Naruto: Becoming the Soul King

”Is the taste intoxicating?”

Good food was also one of Seiryū’s hobbies in his spare time. He loved to eat.

Especially that kind of intoxicating food.

He had underestimated Kurenai before.

This young lady’s culinary skills had not lost their ”spirit” as she grew older, and she had later ”developed” quite a few delicious dishes.

He liked them very much!

”You should like it!”

Tsunade looked serious.

Although she knew Seiryū had peculiar tastes, at least those strange dishes were still within the realm of what humans could eat.

But the food in Shikkotsu Forest.

Tsunade did not even want to call it food!

She felt that with Seiryū’s unique palate, his face would definitely turn green after one bite!

”I’m looking forward to it!”

Seiryū’s eyes lit up. Tsunade’s serious expression was very deceptive, and he could not tell anything from it.

This wicked woman probably was not lying to him.

He said he was very much looking forward to it!

”That’s good!”

Tsunade’s expression remained unchanged.

But inwardly, she was laughing.

She was looking forward to the expression on Seiryū’s face when he ate that food later.

That would surely be interesting!

Not dwelling further on the matter, Tsunade went straight to the point. ”You already have some understanding of Senjutsu. Before, I didn’t let you train in it because you hadn’t met the conditions, but now you have the qualifications.”

”After you master Senjutsu, I will also teach you the Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Technique.”

”What do you mean I didn’t meet the conditions? It was clearly because you didn’t want me to see your ’Katsuyu-fied’ appearance that you wouldn’t let me train in Senjutsu...”

Seiryū was speechless.

You said it all.

”Ahem...”

Tsunade coughed lightly to hide her embarrassment.

Could her ”Katsuyu-fied” appearance be shown to just anyone?

Especially to this nasty brat, Seiryū!

Of course not!

”Anyway, it’s not too late now. I have mastered nearly perfect Senjutsu, and since I am a top-tier Medical-nin, I can tell you the specific details and techniques.”

”With your talent, it shouldn’t take long for you to finish training it.”

Tsunade waved her hand.

Would Seiryū be unable to learn Senjutsu?

Impossible.

This kid’s talent was too monstrous.

She felt there should not be any Ninjutsu that could stump this little pervert, Seiryū.

”I hope so. I’ve had some doubts about my talent recently. It’s been a long time, and I still haven’t developed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. This is such a failure...”

Seiryū sighed.

He was brooding over the fact that he had yet to develop the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Wasn’t he, Seiryū, a genius?

How did that song go?

Huh? Really? Shouldn’t I be a genius?

If he were a genius.

Why had he not found the trick to developing Ice Release after all this time?

Tsunade: ”...”

She did not know how to express her exasperation.

From the time this kid said he wanted to develop Ice Release until now, it had been two or three months at most.

You want to develop a Kekkei Genkai in two or three months?

Why don’t you just fly into the sky?

Tsunade continued, ”I will demonstrate Sage Mode once for you to see. You have mastered the Mind’s Eye of the Kagura, so you can capture details more carefully. Afterward, I will tell you the techniques...”

”Watch carefully now!”

After speaking.

Tsunade sat cross-legged on the spot.

She began to gather the surrounding natural energy, balancing it with the spiritual and physical energy within her body to give birth to Senjutsu chakra.

Although she had already mastered a relatively perfect Sage Mode and her body remembered this feeling.

However, so as not to lose face in front of Seiryū.

Tsunade was very serious.

Shikkotsu Forest was one of the sacred lands.

It contained powerful natural energy.

Less than a minute passed.

The unique eyeshadow of Sage Mode appeared around Tsunade’s eyes.

Unlike the orange of Mount Myōboku or the purple of Ryūchi Cave.

The color of Shikkotsu Forest’s Sage Mode eyeshadow was black.

The shape was also somewhat different from the First Hokage’s, more delicate and small.

A circle also appeared around the diamond-shaped Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead.

The Sage Mode eyeshadow did not ruin the beauty of Tsunade’s delicate face.

On the contrary, it added a bewitching charm.

She opened her eyes with a swish.

The chakra fluctuations on Tsunade’s body rose significantly at that moment.

Her originally light brown pupils became brighter, but their shape did not change.

Toads had horizontal pupils, snakes had vertical pupils, and as for Katsuyu, they were round pupils!

Slowly rising, Tsunade felt her body and, after finding no signs of ”aberration,” nodded in satisfaction.

She said to Seiryū, ”This is the Sage Mode of Shikkotsu Forest. Did you notice any details during the process of me gathering Sage Mode?”

”Details? Isn’t it just maintaining the balance of natural energy, spiritual energy, and physical energy to generate Senjutsu chakra?”

Seiryū pouted. ”It’s not like I don’t know the principle. What can I see from just this? What I’m lacking is practice...”

