Two years later...
Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
"Stop right there!"
"I said stop!!"
On the street, Naruto sprinted ahead carrying a bucket, with several Ninjas chasing after him.
After the Ninjas in front had left——
On the street, a cloth that stood upright and was the same color as the wooden board was thrown aside.
Naruto pointed at the sprinting Ninjas and laughed, "Idiots! I'll never let you catch me!"
"Hey! Naruto!"
"Aaaah!! What are you doing so suddenly, Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto was startled.
Iruka looked down at him with a gloomy expression, "I should be asking you, what are you doing during class time?"
In a mysterious valley within the Land of Iron, Masahiko opened his eyes.
Before his eyes—
[You have received a performance invitation for "naruto".]
[Currently, "naruto" has begun filming in Konoha. Please arrange your own travel to participate.]
[Your role is positioned as a "Villain" and "Mastermind behind the scenes".]
[When your performance is edited into the footage——]
Lines of text emerged, the rules almost identical to before.
Masahiko looked at the screen and fell into deep thought.
Over the past two years, he had explored the area around this valley and gained a certain understanding of the Iron-Eating Beast Clan's habitat.
A large area around here was similar to the Illusion Forest; one could easily lose their way after entering.
Because of this——
This mountain forest is a restricted area in the Land of Iron, also known as Lost Mountain.
Therefore.
For hundreds and thousands of years, no humans had indeed entered this forest, let alone reached the valley where the Panda Clan resided.
Upon learning this, Masahiko also called the valley Mizong Valley.
The pandas naturally had no objections.
In fact, these pandas were very easygoing; as long as you didn't interfere with their eating and sleeping, they basically wouldn't have any complaints.
Of course.
If their eating or sleeping were disturbed——
Getting into fights with each other was a fairly common occurrence.
Not to mention ordinary pandas, even Elder Lie Jiu and Elder Shuiyun often got into scuffles over such matters.
Fortunately, these were just minor squabbles where they wouldn't use Senjutsu; otherwise, Mizong Valley might not still look the way it does now.
The Panda Clan's cultivation method wasn't as worthless as they themselves claimed. In fact, thanks to the special geographical environment, the speed of cultivation in Mizong Valley was inherently faster than in the outside world.
And right now——
Masahiko's Senjutsu cultivation had entered its third stage.
Two years ago, he could use basic Senjutsu empowerment. Its essence was similar to the Fire Temple's Talent of the Sage Clan, but it was more flexible and versatile.
A few days ago, his Sage Mode finally reached a new level—[Sage Mode: Proficient]
The Panda Clan's Sage Mode would initially cause the entire body to turn black, but once reaching the Proficient level, one could change at will.
Regrettably—
Currently, the flaws of Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode also existed in him.
Once the batch of refined and synthesized Chakra was exhausted, he needed to refine and synthesize it again.
However.
After three and a half years of cultivation, Masahiko's refining speed was already quite fast; he could even refine Senjutsu Chakra during combat.
But——
In Masahiko's view, a truly perfect Sage Mode shouldn't require separate refining; one should be able to refine Chakra and synthesize new Senjutsu Chakra simultaneously, maintaining the Sage state indefinitely.
If one could achieve that step, it should be the Perfect level.
As for "Limit Break", perhaps it requires mastering the Power of Six Paths, Tailed Beast power, or some other power; he was still far from that.
But "Perfect" cultivation could be practiced in the outside world or the Training Space just as well; there was no absolute need to stay here.
"The Main Story"——
Masahiko pondered for a long time, wavering between whether or not to go and join the fray.
After much deliberation, he stood up and walked out.
It was time to return!
But.
In the short term, he didn't intend to show himself directly in Konoha.
By the hot spring on the mountain, Elder Lie Jiu and Shuiyun were resting by the lakeside; one was drinking wine while the other was fast asleep.
Suddenly, Elder Lie Jiu put down his wine and patted Shuiyun.
"Awoo!"
Shuiyun was woken up and let out an angry roar.
Elder Lie Jiu shrank his head back.
"Masahiko is here!"
"Hmm? Why didn't you say so earlier!"
Shuiyun's voice immediately became gentle.
She stood up and ran toward the house.
A moment later, she brought out a large basin of fruit.
Having spent two years together, they understood humans a bit more; knowing humans were quite picky eaters, they always gave Masahiko the best.
Before long.
"Masahiko, these are freshly picked fruits——"
"Elder elders, I've come to bid you farewell," Masahiko said.
Elder Lie Jiu was dazed for a moment and said, "Why? Is it because our hospitality was lacking?"
"No, it's because my cultivation has hit a bottleneck. I need to figure out the next steps myself," Masahiko replied.
Elder Lie Jiu ground his teeth regretfully and said, "Alright. Sigh, once you're gone, there'll be no one to discuss winemaking with me."
"I'll frequently send some wine recipes over," Masahiko smiled.
Afterward, he took out a booklet.
"These are some insights I've written down; perhaps they will be helpful to everyone."
"Good, good, good!"
Shuiyun was delighted at first, but then became a bit sad. "After you go back, you must still persist in your cultivation. Our method easily leads to trouble if not practiced for a while."
"I will."
Masahiko nodded.
Body cells and tissues undergo metabolism, and the Panda Clan's method was relatively primitive, so it required constant flushing and adaptation with Senjutsu Chakra.
However.
In his view, this was also an advantage.
It took a long time, but it was step-by-step, allowing one to directly achieve a relatively perfect Sage Mode in one go.
Otherwise, like Jiraiya, having to rely on the power of toads or other Summoned Beasts was actually a bit of a hindrance.
Elder Lie Jiu suddenly slapped his head.
"Right, before you leave, I'll teach you a move. This is my life's work!"
"What life's work? You only started figuring it out after Masahiko arrived——"
Shuiyun rolled her eyes.
Elder Lie Jiu didn't respond; he just took a sip of wine and then, BOOM!
He exhaled.
Instantly, flames exploded, forming a large area of fire ahead that contained a thick mist of alcohol.
Through his Byakugan, Masahiko already understood the technique.
Elder Lie Jiu's mouthful of wine was mainly used to guide Senjutsu Chakra, using Water Release to refine a similar substance, which was then ignited with Fire Release after being exhaled.
Once an enemy was touched by the alcohol mist, they would continue to burn; it was a Senjutsu similar to the Toad Oil Flame Bullet.
But if the alcohol concentration was high enough, a large amount of alcohol vapor in contact with air would trigger an explosion upon being ignited.
This was also where it differed from the Toad Oil Flame Bullet.
Masahiko's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, Elder Lie Jiu, I understand!"
"As for mine, I haven't finished thinking it through yet. I'll—I'll teach you later!"
Shuiyun gave a light cough.
"I presume you helped quite a bit with this technique as well?"
"Of course! Otherwise, how could he have figured out the alcohol mist?"
Shuiyun puffed out her chest proudly.
Masahiko smiled and said, "Take care, Elders. I'll be heading back now."
"Come back often!"
The two pandas waved goodbye reluctantly.
Masahiko waved back and departed with a Body Flicker.
A moment later, through the Reverse Summoning Jutsu of Iron Palm and Kaori, he arrived at their location.
Illusion Forest, Hidden Forest Village.