Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 181 Thunder Immortal Mode

Leaving aside Mr. Tian, ​​who was researching Thunder Immortal Techniques in Cloud Thunder Gorge, on the other side, in the Konoha Ninja Army camp, Hatake Sakumo looked at the scroll on the table, his heart conflicted.

That small scroll was a sealed scroll, containing the scroll itself, with the words "Yin Feng Yin" (陰封印) written on it.

He naturally knew about the Yin Seal; Tsunade and that person possessed it. It was a sealing technique that could store one's own chakra.

This Yin Seal must be real, after all, the Hidden Cloud Village obtained the Uzumaki clan and the complete Uzumaki Sealing Technique.

He naturally wanted this sealing technique that could store his own chakra, as it was one of the few ways to enhance his strength.

The problem is that this Yin Seal came from the Hidden Cloud Village and was given to us by that boy, which makes things very complicated.

That young man was no ordinary person; even the Third Hokage had a headache dealing with him. His schemes were intricate and interconnected, and he didn't want to be outmaneuvered by him.

But I really need it, because my current situation is somewhat dangerous.

Thinking of the list of Hokage candidates drafted by the Third Hokage, and then of his wife and son, Sakumo Hatake finally unrolled the scroll to review his memories.

The boy was right; his situation was dangerous.

Because they themselves have become a threat to certain people, they are needed now, but what if they are no longer needed in the future...

Although this is an unsolvable problem, increasing one's strength is a way to alleviate it. At least it will allow one to deal with more unfavorable situations, and one must also plan for Kakashi's future.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Myokage gathered several clan members to discuss their next strategy.

"The Hidden Cloud Village is too strong, and that Third Raikage is much stronger than expected. We need to get through this period of time smoothly. If the Hidden Cloud Village wants to use us as a whetstone, let them use us. Don't have any more dangerous ideas. Now is not the time to have a final battle with the Hidden Cloud Village."

He has now come to a complete realization that the power of his clan is indeed insufficient to contend with a major ninja village, unless his eye power can be fully integrated, at which point he might be able to unlock the fourth form of Susanoo.

In addition, with the forbidden technique developed by Chiri, it might be possible to end the war here in one fell swoop and force Kumogakure to sign a ceasefire agreement.

Just like how the Second Hokage made the Hidden Cloud Village sign a ceasefire agreement back then.

The group remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Even Fugaku Uchiha was extremely wary of the Third Raikage's attack and the speed he displayed.

Although he could contend with the Third Raikage by unleashing the power of the Seven-Tails and Wood Release, now is not the time to unleash these two powers, and he has not yet taken command of the ninja army here, so it is not the right time to unleash them.

Tamura Hiroshi no longer paid attention to the situation on this front, and devoted himself entirely to the research on Sage Mode and Thunder Sage Technique.

Even the Third Raikage came to serve as a test subject, while Karura took charge of upgrading the Sage Art Seal medium cells, which were the toad heart that the Third Raikage had sealed, by incorporating the cells of the Great Toad Sage into them.

"It's stabilized."

After a thorough examination and sensing, Garuda wiped the fine sweat from her brow and announced the final result.

"It's shrunk so much."

Looking at the heart inside the nutrient tank, the Third Raikage couldn't help but smack his lips.

The original heart was enormous and could store a lot of blood, but now the heart is only half a meter in diameter, and can store far less blood.

"This is a concentrated version, and it can be used in conjunction with pericardial technology, using the heart as a medium for celestial magic seals, and storing fresh blood on the outside with the pericardium."

Gallo proposed a solution after discovering that the heart was beginning to condense.

"That's alright."

With a satisfied nod, the Third Raikage had mastered the Seven Days Breathing Technique to the seventh level of activation. Although he had only perfectly mastered the fifth level, the improvement of this secret technique was truly remarkable.

If the blood reserves are insufficient, it cannot last for long.

"Third Hokage, all the chakra within has been expelled, leaving only pure Sage Mode energy. You will need to resist the fusion on your own. I cannot use Samehada's simulated chakra to assist you; it would be quite dangerous. I suggest we wait until we have thoroughly studied this Sage Mode energy before attempting it."

Tamura Hao suggested taking it slow, as fusing with this kind of immortal technique now was too dangerous.

This is pure Sage Mode power originating from the Great Toad Sage, without the incorporation of chakra, making the fusion process far more risky.

Even the toad oil from Mount Myōboku originated from the Great Toad Sage and was diluted. Now, the pure Great Toad Sage's sage techniques would undoubtedly be even more dangerous.

