Investing in Sage Mode Cultivation

Faced with Jiraiya's question, Tsunade didn't bother to reply, but Orochimaru spoke up to provide the answer.

"Our bodies possess certain adaptive and evolutionary characteristics. For example, after muscles and bones suffer a certain degree of damage, they become stronger. Because of this, many Taijutsu-focused ninjas often undergo overloaded training, including weight training.

However, this kind of enhancement inevitably leaves behind numerous difficult-to-repair internal injuries. Even the Senju Clan, with their powerful life force, can only reduce this damage, not eliminate it entirely.

If it happens once or twice, it's no big deal, but if it happens many times, it can easily lead to crippling injuries or even sudden death, essentially overdrafting the body."

"Kentei!"

This explanation was simple and direct. Jiraiya naturally understood and looked sternly at Shimura Kentei.

He greatly admired this nominal disciple and naturally wouldn't stand by and watch him go down a dark path.

However, Shimura Kentei nodded his head without changing his expression, agreeing with the statement, and even provided a more detailed explanation.

"Senior Orochimaru is correct. Our muscles are composed of muscle fibers. The number and size of these muscle fibers are determined by birth, but we can thicken these muscle fibers through exercise.

During overloaded exercise, these muscle fibers will suffer severe damage. After they repair and heal, they will become thicker and stronger.

In addition, muscles contain myoglobin, which is where our bodies store and transport oxygen. Through exercise, myoglobin greatly increases, which in turn increases the number of open capillaries that transport oxygen within the muscles. The combined effect of these two makes the muscles fuller and more powerful.

At the same time, during exercise, a large amount of protein needs to be supplemented to better repair damaged muscle fibers. Coupled with adequate rest, the muscles will continuously become stronger in a cycle.

The strengthening of bones is similar. After repeated damage, our bodies automatically increase calcium deposits, making the bones denser and harder, and improving their resilience. However, this has nothing to do with our Shimura Clan's Body Strengthening Technique.

Our Shimura Clan's Body Strengthening Technique is not as extreme, nor as quick and effective. It requires years of cultivation to turn this Body Strengthening Technique into a bodily instinct, continuously strengthening the body twenty-four hours a day.

Perhaps it only improves a little each day, but the accumulation becomes quite substantial, and it causes almost no damage to the body. Even if there is some, it will be slowly repaired.

If I hadn't been severely injured by Teacher Tsunade this time, I wouldn't have taken this opportunity to deepen my training. After all, I'm already seriously injured, so I can't waste this chance."

Only by explaining clearly could the full efficacy and value of this Body Strengthening Technique be demonstrated, and then used as a bargaining chip to gain more benefits.

"Is that so?"

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade suspiciously. He didn't understand this aspect well, but it sounded quite reasonable.

"Cough, cough, rest well. I'll come back tomorrow to help you train."

With a dry cough, Tsunade quickly left the hospital room.

It wasn't a good look for a teacher to have her student hospitalized, even if there were reasons for it. This was, after all, her fault.

"Teacher Tsunade, what percentage of your strength did you use for that last punch?"

Seeing Tsunade about to leave the room, Shimura Kentei asked, wanting to know the gap between himself and Tsunade.

"About thirty percent, equivalent to one of my attacks when I was an Elite Jonin!"

Casually replying, Tsunade quickly left the room.

"That's quite discouraging!"

With a wry smile, Shimura Kentei understood that he was still a long way from true strength. Even wearing that Battle Suit, he could still be beaten to death. At most, he could go toe-to-toe with an average Jonin.

But it was still pretty good, considering he was less than thirteen years old and had plenty of room for growth.

"Improvement by accumulating small amounts?"

Orochimaru, standing nearby, seemed deep in thought, his interest reignited.

Although he didn't like this kind of slow, step-by-step training method, it didn't stop him from being interested. If he could get his hands on it and study it, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit to himself.

"Orochimaru!"

Seeing the fervent look in his friend's eyes intensify, Jiraiya issued a warning.

Such secret techniques were definitely the foundation of the Shimura Clan's existence, and it was impossible for them to be leaked. If Orochimaru truly had designs on it, Danzō Shimura would definitely try to kill him, which would inevitably cause trouble within the village.

This taboo absolutely could not be touched, not even by Orochimaru.

"Kentei-kun, rest well. I'll be back tomorrow."

Orochimaru's golden snake eyes regained clarity. He licked his lips, indicating that he would be back on time, and then turned to leave.

He also understood that he absolutely could not use any means to obtain the inherited secret techniques of a ninja clan, otherwise, even his teacher might not be able to protect him.

