ANBU had already hauled Jirōbō back to the Intelligence Department.
Souma and the Third walked the road toward Konoha.
Before long, Yamato, Tenten, and Kazusa appeared up ahead.
Seeing Souma, they dipped their heads in greeting, then hurried toward Hiruzen.
"Lord Third, are you alright?" Yamato asked.
"Cough, cough… I'm fine."
Just… almost out of chakra.
Souma added that silently in his heart.
You're really not that young anymore, old man.
Charging in with a Five Elemental Great Bullet at your age… of course your chakra is going to bottom out. No wonder he'd stayed put after that, not budging an inch.
They kept on toward the village.
Tenten and Kazusa quietly drifted over to Souma's side.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Tenten asked.
"What could've happened to me?" Souma shrugged. "It's just a shame we didn't catch Orochimaru. All I got was a chunk of snake tail."
He lifted the sealing scroll in his hand as proof.
Tenten leaned in for a peek, but in the end didn't dare take it.
Snake tail, huh?
What kind of tail needed its own sealing scroll?
"Right, how's your ninja tool research coming along?" Souma asked her.
"I'm cracking the structure of the Fang-Li Dark Blade," Tenten said, eyes shining. "It's pretty complicated, but I'm almost there. I just know once I finish, it'll be super satisfying."
When it came to weapons and forging, the girl practically lit up from the inside.
Souma smiled warmly.
"Finishing a hard challenge always feels good. That sense of achievement… you can't get it from easy work."
"Exactly!" Tenten nodded wildly.
She chatted away about her experiments, forge failures, and little triumphs.
Kazusa and Souma listened quietly at her side.
After that, Tenten turned to Kazusa, asking how she'd been. Kazusa, in her halting way, talked about recent missions and sword practice.
For a while there, the distance that had crept in while they'd been apart… faded away.
Off to the side, the Third watched them, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile.
These kids…
They'd have a good future.
He could feel it.
As he walked, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Right.
He'd mulled over having Souma sign a contract with the Monkey King before, but the boy had turned him down. The Third's original idea was to have Enma protect Souma.
Looking at it now…
Tenten actually wasn't a bad option, either.
He'd heard she'd mastered a ton of weapons. Staff shouldn't be a problem.
Hiruzen's mind started turning.
Previously, he wouldn't have considered this.
But these days, Konoha's atmosphere had been warped into something outrageous by Souma—one major clan after another was offering up their secret techniques and knowledge.
Outside of his special Fire Release, the Sarutobi clan really only had the Monkey contract that could be called a true "trump card."
He couldn't hand it out on a large scale.
But giving it to one promising junior?
That was negotiable.
Worth considering.
The Third decided: once they got back, he'd consult Enma about it, and then test Tenten's skill with weapons himself.
They returned to Konoha.
Hiruzen looked tired now. "Yamato, see me back," he said. "You three can go about your own business."
"Yes, sir."
Souma, naturally, wasn't going to insist on escorting the Hokage.
More importantly, he had something urgent to handle—
Chiriku and Elder Shiraishi were still waiting on him.
"Tenten, Kazusa, I've got something to take care of," he said.
"No problem," Tenten waved. "I was just about to drag Kazusa off to talk blades anyway. Go do your thing."
"Oh, right—blades?" Souma paused. "Didn't you just get a new one?"
"Yeah, but our clan still has some chakra metal stockpiled," Kazusa said. "They agreed to forge me another, and I also want to commission a custom scabbard."
As she spoke, her eyes drifted to Souma's sword.
The White Fox's handle and scabbard were both beautiful. In comparison, hers looked painfully plain.
A girl had to have some aesthetic standards.
Souma could not relate.
To him, a sword just needed to be good in battle. As for the sheath and decorations… nice to have, hardly essential.
Still—
"As long as you're happy," he said.
"Tch, you really don't get girls at all," Tenten sniffed, shooing him away. "You never say a word about the White Fox, and you think I don't notice?"
Souma could only wave helplessly over his shoulder and take his leave.
He spread out his sensory perception and followed the familiar chakra signatures toward the Forest of Death—
Chiriku and Shiraishi were at the institute.
Inside the research institute.
Aburame Shibi was playing tour guide for Chiriku and Elder Shiraishi.
Without quite meaning to, he led them into a room crawling with Parasitic Rot Bugs.
This was the new medical-bug lab.
"And these are…?" Shiraishi looked over, puzzled.
As head of the Aburame clan, why had Shibi brought them to a bug-breeding room?
He quietly tried to guess Shibi's intent.
