"Hmm, this is a bit easier than I thought it would be," announced the wise toad Fukasku.
Beside him stood Katsuyu, listening, while on the other side stood Jiraiya, meditating.
Currently, I have two possible Sage Modes I can learn. The first we'll call "Wood Sage Mode," which is what Hashirama used to enhance his body, ninjutsu, and regeneration. The second is Slug Sage Mode, which is more focused on healing, regeneration, and acid attacks; basically, it's not very different from the other, except that this one, rather than making me a tank, creates an invincible barrier.
(Note: So far, I haven't seen any indication that these two Sage Modes are the same, and just in case, I made up the Slug Sage Mode on the spot, but logically, it should exist if the toad and snake Sage Modes exist.)
After analyzing what I do and what I want to achieve, Jiraiya and I decided that it would be best to learn Wood Sage Mode. This significantly increases the power of ninjutsu, whether it's Mokuton or other techniques.
"Your body is already in sync with nature; it must be a consequence of the Wood Release. I don't really know how that's possible, though, since I've never interacted with a Mokuton user," Fukasaku added, looking at Katsuyu.
"I didn't have much interaction with Hashirama-sama, since I was Mito-sama's summoning, who passed it on to her sister-in-law, who then gave it to Tsunade-sama, and it ended up in Miyu-sama's hands," he explained, describing his summoning techniques. "But from what I understand, Hashirama could enter and exit Sage Mode in the blink of an eye, as if it were second nature; I thought it would be similar with Miyu-sama."
"Yes, I asked her not to practice senjutsu until I felt she was ready, since you don't know what changes it could bring to her body if she doesn't have the constitution to do it; it was better not to risk it," Jiraiya explained to the two summons.
If only she knew that my genetic code is already somewhat altered.
"But putting that aside, you should be able to feel natural energy, right?" Fugasaku asked me.
"Hmm, if I concentrate, I can feel it. It's like air; it's always there, but you only realize it's there when you talk about it."
"Then the first part of the work should be done; try integrating natural energy into your own chakra," Fugasaku instructed me, and I nodded.
Instinctively, Katsuyu climbed onto my shoulder to monitor me.
I'll concentrate on the natural energy around me. I imagine myself taking it in and integrating it into my body.
With that, the surrounding natural energy began to be slowly but steadily absorbed into my chakra.
"How's it going?" Jiraiya asked since Katsuyu could feel me absorbing the natural energy, but he couldn't.
"Slow but steady; you can't see any changes yet since he's absorbed very little natural energy for the amount of chakra he has, but perhaps that's for the best; he can get used to it in the future and do it faster." I explained the situation: "But it still surprises me that a human can do this without an animal connection."
"All I know is that he had the Rashōmon summoning contract, nothing more; the last person to have that contract, as far as I know, was Orochimaru."
While the two toad sages talked amongst themselves, I concentrated on preventing the natural energy from escaping my body, since as difficult as making the natural energy harmonize with my chakra was, preventing it from leaving my body or leaking out was.
After a few minutes sitting on the grass, I began to feel the changes in my body, as if my vitality had increased fivefold.
"Oh, I see the changes," Jiraiya said. I didn't know what the changes were, since my eyes were closed and I couldn't see my body, but I imagined they were marks on my body. "How is Miyu's body, Katsuyu?"
"Everything's fine at the moment," she replied.
The moment he said that, I felt as if a hole had opened in one part of my body, and all my natural energy began to burst forth. This disoriented me, and when I tried to plug the leak, all the rest of my energy escaped from another place.
In an instant, all the natural energy I had gathered left my body in less than a second.
"Ah, how tiring," I said, collapsing onto my back in the grass.
"Well, it went better than expected. You can really do it all on your own, so I guess you don't need me here anymore," Fugasaku said.
"Yes, thank you very much for coming, Dad," Jiraiya replied.
"Likewise," I said, and the wise toad nodded before disappearing.
After he left, I settled back down on the ground.
"Are you going to keep training?" Jiraiya asked me.
"No, not right now. I have other things to do, like going to talk to the other elders of my clan about what happened at the meeting," I told myself. I had things to do.
"Well, then I'll be going too; I need to keep looking for inspiration for my new work," he said.
"I didn't know the sequel to The Story of an Absolutely Daring Shinobi would be a porn book," I complained a little, since the book I'd written was decent enough without changing genres.
"I'm not going to do a sequel to that failed book; sales were barely good enough to continue the series," he explained.
"But you didn't publish the book recently; don't you think it's a bit rushed?" I complained again.
"Maybe so, but I feel like this new story I'm going to write is more in tune with me," she said.
In other words, the lukewarm reception of Jiraiya's first novel is an excuse to write Icha Icha.
After Jiraiya left, I got up, dusting myself off.
"Miyu-sama, if you train Sage Mode again, I ask that you summon me so I can help you," Katsuyu said.
