Soft Didn't Work, So He Went Hard, Adding Points

The Mist Village moved swiftly; that very night, the fleet stealthily approached within three kilometers of the coast.

Led by the Third Mizukage, all the Mist Ninja came out in full force, wading across the water to land on the territory of the Land of Wind.

With a clear objective and without any hesitation, the ninja force of over a thousand men marched straight towards Linchuan City with overwhelming force.

Without warning or probing, the entire army was deployed directly. The defending forces of Linchuan City couldn't even delay for a moment before the entire city fell.

Fortunately, the Mist Village hadn't gone so far as to slaughter an entire city, something that couldn't be compared to a hundred people from a single village.

They looted all the strategic resources stored in the city by Sunagakure, leaving behind an empty warehouse, and then left.

Taiichi witnessed the entire Mist Village battle from a distance.

The operation was swift and efficient; from the initial attack to the acquisition of spoils and the final retreat, the entire process was completed within half an hour.

Taiichi couldn't help but sigh, "They truly deserve to be one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. We shouldn't underestimate them just because they were badly beaten up before."

However, their actions tonight also show that Mist Village is truly planning to fight Sunagakure. The supplies stored in this city are something that even Taiichi was envious of just now.

Watching the Mist Ninja disappear into the night, Taiichi didn't linger any longer. He immediately sent a Shadow Clone to report to Jiraiya, while his main body returned to Tsunade's unit.

It was already late at night. Despite the rapid march, the Konoha troops did not set up camp. Instead, they were distributed in small teams around the perimeter, allowing for quick reactions and better vigilance.

The sudden appearance of Tai immediately caught the attention of the vigilant ninjas, who breathed a sigh of relief when they saw his face clearly.

Taiichi, and quickly walked towards the largest fire pit in the center, where Tsunade and her Advisory Group were.

At this hour, Tsunade was still awake. She sat by the fire, staring at the roaring flames, lost in thought. The Kakkou cast a rosy glow on her fair skin.

Taiichi's arrival woke her from her reverie, and as she watched Taiichi light steps, a slight smile appeared on her lips.

It seems you have good news to bring.

As Tsunade spoke, the surrounding staff officers also turned their attention to Taiichi. Their superior was still awake, so naturally, they, the staff officers, wouldn't go to bed so early either.

In the distance, Fugaku and Hiashi, seeing the commotion, also got up and came over; they were also very interested in the information Taiichi back.

Seeing that most of the expected people had arrived, Taiichi stopped dawdling and began to recount the attack that Mist Village had launched on the Land of Wind that night.

"Lady Tsunade, the attack by Mist Village was very decisive. They didn't return to the sea afterward, but instead continued their advance into the Land of Wind. This suggests they intend to wage a protracted war."

As everyone listened to Taiichi's story, they looked at each other in bewilderment. Some showed joy, while others seemed particularly regretful.

Taiichi observed all of this and had a general idea of their intentions.

"Lady Tsunade, the Mist Village and the Sunagakure have started fighting. Does this mean the war on our side is over?"

These are the people who are happy. Not everyone likes war; in fact, most people long for a peaceful life, including ninjas.

A faint smile appeared on Tsunade's face. She nodded first, then shook her head, leaving the ninja who had asked the question confused and unable to understand what Tsunade meant.

"We're unlikely to be able to fight on most of our side, but the East Front should still be maintained. Mist Village is unpredictable; no one can guarantee that they might attack Sunagakure today and then join forces with Sunagakure to attack us tomorrow."

That's true. Mist Village's actions were unexpected. Even if a ceasefire agreement is signed with Mist Village now, the East Front will likely be preserved for a long time.

"Lady Tsunade, what should we do next? Are we just going to stay here and hold out forever?"

The one speaking was Fugaku Uchiha. He was one of those who looked regretful. He had come to the front lines to hone his skills and make a name for himself, but after only three months of fighting, Mist Village had retreated. What was he going to do?

"That's all we can do for now. I'll report the situation to the village later, and then we'll see how the village arranges things."

Although he was still somewhat unwilling, he could only stop here for now. Fugaku looked at the several Jonin around him Jonin and sighed slightly.

"Everyone go back and rest. We'll head to the encampment as planned tomorrow."

