"I already told you, I was just 'gathering inspiration' with an artistic eye!"
Hearing that,
Jiraiya's old face turned red, but he stubbornly refused to admit anything.
With some pride he said,
"I'm one of the best-selling authors in the ninja world, you know! My books are extremely popular!"
"Tch."
Tsunade's eyelid twitched.
She clenched her fist and warned Jiraiya, who was lying there receiving treatment from Karin.
"Jiraiya, I'm warning you—don't use those ridiculous dirty novels of yours to corrupt my disciple."
"Otherwise I won't let you off!"
That brat Ren was already bold and shameless enough.
If he were influenced by Jiraiya's erotic novels, who knew what kind of trouble he'd cause.
"You mean that 'Icha Icha Paradise' thing?"
Ren curled his lips.
"It's pretty mediocre."
He was a man who had read far more explicit literature in his previous life.
Compared to those, Jiraiya's books—which relied on suggestive hints but never actually showed anything—were honestly quite tame.
"You've read it?!"
Tsunade's eyes widened.
No wonder this brat sometimes behaved a bit indecently.
So he'd been corrupted by those books!
She glared furiously at Jiraiya, already convinced he was the culprit who ruined her disciple.
"Relax, Tsunade."
Ren coughed awkwardly.
"I only flipped through two pages. The content was boring, so I lost interest."
Back in Konoha, he had indeed gone to a bookstore out of curiosity and skimmed a few pages.
Then he stopped.
It really wasn't that interesting.
Only guys like Kakashi, who had never seen anything better, would get so obsessed with it.
"Ahem… you're still too young to understand the adult world."
Jiraiya snorted.
He wanted to argue when someone insulted his masterpiece,
but seeing Ren's ten-year-old appearance made him lose interest.
Arguing with a kid wasn't worth it.
"Anyway, let me make something clear."
Ren stared at Jiraiya on the stretcher and warned him coldly.
"I don't care if you spy on other people."
"But if you ever peek at someone around me, intentionally or not…"
"Wash your neck and wait for death."
"Even the Great Toad Sage won't be able to save you. I said it!"
He wasn't joking.
If Jiraiya ever did that,
Ren would hunt him down to the ends of the earth.
Jiraiya's face darkened.
He nearly fainted from anger.
This brat was way too arrogant.
Jiraiya's Pride
"Don't get too cocky, kid."
Provoked by Ren's words, Jiraiya couldn't help wanting to suppress his arrogance.
"I still haven't used Sage Mode yet."
"I'm sure your teacher has told you how powerful senjutsu is, right?"
After all,
very few people in the ninja world could master Sage Mode.
Even Tsunade, despite having a contract with Shikkotsu Forest, one of the three great sage regions,
had not yet learned its senjutsu.
"Yes, I've told him."
Tsunade shrugged calmly.
There was no denying that senjutsu was incredibly powerful.
Even the First Hokage had only reached his peak after mastering it.
By combining Sage Mode with Wood Release,
he was able to suppress Uchiha Madara, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Tsunade had actually planned to take Ren to Shikkotsu Forest in a few years
to learn senjutsu from the slug sage.
After all, he was still young.
Ren's Reaction
"Senjutsu?"
However—
before Jiraiya could look proud,
Ren looked at him with complete disdain.
"This is your strongest trump card?"
"You brat, are you seriously looking down on senjutsu?"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes in irritation.
"I admit you're a genius, but you're still miles away from the First Hokage!"
"Even the First Hokage once went to Mount Myōboku to study senjutsu!"
Even Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
Was Ren getting a little too arrogant because of his strength?
But she knew him well.
He wasn't the type to be blindly overconfident.
"No."
Ren shook his head.
"I'm not looking down on senjutsu."
He looked at Jiraiya with faint contempt.
"I'm wondering who exactly you're looking down on."
"Isn't it just combining natural energy with chakra?"
"You make it sound easy—but can you actually do it?" Jiraiya replied.
But before he could finish speaking—
his mouth fell open.
Because he suddenly sensed a surge of immense natural energy.
His eyes widened in shock.
"Wait… don't tell me you—"
Instant Sage Mode
Ren simply closed his eyes.
In the next instant,
his entire presence seemed to merge with nature itself.
A dramatic transformation occurred.
His handsome face remained calm,
but when he opened his eyes again,
they shone like dark gemstones.
Green eye-shadow appeared around them.
His black hair began to grow rapidly—
turning into crystal-like green strands
that flowed down to his waist.
An overwhelming vitality radiated from him.
Rustle… rustle…
Life energy spread outward.
Grass and flowers burst from the ground.
The surrounding area turned into a lush green meadow filled with colorful blossoms.
The air smelled sweet and fresh.
Everyone Is Shocked
"What!?"
"Th-this is—"
Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin were all stunned.
Jiraiya's jaw dropped.
He stared at Ren like he had just seen a ghost.
Having trained in Mount Myōboku's senjutsu,
he was extremely sensitive to natural energy.
He could clearly feel the massive natural energy flowing into Ren.
There was no doubt.
This was true Sage Mode.
And what shocked him even more—
Ren didn't need any preparation time.
He activated it instantly.
The Final Reveal
Ren stood there calmly in Sage Mode.
Looking at the stunned Jiraiya, he said lightly:
"Oh, I forgot to mention something."
"I learned senjutsu when I was eight years old."
"WHAT?!"
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