Chapter 587: Six Paths Level Training Route?
Haruno Sakura let out a long breath.
The ice mirror melted and dissolved, turning into the white clothes on the girl's body.
The madly climbing momentum abruptly came to a halt. The surging momentum of circulating chakra suddenly stopped, changing from an untamed flood to a gentle, soft breeze, murmuring out of her meridians, dividing into countless tiny warm streams that seeped deep into her flesh, nourishing the girl's physical body.
Although she couldn't achieve the "internal vision" imagined in martial arts novels from her previous life, and chakra wasn't some health-preserving energy, Haruno Sakura knew that those active chakras were indeed slowly strengthening and transforming her body, permanently elevating her aptitude on a certain fundamental level.
She withdrew her hands, looked at her right fingers rotating nimbly, and smiled faintly.
"Just average."
Cognitive comprehension and breakthroughs in realms would not cause an immediate, leaps-and-bounds increase in strength; it merely announced that Haruno Sakura's upper limit of power had been raised significantly once again. However, the elevation of power itself still required step-by-step training.
"Right now, I am at most a few fractions stronger than when I fought Pain," she clenched her fists and said faintly. "I am still far from my goal!"
Goal... Katsuyu the Slug Sage knew who Haruno Sakura was referring to.
It was a high-spirited man from decades ago.
Hashirama Senju.
In Katsuyu the Slug Sage's eyes, that man bore some resemblance to Haruno Sakura: equally stunning and talented, with equally rapid growth in strength.
And similarly, although he had signed a contract with it, he very, very rarely summoned it out to fight.
The difference was that he was the only human the Sage had encountered in all these years that made it feel a degree of apprehension.
"The First Hokage, huh," Katsuyu the Slug Sage said slowly, its voice as resonant and massive as ever. "He was indeed very strong, much stronger than you, but... he is no longer an unattainable goal for you."
"Mhm."
The girl nodded, unassumingly admitting this point.
"What are your plans next? Returning to Konoha?" the Sage asked. It was rare to have someone keep it company here for so long, and it was somewhat reluctant to see Haruno Sakura leave.
"No rush." The girl smiled faintly, "Since I let 'her' become independent, it's the perfect opportunity to let her work hard for a few more days and cover my shifts, so I can complete the next phase of my training here with you first."
After all, the utility value of the clone was so high that not squeezing her dry would be a shameful waste!
As the saying goes, when there is work, let the clone do it; when there is no work... ahem.
"At the very least, I must first tame this energy," she lowered her head, patted her chest, and added.
That powerful radiant energy was both her hidden danger and her opportunity.
"This is no simple training..." the Sage reminded her. "What you want to do is invent a secret technique even more powerful than Sage Mode! The difficulty and danger of such a thing are extremely high!"
Haruno Sakura shook her head.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
The difficulty of developing this kind of secret technique was indeed very high, but the danger was still within a controllable range... If worse came to worst, she could just use a clone to take the hit; it wouldn't cost her life. Having finally lived such a wonderful life in this reincarnation, Haruno Sakura naturally wouldn't throw her life away easily. Without a certain level of confidence, she wouldn't be so self-assured.
Besides, no matter how dangerous it was, could it be more dangerous than fighting people like Pain?
However, when the words left the girl's mouth, they turned into something else: "Did you know, Katsuyu the Slug Sage? There are six paths to surpassing the First Hokage and becoming a figure on par with the Sage of the Six Paths."
During this period of organizing her training system, she had happened to gain some insights.
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
Katsuyu the Slug Sage perked up.
Haruno Sakura looked far into the distance and said faintly:
"The first is to take the traditional route of chakra and ninjutsu.
"Training any attribute to the level of 'Realm-Two' is roughly equivalent to possessing the power of an elite Jonin or even a Kage. Those with talent can begin attempting to mix two attribute powers at this point to form a Kekkei Genkai.
"From here on, chakra will gradually improve the ninja's body, elevating the essence of their life.
"Those with even more talent can develop Kekkei Tota, the power of which can crush almost all ninjutsu. The First Hokage's Wood Release is essentially a Kekkei Tota formed by the fusion of Earth, Water, and Yang attributes. Because he was uniquely gifted, the power of his Wood Release was even stronger than an ordinary Kekkei Tota.
