Naruto: The Sage Body of Konoha

The evolution history of ninja armor has been a process of constant simplification.

Take Konoha as an example. During the era of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, both warriors wore full suits of Sengoku period armor that protected every vital part of their bodies. Later generations like Hiruzen Sarutobi only wore light armor consisting merely of a helmet and gauntlets. Eventually even this minimal protection disappeared completely, leaving modern ninjas in nothing but green vests offering zero defensive capability.

This streamlining made armor lighter, granting ninjas greater agility and speed. Unfortunately, it also made these naturally offense-oriented, defense-lacking warriors even more vulnerable in combat.

When it came to armor aesthetics, Heiyan shared the older generation's preference—especially that of Hashirama and Madara—for heavy Sengoku-style plate armor.

After all, every man secretly dreams—at least once—of charging into battle clad in awe-inspiring armor.

Now rising slowly from swirling purple thunderclouds appeared a splendid lamellar armor shaped like the English letter 'M' (emulating the Chinese character for mountain).

This Shanwenjia armor gleamed with white-gold brilliance from top to bottom. Complete with faceguard, spaulders, neck guard, breastplate, vambraces, abdominal plates, tassets, greaves, and most notably a flowing cape at its back, this complete set balanced overbearing majesty with elegance.

Examining closer revealed even more exquisite details:

The visor's design imitated Lord Takemikazuchi's divine appearance—blue-faced with protruding fangs and glaring eyes. The dragon-head pauldrons referenced the [Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet] technique. The chest mirror bore the Uzumaki clan's [Eight Trigrams Sealing Style] pattern. The belly guards featured the [Heavenly Release: Heavenly Lightning] Qilin motif. Finally, auspicious cloud patterns in crimson and violet decorated the boots, corresponding directly to his Natural-born Thundercloud affinity.

There was no doubt—this was Heiyan's personal masterpiece, tailor-made for him and fitting like a second skin.

As Heiyan approached his armor, it suddenly activated and automatically attached itself to his body, enveloping him entirely.

Clad in his gleaming white-gold Shanwenjia armor and flowing crimson cape, Heiyan stood poised atop the swirling natural-born thunderclouds—limitless sapphire ocean below, boundless azure sky above.

Overcome by this grand scene, he couldn't help letting out a mighty roar that echoed ten miles away.

At this moment, fierce high-altitude winds billowed Heiyan's long hair and flowing cape dramatically while golden sunlight illuminated his armor's scales, making them glitter like stars. From a distance, this breathtaking spectacle felt positively divine—even the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths might not have appeared so majestic.

Afterwards, Heiyan decided to create several more living armors to give away upon returning to Konoha.

Without hesitation, he decided his first two gifts would go to his sworn brothers—Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga. They had made a one-year pact to reunite, and what kind of friend would he be without gifts for such an important occasion?

With this thought completed, Heiyan rode his thundercloud back toward Land of Lightning's remote mountains. Finding a secluded location, he began devoting himself to crafting additional living armors.

Spending nearly another month, using [Sage Art: Terrestrial Release] abilities, he gradually produced four or five different sets—some masculine, others feminine—each displaying stunningly beautiful designs.

This living armor had only one drawback—it couldn't be mass-produced infinitely, since one of its raw materials was Heiyan's own Sage Transformation cells.

Heiyan had calculated that manufacturing each set of living armor consumed cells equivalent to two years of his lifespan.

In other words, creating these few sets of armor had already cost him ten years of his life.

It was a bright and breezy autumn day with a high, cloudless sky.

Whoosh!

Riding his Natural-born Thundercloud, Heiyan flew out from between the mountains and returned to the Kasuga Shrine.

Huh?

From afar, he could already see crowds lining the mountain path like a dragon, extending all the way from the foot of the mountain into the shrine itself.

It turned out that Yamato and others whom Heiyan had previously saved were leading large groups of residents from nearby towns in a collective pilgrimage to the Kasuga Shrine on the last day of September.

Under Yamato's guidance, the deity's followers diligently cleaned the shrine grounds before ringing the wind chimes and praying in solemn reverence.

Seeing this, Heiyan couldn't help but feel moved deep inside.

After unwittingly becoming the "Lord Takemikazuchi," he had never truly taken the role seriously or cared about this identity. These people had no idea their revered deity was nothing more than a ninja. Soon, he would leave this place—and who knew if he'd ever return?

Maybe...he'd never come back at all.

Well then.

Since you've chosen to revere me as your god, then just this once, I'll be your deity.

With this thought, Heiyan formed several hand seals while slowly descending on his purple thundercloud. As his hands came together in a final motion, he unleashed a grand Sage Art.

[Sage Art - Creation of All Things]!

Boom!

The purple thundercloud beneath his feet rolled like mist, within which thunder dragons twisted and crackled with lightning. Tremendous peals of thunder echoed through the mountains.

Then—

Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!

A drizzle of purple rain fell from the Terrestrial Release (Kun) thunderclouds above. Countless fine droplets wove themselves into a vast net across the sky before gently drifting toward the earth.

Within these raindrops lay astonishing quantities of natural energy and vitality, falling upon the shrine courtyard, rooftops, trees, flowers, grasses, and every person below.

And then—a miracle unfolded.

The shrine's plants, long wilted and yellowed by deep autumn's chill, suddenly stirred as if awakened. Greedily absorbing the energy contained within the purple rain...

Maple leaves turned green again, dwarf lilies and hostas grew wildly, and large expanses of hydrangea plants bloomed into multicolored flowers. In an instant, flowers flourished everywhere, brimming with vibrant spring energy.

Especially the black pine at the center of the courtyard grew constantly taller and stronger, its branches extending in all directions until they formed a canopy resembling a giant Umbrella, sheltering the entire shrine.

The followers such as Yamato were also purified by this unexpected heavenly rain. Many people's old wounds and hidden illnesses healed without notice. Elderly folks seemed ten years younger, and the young felt an even greater surge of strength throughout their bodies.

Once the rain ceased and the sky cleared up,

"Go back now!"

Heiyan spoke again, his voice rolling like thunder, reverberating in everyone's hearts.

His words were divine proclamations.

Thus, the followers, having experienced this sacred rainfall, left with eyes full of tears, reluctant to part.

It was predictable—they would spread word of today's miracle and the name of Lord Takemikazuchi across the Land of Lightning, even to every corner of the World of Shinobi.

However, none of that concerned Heiyan anymore.

After everyone had departed, Kasuga Shrine fell silent once again.

Had exhausted himself creating several living armors over the past month, Heiyan felt somewhat drained. He stayed at the shrine to rest for two days. Then, he packed up his belongings and arrived at the well in the backyard, beginning preparations to set up the sealing jutsu known as Enshinsui.

Before returning to Konoha, he planned to visit Uzugakure first, just to see whether everything was still in order there. After all, he had become somewhat disconnected from the latest developments after being away from the shinobi world for more than a year.

Suddenly, Heiyan sensed something and turned his gaze outward, beyond the shrine.

He crouched down low, closed his eyes, and lightly touched the ground with one finger. Then, using the shrine as the center, his Sensor ability swept across chakra fluctuations within a ten-kilometer radius, capturing them all.

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