The Immortal

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke bluntly, "Danzo, I am not discussing this with you; I am ordering you."

"Do not forget, I am the Hokage!"

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi refer to himself as the Hokage, Danzo Shimura felt a deep sense of grievance in his heart.

I once had a chance, too. I had made up my mind back then as well. If I hadn't been a split second too late... this position of Hokage should have been mine!

Of course, he could only think these words to himself; if he dared to speak them aloud, Hiruzen Sarutobi would certainly no longer care about their old friendship.

Forget about ever running for Hokage again; he would likely be thrown into a dark room and kept in solitary confinement.

"Hiruzen, you will—" Danzo began, but Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

Danzo Shimura felt utterly stifled!

Not only was he denied the Hokage seat, but he wasn't even allowed to finish his sentence!

Unwilling to say more to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura walked out of the Hokage Building.

With a wave of his hand, a Root ninja appeared by his side.

Danzo Shimura looked up at the Hokage Office at the top of the Hokage Building and said, "Mission canceled. Have them withdraw."

"Yes!" The Root ninja bowed his head and vanished into a dark shadow.

Danzo Shimura glanced back toward the Senju Clan Grounds before walking silently toward the Root headquarters.

"Sister Katsuyu, you are so soft!" Senju Genma said, his face full of excitement as he stroked the giant slug beneath him.

"Lord Genma, I am glad you like it," Katsuyu's soft voice drifted up from beneath him.

"Warm and smooth, this is so comfortable!" Senju Genma, lying on Katsuyu, rolled over in delight.

Tsunade, who had been standing by the training ground, jumped onto Katsuyu's body, which stood dozens of meters high, and tapped Genma on the head with her fist.

"Genma, show some respect to Katsuyu."

Unlike the snakes of Ryuchi Cave or the toads of Mount Myoboku, the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest were essentially all clones of the Slug Sage, Katsuyu.

The fact that Katsuyu addressed summoners as "Lord" was merely a matter of her personality.

In truth, Tsunade was quite respectful toward Katsuyu.

Katsuyu's urgent voice sounded, "Lady Tsunade, please do not bully Lord Genma."

Tsunade was dumbfounded, unable to understand how Senju Genma had become so close to Katsuyu the very first time he summoned her.

"Katsuyu, have you really betrayed me?"

Katsuyu separated a palm-sized slug from her body, which crawled onto the top of Senju Genma's head to heal him.

The adorable Senju Genma combined with the adorable Katsuyu created an effect where one plus one was greater than two; Tsunade felt she was about to lose her resolve.

"Not at all, Lady Tsunade. It is just that Lord Genma's body feels very comfortable, and I like it very much!"

Senju Genma pressed his face against Katsuyu and rubbed it. "Sister Katsuyu's body is very comfortable, too!"

Tsunade clutched her heart.

She couldn't believe that Genma, whom she had painstakingly raised since he was small, had been so easily snatched away by a slug.

She could not accept such a world.

Senju Genma stood up and pulled on Tsunade's hand.

"Sister Tsunade, you should try it too! It really is very comfortable."

Pulled along by Senju Genma, Tsunade lay down on Katsuyu, half-doubting.

"It is indeed quite comfortable." Tsunade hugged Genma and nodded.

After the two played on Katsuyu for a while, Tsunade returned to the Clan Head Residence, while Genma remained at the training ground to practice.

"Sister Katsuyu, when are we going to Shikkotsu Forest to learn Sage Mode?" Senju Genma asked.

"Hmm... you don't need to go," Katsuyu replied.

"Ah?! Why? Didn't we agree on this?"

Sage Mode was crucial. Senjutsu was effective even against the Otsutsuki Clan and would be an essential combat tool in the future.

Senju Genma was eager to learn it, and the thought of not being able to go to Shikkotsu Forest made him anxious.

Katsuyu lowered her body and gently stroked Senju Genma's small head with her tentacles.

"Lord Genma, there is no need to be anxious. It is not that you are forbidden from going, but that you do not need to."

"Your constitution is very special; you can use natural energy freely. You do not need to go to Shikkotsu Forest specifically; you only need to know the method to enter Sage Mode."

Hearing Katsuyu's words, Senju Genma let out a sigh of relief.

"Sister Katsuyu, you really scared me! Don't leave such long pauses when you speak next time!"

"I understand, Lord Genma!"

Senju Genma's body possessed an overwhelming attraction to natural energy, and Katsuyu's own form was saturated with it.

Upon discovering this, Katsuyu grew even fonder of Genma.

Senju Genma was incredibly sharp; after only a brief time together, he understood exactly what Katsuyu liked, so he simply lay down and hugged her.

"Sister Katsuyu, you can teach me the method to cultivate Sage Mode now, right?"

Katsuyu was delighted and readily agreed to instruct Genma in Sage Mode.

She split off a small clone, which crawled onto Senju Genma's shoulder to orally dictate the method for entering Sage Mode.

Senju Genma listened to Katsuyu's teachings like a devout believer.

At Mount Myoboku, learning senjutsu required using toad oil to master the trick of absorbing natural energy; once accustomed to it, nothing else was needed, but failure meant turning into a toad statue.

At Ryuchi Cave, the White Snake Sage used her own fangs to inject natural energy into the practitioner, forcing their body to adapt to it; if the practitioner could not withstand the energy and turned into a snake, they would be eaten by the White Snake Sage.

In comparison, learning senjutsu at Shikkotsu Forest was much gentler, with no talk of turning to stone or being eaten if one failed, though the difficulty was higher, offering no shortcuts and relying entirely on oneself.

There was no distinction in strength between the Sage Modes of the three great sacred places; only their outward manifestations differed.

Fortunately, Genma's constitution was unique, and absorbing natural energy posed no difficulty for him.

After Katsuyu explained the cultivation method for Sage Mode, it took Genma less than a day to refine senjutsu chakra and enter Sage Mode. While this took longer than it had for the Sage of Six Paths, Genma had not gone to a sacred place, so one day was well within his acceptable range.

Upon entering Sage Mode, no strange markings appeared on Senju Genma's face, but he did indeed possess senjutsu chakra.

In that moment, Senju Genma also understood the truth behind the Six Paths power that the Sage of Six Paths had bestowed upon Naruto and Sasuke.

The Sage of Six Paths had perfected Sage Mode, but because of his unique constitution that allowed him to freely utilize natural energy, Sage Mode had instead become his default state.

He no longer needed to enter a so-called Sage Mode because he had become a true sage.

After Naruto obtained the Six Paths power, combined with a portion of chakra from the nine tailed beasts, he entered Six Paths Sage Mode; after Sasuke obtained the Six Paths power, he did not enter Sage Mode, yet he could utilize senjutsu attacks, and both of their combat capabilities had been greatly enhanced.

The Six Paths power was the power of a sage.

Senju Genma was now in the same situation, even more perfect than Senju Hashirama, who could enter Sage Mode at will, and had become a true sage.

It was only due to limitations in chakra and physical stamina that his combat power was still inferior.

However, compared to his former self, his strength had undergone a qualitative change.

If his original strength could be compared to a jonin, then with his total chakra volume unchanged, the power of his ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu had received a massive boost, bringing his strength to at least the level of an elite jonin.

Moreover, Senju Genma had not been in this world for long; his Sage Body was only just beginning to grow, and its growth rate was far from reaching its peak.

The Six Paths Yang Power and Six Paths Yin Power were the sealing technique Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei; beyond that, they had no other function and were two different powers from the Six Paths power.