Uchiha Gate: From Konoha to One Piece

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Kaito couldn't help but ponder: "Is it because I didn't follow the complete Myoboku Sage Art training method?"

"Or is it because I didn't use toad oil?"

"Maybe it's because I didn't rely on the Toad Sage to inject its Sage Chakra?"

With these thoughts, Kaito temporarily stopped his accidental discovery of the Sage Chakra refinement technique.

Instead, he began absorbing a small amount of natural energy into his body. This time, he didn't circulate it using the Primal Chakra technique. Instead, he forced it to merge with his mental energy and cellular energy by sheer willpower.

To avoid any danger, Kaito wrapped this process in a protective layer of the permanent Sage Chakra he had previously refined. This acted as a barrier to prevent any unexpected damage to his body.

"Zzzzz!"

The process of forced fusion wasn't as smooth or stable as the previous refinement. The natural energy resisted and repelled his mental and cellular energy intensely.

Following the Myoboku Mountain training method, Kaito attempted to harmonize with nature, integrating his body, mental energy, and cellular energy into this state.

Suddenly, the natural energy within him calmed down, no longer violent.

He instinctively allowed the three energies to merge. This time, it went surprisingly smoothly.

Before long, the natural energy actively accepted the portion of Kaito's mental and cellular energy, successfully transforming into Sage Chakra in a 1:1:1 ratio.

Kaito immediately tested and compared this new Sage Chakra. He discovered that his control over this Sage Chakra was far inferior to the one refined through Primal Chakra technique circulation.

He couldn't wield it as effortlessly as he could with the refined version.

This new Sage Chakra, in essence, wasn't fully refined by him. It was merely usable for ninjutsu or temporarily strengthening his body. Its fundamental nature was still somewhat volatile.

It only became non-violent because it fused with his mental and cellular energy, treating his body as "nature."

In essence, he had gained usage rights for this Sage Chakra, but the ownership wasn't entirely his.

It was like owning only a part of a company's shares, while the remaining shares belonged to someone else. He could use the company for some purposes, but not absolutely anything he wanted.

Moreover, this new Sage Chakra remained distinctly separate and incompatible with the previous refined Sage Chakra.

Kaito continued replicating the process. After multiple attempts, he managed to accumulate a certain amount of this new Sage Chakra. Then, he used it to enter Sage Mode.

The result?

His body showed no signs of toad-like scales or animalistic features.

His eyes remained human.

The only difference was the addition of deep red eye shadow around his eyes and a red circle at the center of his forehead.

That was it.

"As expected, this forcibly fused Sage Chakra doesn't carry toad-like or animalistic traits."

"So, the fundamental reason Myoboku Mountain and Ryuchi Cave Sage Arts cause animalistic transformations isn't the training method or the natural energy itself, but an external factor?"

"Toad oil and the Snake Sage's Sage Chakra?"

"Or maybe....Genetic pollution?"

"That must be it!"

With this realization, Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly.

"If I want to avoid genetic pollution, I can't rely on shortcuts like toad oil or the Snake Sage's Sage Chakra to fuse Sage Chakra."

"After all, who knows what kind of effect this genetic pollution might have on my bloodline?"

"If things go wrong, continuously training in such Sage Modes could gradually worsen the pollution, invading the cells of the practitioner. Eventually, it could turn them into a toad or a snake."

"Could this be the truth?"

"Speaking of which, were all the snakes of Ryuchi Cave originally snakes?"

A doubt arose in Kaito's mind.

Could they have been human practitioners of Sage Arts?

After all, they have human-like habits.

Yet, the Snake Sage itself is much stronger but shows no human traits.

Why?

This question was worth pondering.

"In any case, until the true reason is clear, I can't allow people from the village to train in the orthodox Sage Arts of the Three Great Sacred Grounds!"

Kaito made this decision on the spot.

He needed to uncover the truth first.

"I can't just ask them directly. I have to increase my strength until I'm unafraid of the Sage of Six Paths before confronting Toad Sage or the Snake Sage."

Kaito considered further.

He was worried that Toad Maru and the Snake Sage, when cornered, might summon the Sage of Six Paths to retaliate.

After all, he wasn't sure if this genetic pollution issue was a deliberate trap left behind with malicious intent or simply an oversight.

Not everyone was like Kaito—confident in continuously refining Sage Arts and replacing all his Chakra with Sage Chakra to achieve a permanent Sage Mode.

This required extraordinary talent and a long lifespan.

The Toad Sage probably couldn't imagine that Kaito could create such a terrifying and miraculous Chakra refinement technique, capable of extracting pure Sage Chakra to continuously reshape and upgrade his body.

Coupled with his Eternal Life technique, Kaito's path was unparalleled.

"If it's unconscious negligence, that's forgivable."

"But if it's deliberate malice, don't blame me for turning hostile when the time comes! Hmph!"

Kaito smirked coldly to himself.

