Naruto: Promotion is my Ninja Way

Throughout the shinobi world, three distinct types of Sage Mode are believed to exist, each originating from one of the legendary Holy Lands. The Sage Modes associated with Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave have both been documented and witnessed in combat, demonstrating their incredible power and unique characteristics. However, the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest has remained completely mysterious and unknown throughout recorded history.

Based on the patterns observed with Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave, logic suggests that Shikkotsu Forest should also possess its own distinctive variation of Sage Mode. The fundamental problem lies in the complete absence of any practitioners or reliable information, leaving scholars and ninja to speculate about its potential existence and capabilities.

This time, through the lottery system's generous rewards, Shihouin Naraku had acquired the Perfect Sage Mode specifically associated with Ryūchi Cave.

Taking a deep, centering breath, Naraku placed his hands together in the traditional meditation seal and began activating his newly obtained Perfect Sage Mode transformation.

In an instant, delicate light blue markings appeared around Naraku's eyes, creating an ethereal eye shadow effect that made his already striking features appear both gorgeous and mysteriously otherworldly. The transformation enhanced his natural charisma while adding an unmistakably supernatural aura.

Natural energy from the surrounding environment, spiritual energy from his consciousness, and physical energy from his body began harmonizing within his chakra network in absolutely perfect proportions. These three fundamental forces combined and condensed into the unique and incredibly powerful senjutsu chakra that defined true Sage Mode mastery.

Surrounding Shihouin Naraku's entire form, several dragon-shaped translucent chakra constructs began manifesting and flowing in continuous motion around his body. Their fierce, serpentine appearances were clearly visible as they undulated through the air with predatory grace, creating an intimidating display of raw supernatural power.

Naraku raised his right hand experimentally, watching with fascination as one of the dragon-shaped shadows separated from the group and began circling around his palm in lazy, hypnotic patterns.

"This transformation bears a striking resemblance to Mitsuki's Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode from the Boruto era," Naraku observed analytically. "It appears completely different from the version that Yakushi Kabuto developed through his own training and experimentation!"

From a theoretical standpoint, Mitsuki's Sage Mode represented a more refined and curse-mark influenced variation, while Yakushi Kabuto's version had been the result of traditional, authentic training methods combined with his own modifications.

Setting aside these academic considerations for later analysis, Naraku began conducting preliminary experiments with his new abilities. He quickly discovered that he could exercise complete conscious control over the dragon-shaped chakra phantoms surrounding his body, directing them with remarkable precision for both offensive attacks and defensive maneuvers.

After several minutes of basic testing, Naraku's body began descending rapidly through the atmosphere as he allowed himself to fall toward the ground below.

Having spent considerable time flying at extreme altitude, he had gradually drifted away from Konoha Village's immediate vicinity and now found himself positioned high above a pristine mountain lake surrounded by dense forest.

"Splash..."

Accompanied by the clear, musical sound of disturbed water, Naraku's figure descended gracefully from the sky until his feet made contact with the lake's surface. Using precise chakra control, he stood effortlessly upon the water without breaking through the surface tension.

Through the perfect reflection created by the still lake water, Naraku could clearly examine the physical changes that had occurred during his transformation. "There are no unusual markings or disfigurements anywhere on my face, just the elegant light blue eye shadow. The overall alteration is quite subtle and aesthetically pleasing."

"This confirms that my transformation differs significantly from Yakushi Kabuto's Sage Mode, which produced much more dramatic physical changes. However, while Mitsuki's Sage Mode featured snake-like shadows surrounding his entire body, mine manifests as distinctly dragon-shaped entities!"

"Therefore, what I have successfully mastered must indeed be the Perfect Sage Mode of Ryūchi Cave," he concluded with satisfaction.

Considering the incredible speed of his transformation - accomplished in barely a single second - combined with the powerful dragon-shaped chakra phantoms continuously surrounding his form, the evidence strongly supported his analysis.

This revelation was genuinely significant for understanding his new capabilities!

"In that case, let me conduct some practical testing to determine exactly how powerful these abilities have become!"

"Here we go!"

Under Naraku's focused mental control, one of the dragon-shaped chakra constructs wrapped around his arm suddenly launched itself forward with explosive speed, diving directly into the lake water approximately fifty meters away.

The next instant—

"BOOOOM!!!"

A tremendously powerful explosion erupted beneath the lake's surface, sending massive columns of water rocketing high into the sky. The tremendous impact created expanding ripples that spread outward in perfect concentric circles from the blast epicenter.

The waves generated by the underwater explosion rose in circular formations, completely disrupting the previously calm lake surface and causing the entire body of water to surge and churn violently.

Countless fish and other aquatic creatures floated lifelessly to the surface, their pale bellies turned upward as clear evidence that the explosion's force had been sufficient to kill them instantly through sheer concussive damage.

As torrents of displaced water began falling back toward the lake from their tremendous height, Naraku remained perfectly motionless on the surface. The dragon-shaped shadows swimming continuously around his body automatically intercepted every droplet, creating an invisible barrier that prevented even a single drop of water from touching his clothing or skin.

"The ability to control both offensive attacks and provide automatic defense is remarkably convenient," Naraku noted with appreciation.

"However, the destructive power of that explosion seems somewhat limited..." he continued, expressing mild disappointment with the relatively modest damage caused by the dragon-shaped chakra construct.

This reaction was entirely understandable given his existing arsenal of devastatingly powerful techniques. When compared to his other combat abilities, this particular attack appeared rather underwhelming.

