"Sure."
Jiraiya lowered his prayer-like hands. Sage Mode was a success!
It took about half as long as before. Not only was this related to the environment of Mount Myōboku, but Jiraiya's senjutsu had likely reached a new level as well—a breakthrough after decades of stagnation.
Was this a withered tree blooming again, or was he simply growing more charming with age?
More than that, Jiraiya's frog-like transformation had visibly decreased. He was one step closer to a perfect Sage Mode, and the key was that he no longer needed to merge with Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima.
"Haha, Sage Fukasaku and Naruto are training right now. As for Sage Shima, she's probably already preparing dinner. After all, there are three extra people. If we summoned her here now, getting smacked a few times with a frying pan would be the least of it."
Jiraiya said this with a chuckle, sounding rather pleased with himself.
Hayato chuckled as well. His eyes began to turn red, and crimson mist seeped from his body.
Come to think of it, Hayato's Blood Frenzy was not a "traditional" Sage Mode. First, he did not need to absorb natural energy and worry about synthesizing senjutsu chakra. As long as he absorbed it through his left hand, it became usable senjutsu chakra once it entered his chakra system. Therefore, it did not have the time limit of Frog Sage Mode.
However, unlike other Sage Modes, Blood Frenzy did not grant all sorts of buffs from the outset. He needed to grow stronger in a masochistic fashion through injuries sustained in battle.
Thus, Blood Frenzy's advantage was that he was nearly impossible to kill and grew stronger the more he fought. Its drawback was that he could not withstand certain special fatal injuries.
If his heart were