Shikkotsurin Sage Mode

Shikkotsurin Sage Mode.

Five years ago, Chen learned from Tsunade where the sacred land of Shikkotsu Forest was located.

He went there alone and passed the trial set by Sage Katsuyu, one that no one had passed in a hundred years, successfully inheriting Shikkotsu Forest's [Silent Sage Jutsu].

Compared to Ryūchi Cave's "Turbulent Sage Jutsu" and Mount Myōboku's "Harmony Sage Jutsu," Silent Sage Jutsu was the sage technique that enhanced [Spiritual Energy] the most.

It was also the hardest of the three great sage techniques to master.

It was said that to master Silent Sage Jutsu, one needed absolute inner tranquility and had to attain the state of "Samatha," second only to Samadhi in the Ninja Sect's Zen Meditation practice.

Furthermore, entering Silent Sage Jutsu required ten full minutes of deep meditation. Because it placed such extreme emphasis on "focus" and "single-mindedness," Naruto's method of using shadow clones to store Senjutsu Chakra when using Mount Myōboku's Harmony Sage Jutsu, which likewise required meditation, was impossible with Silent Sage Jutsu.

Moreover, Silent Sage Jutsu lacked a method of sustained endurance like Jiraiya's fusion with the two great sages.

The two major shortcomings of activation and endurance greatly reduced Silent Sage Jutsu's practicality in battle.

This had been deliberate on the part of Shikkotsu Forest's founder, Sage Katsuyu. She had not created this sage technique for slaughter and conflict, but to cultivate the temperament of its practitioners.

Yet Chen, the only person in a hundred years to master this Silent Sage Jutsu, had perfectly compensated for both of its major shortcomings with a single move: [Toyomiketsunomikoto]!

The time-stop explanation was over!

Naruto was still stunned by being bound by the "Susanoo guardian spirit behind him"!

Chen, having entered Sage Mode in an instant, swung his right palm from afar!

—Sage Katsuyu Palm!

"Boom!" A shockwave formed from Natural Energy swept toward him!

"Frog Kumite...!?"

Naruto was blasted backward from Susanoo's shattered bones! As he flew back, blue-and-white viscous matter surged out from the cloak of Kurama's Chakra, secreting powerful acid that scorched the cloak and sent up sizzling smoke!

"A slug? Why does it burn so badly?"

Kurama cried out, "Naruto! Tear it off quickly, or the strong acid will melt you!"

Naruto's scalp went numb. Enduring the pain, he ripped off Kurama's Chakra cloak together with the slug attached to him!

"Boom!!" His back slammed heavily into a century-old tree, bringing him to a stop.

He looked at Chen, who had already closed in with astonishing Body Flicker and was less than twenty meters away!

"What... was that just now!?"

Kurama shouted, "Naruto, watch out for his Senjutsu and eye techniques! You don't have my Chakra protecting you right now!!"

With his head still buzzing, Naruto rose and assumed a defensive stance.

Ten meters!

Chen's right eye focused once more!

—Toyomiketsunomikoto!

"Crack!" Naruto watched helplessly as a massive silver blade appeared out of thin air, piercing straight through his abdomen and pinning him to the tree behind him.

"Heh." Blood poured from Naruto's mouth and nose as he let out a horrified laugh. "A Susanoo sword? He fired it directly from his eye like that?"

That was not even the most pressing issue. This wound was nothing like Shin Uchiha's childish play—it could very well kill him!

At that moment, Chen lowered his head to glance at his watch and recorded the time.

5:08:32!

He raised his gaze.

—Toyomiketsunomikoto!

Misfortunes never came alone. From the shadows of the trees overhead, more than a dozen great swords of judgment descended!

Naruto gave a bitter smile. "Hehe... damn it..."

—Amenotejikara!

"Whoosh!" At the critical instant, a rock switched places with Naruto and became embedded in the hole in the tree!

Twelve dark-silver greatswords crashed down, forming a "sword formation" around the tree!

In a forest clearing fifteen meters away.

Sasuke shielded Naruto behind him and stared at Chen, who had stopped twenty meters away, as if facing a formidable enemy!

"Sasuke..."

"Don't talk yet. Heal your injuries!"

Sasuke raised two fingers in a hand sign before his chest, his gaze dark and solemn. Naruto and I had both underestimated him completely. This man possessed an extremely terrifying eye technique. Just now, he had only used his right eye the entire time, yet he had nearly taken Naruto's life...

"Fwoosh!" Kurama's golden cloak reignited around Naruto. Only then did Naruto dare form a Chakra hand from his shoulder and carefully, slowly pull the silver blade lodged in his abdomen free.

He pulled it out bit by bit, using Kurama's healing power to repair the wound bit by bit, preventing the exposed wound from causing massive blood loss.

Thirty seconds later, the blade was completely removed, and the fatal injury had healed along with it.

"Phew... that saved me." Naruto let out a lingering, fearful sigh. The Nine-Tails' giant hand tightened and crushed the blade into scattered Chakra!

