Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

Inside Shikkotsu Forest, an abnormally powerful chakra surged into the sky. 

"Is this the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest?" 

Heiyan murmured to himself. Power coursed through every limb and bone in his body, seemingly endless. 

He could sense that the total amount of Sage Chakra within him was at least triple what it had been during his time in Sage Mode on Mount Myoboku. In this state, even a simple flick of his finger generated powerful air currents, exerting overwhelming pressure on the surrounding environment and living beings. 

Too domineering. 

Yet, the cost Heiyan paid was equally terrifying. 

He could feel his life force burning like a lit candle, rapidly consuming itself. The cells in his body were instinctively dividing frantically, simply to accommodate more natural energy.

There was no time to waste—it was imperative to begin the second stage of training immediately: 

Entering the "internal observation" state through seated meditation, and learning—through practice—to control the activated cells with conscious thought, slowing their division rate to achieve dynamic equilibrium. 

Thus, Heiyan immediately deactivated Sage Mode, then formed a cross with the index and middle fingers of both hands, activating the [Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu]. 

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! 

After a series of smoke bursts cleared, Heiyan had successfully created twenty [Shadow Clones]. In perfect synchronization, they arranged themselves in a circle, crossed their legs, and immersed themselves deeply in cultivation. 

With the further evolution of Sage Transformation, Heiyan's efficiency in training via [Shadow Clones] increased dramatically once again. No matter how long or grueling the cultivation was, it held no real challenge for him. 

As a result, Heiyan completed a task that would normally take several months in just seven days. 

By then, he had fully mastered the Sage Art of Shikkotsu Forest and officially graduated from Sage Slug's tutelage. 

This incredible pace startled Katsuyu once more. 

On this day, deep within the towering expanse of bone trees, countless blue-white laser beams zipped through the bone forest, weaving between skeletal trunks until converging into a single concentrated beam that slammed into the ground. 

Boom! 

With a thunderous roar, the impact carved out a crater roughly seven or eight meters wide. The surrounding ground trembled as if struck by an earthquake. 

Whoosh! 

Leaping down from a high branch of a skeletal tree, Heiyan landed beside the crater, frowning slightly. 

That last attack had been powered by Storm Release: Sage Art under Sage Mode. It was indeed formidable—but still fell short of his expectations. 

You see, all along Heiyan had carefully built his own fighting system by emulating Hashirama Senju, much like "crossing the river by feeling for the stones"—a Chinese idiom describing cautious progress through uncharted territory. 

Hashirama possessed Sage Transformation and Sage Arts from Shikkotsu Forest—now Heiyan did too. 

Hashirama wielded Wood Release bloodline techniques; Heiyan wielded Storm Release. Logically, Storm Release should be far more destructive than Wood Release. 

But after testing it firsthand, Heiyan found otherwise. 

Where exactly had things gone wrong? 

Could it possibly be... 

Suddenly, a suspicion flashed through his mind. 

So, he immediately went to Sage Slug for answers—and after a thorough interrogation, he got them.

It turned out that Senju Hashirama's Wood Release wasn't a Kekkei Genkai formed by merging just two chakra natures—water and earth—but actually a Kekkei Tota combining three: water, earth, *and* Yang Release.

Precisely because of the Yang Release chakra, Hashirama's Wood Release gained its signature "limitless growth" characteristic, vastly enhancing its offensive power, defensive capability, and support functions.

In contrast, those who later transplanted Hashirama's cells—like Yamato and Danzo—could only combine water and earth chakra. Thus, their Wood Release became merely a Kekkei Genkai.

Once Heiyan fully grasped this, he naturally set his sights on an exciting new goal:

To merge his own Yang, Water, *and* Lightning chakra and develop a unique Kekkei Tota never seen before—his very own.

Heiyan acted fast. As soon as this idea struck him, he rolled up his sleeves and got started.

Luckily for him, the six-month pact with Fugaku and Hiashi had only just begun, leaving plenty of time ahead.

