San's enormous demon head, Hagoromo breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was so excited that I didn't even notice what was happening."
Hagoromo shook her head, calmed herself down, and then relaxed and lay down on top of Sansan's demon head.
"Let's go, Sansan, let's go back first."
"Ah." The Cat San San, glanced up at Hagoromo eyes before responding.
In front of the 'Muku Shrine', Hagoromo lightly leaped to the main gate.
Pointing to the gate, Hagoromo spoke to the Cat San San:
Shouldn't they all be open?
"I closed it myself," the Cat San San replied lazily, transforming back into its baby lucky cat form.
"And it's even been enchanted?"
Hagoromo carefully sensed the surroundings and discovered that the entire shrine was covered by a thin, membrane-like barrier.
"Yes, this place houses relics left behind by our ancestors, so even I usually don't go inside."
The Cat San San, shook its fur and spoke to Hagoromo.
Hagoromo nodded, ceasing her probing, and turned to Sansan, asking, "I'm going back now, what about you?"
--
"Huh?! Teacher, you actually keep a cat?"
As Hagoromo led Sansan into the new training ground, Naruto exclaimed in surprise.
In no time, Naruto and the others surrounded the Cat San San.
The Cat San San, first twitched its nose and glanced at Naruto, then jumped towards Choji.
"Hey kid, give me some of your potato chips."
The Cat San San, who jumped onto Choji's shoulder, spoke to Choji without any politeness:
"Huh?! It can talk?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.
Choji, then immediately took out a bag of unopened potato chips.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that this cat had the aura of his teacher.
Otherwise, just the fact that he asked for potato chips would have been enough to make Choji explode.
"Hmm, not bad, I like you, you little rascal." Cat San San nodded with great satisfaction.
Then, turning to the shocked Naruto, he said speechlessly:
"Hey you golden-haired brat over there, with that foxy smell all over you, can you please stop being so jumpy?"
Naruto was taken aback upon hearing this and instinctively sniffed himself.
Then it dawned on me that the cat was referring to the Kurama inside me.
Hagoromo then walked to Choji's side, picked up the Cat San San, and placed it in his arms before speaking to Naruto and his other students:
"This is the teacher's summoned beast, his name is Sansan, you can also call him Cat Teacher from now on."
"A summoned beast?!"
Naruto and the others were all incredulous, after all, the cat in front of them was far too intimidating.