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Chapter 98: Senjutsu

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"Nice talk and all, but why are you telling me this?"

Jashin started pulling himself off the spike, and he looked less excited than before, so I made the spike go back to the ground. Landing on his feet, Jashin said, "The reason your killing intent affects you this bad is because it is a wild force at the moment. And like any wild variable, all you need to do is to tame it. Bring it under control."

Interested, I asked, "You mean to use the contract to tame my killing intent and weaponize it? That could be interesting, if well done."

Jashin nodded and said, "While forming a contract with a spirit, the affinities of both sides have to be taken into account. For you, because you are quite young, you can still go any path you want. But me, I have long since set my path, and it is set on death and destruction. This means your ability will have to gravitate around that."

I nodded silently, thinking of a possible way to use this power. Jashin offered, "Maybe you could merge your killing intent with your spirit to not only strengthen it, but also strengthen your killing intent into proper Genjutsu."

I frowned a little at that, I wasn't really into that kind of Genjutsu. Actually, I didn't really use Genjutsu a lot, the only ones I learned being the ones I discovered myself. And even then, I preferred to use confusing ones instead of offensive ones.

However, he did give me an idea.

"What if instead of fusing my killing intent with my spirit, we completely dissociated the two, turning it into a third kind of energy in my body?"

Jashin tilted his head in confusion, and asked, "Why would you do that?"

I pointed at my belly and said, "The idea stems from Sage Mode. Are you familiar with it?"

Unexpectedly, Jashin's face turned unsightly as he said, "Of course I am, a nasty thing that is."

It was my turn to tilt my head as I uttered, "Nasty? How can absorbing natural energy be considered nasty?"

To my question, Jashin snorted, "You don't know the truth about Sage Mode. Have you ever seen sages?"

I nodded, so he continued, "Then you must have seen it. If Sage Mode is supposed to only be the absorption of Natural Energy, how come not every Sage Mode user go through the same changes?"

That… is not false.

"Go on."

Jashin explained, "Sage Mode is nothing more than a scam created by some Sages to keep their dominion over their subjects. Haven't you ever wondered why in every tribe there is only one Sage, despite several there being several others who mastered Sage Mode?"

I asked, "Well, the Sage is the origin of the technique, and so they earn a position of power."

Jashin shook his head and said, "Us Sages were born with Senjutsu Chakra…"

"Us?"

Jashin looked at me funnily and said, "You never caught onto that? I'm a Sage, of death and destruction. My people, are the Sages."

"I thought only summons were Sages."

Jashin slightly shook his head, "No, those are simply the ones who left. But to go back to Sage Mode, this is only a way to control other people."

Jashin had obviously changed the subject, but for the first time I felt Jashin feel uncomfortable, so I did not question him about the Sages, and instead asked, "How?"

Jashin replied, "Addiction, firstly. Many of my people gathered or birthed their own subjects and gave them this great power. This not only makes for great henchmen, they also can't make for the slightest danger as they can take back their Senjutsu Chakra at any time. Using Sage Mode also grants the Sage from whom it was taught a certain level of subtle control. So my advice is, never ever accept to learn Sage Mode from a Sage."

That was… worrying. If that was true, then what about all the Sage Mode users?

"Hashirama Senju, the one who signed such a contract in the past… was he manipulated by the Sage he took in?"

Jashin shrugged and replied, "I'm in your head, not his. It doesn't matter anyway."

"Of course it matters, Hashirama has shaped the Shinobi world, I want to know."

I could feel Jashin was uncomfortable with the question, but after a moment he said in what I felt to be the truth, "He contracted with Amida, who's a hypocritical cunt. That's all I can tell you. Now, I think you were the one who told me you were in a hurry, so tell me, what exactly do you want to do?"

I still had questions, obviously, but I wasn't going to get them by forcing him. So I said, "Ignoring the influence of Sages, to achieve Sage Mode one has to form a perfect balance between their body, spirit and natural energy. I want to use the killing intent to help me with that."

Jashin shook his head and said, "Achieving Sage Mode without the help of a Sage is impossible. Although they are usually discreet about it, they are the ones who trigger the transformation, that merges the Yin, Yang and Natural Energy to form Senjutsu Chakra, by introducing some of their own into the subject."

"What about when the user is in another world? How can humans use Sage Mode in my world, if there isn't the Sage next to them?"

"Using Sage Mode for the first time allows for a connection to be built, which the Sage can then use to give his own Senjutsu Chakra. As I said, you can't merge those three energies without Senjutsu Chakra. The only way to form Senjutsu Chakra is either to be born with it, and have a Sage grant it to you."

This reminded me of something disturbingly similar. Sage of Six Paths. Don't they work essentially in the same way? And the Sage of Six Paths seemed to be worshipped by the Owl Sage… was there any relationship between the Otsotsuki and the Sages?

My eyes went a little cold as thoughts of taking care of Jashin appeared in my mind, and Jashin felt it as he started smiling. He asked, "What got you in a killing mood? I'm flattered."

It would seem I will need to be even more careful than I intended to be with him. After a moment, I asked, "Will there be any negative consequences to me housing you within me?"

Jashin's smile wiped off, and he said, "Yes."

"Be more specific. Will your presence influence me in any way?"

Jashin replied truthfully, "No. Well, as much as talking to me on a regular basis would. But if that's what you are wondering, then no, my presence won't exert any unusual influence on you."

This connection was quite useful for an interrogation. I asked, "Then what are those consequences I would face? Will I be hurt physically from it?"

Jashin shook his head, "Only if you make a bad contract. You won't be affected personally any more than I already told you about. The only problem could come from other Sages, who could look at you with a hostile eye. Some of them are hunting for me, and that makes you their enemy."

"Is that all?"

I relaxed and said, "Fine, that makes more people to kill then."

Jashin smiled at that, "My Queen indeed. I want you so bad."

"Don't make me kill you."

"I'm only yours, you may do whatever you want to my body. I'm into all kinds of practices."

Understanding I wasn't going to get the final word with him, I let that go, and instead focused on the more important question, the contract.

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