However, for ordinary shinobi, the explosion he had just casually produced would represent a genuinely serious threat! Even experienced Jōnin would be forced to treat such an attack with considerable respect and caution.

"Perhaps this reduced power output occurs because I only recently acquired Sage Mode and haven't yet developed full proficiency with the techniques. The destructive potential will likely increase significantly as I gain more experience and training," Naraku reasoned logically.

After several moments of contemplation, Naraku decided to test a more advanced senjutsu technique to better evaluate his new capabilities.

"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!" he declared, channeling massive amounts of senjutsu chakra.

The enormous chakra surge immediately caused the previously calm lake in front of Naraku to become turbulent and agitated despite the complete absence of any natural wind currents.

Within moments, the lake water began retreating like an outgoing tide, as if gathering and concentrating its strength for some tremendous action.

Immediately afterward, a colossal wave hundreds of meters in height began forming at the lake's center, rushing forward with absolutely terrifying impact force that promised to devastate anything in its path.

Under Naraku's deliberate and precise control, the wave's destructive power remained perfectly focused and concentrated rather than dispersing naturally. Instead, he continued pouring enormous amounts of energy into the rushing water, maintaining its cohesion and increasing its momentum.

"BOOOOOM!!!"

The tsunami-like wave instantly smashed through the natural embankment along the shoreline, releasing tremendous impact force against the surrounding landscape. Countless flowers, plants, and trees were crushed into splinters, while massive boulders were shattered into fragments!

Amid the absolutely deafening roar of destruction, the waves rolled forward with unstoppable fury, resembling a colossal dragon sweeping across the coastline with the devastating force of thunder itself!

Ancient trees were torn from their roots and hurled through the air like twigs. Enormous rocks were overturned and smashed back into the churning water, creating massive splashes that reached incredible heights. The relentless waves destroyed every solid object in their path with ruthless efficiency!

Observing the absolutely earth-shattering destruction unfolding before his eyes, Naraku felt genuine satisfaction with his Sage Mode's demonstrated performance capabilities.

After he consciously withdrew his chakra control over the lake, the water that had surged onto the land began slowly receding back toward its natural boundaries. Within minutes, the lake had returned to its original calm state, though the devastated shoreline bore permanent testimony to the technique's incredible power.

"My theoretical analysis was completely correct," Naraku reflected with scholarly satisfaction. "Yakushi Kabuto demonstrated the ability to use senjutsu for manipulating stalactites, causing them to reshape and pierce through Uchiha Itachi's defenses. Following that same principle, water - which is also classified as an inorganic substance - can be manipulated with equal effectiveness!"

With sufficient chakra reserves and proper technique execution, this ability could produce absolutely devastating effects on a massive scale.

For example, while Yakushi Kabuto had been limited to controlling relatively small stalactite formations, Naraku could directly manipulate an entire lake and condense waves hundreds of meters in height!

Furthermore, this demonstration represented only a casual, restrained application of his new abilities. If he truly committed his full power to the technique, creating a world-destroying tsunami in an ocean environment would be entirely within his capabilities!

The fundamental difference lay in the vast disparity between their respective power levels and chakra reserves.

"Let me try something else!"

Naraku threw a casual punch toward the lake's surface, and raging flames descended like a massive pillar connecting earth to sky. Steam filled the surrounding air as fire erupted across the water, blasting a perfectly circular hole through the lake's surface that extended deep into the underlying earth.

The displaced water immediately began rushing back to fill the void, accompanied by the sound of torrential currents as natural forces worked to restore equilibrium.

"This sensation... senjutsu chakra appears to amplify Fire Style techniques by several dozen times their normal power output. The enhancement is completely incomparable to anything achievable in normal combat conditions."

Naraku had used only a tiny fraction of his available chakra when releasing that Fire Style technique, yet it had still produced such terrifyingly destructive results. This clearly demonstrated that senjutsu chakra's enhancement of Fire Style ninjutsu represented a genuine qualitative leap in combat effectiveness.

"Excellent results!"

The surprise and satisfaction provided by his senjutsu chakra capabilities far exceeded Naraku's initial expectations. Most importantly, this power system would remain relevant and effective throughout future conflicts. Even during the final decisive battles that would eventually determine the fate of the shinobi world, senjutsu would continue playing a critically important role.

This represented genuine long-term value!

"Ryūchi Cave's Perfect Sage Mode has already proven itself incredibly powerful. Now I find myself intensely curious about what unique capabilities the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest might possess!"

Since Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode had never been witnessed or documented by anyone in recorded history, Naraku possessed no reliable information about its potential functions or applications.

However, after returning to Konoha Village, Naraku planned to approach Tsunade with detailed questions about Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode. Given her summoning contract with the slugs of that sacred location, she might possess valuable insights or historical knowledge.

After all, no established rule stated that an individual could master only a single type of Sage Mode. Naraku genuinely wanted to discover what extraordinary results might occur if he successfully acquired all three Sage Modes from the legendary Holy Lands.

When considered from that perspective, the potential for unprecedented power development was truly exciting.

Having completed his experimental testing, Naraku began the process of deactivating his Sage Mode transformation.

The dragon-shaped shadows surrounding his body gradually faded and disappeared into nothingness. Through the lake's mirror-like surface, he could observe the light blue eye shadow rapidly diminishing in intensity. Within moments, Naraku had returned completely to his normal human appearance, though the memory of that incredible power remained fresh in his consciousness.

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