However, he could use this opportunity to glimpse some of the mysteries of that kid's Body Strengthening Technique. While this was a bit of a gray area, it wasn't a big problem.

"You shouldn't have let them help you train the Body Strengthening secret technique!"

After Orochimaru left, Jiraiya looked worried, concerned for his nominal disciple.

He knew very well that his disciple's relationship with his father, Danzō Shimura, was not very good. He had even heard that the two had a falling out.

If the Body Strengthening secret technique was leaked today, he would inevitably be punished. Given Danzō Shimura's cold and ruthless nature, who knew how he would punish Shimura Kentei.

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher Jiraiya, but it's fine. My father authorized this."

Shimura Kentei naturally shifted the blame to his father and returned a smile.

Although he was very wary of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, he had a good impression of Jiraiya.

"Danzō authorized it?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened, completely unable to understand this statement.

Was Danzō Shimura that magnanimous?

"Our Shimura Clan's foundation is limited, after all. Pushing the Body Strengthening Secret Technique to its current stage has reached our own limits. Further advancement requires more knowledge and resources."

He spoke with genuine helplessness.

The Shimura Clan was only a second-rate ninja clan during the Warring States period, with a history of only a few hundred years. They were far from being top-tier clans like the Senju or Uchiha, who had legacies spanning thousands of years, and their foundation was limited.

Over the past few years, he had almost emptied the clan's resources in this area through Miss Keiko, and had only managed to advance the Body Strengthening Secret Technique to D-Rank.

Of course, it was also mainly because the Shimura Clan hadn't done much research into physical enhancement; most of their efforts were focused on the study of Wind Release Ninjutsu.

It was too difficult to continue researching and developing the Body Strengthening Secret Technique by utilizing the infinite resurrection characteristic of the clones, so they had to find ways to obtain more related materials, such as the Senju Clan's secret Monster Strength Technique.

This was also a major reason for his high-profile performance during the assessment; he believed it would attract many interested parties.

"Danzō is targeting the Senju Clan?"

Jiraiya was shocked again. This was not good news.

"Not just the Senju Clan, but other clans in Konoha, including you, Teacher Jiraiya, are within our consideration. However, we will only conduct fair trades, with mutual consent, and no conflict will arise.

If someone doesn't want to exchange, we naturally won't force them."

"Including me?"

Blinking dazedly, Jiraiya didn't quite understand what made him worthy of Danzō Shimura's attention.

After all, all his skills came from his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even if he coveted a certain Ninjutsu he knew, he should have gone directly to his teacher.

"Father has always yearned for the Sage Mode power possessed by the First Hokage. The three great Sage Realms in the ninja world all inherit the power of Sage Mode. As the current contractor of the Mount Myōboku Sage Realm, Teacher Jiraiya, you should have the opportunity to access Sage Mode training."

Frankly stating his goal, Shimura Kentei, despite being wary of Mount Myōboku, was also very covetous of the Sage Mode they possessed.

If nothing else, the physical enhancement provided by Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode was quite exaggerated.

In the original work, when Naruto Uzumaki initially mastered Sage Mode, he once lifted a giant stone frog over ten meters tall. Calculating at three tons per cubic meter of stone, that would be over a thousand tons, which was indeed outrageous.

Of course, Naruto Uzumaki's own strength was also a factor, but Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode could indeed greatly enhance physical fitness.

He had long coveted this kind of Sage Mode.

"Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode is not something that belongs to me and cannot be passed on. Moreover, their Sage Mode training requires a very high amount of chakra. Even with my current chakra reserves, I've only reached one-tenth of the standard."

Shaking his head slightly, Jiraiya didn't think Shimura Kentei could cultivate Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode, mainly because his own chakra reserves were too scarce, even less than that of an average genin.

Such chakra reserves were not even enough to meet the standard for signing the Mount Myōboku contract, let alone cultivating Sage Mode.

"I need to increase it tenfold!"

Shimura Kentei was speechless. Jiraiya's chakra reserves were quite good. While not the "Chadunla," he could at least be considered "Chajinla." Currently, in terms of chakra reserves alone, he was not much different from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Even so, he still needed ten times more to meet the threshold for Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode training, which showed the difficulty of cultivating it and also how amazing Naruto Uzumaki was.

"You don't need to reveal the specific cultivation method, Teacher Jiraiya. As long as you can share some cultivation experiences after mastering Sage Mode, and cooperate with some research, that would be enough."

Stating his purpose, Shimura Kentei didn't care about the specific cultivation method of Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode. It would be better if he had it, but it didn't matter if he didn't.

