Summoning Jutsu, Lightning Style Chakra Mode! (Happy New Year, Everyone!)

Half an hour later.

Inside the izakaya, Jiraiya, who had been beaten black and blue, happily sipped his sake.

Kakashi and Uchiha Obito were already gone. Only Asuma and Namikaze Minato remained drinking with him.

"Hey, Asuma, shouldn't the old man stop you from drinking at your age?"

Jiraiya asked as he watched Asuma raise his cup.

Draining it in one gulp, Asuma said lazily, "It's fine. I'll just say you dragged me out drinking, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya's face instantly darkened. "You sly little brat."

Changing the subject, Asuma asked, "Big Brother Jiraiya, how is your mastery of the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken coming along?"

"Of course there's no problem!"

Jiraiya set down his cup, looking utterly smug. "I'm Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku!"

Asuma immediately exposed him. "If you don't use senjutsu, you probably can't throw it, can you?"

Jiraiya's expression stiffened at once. He shot Asuma a sidelong glance. "You really aren't cute at all."

"But how do you know about senjutsu?"

"Tsunade told you?"

Asuma nodded. "I noticed it while studying the materials left behind by the First Lord."

"Apparently, the First Hokage also mastered senjutsu."

Over the course of their drinking, Asuma learned quite a bit about senjutsu.

But he also gained a deeper understanding of just how difficult Sage Mode was.

Jiraiya currently needed the two sages of Mount Myōboku to maintain Sage Mode for extended periods and use senjutsu.

Minato did not need them, but he was not particularly proficient with it either.

It was related to his Chakra Amount. For Minato, it was not very practical in actual combat, so he rarely used it.

After parting ways with Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato, Asuma headed straight for the Hokage Office in the Hokage Building.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw his second son, he had just been about to scold him for drinking when Asuma beat him to it. "Father, I want to exchange for a Summoning Jutsu."

"A Summoning Jutsu?"

"Rashomon?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.

If it were just an ordinary Summoning Jutsu, there was no need to exchange for it through the village. The Sarutobi Clan had such jutsu themselves.

"Yes."

Asuma nodded and took out a Small Scroll he had prepared beforehand.

Sarutobi Hiruzen opened it and found a jutsu called "Lightning Armor," with an S-rank training difficulty.

After looking it over and confirming the value of the ninjutsu, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in agreement. But he immediately cautioned, "Although Rashomon's defense is extremely strong, the more gates you summon, the more Chakra it consumes."

"You have a unique talent for Chakra Nature Transformation. Earth Style's defense is not weak either, and it does not consume nearly as much Chakra."

Asuma nodded. "I understand, but this jutsu is meant to deal with extraordinary attacks, like the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken."

Sarutobi Hiruzen thought for a moment. "Come with me!"

As he spoke, he created a Shadow Clone and had it take Asuma to the rooftop terrace atop the Hokage Building.

Biting his finger, he quickly formed Hand Seals.

Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned a Yellow-haired Monkey.

"Enkō!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile, "Take out the summoning scroll!"

"Yes, Third Hokage!"

Enkō removed the large scroll from his back and spread it open.

Asuma immediately saw the names written across it.

His older brother Sarutobi Shinya's name was prominently among them.

Sarutobi Hiruzen explained, "Enma's clan has a dwindling population, and there are not many combat-capable monkeys."

"Usually, only a handful of exceptionally outstanding clan members can obtain a Command Contract."

"Leave your name and Chakra Mark!"

"From today onward, you can summon Enma to fight at your side!"

Asuma's expression could not help turning a little strange.

Enma, who could transform into an Adamantine Staff?

This... didn't really suit him, did it?

But complaints aside, Asuma obediently left behind his name and Chakra Mark.

After Enkō departed, Sarutobi Hiruzen once again formed Hand Seals and used the Summoning Jutsu.

This time, he summoned Enma.

"Senior Enma!"

Asuma hurriedly bowed.

"So it's little Asuma!"

Enma greeted him with a smile, then looked toward Sarutobi Hiruzen. "I understand. Don't worry!"

Watching his father leave, Asuma looked at Enma and asked, "Senior Enma, can you transform into a blade?"

Enma smiled. "Of course."

"But if you want to use me as a Chakra Blade, I'm afraid that won't work."

Asuma was somewhat disappointed, but he smiled. "I understand. Then I'll have to trouble you in the future!"

"It's no trouble. Summon me whenever you need me. I'll be going back now!"

With that, Enma vanished.

Gaining another Summoned Beast was a small surprise for Asuma.

After leaving the Hokage Building and seeing that it was still early, he simply went to train.

Training could not be neglected for even a single day, especially now that he had just acquired a new ninjutsu.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

Amid a world of ice and snow.

Asuma stood in the snow with his palms pressed together, Chakra continuously surging from within his body.

Starting from his internal organs and spreading outward, layer upon layer of Lightning Chakra formed.

Crackle!

Strands of Electric Arc flickered as Asuma's entire body became enveloped in pale blue Electric Light, as though he wore a thick layer of Lightning Armor.

But unlike the "Lightning Armor" ninjutsu he had previously handed over to the village, this was not merely a simple coating over the surface of his body.

Instead, the Lightning Chakra was tightly integrated with all thirty billion cells in his body, as though those thirty billion cells had been soaked in Lightning Chakra.

This was the same state as Wind Release Chakra Mode.

Lightning Style Chakra Mode, complete!

"Finally, it's done!"

Asuma let out a long breath.

He did not know what the Cloud Ninja's Lightning Style Chakra Mode was like.

But with his current knowledge and intellect, this was the most ideal state he could conceive of.

And in this state, Asuma could feel that his Thought Processing Speed was definitely ten times greater than usual.

When he looked at leaves swaying in the wind, they seemed to have slowed down.

Asuma knew this was not an Eye Mutation. Rather, his Processing Speed for information had increased dramatically, giving him this incredibly powerful Dynamic Vision.

"Awesome!"

"With Neural Reactions at this level, if Datafied, it would definitely exceed 80!"

Asuma was all smiles. Then his figure vanished from where he stood.

His form flickered continuously as he moved like lightning.

A moment later, Asuma came to a stop and could not help laughing aloud.

Under Lightning Style Chakra Mode, his speed had reached an extreme, as high as 10 kilometers per second!

It could not compare to the speed of real lightning.

Moreover, this estimated speed was only his movement speed over short distances in open terrain.

But it was already astonishing.

Asuma had first mastered Wind Release Chakra Mode, and by now he had become extremely proficient with it. Yet even then, his top speed was only 40 meters per second.

These short-range movement speeds were not even on the same level!