Sasuke's suspended heart finally settled. Looking at Chen, who had not taken advantage of the situation—whether out of wariness toward his Rinnegan or sheer disdain—he demanded from the depths of his soul, "Uchiha Chen! What exactly is your goal!"

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Chen looked calmly at the two of them and said, "My purpose—or rather, the goal I wish to achieve—is actually no different from that of the Hokage throughout history."

"What did you say!"

"Don't be so hasty, Naruto. I'm not done yet." Chen spoke unhurriedly. "It's only because our understanding differs, and the things we see differ, that our methods differ as well."

Naruto could no longer endure it. "What nonsense! What you've done has nothing comparable to the Hokage of the past! Don't flatter yourself!"

Chen smiled. "See? You're getting worked up again. Sasuke isn't getting worked up. You should learn from him."

Sasuke said in a low voice, "Madara and Obito both said things similar to yours back then. They also tried to overturn the ninja world in ways similar to yours. You know what became of them, don't you?"

He completely trusted... Shikamaru Nara's judgment of me?

Heh, so be it.

"I know. So?"

"Then your fate will be the same as theirs."

Chidori lightning screeched in Sasuke's lone palm, while Amaterasu's Black Flames condensed over it.

This move was called "Take Mikazuchi," a shape transformation created when Kagutsuchi fused Amaterasu into Chidori. Sasuke had used it at the end of his final battle with Naruto, and it was also why he had lost his left arm!

He gave Naruto a tacit look!

"Awesome~!" Naruto immediately understood. "Buzz!" Sage Art: Rasenshuriken condensed before his left palm!

With a flick of his wrist, Sasuke used his black cloak as cover and threw two Kunai carrying Explosive Tags onto the ground nearby.

Then, he and Naruto struck toward one another face-to-face, while the Rinnegan beneath his bangs suddenly swung toward Chen!

—Amenotejikara!

"Whoosh!"

Amenotejikara swapped the air, dragging Chen out of thin air directly before Naruto and Sasuke's palms, into the pincer attack of Take Mikazuchi and Sage Art: Rasenshuriken!

Chen said, "So you went with this."

During that exchange of glances, Naruto and Sasuke had confirmed their battle plan!

"Sasuke, when my attacks get close to his eyes, they experience a strange delay!"

"Yeah, I know. It's because of that strange eye technique in his right eye. When the Flame Release in Take Mikazuchi merges with your Wind Release, it will create a sustained Scorch Release field explosion. Once he's inside it, he definitely won't be able to escape!"

Even Madara and Obito, who had been watching from the sidelines, could not help but wait in anticipation!

"Chen... what will you do?"

"I'll do this."

Shikkotsu Forest's Senjutsu could let me select multiple targets and cast eye techniques on them consecutively in an extremely short period of time.

Put simply, it removed the internal cooldown of eye techniques!

Crimson light trembled in Chen's right eye as his gaze swept left and right!

—Amaterasu-no-Mikoto!

"Sizzle!" "Sizzle!"

The instant eye-technique light flashed in Chen's right eye, Naruto's Sage Art: Rasenshuriken before his left palm and Sasuke's Take Mikazuchi before his right palm successively disintegrated into specks of light within an almost negligible interval!

"What!?" In the instant their expressions froze in shock, Chen's hands formed choking grips and shot toward their throats like lightning!

"!" Sasuke had been prepared. He was the first to recover, the Magatama in his Rinnegan trembling as Amenotejikara flashed twice in succession!

Note: Amenotejikara's own internal cooldown was extremely short and could be ignored!

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

The "Explosive Tag Kunai" that had been thrown onto the ground beforehand switched places and appeared in Chen's hands!

"!?" Even Chen was visibly taken aback by that brilliant maneuver.

"Take this!" Sasuke formed a hand sign with two fingers!

"Rumble, rumble, rumble!!" Explosive flames instantly swallowed the ground where Chen stood!

"Sasuke, that just now was..." Naruto still looked shaken.

Sasuke clenched his lowered palm tightly, shock still lingering on his face. "A Personal Barrier that can delay attacks, Chakra bullets deployed from thin air, and the ability to instantly break down our techniques just now—that was the third eye technique he released with his right eye!"

"I'm almost certain that isn't an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan! It is... the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!"

"What? Eternal Mangekyo? Doesn't that require transplanting the eyes of a biological brother to..."

"Yeah. He probably transplanted the eyes of his younger brother, Uchiha Jin!"

"That explosion completely caught him off guard. He had no time to take any defensive measures, so it's impossible for him to have come out unscathed. At best, both his hands are probably crippled!"

Sasuke stated it without room for doubt.

Naruto looked toward the explosion zone filled with smoke and dust, then sighed. "The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, huh? Even if he's lost both hands needed for Hand Seals, he probably won't be easy to deal with. Still, the scales of victory have begun tipping toward us. That's how battle damage works."

"That curveball just now was indeed beautifully played. I have to praise you for it, Sasuke."

Chen walked out of the smoke.

"How is this possible..." The confidence that had just risen in Naruto and Sasuke's eyes was instantly replaced by intense horror!