Even after being devoured and purified by the Little Ten-Tails and Kaguya-hime, the risk is still very high.

His idea was to gradually research and understand it before starting to try it out. In the past few days, he had only figured out the general situation and confirmed that the Thunder Sage Mode was feasible, but he had not yet created a specific method. However, the Third Raikage wanted to forcibly merge with it.

"I am the Raikage!"

The Third Raikage laughed heartily, with an air of absolute arrogance.

He spent his entire life on the battlefield, especially during the First Shinobi World War, where he faced countless life-or-death crises. This little incident was nothing to him.

Not to mention that he is the Kage of Kumogakure, so he should be ahead of everyone else.

"Rather than letting that old toad attack me, I'd rather fight my way to Mount Myōboku and make the battlefield theirs."

Speaking of that giant toad sage, the Third Raikage's killing intent surged.

He doesn't like being passively attacked; taking the initiative is the best approach.

Tamura Hiroshi fell silent for a moment, feeling somewhat moved.

Watching Gallo place the special pericardium he had prepared beforehand over the heart and fill it with the blood that had been separated earlier.

"Jade Leaf".

The Third Raikage looked at Uzumaki Tamamo, who was now in charge of assisting in reshaping the Sage Art seal.

"The new spell array diagram has been successfully inscribed without any omissions."

Uzumaki Yuye gave an affirmative response. There were still hundreds of Uzumaki female ninjas behind her. Next, they needed to use the Adamantine Sealing Barrier to create the strongest sealing barrier, specifically to seal and isolate natural energy, to assist the Third Raikage in completing the latest version of the Sage Art: Curse Seal.

After making all the preparations, the Third Raikage brought the modified toad heart to the center of the jutsu array, injected his own chakra into it to create a real jutsu array, and then wrapped the heart and sealed it back into his vest.

The toad's heart, transformed by the cells and magical energy of the giant toad immortal, is extraordinary, its corrosiveness many times stronger than before.

In the blink of an eye, the Third Raikage showed signs of frogification, his body even transforming into that of a toad, and he frantically absorbed the surrounding natural energy to strengthen himself.

Fortunately, Uzumaki Yuye and the others created a barrier based on the Adamantine Sealing Chains, using their immense chakra to isolate the natural energy from the outside world.

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode!"

"The seventh activity!"

The Third Raikage then unleashed Lightning Release Chakra Mode and the Seven Days Breathing Technique, transforming himself into a Super Saiyan with his wild hair standing on end and his body's cells reaching their peak activity.

The super-activated cells throughout the body temporarily suppressed the erosion of the toad's heart and the power of immortal magic, and the signs of frogification were temporarily stopped, but only stopped, not restored.

Seeing this, the Third Raikage decisively used the black lightning within his body. Even with his strong will, he couldn't help but clench his teeth and his face contorted.

As expected of the lightning power that had been transformed, the black lightning was able to barely suppress the Great Toad Sage's sage technique power, and the signs of frogification on his body were slowly fading away.

Seeing this, Tamura Hao took out the Masamune sword sealed with Futsu-no-Mitama and pointed it at the dark clouds in the sky. He then used Uchiha Rai's Takemikazuchi Raijin eye technique to assist in drawing the lightning. Instantly, a bolt of lightning struck down from the dark clouds and ultimately hit the Third Raikage.

Lightning was incredibly domineering, far more so than ordinary natural energy. While damaging the Third Raikage, it was also clashing with the Great Toad Sage's Sage Mode power.

The Third Raikage's body was like a battlefield, where the power of lightning constantly clashed with the Great Toad Sage's Sage Techniques.

Compared to pure lightning power, it is much weaker, but it has the advantage of continuously drawing in lightning to replenish its power.

The Third Raikage also used his own Lightning Release chakra to adapt to and fuse with the power of lightning, while guiding it to increase the power of the Great Toad Sage's Sage Technique. Relying on powerful methods and numerical superiority, he gradually defeated the Sage Technique's power and used his chakra to absorb and fuse with it.

Finally, he used the Great Toad Sage's Sage Mode power as a catalyst to fuse his own Sage Chakra.

This is the essence of the experiment: extremely simple, brutal, and dangerous.

However, the consumption of chakra is also extremely terrifying. In just ten minutes, the Third Raikage's tailed beast-level chakra was more than half depleted.

Uzumaki Tamamo immediately unsealed a scroll that had previously sealed the Third Raikage's chakra, releasing the chakra within, and then used a sealing technique to seal it back into the Third Raikage's body to replenish his energy.

