Chapter 106: Sage Art Nine Tails
"Looking at you now, it seems you've been living quite well."
Seeing that the Nine Tails' body had obviously grown another size larger, Kei smiled and casually remarked, "At this rate, your size has already gone far beyond what a young fox should have."
In terms of age, the Nine Tails before him was still clearly in its infancy.
Yet under the constant nourishment of Nine Tails chakra, its body had already grown to such a degree. Although it still could not compare to its original body, which was as massive as a small mountain, it had long surpassed the scale of any ordinary summoned beast.
All of this was thanks to Kei's constant feeding over the years.
The soldier pills made from a combination of the Nine Tails' flesh and Hashirama's cells were a tremendous supplement for it, causing its growth rate to become astonishingly fast.
"I suppose I have you to thank for that."
The Nine Tails lazily stretched its body, then slowly withdrew from its Sage Mode state.
Over the past two years, it really had been living quite comfortably. Not only had it seen many wonderful sights, but under Kei's guidance, it had also stepped onto a path unique to tailed beasts.
Under normal circumstances, it was difficult for a tailed beast to become stronger, or rather, their rate of growth was incredibly slow.
They were simply too powerful by nature. The amount of chakra they were born with was unimaginable to ordinary people, and that very fact limited how much further they could grow.
But the Sage Art system was clearly different.
At its core, Sage Art was the study of Natural Energy.
And Natural Energy was precisely the foundation of the Ten Tails' power.
The predecessor of the Ten Tails, the Divine Tree, had relied on absorbing Natural Energy in order to produce the chakra fruit.
Although the nine tailed beasts had been separated from the Ten Tails, they had clearly inherited that same affinity for Natural Energy.
By taking advantage of that natural characteristic of the tailed beasts, Kei had specially developed a Sage Art system for the Nine Tails, and from the looks of it, the results had been excellent.
In this regard, Kei was an unquestionable expert.
Back in the Land of Ancestors, he had not only gathered the Sage Art inheritance of Mount Myoboku through the Great Toad Sage, but had also studied the entire Sage Art system through human monks and shrine maidens.
In that era, the supernatural power humanity had mastered was Sage Art itself, and under that system, brilliant results had once been achieved.
Kei had brought all of those results back into this world. Without exaggeration, he was a true grandmaster of Sage Art, so teaching the Nine Tails was naturally a simple matter for him.
As the Nine Tails began to train and formally came into contact with Sage Art, this clone of its had also started to transform at a rapid pace.
In only a short time, it had already grown to an impressive level.
Although its power still could not compare to its original body, it had already reached a significant level.
"With just a little more time, even if it still can't catch up to my original body, reaching the level of someone like Shukaku wouldn't be a problem."
The Nine Tails spoke, but there was a trace of regret in its tone.
"Unfortunately, this isn't my real body. It's just a clone."
Even if it had successfully trained the Sage Art, the body before them was still only a clone in the end.
Its true body was still sealed inside Mito, cut off from the outside world, with no chance at all to train in Sage Art.
And as for this clone, no matter how strong it became, it still would not truly matter.
At best, it could only serve as a backup for the original.
"It still has meaning."
Standing before it, Kei spoke thoughtfully, "I just had an idea. If it works, then this clone of yours won't have been trained for nothing."
"What idea do you have this time?"
The Nine Tails could not help but grow curious.
Over the past two years, it had already seen many of Kei's ideas.
To be blunt, most of them had been wildly imaginative. Many of them were things the Nine Tails would never even have thought of before.
Not only did Kei dare to imagine them, he also dared to act on them, and what was even more absurd was that most of them had actually succeeded.
"The Chimera Technique."
Kei spoke calmly. "This body of yours shares the same origin as your original body. It carries the genes and chakra inheritance of your main body. Theoretically speaking, there should be no rejection reaction."
"If we use the Chimera Technique to merge this clone back into your original body, then all the effort you've built up over this period won't go to waste."
"So you're talking about using that technique your disciple created?"
The Nine Tails clicked its tongue in wonder.
"Using my original body to devour my own clone... your ideas really are as strange as ever."
"As long as the method works, it's a good idea."
Kei replied softly, "And by the look of it, this idea should indeed be feasible, shouldn't it?"
After thinking it through carefully, he increasingly felt that this was an excellent path forward.
The Chimera Technique could devour another's kekkei genkai, but its greatest flaw was that it easily caused rejection reactions, leading to bodily mutation.
But what if the target being devoured was a clone created from one's own flesh and blood?
Then there would likely be very little rejection at all. After all, it was still one's own body in the end, with no fundamental difference.
That meant the greatest flaw of the Chimera Technique could effectively be bypassed.
This line of thought was excellent. If combined with the concept of flesh clones, many entirely new methods of application could be developed.
Of course, even if he wanted to carry it out, that would have to wait until later.
For now, there were more pressing matters to deal with.
"War is coming."
Kei said flatly, "Nine Tails, I need your power."
"My power..."
The Nine Tails paused for a moment, then quickly realized what he meant.
"You're talking about that experiment?"
"The chakra inside your body really does carry Hashirama's aura..."
Its gaze locked onto Kei as it sensed that familiar presence from him once again.
It was the aura once possessed by the First Hokage, the man who had pacified the chaotic age and founded Konoha.
Kei did not answer. He simply smiled and raised one hand.
With the activation of a jutsu, the sapling in front of him instantly spread and grew into a small tree, as if it had naturally taken root and blossomed in an instant. The sight was almost dreamlike.
"Wood Release..."
Watching that scene, the Nine Tails' mind wavered for a moment.
"If that's the case, then perhaps it really can succeed."
"One always has to try."
Kei said, "At the very least, I think the chances are fairly high."
After devouring the First Hokage's cells and obtaining Wood Release, he wanted to go a step further.
It had already been proven that Hashirama's cells could produce an effect similar to that of the Kinkaku Brothers, allowing them to suppress and devour tailed beast chakra.
Since that was the case, then after devouring Hashirama's cells and obtaining the power of Wood Release, Kei should theoretically possess an ability similar to theirs.
If the Kinkaku Brothers could swallow Nine Tails chakra, then why couldn't Kei?
This was also directly connected to strengthening his Wood Release.
As another user of the Chimera Technique, the Wood Release Kei had acquired from Hashirama's cells was indeed much stronger than what Hiruko had gained.
But even so, it still could not compare to the First Hokage's original version. There was an obvious gap between them.
By Kei's estimation, the reason was most likely because he did not possess chakra reserves on Hashirama's level, nor was he the reincarnation of Asura's chakra.
Being the reincarnation of Asura's chakra was something he would likely never have.
But becoming the Nine Tails jinchuriki was another matter entirely.
.....
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