Cultivating Sage Mode

The results of the graduation class assignments were posted, and they were more or less what Qianyu had expected.

Watching his peers leave with their newly assigned jonin instructors—some excited, some nervous—to begin their first missions as true ninja, Qianyu would have been lying if he said he was not anxious. He was still a young man. Who would not yearn for the world beyond the village, eager to test the results of years of hard training in real combat?

But Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade's considerations were not without reason. He carried too many secrets, and his growth in strength had been far too abnormal. Placing him rashly into an ordinary squad could bring unpredictable risks to both himself and his teammates.

Rather than let him waste away on low-level missions, it was better to pool their resources and have Tsunade personally give him more intense, targeted elite training. Besides, at his current stage, he truly had matters more important than D-rank missions to overcome.

Abin—now bearing the name "Cangshu Bin" and possessing a legitimate Konoha jonin identity and file—had already integrated perfectly into their lives. Thanks to White Zetsu's innate shapeshifting ability and talent for learning, Qianyu had personally molded a human face for Abin based on the image buried deep in his memories.

Those brows and eyes, that facial contour, bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Qianyu in his previous life. Yet Abin's temperament was livelier and more mischievous, and paired with his ever-curious bean-like eyes, it created a strangely harmonious impression.

Through Tsunade's privileged influence in the Medical Department and the ninja ranks, a flawless record was planted in Konoha's archives: "Cangshu Bin," former member of an ANBU special operations unit, retired due to injury and reassigned as an ordinary jonin, currently serving as Cangshu Qianyu's personal guard and training assistant.

Abin's ability to imitate and learn human life was astonishing. Before long, he had learned how to sleep and eat convincingly. Though he could not taste anything, he would chew earnestly and comment on the texture. He even occasionally practiced "human facial expressions" in front of a mirror. He became Qianyu's most dependable shadow, as well as the family member who understood him best.

That afternoon, sunlight filtered through Konoha's lush canopy, casting mottled shadows across the courtyard of Qianyu's small house. Tsunade had unusually skipped gambling and called Qianyu and Abin over with a grave expression.

"Brat, you've more or less mastered the basics." Tsunade crossed her arms, her eyes scrutinizing Qianyu. "Chakra control, taijutsu, medical ninjutsu, and the preliminary use of your various bloodline abilities... Conventional training is becoming less and less effective for you. It's time for you to come into contact with something 'unconventional.'"

She paused before speaking three words. "Shikkotsu Forest."

Qianyu's eyes lit up. It was finally here! Sage training! This was the crucial step he had been waiting for. The Sage Art: Wood Release his future self had displayed, with its overwhelming power, had long since planted a seed in his heart.

"Abin is coming too," Tsunade added. "Your situation is special. Perhaps Shikkotsu Forest's environment will bring you some unexpected benefits as well. And with you nearby, if this brat runs into trouble during training, there'll be someone else to look after him."

Abin immediately puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Lady Tsunade! I'll keep an eye on Little Dried Fish!"

Tsunade said no more. Her hands rapidly formed seals as chakra surged. "Reverse Summoning Technique!"

A momentary sensation of weightlessness and spatial displacement struck them. The next instant, the ground beneath their feet had become soft, elastic, and covered in a special layer of glistening mucus.

When his vision cleared, Qianyu sucked in a sharp breath.

The world before him exceeded all imagination!

It was enormous beyond description. The air was so humid it seemed as though water could be wrung from it, saturated with incomparably dense yet gentle natural energy. Most shocking of all was the Slug Sage's complete form, coiled in the center of the cavern and occupying more than half his field of vision!

Simply existing in its presence made Qianyu feel insignificant. Its size... How was it merely a few times larger than the Nine-Tails? It was practically a living mountain range!

"Lady Tsunade, you have come." The voice came from the slightly raised portion near the head of that colossal creature. Then, a trace of clear surprise entered it. "Lord Qianyu is here as well... Hm?"

An immense sensory force swept over Qianyu. The Slug Sage's voice paused, seemingly puzzled. "This feeling... warm, immense, brimming with vitality, yet carrying a trace of... a Divine Tree human from a thousand years ago? But it also seems somewhat different. More... gentle and natural?"

Divine Tree? Qianyu's heart skipped a beat. As expected, the sensory abilities of a summoning beast at this level were extraordinary.

At that moment, Abin curiously poked his head out and waved at the Slug Sage. "Hello, Slug Sage! I'm Cangshu Bin, a Konoha jonin! I'm Qianyu's guard now!"

The Slug Sage's attention seemed to shift to Abin for a moment. That gentle sensory force swept across him, and after several seconds of silence, she replied, "A very peculiar life-form... almost completely integrated with nature, yet bearing distinct artificial traces... Hello, Jonin Cangshu Bin." She did not ask any further questions.

"Slug, I brought him here this time for sage training." Tsunade got straight to the point. "This brat's situation is special. His talent should be decent, but to be safe, I need you to personally oversee him."

"I understand, Lady Tsunade." The Slug Sage's voice remained gentle. "Lord Qianyu, please do not be nervous. Relax your body and mind, and let me assess the affinity between your chakra and natural energy."

Qianyu did as instructed, taking several steps forward. He steadied his breath and slowly released his refined, tranquil fused chakra.