While using Kaguya's Byakugan and Sharingan to carefully observe the Third Raikage's internal condition, Tamura Hao adjusted the magnitude of the lightning he was drawing to perfectly coordinate with the attack.

The Great Toad Sage's immortal arts, cultivated for over a thousand years, were indeed incredibly powerful. However, once cut off from external natural energy, he became like a rootless duckweed, eventually being suppressed, devoured, and merged.

At the same time, the Third Raikage's black lightning merged with natural lightning to form a completely new Sage Chakra.

Sensing the birth of this new Sage Chakra, the Third Raikage breathed a sigh of relief, and then guided the Sage Chakra into the Sage Seal in one go, using the Sage Seal as a bridge to erode the toad's heart inside.

At the same time, the blood previously injected into the heart and pericardium erupted with black lightning power, working in conjunction with the Thunder Sage Art chakra to erode the toad's heart cells and continue to devour the Great Toad Sage's Sage Art power.

This is the essence of the entire plan: using the Great Toad Sage's Sage Mode power as a guide, the plan passively guides the Third Raikage's black lightning and thunder to merge during the confrontation, forming the envisioned Thunder Sage Mode chakra.

However, this is only the first step. Next, it is necessary to maintain this Thunder Sage Chakra, form Sage Mode, and finally transform it into a seed to be integrated into the body.

Just like how Naruto Uzumaki used toad oil to train in Sage Mode, the toad oil would then seep into his body and become a permanent medium for using Sage Mode. Therefore, even if Naruto Uzumaki doesn't use toad oil in the future, his eyes will still turn into frog-like shapes when he uses Sage Mode.

What they need to do is imitate this system and create a completely new system that belongs to them.

This step could only be completed by the Third Raikage alone; all Tamura Hao could do was adjust the amount of lightning power introduced according to the condition of his body.

Fortunately, since obtaining the training method for Sage Mode, the Third Raikage has been researching it. With his Tailed Beast-level chakra and the medium of the Sage Technique Seal, he has made considerable progress and even studied the Sage Clan's secret techniques at the Temple of Lightning.

Although it has now transformed into the power of thunder, its essence remains the same, and it is even more compatible with itself. At least, the power of thunder is highly compatible with the black thunder that it has transformed into.

This continued for a whole day, with chakra replenished hundreds of times and the body severely exhausted, before the Sage Mode's distinctive Sage Face finally appeared on the top of the face.

Unlike the existing immortal masks, three black lightning bolt marks appeared between his eyebrows and on his face, eventually converging on the bridge of his nose.

"It's done!"

Everyone was excited to see the brand-new immortal face mask appear.

"Hurry up and do it!"

The Third Raikage, already at his limit, struggled to speak. He was about to give up and was only holding on by sheer willpower.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tamura Hao stepped forward and placed his palm on the Third Raikage's face, activating the Takemikazuchi Eye Technique with the Ten-Tails' smaller version. Combined with Kaguya's Yin-Yang Release power, he fixed the Thunder Sage Chakra, completely integrating it into the Third Raikage's body. In particular, the three lightning marks were permanently fixed in place.

Of course, the reason why the Third Raikage was able to control it in this way was because his chakra had been purified, leaving only Kaguya's will imprint. The Ten-Tails and Kaguya were two sides of the same coin, so the Ten-Tails could control the Third Raikage's chakra.

Realizing that the Thunder Sage Chakra had been completely absorbed into his body, the Third Raikage finally succumbed to unconsciousness, and his body was on the verge of collapse.

Apart from the deliberately protected brain and spinal cord, the rest of the body was in a complete mess.

Most of the internal organ cells died, almost all the meridians were torn apart, not to mention the damage to bones, muscles and blood vessels.

This is the price of forced experimentation; only the Third Raikage's body was strong enough, otherwise he would have been dead long ago.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tamura Hao channeled the pure Grell energy into the Third Raikage's heart, injecting it into his heart. As the blood slowly circulated throughout his body, it repaired his nearly collapsed body.

Karura, Uzumaki Tamayo, and the others stepped forward and applied the Palm Healing Technique to the Third Raikage's entire body to aid in the repair process. At the same time, they used the Fine Flaw Extraction Technique to gradually extract the completely necrotic cells, making room for the regenerating new cells.

After more than an hour of this work, the Third Raikage's nearly collapsed body was finally repaired, mainly thanks to the Grell energy introduced by Tamura Hao.

Grell possesses immense energy potential, capable not only of rapidly repairing the body but also of achieving immortality.

Tamura Hao forcibly condensed a Grell Stone next to the Third Raikage's heart.

