Thud.
Hashirama Senju suddenly teleported in front of Mei Terumi and immediately dropped to the ground, performing a standard Dogeza, bowing sooooooo deeply his forehead smashed into the dirt!
"MIZUKAGE! For the safety of the ninja world, please sacrifice some of your village's interests! I beg you!"
"..."
Mei Terumi was stunned.
Wasn't she just joking around with Makoto? You could even call it flirting.
Why was the God of Shinobi suddenly kowtowing to her like a servant?
Mei Terumi glanced at Rin and Hikari, noticing they weren't surprised at all.
'It seemed they had known this would happen.'
So, was this another one of Makoto's pre-planned schemes?
"Isn't this bullying an honest person?" Mei said helplessly to Makoto.
With the First Hokage publicly kowtowing like this, what else could she say?
She couldn't exactly say no to a legend begging on his knees.
"Actually, there's something else for you."
Makoto ignored the groveling Hokage and took out a Blue Stone from his pocket.
"This is... the same as that girl's necklace?"
Mei Terumi took the stone, feeling an unfamiliar yet comforting coolness.
She remembered the conspicuous cross-shaped necklace she had seen earlier on Hikari.
"Correct. This is a stone I condensed from Natural Energy, allowing you to enter my unique version of 'Sage Mode.'"
"Your stone is special. I collected the energy for it from the waters of the Land of Water after setting sail. It contains large amounts of Hydro-attribute Natural Energy."
"Moreover, it's still slowly absorbing more. As long as it remains within the Land of Water's territory, this charge will continue. During this period, it will automatically absorb energy without me holding it, and you can try using it anytime without any problems."
Makoto gave a detailed user manual.
"Sage Mode? Do I really have talent in this area?... Uh, First Hokage, that's about enough. You can stop bowing now."
Just as Mei Terumi was seriously inquiring about the power-up, the First Hokage kept bowing beside her like a background decoration, giving her a headache.
"Oh. Okay."
Hearing this, Hashirama Senju immediately stood up as if nothing had happened.
He patted the dust off his pants with a somewhat regretful expression.
"Ah, you forgave us too quickly. If I'd known you were coming earlier, I would have used a Wood Clone to transform into Tobirama first."
In other words, he wanted to humiliate his brother by proxy.
If he were to transform into Tobirama now in front of everyone, they would all know it was a fake, making the act of bowing meaningless.
"Don't worry about safety. After conducting... physical experiments with the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, I've adjusted the proportions inside. It's completely safe now. If you don't believe me, you can try it immediately."
Although Makoto had just mentioned that the stone given to Mei was continuously absorbing Ocean Energy, this wasn't a safety issue.
The most crucial element was the Stellar Natural Energy contained within the stone acting as a stabilizer.
As long as the amount of Stellar Energy was properly regulated, there was no need to worry about turning into a frog or a fish.
"Alright then, how do I use it?"
Mei Terumi was eager to try.
During this period, following Makoto's advice, she had implemented political reforms in the Land of Water.
But in terms of personal strength, she found it truly difficult to achieve a qualitative improvement. Her Water Release and Lava/Boil Release had hit a bottleneck.
This situation caused Mei some concern.
After all, Makoto had told her from the beginning that a "Kage" should serve as the village's highest combat force—a deterrent.
Makoto's stone came as timely assistance.
It gave her a new direction.
"Find something to carry with you regularly. When you want to use it, just resonate with the stone."
Makoto made it sound simple, but in reality, the mere act of "resonance" involved several layers of screening conditions.
First, the stones Makoto made were customized.
Second, to resonate with the stone, one must first resonate with Makoto—at least considering him as a close friend or ally.
"Find something to carry?" Mei Terumi thought for a moment.
She reached into her pouch, took out a tube of high-end lipstick, blew on it gently, and placed the Blue Stone onto the casing.
Click.
The stone embedded itself into the lipstick perfectly.
"Ameyuri! Would you be interested in sparring with me?"
Holding the "Sage Lipstick," Mei Terumi smiled as she issued a challenge to Ameyuri Ringo, who had just returned with her new swords.
"It would be my pleasure, Mizukage-sama!"
Ameyuri's face lit up with delight.
As someone who lived for excitement and challenging strong opponents, having the opportunity to spar with the Mizukage was a treat.
Moreover, from the conversation she just overheard, it seemed the Mizukage was planning to test a new power.
And she had just obtained the legendary Kiba blades herself.
An unknown matchup made it thrilling!
"Uh... are you trying to make her die immediately instead of waiting three years?"
Seeing how enthusiastic both of them were, Makoto couldn't bear to interrupt but had to speak up.
If he didn't warn them, another member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would suffer the miserable fate of being one-shotted by someone far beyond their weight class.
Why did Makoto create the Natural Energy stone? It was to give the people of the ninja world the power to oppose the Otsutsuki Clan.
It's not just a small buff.
Hikari just toyed with a Tailed Beast like it was a rubber ball.
Tsunade likely has regeneration that makes zombies jealous.
Mei Terumi already possesses Kage-level strength. If she uses the stone to enhance it further...
Is she preparing to recreate Juzo Biwa's death? Ameyuri is just a Jonin!
"...Then I'll hold back a bit. You keep an eye out too. If I accidentally injure Ameyuri, help treat her."
Reminded by Makoto, Mei Terumi also realized that the power she was about to obtain might exceed expectations, so she calmed down.
"Alright."
"Okay then..."
Mei Terumi picked up her lipstick, applied a fresh coat to her lips, and the blue gem on the casing began to glow with a deep, oceanic light.
Then...
'Alpha' symbol flashed on the back of Mei Terumi's hand.
The symbol transformed into a golden ring, and mysterious patterns began spreading up her arm.
However, soon after, as if the system detected a compatibility patch, the golden patterns disappeared, replaced by patterns as vibrant red as Mei Terumi's hair.
"Is it because she hasn't absorbed enough Ocean Natural Energy yet? Or is her Lava Release affecting the spectrum?"
Makoto observed the change.
Regardless of the color, in her current form, Mei Terumi's strength had undoubtedly undergone a qualitative leap.