Taiichi, there's no need to monitor Kirigakure anymore. Come back Mist Village get some rest.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

The following day, the Eastern Front Forces arrived at their destination around noon, and new Camp were being rapidly set up.

Now that he was free of his mission, Taiichi felt incredibly relaxed and could finally settle down and do his own thing.

Not far from the Camp, Taiichi found a scenic spot and sat cross-legged.

Yesterday I took such a big risk to finally unlock the Sage Mode skill, so now I definitely need to seize the time to train hard and not waste the 1 point of spirit attribute I lost.

Taiichi closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and attempted to communicate with the Natural Energy.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

Nothing happened.

The sky was still so blue, the air was still so fresh, and you could still hear the birds chirping, but there was no vibrant, colorful Natural Energy.

Taiichi scratched his head, then glanced at the panel again, still not believing it.

[Sage Mode Lv0 (4/100)]

This row of data is so clear it's as if it's part of the main data.

How could this be? The skill has clearly been generated, so why can't I still observe Natural Energy?

Undeterred, Taiichi changed his approach. This time, he switched to meditation, which he was quite familiar with. He simply closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.

Unfortunately, an hour passed, and meditation remained meditation; he did not observe Natural Energy again.

He reluctantly opened his eyes again, his eyes filled with confusion and disappointment.

It seems that this Sage Mode and the ability to observe Natural Energy are similar to what I learned when I first learned the Flying Thunder God.

Although he possessed the Flying Thunder God technique, he was stuck at the last hurdle and unable to break through because he lacked space-time talent.

Although he had experienced Natural Energy three times due to various coincidences, he seized the opportunity on the third time and generated the Sage Mode skill.

However, under normal circumstances, he still cannot meet the conditions to sense Natural Energy, let alone cultivate Sage Mode based on that.

Having figured all this out, Taiichi felt relieved.

Since the soft approach isn't working, we'll have to resort to the hard approach.

He's even got the Sage Mode skills out, what does he have to be afraid of? He originally wanted to work hard and gradually max out his experience points so he could naturally reach Sage Mode.

Now, he's stopped pretending; Taichi Matsushita a cheat code.

Wasn't this exactly the time he needed to use all those Skill Points he'd accumulated?

Concentrating his mind on the Sage Mode skills, the panel immediately changed as soon as he thought about it.

The dazzling Lv0 of the Sage Mode slowly disappeared, and Lv1 (0/100) appeared in its place.

A flood of information immediately filled Taiichi's mind, and at the same time, he could feel his body undergoing unseen changes.

It seems lighter, more transparent, and more in harmony with the natural environment.

At this moment, Taiichi realized that the conditions for everyone to cultivate Sage Mode were different.

Even with the same physical attributes and the same Chakra Quantity, everyone's compatibility with Natural Energy varies greatly.

Some, like Jugo, are naturally attuned to Natural Energy; others, like Jiraiya, still need the assistance of Fukasaku and Shima even after mastering the art; and still others, like ordinary people, never grasp the essence of Natural Energy in their entire lives.

Tsunade's physique and Chakra Quantity are definitely much Jiraiya's, but Jiraiya was able to learn Sage Mode while Tsunade could never learn it. That's the difference.

Now, with the system's transformation, Taiichi's body has also been adjusted to a mode that best matches the Natural Energy.

He closed his eyes slightly, his spirit radiating outwards. The Natural Energy that he had not been able to sense before was clearly reflected in his perception. This process was so smooth, without any obstacles.

Just like when I first learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, it came naturally, as if I was born with it.

Unlike before, the previous times I sensed Natural Energy, except for the time when my swordsmanship advanced, the Natural Energy interacted with my body.

On the other two occasions, it seemed as if there was a magnetic field around his body, isolating him from Natural Energy. Apart from the occasional Natural Energy that entered and exited his body with his breath, it was almost completely isolated.

Now, Taiichi stretched out his palm and looked at the Natural Energy floating in his palm, which was intimately attached to his body like a lover.

The difference between the two is truly like night and day.

Recalling the memories in his mind, including the descriptions of Sage Mode, Taiichi concentrated his mind and tried to adjust the flow of Chakra within his body in a specific way.

Doing this is easy for Taiichi right now. Even though the difficulty of manipulating Chakra in this way is no less than that of an S-rank Ninjutsu, Lv13 Chakra Control is no joke.

