The next morning was clear—a good day for killing and arson.
Kairen got up early, bought soy milk and fried dough sticks for Tsunade and the others, and watched them finish breakfast before beginning his training for the day.
Tsunade had to attend a high-level meeting. After all, with such a major incident happening yesterday, the village was bound to need some time to stabilize.
Kairen was supposed to go as well, but he didn't. He had no desire to see the hypocritical faces of those three old geezers.
He created about two hundred Shadow Clones, assigning each a specific task.
Some trained Wood Release.
Some trained Water Release.
Some worked on gunpowder-based weapons.
Everyone had their mission. Everyone had their role.
Kairen then went to find Doctor Snake and Academic Genius to begin their experiment on Cursed Seal transformation.
Now that he possessed the Curse Mark of Heaven, it was time for Kairen to delve into Sage Energy.He wasn't interested in Ninjutsu anymore—he wanted to master Senjutsu.
Doctor Snake had built several intricate electronic devices. A few wires were attached to Kairen's neck. After giving an "OK" gesture, he signaled for Kairen to begin the Cursed Seal transformation.
Kairen nodded.
First came State One. The three black tomoe on his neck turned crimson, and soon the power of the curse began spreading throughout his body.
Dark markings crawled across Kairen's face as a sinister aura spread around him.
Doctor Snake and Academic Genius observed the transformation closely, recording the data in detail.
Doctor Snake looked at the chakra fluctuations on the monitor and said,
"Natural energy has started to enter the subject's body, and the Cursed Seal is forcibly generating Sage Chakra. This process is crude—it's essentially twisting three types of chakra into one!"
To create Sage Chakra, natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy must resonate at the same frequency and merge as one.
Sage Mode is superior because it achieves a soft, balanced fusion.
The Cursed Seal, however, does it through brutal, forced compression.
And the effects of the Cursed Seal vary from person to person.
Take the Sound Four, for example—each of their Cursed Seal transformations was different, each unique and bizarre. The reason lay in their differing levels of physical and spiritual energy.
The stronger a ninja's natural qualities, the stronger their Cursed Seal transformation.
Kairen himself possessed the Senju Clan Sage Body—an innate physique perfectly attuned to natural energy.
As the Cursed Seal Sage Transformation progressed, the energy inside him grew increasingly immense, igniting a massive ten-meter-tall flame of violet chakra around his body.
Doctor Snake then said, "Next, release the seal completely. Let the pain consume you. Enter State Two!"
Kairen nodded again.
The Cursed Seal had a kind of evolution. The deeper the curse invaded the body, the stronger the power gained.
But moving from State One to State Two required enduring agony akin to death.
Soon, Kairen released all restraint. Waves of pain surged through his body, but he only frowned slightly and accelerated the chakra flow of the curse.
The flaw of Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode was that absorbing too much natural energy would turn the user into stone—toad stone.
The flaw of the Cursed Seal Sage Mode, however, was the corrosive nature of natural energy. Excessive use could turn one into a mindless killing beast.
But Kairen had no such weakness.
In the realm of natural energy, he was like a great vortex. All the natural energy in Konohagakure surged toward the Senju residence.
...
At the high council meeting, Jiraiya—who was barely keeping up with the chaos—suddenly froze and frowned.
Having trained in Mount Myōboku's Sage Arts himself, he was extremely sensitive to Sage Chakra.He could clearly sense the natural energy in the air flowing in one direction.
He wanted to go investigate but couldn't get away.
Before him, the council was busy quarreling over who should serve as the Hokage's assistant.
That position was one of the highest in the village hierarchy, coveted by the elders and clan leaders of every major ninja family.
Tsunade slammed her fist on the table, shattering it completely.
Crossing her arms, she glared at the crowd and shouted, "I don't care! I've tolerated you lot long enough. I will be the Hokage's assistant!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. Tsunade had always distanced herself from politics—why was she suddenly jumping into the fray now?
Nearby, the Nara clan elder sneered.
"Tsunade-sama, don't forget—you still suffer from hemophobia. How could someone with such a condition serve as the Hokage's assistant?!"
Tsunade's eyes snapped toward the Nara elder, her killing intent flaring like a tidal wave.
"I've already overcome my hemophobia. Stop using that as leverage for your arguments!"
Several people in the room flinched, their pupils shrinking slightly.
The Nara elder's face flushed with anger.
"Tsunade-sama, you—!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly stepped forward to ease the tension.
"Tsunade, calm down. Let's all take a breath. We'll discuss the assistant position rationally and decide through a vote."
...
At the Senju residence—
Kairen had completed his full transformation into State Two—complete Cursed Seal form.
His appearance now resembled Sasuke's second transformation.
He had a pair of fleshy wings, his skin was covered in gray keratin plates, his hair had grown long, and a black cross-shaped marking ran across his face.
A dark, wicked aura surrounded him—one that made him look like he was about to commit something... indecent.
Kairen felt the immense chakra roaring within his body.
The Senju Clan Sage Body combined with Sage Chakra had doubled his reserves. He could now summon five thousand Shadow Clones in one go.
And this form had no side effects.
The negative energy of the curse trying to invade his mind was completely blocked by the Infinite Resurrection System.
In other words, Kairen could use State Two indefinitely. This was his Perfect Sage Mode.
As long as the Sage Chakra generated by the Cursed Seal didn't run out, he could maintain this form forever.
And the best part about Orochimaru's Cursed Seal design was that it remained constantly active—unlike Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode, which required one to stop and gather energy manually.
Doctor Snake nodded approvingly.
"Excellent form. Bone density and muscle density have both increased several times. Your endurance and regeneration are far above the norm."
Kairen nodded as well. Strong as it was, his body was still radiating a dense, sinister aura.
Nearby, two small bears that had been trained by Smart Kairen curled up in fear, refusing to move no matter how many bamboo shoots he tempted them with.
The chakra Kairen was using originated from the earth—from Ryūchi Cave, filled with negative energy, far less gentle than the natural energy from Mount Myōboku's forests.
Canon walked over with a grin.
"Boss, you really look like an evil god now. Totally suits your title—'Blazing Evil'!"
Kairen shoved him lightly.
"Stop it. I lost two strands of hair recently, and I'm pretty sure it's because of that damned title. I need to change it."
"You can… change titles?"
Kairen smirked.
"I'm going to form a two-thousand-man media corps—dedicated to propaganda. During battles, they'll hype me up. I'll make myself a new, awesome title."
"Boss! Let me be the commander of the media corps!"