In the end, Kimimaro couldn't hold on for long.
Under Gekko Chizan's complete suppression, he directly lost consciousness.
His bones retracted back into his body, and the natural energy gradually left him.
Sensing that Kimimaro had exited Sage Mode, Gekko Chizan finally released his technique.
"There, done."
"But Jūgo, does this kind of thing happen often?"
"And how long has Kimimaro been using your cells?"
He suddenly felt like he had left Orochimaru's lab a bit too quickly—so fast that Orochimaru hadn't even had the chance to explain Kimimaro's condition to him.
But since he happened to run into it—and even dealt with it—he had to understand the situation at least.
"Not long. It's only been a little over a week since the cell fusion."
"This is the first time he's gone berserk. His condition had been stable these past few days."
"As for the sudden rampage, it might be..."
Jūgo's gaze shifted toward Gekko Chizan beside him—the meaning couldn't have been clearer.
"Hey, hey, what kind of look is that?"
"Don't tell me you think he went berserk because I showed up?"
Gekko Chizan's eyes widened, unable to believe such blatant blame-shifting would come from Jūgo.
After all, this was someone genuinely decent—aside from his tendency to go berserk in the original story, there was nothing wrong with him, let alone blaming others.
Yet Jūgo nodded seriously, and what he said next left Gekko Chizan frozen on the spot.
"You might not have noticed."
"You yourself possess very strong natural energy. Your sudden arrival disrupted the balance of natural energy on the Island Turtle."
"The natural energy in your body is different from nature—it leans toward something cold and sinister, what I call 'snake.'"
"Orochimaru-sama told me about the Three Great Sacred Lands… Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu, right?"
Jūgo carefully examined Gekko Chizan before nodding again with greater certainty.
"That's exactly it. Your natural energy is too overbearing."
"Kimimaro was affected by the fluctuations in natural energy because of this, which caused him to go berserk."
Gekko Chizan: I have something to say, but I don't know if I should.
Seriously, he hadn't done anything—he just used Flying Thunder God to arrive at the Island Turtle, and this was the result?
He caused trouble just like that?
Whatever. Gekko Chizan wasn't someone who couldn't handle trouble. It was just a small issue, right?
Wasn't it already resolved?
"Got anything to eat?"
"I'm starving!"
Annoyed, Gekko Chizan could only use food to calm himself. Jūgo nodded, then hoisted Kimimaro over his shoulder and led Gekko Chizan out of the room inside the waterfall.
Orochimaru's experimental facilities were built around a real waterfall, so they quickly arrived at a house.
Jūgo first settled Kimimaro down before bringing food to Gekko Chizan.
"Jūgo, I came this time mainly to find you."
"You have an innate natural energy physique—a Sage body."
"As for me, I learned senjutsu later, so regarding natural energy, I want to ask—do you have any… tricks or insights?"
Gekko Chizan stuffed a rice ball into his mouth as he asked the purpose of his visit.
Jūgo looked at him, then said quietly:
"Even though I'd like to help, I really don't know how to explain it to you."
"Back then, this energy gave me a lot of trouble. It was only after coming here that I managed to control it."
"Natural energy—what you call senjutsu energy—is very violent. At least, that's how it feels to me."
Violent?
Gekko Chizan had never felt that way. His control over natural energy was extremely smooth—he had never sensed anything violent about it.
Could this be the difference between two types of senjutsu?
"Jūgo, do you think there's a possibility to go even further in controlling natural energy?"
Faced with this question, Jūgo pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
Just as Gekko Chizan was puzzled, he spoke:
"I can feel my limit. Even though I can absorb and use this energy—"
"It's limited to Curse Mark transformation. Beyond that, I can't use it at a higher level."
Curse Mark transformation?
A pseudo-Sage Mode?
Gekko Chizan became even more confused. Logically speaking, Jūgo's Sage body was innate—there shouldn't be such a limit.
If that was the case, then what about the Three Great Sacred Lands?
Those were all acquired forms of senjutsu.
"Alright, thanks. Keep taking care of Kimimaro—I need to digest this."
Gekko Chizan didn't rush to leave, nor did he head to Ryūchi Cave. He felt like he needed time to settle his thoughts.
He looked at his attribute panel.
[Senjutsu: Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu (Exclusive!)]
Exclusive…
This "exclusive" had always been there, but he hadn't paid much attention to it.
Suddenly, he realized he had been overthinking things.
He wasn't an ordinary person—he had a system.
All these years, he had somewhat neglected his own advantage, focusing single-mindedly on searching for Danzō and the Akatsuki.
Now it seemed he had strayed a bit from the core.
Thinking of this, Gekko Chizan's mood suddenly improved.
"Hmm? You figured it out?"
Seeing the slight smile on Gekko Chizan's lips and the shift in his entire aura, Jūgo was a bit surprised.
He thought: As expected of Orochimaru-sama's disciple. Someone who successfully cultivates senjutsu—his comprehension is just too high.
"Not exactly figured it out, but I've got a direction."
"Alright, Jūgo, look over there."
Gekko Chizan suddenly pointed at the sky. Though confused, Jūgo still followed his direction and looked.
The next second—
"Pa!"
"Tsk tsk… so this is how a naturally grown Sage body feels?"
Jūgo stared blankly at Gekko Chizan, who had just slapped him, completely frozen.
Why did he slap him?
Why?
He couldn't understand at all. A surge of inexplicable anger instantly rose in his chest, but when he tried to confront Gekko Chizan, he suddenly realized—
Gekko Chizan was gone.
"You bastard!"
"Flying Thunder God!!"
"I hate this technique!"
How could Jūgo possibly find any trace of him?
Gekko Chizan had long since disappeared using Flying Thunder God.
...
At this moment, Gekko Chizan stood by the sea in the Land of Waterfalls, comfortably enjoying the ocean breeze.
[Ding! Detected that the host was asking for it—randomly slapping Jūgo caused his well-maintained mindset to completely collapse.]
[Special Reward: Taijutsu +1!]
As expected, receiving rewards always lifted one's mood.
Looking at his only stat that hadn't reached max value—taijutsu—Gekko Chizan decided to return to his old trade!
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