Chapter 173

[Friend of the Forest: Due to world constraints, the skill is modified.

You are a Friend of the Forest, exuding a natural aura. As such, animals won't attack you, and you can communicate with them to a certain extent.

Additionally, you can feel the power from nature itself. The forces of nature won't trouble you; you can absorb and utilize nature's feedback.

However, after each absorption, you need time to adapt and comprehend the power.

The absorption and comprehension of power occur in three stages, with varying amounts of power that can be stored and different durations for usage]

Kaito was utterly dumbfounded upon seeing this ability—what the hell is this?

If Kaito remembers correctly, this should be Ivern's skill.

Ivern is a genuine Friend of the Forest, a chap who can't even bring himself to attack the neutral monsters.

What he does is charm these beasts and, with a single Smite, send them away, leaving behind so-called 'gifts of nature'—the Red and Blue Buffs for teammates.

It's only natural that these things would be modified to suit this world.

Instead of smiting the neutral monsters, now he could communicate with them, and the left-behind 'gifts' had transformed into forces of nature.

Yet, all of this was enormously suitable for Kaito, who has been trying to manipulate natural forces—or perhaps more precisely, Sage Chakra!

He's been following the developmental trajectory of Uchiha Madara, albeit with some deviations here and there.

Such as the order in which he gains power, or some of Madara's powers that he didn't acquire—like the fusion of chakra forces.

Nevertheless, he was advancing steadily in Madara's footsteps, which makes natural chakra an indispensable force for him!

Now, this power is suddenly thrown in front of him—how could he not be tempted?

But the problem is, he still has that Spirit Beast Galio waiting for him, descending from the heavens with justice. This instantly plunges him into a momentary silence.

He felt a slight ache in his face, but regardless, this is still a good thing.

After all, it made Kaito realize more deeply just how incredible his system truly is, and how enriching the options it can provide really are.

"We'll talk about Spirit Beasts later. Even if I can't use the ones the system gives me, I can find suitable ones in this world.

But the power of nature is a different story; if I miss this chance, it's hard to say what will happen later."

In this world, the power of nature, as Kaito understands it, isn't something humans can easily obtain. It's exceedingly untamable, nearly impossible to control.

To put it simply, a slight mishap could turn you into stone. Such natural forces are vastly different from what Kaito understood in his past life.

Considering that this world bears some resemblance to the island nation of his previous life, it all doesn't seem too far-fetched.

"After all, where I live is right by a massive, active volcano. Who knows when it might erupt."

Natural forces in this world can't be casually absorbed; even perceiving them is incredibly difficult. You'd need to align with special products found in sacred places just to feel them.

Even in cultivation, constant supervision is necessary, and someone must be there to snap you out of it if something goes awry.

Given this level of difficulty, you basically have to find a sacred place, form a contract with them, and hope they see potential in you to have a shot at cultivation.

Otherwise, stop dreaming.

Of course, not everything is absolute. Uchiha Madara did leave everyone a backdoor.

That is, directly defeating someone who possesses Sage Chakra and then forcibly absorbing the Sage Chakra within them!

The problem is, there are far too few who know Sage Techniques, and the inherent danger of Sage Chakra makes it something you can't just use on a whim.

Take Jiraiya, for instance. Even he can't seamlessly switch in and out of Sage Mode, and he even drew on his own Sage markings. His Sage Mode should be considered relatively rudimentary.

Naruto from the original story did well; he pretty much mastered the use of Sage Mode.

But when he prepared for Sage Mode, he relied on Shadow Clones to collect chakra on the spot and then dispersed them to return the chakra back to himself, thereby storing Sage Chakra.

In doing so, he ensures that once in Sage Mode, the natural chakra within him wouldn't be excessive.

While this method may be easy to manage, it's nowhere near meeting Kaito's desired criteria.

"Unless you're like Uchiha Madara, taking down a near-prime Hashirama Senju, and then forcibly absorbing his Sage Chakra.