The Vollständig: Heavenly Eye captured the entire process of Tsunade gathering Sage Mode, clearly seeing the flow of chakra within her body.

But he did not see anything else.

Seiryū knew the principle of Senjutsu.

Maintaining the balance of the three energies could create Senjutsu chakra.

What Seiryū lacked was simply practice and using his body to memorize this feeling.

What was the use of just watching?

Previously, when watching Naruto perform Rasenshuriken, after knowing the techniques involved.

Didn’t Seiryū still have to try it a little before finally mastering it?

Seiryū muttered softly, ”If you had let me train with you, I would have already mastered Senjutsu...”

”...”

Pretending not to hear Seiryū’s muttering, Tsunade continued on her own, ”It’s okay if you can’t see it. First, experience natural energy...”

She wanted to tell Seiryū to experience the feeling of natural energy entering his body.

Then she thought about it.

This kid Seiryū had been injured more than once because he could not control natural energy.

So she changed her wording. ”There is a special spring water in Shikkotsu Forest. After drinking it, your body will actively absorb natural energy. This is also the first step in training Senjutsu.”

Acting as a model student, Seiryū raised his hand. ”Can I use Dragon Vein chakra? Dragon Vein chakra also contains natural energy.”

Tsunade did not answer, but Katsuyu, who had not spoken much, answered first. ”That won’t do Seiryū. Although Dragon Vein chakra contains natural energy.”

”However, it is not pure natural energy. It is a special kind of chakra where ley line energy and natural energy have reached a balance.”

She continued, ”The Dragon Vein is a life form similar to a Tailed Beast, possessing its own consciousness.”

”Therefore, the natural energy within Dragon Vein chakra also contains the consciousness of the Dragon Vein. In this regard, it is similar to Tailed Beast chakra...”

”This kind of natural energy cannot help with the process of training Senjutsu. On the contrary, it will interfere with Senjutsu training.”

”What you need to do is learn to control natural energy. This step requires using the natural energy between heaven and earth.”

The natural energy contained in Dragon Vein chakra carried the consciousness of the Dragon Vein.

It could not help when training Senjutsu.

Instead, it would interfere with the training.

She also understood that Seiryū’s purpose for training Senjutsu was more about controlling natural energy.

So that he could fully control the Dragon Vein chakra afterward.

And not let it harm his body like before.

”Oh.”

Seiryū thought about it.

It also made some sense.

The reason he trained in Senjutsu.

First, he wanted to fully control the Dragon Vein chakra for his own use, so that the situation where his body was invaded by the natural energy contained in the Dragon Vein chakra would not occur again.

Second, he wanted to see if the incantations of Kidō would change after entering Sage Mode.

It was not purely to master Senjutsu to make himself stronger.

Didn’t he see that in the later stages.

Naruto rarely used Sage Mode.

Because there was the more powerful Kurama Mode.

Kurama Mode was definitely stronger than Sage Mode. There was no doubt about that.

By the same logic.

In Seiryū’s judgment, once the Dragon Vein, which was not weaker than the complete Nine-Tails, was fully controlled by him in the future.

Sage Mode could not exactly be called useless, but it was close.

Dragon Vein chakra itself possessed natural energy, and once fully controlled by him, it was estimated that it would also have the effects of Senjutsu.

It could damage Truth-Seeking Orbs.

Then wasn’t Sage Mode useless?

Tsunade did not know where she pulled a water bottle from. She handed it to Seiryū and said, ”First, try to guide natural energy into your body. Come, drink this.”

Seiryū did not take it, eyeing Tsunade warily. ”You didn’t poison it, did you?”

Tsunade: ”...”

What the hell was this kid thinking?

Tsunade felt a bit weary. She picked up the bottle, took a sip, and then handed it back to Seiryū, speechless. ”It’s not poisoned. Happy now?”

”That’s good. I was afraid you would poison me and then find an excuse to treat the poison so you could scam me out of my money...”

Seiryū muttered.

Taking the bottle, Seiryū also took a sip, smacked his lips, and his eyes suddenly lit up. ”Huh, it’s actually a bit sweet?”

Katsuyu tilted her head in confusion. ”This is my daily drinking water. It has no taste at all. How could it be sweet?”

”Shut up! Hurry up and sit cross-legged!”

Tsunade’s face had a slight flush.

She had drunk from that bottle.

This was an indirect kiss!

She inexplicably thought of that previous kiss again.

”...”

Seiryū had no time to respond to Tsunade at this moment.

As the spring water went down, his body seemed to trigger a switch, absorbing the dense natural energy from the surroundings into his body like a vortex.

His chakra pathways felt a strange sensation under the flushing of natural energy.

Seiryū immediately sat cross-legged on the spot.

He began trying to control the natural energy within his body.

The natural energy surging into his body at this moment.

