Chapter 22

"Just now… I seem to have found a little key?!"

"It seems that to enter this Sage Body state, one must absorb the ambient energy of heaven and earth!!"

"This energy… is completely different from chakra…"

"It feels more powerful than chakra, and better suited to our world…"

"But this energy is far too violent, difficult to absorb."

"It requires extremely strong physical conditioning and a natural affinity for this energy to accomplish this…"

In a mere instant,

the boy Hashirama had fully grasped the nature of this energy.

【Orochimaru: My lord Hashirama, it is my sorrow that I did not live in the same era as you!! In such a short time, to deduce so much information—this ability fills me with shame!! …】

【Tobirama Senju: Brother, I feel as if someone has possessed you!! Is this really you?!!】

【Hashirama Senju: …】

【Madara Uchiha: …】

As the boy Hashirama continued his experiments,

his speed of entering Sage Mode grew ever faster,

and ever more refined.

And Jiraiya, watching this on the screen,

nearly popped his own eyeballs out!!!

You know,

The cultivation of senjutsu is how perilous!!

When he trained for the senjutsu of Mount Myōboku,

with the aid of the Great Toad Sage and the entire Mount Myōboku,

he finally mastered the senjutsu of Mount Myōboku!!!

And among it all,

one misstep,

and he might have become a stone statue of Mount Myōboku!!!

Over countless years,

countless individuals had heard of Mount Myōboku's senjutsu

and gone to train for it.

But very few succeeded,

most ultimately turning to stone!!!

Yet the boy Hashirama on screen,

he had mastered senjutsu using nothing but raw force,

without any external aid!!!

【Minato Namikaze: Master Jiraiya… I recall that training for Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku took me a great deal of time… the process was not pleasant…】

【Jiraiya: Water Gate… I wasn't much better than you. When I trained for Sage Mode, I had no senior to guide me—it took me far longer than it did you!!!】

Minato Namikaze believed his talent was no worse than anyone else's!!!

He was also deeply confident in his own aptitude!!!

He believed,

had it not been for the Nine-Tails,

had he survived!!!

he even believed he could surpass Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage,

and elevate Konoha to a new height!!!

Born a commoner, without a Kekkei Genkai,

yet Minato Namikaze, through his own efforts,

rose step by step to become the Fourth Hokage!!!

Though he was usually humble in demeanor,

he knew himself well,

that deep down he was still extremely confident, proud!!!

But seeing this scene before him,

his confidence was struck hard!!!

Though he had labored long to master Sage Mode,

Sage Mode demanded immense physical and mental stamina!!!

Jiraiya relied on the Great Toad Sage and the Toad Sage Shimura to assist him,

which allowed him to sustain the mode for long battles!!!

But Minato Namikaze had no such conditions,

so his Sage Mode lasted only briefly,

usually ending after just one minute!!!

This fleeting mode,

Minato Namikaze did not favor,

he did not believe it suited him!!!

So, except in the most urgent moments,

Minato Namikaze never easily uses Sage Mode!!!

And the boy Hashirama on the screen,

he entered Sage Mode through self-study alone,

and the duration he maintained this mode for the first time,

was longer than mine!!!

【Minato Namikaze: I once thought I was truly a genius... but now I see I was deluding myself. Compared to the First Hokage, I have no merit at all. Seeing the First Hokage, I finally understand what a true genius is!!】

【Hiruzen Sarutobi: Minato... don't belittle yourself. Your talent is already outstanding!! It's not that you're not good enough—it's that the First Hokage is simply too powerful!! Before him, no one would dare call themselves a genius!!!】

【Tobirama Senju: Younger generation, don't overthink it... the real elder brother wasn't nearly this strong in the footage... at this age, he hadn't even touched senjutsu yet!!!】

【Hashirama Senju: Hahaha!! Younger generation, Tobirama is right!! Cheer up!! When I was in my teens, I tried Sage Mode—but failed!!! Controlling this energy is far too difficult!!】

【Madara Uchiha: Hashirama, I'm now eager to see how far the other you in the footage will grow. I have a feeling he'll become an incredibly terrifying enemy!!! I truly want to fight him!!!】

【Orochimaru: So this is what true Sage Mode is... It seems my development of the Cursed Seal still has flaws—my previous approach was all wrong!!!】

【Fourth Raikage: Thank goodness the First Hokage is no longer alive. If he were still alive, our other villages would never have a chance!!!】

21. Boy Madara: What the hell? You're already the clan chief???

Within the Senju clan,

the clan members found that after a new clan chief took over,

their lives changed very little.

Only...

this new chief wasn't as nagging as the previous one,

endlessly brainwashing them.

This new chief,

after appearing only once at the handover ceremony,

mostly kept to himself,

spending his days either in the study or the training ground.

He rarely showed himself to others.

The Senju clan members preferred this new chief!!!!

"Wow!!! You didn't see it yesterday!!"

"I sneaked a glance while the chief was training—you won't believe how terrifying the Wood Release is!!!"

"At the handover ceremony, the chief didn't even use his full power!!!!"