Sage Arts

Uchiha Toko had awakened the Dojutsu, Eighty Calamity Gods, through his will to survive when he had faced certain death on the battlefield, surrounded by enemies dozens of times his number. It allowed him to seize the sole chance of survival in what had seemed an almost hopeless situation. When learning Sage Mode—a process that required a degree of luck—it was simply the ultimate cheat!

Even if there was a 99% chance of failure, as long as success remained possible, Uchiha Toko's chance of grasping that sliver of possibility was 100%!

"Achieving the most perfect Sage Mode the moment you began—your talent truly astonishes even this old woman," the White Snake Sage had said. "Since you have already mastered Sage Mode, all that remains is repeated practice to increase the speed at which you condense Sage Chakra."

The Sage Chakra condensed from that small amount of Natural Energy injected by the White Snake Sage was quickly exhausted, and Uchiha Toko withdrew from Sage Mode.

"Thank you for your gift, White Snake Sage." Having achieved the purpose of his journey, Uchiha Toko smiled.

"No need for such courtesy. Ryūchi Cave fairly gives every fated visitor who comes here an opportunity. Being able to seize it is your own ability," the White Snake Sage said. "All right, this old woman must continue her slumber. If there is anything else, you may seek out Tagorihime and the other children. I hope that when I awaken next time, this world will have become different in your hands."

Since the White Snake Sage had said so, Uchiha Toko simply gave a slight bow and took his leave.

After leaving the White Snake Sage's cave, the Three Sage Princesses, who had not yet departed, gathered around him.

"It appears that Mr. Douhuan has successfully passed the final trial." Tagorihime smiled. "Please come with us. Since Mr. Douhuan has mastered Sage Mode, some of Ryūchi Cave's Sage Arts may now be opened to you."

Uchiha Toko nodded and followed the three of them to a cave entrance.

"Inside are Ryūchi Cave's many years of research into Sage Arts. If you wish to learn them, Mr. Douhuan may select scrolls and copy them himself," Tagorihime said.

"So there's no teacher or anything?" Uchiha Toko raised an eyebrow slightly. However, seeing the three women keep smiling without answering, he understood. Unlike Mount Myoboku's Sage Arts curriculum, which took one from initiation to mastery after passing the trial, Ryūchi Cave favored a hands-off approach. Pick whatever Sage Arts you wanted; whether you could learn them was none of their concern.

Uchiha Toko entered Ryūchi Cave's Scripture Cave alone. After casually taking down several scrolls, he unrolled them and began reading.

The Sage Arts were varied and numerous. After spending some time, Uchiha Toko chose two. One was a support-type art that enhanced his perception of fluctuations in Natural Energy while in Sage Mode, improving his large-scale sensory abilities and making up for his lack of wide-range detection methods. The other was a Sage Art unique to Ryūchi Cave, a method of using Sage Chakra to guide and control the planet's Natural Energy for attacks. Similar to Mount Myoboku's Frog Kata, it was called Yamata Style.

As for the Ryūchi Cave Sage Arts Kabuto Yakushi had used in the original timeline, as well as several other highly powerful Sage Arts, Uchiha Toko did not choose them. His combat system had already taken shape. Though those Sage Arts were powerful, they either required the cooperation of Ryūchi Cave's snakes or necessitated partial modifications to the body. Uchiha Toko did not lack powerful ninjutsu. With Sage Chakra augmenting them, his Lightning Style ninjutsu had already risen to an entirely new level of power. Learning those techniques would simply not be worth the loss. What he truly needed were arts that used Natural Energy to compensate for his weaknesses.

After choosing his Sage Arts, Uchiha Toko released the Reverse Summoning Technique and left Ryūchi Cave.

Meanwhile, at the Hatake House's ancestral residence.

Naruto had already lived at Kakashi's home for two days, and the two had gradually become more familiar with each other.

When Naruto had first moved into the Hatake House's ancestral residence, he had been somewhat restrained. But after two days together, his mischievous heart had begun stirring again. Driven by curiosity, the prank he most wanted to pull was to find a way to yank off Kakashi's mask and get a good look at his true face.

To that end, while Kakashi was out treating someone to a meal, Naruto had made thorough preparations.

Kakashi pushed open the door as usual and casually called out, "I'm back."

What greeted him was a large basin of water tipping down from above his head.

Such a child's trick naturally could not catch an Elite Jonin who had weathered countless battlefields off guard. If Kakashi had not been carrying takeout, he would not have minded playing along, but that clearly was not an option now.

Kakashi dodged the falling basin in a flash and said helplessly, "Naruto, don't pull these boring tricks."

At that moment, Naruto suddenly rushed out of the storage room beside the entrance with a water gun in hand and aimed it at Kakashi. Yet before he could pull the trigger, he was shocked to discover that Kakashi was not wearing his mask today, leaving him frozen on the spot.

"Y-you... who are you?!" Naruto demanded, pointing at Kakashi.

"Who else could I be?" Kakashi shot the boy an irritated look. "Clean up the floor you dirtied after we eat."

"Don't try to fool me! You can't be Big Brother Kakashi!" Naruto continued shouting. "Big Brother Kakashi doesn't even take off his mask when he bathes!"

Kakashi darkened and punched Naruto directly on the forehead. Kids this age really did need a beating when they got too unruly before they would behave.

A while later, Naruto sat obediently at the dining table eating, a large bump raised on his head. Even so, he occasionally looked up at Kakashi, who was leaning against the sofa and flipping through Icha Icha Paradise.

"Say, Big Brother Kakashi, why did you suddenly take off your mask?" Naruto asked.

"No reason. I just suddenly didn't feel like wearing it anymore," Kakashi responded without looking up.

"Clean up the entrance after you finish eating, then get to bed early. Your Ninja Academy should be on break tomorrow. I'll take you out to buy some things," Kakashi said.

"Okay!" Naruto replied with a nod as he ate.

The following afternoon, the two of them finally got up long after the sun was high in the sky. They complained about each other as they headed out, but upon reaching the village's Commercial Street, Kakashi sharply sensed that something seemed off.

Without realizing it, the two had become the center of attention on the entire street. Yet almost everyone who saw them moved away, as though the two of them carried something filthy.