They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 31 Methods to Improve Personal Strength

Aside from currying favor with the powerful, the most important thing for him right now is to work hard to improve his personal abilities.

The Naruto world is, after all, a world of extraordinary power, where individual strength is always an indispensable element. Despite Hozuki Shingetsu's current prominence in the ninja world, if his strength stagnates, even if Ren falls from power, he won't have a chance to rise to the top.

Personal ability is the key to entering the circle. Only after reaching a certain threshold can you enter the circle and then talk about other things.

The period from twelve to sixteen years old is a golden age for ninjas to improve their strength. In the original work, the years from the end of the Chunin Exams to the beginning of Shippuden were also the period when the twelve Konoha 11's strength improved the most rapidly.

Therefore, after Hozuki Shingetsu had initially achieved his goal of disrupting the ninja world to buy time for Kirigakure and establishing prestige within the village, he began to plan the next step on how to improve his strength.

The current Hozuki Shingetsu possesses the three chakra natures of wind, water, and lightning. He is proficient in all the water-style techniques of the Hozuki clan except for the Steam Burst Technique. He has mastered the Destructo Disc and a half-finished water-style chakra mode. In all aspects, he has reached the standard of a Jonin.

Regarding his fighting style, Hozuki Shingetsu is very clear: he is a turret-style ninja who primarily uses ninjutsu for surprise attacks. Of course, to compensate for his lack of close-combat ability, Hozuki Shingetsu also created the Water Release Chakra Mode to deal with situations where he is caught in close combat.

Since Jonin is basically the limit that a normal person can reach, in order to break through this level, one must learn some unconventional ninjutsu.

Based on this, he currently has three branches of abilities that he can improve.

First, there's the technique of using the Steam Explosion. As the Second Mizukage's signature move, the combination of Steam Explosion and Mirage is a veritable "minion crusher" in every sense of the word. Even a skilled fighter can be seriously injured if they're not careful. The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, was covered in bandages because his skin was ulcerated from the explosion of this technique, forcing him to appear in bandages.

However, the drawbacks of practicing this technique are also obvious. Leaving aside the complexity of ninjutsu, the very fact that it's a mixture of oil and water, relying on steam to create an explosion, is enough to convey the immense danger it carries. This is precisely why, for over a decade after Hozuki Gengetsu's death, no one in the Hozuki clan had successfully mastered it.

Secondly, it involves further refining the Water Release Chakra Mode. As the signature technique of the Yotsuki clan of Kumogakure, the Lightning Release Chakra Mode itself is only a B-rank ninjutsu, but the Yotsuki clan has perfected it to its fullest potential. Kumogakure's ninjutsu and taijutsu are considered unparalleled in the ninja world, and many members of the Yotsuki clan have achieved Kage-level strength through this technique. The Water Release Chakra Mode, drawing inspiration from this, demonstrates its immense potential power.

However, the drawback is equally obvious: how to master this Water Release chakra mode. It took decades, even centuries, for others to refine it to create the series of ninjutsu and taijutsu based on the Lightning Release chakra mode. Unless a master who has practiced the Lightning Release chakra mode teaches him step by step, it's hard to say how long it will take to complete it.

As for the third type, that is Sage Mode.

As the best way for ordinary people to surpass those monster-level bloodstained ninjas in the original work, the power of Sage Mode needs no further explanation. However, it is also the most dangerous and difficult of the three methods.

As the chosen one of the ninja world, Naruto possesses an innate childlike heart. Even so, he has repeatedly turned into a toad while absorbing natural energy, demonstrating the danger he poses.

Hozuki Shingetsu scribbled on the paper, constantly pondering the pros and cons of these three methods.

After much deliberation, I finally drew a circle on the character "仙" (immortal), but then I put a question mark on the character "水" (water), and finally an X on the character "蒸" (steam).

After much deliberation, Hozuki Shingetsu finally decided to focus on Sage Mode as his primary breakthrough point, with Water Release Chakra Mode as a secondary training objective. As for the Steam Explosion Technique, he would leave it to fate.