"This is where we cultivate the medical strain," Shibi said. "These ones are special. Aside from ordinary chakra, they require a very particular kind of chakra to grow."
He gave them a brief explanation.
Then he turned to Chiriku and Shiraishi, expression solemn.
"I know the origin of Souma-kun's 'Sage Tribe Talent' technique lies in your Fire Temple," he said. "To avoid putting him in an awkward position, I wanted to speak with you directly. Now that we have the chance…"
"Would you be interested in a trade with the Aburame?"
Chiriku thought for a long moment before replying.
"This is our most important secret," he said slowly. "We can't just trade it away on a whim. I hope you'll understand."
"Of course," Shibi nodded. "Just as we would never casually hand the Parasitic Insect arts to anyone else. But—what if we offered our secret in exchange?"
He met their gaze squarely.
Secret for secret.
This time, it was Chiriku's turn to freeze.
Trade secret for secret?
That hadn't even occurred to him.
He looked to Elder Shiraishi.
Shiraishi was just as blank, not sure how to respond.
After a long silence, Chiriku said, "You mean, to trade the Parasitic Insect arts for our 'Sage Clan Talent'?"
"Not the technique itself," Shibi shook his head. "What we need is that power—the Sage chakra—not the complete method."
Chiriku and Shiraishi both glanced at the bugs again.
They were starting to understand Aburame Shibi's real aim.
Aburame's new research with the Parasitic Rot Bugs…
Needed Sage chakra.
Souma knew how to use it, yes.
But no clan would stake their future entirely on one outsider. If something happened to Souma, the Aburame clan would be finished overnight.
That was unacceptable.
Shibi's stance was simple and straightforward.
Chiriku felt genuinely conflicted.
As a monk with some integrity, he wasn't the type to jack up the price just because he had leverage.
But Sage chakra…
He hesitated, then said, "Your offer is sincere—we can feel that. But to be frank, even just the Sage chakra is a profound secret. And we ourselves aren't that skilled with it yet."
"I see. This visit of yours is also to…?" Shibi asked.
Chiriku smiled wryly. "Yes. Our trip this time is… largely to seek advice from Souma."
The one most proficient in Sage arts was right under their noses.
Shibi understood immediately.
Without Souma, how would the Aburame have learned of "Sage Clan Talent," or that the medical bugs required "special chakra" to evolve?
This whole project was clearly between Souma and Aburame.
"If that's the case, then you two already have some cooperation, don't you?" Shiraishi interjected.
Chiriku blinked.
Then it hit him.
Right.
If not for their prior cooperation, how would the Aburame have such detailed knowledge?
"How about this," Chiriku said after a pause, "let us speak with Souma first. And… give us some time. This isn't the kind of thing the two of us can decide alone."
He wanted to hear Souma's opinion.
And—
While he'd heard plenty from Asuma in his letters, that was still secondhand. He and the temple elders wanted to see Souma's Sage Mode with their own eyes.
If it was truly as powerful as described, then sharing a portion of the Sage chakra refining methods wouldn't necessarily be unacceptable—
In the end, the most important trump card was simply having more options than everyone else.
"Very well," Shibi nodded.
He'd heard what he needed to.
They weren't refusing outright.
That was already a good outcome.
They could negotiate the rest slowly.
He was about to lead them onward when the bugs returned, bringing good news that made his heart leap—
Souma was back.
"Souma-kun has just returned," Shibi said. "Would you like to continue the tour, or speak with him first?"
"We should meet him," Chiriku said immediately.
Now that Souma was here, he had no mood left for wandering around. If he hadn't been a temple head monk, he'd have sprinted over already.
Priestly dignity demanded at least a little restraint.
So—
When Souma walked in, he was greeted by a somewhat odd sight.
Chiriku and Elder Shiraishi both looked delighted to see him.
That part, he understood.
They were here for Sage Mode.
But Aburame Shibi…
Why are you so excited?
Did you two really have such a hard time making small talk?
Souma eyed the trio, a bit puzzled.
"You three…?"
"We talked a little while you were out," Chiriku said. "About some things."
Souma nodded.
Right. Shibi had probably already pitched his idea.
That didn't conflict with anything he wanted.
He wasn't going to actively help negotiate, but if the Fire Temple was willing, he wouldn't mind giving them a tug up the mountain.
"Shibi-senpai, I'll speak with them first," Souma said.
"Of course. Take your time."
Shibi adjusted his glasses and stepped aside.
Souma led Chiriku and Elder Shiraishi back to his personal lab.