This was created by referencing techniques from the Book of Grell and then shaping it using the method of Hashirama Senju condensing chakra crystals. The main components of this technique are Kaguya's Yin-Yang Release and sealing techniques.

With this Grell Stone inside his body, the Third Raikage's lifespan will be greatly extended, and he will also have a near-immortal body.

After the evil god ritual is performed again, we will surely be able to go even further.

That's right. He didn't perform the evil god ritual for the Third Raikage at the camp. He wanted to wait until he had perfected it further before doing so.

Firstly, to reduce damage to the soul; secondly, only by accumulating enough experience can we better utilize the Third Raikage as a volunteer and obtain more experimental data.

After doing all this, Tamura Hiroshi stayed in the research department to keep watch and continuously introduced Grell energy to nourish his body.

Of course, necessary observation is indispensable.

This is a brand new Sage Mode, and this experimental subject is extremely valuable.

Once you understand it, you can replicate it on yourself and also obtain this Thunder God Mode.

"You two really do look like master and apprentice; you're both more likely to cause trouble than the other."

Tsuchida walked into the ward and looked at the Third Raikage lying unconscious on the bed. He felt terrible.

I thought that kid would cause trouble, but I didn't expect the Third Hokage to be so capable. He suddenly sent such a big guy and risked his life to forcibly carry out this kind of experiment.

It's fortunate that the news was kept under wraps. If others knew about the Third Hokage's condition, they might not know how the other ninja villages would react, but the Hidden Cloud Village would definitely be in an uproar.

Those ninja clans that were forced to disband their families will definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble.

"It's not really messing around. We transplanted a Mangekyou Sharingan and a three-tomoe Sharingan into the teacher's eyes. He can use Izanagi to save his life if necessary."

Tamura Hao naturally wouldn't actually let the Third Raikage risk his life; he made sure to at least guarantee it.

His confidence stemmed from Izanagi. Although he had absorbed several Mangekyou Sharingan, he had not completely absorbed them. His eyes still retained a portion of their power, which he intended to use as consumables for Izanagi.

Fortunately, things didn't get to that point. The third-generation teacher pulled through and successfully created this Thunder Sage Mode.

He nodded knowingly, then looked at the three lightning patterns on the Third Raikage's face, his eyes flashing.

"The Third Hokage's current strength should be comparable to that of the First Hokage."

Previously, the Third Hokage only possessed simple Sage Art Seals, but this time he has perfect Sage Mode, and his strength will inevitably be further enhanced.

"He's about the same as the First Hokage without Sage Mode, but he's no match for the First Hokage after he activated Sage Mode."

But it's hard to say what would happen if they actually fought. The Third Hokage excelled in single combat, while the First Hokage's Wood Release was good for area-of-effect attacks, so it's difficult to compare them.

Tamura Hiroshi shook his head slightly.

According to Black Zetsu, Hashirama Senju was even more powerful than Ashura was back then. Ashura needed the power of many people, especially the Sage of Six Paths and the Nine-Tails' chakra, to defeat Indra.

However, Hashirama Senju defeated Madara Uchiha, who was wielding the Nine-Tails, on his own, making him incredibly strong.

In particular, Wood Release is essentially derived from the Ten-Tails God Tree, which is far superior to ordinary bloodline limits.

After activating Sage Mode, Wood Release is a fusion of the power of the Divine Tree and the local natural energy, resulting in a qualitative improvement.

That true thousand-hand attack was truly unfair. The giant Buddha itself was no smaller than the Ten-Tails, and the sheer number of fists behind it was insanely large.

Compared to him, the Third Raikage was far inferior.

Moreover, putting everything else aside, the amount of chakra alone is vastly different; they're not even in the same league.

"He can't avoid the First Hokage at his peak, but killing a half-crippled old toad shouldn't be a problem."

The Third Raikage, who had been lying down, suddenly opened his eyes and struggled to sit up.

Tamura Hiroshi quickly helped the teacher up, leaning him against the headboard and propping him up with a pillow.

"How is the teacher feeling?"

"Most of my body is numb, which means my neural networks haven't fully recovered yet."

He casually replied that the Third Raikage didn't care much about these things.

Although he hadn't fully recovered, it was only a matter of time. The incredibly vigorous life force within him reminded him of the First Hokage from back then.

Although the price paid was not small, the gains were plentiful, so it was definitely worth it.

Seeing the Third Raikage awaken, Tsuchikage finally breathed a sigh of relief, but a sense of resentment still lingered in his heart.

"Lord Raikage, you're being too reckless. If something happens to you, our entire village will be thrown into chaos."

(End of this chapter)