And the chakra from the Reanimation Jutsu is virtually limitless; Madara truly had a blast.

Could this be considered his revenge for Hashirama draining his Susanoo with that Wooden Dragon?"

Kaito was pondering internally, but quickly, he decided not to dwell on it too much. He took a deep breath and made his decision.

"I choose 'Friend of the Forest'!"

[Skill Acquired: Friend of the Forest]

[Friend of the Forest activated, currently at Stage One. The more you use it, the deeper your comprehension, the greater the power you can store, and the longer it lasts]

[Friendly Reminder: Upon reaching Stage Three, the host can be considered integrated with nature, and can infinitely draw upon and use the power of nature]

Kaito silently read the description of the skill. For a moment, he questioned if he was cultivating as an immortal.

After all, aside from the term 'power of nature,' it also mentioned 'Sage Chakra.'

But he quickly dismissed the idea, feeling it was more apt to say he was cultivating himself into becoming the Ten Tails.

In his Nine Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto had felt the power of the Ten Tails, which had fully integrated with nature. When Naruto felt the power of the Ten Tails, he could only sense the boundless power of nature.

It was as if it were nature itself; as if it had merged into the very essence of nature!

Taking a deep breath, Kaito stopped pondering these matters, because he could feel his own changes at this moment.

He found that he could clearly sense the power hidden within nature, and most crucially, he could absorb that power into his body...

...

Asuma had been back in Konoha for a while. All this time, he had been staying within the Sarutobi clan, and he'd been struggling.

The death of Sarutobi Hiruzen had hit him hard. Even if he sometimes really didn't agree with his father's ideology and actions, at the end of the day, that was his father!

"It seems I was right; the most important part of the village isn't the Hokage, nor the Daimyo, but the people living in Konoha."

Asuma had visited his father's grave more than once. Each time he was there, he couldn't help but mutter these words, insights he'd gained outside of Konoha.

His father, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had put it all into practice quite well. His father's death was proof that his beliefs were correct.

But what a painful realization it is. He may not know the saying, 'What you can't have always disturbs you, those who are favored are emboldened.'

However, he does understand that only when you lose something do you truly realize how much it hurts, and that often, you've never cherished what you had when you had it.

He knows that his father, Sarutobi Hiruzen, committed suicide. Such a suicide preserved his own dignity, allowing him to remain in everyone's hearts as a Hokage who washed away his sins.

But what he understands even more is that all of this was forced. His father had no choices left.

Because in the end, death awaited—whether it would be a humiliating death spit upon by others, or a clean and dignified one, was the only difference.

"The Seven Great Clans..."

Asuma took a deep breath, sitting in his house looking at the photos hanging on the wall. Finally, he took another deep breath, stood up, and walked out.

These days, his family hasn't been so peaceful due to his return. The reason, he can somewhat guess.

After all, he had spent so much time as a guard in the Daimyo's residence. He'd seen plenty of treachery, lots of schemes.

He's grown up a bit, matured somewhat. He knows that signs of chaos have begun to appear within the Sarutobi clan.

Some want to completely rid themselves of the shadow cast by his father and start anew, while others are plotting revenge, aiming to take back what belongs to them.

It's not just the Sarutobi clan; clans like the Mitokado and the Utatane have similar sentiments, and they've sought out Asuma as well.

They hope that Asuma, as the Third Hokage's son, can take the lead, uniting them all to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the Seven Great Clans over Konoha.

Especially now that the Fifth Hokage is Jiraiya, a disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, this gives them great hope!

Even though they know that Jiraiya is a puppet, isn't that even better? Who among the puppets is willing? Doesn't he want to take back the power that belongs to the Hokage?

And with Tsunade returning to Konoha, they're even more overjoyed. As long as they can persuade these two, get enough support, they'll definitely have a chance!