After all, the danger of this training technique, Steam Explosion, is similar to that of Sage Mode, but its power is not as strong. Therefore, he would definitely choose Sage Mode. As for Water Release Chakra Mode, it is the final piece of the puzzle that Hozuki Shingetsu uses to make up for his lack of close combat skills.

In terms of taijutsu alone, Hozuki Shingetsu is by no means weak, standing at the normal level of a Jonin. However, compared to some Jonin who specialize in taijutsu, he is far inferior. Especially considering that Hozuki Shingetsu's strength is based on water release techniques, and Kumogakure happens to produce taijutsu masters, if they don't take precautions, they might really be taken advantage of in the future.

After deciding to focus on Sage Mode training and secondarily develop Water Release Chakra Mode, Hozuki Shingetsu pondered for a long time before finally finalizing his training plan.

Speaking of this, we must mention Hozuki Shingetsu's cheat ability, which is an innate ability similar to that of the Sage of Six Paths, to connect with the hearts of others through chakra.

The Sage of Six Paths used it to promote the beauty of human relationships and founded the Ninja Sect, which fully demonstrates that chakra can serve as a medium to convey emotions. It was precisely through this ability that Hozuki Shingetsu gained the Mirage's approval, since the goodwill conveyed through this chakra level is beyond question.

Meanwhile, Hozuki Shingetsu also discovered through experiments on Ao that the more times this ability is used on a person, the more that person will trust you.

When Hozuki Shingetsu discovered this characteristic, while she was happy, she subconsciously thought of the plots in ancient online novels where the male and female protagonists met too late and remained devoted to each other until death.

Wow~ Thinking about it this way sounds kind of exciting!

Ahem, putting that aside. It was precisely because Hozuki Shingetsu discovered that he possessed this characteristic that he set his sights on Sage Mode.

As the first ninjutsu Naruto used to transform, Hozuki Shingetsu naturally knew the principle behind Sage Mode. By absorbing natural energy and then maintaining a 1:1:1 balance with physical and mental strength, one could naturally refine Sage Chakra and enter Sage Mode.

The challenges are twofold: first, sensing natural energy; and second, maintaining a balance of various energies within the body while remaining still.

Normally, without the help of the three holy lands, it would be difficult for ordinary people to perceive the existence of natural energy. Hozuki Shingetsu was no exception; he also could not perceive the existence of natural energy.

However, being familiar with the original plot, he knew that the forbidden technique of the Earth Spider clan, the "Rage of Heaven," was activated by absorbing natural energy. Depending on the amount of natural energy absorbed, its destructive power varied, with some capable of destroying an area with a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

Of course, the price is also cruel: the caster will be completely destroyed.

As a ninjutsu that utilizes natural energy, the Raging Heaven Technique shares similarities with Sage Mode. Both require the user to remain still and absorb natural energy before activation.

However, the Rage of Heaven technique forcibly stores natural energy in the body and then unleashes it all at once, which is powerful but uncontrollable; Sage Mode, on the other hand, combines a portion of natural energy with physical and mental energy in a gradual and continuous manner, transforming it into Sage Chakra that the user can utilize. It is an amplifier of one's own strength, but the duration is short.

Both have the same starting point but different usage methods, but they lead to the same goal. Theoretically speaking, as long as Hozuki Shingetsu releases the Rage of Heaven Technique a few more times, he will definitely be able to learn Sage Mode.

But that's impossible, since there isn't a single Rinnegan that can continuously cast Rinne Rebirth on him right now.

However, Hozuki Shingetsu doesn't need to learn this forbidden technique. He only needs to use his cheat ability to connect with the mind of a Tsuchigumo clan member through chakra when the Tsuchigumo clan member releases the Rage of Heaven, sense the mind at that moment, and experience the feeling of absorbing natural energy. Then he will naturally know how to absorb natural energy.

Furthermore, even when someone unleashes a ninjutsu, by using his cheat ability to connect with their mind through chakra, he can know the feelings and insights they are experiencing while performing the ninjutsu. With this insight, as long as they possess the potential to learn a particular ninjutsu, they can master it in the shortest possible time.

Therefore, to express his gratitude to the ninjas who released his ninjutsu and helped him learn it, Hozuki Shingetsu even gave this technique a name.

"Patience".

(End of this chapter)