Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 139 Sage Mode

After receiving the appointment letter, Orochimaru summoned the Jonin leadership at the front lines and announced Konoha's appointment of Uchiha Gen.

The Jonin had some reservations about Uchiha Gen becoming the vice commander.

After all, strength is different from the ability to handle affairs and command battles, but no one is foolish enough to object.

Speaking out against it not only offends the master and apprentice who are inseparable, but also shows disrespect for the Hokage's orders. At best, it will make life extremely difficult for them in the future; at worst, they could be killed on the battlefield!

Therefore, regardless of their true feelings, the Jonin all expressed their extreme welcome and approval.

At this point, Uchiha Gen rightfully became the second-in-command on the front lines. His tent was enlarged, second only to Orochimaru's, and was guarded by two Chunin.

Meanwhile, Kirigakure reinforcements arrived at the Kirigakure front-line camp, but Kirigakure did not use the reinforcements to stop the new offensive; instead, they suspended the attack.

Konoha didn't take advantage of Kirigakure's pause in their attack to cause trouble; they remained quiet.

Because New Year's Day is just around the corner.

For the ninjas of Konoha, it is January 1st, Konoha Year 52, which is the most important holiday of the year.

In the event of a large-scale war, people won't have the energy to celebrate this holiday, but it's different in a small-scale war.

Small-scale battles involving a thousand people are merely tests; there's no need to overlook even the most important festival of the year.

Many people were already feeling resentful about being selected to fight on the front lines at the risk of their lives.

While everyone in the village is happily celebrating this important holiday, the frontline ninjas are still fighting to the death.

Forget entertainment, there's not even a decent meal. How can you be at peace with that?

If one side celebrates the holiday while the other doesn't, the resulting imbalance can easily affect morale.

Fortunately, it was only for a day, so both sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire.

On New Year's Day, the ninjas in charge of logistics at the Konoha camp began preparing three sumptuous meals a day using the supplies that were delivered.

The Konoha ninjas, who gradually got up, either visited each other for a chat, gathered in small groups to chat, or strolled around the camp.

Despite the heavy snow and biting wind, everyone was happy and thoroughly enjoyed a comfortable and relaxing day free from any danger to their lives.

Of course, not all Konoha ninjas are resting. Necessary perimeter lines still need to be set up, and they take turns resting to prevent unscrupulous enemy attacks.

Ninjas are willing to pay any price to complete their missions and will stop at nothing to win wars.

Before the protagonist's generation grows up, companions are not as important as missions, and can be abandoned when necessary.

The most typical example is Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.

He abandoned the mission to save his comrade, but the comrade he saved complained that he shouldn't have abandoned the mission to save him, which shows how important the mission was!

On this day, the frontline ninjas had more freedom and could engage in various activities for entertainment, such as fishing, robbery, and competitions.

In terms of enjoying life, Uchiha Gen might not have ranked highly in his previous life, but he was still more skilled than the ninjas of this world.

At noon, Uchiha Gen had a three-sided tent set up in a sheltered spot halfway up the mountain.

In the center of the tent were two cushions, a small table, a specially made copper pot, two dipping saucers, a bottle of sake, two sake cups, and two pairs of chopsticks.

The meat dishes on the table included poultry brought from Muye, as well as wild game hunted in the mountains and forests.

Once everything was ready, Uchiha Gen sent someone to invite Orochimaru over.

This practice of giving special treatment and drinking alcohol actually violated the regulations on the war period, but while Orochimaru didn't exactly scoff at the regulations, he certainly didn't take them too seriously.

The master and apprentice enjoyed hot pot while admiring the snow scenery and chatting, stealing a moment of leisure from their busy schedules, finding boundless joy in the moment!

"Orochimaru-sensei, the Kirigakure reinforcements have arrived. What's our next move?"

After saying that, Uchiha Gen picked up a piece of meat from the boiling copper pot, dipped it in the dipping sauce, and then put it in his mouth and chewed it with relish.

Tender, salty, fragrant, hot, and spicy—it's the perfect way to enjoy winter food until you're sweating buckets!

