The Senju jonin on guard duty noticed nothing unusual. Their memories had been rewritten so seamlessly that none of them realized an hour had vanished from their lives. As far as they knew, young Hashirama had never left the courtyard.
A figure landed in a crouch, robes settling around him.
The guards rushed forward, then bowed when they recognized the newcomer. "Elder Shin!"
"Grandpa Shin!" Hashirama's childish voice called out.
Senju Shin's expression relaxed when he saw the boy unharmed. He conducted a thorough inspection with both eyes and chakra sense before waving the jonin away.
"Young master, I've come to take you home. Play in the courtyard for a bit while I inform your mother."
"Okay, Grandpa."
Senju Shin knocked once and entered the house. Outside, Hashirama crouched by the pond's edge, searching through the white stones scattered along the bank. His small fingers selected a flat pebble.
His wrist snapped forward.
The stone skipped across the water's surface. Once. Twice. Five times. It struck the far wall and ricocheted back before sinking beneath the lily pads.
Every guard in the courtyard froze.
The young master had been clumsy with thrown objects just yesterday. How had he suddenly developed such precise control?
I understand now. This is the awakening of his shuriken talent!
He truly inherited the clan leader's genius bloodline!
The guards exchanged excited glances, already composing their reports.
"You can't move forward on timelines you've already visited, but you can jump backward, right?"
[Record landmarks as you encounter them. You can select nodes on the timeline when re-entering that dimension, but repeated back-and-forth jumping is restricted.]
As the sun descended toward the horizon, Jordan sat on a deserted hillside with freshly grilled wild game, discussing the finer points of dimensional travel with F-boy.
He looked different than he had an hour ago.
The metallic sheen from the Steel Bones ability had faded, his skin returning to its natural tone. His entire presence felt more organic, radiating vibrant life energy that seemed to pulse with each breath.
After one hour of stone-skipping diplomacy, F-boy had successfully activated Element Pickup and completed the most valuable card acquisition of the entire trip.
[Fantasy Card: Sage Body—Hashirama Senju]
Type: Ability • Rarity: SR
The combined life force and physical energy of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. This represents his mortal sage body, not the transcendent power of the Sage of Six Paths.
Effects:
1. Yang Attribute Chakra
Hashirama Senju perfectly inherited the bloodline of his ancestor Ashura, possessing innate and extraordinarily abundant Yang-attribute chakra.
2. Chakra Reserves Beyond Reason
Hashirama Senju possessed chakra reserves surpassing even Tailed Beasts, allowing him to perform techniques effortlessly without hand seals.
3. Harmony Between Water and Soil
Hashirama Senju was born with both Water and Earth chakra natures, with affinities far exceeding ordinary shinobi.
4. Healing Without Trace
Hashirama Senju possessed powerful vitality and cellular activity, automatically healing injuries without requiring hand seals.
5. Natural Sage Aptitude
Hashirama Senju possesses innate Sage Mode compatibility. After passively absorbing sufficient natural energy, he can autonomously unlock "Sage Mode."
[Sage Mode: 0.2%]
The acquisition of Hashirama's Sage Body provided a more solid vessel for Jordan's overwhelming spiritual power. Body and spirit gradually reached equilibrium.
The biggest surprise was the fifth effect. Most people had to grovel before ancient toads or serpents for decades to even begin sage training.
Hashirama's method?
Wait long enough and it auto-unlocks. No wonder they called him the God of Shinobi.
At Jordan's suggestion, F-boy had added a dynamic progress bar to the card description, tracking natural energy absorption in real time.
"Damn. It's only been what, an hour? Already at 0.2 percent. That's fast."
[Hashirama Senju's physical form was already complete even in childhood, so his energy absorption efficiency operates at peak capacity. If you dedicated yourself to meditation training, the speed would increase exponentially.]
Jordan gave F-boy an oily middle finger. "What the hell kind of Pokémon logic is that? Juvenile stage versus ultimate stage?"
The discussion quickly devolved into their familiar middle-finger exchange.
After finishing dinner, Jordan clapped his hands. Water Release cleaned them thoroughly while Earth Release buried the remains. Safety. Environmental protection. Zero pollution.
"The natural energy at the Three Great Sage Regions should be even more concentrated." Jordan clenched his fist, feeling the strange energy washing into his body with the evening breeze.
"But those three are ancient monsters who've lived for thousands of years. We're not provoking them this trip."
He reconsidered his plans. Instead of wandering the world searching for Tailed Beasts, why not find somewhere nearby to train in seclusion?
Compared to hunting down giant chakra monsters, wasn't Sage Mode the better investment?
Why settle for less when you could have both?
Because of Saitama's existence, Jordan's strength had been experiencing exponential leaps at irregular intervals. He needed time to consolidate his abilities, to make this power truly his own rather than just borrowed cards.
Time passed.
Three months later...
At dawn, the world stirred from slumber. A new day began as it always did.
A significant portion of Fantasy Cards' deck space served as dimensional storage. With F-boy possessing a physical body and full mobility, Jordan could focus entirely on the self-cultivation process initiated by Sage Mode's passive absorption.
Wearing fleece pajamas, Jordan emerged from a modern camping tent just as the first rays of sunlight touched his face.
Compared to three months ago, his demeanor had become more reserved. Strip away the identities of police officer and professional hero, and he resembled a university student enjoying a camping trip. Relaxed. Approachable.
His already handsome features had grown even more striking, an outward manifestation of the life energy saturating every cell.
[Sage Mode: 100% (Unlocked)]
Jordan faced the rising sun, gazing thoughtfully at the clear blue sky.
Suddenly, he wanted to test his limits.
The AT Field unfolded and transformed into a pure white divine robe that draped across his shoulders. Lightning chakra crackled to life, the cell-stimulating energy overflowing from his body and covering the robe in dancing arcs of electricity.
The biomagnetic field began its slow rotation. Fine sand and gravel responded to the invisible force, swirling upward to orbit his feet. A gentle breeze stirred in the previously calm forest. The airflow shifted, building into a howling vortex.
Preparations complete.
Jordan clapped his hands together.
Sage Chakra erupted. The fusion of three months' worth of absorbed natural energy with his own chakra reserves detonated like a controlled bomb. Faint dark green patterns appeared around his eyes, geometric and precise.
Sage Mode—activated.
This time, he didn't rely on psychic levitation to resist gravity. Instead, he lowered his center of gravity and bent his knees, coiling like a spring.
Power surged through every muscle.
The next instant, he launched.
The earth beneath his feet compressed instantly, then exploded outward in spiderweb cracks. A shockwave erupted from the impact point as Jordan shot into the sky like a railgun projectile.
The sonic boom cloud shattered around him.
He accelerated.
The biomagnetic field amplified his momentum, breaking through barrier after barrier. Another sonic boom. Then another. The sound of his passage rolled across the forest like distant thunder.
Within seconds, he'd become a black dot against the infinite blue.
Then nothing.
Just empty sky and the fading echo of his departure.