For the next month, Amamiya Raizen lived quietly at the Temple of Fire.
He spent his mornings sweeping the courtyards and his nights buried in ancient scrolls, surrounded by the scent of incense and old paper.
He hated it.
But he also couldn't deny—it calmed him.
So when the old abbot finally appeared at the doorway, Raizen half-expected another lecture about patience and humility.
Instead, the old man's tone carried something else entirely.
"Raizen, come with me."
Raizen blinked, setting the scripture aside. "What, finally tired of my pretty handwriting, old man?"
The abbot chuckled and motioned for him to follow. They walked into the temple's open yard, moonlight spilling over the cracked flagstones. The air was still.
"Today," the abbot said, voice deep as a bell, "I will teach you Senju Raigō — the Buddha's thousand-handed strike."
Raizen froze. "Wait, that technique? You told me I had to, what, 'understand the Buddha's heart' first?"
The abbot's eyes twinkled. "That was a test. Power without restraint is poison. In this month, you've shown patience, humility, and control. That's all I needed to see."
Raizen let out a breath and scratched his head. "So basically... I passed the tutorial."
The old man smiled faintly. "Something like that."
He reached into his robe and handed Raizen a scroll bound in dark leather.
When Raizen unrolled it, he saw a faintly glowing image of a massive golden Buddha — arms spread, fists clenched, radiating an aura of judgment.
"This is the Senju Raigō. Each practitioner manifests it differently. Its strength reflects the clarity of your heart."
"Clarity, huh?" Raizen muttered, rolling the scroll back up. "Guess I'll make do with sarcasm and trauma."
"Then let your sarcasm find enlightenment," the abbot replied with a chuckle, turning away.
Raizen stared after him. "...You're enjoying this way too much."
Training Begins
Over the following days, Raizen devoted himself entirely to the technique.
The first time he summoned it, the "Buddha" that appeared behind him barely reached five meters tall — more like a pet-sized version of the abbot's towering deity.
"Tch. Mini Buddha. Totally intimidating."
He tried again. And again. The temple courtyard became his testing ground — stone cracked, tiles shattered, trees splintered.
By the fifth day, his creation had grown to ten meters tall, arms folded like a guardian statue. Still… nowhere near the abbot's colossal version, which loomed like a Susanoo made of gold.
"There's gotta be a way to boost it…"
He thought for hours, pacing under the temple's eaves, before realization struck.
He hadn't tried it in Sage Mode yet.
Sage Art: Senju Raigō!
Raizen closed his eyes, drawing in nature's energy. The world slowed; the breath of the earth filled his veins.
When he opened his eyes again, the familiar orange pigmentation had formed around them — the mark of the sage.
"Alright, Buddha. Let's see what you've got."
He clapped his hands together, channeling every shred of chakra he could muster.
"SAGE ART—SENJU RAIGŌ!"
Golden light burst from his back like a sunrise.
The statue formed slowly — its head scraping the clouds, its thousand arms unfurling in radiant arcs like a peacock spreading its feathers.
Each hand glowed with immense chakra, the sheer pressure shaking the ground beneath him.
The abbot watched from afar, robes whipping in the wind. "What an incredible talent…"
Raizen smirked, stepping forward. "Move, old man. This one's for the record books."
With a shout, he thrust his hand forward. The golden Buddha mirrored him — its gigantic fist crashing into the nearby forest.
"BOOOOM!"
The ground heaved. Trees shattered into dust.
When the light cleared, the forest was gone — replaced by a smoking crater large enough to swallow the temple courtyard.
Raizen stood frozen for a long moment, staring at the devastation.
Then he grinned. "Well damn. That worked."
The abbot approached slowly, expression a mix of awe and dread.
"You've mastered the form… but remember this, Raizen: the greater the power, the heavier the karma. Use it carelessly, and it will destroy more than enemies."
Raizen nodded, serious now. "Yeah. I get it. This isn't something to show off with. It's a trump card."
"Good." The abbot placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then your training here is complete."
Raizen stayed at the temple for another half-month, refining the control and cost of the technique. Even in Sage Mode, it drained him dry after one use — the chakra demand was insane.
"If I don't fix that, I'll blow my load once and faint like an idiot," he muttered, trying to optimize the chakra flow day after day.
Finally, when the technique felt stable enough, he packed his gear, bowed to the abbot, and set off eastward through the Land of Fire.
He didn't get far before realizing something terrible.
"…Crap. I'm lost."
He looked around at the endless forest and sighed.
"A reincarnator with a GPS brain, and I still can't find a road. Peak ninja experience."