Once inside—
"I already know why you came," Souma said. "Have you been in touch with Asuma by letter lately?"
"We have," Chiriku nodded. "He told us about your guidance, and his own progress. It only made us more certain we want to deepen our cooperation with you."
"Deeper cooperation?"
"Yes," Chiriku said, looking Souma in the eye. "We'd like to invite you to become an honorary abbot of the Fire Temple, and strengthen our partnership in the Sage arts."
That was the conclusion they'd reached, after much debate.
Elder Shiraishi nodded beside him.
His attitude represented the will of most of the temple elders.
Even though he was on board…
Which meant there wasn't much internal resistance left on their side.
It would all come down to Souma's answer.
Souma frowned slightly.
Honorary abbot, huh.
The title itself didn't affect him much, one way or the other.
But if this "deep cooperation" was just that and nothing else, then it felt…
A bit lopsided.
He'd be the one doing most of the work. That didn't sit well with him.
After some thought, Souma asked plainly:
"What exactly does an 'honorary abbot' get?"
"First," Chiriku said, "it makes cooperation between the Fire Temple and the institute natural. If the institute needs help, we won't turn our backs."
"Second, you'd have full access to our library."
Souma nodded.
An honorary title might be just a name.
But if the Fire Temple really ran into danger, he'd be hard-pressed not to get involved.
If they gave him nothing, that would be straight-up mooching.
This, at least, was something.
Elder Shiraishi added:
"And regarding the ownership and rights around Sage chakra and Sage Mode, the Fire Temple is prepared to make concessions."
Souma's brow rose. "…Oh?"
That was no small thing.
Were they really willing to go that far?
"Strictly speaking, the origin of the 'Sage Tribe Talent' is with the Fire Temple," Chiriku said. "But we all know you're the one who made the major breakthroughs. It's very likely our future practice will depend on your research."
He sighed.
"In a sense, you're the true founder now. We at the Fire Temple are the ones benefiting."
"Without your temple's knowledge, I couldn't have created anything," Souma replied, just as seriously.
"Precisely because of that, we're willing to take a step back," Chiriku said. "Aside from the core secret techniques like 'Sage Tribe Talent' itself, any Sage jutsu you develop from here on—you'll be free to teach them as you see fit."
Souma was genuinely surprised.
A moment ago, he'd felt their offer wasn't quite enough.
Now…
It felt almost too generous.
Knowledge.
Rights.
With that much on the table, he'd basically be the undisputed founder of modern Sage Mode—
Not that he wasn't already halfway there.
The Fire Temple was giving up a lot.
Souma started to feel a little embarrassed.
After some thought, he said, "You're giving up too much. I can't just take without giving. How about this—we both take a step back?"
"Oh?" Chiriku asked. "What kind of step?"
"You want cooperation with the institute, right?" Souma said. "Then we'll use the institute as a bridge. For any member who has made a large enough contribution, and is approved by both sides, the Fire Temple can receive their techniques. In exchange, they can receive a Sage training method."
He laid his idea out in full.
Chiriku and Shiraishi looked at each other.
This was far better than just surrendering ownership rights wholesale.
They'd thought Souma would simply accept their concession.
They hadn't expected…
Him to draw a line back in their favor.
It made them feel a little ashamed.
They'd clearly been thinking too small.
For a moment, both men sat there at a loss.
Then, together, they nodded heavily.
"Agreed," Chiriku said. "We'll do it your way. And the honorary abbot title?"
"In the end, it's just a name," Souma said. "Handle it however you like. If the Fire Temple ever runs into trouble, you can come to Konoha and find me. If I can help, I will."
That was his promise.
Chiriku bowed his head deeply.
Then he pulled out two blank scrolls.
On each, he wrote down their mutual agreements and commitments. They both signed and pressed their fingerprints.
The deal was sealed.
Only then did Chiriku speak again.
"May I… see your Sage Mode?"
"Of course."
Souma nodded.
He brought his hands together.
In the space of a breath, his chakra, spiritual power, and natural energy surged in unison.
In an instant, his body began to change.
Sage chakra wrapped around him, tiny golden motes sparkling in the air.
The air shifted.
He stood there, suffused with a solemn aura, like a Buddha statue coming to life.
Chiriku and Shiraishi both brought their hands together, bowing deeply.
"Uh… that's a bit much, isn't it?" Souma said awkwardly.
"No," Chiriku replied. "You don't understand what this means to us."
He held the bow for a long moment before rising again.
"This reconnects the Fire Temple's severed Sage lineage," he said softly. "Even if we die someday, we'll be able to face our predecessors without shame."
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