One minute later, a strange suction force emanated from Taiichi's body. This suction force did not stir up a single speck of dust in the surrounding area, but it created ripples on another level.

The Natural Energy around Taiichi seemed to be drawn in, first to the vicinity of his body surface, and then spreading to a meter.

Two meters.

Five meters.

Ten meters.

Gradually, the Natural Energy within a 3-kilometer radius of Taiichi was drawn in by this force. However, the further away from Taiichi, the weaker the force became, and at 3 kilometers, it was almost negligible.

The Natural Energy that were drawn in flowed into Taiyi's body like swallows returning to their Taiichi, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, until his body seemed to reach a certain limit, at which point the influx slowed down.

Taiichi felt a surge of energy within his body that was completely different from Chakra, and he was terrified. If this went wrong, he might die here today.

Following the memory in his mind, Taiichi carefully remixed the Natural Energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy in a specific ratio.

At this moment, once again thanks to his superb Chakra Control, everything proceeded so smoothly. The three energies converged in his lower abdomen, and a brand new energy was generated—this was Senjutsu Chakra.

When the first burst of Senjutsu Chakra is generated, the body seems to memorize this unique pattern, and subsequent synthesis becomes instinctive, requiring Taiichi conscious effort.

Feel this Senjutsu Chakra, which is different from ordinary Chakra; it gives people a more profound and textured feeling.

He conjured an ice mirror with a wave of his hand and found that his Sage Mode did not seem to have changed significantly.

Of course, apart from those eyes, Taiichi's eyes were no longer white with black pupils, but seemed to radiate golden light from the depths of his pupils, dyeing his entire eyes gold.

Compared to Jiraiya's Sage Mode, there really isn't much of a change.

Unlike his relatively minor external changes, the changes inside his body were nothing short of earth-shattering.

With his fists clenched, Taiichi walked to a large tree and, with a single punch, snapped the tree, which was as thick as a person's embrace, in two.

Looking at his fist, apart from some wood chips, not even a layer of skin was broken.

The enhancement that Senjutsu Chakra provides to the body is just too strong.

After calming himself down, Taiichi opened the control panel, which was the place that could most directly reflect his physical condition.

Constitution: 32 (Temporary +2)

Strength: 31 (Temporary +2)

Agility: 31 (Temporary +2)

Spirit: 34 (Temporary +2)

All four physical attributes were temporarily increased by 2 points. This is not the 2 points that Genin. Given Taiichi's current physical condition, each increase represents a qualitative transformation.

Moreover, judging from Taiichi's perspective, this is not the limit. As the level of Sage Mode increases, there is still a lot of room for improvement in this enhancement.

After assessing his physical abilities, Taiichi immediately used the Flying Thunder God to reach the seaside, where he formed hand Hand Seals facing the ocean.

Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.

This was Taiichi's most skilled and familiar Fire Style, but he felt a distinct difference as soon as he used it this time.

Sure enough, the flames were neither orange-red nor the bright gold he was familiar with, but a blue-white flame on a higher level.

The moment the scorching heat came into contact with the seawater, a massive amount of water vapor rose up. That wasn't all; the seawater within the area covered by the flames evaporated rapidly, and the rate at which the surrounding seawater replenished it couldn't keep up with the rate of evaporation.

In just a few breaths, the shallow seawater had evaporated completely, revealing the sand beneath, which was then melted in the blink of an eye, turning into a glassy molten liquid.

As the Ninjutsu ended, the seawater surged back up with another hissing sound, and the molten liquid transformed into a sheet of black glass, revealing the burn marks left by the Ninjutsu.

Taiichi was also delighted. The power of this Fire Style was at least twice as high as his normal level. At least the temperature of the blue-white flames far exceeded that of the Bright Gold flames.

Taiichi continued to experiment with Wind Style, Water Style, Lightning Style, Earth Style, and Ice Release. Without exception, the power of all his Ninjutsu more than doubled.

This truly lives up to its reputation as Sage Mode; the boost it provides to a ninja's strength is simply too powerful.

Just as Taiichi was about to continue the experiment, a strong sense of emptiness swept over his body, and he blankly raised his arms to look at his hands.

That abundant power seemed to have left him in an instant, and the contrast before and after made it difficult for Taiichi short time.

This is my first time using Sage Mode!