Amegakure is located in a lake on its outskirts.
Aoki Tsuki sat cross-legged in the middle of the lake, rising and falling with the water's surface.
Until one moment, the water around him slowly rose and enveloped him.
Then, she and the water lily sank into the lake, causing the water in that area to churn.
Glug... Glug...
It surged upwards continuously, and from within it slowly rose a giant head formed from the accumulation of water.
But just as the giant's head rose to the level of its neck, it seemed to suddenly lose momentum and stop moving.
Splash...
It dispersed again and merged back into the lake.
Aoki Tsuki's figure floated back up. "Looks like it still won't work. What exactly is the problem?"
His plan was to leverage his powerful mental strength and the malleable nature of water to develop a giant human-like Ninjutsu for use in battles against Tailed Beast.
However, the difficulties were far greater than imagined, and there was absolutely no clue how to proceed.
"Looks like I'll have to make time to visit the Fire Temple."
The ninja monks of this temple in the Land of Fire can use an ability called ' Gift of the Sages,' the most typical example being the Thousand-Hand Kill and the Immovable Wisdom King displayed by Chiriku.
This technique may be related to Senjutsu, and it is a collective term for a series of techniques, which is worth studying.
Even with Chiriku Chakra couldn't unleash the true power of this technique; if he could obtain it, it would be a tremendous boost to Sage Mode.
Splash...
Aoki Tsuki's body transformed into a cluster of water droplets and disappeared.
" Body Flicker Technique "
When he reappeared, he was already at his doorstep. With the help of Natural Energy expanding his perception range, his instantaneous teleportation distance was terrifying.
'No wonder no one can defeat Hanzō in water; his Water Body Flicker alone makes him invincible.'
With speed comparable to Space-Time Ninjutsu, who can catch him?
Pain only managed to kill Hanzo by cornering him in his room while he was Hanzō drunk; otherwise, Hanzo would have definitely escaped.
At the West Tower, Deva Path Pain's eyes snapped open, and he exclaimed, "So fast!!"
The entire village was covered by his spell. Aoki Tsuki was just cultivating in the lake outside the village, and the next second he appeared on Iron Rain Avenue.
"This guy has already learned Hanzō's ' Body Flicker Technique '..."
Water Body Flicker was Hanzō 'Ibuse signature Ninjutsu, especially effective in a place like the Land of Rain, but it has been lost since Hanzō's death.
It's a good thing that this technique has reappeared in Amegakure.
"What's wrong?" Konan asked from the side.
"It's nothing. Yue seems to be developing a new technique. Tell him that if he needs my help, he doesn't need to stand on ceremony."
Many things that are difficult for ordinary people to understand can be seen through to their essence by the Rinnegan.
Aoki Tsuki dedicated himself to the village and Akatsuki, and Pain was equally generous in offering his help.
"Knew."
Based on Konan's understanding of Aoki Tsuki, this guy is very cunning, hiding at least half of his strength. How could he possibly let someone else help him develop his Ninjutsu?
Ninjas value their own intelligence above all else.
Besides, Aoki Tsuki and Pain weren't that close.
" The Kumogakure has been clearing out our forces in the Land of Land of Lightning recently, which has greatly affected our operations. Intelligence indicates that the Konoha is seeking peace talks with the Kumogakure."
What follows will be very disadvantageous for us.
"Let Yue return to the Land of Hot Water as soon as possible to guard it; he can handle these troubles," Pain replied.
"Um."
Aoki Tsuki had only been back in the village for about half a month to rest when he had to set off again to return to the Land of Hot Water stronghold.
However, after leaving the Land of Rain, he did not rush to the Land of Hot Water, but instead went to the Fire Temple in the Land of Fire.
A ninja temple composed entirely of monks, with a long history, it is one of the most renowned ninja organizations in the Land of Fire.
As soon as we arrived at the main gate, we were blocked by two huge stone statues.
The two stone statues are forming the same hand seal, creating a unique sealing barrier with the iron gate, which requires the Chakra of a ' Gift of the Sages ' to pass through.
This alone demonstrates the profound cultural heritage of this temple.
'I originally planned to sneak in quietly, but now it seems unlikely...'
Aoki Tsuki took out a mask from his person, put it on, walked to the iron gate, and a flash of azure lightning streaked across the scene.
Rumble...
The iron gate was torn in two by the exploding lightning and then collapsed to the ground with a crash.
Such a commotion naturally alarmed the monks inside the temple, who quickly gathered in the front courtyard and broke down the door in the dead of night, knowing that the visitors were up to no good.
Zōkai took a deep breath and asked, "May I ask what brings you, esteemed guest, to our temple at this hour?"
"I've heard that your temple's secret technique, ' Gift of the Sages,' is quite wondrous, so I've come to see it. I hope you won't be stingy with your knowledge," Aoki Tsuki replied.
These words immediately aroused extreme anger among the monks:
"What? They've come to demand our temple's secret techniques..."