"But after reaching 'Realm-Three,' looking again at these myriad ninjutsu, there is actually nothing special about them—they are nothing more than different modes of chakra operation. As long as you master one of them, by analogy, it is not difficult to elevate other attributes to the level of 'Realm-Three.' As for the Kekkei Genkai above that, or even Kekkei Tota, such as the 'Ice' Release composed of 'Water-Wind-Yin,' they are merely matters that will naturally fall into place.
"Further up is the 'Kekkei Mora' formed by the fusion of all attributes. This is something only ninja who have achieved 'Realm-Three' are qualified to touch. This is slightly difficult, but I inherently possess the talent for fusing attributes, so it won't be any harder than breaking through from 'Realm-Two' to 'Realm-Three.' It took me nearly ten years to break through to 'Realm-Three,' and I estimate it will take another decade or two to complete the 'Kekkei Mora.' With an opportunity, it might be faster; without one, I'll have to slowly grind away. Reaching this level, one could be considered almost half a Sage of the Six Paths, right?"
She stopped speaking.
Between her brows, there was a trace of leisurely yearning, as if she had already traveled through time and space to several years later, seeing the Haruno Sakura who had reached the peak of the ninja path, like a Sage.
Katsuyu the Slug Sage didn't speak for a good while, also immersed in the girl's words.
A mythical figure from a millennium ago was, in the girl's mouth, merely an existence that could be touched by spending a little time? What a boastful tone!
Katsuyu instinctively wanted to scold Haruno Sakura for being too arrogant, but on the other hand, it felt that these words had a rather commanding, overarching perspective, as if the Sage of the Six Paths himself were commenting on the path of ninja.
Without such insight and realm, where would such breezy, indifferent arrogance come from?
"Haha!" Katsuyu the Slug Sage laughed loudly, "You make it sound so easy! Since the Sage of the Six Paths founded Ninshu, in all recorded history, you are the only one who has reached the level of 'Realm-Three' and truly mastered the root of Water Release's nature transformation! The rest, even Hashirama Senju himself, ultimately failed to see through the superficial phenomena of this myriad world to fully grasp its inner essence!"
Even if someone really comprehended the essence and roots behind chakra's nature transformation like Haruno Sakura, to deduce and apply it to other attributes by analogy, and even to Kekkei Genkai, Tota, and Mora, they would still have to spend a massive amount of time and energy on training, overcoming countless unimaginable difficulties. It was absolutely not the easy task the girl described, much less a matter of naturally falling into place.
Unless... this person could comprehend that root at the age of sixteen.
Haruno Sakura smiled without speaking.
The reason she could achieve what she had today was also because she possessed the wisdom of two worlds. As a transmigrator, she was truly an anomaly that others could not compare to. If we're talking about pride, she had a little, but not to the extent of overwhelming arrogance or looking down on others.
"According to this logic, you only need to train step by step, and sooner or later you will be able to surpass Hashirama Senju, and even become an existence like the Six Paths," Katsuyu the Slug Sage asked again. "Why abandon this broad, easy road to instead try refining that extremely dangerous corrosive energy and walk this winding, narrow path?"
Good question!
The girl smiled calmly: Hehe.
"It's very simple. Although this road is flat, it is too long! Moreover, the Sage of the Six Paths has already walked this road. If I walk it again, I will be nothing more than the second Sage of the Six Paths. If this were the only road available, I could only lower my head and march forward, but as it happens, I have other, better choices!"
Katsuyu the Slug Sage curled its antennae, the eyes on the antennae looking the girl up and down, its demeanor resembling a human narrowing their eyes.
An unexpected yet perfectly reasonable answer, it thought.
Before, she was still using Hashirama Senju as her goal. Seeing that standing shoulder to shoulder with, or even surpassing, that man was no longer a difficult problem, she immediately switched to an even higher goal!
Should it be said that she is biting off more than she can chew, or that she has grand ambitions?
No, Katsuyu the Slug Sage shook its antennae, feeling that it had thought wrong from the very beginning.
Haruno Sakura had actually never truly treated anyone as a role model or goal...
Her goals and ambitions had never changed; they had always been to forever refuse mediocrity and to surpass herself!
What a... proud child.