Life at Mount Myoboku had become anything but peaceful.
Ever since Hinata mastered her new technique, she naturally needed a test target and the enormous toads of Myoboku were the unfortunate volunteers.
After all, the whole purpose of her new jutsu was to counter massive opponents.
Gamabunta, who was still recovering from his last battle, thanked the heavens for his injuries. Though his body was nearly healed, he continued to lie motionless every day, pretending to be in critical condition.
It wasn't cowardice it was survival.
Hinata's new move was simply terrifying.
Gamaken and Gamahiro, confident in their strength, volunteered to help her test it out. That confidence didn't last long.
With a single strike, Hinata sent Gamahiro flying across the mountain, leaving him with multiple fractures all over his body.
Gamaken fared a little better thanks to his trusty shield but "a little better" still meant a shattered weapon and bandages from head to toe.
Now, the once-proud toads of Myoboku looked like giant mummified frogs lying side by side, forming a rather tragic spectacle.
Hinata had already held back her strength as much as she could, but even at minimum output, her strike had left the toads heavily injured. Feeling guilty, she promised to forge a new shield for Gamaken herself.
"The power behind that strike is unbelievable," Sage Shima remarked in awe. "Even a tailed beast wouldn't be able to withstand Hinata's attack head-on."
There was, however, one major drawback: Hinata could only use the technique while in Sage Mode. Moreover, with her current reserves of senjutsu chakra, one use completely drained her energy.
It was a true ultimate move a one-shot kill.
Still, that wasn't much of a problem.
Like Naruto, once Hinata grew more adept at Sage Mode, she would eventually be able to enter it instantly. When that time came, this technique could become one of her standard attacks.
Hinata named it Divine Sky Strike.
When she sparred with Naruto to test it, he had to activate both his Sage Mode and the Eight Gates, combining them with his own taijutsu technique, Tempest Kick, just to match her blow for blow.
Even Naruto's Wood Release techniques couldn't withstand it. His Wood Human Jutsu crumbled in a single punch.
Of course, he didn't dare test his more powerful technique, True Thousand Hands: Top Transcendent Buddha that one consumed a terrifying amount of energy and could only be performed with senjutsu chakra.
For now, Naruto simply didn't have enough natural energy to sustain that. He was still some distance away from reaching the level of the First Hokage.
According to Tsunade, her grandfather could enter Sage Mode instantly, his senjutsu chakra nearly equal in volume to his normal chakra reserves.
To understand how vast that gap was, one needed to grasp the difference between ordinary chakra and senjutsu chakra.
Ordinary chakra was refined from the body's own cells. The more refined it was, the greater the chakra reserves.
Senjutsu chakra, however, was formed by blending natural energy with one's own chakra in a perfect 1:1 ratio.
That meant the total reserve depended entirely on how much natural energy a shinobi could absorb and fuse safely.
Just because someone had enormous chakra reserves didn't mean they could sustain large amounts of senjutsu chakra.
Naruto and Hinata were currently mastering this absorption process.
When they eventually reached Hashirama's level able to absorb natural energy instantly they would no longer need to "enter" Sage Mode. It would become their default state.
That was why the First Hokage had been able to suppress the entire shinobi world on his own his energy itself operated on a higher dimension.
Though they were still far from that level, Naruto and his companions were anything but discouraged.
After all, Hashirama had achieved his peak well into adulthood, while they were still young. Given time, all three of them believed they could surpass the legends.
Shortly after Hinata's success, Sasuke also completed his Sage Mode training.
During his training, he fully awakened the third hidden power within his Mangekyō Sharingan. With the added boost of senjutsu chakra, his Susanoo had evolved far beyond Itachi's half-form version.
The energy consumption had even lessened senjutsu chakra was simply purer and more efficient.
The Kusanagi Sword left behind by Orochimaru, once kept by Naruto, was now returned to Sasuke. Its blade could extend, retract, and move with mental commands and astonishingly, it could be equipped onto his Susanoo.
Combined with the Yata Mirror and Magatama Bow, Sasuke's Susanoo now possessed both long-range and close-quarters dominance.
A single swing could slice through entire mountains.
"I think if I keep refining my control, I might not even need the Mangekyō to summon Susanoo," Sasuke remarked, analyzing the glowing giant before him.
"The Mangekyō is just the key," he explained. "Once I completely master the structure of Susanoo, I should be able to manifest it using pure chakra alone."
Naruto's eyes brightened with a sudden idea. "Hey, Sasuke," he called out.
Sasuke dismissed his Susanoo and approached. "What's up?"
"You said Susanoo is basically a physical manifestation of chakra, right?"
"That's right."
"But my Wood Human Jutsu is also a physical manifestation of chakra!" Naruto said with growing excitement.
Sasuke blinked, then realization dawned on him. "You mean… coat your Wood Human with Susanoo?"
"Exactly!" Naruto grinned. "Can you do it?"
Sasuke smirked. "Let's find out."
"Wood Release: Wood Human Jutsu!"
With a thunderous rumble, a colossal wooden giant rose from the ground. Naruto and Sasuke stood atop its head, the air around them trembling with raw power.
Sasuke's eyes flared open, Mangekyō spinning.
"Susanoo!"
In an instant, violet chakra burst from his body like a tidal wave, expanding outward and wrapping around the massive wooden construct beneath them.
The chakra clung to the Wood Human like molten armor, rippling and solidifying as if forged in divine fire.
Piece by piece, a magnificent suit of spectral armor formed over the giant's wooden frame sharp, curved plates overlapping like scales, radiating a faint purple glow.
When the transformation finished, the Wood Human stood reborn as a warrior god, clad in the majestic armor of Susanoo.
Its horned helmet gleamed, eyes burning with cold, divine light.
Even the air seemed to shudder beneath its presence.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks, their hearts pounding in unison.
This was no longer just Wood Release or Sharingan power.
It was something new something greater.
A fusion of strength and spirit that could reshape the world itself.
And they both knew this was only the beginning.
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