Chapter 21: Where Did the First Hokage Learn Sage Mode?
They had tacitly approved it.
Kenichi Amamiya scratched his head and suddenly understood why Tsunade had left Konoha. Her lover and younger brother were dead, and now her own teacher was secretly desecrating the remains of her ancestors. That kind of disappointment was hard to forgive.
If the Third Hokage had not died later, and if Naruto had not existed, Tsunade probably would never have returned to become the Fifth Hokage.
After taking Kenichi to the training grounds for a while, Orochimaru left. Before departing, though, he warned Kenichi to be careful. Recently, the Third Hokage seemed to be growing suspicious of Orochimaru.
Kenichi was not surprised at all. As experimental supplies dwindled, Root would inevitably reach farther and farther into nearby villages. Once enough people went missing, the Anbu were bound to notice. It was only a matter of time before everything was exposed.
"Your test subject, the one whose ribs you broke last time, is dead. The medical team reported that his lungs have completely failed," Orochimaru said casually before leaving.
Kenichi's eyes lit up. That meant cancer was still a terrifying disease for shinobi in this world, at least as long as the average medical team could not handle it.
It seemed he needed to speed up the development and refinement of his cancer granting technique. At the same time, he had other ideas about how to improve his own strength.
"I remember the First Hokage should still be in the Pure Land, right? With my current level, can I use Impure World Reincarnation to bring him back?" Kenichi muttered to himself.
He wanted to increase his strength, and Sage Mode was a very good option. However, Kenichi did not want to learn Sage Mode from Orochimaru.
In his view, the Sage Arts of Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest were better choices than Ryuchi Cave. But Mount Myoboku meant finding Jiraiya, and Shikkotsu Forest meant finding Tsunade.
Neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade were easy to locate right now, so Kenichi naturally turned his gaze to another candidate.
The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. His Sage Mode was also incredibly powerful.
The problem was that Kenichi did not know where Hashirama had learned Sage Mode. He had only heard vague rumors that it came from Shikkotsu Forest, though some people said the First Hokage had comprehended it on his own.
"I wonder if it would work to resurrect the First Hokage with Impure World Reincarnation and have him teach me Sage Mode?" Kenichi hesitated.
Orochimaru did not possess Sage Mode. Unless Kenichi asked his teacher to send him to Ryuchi Cave to be tested by the White Snake Sage, the best way to learn Sage Arts was still through the First Hokage.
Hashirama was famous for being rough around the edges and straightforward, almost like another version of Naruto. Surely someone like that would not bear any malice toward a junior from Konoha.
If it were the Second Hokage, Kenichi would not dare summon him. Without sufficient power, that would only invite disaster. But he was truly envious of the First Hokage's Sage Mode.
After thinking it through, Kenichi decided it was worth attempting. The sacrifice he chose, however, could not be too strong. The strength of the sacrifice affected the power of the resurrected soul, since Impure World Reincarnation was still a ninjutsu.
In simple terms, the stronger the sacrifice, the more power the deceased could display, almost equal to their strength in life. If the sacrifice was weak, the resurrected body would be correspondingly limited.
Kenichi did not intend to use the First Hokage in battle. He only wanted to learn Sage Arts. After all, it would be a waste not to learn Sage Mode when he already possessed the First Hokage's Sage Body.
For the next month, Kenichi busied himself preparing the materials for Impure World Reincarnation, sharpening his own strength, and further refining his personal ninjutsu.
"Kenichi, I heard that Kushina Uzumaki is pregnant."
Orochimaru spoke while conducting an experiment. During this time, he had obtained another very precious test subject from outside, someone from the Kaguya clan.
This Kaguya was not Kaguya Otsutsuki, but a member of the current Kaguya clan who possessed the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai. The sight made Kenichi almost drool. The Kaguya clan's combat potential was terrifying.
Unfortunately, research on the three tomoe Sharingan was still progressing slowly, and he could not spare the time or resources to study Shikotsumyaku yet. For now, he could only preserve a small sample for future use.
"Really? There hasn't been any news of that in the village." Kenichi was stunned.
He knew this was roughly the time Naruto should already be in Kushina's belly, but there had been no word in the village at all.
Thinking about it more carefully, though, it made sense. Kushina was not only the wife of the Fourth Hokage, but also Konoha's Nine Tails jinchuriki. The due date of a jinchuriki was a top level secret. A chunin like Kenichi would never hear about it.
Yes, at this point Kenichi Amamiya had officially become a chunin. He had not gone through a public chunin exam. Instead, on Orochimaru's recommendation, he fought a veteran chunin in a one on one match, and that was how he earned his promotion.
During wartime, it was even easier to become a chunin, and promotion to jonin could happen very quickly. Now that the war was over, the standards had naturally gone back to normal.
Even so, it would still take time before the joint chunin exams between villages returned. Relations between the Hidden Villages were not exactly friendly at the moment.
Let alone organizing a shared chunin exam, if they really tried, it would probably devolve into an all out brawl. Besides, each village already had plenty of ninja at chunin level. They could not possibly save every candidate just for the exam.
In the end, the chunin exams were basically a stage for each village to display its strength. Only on specific occasions would they hold a grand joint tournament.
"Of course there is no news. A jinchuriki is very vulnerable during childbirth. If the Nine Tails breaks free at that moment, well..." Orochimaru let out a low, sinister chuckle.
Kenichi suddenly thought of the Third Hokage. The old man looked like he was enjoying a peaceful retirement, but Orochimaru could tell he was far from satisfied.
After all, how many people who are used to holding power, and know exactly how sweet it feels, are truly willing to let it go? The saying that people forget you as soon as you leave is not just for show.
If something really does happen, what choice will you make then, old man?
"Can we cut off a piece of the Nine Tails for research?" Kenichi blurted out, eyes shining. That was the Nine Tails, after all, currently the strongest of all the tailed beasts in the ninja world.
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