The seafloor of the deep sea.
Su Zheng sat within the abyss. All around him was deathly stillness. Beneath the darkness, endless pressure bore down, and almost no living creature could survive in such an environment!
Su Zheng stretched himself to his heart's content, pouring his Chakra into the super-dense seawater. Here, he would achieve the ultimate form of the Seven-Day Breathing Method!
"Seven-Day Breathing Method: Seventh Activation!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
In this abyssal world that never saw light, a dazzling radiance suddenly erupted, like a brilliant sun tearing through the darkness!
Massive waves of energy rapidly spread outward from Su Zheng. The intense shockwave surged at an astonishing speed, pulverizing rocks and cracking the seabed wherever it passed!
This terrifying power swiftly engulfed the abyss, plunging the tranquil deep-sea world into chaos and destruction!
Half an hour later, Su Zheng flew into the sky and watched the deep blue sea turn black. He sighed inwardly.
"My strength has become dozens of times greater than before. Luckily, this was the deep sea, where there aren't many creatures. If this had happened near the coast, people would've thought the world was ending!"
White steam completely solidified, forming a cloak and streamers that swirled around Su Zheng. He was incredibly fast, already exceeding escape velocity—12 km/s!
This way, he could leave Earth and train on other planets as well!
Now, he had completely mastered his Rinnegan, Yin-Yang Release, Six Paths Techniques... all that remained was Sage Arts!
As for the tailed beasts, there was no rush. The time had not yet come!
After several years of research, he had already found a way to enter Mount Myōboku on his own!
"Summoning: Space-Time Positioning Technique!"
Poof! Amid a burst of white smoke, Su Zheng vanished from where he stood.
The scene before him changed. A red toad with a pipe in its mouth and a short sword tucked at its waist appeared, while croaks echoed from all around.
Gamabunta's enormous pupils turned toward Su Zheng as he muttered, "You really came!"
Su Zheng was still a little bewildered when Gamabunta shouted, "Lord Fukasaku, that man has come!"
Sage Fukasaku appeared with his palms pressed together. Looking at Su Zheng, he said, "Su Zheng, you've finally appeared!"
Su Zheng asked, "You knew I was coming?"
"Ah, yes, through the Old Master's prophecy!" Sage Fukasaku turned around. "Come, follow me. I'll take you to see the Old Master!"
Su Zheng silently followed. He knew that the Great Toad Sage could see the future, but the fact that he had foreseen Su Zheng himself was entirely unexpected!
After all, he had already changed many things in reality. For instance, Jiraiya had never encountered Nagato, Yahiko, and the others, so naturally there was no so-called Child of Prophecy...
Could someone who had transmigrated like him also be observed? He gathered his thoughts and followed Sage Fukasaku to the Hall of Eternal Life!
The legendary Great Toad Sage now sat on his seat in extreme old age, his eyes slightly narrowed. It was impossible to tell whether he was asleep or awake...
"Hm? Little Fukasaku, who is this young man?" The Great Toad Sage seemed to have only just awakened.
"Cough, cough!" Sage Fukasaku coughed twice as a reminder. "Old Master, this is Su Zheng. Didn't you say that once he appeared at Mount Myōboku, he was to be brought to see you immediately?"
"Oh~ so you're Su Zheng. You really came?" the Great Toad Sage said with narrowed eyes.
"After the prophecy I gave Jiraiya failed to come true, I made another prophecy for myself. But the future was in chaos, and I couldn't dream of it at all!" The Great Toad Sage's eyes gleamed.
"Until not long ago, after you fought the Five Kage, the future gradually became clear. I dreamed of you. You changed this world's future..."
Su Zheng was somewhat shocked. Could he sense that Su Zheng would change the ninja world? Would he try to stop him?
Thoughts surged through him like a tide, then gradually settled. So what if he tried to stop him? What needed to change would change. This rotten system should have been destroyed long ago!
Watching Su Zheng calm down so quickly, the Great Toad Sage said, "Little Fukasaku, go outside first. I have something to discuss with this child alone!"
Sage Fukasaku left the hall. Bang! The doors shut, cutting off any prying.
Whoosh! A cushion appeared before Su Zheng.