"I estimate that Kirigakure will adopt a strategy of attrition, remaining unchanged in the face of all changes."

"They suffered such a huge loss at the hands of us, master and apprentice, and now that reinforcements have arrived, they have the advantage in numbers again."

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly, then his gaze turned somewhat strange: "I don't remember you liking to eat snake meat, Sensei?"

There were only three plates of snake meat in total, and half of them were gone in such a short time?

"This way of eating makes the snake meat taste especially good."

"Isn't this considered taboo by the Dragon Cave?"

"Ryuchi Cave, Mt. Myoboku, and Shikkotsu Forest are three special sacred sites with a long history. They are attached to the ninja world while also being independent of it."

"You mean it's okay to eat snakes from the ninja world, but not snakes from Ryuchi Cave?"

"No, that's not true. You can eat snakes from Ryuchi Cave. It's not unusual for snakes from Ryuchi Cave to eat people."

"What I mean is that Ryuji-dong isn't that small."

Uchiha Gen: "..."

I don't see any necessary connection between what you said earlier and the layout of Ryongchi-dong...

"By the way, Orochimaru-sensei, do you know about Sage Mode?"

"I know, but where did you hear that from?"

"Ancient texts of the Uchiha clan record that the First Hokage activated Sage Mode during his battle with Madara Uchiha, resulting in an exaggerated increase in his fighting power."

"Yes, according to the White Snake Sage, Sage Mode can amplify combat power several times, or even dozens of times."

"The amplification factor depends on your chakra reserves and your proficiency with Sage Mode, understand?"

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly, indicating his understanding.

One's own chakra determines the upper limit of natural energy that can be absorbed, which in turn determines the upper limit of Sage Chakra.

The level of proficiency determines the efficiency of using Sage Chakra; with sufficient proficiency, a single Sage Chakra can unleash 120% of its power.

"The principle of Sage Mode is to integrate natural energy into one's own chakra and maintain a balance, usually around one-third."

"If the ratio is too high or too low, there will be a conflict between one's own chakra and Sage Chakra, resulting in death from the backlash of natural energy."

"Many people in Ryuchi Cave have gone berserk while trying to cultivate Sage Mode and have been eaten by the giant snakes under the command of the White Snake Sage. The success rate is extremely low."

"Do you still want to cultivate?"

Orochimaru picked up the small bottle of sake and took a sip with relish. His pale, bloodless cheeks flushed red, making him look somewhat eerie.

"Of course I want to! Risk and reward are often proportional!" Uchiha Gen said without hesitation.

It's unknown how many souls it would take to successfully evolve the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Before it can evolve successfully, he needs to seek other ways to increase his strength.

Sage Mode is undoubtedly the most suitable of all methods, as it increases by a percentage as one's strength grows, and it will never be outdated.

Natural energy may be difficult for others to perceive, but it is not a difficult thing for him.

With his soul strength and perception, he could sense natural energy whenever he wanted.

Controlling natural energy to form the right proportions of his chakra shouldn't be too difficult for him...

With his control over chakra, controlling it is as easy as drinking water and eating. Natural energy may be more difficult to control, but how difficult can it be?

As his soul strength continues to increase, perhaps when he learns Sage Mode, he will be able to calmly say, "Is this Sage Chakra?"

"This power is nothing special."

"It seems quite easy to handle."

If it weren't for the fact that a fully cultivated Immortal Mode is relatively stable and the risk of unexpected setbacks is small, he would have wanted to try absorbing natural energy and attempting to activate his own unique Immortal Mode.

However, he kept in mind the wise saying his elders had told him when he was a child: "You can't learn to walk before you've learned to crawl," which is why he hadn't put it into practice.

If you want to develop your own unique Sage Mode, you should first learn one Sage Mode before you can even talk about it. It would be best to understand all the different Sage Modes in the ninja world.

"Alright, let's go to Ryuchi Cave to study together from now on."

Damn, the traffic on my way home was awful. I hadn't fully recovered even after I got home and started writing, which affected my writing process.

(End of this chapter)