"What do you think our Fire Temple is? Do you think he can just look at it whenever he wants? How arrogant!"
"This guy's a bandit, right? Don't be polite, let's all attack him together..."
The host Zōkai, was also completely bewildered. Are all ninjas this arrogant these days?
"I'm sorry, the Gift of the Sages a secret of our temple, the foundation upon which we stand, and are never to be revealed to outsiders. Please leave."
"That won't do. You have to give me this secret technique today, whether you like it or not."
Aoki Tsuki sheathed his sword and said to Zōkai, "As a pure Buddhist sanctuary, I don't want to cause any more bloodshed. Let's stop here."
Such an arrogant manner infuriated the already dissatisfied monks, who rolled up their sleeves and were about to charge over.
Zōkai waved his hand to stop everyone. Such an arrogant newcomer was either brain-dead or a bully. So he pointed to an extremely young monk and said, " Chiriku, you go and give it a try."
Chiriku nodded. As the most outstanding monk in the temple, it was his duty to do so.
This is also a time to test one's own abilities.
He took two steps forward and assumed a starting stance. Behind him appeared a Thousand-Hand Thousand-Armed Kannon, over ten meters tall, seated on a lotus platform, radiating golden light.
"Heh... It's appeared! This is the technique I've been wanting."
Aoki Tsuki was incredibly excited. This was a technique that could be performed without bloodline, and only in his hands could it unleash its true power.
" Sage Mode - Activated!"
From the moment he broke through the gate, he had been quietly absorbing Natural Energy in preparation for launching the attack.
A surge of spiritual energy bursts forth from the Uzumaki pupils; in this state, spiritual power replaces vision to capture the surrounding environment through a super-visual means.
This is a skill that Aoki Tsuki gradually mastered while exploring Sage Mode.
This move is very useful when fighting speed-type enemies, like now...
"Come to welcome Thousand-Hand Kill!"
As the Thousand-Armed Kannon waved her arms, countless golden fists simultaneously pounded in from all directions.
Compared to Kaguya's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, the Senju Hands Fist is no less powerful, and it is almost identical to Hashirama's Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
Thump thump thump...
The air exploded from the powerful punch; no one dared to withstand this blow without being immortal.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Aoki Tsuki pushed the Body Flicker Technique to its limit, using his mental perception to detect the trajectory of the fist's attack and predict and dodge it.
He stood there, flashing back and forth, left and right, seemingly moving, yet seemingly not moving, as if countless afterimages were constantly switching between gathering, dispersing, and overlapping.
This is a contest between lightning-fast attacks and lightning-fast evasion.
"How is that possible? Someone actually managed to do that..."
The Zōkai, was deeply shaken by this scene. "Even the Byakugan and Sharingan..."
Even if the Byakugan and Sharingan could see the attack trajectory, their bodies couldn't possibly keep up. This was an unsolvable secret technique, yet it was broken.
"Who exactly is this person...? Could he possess that kind of power...?"
Chiriku frowned, thinking to himself, "I can't even attack his body..."
Then his face suddenly contorted into a ferocious expression, like an angry Vajra, and the Thousand-Armed Kannon behind him also changed at the same time.
It transformed into Wrathful Wisdom King, its golden Chakra turning crimson.
The speed of the punches increased several times, and the power also increased accordingly. The air was torn apart, creating streaks of white air currents and producing a violent explosion.
Boom boom boom...
"Oh no, we've reached our limit!"
In this situation, even with the boost from Sage Mode, a simple Taijutsu like Body Flicker Technique is insufficient to completely evade the high-speed simultaneous attack of a thousand punches.
" Lightning Body Flicker "
thunderbolt...
In an instant, Aoki Tsuki's body transformed into streaks of lightning, constantly weaving through the arena to evade the attacks of the Myōō-ken.
After holding out for several minutes, the Chiriku attack finally ceased.
"Huff... huff..."
His legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. Although the secret technique of the Gift of the Sages was very powerful, it also consumed a great deal of energy.
If you can't kill the enemy instantly, you'll be worn down and killed.
"What?! Chiriku actually lost...!"
The monks were astonished by this result. Chiriku was a genius of the Fire Temple, and his strength was second only to the abbot.
They lost just like that, and the enemy seemed to have been avoiding them the whole time, without ever retaliating.
Aoki Tsuki clasped his hands together in front of his chest and said, "May Buddha have mercy, you are too kind!"
"Sir, you have won. Please come with me."
Zōkai returned a Buddhist salute. The newcomer was incredibly powerful, and continuing the fight would only increase casualties. The Fire Temple had a long history and its own way of survival.
"Abbot..." the monks urged.
"No need for further words, I have my own plans. Take Chiriku away to recuperate," Zōkai instructed, then turned and walked straight towards the main hall.
The monks glared at Aoki Tsuki with resentment, but dared not speak out.
Chiriku remained calm, his thoughts unreadable.