Aoki Tsuki didn't rush to find the Ibuse, but instead began to focus all his energy on mastering Sage Mode.
Witnessing the power of Susanoo firsthand during this mission greatly stimulated him. Summoning beasts are an aid, but one's own strength is fundamental.
He began developing other Chakra Nature Transformation.
For example, with Earth Release and Fire Release, you don't need to master them; you only need to be able to use basic Ninjutsu so that they can play an unexpected role in crucial moments.
Time passed slowly, and half a year went by in the blink of an eye.
On this day, taking advantage of a mission, Aoki Tsuki left the village and stopped by a large lake.
Swish... swish...
In a few flashes, he arrived in the center of the lake, sat cross-legged on the surface, closed his eyes, and began to absorb Natural Energy.
A moment later, the ratio of Natural Energy, spiritual energy, and physical energy reached 1:1:1.
He felt a powerful force filling his entire body, which involuntarily radiated outwards, causing ripples on the water's surface.
When he opened his eyes again, his blue pupils Uzumaki, and a surge of powerful spiritual energy burst forth.
"This feeling... is so powerful..."
Aoki Tsuki clenched his fist, which was filled with power, giving him a feeling of being possessed by Superman.
The Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku may have Toad features, while the Mode of Ryūchi Cave may have snake-like features.
Aside from the eyes, the pattern he discovered on his own had no other distinctive features, nor did it have a systematic set of accompanying Senjutsu; further exploration is needed.
He slowly drew his sword and unleashed his strongest strike to date at the gradually calming lake surface.
" The Heavenly Weeping!!"
A white ribbon plunges vertically into the lake, like a waterfall falling from the sky.
This is a natural phenomenon that occurs when a blade is extremely sharp and cuts through the airflow.
puff...
The lake surface resembles a block of tofu split in two, and through the cut, one can even see the silt at the bottom of the lake.
Immediately afterwards, the highly concentrated force erupted to both sides, and the lake water was squeezed by this powerful force to form two giant waves that spread outwards.
"I wonder if this strike can break through Susanoo's defenses?"
I've been in this world for five years now, and I'm about to turn twenty. I finally have my own trump card.
Just then, a huge black shadow appeared beneath the water where Aoki Tsuki was standing, and suddenly opened its massive mouth to devour his body.
" Body Flicker Technique "
A bolt of lightning flashed around Aoki Tsuki, and his figure vanished from the lake surface, reappearing on the shore. In Sage Mode, his Body Flicker Technique was incredibly fast.
Thud...
The giant beast missed its target, and its body emerged from the water, resembling the shape of a giant salamander.
" Ibuse, you really were hiding here... Hahaha..."
Aoki Tsuki laughed wildly, looking up at the sky.
The lake water around him began to slowly rotate under the control of Chakra, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a blue water dragon.
thunderbolt...
A blue ring of lightning rose from Aoki Tsuki's body, transforming into a Lightning Snake that merged into the water dragon's body.
Sizzle... sizzle...
The water dragon seemed to have been infused with a soul; snake scales appeared on its body, lightning flashed on the scales, and sharp teeth and claws emerged.
" Lightning Water Dragon Bullet Technique "
roar...
The Azure Dragon roared and shot dozens of meters into the sky, then suddenly changed direction and swooped down towards the Ibuse below.
The Ibuse, a seasoned veteran, showed no fear. It swung its tail and leaped up again, choosing to confront the water dragon head-on.
boom...
It clearly hadn't expected the water dragon to be so powerful; not only did it knock it away, but the violent lightning paralyzed its entire body, rendering it unable to move.
The water dragon landed in the lake, its power like a tsunami, sending water several meters high and unleashing its energy wildly in all directions.
A moment later, the Ibuse floated to the surface, its white belly turned up.
Sizzle... sizzle...
Electric flashes appeared intermittently on the surface of his body, and his limbs twitched.
A light blue curtain wrapped around the Ibuse's body and dragged it to the shore.
"Your name is ' Ibuse,' right? Hanzō has already gone to the Pure Land. As his contracted beast, you must know that."
The Ibuse stared at Aoki Tsuki with its big eyes, struggling to break free from the hair's hold, but found it couldn't.
puff...
A cloud of purple poisonous mist spewed from the Ibuse's mouth.
Aoki Tsuki quickly took out a gas mask from his person and put it on.
"Alright, stop being so temperamental. I'm here today to sign Summoning Contract with you, Brother Ibuse. I used to be Hanzō's bodyguard."
When he passed away, he entrusted Amegakure and you to my care; otherwise, I wouldn't have come here.
My strength doesn't require the help of summoned beasts at all; you should have realized that just now."
After Hanzō was brought out, Ibuse stopped struggling as expected; as a high-level summoning beast, its intelligence was quite high.
Seeing this, Aoki Tsuki pulled her hair back and continued, "This is Hanzō's last wish. Of course, I will respect your choice. Think it over carefully."
You can't say too much, or you'll give yourself away.
A gust of wind blew by, the poisonous fog dissipated, Aoki Tsuki took off his gas mask. He usually didn't wear a mask unless absolutely necessary.
He took out a cigarette, stood aside, and slowly smoked it, using the smoke to mask his emotions.