The Slug Sage's massive body shifted slightly, as if surprised. "As expected... truly remarkable. You have not even begun actively absorbing it, yet the natural energy around your body is already several times denser than around an ordinary person. It seems to be instinctively, slowly drawing close to you and merging into you. This innate affinity... is indeed far greater than little Hashirama's was back then. Perhaps it is connected to that special, warm source of life within your body."

Qianyu understood. This body of his, formed from the fusion of Madara Uchiha's and Hashirama Senju's cells and then completed by the original power of Otsutsuki Urashiki, had likely long surpassed the bounds of an ordinary human. It possessed a natural attraction to natural energy, a primordial power of heaven and earth.

"That is excellent. It will greatly reduce the risks of training." The Slug Sage seemed very satisfied. "Please follow me."

Part of her body slowly shifted, guiding the three of them to a relatively smaller area deep within the cavern. There was a natural pool there. The water was not transparent, but shimmered with a faint milky-white glow and gave off an even denser, gentler aura of natural energy than the outside world.

"This is the Calming Pool," the Slug Sage explained. "The water contains special minerals and my chakra. It can soothe overly active natural energy, helping beginners guide and absorb it more smoothly while greatly reducing the risk of losing control and turning to stone or undergoing insect transformation. Lord Qianyu, you may attempt the first step here—calm your mind, sense it, and try to merge natural energy with your own chakra in the proper ratio."

Qianyu nodded, removed his outer clothes, and stepped into the pool. The water was pleasantly warm and possessed a peculiar buoyancy and permeating sensation. He sat down cross-legged, with the water reaching just above his chest.

Just as he closed his eyes and focused, preparing to begin sensing it according to the theory Tsunade had taught him earlier and the Slug Sage's guidance, Abin suddenly went, "Huh?" from the bank. He scratched his head, then said with sudden realization:

"So this is what you mean by 'natural energy'! When we White Zetsu stay in the soil or forests, the stuff we automatically absorb to maintain our bodies seems to feel just like this! Cool and kind of comfortable, but it doesn't really have any taste... So it's called natural energy, and you can even use it for fighting?"

Qianyu: "..."

Tsunade: "..."

Even the Slug Sage seemed to fall silent for a moment.

Qianyu, however, suddenly understood! No wonder White Zetsu could use the Mayfly Technique almost endlessly, imitate other people's chakra, and possess such tenacious vitality! They themselves were likely special artificial beings highly adapted to—and perhaps even dependent on—natural energy for survival! Although Abin had developed a more independent consciousness and human form, his essence had not changed. His affinity for and absorption of natural energy was likely instinctual!

"Interesting..." Tsunade stroked her chin as she looked at Abin, a thoughtful gleam in her eyes. "Bringing you here was the right choice. Perhaps... you can learn to use this energy as well."

"Sure, sure!" Abin nodded excitedly. "I want to get stronger too! Then maybe I'll be able to poop!"

Qianyu cast aside his distracting thoughts and sank back into training. He opened his body and mind, actively reaching out to capture natural energy. Sure enough, the process was exceptionally smooth. It was almost as though, with a single thought from him, a great amount of natural energy cheerfully flowed into his body.

The problem arose during the fusion stage.

The fused chakra within him was too pure and abundant, while the natural energy he was guiding for the first time, though gentle, was not insignificant in quantity either. When the two met, they did not immediately blend like milk and water. Instead, it was as though two liquids of different densities had been poured together, beginning to churn and collide violently! Qianyu tried to control the ratio with his mind, but it felt like steering a tiny boat through raging waves. A single mistake, and the natural energy flooding into him would lose control and go berserk!

His skin began to take on an unnatural ash-gray hue. His body stiffened, and his consciousness started to blur.

"Brat! Wake up!"

A sharp shout exploded beside his ear. Then came a crisp smack!, accompanied by icy pool water slapping hard against Qianyu's cheek!

Tsunade had dipped her palm into the Calming Pool and struck him quickly and precisely! She controlled the force perfectly—enough to wake him, but not enough to truly hurt him.

"Ugh!" Qianyu's eyes flew open, and he gasped for breath. The ash-gray color rapidly faded from his body as the Calming Pool's water forcibly guided away and dispersed the out-of-control natural energy.

"Idiot! You can't swallow more than you can chew!" Tsunade withdrew her hand and scolded him irritably. "High sensory affinity is a good thing, but fusion requires precise control, not brute-force absorption!"

Qianyu rubbed his burning cheek and looked at Tsunade with a wronged expression. "Master... next time you wake me up, could you... hit somewhere else?"

Tsunade raised a brow and planted her hands on her hips. "What? You don't like getting slapped in the face? If I don't teach you a painful lesson, will you remember it? Hurry up, adjust your breathing and start over!"

"Yes..." Qianyu lowered his head and closed his eyes again. This time, he had learned his lesson. Carefully, he drew in tiny threads of natural energy, trying to entwine and fuse them with the chakra inside his body...

Watching from the side, Tsunade silently marveled at the monster. Back when she had learned Sage Mode, she had not even managed to grasp the faintest trace of natural energy. Yet natural energy was practically lining up to throw itself at this guy.

Abin beside them was even more outrageous. He had no chakra, so he directly absorbed the natural energy into his body. Seeing this, Tsunade took the opportunity to forge meridians for Abin—except what flowed through them was natural energy.