That's why he hadn't exposed the matter yet and directly confronted them. He didn't want to turn things sour with The Great Toad Sage Gamamaru and the others right now, which might attract the attention of the Sage of Six Paths.

Even if there was only a 1% chance of that happening, he wasn't willing to take the risk for now.

Worst case, he'd wait a few years until he was strong enough to face the Sage of Six Paths head-on.

Anyway, considering Gamamaru's expectations, the conditions for mastering Sage Techniques weren't exactly easy to meet.

Delaying for a few years and not sending anyone to Mount Myoboku for training would seem perfectly normal!

By then, Kaito was confident he'd have the strength to take on the Sage of Six Paths.

"As for my mother and the contracted individuals, they can practice Sage Techniques too."

"But only after I've perfected my Sage Chakra technique and ensured it's safe for them to train."

"Until then, I'll have to keep it hidden from Jiraiya and Mount Myoboku."

"Once I've got enough power, I'll reveal everything and settle the score!"

Kaito silently resolved.

He couldn't afford to abandon Sage Techniques entirely just because of a temporary risk.

As for the method he just used to force himself into Sage Mode?

He didn't think it was suitable for others.

Sure, it seemed like he succeeded quickly, but there were too many variables involved.

If someone else tried it, there'd be a 90% chance they'd end up dead.

"Maybe I could use the excuse of creating a human-compatible, low-barrier Sage Technique to test Gamamaru's intentions?"

The idea crossed Kaito's mind, but he quickly shook his head and dismissed it.

"Still too risky. Better to wait it out."

"Damn it! Once I'm strong enough, I'll definitely string up the Sage of Six Paths and teach him a lesson!"

"By the way, why does this Sage Mode facial pattern look exactly like Hashirama's? It's practically identical."

"Does this mean the First Hokage didn't rely on the Shikkotsu Forest for Sage Mode? That he achieved it through his Senju physique and sheer talent, just like I did?"

The realization hit Kaito like a ton of bricks.

"All this time, I thought he learned it from the Shikkotsu Forest!"

"Even Tsunade-sensei doesn't seem to know this, does she?"

"Looks like I'll need to confirm this with the First Hokage himself."

Asking the person involved would give the most accurate answer.

Of course, Kaito wasn't planning to learn Hashirama's Sage Mode training method.

If his guess was right, Hashirama had probably achieved it through his natural gifts and unmatched insight.

Getting him to explain it would likely boil down to something like, "I just clapped my hands, and it worked."

With that thought in mind, Kaito shifted his focus back to refining the Sage Chakra technique he had unintentionally created.

He started synthesizing and converting more Sage Chakra.

His cells were slowly undergoing transformation.

Kaito could sense that replacing all his regular chakra with Sage Chakra and circulating it throughout his entire body would greatly enhance his life force and accelerate cellular evolution.

It would raise him to an entirely new level of existence.

But this wasn't a fully perfected technique.

It couldn't replace sleep.

Worse, it drained his mental energy at an alarming rate.

After just two hours of training, Kaito felt his mental reserves drop to less than half.

Fatigue hit him hard, forcing him to stop.

When he checked his progress, he saw that only about 0.01% of his chakra had been replaced with Sage Chakra.

The main issue was his massive chakra reserves.

And they were still growing daily thanks to his Primal Chakra Refinement Technique.

"At this rate, who knows how long it'll take to finish converting all my chakra!"

"Clearly, I need to improve my proficiency and efficiency with the Sage Chakra technique as soon as possible."

"Only by increasing the speed can I achieve my goal!"

"Once I've mastered both the Sage Chakra technique and the Primal Chakra Refinement Technique—or perfected at least one of them—I might be able to merge the two and create a more powerful method!"

Kaito pondered this idea.

Although neither method was complete, if they could be perfectly integrated, their strengths would complement each other.

This could allow him to absorb and refine natural energy directly into Sage Chakra without consuming his mental or cellular energy.

That limitation was currently holding back his accumulation of Sage Chakra.

He glanced at his stats. After three years of practice, his Primal Chakra Refinement Technique was close to perfection.

He estimated it would take just a few more months to reach mastery.

On the other hand, after only two hours of practice, the Sage Chakra Method was at a basic level. Reaching mastery for it would likely take a long time.

So, focusing on perfecting the Primal Chakra Refinement Technique first and then combining it with the Sage Chakra Technique seemed like the most practical path.

Of course, Kaito wasn't planning to abandon training the Sage Chakra Technique in the meantime.

He aimed to optimize and refine it as much as possible so that, when the time came to merge the two methods, he could create an even more powerful and flawless technique.

"I'll run some tests, then prepare for the pirate world. I also need to meet the First Hokage... sigh. I've got to develop a method to hide chakra and figure out who should enter the pirate world now as pirates. Ugh, so many tasks... damn."

With his mind set, Kaito decided to rest.

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