A half-finished sage: Kyosuke's Cursed Seal mode

"Um, is this really a bad idea of us to do this?"

"Don't peel it off, I'll do it myself..."

"Ouch, ma'am, you've got a really strong grip!"

Outside the Dragon-Trapping Pool, Tagorihime gave Kyosuke a full-body essential oil spa treatment.

Technician Oda's technique was exceptionally skilled, but his movements resembled those of preparing ingredients before eating.

He had an incredibly strong grip, squeezing Kyosuke so hard he screamed in pain.

"Don't move, or you'll explode and die." Her words were full of threat.

Deep within Ryūchi Cave lies a pool of water with miraculous healing properties.

Unfortunately, apart from Great Serpent- scale Summoning Beast, smaller snakes cannot benefit from the healing power of the pool water.

This is because what's inside isn't dew, but a solid liquid formed from Natural Energy.

Even snakes are smaller than humans, let alone the relatively weak human body.

If Kyosuke doesn't break through the layer of "ointment," he will explode and die the moment he enters.

"This thing is really... holy crap." He had intended to patiently inquire and see if there were any other treatment options.

Before he could finish speaking, Tagorihime kicked him into the pool.

Glug glug~ After struggling a few times subconsciously, Kyosuke quickly realized that he didn't seem to have any breathing problems.

"How amazing." He surfaced and looked at the Snake Princess on the shore, asking, "These are all quite useful. Where did they come from?"

"Hehe." Tagorihime chuckled mischievously, replying meaningfully, "Believe me, you wouldn't want to know."

"Uh." Kyosuke grinned, partly because of the unspeakable answer, and partly because of the sudden tingling sensation in his body.

"This... this is Natural Energy?"

There exists absorbable floating energy in the atmosphere; as long as all things exist, this energy will remain forever.

This is the source of Natural Energy.

When absorbed into the body, Natural Energy is mixed into ordinary Chakra, resulting in a Chakra of extremely high quality.

It is called Senjutsu Chakra.

Ordinary Chakra is obtained by mixing physical energy and spiritual energy. When Natural Energy is added, the three achieve a perfect balance, allowing the user to enter a special state called "Sage Mode".

In this mode, every move possesses immense destructive power, and any Ninjutsu used will be amplified in power because it incorporates high-quality Senjutsu Chakra.

To activate Sage Mode, one must first gather Senjutsu Chakra, which is done by forcing three different energies to reach a relative balance.

The closer it gets to balance, the more perfect the Sage Mode will be.

Jiraiya, wasn't very good at this; he needed the help of two fairy Toad to succeed.

Naruto, on the other hand, is perfect in the traditional sense. His process is slow, but his internal energy balance is superior to that of his master.

Hashirama, was domineering. Relying on his extremely high level of Sage Body, he directly absorbed Natural Energy and forcibly converted it.

Anyone else would have died countless times by now.

This guy is something else; he absorbs and converts everything instantly, without ever needing to consider any of that ridiculous balance issue.

As for Orochimaru Kabuto, he did a different thing; he completely assimilated his body with Natural Energy, so there was no need for any conversion process.

Ignoring his appearance, he is the most perfect user of Senjutsu.

A permanent Sage Mode buff—just think about how terrifying that is; otherwise, the Uchiha brothers wouldn't have needed to team up to deal with it.

Kyosuke's current disadvantage is obvious; his 10-year-old body simply cannot withstand Senjutsu Chakra.

However, he could take a different approach and learn from the path Orochimaru created.

They use Cursed Seal to store and transform energy, and fight using diluted Natural Energy.

Although the effect was somewhat less than ideal, it was undoubtedly a help to him at the moment.

Having the ability to analyze the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, he worked backward and quickly figured out how to use the Orochimaru's Cursed Seal.

After all, he doesn't need to consider reincarnation; he only needs to go through the steps of storage, conversion, and release.

Touching his neck, Kyosuke abandoned his plan to bite himself and instead focused on condensing Cursed Seal rune, forming a special Tomoe symbol on his shoulder.

It's done.

On the shore, Tagorihime frowned, wondering if he had gone mad.

When others enter the Snake Pool, they are usually tortured to the point of wishing for death; who would be laughing and chuckling foolishly in the water?

"He must have lost his mind."

Time passed second by second. Once the transformation of the Cursed Seal was completely completed, Kyosuke immediately began to try to activate the diluted Natural Energy.

Then, Tagorihime saw a human suddenly begin to convulse.

"Sigh." With a thought, the pool water seemed to come alive and spontaneously spat out Kyosuke's rice dumpling.

Unwilling to look at his swollen face, Tagorihime raised her arm and slapped him across the cheek.

This attack completely drained Kyosuke's Natural Energy, and for the first time in his life, he found being beaten to be quite comfortable.

Looking back at the clear Dragon-Trapping Pool, then at the Snake Princess before him, Kyosuke pleaded earnestly, "Please, you must continue to treat me this way."

The moment she finished speaking, Tagorihime's expression changed instantly.

She had initially thought humans were just annoying creatures, but she never imagined they harbored such wicked thoughts.

Really...

It really is...

It excited her so much!

The Shinki, her face inexplicably flushed, waved her hand dismissively, feigning composure, and said, "Don't worry, you've asked me so earnestly."

Unaware of anything amiss, Kyosuke nodded gratefully to her, then with a powerful twist of his waist, rolled back down the steps to the pool.

The following period passed smoothly under the constant "encouragement" of the Shinki.

With her enthusiastic help, Kyosuke successfully completed the experiment and was able to begin to harness diluted Natural Energy.

As his body matures in the future, he will be able to naturally transition into the Sage state, thus opening a path to the peak of the Kage Level.

"I didn't notice before, you're such a good person... uh, a good snake?" Kyosuke sincerely expressed his gratitude.

"Cough, it's nothing." Tagorihime waved her hand, her gaze towards the humans slightly reluctant.

The two developed a very subtle friendship.

Before he knew it, he had spent his 11th birthday in Ryūchi Cave.

During this period, in addition to his daily training, Kyosuke began to frequently visit Underground Bounty Station.

By capturing Rogue Ninja, you can continuously accumulate the Points needed to exchange for the Mangekyō.

This method is very much a test of one's character, and the outcome depends entirely on fate, but Kyosuke is quite happy to have an easy time.

Shortly after his birthday, a major event occurred in the Land of Fire.

The Senju Clan withdrew their troops on a large scale, ending a long war that had lasted for several years.

The Land of Fire seemed to have ushered in peace, but unfortunately, other countries did not stop there.

Some people also did not want to see the Uchiha and Senju ceasing their war.

The undercurrents continue to surge.