"Of course. Please wait a moment, Lord Raikage."
Kakashi agreed.
He walked to an open area nearby and prepared to start mastur-demonstration.
"Kakashi-sensei, I'll do it too! If you're the only one demonstrating, the Raikage still might not trust us completely. But if even a kid like me, who only recently graduated from the Academy, can learn it, then the Raikage will definitely be able to put his doubts aside!" Konohamaru volunteered, stepping forward.
His words made the Raikage glance at him with genuine interest.
"You're the Third Hokage's grandson, aren't you? You've got courage, just as expected! You're right. If even you can learn it, then I'll trust you completely." The Raikage gave Konohamaru his nod of approval.
Don't ask how the Raikage recognized him.
Kumogakure's intelligence on the other major villages—especially Konoha—was far more detailed than anyone imagined.
Otherwise, during that brief peace negotiation years ago, they would never have been able to precisely identify the candidate for the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, locate the Hyūga clan's young heiress, and confirm that no one would interfere with the kidnapping attempt.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Lightning Release: Purple Electricity!"
"Fire Release: Ash Chicken Burning!"
Kakashi and Konohamaru unleashed lightning and fire respectively, deploying their personal techniques directly onto their own shadow clones.
"What in the fucking hell are you two doing?!"
The Raikage had only just sat down when he witnessed the scene.
He shot straight back to his feet in shock.
He had already mentally prepared himself to watch the two of them perform... that.
He had not expected an additional, horrifying surprise.
The Raikage could only be grateful that he had dismissed everyone beforehand and that this was his private training ground, where no one else could enter.
Otherwise, no child would survive witnessing such a brutal scene.
"Lord Raikage, when you first trained your clan's Lightning Armor, your body must have endured unimaginable pain, correct? My Purple Electricity and Konohamaru's Ash Chicken Burning work on the exact same principle!
We use perfectly controlled techniques to stimulate the body's activity! And we don't use them on our real bodies. We only apply them to our shadow clones. The moment the damage exceeds what a clone can endure, it disappears and transfers the sensory memories back to us.
Unlike Naruto, we don't have enormous chakra reserves. So if the memories return and we still haven't reached the postnut clarity needed to enter Sage Mode, we spawn another batch of shadow clones and begin round two!"
Kakashi explained passionately, casually electrocuting his own shadow clones with Purple Electricity.
Konohamaru did the exact same thing, only with Ash Chicken Burning.
It was incredibly fortunate that each new shadow clone spawned without the specific individual memories of the previous batch.
Otherwise, after enduring torture like this, the clones would inevitably rebel.
"This..."
The Raikage stared dumbfounded at the localized storm of lightning and fire raging before him.
After an agonizing amount of time, Kakashi and Konohamaru finally emerged in their complete Sage forms.
Kakashi had eight dogs hanging from his limbs, while Konohamaru had a toad and a monkey perched on his shoulders.
They stood before the Raikage.
To him, those few minutes felt longer than his entire life.
"...This method seems pretty rough on your pants." The corner of the Raikage's mouth twitched.
"Would you like to test our strength, Lord Raikage?" Kakashi gestured invitingly.
He clearly worried the Raikage still harbored doubts and intended to prove everything in one go.
"...No need." After hesitating briefly, the Raikage shook his head.
Testing their strength would certainly be reliable, but it was no longer necessary.
Neither Kakashi nor Konohamaru concealed their aura.
He could clearly sense how much they had changed. The process was ridiculous beyond belief, but this genuinely appeared to be Sage Mode.
Even if it was not, it was unquestionably a method capable of drastically increasing combat power.
More importantly, their current condition made the Raikage feel vaguely uneasy.
Thanks to Kakashi's bizarre novels, countless rumors about him had spread throughout the shinobi world.
One rumor claimed that the Raikiri received its name because Kakashi once used it to cut off his balls.
That particular rumor might not have originated from his novels, but the Raikage still blamed Kakashi for it!
Both Kakashi's and Konohamaru's techniques focused heavily on attacks below the waist.
Even though the Raikage firmly believed he would never let himself get hit, he still felt a phantom chill and had zero desire to fight opponents like that.
"I see." When the Raikage refused the spar, Konohamaru deactivated his Sage Mode in disappointment.
He was still a rookie who just gained tremendous strength, so he desperately wanted to test himself against a veteran ninja.
"Lord Raikage, since you've agreed to accept the method, we have a responsibility to make sure at least one person in Kumogakure successfully masters Sage Mode before we leave for the next village. That way, if anyone else runs into problems during training, they can ask the person who has already succeeded."
Just as the Raikage was preparing to send them away, Kakashi deactivated his own Sage Mode and spoke up.
"...Fine." The Raikage sighed.
There was no escaping it.
For the sake of the village, this technique really did need to be established.
Worst case, they could master it first and slowly research the core principles afterward.
Perhaps they would eventually find a way to alter the mechanics and avoid using such a humiliating method.
This was a necessary sacrifice.
As for who would become the first sacrifice...
"It's best if the person has a summon beast, correct?" The Raikage rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Yes."
"Oh, and Lord Raikage, there is another small, discreet detail. Ideally, the person's bodily functions in a certain area should not be too strong. If their endurance is too high, it only extends the time required to enter Sage Mode." Kakashi nodded, thoughtfully adding the extra warning.
(PS: What he mean here, a guy with premature ejaculation might become a godlike senjutsu user)
"..."
Instead of growing more alarmed, the Raikage relaxed.
Kumogakure did not have many famous ninja with summoning contracts.
If they were forced to choose someone, they might eventually abandon the summon-assisted branch and rely on Naruto's original shortcut instead.
And if that happened, wouldn't the Raikage himself have to personally step up?
Of course, he was not unwilling.
He could learn it.
He could attempt to master senjutsu.
But under absolutely no circumstances could it become "common knowledge" that he had learned Sage Mode through this method.
It was far too humiliating!
If he learned it secretly, then until the Ōtsutsuki actually arrived, he could simply pretend he had never trained it.
And if the Ōtsutsuki took long enough to appear and they developed a newer, respectable entry method in the meantime, he could conveniently change his story and claim he learned through that one.
In any case, the first Kumogakure "senjutsu instructor" to master Sage Mode absolutely could not be him!
"Can a Tailed Beast and its jinchūriki do it?" A flash of inspiration suddenly struck the Raikage.
"HELL NAH, THEY CAN'T!"
Before Kakashi could even respond, Killer B—who had supposedly left but actually hid nearby to eavesdrop—could no longer restrain himself and jumped out.