Asuma is truly hesitant deep down. He's been pondering all these days, but the pressure on him is too great; he can't afford to do nothing anymore.

Therefore, today he needs to have a proper meeting with Jiraiya, meet this disciple of his father, this member of Konoha's Legendary Three Ninja, this Hokage.

"If Master Jiraiya supports us, then surely Lady Tsunade will support us too."

Arriving at the Hokage's office, Asuma had to go through multiple screenings to get there. This was worlds apart from Kaito, who seemingly had no restrictions at all.

Yet Asuma didn't mind. He silently observed the current state of the Anbu Black Ops. He knew that most of the original Anbu had been killed off, and the survivors had mostly been dismissed.

The man in charge of the Anbu now was Kakashi—his former classmate who had betrayed the Anbu's principles and contributed to the death of his own father.

His attitude toward Kakashi is exceptionally complicated. On one hand, he had found out why Kakashi had done what he did through various channels.

Quite simply, it was to avenge his own father, who was indeed killed by the collaboration between his father and Danzo.

But on the other hand, his own father also ended up dead and gone due to his actions.

"Lord Hokage."

Full of resignation, Asuma had passed through multiple checks and finally arrived in the Hokage's office.

At this moment, Jiraiya was reading a report. However, he was looking down, his eyes somewhat unfocused, making it unclear whether he was pondering the content of the report or thinking about something else.

"Hm? Asuma, it's you."

However, as soon as he heard Asuma's voice, he snapped back to reality. He returned a smile, although internally, he sensed trouble.

Asuma had been back for quite a while and had been staying out of trouble, which had allowed Jiraiya to breathe a little easier. But his sudden visit today was hardly a good sign.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that Asuma had thought things through and intended to resolve the matter peacefully.

But Jiraiya had gotten to know Asuma's personality; while it was a possibility, the likelihood was really quite low.

"Lord Hokage, I would like to speak with you privately."

Asuma directly knelt on one knee, his voice laden with gravitas.

"Although this request may be inappropriate, please, for the sake of my father, I hope you will agree, Lord Hokage."

Jiraiya let out a resigned sigh at Asuma's action, as if Asuma had truly cornered him.

But in the end, Jiraiya nodded. He wanted to see what Asuma would say.

With a light clap of his hands, the Anbu hidden in the room quickly withdrew.

Had it been anyone from the Seven Great Clans, especially Kaito coming to see Jiraiya, these Anbu would have left long ago rather than remaining here, without Jiraiya having to personally dismiss them.

However, Jiraiya didn't dwell on these details. Only when everyone had left did he speak in a serious tone.

"Your time is limited; within one or maybe two minutes, someone will come. Be direct, and don't dilly-dally.

Of course, if you're going to speak of impractical matters, I'd advise you to hold your tongue.

Because I can tell you, some things are simply impossible."

Jiraiya's words effectively choked off Asuma, who suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

He truly hadn't expected Jiraiya to be so blunt, so decisive, not even bothering to listen before making a judgment.

Asuma remained half-kneeling on the ground, his head lowered and fists slightly clenched. It took him a good while to finally ask in a subdued voice,

"Lord Hokage, is there really no room for choice? Are you truly willing to be manipulated by them?"

"Somebody has to swallow this bitter pill. They chose me because they know I would seek redemption for my master's actions."

Jiraiya shook his head gently, standing up and looking out of the window. The Hokage Monument was bustling with activity; a new statue was clearly being sculpted.

It was apparent that this statue would be of Jiraiya himself.

"Konoha needs peace, stability, and development. They can bring all these to Konoha, and I can see their sincerity.

So, discard any impractical thoughts. They've been watching you, watching all of you.

They haven't made a move because they are waiting: waiting for you to make a decision, waiting for you to create chaos, or waiting for you to take action.

And when you do take action, that will be the darkest day for Konoha.

So, I hope you'll act wisely. For the sake of your master, for your clan, think long and hard...."

//

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