The truth is, it was a little easier to channel the natural energy since Katsuyu was keeping an eye on my body and alerting me if there were any significant changes, like if I were about to turn into a tree.
Perhaps the help wasn't very noticeable, but mentally I felt more at ease.
"I will. Thank you so much for your help, Tsuyu."
"No problem, Miyu-sama," and with that, Katsuyu returned to her home, leaving me alone in the forest.
"Well, I need to prepare right now for when the war starts, since the expansion of my business empire is on hold, at least initially."
...
While the brats were training, I was learning how to more easily channel natural energy.
It has to be as natural as breathing. It took me a long time to do this, and they wouldn't let me do it on a battlefield.
There's also the option of having a clone do it, but that would also take a long time.
There's no point in doing it that way; it has to be almost instantaneous, like Hashirama's, but it's more complicated than I thought it would be, at least to activate it immediately.
Entering Sage Mode is relatively easy; the problem is that I need a lot of concentration and time, which I don't have, and I can't use clones either, since I'm already using them for my clan's administrative work.
I just need practice, and being in this state now helps.
I sighed and released all the natural energy I had gathered.
"Shall we stop for today, Miyu-sama?" Katsuyu asked me.
"Yes, I want to train these brats properly; that's all for today." With that, Katsuyu left.
My priority might be perfecting Sage Mode, but that doesn't mean I don't have to get these kids well-prepared, because as the war progresses, I'll most likely be called to the front lines.
The question is, will they stay here or come with me?
I didn't know. I only know that they'll eventually go to the front lines, sooner or later; with four of them on the front lines at the same time, Konoha will be left without qualified personnel to fight, forcing them to send the kids to the front.
When they saw me stand up, the three of them stopped what they were doing.
"I see you're very focused on what you're doing," I said, looking at them intently.
None of them were tired, but they were sweating, showing they were working hard to improve.
"I heard from my father that the village's Chunin Exams are coming up soon, and I really want to participate this year," the little monkey said with great determination.
I looked around at the others to see how they were doing; they were just as excited as Asuma.
"I see. Well then, let's see how much they've improved," I said, getting into a fighting stance. "First, let's have a team battle against me, and then we'll see how they did individually."
"Yes," they all said individually.
...
After training, I pondered the battles while the three brats lay on the ground, breathing heavily.
In terms of team command, they could take on a squad of genin and, in other words, hold their own against an elite chūnin, but that's about it, and they'd almost certainly end up injured.
In terms of individual power, Asuma is already at the low-level chūnin level, which is quite good considering his age. Raido and Kurenai are perfectly capable of elite genin.
Depending on how they deploy and the opponents they face, all three could easily qualify as chūnin.
The only ones they might struggle against are Team 7. Mainly because of Kakashi. This kid was already a chūnin, almost reaching the top level.
Not to mention that this group is the most balanced, not the best, since that could be considered the group of Sannin who fought Hanzo, but it's not a bad team.
Obviously, in terms of strength, they're far from the Sannin, but Team 2 isn't far behind Team 7.
Another opponent they might have trouble with is Might Guy, but everyone has their own methods for facing a taijutsu expert, but if it were a fight against him, Kurenai would have the best chance of winning.
My teachings are always to be versatile and always to end a fight as quickly as possible. No showing off; just be effective, period.
If you act quickly, before your opponent can prepare or do so in advance, you should win 90% of your battles. That 10% is when the enemy has power beyond the norm, like an elite jōnin or higher.
The difference in strength is too great; even if they prepare beforehand or act before the other realizes what's happening, they should still lose. There's a reason the shinobi is an elite jōnin.
"I think I should give you my gift now, then," I announced, causing the three of them to stop their silent grumbling and pay attention. "I've asked each of you to have a blacksmith make you a special weapon."
With that said, I tossed each of them a scroll bearing their name.
The first to draw his weapon from the sheath was Asuma; from it emerged the mythical chakra knives they would wield in the future, but these were designed with a metal that could produce sparks, allowing him to be more creative with his fire jutsu.
Next was Raido, who drew a black wakizashi from its sheath. Raido already had a katana from his family, but it wasn't suitable for the smaller space, and since he was used to his katana, he asked the blacksmith for a wakizashi instead of a tanto.
The last one was Kurenai, from whose scroll emerged a kunai with a chain. This was a hidden weapon, which allowed him to attack his enemies from a distance; the chain served to restrain or bind any opponent, and at the end, it had a wristband to attract his enemies or the kunai itself.
(Note: This is Scorpion's weapon from MK).
"Think of this as my gift for your early promotion," I told him.
He could see his joy at knowing that I held them in high regard, believing they could pass the exam on the first try.
And before he could say anything, I spoke.
"While we're at it, let's practice with your new weapons until tonight; you must be experts with them when you take the exam." The happiness on his face turned to horror.
You could say that was very productive.
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With this chapter, the period of tranquility ends, giving way to the Third Shinobi World War, with a small time jump.