Next,

Combining his personal circumstances, Heiyan analyzed the feasibility of creating a Kekkei Tota and quickly identified the biggest challenge he currently faced.

He realized that among the Chakra Nature Transformations he mastered, the Yang Release was unquestionably the strongest, followed by the Water Release learned from the Second Hokage, while his self-developed Lightning Release ranked last.

Clearly, he'd invested the least time and effort into Lightning Release cultivation, causing his Lightning chakra to be significantly weaker than both Yang and Water Release chakra within him.

In such an unbalanced state, fusing them all together into something perfectly balanced would be next to impossible.

Therefore, the most pressing task was to strengthen his Lightning Release and eliminate this weakness.

As soon as he recognized this, Heiyan's mind immediately settled on one location—the Land of Lightning, the northernmost nation among the Five Great Countries.

Within the Land of Lightning, numerous mountainous regions were perpetually shrouded in mist, with thunder constantly rumbling through the skies.

As the saying went, the land shapes those who dwell upon it. Under such environmental influence, ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village (Akagakure) generally excelled in Lightning Release jutsu, producing many masters of the art.

Hence, for Heiyan, if he wished to cultivate his Lightning Release, the Land of Lightning would unquestionably be the best choice.

Just as he reached this decision and prepared to bid farewell to the Sage Slug and leave Shikkotsu Forest,

Before he could set off,

A visitor arrived in Shikkotsu Forest—Tsunade, someone he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Heiyan… how did you become like this?"

Tsunade stared at the tall, long-haired young man before her in astonishment, rubbing her eyes repeatedly, thinking she might have mistaken someone else.

"It's due to the effects of sage arts," Heiyan replied with a faint smile, telling a minor white lie without much concern.

"This is... seriously incredible."

Still finding it hard to believe, Tsunade secretly studied Heiyan's appearance. For some reason, she felt that this black-haired Heiyan strangely resembled her late grandfather, Senju Hashirama.

Perhaps it was because they'd both cultivated the Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art, giving them a similar presence?

That was Tsunade's silent guess.

"Oh, right, Tsunade-Onee-san, what've you been up to lately?"

"Just now, Heiyan asked with a caring tone. He noticed Tsunade looked somewhat exhausted.

"The Third Hokage led a delegation to Ame Village for a meeting, and I was part of the entourage. We just returned to Konoha today."

Tsunade rubbed her temples. She looked really pained as she said that.

"Ame Village? What happened there?" Heiyan asked in surprise.

"It's actually not related to Ame Village itself. Recently, our Land of Fire has had conflicts erupt along the borders with both the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. However..."

Tsunade sighed and continued, "As you know, these three major countries—Land of Fire, Land of Wind, and Land of Earth—do not directly border each other. The Land of Rain lies between them as a buffer zone. As a result, Rain Country inevitably got dragged into this conflict, suffering many ninja and civilian casualties. In such circumstances, Hanzo—the leader of Ame Village—stepped forward. Using his influence, he actively invited the Three Great Ninja Villages to send representatives to Ame Village for discussions, hoping to peacefully resolve the issues."

"So, what was the outcome?" Heiyan asked curiously.

"Hanzo does carry the reputation of being a semi-god-like figure in the ninja world, so everyone showed him respect. Although the process experienced many twists and turns, the Hokage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage eventually signed a peace treaty at the negotiation table."

Tsunade let out a long sigh.

Is that right?

Heiyan did not feel optimistic upon hearing this.

True, Hanzo was a man with strong ideals and real skills, which allowed him to mediate conflicts among major nations through sheer personal power.

But the underlying tensions between the Three Great Countries were actually unavoidable—they would inevitably erupt again sooner or later.

When that time came, even Hanzo wouldn't be able to stop it. To protect Ame Village, he would have no choice but to declare war simultaneously against the Three Great Ninja Villages.

That day would not be far off.

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