Was different from the natural energy contained in the Senjutsu chakra that Katsuyu had once channeled into him, and different from the natural energy contained in the Dragon Vein chakra.

Simply put.

This natural energy was of a smaller scale and was also milder.

The corrosion and tearing it caused to his body were not as severe.

Flowing through his chakra pathways, it only brought some strange sensations.

This was the correct way to start training Senjutsu!

’Hum, hum, hum...’

However, as the amount of natural energy absorbed into his body increased, Seiryū once again experienced the corrosion and burning sensation he felt when he first encountered natural energy.

Some parts of his body also appeared bloated.

This was the ”aberration” phenomenon caused by being unable to control natural energy.

Just as Seiryū wanted to do something to disperse the natural energy within his body.

Smack!

A vine suddenly struck, lashing onto Seiryū’s body.

It whipped him away and also dispersed the natural energy within his body.

”Hiss!”

Seiryū gasped.

It hurt.

Afterward, he glared at Tsunade, gritting his teeth. ”What are you doing all of a sudden?”

”What am I doing? Just dispersing the natural energy in your body to get you out of danger.”

Tsunade held the vine and looked at Seiryū, who had been whipped away.

She revealed a playful smile. ”Training Senjutsu is very dangerous. Please take care of me in the days to come, kid!”

She could find a reasonable excuse to whip this kid.

Tsunade was very happy.

Let you think about having three wives and four concubines. Let you not listen to me.

You deserved to be hit!

Besides, this was part of the training.

Taking a beating was also training.

No problem!

”...”

Seiryū’s mouth twitched.

He saw it.

This wicked woman was finding an excuse to hit him.

”You don’t need to intervene. I can also disperse the natural energy in my body. It’s not like I haven’t done this kind of thing before!”

Seiryū questioned her angrily.

Seiryū had many ways to disperse the natural energy within his body.

”No, it’s too slow.”

Tsunade naturally could not let go of this opportunity to whip Seiryū with a proper excuse.

She explained, ”Using this vine is the fastest, and if you get hurt, I can heal you!”

Seiryū was furious. ”I’m not learning it! You’re doing this to take revenge on me. If all else fails, I’ll go to Mount Myōboku later and let Jiraiya-sensei teach me!”

”He wouldn’t dare!”

Tsunade did not care about Seiryū’s threat and simply said indifferently, ”Unless that guy isn’t afraid of me taking his bones apart!”

Seiryū: ”...”

So frustrating!

He was being held firmly in her grasp.

Jiraiya.

Why are you such a coward?

Scared after being threatened once?

What kind of Sannin are you!

”Hurry up and continue. Don’t waste time.”

Tsunade held the vine in her hand, looking like a strict Sensei. ”You were always clamoring to learn Senjutsu, and now you’re shrinking back because of this little bit of pain?”

”I, Seiryū, have noted this matter down. I’m adding another entry to my little grudge notebook. You’ll have a hard time later!”

Seiryū stared fiercely at Tsunade.

He took out his little grudge notebook and added a new entry to it.

Tsunade would definitely not be able to escape his grasp in the future.

Just wait!

Tsunade showed a friendly smile, looking a bit like a sadist. She was smiling, but her aura was menacing. ”Tell me, what do you want to do to me? I’m a bit curious!”

”Hehe, you’ll know later. The kind that will definitely make it unforgettable for the rest of your life!”

”Hmph, when you become stronger than me, I can leave Konoha. No one will be able to find me...”

”If you can remove the Flying Thunder God seal I left on you, that is. Otherwise, you will never be able to escape the palm of my hand in this life.”

”Flying Thunder God? You left a Flying Thunder God seal on me? When?”

Tsunade was numb.

When did this kid leave a Flying Thunder God Technique seal on her?

”I’m not telling you. Anyway, you can only be mine in the future. I don’t care whether you’re willing or not. You owe me too much, and not taking responsibility won’t do...”

Seiryū hummed.

Still want to leave?

Did you ask his Flying Thunder God seal?

Except for some special means, once the Flying Thunder God Technique was marked, it could not be removed!

”You kid are ruthless!”

Tsunade’s mouth twitched slightly.

This kid was really bold.

Saying she was his and not caring whether she was willing.

Quite domineering.

Suppressing the slight palpitation in her heart, Tsunade waved the vine twice, pointed at Seiryū, and sneered. ”We’ll talk about the future later. Continue training Senjutsu. If you dare threaten me with such words again, I’ll whip you to death right now!”

Seiryū pouted. ”Afraid of you?”

”...”

”...”

And listening to the dialogue between the two, Katsuyu at the side looked astonished.

These two... why did it feel... like something was wrong?

Was this the kind of dialogue proper master and disciple could have?

Could it be...

At this moment, Katsuyu’s worldview was somewhat shaken!

(To be continued.)