"We're not talking about you, we're talking about Kazuki."

Orochimaru glared at Jiraiya in annoyance and said, "You always say how strong Sage Mode is, but if you're so capable, why don't you use it?"

"What? Kazuki? You're saying he is practicing Sage Mode?" Jiraiya connected the pieces of information he had heard, asking in disbelief.

Jiraiya knew Kazuki was a genius. Not long ago, Tsunade had used Rasengan in front of him, which made him incredibly envious.

He felt that this Ninjutsu was very suitable for him, but ultimately, this Ninjutsu was developed by Kazuki, and without Kazuki's permission, Tsunade couldn't teach him this Ninjutsu.

Would Jiraiya, of all people, go ask a junior to teach him Rasengan?

Sorry, it seems Jiraiya actually would.

It's just that time doesn't permit it now. He'll have to wait until they return to Konoha. But now, learning that Kazuki was training in Sage Mode was good news for Jiraiya.

Currently, in Konoha, when it comes to who understands Sage Mode the most, Jiraiya is undoubtedly the first.

He could exchange his insights on Sage Mode for Rasengan with Kazuki.

Thinking of this, Jiraiya's heart eased.

"Yes, Grandma sent Kazuki to Shikkotsu Forest to train in Sage Mode." Tsunade nodded slightly, then looked at Jiraiya with disdain.

"You've apparently trained for over two years, haven't you?"

"How about we make a bet? Who between you and Kazuki will successfully learn Sage Mode first?"

Orochimaru's eyelids twitched. Tsunade's luck with gambling wasn't great.

Could it be that Kazuki would really learn Sage Mode later than Jiraiya?

Little did they know, Tsunade wanted to use this opportunity to break her streak of losing every bet.

Tsunade had absolute confidence in Kazuki. Even if Jiraiya had encountered Sage Mode earlier than Kazuki, she didn't believe Kazuki would fall behind Jiraiya.

Moreover, who knew how long the war would last? There was plenty of time for Kazuki to learn Sage Mode.

"A bet is a bet. What if I learn Sage Mode before Kazuki?"

Jiraiya was confident he could learn Sage Mode before turning thirty. His seniors had told him they had a way for him to cheat his way into Sage Mode, provided he first achieved a preliminary grasp of it.

Could it be that even with cheating, he couldn't beat Kazuki?

"If you learn Sage Mode earlier, I'll persuade him to teach you Rasengan, how about that?"

Tsunade crossed her arms and sneered. "If you lose, all my gambling expenses for one month after returning to Konoha will be your responsibility."

Jiraiya's face stiffened at Tsunade's words. Rasengan was indeed worth that price. If he could get the training method for Rasengan from Kazuki, Jiraiya felt he would profit.

But if it was Tsunade's gambling expenses for a month, Jiraiya admitted he might not be able to handle it.

As an excellent ninja of the younger generation, Jiraiya had a good amount of money. Although he spent a lot of it on alcohol and young women, he had accumulated a considerable amount of savings over the years.

Ninjas like them who went to the battlefield actually received money for their missions. Part of this money was disbursed during the war, and the rest was distributed by the village.

Jiraiya hadn't had a chance to use this money yet. There was no place on the war front for him to find young women.

Clearly, Tsunade had her eyes on Jiraiya's small fortune.

Finally, Jiraiya gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, if you win, after the war, I'll cover your gambling expenses for a month."

Tsunade hummed lightly and looked at Orochimaru not far away. "Orochimaru, you'll be our witness."

"No problem." Orochimaru nodded slightly.

Putting aside Tsunade's bizarre luck, he actually favored Kazuki more. Where would the current Jiraiya find time to train in Sage Mode?

He also wanted to see Jiraiya in a predicament.

If Jiraiya won, Tsunade wouldn't suffer too great a loss. He believed Tsunade and Jiraiya wouldn't treat Kazuki unfairly.

Orochimaru was well aware of this. He was very curious: how would Tsunade possibly lose this bet?

...

"Kazuki, are you alright? Do you need me to help you absorb the Natural Energy?" Katsuyu looked at Kazuki with concern, or more precisely, at Kazuki's arm.

It had injected part of its Natural Energy into Kazuki's left arm, attempting to let him familiarize himself with Natural Energy first, and then help Kazuki grasp the essence of Sage Mode.

After the Natural Energy was injected, Kazuki's arm became soft and boneless, like a rubber person.

Katsuyu originally wanted to help Kazuki solve this problem, because if Kazuki accidentally messed up, wouldn't it be its fault?

However, an Indra Chakra reincarnation shouldn't fail and perish just from training in Sage Mode, right?

The only one who could defeat an Indra Chakra reincarnation was an Asura Chakra reincarnation. But there had been no Indra reincarnation who had learned Sage Mode before, so it was uncertain if it was truly possible to learn.

"Wait a little longer, I need time to adapt. I can still hold on for now."

Kazuki silently sensed the Natural Energy in his left arm. His three-tomoe Sharingan had activated at some point and was spinning at an extremely fast rate.

His Chakra control was quite good, definitely not something the future Naruto could compare to.

He had also fused with Jugo's Natural Energy sensing talent.

He didn't have the Nine-Tails to help him cheat, but he himself was a cheat.

What Kazuki hadn't expected was that his Sharingan, which had shown little reaction for a long time, began to change due to his Sage Mode training.

There was a slight repulsive reaction between the Sharingan and Sage Mode. To be precise, it wasn't a complete repulsion. He wasn't like Naruto, who just needed to maintain a balance of the three energies.

He needed to integrate the power of the Sharingan, as the Uchiha's spiritual energy was unstable, and problems with spiritual energy were fatal for Sage Mode training.

Perhaps Hagoromo encountered similar problems when he trained in Sage Mode, but he must have had it much easier than himself.

But Kazuki could feel that if he solved this problem, his Sage Mode would exceed his imagination.

***

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