He appears indifferent, but is actually quite nervous inside.
The Ibuse tilted its head and thought for a long time. Then it looked closely at the gas mask in Aoki Tsuki's hand. It was indeed the exclusive one of Hanzō's bodyguards, as well as the Amegakure Forehead Protector hanging on its waist.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Aoki Tsuki, a Jonin from Amegakure, currently the captain of the guard and a village advisor. I'm actually quite easy to get along with..."
Blah blah blah...
Aoki Tsuki told the Ibuse about Amegakure for a while, until he got a little thirsty, at which point the Ibuse finally made his choice.
puff...
It opened its mouth and spat out a black scroll. When unfolded, it revealed several names on it.
The most recent one is: Hanzō, with Hanzō's bloody handprint on it.
Aoki Tsuki calmed her excited emotions, feigning disgust, bit her finger to write her name, and pressed her bloody handprint on it before secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
"Finally done!"
He put the scroll away and tossed it to the Ibuse, which swallowed it whole. In that instant, an invisible pact was formed between them.
Just as Aoki Tsuki was about to turn and leave, the Ibuse opened its mouth again and spat out an even larger scroll. Without waiting for Aoki Tsuki's reaction, it turned and jumped into the lake and disappeared.
"Could this be...?"
Aoki Tsuki's heart tightened, as if she had thought of something, and Teuchi.
"It really was Hanzō... You're such a bastard...!!"
Who would have thought that Hanzō had hidden all his special techniques inside the belly of a summoning beast? No wonder he couldn't find them even after searching the entire village's secret manual.
"Now these are all mine."
An unexpected yet perfectly logical surprise made Aoki Tsuki extremely happy.
It made him somewhat believe in the saying 'the harder you work, the luckier you get'.
In terms of Body Flicker Technique, he is most proficient in Taijutsu Body Flicker Technique techniques, followed by Lightning Body Flicker, and now he has obtained Water Body Flicker.
His combat methods will be more flexible and varied.
There's also the ' Fire Release: Explosive Flame Formation ' that he's always coveted. Once he develops Fire Release Nature Transformation, he can use this technique in conjunction with Explosive Tag.
What should we do next?
He needs to continue honing his swordsmanship; his goal is to shatter the void with his blade. Otherwise, he will still be helpless when facing stronger enemies.
Concentrate your efforts on one point and cultivate the technology to its fullest potential.
Another approach is the "Powerful Brick Throwing" technique, which uses powerful spiritual energy as a foundation, Yin Release shaping, and materializing Senjutsu Chakra for attacks.
It's useful against group battles and against Susanoo and Tailed Beast.
Finally, Sage Mode needs to be further developed. The basic level has limited combat power and duration. For example, the Sage Mode that Orochimaru tested on Mitsuki later on was extremely powerful.
This pointed Aoki Tsuki in the right direction for his training.
Anyway, as long as you work hard in your cultivation, with the help of Heaven Rewards Diligence, you will be able to achieve it one day.
This experience has been incredibly fruitful, even better than I expected. If I can digest it all, my skills will double again.
As for official business missions abroad, they still involve assassinations.
Perhaps due to a shared lineage, Amegakure's main business is assassination, and Akatsuki is also developing in the direction of assassination, one in the open and one in the shadows.
Aoki Tsuki's main job now is to act on behalf of Akatsuki.
In the village, his official title is advisor and captain of the guard; he is generally not required to perform missions.
After a year or two of quiet development, Akatsuki recruited many rogue ninja and gained a good reputation in the underworld, with its business growing rapidly.
The more difficult ones were resolved by Kakuzu, Sasori, Juzo Biwa, and Aoki Tsuki.
If they can't handle it, Pain will step in himself.
As the Akatsuki expanded, it established secret bases in various countries to facilitate its operations, attracting many rogue ninja who wanted to join in order to earn commissions and gain protection.
However, those who join Xiao now can only work as peripheral members.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to join early, getting on the train first and buying his ticket later.
Now that his strength has increased, he will teach those who want to challenge him and take his place a lesson with his fists the size of sandbags.
One week later, in the Land of Hot Water, at Akatsuki's stronghold.
This outpost hasn't been established for long, and the recruits are all new members with relatively weak skills.
"Lord Azure Dragon, you've arrived."
"Okay, tell me the details."
The reason I came to the Land of Hot Water is because of the heretical riots that have broken out here. The daimyo of the Land of Hot Water has invited ninjas from other countries, but this is only a temporary solution.
Finally, they found the then-famous Akatsuki through the underground world.
"This religion is called the Jashin Cult. It opposes pacifism, advocates achieving its doctrines through killing, and requires its followers to kill everyone around them."
"Hmph, this doctrine is truly perverse, even more outrageous than our Xiao. It's outrageous!"
"It's really abnormal. Maybe it's because the Land of Hot Water has been at peace for too long. The young people are eager for battle, so we sent people to join them."
They were also discovered to be stealing children for clandestine human experiments.
"Really? Then I'll have to investigate this further..."
Aoki Tsuki narrowed his eyes. Hidan was practically a child right now; he might be undergoing an experiment.
He was also quite interested in the secret of immortality.