"If it's just my own experiences, it shouldn't be a problem."

After thinking about it, Jiraiya felt it was fine and agreed. As for the cooperation in research, he didn't take it to heart at all.

Over the years, he had cooperated with Tsunade and Orochimaru on countless research projects; he was very familiar with it.

"Sister Keiko, please bring the E-Rank and D-Rank Body Strengthening Technique scrolls."

Seeing Jiraiya agree, Shimura Kentei called out to his fiancée, Shimura Keiko, who was standing by.

Shimura Kentei was serious about this. Although it seemed like a loss to pass on the developed Body Strengthening Technique to outsiders, you might be making a huge profit, and Uncle Ding never loses, he even makes a huge profit.

Moreover, it was only at the current stage that he would directly impart these low-level secret techniques. In the future, when he developed high-level secret techniques, he would not impart them easily, unless you could offer something that would make Uncle Ding's heart flutter.

As long as they could maintain absolute leadership in secret technique development, what does it matter if they gave you already obsolete or nearly obsolete secret techniques?

They were destined to only eat our dust, what prospects could they have?

When everyone in our Shimura Clan is comparable to the Six Paths, what can you do?

Of course, these were all secondary. The main purpose of imparting this Body Strengthening Secret Technique to the outside world was to prepare for dealing with Six Paths Madara and even the Otsutsuki clan. In the original work, it was shown that only Sage Mode and Taijutsu could counter Six Paths Madara and Otsutsuki Momoshiki, and Might Guy even almost kicked Six Paths Madara to death, directly ending the story.

It was the same for Otsutsuki Momoshiki and others; Ninjutsu had no effect on them.

As the saying goes, a man who does not plan for the future will find trouble near at hand. We must prepare for this, and Jiraiya, who has the aptitude for Sage Mode training, is worth cultivating vigorously.

He was even considering whether his two cheap teachers, Jiraiya and Tsunade, could use the Eight Inner Gates Formation. If the future battle situation were truly unfavorable, he could let them activate the Eight Inner Gates Formation and die with the enemy.

Although he was thinking of such rebellious things as betraying his teachers, Shimura Kentei remained outwardly calm. As the "Son of the Pot," his acting skills and composure were naturally not bad.

"Teacher Jiraiya can also use this opportunity of injury to cultivate the Body Strengthening Technique."

This was a form of investment. When Jiraiya eventually mastered Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode, it would be time to reap the rewards. At the same time, cultivating the Body Strengthening Secret Technique would help Jiraiya become stronger faster and reach the threshold for Sage Mode training as soon as possible.

Shimura Keiko said nothing and leaped back to the Shimura Clan. In a short while, she returned with the cultivation scrolls for the Body Strengthening Technique.

Although she had been focusing on the Monster Strength Technique these past few days, she had been using Shadow Clones to sort out other cultivation techniques. They had all been sorted out, and she had instructed the clan members to print them.

As for how the Shimura clan members would cultivate and who would be qualified to cultivate, that was not her concern. The "old eunuch" would handle the arrangements for that.

"Your Body Strengthening Technique is also divided into ranks?"

Controlling his hair to unfold the E-Rank Body Strengthening Technique scroll, Jiraiya asked curiously as he read it.

"Currently, only E-Rank and D-Rank levels of the Body Strengthening Technique have been developed. The D-Rank Body Strengthening Technique is more complex and lengthy, requiring a significant amount of time for reading and comprehension. You can start with the E-Rank one first.

Oh, and Jiraiya-sensei, please do not teach these secret Body Strengthening techniques to others in the future. I hope you can understand this point."

After a brief explanation and a warning, Shimura Kentei was counting on these two Body Strengthening secret techniques to conduct transactions with the ninja clans of Konoha!

At this moment, the advantages of being the Son of the Pot Kage became apparent. At least he didn't have to worry about being double-crossed, as no one in the current ninja world could outsmart his own father!

Well, except for Black Zetsu!

On the other side, Jiraiya looked at the E-Rank Body Strengthening Technique scroll. Then, he picked up the scroll labeled D-Rank Body Strengthening Technique and unrolled it, discovering it was a Sealed Item Scroll.

Without overthinking, he circulated his chakra and unsealed the scroll.

Shimura Kentei, witnessing this, was greatly alarmed and quickly called out to stop him, but it was already too late.

"Don't!"

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

A pig-like scream echoed throughout Konoha Hospital, making many doctors and patients shudder.

A proctologist, who was examining a patient with hemorrhoids, was startled by the piercing scream. He accidentally pushed his entire hand inside, eliciting another pig-like cry.

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