"Sit! Your body contains immense power, and deep in your heart, you wish to change this world as well... am I right?" the Great Toad Sage said slowly.
Su Zheng sat upright, his expression blank. There was no way he could admit it!
If he exposed his ambitions in advance, all his previous plans might go to waste. He had no idea what unforeseen changes might occur, so at a time like this, silence was the best response!
Seeing Su Zheng like this, the Great Toad Sage said meaningfully, "All right! It seems you don't wish to tell me, but that's fine. You'll come looking for me on your own someday!"
"You may leave now. Fukasaku will teach you how to balance Sage Arts..."
Su Zheng bowed, then turned and left the hall. The Great Toad Sage watched his departing back, his gaze profound as he muttered.
"He should be the one who changes this world. Yet even I do not know how he will do it. So be it, let nature take its course..."
Below the Toad Oil Waterfall of Mount Myōboku, Sage Fukasaku said, "Before learning Sage Arts, you need to cover your body in Toad Oil so you can sense natural energy..."
"Take off your clothes and sit up there!"
Su Zheng sat on the platform as Sage Fukasaku coated his entire body in Toad Oil.
Whoosh! Su Zheng could feel the Sage Power Chakra nearby humming, trembling at his arrival!
Sage Fukasaku was somewhat surprised. Su Zheng could sense natural energy so quickly, but when he considered Su Zheng's monstrous combat strength, it seemed perfectly reasonable!
"All right, you can already sense natural energy. Next, go beneath the waterfall and use your body to absorb the Toad Oil. Try using Sage Chakra to condense Toad Oil yourself," Sage Fukasaku said.
Su Zheng walked naked beneath the waterfall, allowing the Toad Oil to pour all over his body.
Boom!
The natural energy within the Toad Oil surged toward him without end!
Sage Fukasaku sighed. "As expected of a monster. He can absorb so much natural energy!"
"You've already absorbed enough Toad Oil. Now try condensing it inside your body using the Sage Chakra you absorbed."
Su Zheng circulated his Sage Chakra and spat out a large amount of Toad Oil with a splash.
Sage Fukasaku praised, "Very good. In battle, if you condense Toad Oil and combine it with Fire Release, you can unleash powerful ninjutsu!"
Next, Sage Fukasaku brought Su Zheng to the foot of a mountain. Su Zheng understood that this was probably for practicing "stillness"!
Sage Fukasaku said, "Mount Myōboku's Sage Arts do not particularly emphasize physical or spiritual power. They simply maintain a balance between physical and spiritual power and natural energy, making them especially suitable for someone like you, whose body and spirit are both powerful!"
"Precisely because they maintain balance, they greatly enhance ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, and have no side effects whatsoever. You must understand that excessively strengthening either the body or spirit will create flaws within oneself!"
Flaws? Was the First Hokage, Hashirama, taken by an early death because of such a flaw? Su Zheng pondered.
Sage Fukasaku patted Su Zheng and said, "All right, go experience it for yourself. The natural energy you can absorb may exceed your imagination!"
"Okay!" Su Zheng grabbed a wooden board, leaped to the mountain peak, sat down steadily, and entered the state!
In an instant, drifting clouds stirred. Su Zheng could feel the natural energy around him continuously gathering...
Whoosh! Golden markings appeared around his eyes. Su Zheng opened them, revealing the horizontal pupils of a toad!
Su Zheng looked at his body and clenched his fist. This power had already surpassed what he possessed after activating the Seven-Day Breathing Method: Fifth Activation!
And he could feel that this was only the beginning. The energy he absorbed would only continue to increase!
Su Zheng looked at the distant mountain and threw a punch... Rumble! The towering peak was shattered by that single blow!
Sage Fukasaku was secretly alarmed. This truly was an unparalleled genius, though he did not know whether that was good or bad!
Su Zheng remained here for a week. His terrifying absorption force even drained the waterfall that produced Toad Oil dry!
In the end, Su Zheng left only after being driven away by the two great sages, Fukasaku and Shima. Yet his strength had far surpassed what it had been when he arrived!
The energy he absorbed upon entering Sage Mode had reached the ultimate form he attained through deep-sea training: Seven-Day Breathing Method: Seventh Activation!
Before you continue