“Good to be back though I can’t imagine what all besides Danzo getting his just deserts would concern me personally.” I said honestly.
“Most of it has little relation to you but is still at least tangentially something you should be informed of.” she said with a nod as we traveled through the village.
It was odd but I could almost feel the change in Konoha now that Danzo was gone. It was like a hidden weight had been lifted from the place. It was nice to see if I am being honest and put me in a good mood. It didn’t take us long to reach the Hokages office and I nodded to each of the shadows of the room that had an elite anbu shinobi waiting to protect my sensei. These shinobi had failed to protect the third Hokage and had decided that that would never happen again.-
“Can they be trusted to keep what they learn to themselves?” I asked since I had a very important confession to make.
My sensei was taken back by the question but looked at the guards in the shadows seriously before nodding to say that they can be trusted. I sighed but started drawing in natural energy in such an amount that even those not attuned to it could sense it. Immediately dark lines appeared around my eyes as I entered saint mode. Just as fast as I entered it however I dropped it before it could start putting any real pressure on me.-
“You’re a sage!?” my sensei exclaimed in shock.
I nodded “Been a sage for as long as I can remember, that is my secret. The reason I avoided Katsuyu and the source of the recent destruction in the forest was related to this.” I said honestly.
“That … explains a lot actually. Why hide it though, I know that if he knew the old man would have treated you like a precious treasure?” she asked genuinely confused.
“You misunderstand, I don’t mean that I have been able to enter sage mode for as long as I can remember, I’m ALWAYS in sage mode. What you just saw was a form that went even further down that path.” I said honestly.
“What!? How!?” she exclaimed with wide eyes once she fully comprehended what I said.
I shrugged “I can’t say honestly as I was born this way, it’s why my body is the way it is and why I can command beasts as I do. If I’m being completely honest I probably wouldn’t have even shared this information had I not met an enemy that knew I was a sage despite not having any marks. I’d rather get it out before you learned in a bad situation.” I said seriously.
“I need to summon Katsuyu for this, maybe she will know.” she said seriously and I nodded and let her.
She wove the hand signs bit her thumb and palmed the table causing a small puff of smoke to appear. As it cleared a slug about a foot long that was white with a blue stripe down it’s back appeared.
“Is there …. oh my!” The slug spoke gently before exclaiming in shock as one of it’s eye stalks focused on me.
“So you can tell then?” my sensei asked and the slug focused on her.
“That he is a natural sage? Oh yes any sage beast could if they met him it would be hard not to, like not realizing the sun existed.” the slug said reverently.
“Is there some sort of significance to him being a natural sage?” my sensei asked and I was also curious since I assumed so but had no confirmation until now.
“Most certainly! Natural sages are a myth even amongst the three sage regions but their importance is a well know fact, they are the darlings of the world. Practically naturally occurring gods when they mature, immortal, all seeing and capable of transforming the world with a wave of their hands. At least that is what the oldest of tales say but if a natural sage had been born in the past it was so long ago that none remember them.” The slug spoke passionately.
“I suppose when I fully mature that description is fairly accurate as I still age and my maximum perception range is only slightly larger than Konoha. As for the transforming the world part I am afraid that power is beyond me even if I go into saint mode.” I commented seriously.
“Saint mode?” the slug asked confused.
“A form beyond sage mode, ironically I named it saint because I considered it’s power to border the divine, hadn’t realized that name would fit so well.” I said honestly.
“Would you mind showing me this “saint mode” of yours?” the slug asked.
I saw reason why not and gathered natural energy again and entered saint mode for a brief moment before dropping it.
“I can’t use it any longer than that or the strain rapidly causes my body to deteriorate. If I truly utilize it I can hold it for thirty seconds and two attacks before losing both my arms and being destined for death, I tested it with a mitosis clone and the spiritual backlash had me in a coma for over two weeks.” I said honestly.
“I believe I know why that is. That form is like what sage mode is for the average shinobi only multiplied by several times. To relatively safely use that power you may need to fully mature and even then it may be a slow acclimation process much like that of a normal shinobi learning to utilize sage mode. In truth I don’t think even sage beasts of my caliber or even of Gamamaru’s caliber could use that form for more than a single instant without dying outright.” the slug said sincerely.
“Truly!?” my sensei exclaimed in shock again.
“Indeed, while we are better at utilizing sage mode compared to almost any human by a large degree he exceeds us even now by a massive quantity. Our mastery of natural energy is childs play for a natural sage like him. That was made clear with how easily he gathered such a vast amount of natural energy in mere moments outside a hotspot. Even if my main body was here I’d at most only be able to draw in a fraction of what he did in that amount of time.” the slug said seriously.